Unlocks WorkshopProgressionWorkshop
Helping Molly Quest Guide
How to unlock Molly’s Workshop, the Forge Shop and the Furnace route
Steam 1.0 check in progress
This route is based on the previously confirmed crafting progression and is being checked against the full release.
Talk to Molly on the Farm Path and accept Helping Molly. The task hands you the Rusty Pickaxe you need for it. Take that pickaxe to the nearby Farm Mine, mine 1 Copper Ore, and bring it back to Molly. Completing the task unlocks the Workshop, the Forge Shop and the Furnace route.
Helping Molly — Quick Answer
- Task giver
- Molly
- Starts at
- Farm Path
- Objective
- Bring Molly 1 Copper Ore
- You get on accept
- Rusty Pickaxe
- Where to mine
- Farm Mine, first floor
- On completion
- Workshop, Forge Shop and the Furnace route
- Type
- Progression / Workshop
- Can you miss it?
- No — nothing recorded makes it missable
- Time limit
- None
Important
You do not need to find Copper Ore before accepting the task.
The tool you need for the mine is given to you by the task itself. Accepting it first is the shortest route.
How to Start Helping Molly
This route is independent of farming, so there is very little to unlock before you can begin it.
- Talk to
- Molly
- Where
- Farm Path
- Quest
- Helping Molly
- Area
- Farm
No earlier task is required. Helping Molly is a standalone early progression step, and its only recorded requirements are the ones the task sets up for itself.
Molly moves around, so if she is not on the Farm Path when you look, check her NPC page. Where is Molly right now? →
What You Get When You Accept
This task is unusual: it hands you the tool you need in order to complete it.
The pickaxe you mine with. It is a mining-level-1 tool, so it is enough for the Copper Ore this task asks for. You do not need to buy one — taking on Helping Molly is what gives it to you.
Because the pickaxe comes from the task, the correct order is: accept the task first, then go mining. Players who wander into the mine before talking to Molly are usually there without a pickaxe.
Step 01
Accept Helping Molly on the Farm Path
Find Molly on the Farm Path and agree to help her. This is the step that puts the Rusty Pickaxe in your inventory.
- Where
- Farm Path
- Talk to
- Molly
- Hands you
- Rusty Pickaxe
- Goal
- Bring her Copper Ore
Step 02
Go to the Farm Mine
The ore Molly wants comes from the Farm Mine — the mine by the farm, on the same side of the map as the Farm Path. The recorded source is the mine’s first floor.
You do not need to go to the Mall Mine for this task. That is a separate, later mine. If you have walked a long way into town, you have gone the wrong direction.
Step 03
Mine 1 Copper Ore
Mine the Copper Ore node on the first floor. Copper Ore comes out as raw ore — you do not smelt it, and you do not need to process it before handing it over.
Quest requirement
1 × Copper Ore
The raw ore, not a Copper Bar and not an ore you have already smelted.
What you need to mine the ore Need Detail Rusty Pickaxe Given when you accept Helping Molly Where Farm Mine, first floor How much 1 Copper Ore The node is a random drop, so you may have to clear a few spawns before one produces ore. That is normal and does not mean the quest is broken.
Step 04
Bring the Copper Ore Back to Molly
With the Copper Ore in your inventory, return to Molly on the Farm Path and give it to her. That completes Helping Molly and triggers the Workshop unlock.
The task does not complete when the ore enters your bag. You have to hand it to Molly in person, so the quest stays open until you talk to her again.
Where to Get Copper Ore
There is one reliable source during this task, and one source that looks available but is not.
Best source for Helping Molly
Farm Mine, first floor
It is the only recorded Copper Ore source that is available before the task is finished, and it is the closest one to Molly.
| Source | Available during the task? | Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Farm Mine, first floor | Yes | Rusty Pickaxe |
| Farm Mine, deeper floors | Yes, once you reach them | Progress further down the mine |
| Forge Shop, Workshop | No | Only opens after Helping Molly is complete |
| Furnace | No — it uses ore, it does not give it | Produces Copper Bar |
Can I just buy the ore instead? Not for this task. The Forge Shop in the Workshop does sell Copper Ore, but that shop only becomes available after you complete Helping Molly — so it cannot help you finish it.
Mining it is the reliable early route, and the pickaxe is provided.
Copper Ore or Copper Bar?
This is the single most common reason Helping Molly will not complete.
Correct
Copper Ore
- Raw copper ore, mined in the Farm Mine
- What Molly asks for
- Smelts into Copper Bar in a Furnace
Wrong
Copper Bar
- Processed metal, made by smelting Copper Ore
- Requires a Furnace, which is a Workshop unlock
- Does not satisfy the objective
Helping Molly asks for Copper Ore — the raw ore, straight out of the mine. A Copper Bar is the finished product, and handing one over will not complete the task.
Why Won’t Molly Accept My Copper Ore?
These are the recorded reasons this task stalls. If none of them match, the current data has no blocker for your case.
›I’m bringing a Copper Bar
›I haven’t accepted the task yet
›I mined in the wrong mine
›I mined a Copper Ore node and got nothing
›The Workshop is still locked after the task
Helping Molly Rewards
This task pays in access rather than loot, so it is worth splitting what you hold in your hand from what the game starts giving you.
