boudica: Copper mining used to be extremely important before we had blacksmith shops to buy & sell low level items. It can still be useful in 2 ways:

1. You can make your own low level items when you have no gold to buy items.

2. Crafting copper ore into higher level ore & crafting copper bars into items levels up your crafting skill. Getting your crafting skill to a high level makes it easier to craft legendary items.

relqm: Seems like everyone here has the same opinion... I don't have any great ideas though.

ipecac: How could mining bars be improved? It could probably be something great if updated somehow. Lets hear some ideas.

hastas: better go hunt. Mining is not worth at all

redcorpse: Maybe Make Them An Ingre. Item ..

relqm: Title says it all. Is it worth anyone's time to go through the hassle of mining, upgrading, smelting and smithing the bars to make a single piece of equipment? Come to think of it, is there even a time when they are useful? I feel like it takes ages just to get a high lvl bar and it still gives a very weak item.
P.S. Not a rant.