So, there was a walkthrough for beginners. But everyone's equipment differs. So what are the stats that can let you do 1-hit kills, so that you can level up quickly?
[Level 1] Native - Attack 3, Damage 8, Armor 3/Defense 3
[Level 1] Lost Sheep - Attack 6, Damage 6, Armor 2/Defense 9
[Level 1] Rat - Attack 2, Damage 4, Armor 2/Defense 2
[Level 2] Ragdoll Thief - Attack 10, Damage 17, Armor 4/Defense 3
[Level 2] Scorpion - Attack 5, Damage 11, Armor 4/Defense 5
[Level 2] Zombie - Attack 9, Damage 13, Armor 4/Defense 4
[Level 3] Ogre - Attack 7, Damage 21, Armor 6/Defense 10
[Level 3] Snow Leopard - Attack 9, Damage 19, Armor 8/Defense 12
[Level 3] Troll - Attack 7, Damage 22, Armor 3/Defense 10
[Level 4] Goblin - Attack 7, Damage 26, Armor 7/Defense 14
[Level 4] Skeletal Mage - Attack 12, Damage 28, Armor 9/Defense 9
[Level 4] Skeleton - Attack 9, Damage 29, Armor 7/Defense 7
[Level 4] Lesser Goblin Shaman - Attack 10, Damage 20, Armor 6/Defense 15
[Level 4] Vampire - Attack 10, Damage 24, Armor 7/Defense 15
[Level 5] Succubus - Attack 14, Damage 36, Armor 14/Defense 15
[Level 6] Desert Snake - Attack 17, Damage 43, Armor 23/Defense 24
[Level 8] Sand Golem - Attack 42, Damage 46, Armor 28/Defense 27
[Level 8] Djinn - Attack 33, Damage 50, Armor 18/Defense 23
[Level 9] Shambler - Attack 34, Damage 50, Armor 33/Defense 27
[Level 10] Ice Witch - Attack 36, Damage 70, Armor 26/Defense 41
[Level 10] Rock Golem - Attack 39, Damage 49, Armor 39/Defense 26
[Level 11] Serpentine - Attack 35, Damage 75, Armor 31/Defense 34
[Level 11] Nomad Warrior - Attack 31, Damage 81, Armor 47/Defense 39
[Level 12] Nomad Magi - Attack 39, Damage 80, Armor 39/Defense 38
[Level 13] Valsar Vampire Overlord - Attack 41, Damage 136, Armor 34/Defense 34
[Level 13] Vampire Lord - Attack 34, Damage 86, Armor 33/Defense 55
[Level 14] Slime Golem - Attack 28, Damage 140, Armor 25/Defense 81
[Level 14] Fire Snake - Attack 46, Damage 75, Armor 45/Defense 67
[Level 15] Fire Imp - Attack 30, Damage 104, Armor 56/Defense 36
[Level 16] Fire Golem - Attack 35, Damage 63, Armor 67/Defense 70
[Level 16] Goblin Mage - Attack 56, Damage 108, Armor 47/Defense 67
[Level 18] Orc Warrior - Attack 55, Damage 112, Armor 56/Defense 59
[Level 18] Lesser Fire Demon - Attack 45, Damage 102, Armor 64/Defense 68
[Level 19] Skeletal Ice Mage - Attack 67, Damage 101, Armor 62/Defense 51
[Level 19] Abomination - Attack 57, Damage 116, Armor 56/Defense 56
[Level 19] Orc Brute - Attack 67, Damage 126, Armor 65/Defense 65
[Level 20] Wild Cat - Attack 45, Damage 143, Armor 20/Defense 113
[Level 21] Raptor - Attack 36, Damage 191, Armor 19/Defense 136
[Level 22] Fell Demon - Attack 60, Damage 128, Armor 65/Defense 68
[Level 23] Demonic Frog - Attack 114, Damage 109, Armor 52/Defense 72
[Level 24] Nightshade - Attack 60, Damage 129, Armor 69/Defense 50
[Level 25] Ramdal Stalker - Attack 93, Damage 113, Armor 39/Defense 67
Sunday, November 1, 2009
The value of Doubler
So recently, I have questioned myself, what is the value of doubler? A 3x doubler allows you to kill a creature using 3x the amount of stamina, gain 3x the experience, 3x the gold. If you lost the battle, you lose only 1x the amount of stamina, the xp and gold lost are also not multiplied.