On accept
- Rusty Pickaxe
On completion
- Workshop access
- Forge Shop
- One free Furnace
The Rusty Pickaxe is the tool for the task itself; everything in the completion column is a permanent change to what the game will let you reach. The next section breaks those unlocks down.
What Does Helping Molly Unlock?
The reward here is access rather than a single item. Finishing the task switches on the Workshop side of the game.
Workshop
The Workshop opens once the task is complete. It is the crafting area behind the tool upgrades and metal processing this route feeds into. This page is the unlock guide for it.
Forge Shop
The Forge Shop appears inside the Workshop. Its recorded stock includes Coal, Iron Ore, Copper Ore, Whetstone, a Small Mine Key and a Perfect Opal.
See crafting routes →Furnace route
The same unlock puts a free Furnace in the Workshop and makes the Furnace craftable at a Workbench, which is how ore becomes metal bars.
Open the Furnace page →Furnace and Blueprint
The Furnace is both a free item and a craftable station — which is why guides that describe it only one way feel wrong.
You receive one
- Furnace ×1, free, in the Workshop
You can also build more
- Furnace, craftable at a Workbench
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Where the free one is | Workshop, available once Helping Molly is complete |
| Crafting recipe | Copper Ore + Stone, crafted at a Workbench |
| What it does | Smelts raw ore into metal bars — for example Copper Ore into Copper Bar |
| Where it can be placed | Home, Farm, Workshop or Ranch |
Because the free Furnace is placed by the Workshop unlock, you can start smelting immediately after finishing this task — you do not need to assemble the recipe first.
What Should You Do First in the Workshop?
Four things worth doing in your first workshop visit, in this order.
| Step | What to do | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pick up and place the free Furnace | Nothing in the metal route works until the Furnace is placed. |
| 2 | Smelt Copper Ore into Copper Bar | This is the first bar you can make, and bars feed tool and station crafting. |
| 3 | Check the Forge Shop stock | Coal, Iron Ore, Whetstone and a Small Mine Key are all recorded stock here. The Small Mine Key opens deeper mining. |
| 4 | Check the Workshop Anvil | Tool upgrade recipes for the Pickaxe, Axe, Gardening Hoe, Watering Can and Fishing Rod live here. |
The Workshop is worth opening early because most “missing recipe” problems in this game are really missing-station problems. Once the Forge Shop and the Anvil are both available, the first tier of tool upgrades stops being blocked.
What to Do After Helping Molly
The Workshop route continues past this task. The Forge has recorded tiers — the Workshop carries Forge Upgrades for its second and third tier — and the Anvil holds the Sturdy → Quality → Superior tool upgrade ladder.
No follow-up Molly quest is recorded in the current data. Molly does send later mail, but it is gift mail carrying crafting materials such as Iron Bar, Copper Bar and Whetstone, and the conditions that trigger it are not recorded. So there is nothing reliable to “wait for” after this task.
Keep progressing in parallel. If farming is not running yet, that is the other early route:
- Farming: start The Farmer’s Path to open crops and the Recipe Shop.
- Furnace: smelt the ore you mine into bars, then use the Anvil recipes.
- Mining: the Small Mine Key sold in the Forge Shop opens deeper mine routes.
Do I Need The Farmer’s Path First?
These two early routes are frequently read as a sequence. They are not.
Required
- No — Helping Molly has no recorded prerequisite
Recommended
- Early — this is the route that opens the Workshop
Helping Molly and The Farmer’s Path are parallel. You can open the Workshop without ever planting a crop, and you can farm without ever finishing this task.
If you want crafting and tool upgrades available sooner, Helping Molly is usually the more relevant route to finish first — but that is a recommendation, not a requirement.
Molly Quest Chain
Helping Molly
Current pageAccept the task, take the Rusty Pickaxe, mine Copper Ore in the Farm Mine and return to Molly.
Workshop unlocked
Required nextFinishing the task opens the Workshop door, the Forge Shop and the free Furnace.
Forge tiers and Anvil upgrades
Triggered laterThe Workshop carries Forge Upgrade tiers and the Sturdy → Quality → Superior tool ladder.
Helping Molly FAQ
›How do I start Helping Molly?
›Where is Molly?
›Where is the mine for this task?
›How do I get a Rusty Pickaxe?
›Where do I get Copper Ore?
›Can I give Molly a Copper Bar?
›What does Helping Molly unlock?
›Do I get a Furnace?
›What quest comes after Helping Molly?
›Why hasn’t Molly sent me a letter?
Helping Molly Checklist
Convenience steps for tracking your own progress. The task itself only asks for one Copper Ore.
0 of 8 done · Your progress is saved in this browser.
Need Help With One Part of the Quest?
Continue Your Progression
The Farmer’s Path
Open crop farming and the Recipe Shop.
The Farmer’s Path Guide →Copper Ore
Source, price and the Copper Ore → Copper Bar route.
Open Copper Ore →Furnace
How to get it and what it smelts.
Open the Furnace page →Progression Guide
See how Workshop, farming, fishing and Ranch progression connect.
View Progression →