In Mine a Mountain, boulders are rare rock formations buried deep inside solid rock — they are never exposed on the surface, so the only way to reach one is to dig into the mountain until you break into it. There are five boulder types, each tied to a minimum pickaxe: Mossite, Voltite, Gildrite, Rimeveil and Nocturnite. Breaking a boulder drops crystals plus a chance at a rune. Boulders arrived with the Boulders Update, and the exact rune drop rates are not public.
What are boulders and how do you find them?
Boulders are some of the rarest things you can dig up in Mine a Mountain. They sit fully buried inside solid rock and never sit on the surface, which means you cannot walk the mountain and spot one from outside. The only way to find a boulder is to mine into the mountain until you break into one.
They are spread throughout the mountain and rarely appear close together. The mountain regenerates over time, so fresh boulders appear whenever a new mountain spawns, meaning a boulder you missed resets with the map rather than staying gone for good. Rarer boulders tend to be found deeper, so digging further in improves your odds of reaching one before the next reset.
This regeneration is part of what makes boulder hunting a loop instead of a one-time goal. If you break the boulders you want in a server and the mountain refreshes, a new set appears, so there is always another chance to search again.
For a closer look at the world of Mine a Mountain, head back to the home page. For the underground work that gets you there, read our guide to crystals and what you should dig up first.
All 5 boulders and their minimum pickaxes
Each boulder is made of a tougher material than the last and requires at least a certain pickaxe to crack. Using a weaker pickaxe than required will not work — the boulder simply will not break. Any pickaxe at or above the listed minimum can break that boulder, so The Terminus can break every boulder in the game.
| Boulder | Rarity | Minimum pickaxe |
|---|---|---|
| Mossite | Common | Titanium Spike |
| Voltite | Uncommon | Celestial Apex |
| Gildrite | Rare | Eclipse Fang |
| Rimeveil | Epic | Voidreign |
| Nocturnite | Legendary | The Terminus |
The rarities line up exactly with the pickaxe tier: the hardest boulder is also the rarest, and it takes the strongest pickaxe in the game to break it. Nocturnite is the boulder that takes the full break — the full strength of The Terminus.
What boulders drop
Every boulder drops crystals plus a chance at a rune. Higher-rarity boulders can drop better runes, and each boulder’s best runes are described as tied to that tier. Because a higher-rarity boulder can also drop runes from the lower-rarity boulders, a Nocturnite boulder has a chance to drop any of the runes available in Mine a Mountain.
| Boulder | Possible runes |
|---|---|
| Mossite | Luck, Haste |
| Voltite | Storm, Weight (plus a small chance of Luck, Haste) |
| Gildrite | Fortune, Detonation (plus a chance of Storm, Weight, Luck, Haste) |
| Rimeveil | Preservation, Warmth (plus lower-tier runes) |
| Nocturnite | Excavator, Colossus (plus a chance at any rune below) |
Exclusive rune pairs
Sources describe some runes as exclusive to a particular boulder. Gamezebo labels Rimeveil — Preservation and Warmth as exclusive, and Nocturnite — Excavator and Colossus as exclusive. The Fandom wiki says something similar in its own words: each boulder’s best runes are exclusive to that tier or higher. The two wordings agree, so treat them as the same rule: those runes come from those boulders, and even higher-rarity boulders can still drop lower-rarity runes.
Breaking a boulder can also mutate crystals, which works separately from weather-based mutations on your plot. The Storm rune doubles the chance of a weather mutation while it is active.
For what each rune actually does once you place it on your plot, see our runes guide. If you are chasing a specific drop, read about the Colossus rune — it is one of the two Nocturnite exclusives.
Which pickaxe should you prioritize?
Because the boulder’s tier follows the pickaxe tier, your pickaxe is the gate. A weaker pickaxe than the minimum simply does not break the boulder, so there is no point standing over a Nocturnite with anything less than The Terminus.
A few common-sense principles, all of which follow from how boulders work:
- Dig down. Boulders are buried inside solid rock, and rarer ones tend to be deeper. Deeper mining improves your odds.
- Use the right pickaxe for the target. Match the pickaxe to the boulder you are trying to open instead of wasting hits on something you cannot break.
- Higher rarity means better drops. Higher-rarity boulders drop better runes, and they can also let lower-rarity runes fall. When you have the choice, aim for the rarer boulders.
Timing also matters. Because the mountain refreshes on a cycle, a boulder you cannot break quickly can outlast the current mountain. If a reset is close, it is often smarter to save the toughest boulder for a fresh mountain rather than start a long break that you might not finish — a point made in community gameplay, which you can see in the YouTube video listed in the sources. Higher-rarity boulders are worth the climb, but only when you actually have the time to complete them.
One more note on effort: because the pickaxe minimum rises with rarity, investing in a stronger pickaxe helps far more than trying to out-hit something your current pickaxe cannot crack. A boulder simply will not break with a weaker pickaxe, no matter how many swings you take.
For certain runes, you have to break specific boulders, which require a stronger pickaxe. So the strongest pickaxe you can get is the single best upgrade for boulder farming, since it gives you access to every boulder type and every rune they can drop.
What is not confirmed
Boulders are recent content — they arrived with the Boulders Update — and the game updates often, so values, rarities and drop behavior may change.
- Exact rune drop rates are not public. No source publishes a percentage for the chance a boulder drops a rune, so treat any specific rate as to be confirmed.
- Rarity and drop behavior may shift. Because the game changes frequently, the boulder list and pickaxe minimums above describe what we could verify at the snapshot date.
Everything above reflects the current version of Mine a Mountain as of Aug 21, 2026. Where we say something is not confirmed, we say so instead of inventing a number.
Sources
- Boulders — Mine a Mountain Wiki (Fandom) — https://mine-a-mountain-roblox.fandom.com/wiki/Boulders
- Mine a Mountain Runes — Buffs & How to Get — Pro Game Guides — https://progameguides.com/roblox/mine-a-mountain-runes-buffs-how-to-get/
- Mine a Mountain Runes Tier List [How to Get, Boulders Types, and Merging] — Gamezebo — https://www.gamezebo.com/walkthroughs/mine-a-mountain-runes-tier-list/
- How to find BOULDER like a PRO! in Mine a mountain Roblox — BaconPlaylist (YouTube) — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6QFWZba6oM
Frequently asked questions
Where do you find boulders in Mine a Mountain?
Boulders are always buried inside solid rock and never sit on the surface, so the only way to find one is to dig into the mountain until you break into it.
What pickaxe do you need for a Nocturnite boulder?
Nocturnite is the legendary boulder and needs The Terminus, the strongest pickaxe. The Terminus breaks every boulder in the game.
Do boulders always drop runes?
No. Every boulder drops crystals and has a chance to drop a rune, but the exact rune drop rates are not public.