For those using the 'suicidal' style, where one only has attack and damage, no armor and defense, then effectively, you have lowered the death rate by 3x.
For those using crystalline items, the loss in durability is not multiplied, so again, you gain an effectively level 70 unbreakable spell.
On top of that, it is like walking into a room with 3 times the amount of creatures. But what do you gain in having 3 times the amount of creatures? Can it be measured? Well, that answer depends on the average creature you see in a room to begin with. So, if you see 2 creatures in a room on average, you would normall use 3 stamina (1 to walk into the room, 2 to kill each of these 2 creatures) for killing 2 creatures. Now, you use 7 stamina (1 to walk into the room, 6 to kill each of those 2 creatures with 3x doubler) for killing 6 creatures. Your effectiveness went from 2/3 to 6/7. That's a 29% increase (((6/7)/(2/3))-1). Again, all these depends on average number of creatures in each room, as well as the level of the doubler, so below is a short reference table :
So as expected, the doubler is more valuable when the average number of creature is less. The gains from higher level doubler is diminishing, as expected.
I used to keep a list of doubler buffers here, but this tool by Fallen Empire is doing a far better job in updating buffer list :
http://fallen-empire.wzarlon.dk/find-buffers.asp?sorting=buffprice&skillbuffID=18
For those using the 'suicidal' style, where one only has attack and damage, no armor and defense, then effectively, you have lowered the death rate by 3x.
For those using crystalline items, the loss in durability is not multiplied, so again, you gain an effectively level 70 unbreakable spell.
On top of that, it is like walking into a room with 3 times the amount of creatures. But what do you gain in having 3 times the amount of creatures? Can it be measured? Well, that answer depends on the average creature you see in a room to begin with. So, if you see 2 creatures in a room on average, you would normall use 3 stamina (1 to walk into the room, 2 to kill each of these 2 creatures) for killing 2 creatures. Now, you use 7 stamina (1 to walk into the room, 6 to kill each of those 2 creatures with 3x doubler) for killing 6 creatures. Your effectiveness went from 2/3 to 6/7. That's a 29% increase (((6/7)/(2/3))-1). Again, all these depends on average number of creatures in each room, as well as the level of the doubler, so below is a short reference table :
| Average \ Doubler | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| 0.2 | 71% | 125% | 167% | 200% |
| 0.4 | 56% | 91% | 115% | 133% |
| 0.6 | 45% | 71% | 88% | 100% |
| 0.8 | 38% | 59% | 71% | 80% |
| 1.0 | 33% | 50% | 60% | 67% |
| 1.2 | 29% | 43% | 52% | 57% |
| 1.4 | 26% | 38% | 45% | 50% |
| 1.6 | 24% | 34% | 41% | 44% |
| 1.8 | 22% | 31% | 37% | 40% |
| 2.0 | 20% | 29% | 33% | 36% |
| 2.2 | 19% | 26% | 31% | 33% |
| 2.4 | 17% | 24% | 28% | 31% |
| 2.6 | 16% | 23% | 26% | 29% |
| 2.8 | 15% | 21% | 25% | 27% |
| 3.0 | 14% | 20% | 23% | 25% |
So as expected, the doubler is more valuable when the average number of creature is less. The gains from higher level doubler is diminishing, as expected.
I used to keep a list of doubler buffers here, but this tool by Fallen Empire is doing a far better job in updating buffer list :
http://fallen-empire.wzarlon.dk/find-buffers.asp?sorting=buffprice&skillbuffID=18
My base stats
I have been telling my guild mates to put all their base stats into damage.
I have all my base stats in damage (minus a few ignorant early levels).
