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Night City Wiki

Guides for every part of life in the city.

Metal Detecting

Sweep the beaches with a metal detector, dig up coins, jewelry and relics, and sell them to the Antique Buyer.

Jobs & Businesses6 min read

Metal detecting is open to everyone - no job and no clock-in. You walk the city's beaches with a detector, follow the beeps, dig up what's buried and sell your finds to the Antique Buyer. It is relaxed, works solo and gets better the more you do it.

You level up from 1 to 20, and every level improves all of your skills at once: faster digging, more luck, a smarter detector screen and better prices. On the side there are treasure maps, lost-ring calls, a weekly contest and a collection book to complete.

Before you begin

  • A detector - start with the Beachcomber 200 (Beachcomber 200).
  • A Shovel - you can't dig without one. Each shovel lasts a set number of digs.
  • 9V Battery batteries to power the detector.
  • Optional: the Collection Book (Collection Book) to see your skills, finds and stashes.
  • All of these are sold at the Metal Detector Shop on Vespucci Beach. Money is taken from your cash first.
DetectorLevelRangeReaches
Beachcomber 2001ShortShallow finds only
Sandhawk Pro7MediumShallow + medium
Deepseeker X914LongEverything, including deep finds
1

Buying your gear

  1. Set a waypoint on the Metal Detector Shop blip (Vespucci Beach).
  2. Talk to the beach guy with E. Your detecting level shows at the top.
  3. Buy a detector on the Detectors tab and a shovel and batteries on Shovels & batteries.
2

Detecting step by step

  1. Stand on beach sand. Pavement or boardwalk says Not sand; desert sand says No beach.
  2. Open your inventory (TAB) and use the detector. A small screen with a battery icon appears bottom-right.
  3. Walk slowly. When something is near, the bars light up and it beeps - faster beeps mean closer.
  4. Follow the beeps until the screen says E Dig it up. Standing still makes you kneel to pinpoint.
  5. Press E. You swap to the shovel and dig - deeper finds take longer.
  6. A popup shows the find and XP. The hole stays for a few minutes.
  7. Use the detector again to switch it off.

New finds keep appearing around you as you dig and move along the beach.

3

Changing the battery

The battery only drains while the detector is on. When it dies the detector switches off - use a fresh 9V Battery from your inventory to swap it in. VIPs get extra minutes from every battery.

4

Selling your finds

  1. Set a waypoint on the Antique Buyer blip and press E at him.
  2. Sell tab: sell one item, press All junk to clear out rubbish, or Sell everything.
  3. Prices today lists every price. Three items are marked wanted +50%.

He refuses anything illegal - see Beach Contraband.

5

Collection Book and sets

  1. Use the Collection Book from your inventory.
  2. Skills shows all 20 levels, Collection shows every find (unfound ones are dark "???"), Stashes shows your buried stashes.
  3. Complete a whole set (every junk item, every coin, every jewelry piece or every relic) for a one-time cash and XP reward.
6

Treasure maps

  1. Now and then you dig up a piece of a Torn Sea Map (Torn Sea Map (1/4)). There are four.
  2. With all four, use one - they join into a Coastal Treasure Map.
  3. Use the map: a yellow circle and waypoint appear.
  4. Switch your detector on inside the circle and walk until you get a Strong signal, then dig. A chest comes up with several relics and jewelry pieces.
7

Burying a stash

  1. Stand on beach sand and use your shovel from the inventory.
  2. Press Dig & bury here and put items into the small stash that opens.
  3. Find it later in the Collection Book → Stashes.

A buried stash is not safe. Anyone with a detector who walks near it gets a Strong signal and can dig it up. A stash nobody visits for about a week rots away.

8

Lost-item calls

  1. Every so often someone loses a ring on a beach and detectorists get a message.
  2. At the Antique Buyer → Lost items → Take the call. A blue search circle appears.
  3. Find and dig up the Lost Engagement Ring.
  4. Back at the buyer → Lost items → Return it for cash and XP.
9

Weekly contest

Every find counts. The Antique Buyer → Weekly contest ranks everyone by their single most valuable find of the week, and the top three get a cash prize to their bank when the week ends.

Costs & rewards

ItemPrice
Beachcomber 200$750
Sandhawk Pro$4,500
Deepseeker X9$15,000
Shovel (40 digs)$150
9V battery (about 30 minutes of detecting)$25
Collection Book$100
FindExamplesValue
JunkPull Tab, bottle caps, nails, cans, keysA few dollars
CoinsOld Penny, Silver Coin, Gold Coin, Ancient Coin, Pirate DoubloonPennies to well over $1,000
JewelryEarrings, silver rings, Gold Ring, watches, chains, Diamond RingHundreds to $2,000+
RelicsMusket balls, buckles, war medals, Antique Pocket Watch, messages in a bottleHundreds to $1,000+

Shallow ground is mostly junk, pennies and earrings; the valuable finds sit deeper and need a better detector.

Skills (all rise with your level): Dig speed, Luck, Target ID (the screen learns junk vs good, then kind, then value), Pinpoint (depth, then an arrow, then distance), Shovel care, Haggle (better prices), Double find (from level 10) and Busy beach (more finds around you).

Collection set rewards: Beach Trash $250, Coin Collector $2,500, Lost & Found $3,500, Historian $4,000 (plus XP). Weekly contest prizes: $10,000 / $5,000 / $2,500.

Detecting at night (in-game time) gives a small luck bonus.

Common problems

  • "Not sand" - you are on pavement, a boardwalk or grass. Step onto the sand.
  • "No beach" - desert sand doesn't count. Go to a real beach (Vespucci, Del Perro, Chumash, Paleto Bay, the Alamo Sea shore...).
  • "You need a shovel to dig it up" - buy a Shovel at the shop, and watch its digs left.
  • The detector switched off - the battery is dead. Use a new 9V Battery.
  • You can't buy the next detector - it is locked to level 7 (Sandhawk Pro) or 14 (Deepseeker X9).
  • Digging stops working for a moment - there is a limit on digs per minute. Slow down.
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