Strategies

[maguar]

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE INFORMATION IN THIS THREAD IS NO LONGER SUPPORTED. PLEASE REFER TO THE HUB FOR CURRENT INFORMATION ON GAME GUIDES. THANKS! SPIRITWIND00 3 FEB 2015


The purpose of this thread is to outline some of the strategies that can be used within this game.

Some of the strategies combine with each other and others don?t. Choose the strategy based on what you want to get out of the game.

To start with I have broken the strategies into different areas. Each of these areas is in a separate post.

These strategies are in no way definitive. Everyone has there own style of play.

You should also check out the following threads which have a lot of useful information:

https://forums.teamlava.com/showthrea...eference-Guide
https://forums.teamlava.com/showthrea...ference-Thread
https://forums.teamlava.com/showthrea...tle-Story-FAQs


Quicklinks to Strategies
Resources
Crafting
Expanding
Buildings
Neighbours
Energy
Experience
Gems
Quitting Etiquette
Monsters

[maguar]

Resources


What are Resources?

Resources are the things you collect from harvesting crops, tending animals, tending plants, chopping trees, mining, clearing weeds, collecting from ponds/wells, defeating monsters and collecting from resource buildings. The value of resources will depend on how you want to play, what buildings you want to build, what quests you are on etc.

What are the most useful Resources?

At the moment I feel the most useful resources are: Glimmer Dust, Wood, Stone, Wheat, Coal, Earth Wisps, Water and Sap. Glimmer Dust is used in a lot of items needed to for higher level buildings. Coal is used to craft Earth Wisps which are used to craft Wisp Lanterns which are a requirement for expanding. Wood and Stone are used in buildings or to craft other materials for buildings. Wheat is needed to make the meals used to go adventuring. Water is used to make most of the potions which are used for various purposes.

Depending on where you are in the game you may find different resources are more useful.

Collecting Resources

Collecting resources takes 1 energy per action. Most actions give you 1 maybe 2 items when collecting. Resource buildings give multiple quantities with the chance of multiple items every four hours (or shorter if you've upgraded them). As they give the best resources/energy I strongly recommend that you buy them as soon as possible.

The number of resource buildings you have is determined by your level. You can currently have a max of 2 of each type (Sparkling Mine, Sawmill, Hatchery, Stable, Deep Mine and Wizard School). I would recommend building them in the following order: Sparkling Mine, Sawmill, Hatchery, Stable, Sparkling Mine, Sawmill, Hatcher, Stable. Deep Mines have pretty high material costs so there more suited for higher level players. Wizard Schools cost gems so it's up to you if you want to buy them.

The reason for getting your Sparkling Mine first is that it gives a chance of getting Stone, Coal, Iron Ore, Earth Wisps, Silver Ore and Jewels. The longer you have the mine for the more you will be able to stockpile the rarer items. The reason for getting the Sawmill second is that it produces Wood, Sap and Living Wood. I suggest getting Hatchery and Stable before getting a second Mine or Sawmill is so that you will get a stockpile of Eggs & Roast Chicken, Milk, Hide, Wool & Bacon.

In addition to the resource buildings, you should have some of the mushroom items (Mushroom Patch, Mushroom Circle, Red Mushroom Circle) that you regularly collect from. Once they're placed you can collect from them every couple of minutes. They give Mushrooms and sometimes give Glimmer Dust. They are the cheapest way to get Glimmer Dust. If you are at the level to get Red Mushroom Circles do so as they provide the best drops. They seem to drop a little more frequently and have a chance of dropping 2. If you have fluttermush rings they can also drop Glimmerdust. The added benefit is that if they trigger a monster it will be a lovecupine and not a troll.

If the Sawmills aren't providing you with enough Sap (as you've got a lot of things to craft for buildings or are needed for quests) you will need to chop trees. All trees except Dead Trees provide Sap. The Sap drop rate for all trees is equal. Tree logs are also a source of sap.

If the Sawmills aren't providing you with enough wood you can chop trees, Dead Trees, Plant In A Log, Old Log and Tree Log. Trees need to be tended so they grow to full size before you can chop them. Dead Trees, Plant In A Log and Tree Log don't have to be tended first. They're more expensive but more energy efficient. As an added bonus they also have a chance of dropping Glimmerdust.

If your mines aren't providing you with enough Stone, Iron Ore etc you can mine rocks.

If you have chopped all of your trees or mined all of your rocks you can purchase more from the Nature section of the Market.

Some of the goals require you to collect or have a certain about of particular items. Check the links in the first post to see which goals. If you know these items ahead of time you can start to stockpile them before you get the goal.