Here are the reasons :
1. Attack items are generally cheaper than damage items. It is much easier to make up for lack of attack, and much cheaper also.
2. Berserk buff works on base stats. This means I will never need Rage buff to get the same buffing effect as those who split their stats between attack and damage. I use the Berserk buff when I am low on damage.
3. And when I am absolutely low on attack and cannot find gears to compensate, dark curse is a great buff that
I have all my base stats in damage (minus a few ignorant early levels).
Here are the reasons :
1. Attack items are generally cheaper than damage items. It is much easier to make up for lack of attack, and much cheaper also.
2. Berserk buff works on base stats. This means I will never need Rage buff to get the same buffing effect as those who split their stats between attack and damage. I use the Berserk buff when I am low on damage.
3. And when I am absolutely low on attack and cannot find gears to compensate, dark curse is a great buff that
Value of Wither
I had questioned myself on the value of doubler 4 months ago. At that time, I was still 1-hitting, and Wither had no value there. Now that I have past the stage of 1-hitting (it stops at level 186), I had been getting Wither buffs. But what's the value of wither?
Without wither, I'll need 2 hits to kill a creature. With wither, when it activates, I kill the creature in 1 hit. A level 150 wither gives a 30% chance of activation. Is it worth getting a higher level wither? Does a level 155 wither make a big difference? Does the level 350 wither potion make a big difference?
If you face 10 creature without wither, you'd use an average of 20 stam. With a level 150 wither, on average, 3 of the 10 creature will require only 1 hit, while 7 of the 10 creature will require 2 hits, making a total of 17 hits. So the average hit per creature will be 1.7 hits.
The true value of wither is a little more complicated, since telling you the average hit still does not translate to something easy to measure and comparable to Adept Learner or Librarian.
Now, consider the case where you face an average of 3 creatures in a room on average. Without wither, you'd use 7 stam to kill 3 creatures (6 to hit and 1 to move). With a level 150 wither, you'd use an average of 5.1 stam (1.7 hit per creature as discussed earlier) to hit, and 1 stam to move into the room. Your effective gain is (7/6.1)-1. Expressed as percentage, that is 14.8%. This makes it comparable to getting a level 148 Librarian buff.
In terms of stam, that means if you used 1000 stam, you have gotten an additional 148 stam worth of xp and gold. This is like getting a level 148 librarian AND a level 148 merchant together!
Since everything is a percentage, its value really depend on the stam you'll be using. If you need to pay 30k more for a level 170 buff than a level 150 buff, and will be using 1000 stam. Assuming an average of 3 creatures in each room, you'll need to ask yourself will you pay 30k for (17.1-14.8 = 2.3) 23 stam?
With the blog entry on doubler, I had maintain a list of buffers. But really, I am just repeating what others had done better, so instead of listing the buffers here, I encourage players to use this tool provided by the Fallen Empire guild to find players selling the wither buffs (or any other buffs) :
http://fallen-empire.wzarlon.dk/find-buffers.asp?sorting=buffprice&skillbuffID=18
Without wither, I'll need 2 hits to kill a creature. With wither, when it activates, I kill the creature in 1 hit. A level 150 wither gives a 30% chance of activation. Is it worth getting a higher level wither? Does a level 155 wither make a big difference? Does the level 350 wither potion make a big difference?
If you face 10 creature without wither, you'd use an average of 20 stam. With a level 150 wither, on average, 3 of the 10 creature will require only 1 hit, while 7 of the 10 creature will require 2 hits, making a total of 17 hits. So the average hit per creature will be 1.7 hits.
The true value of wither is a little more complicated, since telling you the average hit still does not translate to something easy to measure and comparable to Adept Learner or Librarian.
Now, consider the case where you face an average of 3 creatures in a room on average. Without wither, you'd use 7 stam to kill 3 creatures (6 to hit and 1 to move). With a level 150 wither, you'd use an average of 5.1 stam (1.7 hit per creature as discussed earlier) to hit, and 1 stam to move into the room. Your effective gain is (7/6.1)-1. Expressed as percentage, that is 14.8%. This makes it comparable to getting a level 148 Librarian buff.
