Understanding the full range of lumber tycoon 2 wood types is the single most important step toward building a profitable sawmill operation. Every tree species in Lumberland carries its own growth timer, hardness rating, plank color, and selling price, which means your early-game choices directly determine how fast you can afford better axes and larger plots. This guide breaks down the complete wood list with current values, so you can stop guessing which logs deserve your time and start hauling the ones that actually pay.
The Core Wood Roster and How Values Work
Before you chase rare trees deep into the map, you need a clear picture of how lumber tycoon 2 wood values are structured. The game splits species into common, uncommon, rare, and legendary tiers, but the real economy runs on three factors: how long a tree takes to regrow, how hard the log is to process, and what the final plank sells for at Wood R Us. A fast-growing tree with low hardness can outperform a slow legendary if you factor in round-trip hauling time, which is why experienced players often keep a mix of quick cash crops and long-term premium logs.
The community wiki logs page confirms that logs are the raw form of every species, and they only become sellable planks after you run them through a sawmill. This processing step means hardness matters twice: first when your axe bites into the trunk, and again when the sawmill blade chews through the log. A tree with 7 hardness takes noticeably longer to process than one with 5.2, even if both sell for similar money per plank.
Starter and Mid-Tier Species at a Glance
The following table covers the most commonly farmed lumber tycoon 2 wood types that new and mid-level players encounter within the first few hours. Growth times reflect average community-reported values and may vary slightly by server. Use the hardness column to predict axe durability drain before committing to a long Volcano or Cavecrawler run — a 7.0-hardness Volcano tree eats through basic axes roughly 55% faster than a 4.5-hardness Oak, so players without the Rukiryaxe or Silver Axe often bring a spare tool or budget extra repair stops when hauling premium money runs from the Peak of Volcano.
| Wood Type | Location | Avg Growth Time | Hardness | Plank Color (RGB) | Typical Use |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oak | Main Biome | 12 minutes | 4.5 | 180, 140, 100 | Early cash, blueprints |
| Elm | Cherry Meadow, Tropics, Safari | 15 minutes | 5.2 | 234, 184, 146 | Mid-tier cash, building |
| Birch | Main Biome, Tropics | 14 minutes | 4.8 | 220, 210, 180 | Quick hauls, filler |
| Volcano | Peak of Volcano | 17 minutes | 7.0 | 255, 0, 0 | Premium money runs |
| Cavecrawler | Cavecrawler Cavern | 5 hours 20 minutes | 5.4 | 16, 42, 220 | High-value rare sales |
Elm is particularly interesting because the game labels it as Oak in some menus, which confuses new players who think they are farming the same species. The plank color difference is the giveaway: Elm planks carry a warmer 234, 184, 146 tone compared to standard Oak, and the extra hardness means your axe durability drains slightly faster per cut.
Growth Timers and Why They Reshape Your Route
The growth timer is the hidden boss of lumber tycoon 2 wood types. Every time you chop a tree, that specific spawn point enters a cooldown before the next trunk appears, and the timer only ticks while you are in the server. This creates a natural rhythm: you cannot simply camp one Volcano tree and expect infinite money, because the 17-minute regrow window forces you to rotate between multiple spawn points or switch species entirely.
Community testing shows that Cavecrawler Wood, commonly called Blue Wood, sits at the extreme end with a 5-hour 20-minute average growth time. That enormous cooldown is why players treat Cavecrawler as a scheduled harvest rather than a casual farm. You mark the spawn, set a mental timer, and return much later instead of waiting on-site. Volcano Wood, by contrast, regrows in just 17 minutes, which makes it the most practical premium species for active grinding sessions.
Rotation Planning for Solo Players
Solo players benefit most from a three-stop rotation that keeps the sawmill running without dead time. The idea is to pair a fast species with a medium one so that by the time you finish processing the second haul, the first spawn has already reset.
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Stop one: Cut all nearby Oak and Birch in the Main Biome, then haul the logs to your sawmill.
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Stop two: Move to Cherry Meadow for Elm, which gives better money per plank while staying close to a drop-off point.
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Stop three: Check Volcano spawns if you have a durable axe, since the 7 hardness demands more swings but pays out significantly more per load.
