Gold Mine (Warcraft III)

Mined from the rich earth of Azeroth and Lordaeron, this precious metal is commonly used in exchange for goods and services. As a rare substance that is always in short supply, Gold must be dug out from the rock and soil within the established Gold Mines. Many of these Mines were abandoned when the Orc raids began and the workers fled for their lives. Since the beginning of the War, these sites have frequently been operated while under the protection of military forces.

Gold is mined in different ways depending on the various races of the game. Humans and Orcs respectively send peasants and peons to carry Gold from the Mine to their town halls. The Night Elves' Tree of Life entangles the Gold Mine and drains the Gold out of it with the use of wisp workers. The Undead uses acolytes to mine Gold from Mines once they are haunted.

There is a "Gold tax" in place, known as Upkeep which is activated as players create more units. As the Upkeep increases, less Gold is recovered from the Gold Mine. A way to gain additional Gold is to take over additional Gold Mines to help balance this tax out.

In Warcraft maps, all players start with a gold mine near their starting point, and any creeps that would be there are removed in a set radius around the starting position to prevent them from immediately attacking upon spawning. Other gold mines are found across the map guarded by a various assortment of creeps, usually a single high-leveled monster with numerous lower-leveled monsters accompanying them.

The default amount of gold a gold mine starts with is 12,500. Depending on map type, the mine may also have more gold, which is usually dependent on the strength of the creeps protecting the mine. The value can be edited on the World Editor. When a mine has 1,500 gold left, the game will notify the player of the mine(s) running low. Once the mine hits 0, the mine automatically collapses, stopping all workers that were collecting gold there. In the case of haunted gold mines, an acolyte will immediately unsummon it.

• Gold Mine (Warcraft I)
• Gold Mine (Warcraft II)