In terms of stam, that means if you used 1000 stam, you have gotten an additional 148 stam worth of xp and gold. This is like getting a level 148 librarian AND a level 148 merchant together!
| Average \ Wither | 150 | 155 | 160 | 165 | 170 | 175 | 350 |
| 0.5 | 8.1% | 8.4% | 8.7% | 9.0% | 9.3% | 9.6% | 21.2% |
| 1.0 | 11.1% | 11.5% | 11.9% | 12.4% | 12.8% | 13.2% | 30.4% |
| 1.5 | 12.7% | 13.2% | 13.6% | 14.1% | 14.6% | 15.1% | 35.6% |
| 2.0 | 13.6% | 14.2% | 14.7% | 15.2% | 15.7% | 16.3% | 38.9% |
| 2.5 | 14.3% | 14.8% | 15.4% | 15.9% | 16.5% | 17.1% | 41.2% |
| 3.0 | 14.8% | 15.3% | 15.9% | 16.5% | 17.1% | 17.6% | 42.9% |
| 3.5 | 15.1% | 15.7% | 16.3% | 16.9% | 17.5% | 18.1% | 44.1% |
| 4.0 | 15.4% | 16.0% | 16.6% | 17.2% | 17.8% | 18.4% | 45.2% |
| 4.5 | 15.6% | 16.2% | 16.8% | 17.4% | 18.1% | 18.7% | 46.0% |
| 5.0 | 15.8% | 16.4% | 17.0% | 17.6% | 18.3% | 18.9% | 46.7% |
Since everything is a percentage, its value really depend on the stam you'll be using. If you need to pay 30k more for a level 170 buff than a level 150 buff, and will be using 1000 stam. Assuming an average of 3 creatures in each room, you'll need to ask yourself will you pay 30k for (17.1-14.8 = 2.3) 23 stam?
With the blog entry on doubler, I had maintain a list of buffers. But really, I am just repeating what others had done better, so instead of listing the buffers here, I encourage players to use this tool provided by the Fallen Empire guild to find players selling the wither buffs (or any other buffs) :
http://fallen-empire.wzarlon.dk/find-buffers.asp?sorting=buffprice&skillbuffID=18
Attack Groups
Today, a guild member asked me to join a group to take on an Elite. So I checked and found that the group already have enough attack and damage. When I posted the stats needed, he was more than willing to learn and asked me how to get the stats. I felt that what I explained is probably useful for everyone, so I'll post this entry and perhaps elaborate on it.
First thing first, when you form a group to kill Elites or Champions, the purpose is usually to get a drop. You are also using not only your stam, but those of your guild mates. As such, I strongly recommend getting a Find Item buff at the least, and possibly even a Four Leaf buff.
Now, how do you determine the creature stats? Well, if you're already in the same room as the creature, you can view it. Otherwise, this link provides the stats for most creatures (if not all) : http://fallenswordguide.com/creatures/
First stats, you must be able to hit the creature, so the group needs attack. Note that the leader's buff counts towards the group attack, so it will be nice to get a DC buff which reduces the creature defense.
1. Group Attack >= Creature Defense * 1.1053
Your damage needs to be at least higher than creature's armor, otherwise, you'll be doing only 1 damage when you hit.
2. Number of hits = Ceiling [(Group Damage - Creature Armor * 1.1053) / (Creature HP * 1.053)]
If you can kill the creature in 1 hit, then that's all the stats you need. However, if you need more than 1 hit, then you need to survive an attack. You can have either defense which means avoid getting hit, or armor which reduces the damage you take.
3a. Defense > Creature Attack * 1.1053
3b. Armor > Creature Damage * 1.1053
You only need defense or armor, not both.
Now, you can view your group stats if your guild has the Military Advisor structure. Otherwise, the group stats is the sum of the group leader's stats, and 20% of the stats of every other member. Note that the group stats is dynamic, and is the stats of the member at the time of the attack.