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Reset: By the time you return to the Main Biome, the 12-to-14-minute timers have usually expired, letting you repeat the loop without waiting.
The reason this loop holds up is that Lumber Tycoon 2 spawn timers are tied to the tree's original location, not to when you cut it down — so a Cherry Meadow Elm felled at minute 8 of your loop will regrow on its own schedule while you are still clearing Volcano, and the Main Biome Oak you harvested first has already been counting down the entire time. Compare that to camping a single high-value species like Walnut: you earn roughly $1.5 per plank but spend 14 minutes idle between spawns, whereas rotating through Oak ($1.5 per unit of wood), Birch ($1.5), Elm ($2.5 per unit of wood), and Volcano trees keeps your sawmill processing continuously. Ignoring those staggered reset windows means standing at an empty stump, which burns through axes, wastes gas on repeated trips, and is the fastest way to burn out on the game.
Hardness, Axe Compatibility, and Processing Speed
Hardness is the stat that quietly controls your entire workflow. Every axe in the game has a hidden or implied cutting power threshold, and if your current tool cannot handle a species, the tree simply will not fall no matter how many times you swing. The lumber tycoon 2 best axe guide breaks down which tools unlock which species, but the core rule is simple: higher hardness means you need a better axe and more time per log.
The sawmill adds a second processing layer. Even after you fell a Volcano tree, the 7 hardness log takes longer to convert into planks than a 5.2 Elm log. This double time cost is why raw selling price alone never tells the full story. A species that sells for 1.5 times the money but takes twice as long to process might actually earn you less per minute of active play.
Hardness and Value Comparison Table
The table below compares hardness against relative money output for the species covered in this guide. Relative money is based on community-reported plank prices at Wood R Us as of the latest patch cycle. Hardness in Lumber Tycoon 2 directly controls how long each cut takes on a sawmill — a 7.0-hardness Volcano log takes roughly 55% longer to process than a 4.5-hardness Oak log — so the "relative money" column reflects raw plank value before factoring in that time penalty. For example, Volcano planks sell for nearly triple Cavecrawler planks per unit, but a full Volcano truckload can take 12–15 minutes of cutting and hauling versus under 5 minutes for Oak, which is why the "Time Cost per Load" column matters as much as the price itself when planning a grinding session.
| Wood Type | Hardness | Relative Money per Plank | Time Cost per Load | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oak | 4.5 | Low | Very low | Brand-new players |
| Birch | 4.8 | Low-medium | Low | Quick filler hauls |
| Elm | 5.2 | Medium | Medium | Steady mid-game income |
| Cavecrawler | 5.4 | High | High | Scheduled rare sales |
| Volcano | 7.0 | Very high | Very high | Active premium grinding |
Notice that Cavecrawler sits at 5.4 hardness, which is only slightly above Elm, yet it commands a much higher price. The bottleneck is not processing speed but the brutal 5-hour growth timer, which is why smart players treat it as a bonus harvest rather than a primary income source.
Full Wood Roster and Unlock Order
Building a mental model of the full lumber tycoon 2 wood list helps you decide which species to unlock next and which ones to skip until you have better gear. The game spreads species across multiple biomes, and some trees only appear in hidden or dangerous areas that require navigation skill to reach safely.
The following tier breakdown reflects community consensus on overall value, combining growth time, hardness, location risk, and selling price into a single practical ranking. It is not an official developer tier list, but it matches how experienced players actually prioritize their farming routes.
Common and Uncommon Species
These species are abundant, fast-growing, and safe to farm with starter axes, making them the backbone of any early-game money strategy. Because they respawn on short timers — Oak at just 12 minutes — you can loop between multiple trees without waiting, keeping your sawmill fed and your cash flow steady. Their low log values are offset by sheer volume: a full truckload of Oak or Birch sells fast at the Wood Dropoff, and the starter axe's 1.2 damage is more than enough to fell them in a few swings. This lets new players build capital for upgrades like the Silver Axe or a better plot location before moving on to rarer, slower-growing species.
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Oak: The default starter wood, found throughout the Main Biome with a short 12-minute regrow timer.
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Birch: Slightly faster and lighter in color, Birch is a common sight in the Main Biome and Tropics.
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Elm: Labeled as Oak in some menus, Elm offers a meaningful step up in value while remaining easy to locate.