Clearing Weeds/Trees/Rocks

Clearing Weeds/trees/rocks gives you resources depending on what you are clearing. Each of these items need to be tapped a certain number of times before they are cleared (you see the number when you tap on them). I look at the size of the item and the number of taps needed to clear it to work out what is the best use of my energy. Eg Rock Outcroppings take 20 taps to clear but they take up 4 squares. Rich Iron Ore Piles take 8 taps to clear but only take up 1 square. So it would take me more energy to clear 4 Rich Iron Ore Piles than it would to clear 1 Rock Outcropping.

Crops

Wheat is important as it is used in a number of recipes. Other crops are less important in terms of recipes. They can be important if you have quests requiring. They can also be important as a good source of income. Carrots take a day to mature but they give you a profit of $440.

Maximum Resources

You can have a maximum of 99 of each type of resource. Once you reach this you will get a small $ amount instead of the resource.

If I'm at the max for an item, I will try to use it in a crafting recipe to bring my amount down. This will allow me to keep collecting the resource. See the Crafting section for more information.

[maguar]

Crafting


What is Crafting?

Crafting is the act of turning Resources into other materials.

Where is Crafting done?

Crafting is done in the various crafting buildings: Workshop, Potion Shop, Kitchen, Magic Forge, Love Shack and Tinkers Camp. The Royal Exchange can be considered a defacto crafting building. The Love Shack was only available for purchase during the 2013 Valentines Event.

Why are some of these buildings locked?

The Workshop, Potion Shop and Tinkers Camp are locked by goals. After you expand to the Goat Man (Old Thomas), you will get the goal that unlocks the Workshop. You will unlock the Potion Shop when you expand to the Tree Lady (Ivy). The Tinkers Camp is unlocked through the Royal Exchange.

The Kitchen will become available from Level 10. The Magic Forge will be available from Level 15.

How do I work out what I should Craft?

These will depend on what you want to build, where you want to expand, what quests you have, what Resources you have, which craft buildings are in use and how much time you have.

To Expand

In order to expand you need Wisp Lanterns. These are made in the Workshop using Earth Wisps. As they take four hours to craft you should do these at night when you are sleeping or during the day when you are at work/school and cannot play.

The Earth Wisps for Wisp Lanterns can also be crafted in the Workshop. They take an hour which makes them good for after work/school as you can get a couple done before bed.

Follow these quests to unlock the recipes:

These are the quests that you need to do before you can expand (to the tree lady etc):

• Search the South East
• A Cursed Scholar
• Book Bound
• The Cover
• The Lost Pages
• Book of Spells
• The Royal Scholar
• The Royal Tower
• A View to the North
• Finding Earth Wisps
• Help with Earth Wisps
• Shedding Light

Buildings

If you know what items are used for the building you want you can craft that. If you are not currently building anything you can take the opportunity to start stockpiling some of the common items: Wood Beam, Stone Block, Fancy Beam, Fancy Block, Simple Glue, Super Glue, Builder's Paste etc.

What Resources you Have

If you have reached the maximum number for a particular resource it's a good idea to craft something that uses the item (particularly items that are needed for buildings/quests etc). Eg if you are maxed for Stone craft Stone Blocks or Fancy Blocks. This allows you to start stockpiling those items while freeing you up to collect more Resources.

Time

It's generally best to craft items that take longer at night before you go to bed or in the morning before you go to work/school. You don't want to craft an item that takes 10 minutes when you could have crafted something that takes 4 hours.

You don't want to craft items that take a long time if you plan on playing for awhile. Eg if you plan on playing for 2 hours craft items that take less than this.

Royal Exchange
To unlock the Golden Trade you will need to complete the quest the baron gives you after collecting from sir piggles.

To unlock the dessert trade you need to craft a dessert like apple pie, orange cobbler or lemonade and then pay to establish the trade.

To unlock trade with Bella Donna you need to collect from Ivy's hut and then pay to establish the trade.

The fruit trade can be upgraded twice. The first upgrade occurs when you get a glimmerbulb (from harvesting, Magic Garden or Purple Cow). The second is by getting a magic fruit from the Magic Garden. Each upgrade requires more ingridents, takes longer and gives more energy as a reward.

The monster trade can be upgraded once. After you've done a few and fought a troll it will upgrade. It takes more ingridents, more time but gives more money.

All trades (including upgraded ones) give one trade ticket. When you upgrade you get a bonus one off reward of 5 tickets.

[maguar]

Expanding

What is needed to Expand?