First thing first, when you form a group to kill Elites or Champions, the purpose is usually to get a drop. You are also using not only your stam, but those of your guild mates. As such, I strongly recommend getting a Find Item buff at the least, and possibly even a Four Leaf buff.
Now, how do you determine the creature stats? Well, if you're already in the same room as the creature, you can view it. Otherwise, this link provides the stats for most creatures (if not all) : http://fallenswordguide.com/creatures/
First stats, you must be able to hit the creature, so the group needs attack. Note that the leader's buff counts towards the group attack, so it will be nice to get a DC buff which reduces the creature defense.
1. Group Attack >= Creature Defense * 1.1053
Your damage needs to be at least higher than creature's armor, otherwise, you'll be doing only 1 damage when you hit.
2. Number of hits = Ceiling [(Group Damage - Creature Armor * 1.1053) / (Creature HP * 1.053)]
If you can kill the creature in 1 hit, then that's all the stats you need. However, if you need more than 1 hit, then you need to survive an attack. You can have either defense which means avoid getting hit, or armor which reduces the damage you take.
3a. Defense > Creature Attack * 1.1053
3b. Armor > Creature Damage * 1.1053
You only need defense or armor, not both.
Now, you can view your group stats if your guild has the Military Advisor structure. Otherwise, the group stats is the sum of the group leader's stats, and 20% of the stats of every other member. Note that the group stats is dynamic, and is the stats of the member at the time of the attack.
New Offensive Buffs
Some of my previous blog might be outdated and needs update.
HCS has recently turned on creature enhancements
This means creatures can now do piercing strike, critical attacks and other enhancements.
However, new buffs have also recently been introduced.
Two buffs I'll like to get my thoughts out on are Spectral Knight and Death Dealer.
Death Dealer adds damage based on your kill streak, but max out at 20% damage.
For a level 160 buff, a player will need a kill streak of 65 to max it out.
For level 170 or 175 buffs, a kill streak of 60 is needed to max it.
For the remaining of this blog entry, I'll assume the kill streak requirement has been met.
For 1-hitting, the damage needed was [Creature Armor]*1.1053 + [Creature HP]*1.053
For most players, this used to stop at level 186.
But Death Dealer allows for an additional 20% damage, so together with other buffs, it might be possible to continue to 1-hit.
With Death Dealer, the damage needed is reduced to [Creature Armor]*0.9211 + [Creature HP]*0.8775.
Other damage buffs adds damage based on stats or items but can be used in conjunction with Death Dealer :
Berserk : With potions, adds up to 70% of your base damage stats.
Fury : With a max level 175 buff, adds up to 17.5% of your base damage stats.
Enchant Weapon : With Potion of Truth, adds 100% of your weapon's stats.
Enchant Armor : With a max level 175 buff, adds 17.5% of your armor stats, and armor can have damage stats too.
The following buffs/enhancements are rather similar.
Piercing, reduce creature armor by 50%
Shatter Armor, reduce creature armor by 75%
Spectral Knight, reduce creature armor by 100%
However, they do not always activate.
Piercing, enhancement. At 100% enhancement, it activates 66% of the time.
Shatter Armor, offensive buff. At buff level 175, it activates 8.75% of the time.
Spectral Knight, offensive buff. At buff level 175, it activates 17.5% of the time.
These are useful when you cannot directly 1-hit a creature with full armor.
These skills should be used together with Wither buffs.
To 2-hit (or 1-hit when Wither activates), the damage required is
[Creature Armor]*1.1053 + [Creature HP]*1.053/2.
To 1-hit when Spectral Knight activates, the damage required is
[Creature HP]*1.053.
Since above level 186, the creature HP will be more than twice that of its armor, the damage requirement is higher.
To 1-hit when Shatter Armor activates, the damage required is
[Creature Armor]*1.1053/4 + [Creature HP]*1.053/2.
To 1-hit when piercing activates, the damage required is
[Creature Armor]*1.1053/2 + [Creature HP]*1.053/2.