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Cherry: A colorful mid-tier species that adds variety to builds and sells for a moderate premium.
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Walnut: Darker planks that appeal to builders, with a growth time that fits comfortably into rotation loops.
Rare and Legendary Species
These species demand better axes, longer trips, or riskier navigation, but they reward the effort with substantially higher plank prices. The jump from mid-tier woods is steep: a single Volcano Wood plank can sell for several times what an Elm plank fetches, which means one successful 17-minute harvest cycle can match an hour of grinding common species. However, that profit margin assumes you actually reach the tree and process it before the timer resets — players who underestimate the Maze's winding corridors around Cavecrawler Wood often burn through multiple in-game days just locating a single node, erasing any price advantage. The real value of rare woods lies in planning your route, upgrading your axe to handle the higher chop resistance, and timing your return trip so the plank lands at the Wood Dropoff before the growth window expires.
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Volcano Wood: The classic premium farm, with a 17-minute timer and a striking red plank color.
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Cavecrawler Wood: Also called Blue Wood, this species hides in the Maze and carries a punishing 5-hour growth window.
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Phantom Wood: A legendary species tied to special events or hidden spawns, prized for its unique appearance.
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Gold Wood: Extremely rare and visually distinct, Gold Wood is more of a collector target than a practical farm.
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Frost Wood: A cold-biome species with a pale plank color that builders use for winter-themed projects.
The gap between common and legendary species is not just about price. It is about how much of your session you spend traveling, waiting, and processing. A new player who rushes toward Cavecrawler without a solid axe and a planned route will spend most of their time lost in the Maze, while a player farming Elm steadily will out-earn them over the same hour.
Pricing Data and the Current Lumber Tycoon 2 Wood Value List
Prices in Lumber Tycoon 2 fluctuate based on community trading, server economies, and occasional game updates, so any lumber tycoon 2 wood value list should be treated as a snapshot rather than a permanent rule. The values below reflect recent community reports and should be used as a baseline for planning, not as a guarantee of exact in-game payouts.
The most reliable way to check current prices is to visit Wood R Us and compare the sell offers for different plank types. The lumber tycoon 2 trading guide explains how player-to-player trading can sometimes beat the shop price, especially for rare species that collectors want for builds.
According to the Lumber Tycoon 2 Wiki Logs page, each wood type has distinct monetary values, weights, and growth locations that affect harvesting strategy.
Relative Price Snapshot Table
The table below ranks species by relative money value per plank, based on community-reported shop prices. Actual numbers vary, so focus on the ordering rather than exact figures. Because Lumber Tycoon 2 does not display a per-plank sell price in the Wood R Us interface, players rely on repeated haul tests to establish these tiers — for example, a full truckload of Volcano Wood consistently outsells an equivalent load of Frost Wood, even though Frost Wood has a longer growth timer. This means the "relative value" column reflects both raw sell price and practical haul efficiency, since a wood that pays slightly more per plank but takes three times longer to regrow may still rank lower for active money grinding. Treat the table as a decision-making shortcut: if you are choosing between two species at similar growth times, the higher-ranked wood will almost always yield better profit per minute in the same delivery route.
| Rank | Wood Type | Relative Value Tier | Growth Time | Recommended For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Phantom Wood | Legendary | Very long | Collectors, endgame |
| 2 | Gold Wood | Legendary | Very long | Collectors, flex builds |
| 3 | Cavecrawler Wood | Rare | 5h 20m | Scheduled premium sales |
| 4 | Volcano Wood | Rare | 17 minutes | Active money grinding |
| 5 | Frost Wood | Uncommon-rare | Medium | Builders, mid-game |
| 6 | Walnut | Uncommon | Medium | Steady income |
| 7 | Cherry | Uncommon | Medium | Builders, variety |
| 8 | Elm | Common | 15 minutes | Reliable mid-game farm |
| 9 | Birch | Common | 14 minutes | Quick filler hauls |
| 10 | Oak | Common | 12 minutes | Brand-new players |
Volcano Wood stands out as the best balance of accessibility and payout for active players. Its 17-minute timer is short enough to fit into a rotation, and its high relative value means every completed load feels meaningful. Cavecrawler pays more per plank, but the 5-hour wait makes it a poor choice for anyone trying to grind money in a single session.