Most expansions require: money, Wisp Lanterns and Royal Points. Some also require expansion permits (from the Tinkers Camp). Some quest related expansions have additional requirements (eg Troll Pit needs Excalibam and Forgotten Roost needs Jewelled Talon).

How do I get these?

Money can be earnt by collecting from buildings, collecting from animals/wells/ponds, collecting when maxed for a resource, Monster taxes in the Royal Exchange and from the daily bonus.

Wisp Lanterns are crafted in the Workshop. See the section in Crafting.

Royal Points are earnt by building Royal Buildings and from some special buildings such as the Tablet of Tabernum, Magic Garden, Troll Pit and Sabina's House. For more information please see the Building section.

How do I decide where to expand?

There are a couple of things to consider when deciding where to expand: will it unlock something, will it get me closer to something to unlock and how much it costs.

Unlocking Things

Your first expansion should be to the Goat Man (Old Thomas) as he is needed to unlock some goals and the Workshop.

You should aim to expand to the Tree Lady (Ivy) as quickly as possible as she unlocks the Potion Shop. The Potion Shop is very important as most of the buildings require Glues and Pastes to build.

The Magic Garden (the garden with a rainbow above it) is a good place to expand to. After you unlock it you will get items when you collect from it. These include things like Magic Fruit, Glimmerdust, Living Wood, Faerie in a Jar, Mysterious Venom and Eggs. There is also a chance that you will start a quest line. When you have finished this quest line the reward is a Purple Cow. This purple cow can drop purple things like Purple Petals, Purple Dye, Purple Hide and rarely Gems.

When you expand to the Tablet of Tabernum you will need to complete some goals to unlock it. Once it is unlocked and you start collecting from it there is a very rare chance that it will drop a Knowledge Shard. These shards are the triggers for certain quests which have great rewards.

Expanding to Thurston (the guy in his boxers) and Sabina (the hairy princess) will unlock new quest lines.

Costs

Each expansion costs different amounts. Don't do an expansive expansion (unless it's to unlock something) when you can do a cheaper one instead.

Additional Tips

Don't press the button to use your Wisp Lanterns until you have all the items needed to expand there. If you make a mistake and use the Lanterns on the wrong square you cannot get them back.

[maguar]

Buildings

General Info

Town, Royal and Resource buildings can be helped by neighbours (see Neighbours). They also give experience and an extra 20% income when you collect from them.

In addition to the points above, Town and Royal buildings provide income.

Royal buildings are needed to expand (see Expanding).

Resource buildings provide Resources (see Resources).

Craft buildings allow items to be crafted (see Crafting).

Town Buildings

Farmhouses give $70 per collection (more if sparkled - see Neighbours for more info). While this may seem a small amount, the fact that they only take 10 minutes means that they are still the best income source in the game. As there is a limit on the energy (see Energy section) you can use, you will need to take this into account when deciding how many Farms you want. Basically you can clear 3 Farms every 10 minutes.

The other town houses take longer to collect from but give more income.

Royal Buildings

Watchtowers and Lantern Spires provide the best Royal Points/cost of all the Royal Buildings. When you are at lower levels you will be building these in order to expand. As you level up you will need to start building the other Royal buildings in order to get enough points to expand.

Keeps are a special type of Royal building. You can only have one so choose the design that you like the best. Once your Keep has been built you can send your knights on adventures. When they return they bring money and items. These items can include Wood, Stone, Bones, Simple Glue, Fancy Blocks, Gems, Pigs, Gem Trees & Animals etc. There is also a chance that they will bring you some energy.

Note: If you build one keep and decide you wanted the other, you can sell your keep (if there is no adventure in place) and buy the other one. You will not get back the materials you used to construct it though.

Resources

As mentioned in the Resources section these are great investments. In particular you want to invest in a Sparkling Mine and Sawmill as quickly as possible. The number you can have is limited by your level. You can have a max of two of each type.

Crafting

As mentioned in the Crafting section you will want to get the Workshop and Potion Shop as quickly as possible as these are needed to craft items for most buildings. The number you can have is limited by your level. You can have a max of two of each type except Love Shacks and Royal Exchanges which are limited to one.

Why can't I build more buildings?

The amount you can build depends on the type and your level. If you go to buy a building from the Market and it tells you to Level up you can either wait until you reach a level that allows you to build more or you can sell one of the buildings that match the type. Eg if you want to build the Library you may need to sell another Royal building like a Watchtower.

You can have a maximum of two of each of the Resource and Crafting buildings.