Example :: Level 186 (Cacti Cat)
Creature armor (max) = 655, Creature HP (max) = 3104.
1-hit : 3992 damage
1-hit with death dealer : 3327 damage
1-hit when wither activates : 2358 damage
1-hit when spectral knight activates : 3268 damage
1-hit when shatter armor activates : 3449 damage
1-hit when piercing activates : 3630 damage
So depending on what you can achieve with your damage, you may or may not benefit from the new buffs. Count your damage before buying those buffs.
(Anyone wants to write a calculator for this? Please let me know and I'll post a link to it).
HCS has recently turned on creature enhancements
This means creatures can now do piercing strike, critical attacks and other enhancements.
However, new buffs have also recently been introduced.
Two buffs I'll like to get my thoughts out on are Spectral Knight and Death Dealer.
Death Dealer adds damage based on your kill streak, but max out at 20% damage.
For a level 160 buff, a player will need a kill streak of 65 to max it out.
For level 170 or 175 buffs, a kill streak of 60 is needed to max it.
For the remaining of this blog entry, I'll assume the kill streak requirement has been met.
For 1-hitting, the damage needed was [Creature Armor]*1.1053 + [Creature HP]*1.053
For most players, this used to stop at level 186.
But Death Dealer allows for an additional 20% damage, so together with other buffs, it might be possible to continue to 1-hit.
With Death Dealer, the damage needed is reduced to [Creature Armor]*0.9211 + [Creature HP]*0.8775.
Other damage buffs adds damage based on stats or items but can be used in conjunction with Death Dealer :
Berserk : With potions, adds up to 70% of your base damage stats.
Fury : With a max level 175 buff, adds up to 17.5% of your base damage stats.
Enchant Weapon : With Potion of Truth, adds 100% of your weapon's stats.
Enchant Armor : With a max level 175 buff, adds 17.5% of your armor stats, and armor can have damage stats too.
The following buffs/enhancements are rather similar.
Piercing, reduce creature armor by 50%
Shatter Armor, reduce creature armor by 75%
Spectral Knight, reduce creature armor by 100%
However, they do not always activate.
Piercing, enhancement. At 100% enhancement, it activates 66% of the time.
Shatter Armor, offensive buff. At buff level 175, it activates 8.75% of the time.
Spectral Knight, offensive buff. At buff level 175, it activates 17.5% of the time.
These are useful when you cannot directly 1-hit a creature with full armor.
These skills should be used together with Wither buffs.
To 2-hit (or 1-hit when Wither activates), the damage required is
[Creature Armor]*1.1053 + [Creature HP]*1.053/2.
To 1-hit when Spectral Knight activates, the damage required is
[Creature HP]*1.053.
Since above level 186, the creature HP will be more than twice that of its armor, the damage requirement is higher.
To 1-hit when Shatter Armor activates, the damage required is
[Creature Armor]*1.1053/4 + [Creature HP]*1.053/2.
To 1-hit when piercing activates, the damage required is
[Creature Armor]*1.1053/2 + [Creature HP]*1.053/2.
Example :: Level 186 (Cacti Cat)
Creature armor (max) = 655, Creature HP (max) = 3104.
1-hit : 3992 damage
1-hit with death dealer : 3327 damage
1-hit when wither activates : 2358 damage
1-hit when spectral knight activates : 3268 damage
1-hit when shatter armor activates : 3449 damage
1-hit when piercing activates : 3630 damage
So depending on what you can achieve with your damage, you may or may not benefit from the new buffs. Count your damage before buying those buffs.
(Anyone wants to write a calculator for this? Please let me know and I'll post a link to it).
XP Gain
XP Gain is a great attribute that can help players advance faster in levels.
At level 150, a player can gain more than 30% of his level a day without having to use a single stam, just by XP Gain.
Every player starts out with +2 XP Gain.
There are items that can increase that XP Gain
Each upgrade cost 15 fsps, and a player can apply up to 50 upgrades.
At 50 upgrades, that will add +1250 XP Gain.