Choosing the Best Wood for Your Current Stage
The question of the lumber tycoon 2 best wood depends entirely on where you are in the progression curve. A brand-new player with a starter axe should not waste time hiking to the Volcano, because the 7 hardness will stop them cold. Instead, they should build capital with Oak and Birch, upgrade their axe, then transition to Elm and eventually Volcano once their tool can handle the load.
Mid-game players who already own a solid axe should focus on Volcano as their primary money source while keeping an eye on Cavecrawler spawns as a bonus. The lumber tycoon 2 best wood for money guide goes deeper into the math behind this recommendation, but the core insight is that time efficiency beats raw price per plank in almost every scenario.
Stage-Based Recommendation Table
The table below matches player stages to the most efficient species, accounting for axe availability, map knowledge, and session length. Rather than chasing the highest-value log from the start, the goal is to maximize profit per minute against the hardness rating your current axe can realistically handle — a Rukiryaxe can chew through Elm and Cherry quickly, but forcing it into Volcano's 7-hardness wood turns every cut into a slow, low-yield grind. Similarly, a brand-new player with the basic axe should ignore Cavecrawler wood entirely, since the trip through the cave system and the log's 8 hardness will eat more time than the payout justifies. Session length matters just as much: Volcano's 17-minute growth timer rewards players who can stay on the mountain and harvest on cooldown, while shorter sessions favor fast-growing Birch and Oak that reset before you log off.
| Player Stage | Recommended Wood | Why It Works | Avoid For Now |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand new | Oak, Birch | Fast growth, low hardness, safe locations | Volcano, Cavecrawler |
| Early mid-game | Elm, Cherry | Better money, still manageable hardness | Phantom, Gold |
| Late mid-game | Volcano | High payout, 17-minute timer, active grind | Cavecrawler camping |
| Endgame | Volcano + Cavecrawler | Combine active and scheduled harvests | Nothing, all viable |
The transition from Elm to Volcano is the biggest leap in the game. It requires a significantly better axe, a willingness to travel to the Volcano peak, and the patience to deal with 7 hardness logs at the sawmill. Players who make that leap successfully see their income per hour jump dramatically, which then funds even better equipment and larger plot expansions.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are all the lumber tycoon 2 wood types?
The full roster includes Oak, Birch, Elm, Cherry, Walnut, Volcano, Cavecrawler, Frost, Gold, and Phantom Wood, among others. Each species has a unique growth timer, hardness rating, plank color, and selling price. Some types only appear in specific biomes or hidden areas, which makes exploration part of the progression loop.
Which wood sells for the most money?
Phantom and Gold Wood typically command the highest prices per plank, but their extremely long growth timers and difficult locations make them impractical for consistent income. Volcano Wood offers the best balance of high value and a manageable 17-minute regrow window, which is why most experienced players farm it as their primary money source.
How long does Cavecrawler Wood take to grow?
Cavecrawler Wood has an average growth time of 5 hours and 20 minutes, according to community data. This makes it one of the slowest species in the game. Players should treat Cavecrawler as a scheduled harvest, marking the spawn location and returning much later instead of waiting on-site for the timer to expire.
Do I need a better axe for harder wood types?
Yes, harder species like Volcano Wood at 7 hardness require a stronger axe than starter tools can provide. Even if you reach the tree, a weak axe will not cut it down. Upgrading your axe should be a priority before attempting rare or legendary species, because the time saved on each swing compounds across an entire farming session.
Where can I find the current lumber tycoon 2 wood prices?
Wood R Us displays current sell offers for every plank type, and the community wiki logs page provides baseline data on species attributes. Player-to-player trading can sometimes beat shop prices, especially for rare planks that builders want for specific projects. Prices shift with updates, so check recent community reports before planning large sales.
The real skill in Lumber Tycoon 2 is not memorizing every number on a value list, but understanding how growth timers, hardness, and location risk interact to shape your hourly income. Oak and Birch fund your first axe upgrade, Elm carries you through the mid-game, and Volcano becomes the engine that powers everything else. Cavecrawler and the legendary species are the long-term goals that reward patience and map knowledge, not the foundation of a reliable money strategy.