Upgrading Buildings

You can upgrade Town, Royal (not keeps) and Resource buildings. Upgrading requires materials and money. Upgrading Town buildings increases the rent. Upgrading Royal buildings increases the rent and royal points. Upgrading Resource buildings decreases collection time.

[maguar]

Neighbours

What are neighbours used for?

Bonuses

When you visit neighbours for the first time each game day you get a bonus. This can be $5 or 1 xp. At low levels this is very useful in leveling up. You also get a chance to get 1 energy up to a max of 10 energy per 10.

When you visit your neighbours (or other people) you will sometimes see a heart above their buildings. Clicking on this heart will help them. You can help them up to 5 times per day. When they collect from the buildings you have helped they will get bonus 20% to the money and an extra xp. When your neighbours (or other people) help your buildings (they go sparkly) you will get those bonuses.

Requests

Soem request require that you request things from your neighbours. Please note that you can only 20 of the requests you send each day can be accepted. Don't send out a request to everyone as this can clog up the system. Select up to 25 people that you know will accept (the extras are in case someone isn't playing that day).

When a neighbour sends you a request it will appear in your News Feed. Press "Accept" to help them. Don't worry any items you help them with will not come out of your Inventory.


Gifts

You can also send your neighbours gifts and receive them in return. To send a gift to your neighbour go into your Neighbour List and select the "Gift" button. Select the gift that you want to send them.

There are limits on the gifts you can send. At the moment we can only send a max of 3 per day. Different gifts also have limits as well. You can only send 1 Jewels per day. Silver Ore and Furs are limited to 2 per day.

When a neighbour sends you a gift it will appear in your News Feed. Press "Accept" to add it to your Inventory.

Help

You can go to your neighbours' walls to post questions asking for help on how to play the game. A lot of people don't mind helping out in this way.

How do you get neighbours?

You can post your ID on your wall and ask people to add you.

You can post your ID on other peoples' walls and ask them to add you. It's always nice to introduce yourself rather than just writing "add [ID]".

You can also look at the Add Me threads to either post your ID or to check for people who are looking for neighbours.

You can ask your neighbours if they know people who are looking for neighbours.

Sending Invites

Go into your Social menu and click on the "Invite" tab. Enter the ID that you wish to invite and press "Invite". You will see a list of people who have invited who haven't accepted or declined your invitation on that screen. If they accept your invitation they will appear in your Neighbour List.

Receiving Invites

If someone has sent you an invite it will appear in your New Feed. You can click on "Accept" to become their neighbour. If you don't want to be their neighbour click on "Decline".

How do you remove neighbours?

You may wish to remove a neighbour for different reasons. They may have stopped playing the game, they may play the game in a way you don't like etc. Go into your Neighbour List and click the "Edit" button. You will now see a "Remove" button next to each neighbour. Click it to remove the neighbour. When you have finished click "Done" - it's where the "Edit" button was. If you don't do this you could accidentally delete someone you want to keep.

[maguar]

Reserved

[maguar]

Energy

Overview

Energy is the biggest strategic element of the game. Every action you do requires you to use energy. The amount of energy you have is determined by your level until you reach the cap. For most players this cap will be 30. For the players who started when the game was first released, the cap will be 40. From time to time there will be trials with different energy for different players.

Restoring Energy

* Energy is restored at a rate of 1 per 3 minutes.

* You can get up to 10 energy per day restored by visiting neighbours.

* If you are fighting Monsters there is a chance they will drop energy when you hit them. They will always drop energy when you defeat them. Sometimes you will end up with more energy than you used to defeat them.

* When you go on adventures from your Keep you often get energy as a reward.

* It is also restored in full when you go up a level. This energy will be added to your existing energy. This may cause you to exceed your cap. Ie you could have 50/30 energy. Once you have reduced it to under you cap it will not go above it again until you level up.

* Sir Pigglesworth can sometimes drop energy

* If you have completed the third tablet quest you have a 33% chance of getting energy back when harvesting crops

* You can trade items in the Royal Exhange to get energy.

* The Alicorn will refill your energy once a week

* The Wizard School drops energy every couple of hours

Important Note: Only levelling up and getting energy when visiting neighbours will take your energy temporarily over the cap. All other methods will only take you up to your cap. Do not collect from the items listed above unless your energy is less than or qual to your max minus the energy you'll get. Eg, your cap is 30 and you're going to collect from the Royal Exchange to get energy. Only collect when your energy is 20 or lower or you will miss out on the extra energy.

[sukyee]

This is a very good thread... It should be make "sticky" so everybody can refer to this!!! It's very useful for new player I wish I get this when I'm new

[moda999]

I agree it should be stickied.