On the character upgrade page, XP Gain is defined as such ::
Note that your 'xp gain' is allocated, plus a bonus of your xp gain times a multiplier equal to your level minus 50 divided by '25' (rounding down).
Note the actual value is always reflected in the quick display at the top bar xp mouseover. Note also at lower levels this value is then scaled down up to a reduction factor of 10 to stop it potientially being too overpowering. Below level 25, no additional bonus is applied.
That description is not concrete and wrong. As described above, the XP Gains are added up. A multiplier is then applied, and the multiplier is actually [Player Level]/25 + 1 (rounded down).
Note that there are no subtraction of 50 level as described on that page.
Also, the description of a reduction factor is vague. I will appreciate if any players below level 150 reading this page can let me know the values they observed.
I wrote a calculator to compute the XP Gain, and the value has been observed to be correct for level 150 and higher. The calculator can be found on the URL below :
http://sisland83.bravehost.com/xpgain.html
So above describes XP Gain, but what's the value of such attribute?
Many players will agree with me that Stamina Gain is probably the most important upgrade.
And XP Gain will come in a strong second. When that upgrade is maximized, it contributes about 10% of a level for level 400 players (and more for lower level players).
The 750 fsps needed to maximize the upgrade could have been spent to buy stamina for levels, but that will only get you about 10 levels (at around level 400). So you get to break even in 100 days. That sounds like a reasonably fair tradeoff. However, its value can be higher, especially if you plan and rest to recover on difficult levels (levels that will require a higher level CA to 1-hit).
But how does it compare to Stamina Gain, is it even better than Stamina Gain? For a level 400 player, each upgrade earns 425 XP per hour, while a creature kill gets you about 2200 XP per hour. So it is clear that Stamina Gain is much more valuable to a level 400 player. I believe that comparison holds true for lower levels also.
What about relics? Is it worth more than Stamina Gain relics? Those relics that provide +200 XP Gain effectively gives 8 upgrades worth in XP Gains, worth 120 fsps in value, compared to Stamina Gains upgrades that are worth 25 fsps per upgrade. However, that is the wrong way to compare. Instead, for a level 400 player, +200 XP Gain with the multiplier actually earns you 3400 XP per hour. While a single stamina earns you a single creature kill, worth about 2200 XP. Of course, the Despair Crystals has both +200 XP Gain and +1 Stamina Gain, making it the most desirable relic. OK, so it is moredesirable than a Stamina Gain relic. But is it really worth all the walking? Assuming one needs about 120 stamina to return to the relic and back to the hunting grounds. That is 264k XP. To break even on the XP gained, one has to stay on the relic for 3.24 days. That clearly is valuable to some players with enough maximum stamina. But what if not all the players need to return? Let's say, only half needs to return (with players taking turns perhaps). Then it should be clear that the relic is very well worth defending.
What about items with XP Gains? The Shield of Bakmar adds +5 XP Gain. But at level 400, that adds 85 XP per hour. Those +1 XP Gain items add only 17 XP per hour. But that XP is much less than a single creature kill. In fact, the Shield of Bakmar only add 2040 XP per day, and a single Stamina earns you more than that. It is still all nice, better than nothing at all. However, if you have to spend 120 stamina to walk back to a relic, you really should be willing to give that up. Assume 9 players with 9 slots for defense. If you use the shield, there's really only 8 slots for defense. Instead, if only 8 players return (the 9 players can take turn on who can stay out), and not use the shield, they can get the same total defense, and save 120 stamina. Compared to all 9 players returning and getting 1 stamina worth in XP every day, it'll take 13 days to break even against the 120 stamina.
At level 150, a player can gain more than 30% of his level a day without having to use a single stam, just by XP Gain.
Every player starts out with +2 XP Gain.
