How to get and use Ancient Cores in Disney Dreamlight Valley

They're an extremely useful resource.

The player taking a selfie with an Ancient Core.
Screenshot by Dot Esports

Eternity Isle has many secrets for you to unearth and one of the most powerful is the Ancient Machines you can use to automate annoying tasks in Disney Dreamlight Valley. These machines and some other upgrades require a material known as Ancient Cores.

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There are lots of important resources you need to gather for quests and general gameplay, but few are as significant yet tricky to find as Ancient Cores. Here’s how to find and use this resource in Disney Dreamlight Valley.

How to get Ancient Cores in Disney Dreamlight Valley

To obtain Ancient Cores, you need to use your Royal Hourglass to pull treasures through time. The controls for this process look slightly different depending on your platform but you can check exactly how to do it by visiting the Settings page followed by the Timebending section.

Across all platforms, finding Ancient Cores requires you to equip your Royal Hourglass and then follow the ring floating around the top of it to locate hidden rewards. The ring changes from a light blue color to yellow then finally gold as you track down the correct spot.

The explanation for uncovering hidden treasures with the Royal Hourglass.
The Royal Hourglass helps you unearth many secrets. Screenshot by Dot Esports

Where to find Ancient Cores in Disney Dreamlight Valley

Ancient Cores can be found everywhere in Disney Dreamlight Valley, which is why they are so tough to actually obtain. I’ve found many around both Eternity Isle and the main Dreamlight Valley region.

There is no way to determine whether the treasure you pull through time is an Ancient Core or something else, so you just have to keep using your Royal Tool and hope you get lucky. When you are actually pulling out treasure, you can usually tell when it might be an Ancient Core since it takes longer to pull out as a rare resource.

Since Ancient Cores can be found anywhere, they should be possible to find in Realms too. But I have not been able to find a single one in any of the Realms so far as the only Timbending loot I’ve found within them is Glimmer and Mist.

Because of this, I recommend sticking to exploring Eternity Isle and the main valley if you are searching for Ancient Cores. Opening Time Rifts around both areas is an especially reliable way to find this resource.

The player holding their Royal Hourglass and standing by a Time Rift.
Time Rifts are a great way to obtain Ancient Cores. Screenshot by Dot Esports

How to use Ancient Cores in Disney Dreamlight Valley

Ancient Cores can be used alongside other resources to craft special items at any Timebending Table, including powerful Ancient Machines and special Royal Tool upgrades.

  • Ancient Machines
    • Basic Ancient Cooker
    • Regular Ancient Cooker
    • Advanced Ancient Cooker
    • Basic Ancient Vacuum
    • Regular Ancient Vacuum
    • Advanced Ancient Vacuum
    • Basic Ancient Gardener
    • Regular Ancient Gardener
    • Advanced Ancient Gardener

All of the Ancient Machines you can craft require varying levels and amounts of Ancient Cores to create. Every machine helps automate different processes around the valley including cooking, cleaning up, and gardening.

An Ancient Cooker cooking some food.
The Ancient Cooker is my personal favorite machine. Screenshot by Dot Esports
  • Special upgrades
    • Large Copper Rocks Pickaxe Potion
    • Large Rubble Shovel Potion
    • Large Glass Stalagmite Potion
    • Large Evil Plant Watering Can Potion

The special upgrades requiring Ancient Cores allow you to remove massive obstacles found around Eternity Isle. There are four different potions requiring Ancient Cores, which are then applied directly to your Royal Tools.

All Ancient Cores in Disney Dreamlight Valley

Depending on what you want to make, you may need a different level of Ancient Core since there are three different types.

  • Ancient Core – Level One
  • Ancient Core – Level Two
  • Ancient Core – Level Three

The level of each Ancient Core initially corresponds with how leveled up your Royal Hourglass is since each one becomes available as you raise your Royal Hourglass to the same level. But you also have access to all lower-level ones, which means you can obtain any of them with a fully upgraded Royal Hourglass.

Just as there is no way to ensure you find an Ancient Core, there is also no way to choose which level core you obtain. This makes crafting what you want rather tough and based on luck since it might take you a long time to gather the cores you need.

When you are pulling treasure through time using the Royal Hourglass, you may also come across other important resources like Ancient Statue Fragments. Searching for hidden materials is an important task for many different quests, so be sure to hang onto the other resources you find while hunting for Ancient Cores.

Author
Image of Kacee Fay
Kacee Fay
Staff Writer at Dot Esports primarily covering Minecraft, Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail, MC Championship (MCC), Disney Dreamlight Valley, general gaming, and streaming. She has been avidly writing and gaming her whole life and now spends her time combining the two. Kacee graduated from San Diego State University in 2021 with a Bachelor’s Degree in English and a Certificate in Creative Editing and Publishing. She then joined Dot Esports as a Freelance Writer in 2022 before transitioning to a Staff Writer in 2023. In her spare time, she enjoys buying more books than she can read, gaming alone or with friends, drinking too much tea, struggling to keep up with all of the streamers she loves to watch, attending concerts, fangirling over movies and television, listening to music, and spending time with her family, friends, and pets, who are the most important parts of her world.