There are items that can increase that XP Gain
- Shield of Bakmar (craftable, can increase up to +5 depending on craft)
- Fire Dragon Ring (+1 XP Gain)
- Jara Rune (+1 XP Gain)
- Writhing Ward (+1 XP Gain)
- Maximus Set (+1 XP Gain)
- Gurgriss Set (+1 XP Gain)
- Despair Crystal (+200 XP Gain)
- Ethereal Pillars (+200 XP Gain)
- Krul Pyramid (+200 XP Gain)
- Searing Orb (+100 XP Gain)
- Unholy Shring (+200 XP Gain)
Each upgrade cost 15 fsps, and a player can apply up to 50 upgrades.
At 50 upgrades, that will add +1250 XP Gain.
On the character upgrade page, XP Gain is defined as such ::
Note that your 'xp gain' is allocated, plus a bonus of your xp gain times a multiplier equal to your level minus 50 divided by '25' (rounding down).
Note the actual value is always reflected in the quick display at the top bar xp mouseover. Note also at lower levels this value is then scaled down up to a reduction factor of 10 to stop it potientially being too overpowering. Below level 25, no additional bonus is applied.
That description is not concrete and wrong. As described above, the XP Gains are added up. A multiplier is then applied, and the multiplier is actually [Player Level]/25 + 1 (rounded down).
Note that there are no subtraction of 50 level as described on that page.
Also, the description of a reduction factor is vague. I will appreciate if any players below level 150 reading this page can let me know the values they observed.
I wrote a calculator to compute the XP Gain, and the value has been observed to be correct for level 150 and higher. The calculator can be found on the URL below :
http://sisland83.bravehost.com/xpgain.html
So above describes XP Gain, but what's the value of such attribute?
Many players will agree with me that Stamina Gain is probably the most important upgrade.
And XP Gain will come in a strong second. When that upgrade is maximized, it contributes about 10% of a level for level 400 players (and more for lower level players).
The 750 fsps needed to maximize the upgrade could have been spent to buy stamina for levels, but that will only get you about 10 levels (at around level 400). So you get to break even in 100 days. That sounds like a reasonably fair tradeoff. However, its value can be higher, especially if you plan and rest to recover on difficult levels (levels that will require a higher level CA to 1-hit).
But how does it compare to Stamina Gain, is it even better than Stamina Gain? For a level 400 player, each upgrade earns 425 XP per hour, while a creature kill gets you about 2200 XP per hour. So it is clear that Stamina Gain is much more valuable to a level 400 player. I believe that comparison holds true for lower levels also.
What about relics? Is it worth more than Stamina Gain relics? Those relics that provide +200 XP Gain effectively gives 8 upgrades worth in XP Gains, worth 120 fsps in value, compared to Stamina Gains upgrades that are worth 25 fsps per upgrade. However, that is the wrong way to compare. Instead, for a level 400 player, +200 XP Gain with the multiplier actually earns you 3400 XP per hour. While a single stamina earns you a single creature kill, worth about 2200 XP. Of course, the Despair Crystals has both +200 XP Gain and +1 Stamina Gain, making it the most desirable relic. OK, so it is moredesirable than a Stamina Gain relic. But is it really worth all the walking? Assuming one needs about 120 stamina to return to the relic and back to the hunting grounds. That is 264k XP. To break even on the XP gained, one has to stay on the relic for 3.24 days. That clearly is valuable to some players with enough maximum stamina. But what if not all the players need to return? Let's say, only half needs to return (with players taking turns perhaps). Then it should be clear that the relic is very well worth defending.
What about items with XP Gains? The Shield of Bakmar adds +5 XP Gain. But at level 400, that adds 85 XP per hour. Those +1 XP Gain items add only 17 XP per hour. But that XP is much less than a single creature kill. In fact, the Shield of Bakmar only add 2040 XP per day, and a single Stamina earns you more than that. It is still all nice, better than nothing at all. However, if you have to spend 120 stamina to walk back to a relic, you really should be willing to give that up. Assume 9 players with 9 slots for defense. If you use the shield, there's really only 8 slots for defense. Instead, if only 8 players return (the 9 players can take turn on who can stay out), and not use the shield, they can get the same total defense, and save 120 stamina. Compared to all 9 players returning and getting 1 stamina worth in XP every day, it'll take 13 days to break even against the 120 stamina.
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