Spiral Knights - Where's the best place to farm Eternal Orbs before Rank 9/Champion?

Where's the best place to farm Eternal Orbs before Rank 9/Champion?

41 replies [Last post]

Sat, 08/02/2014 - 09:44

Lodesamoney

I'm stuck on 4* right now and cannot advance to Rank 9 until I make 5* gear, so for the time being I've been running 8-2 Great Escape on Elite, fishing for treasure boxes, leaving, and repeating. I've been getting enough Shining crystals, but as of 100 runs, no Eternal Orbs, and no Life Sparks?

Am I doing something wrong here? I don't remember them being this rare. I have 8 total right now from running all of Rank 7 and 8, and I even got one from Jelly King, but I still need 4 more minimum to make a full suit of 5 equipment, and my runs on 8-2 have been fruitless after six hours of non-stop farming.

What am I missing here?

Sat, 08/02/2014 - 10:21

Fangel

Buy them.

Purchasing energy with crowns through the energy market, then buying orbs of alchemy with that energy is the only reliable way to get any orbs of alchemy. Other than that, I would recommend ditching missions and running the arcade. In the arcade, look for arenas (the shield icon) or clockwork tunnel variants (the gear icon) in the gatemap of tier 3 for gates that have a good potential to hold any orbs of alchemy. It seems that in stratum 5 and 6, eternal orbs are insanely common (for orb drops at least).

You'll probably be told this in one way or another multiple times. Either farm for crowns to get energy to buy orbs from missions, or run through the appropriate tier in the clockworks.

Sat, 08/02/2014 - 10:21

Glacies

Arcade Tier 3. Specifically as of this moment, Onyx Falcon Gate has a Depth 19 and Depth 28 Arena you can run.

Sat, 08/02/2014 - 10:34

Lodesamoney

Shouldn't I have seen one

Shouldn't I have seen one drop from 8-2 the Great Escape by now though? I usually see about 10 prize boxes per run, sometimes 14 if I'm lucky. That's at least 1000 boxes I've opened without seeing an orb.

I'll try Onyx Falcon, but my gear might not make it doable.

Edit: NOPE. Not doing Onyx Falcon. My gear CANNOT survive Fiends, especially Gorgos and Greavers. Not a chance in hell. If I'm going to run any sort of arena, it pretty much has to be with Constructs, and preferably without Gremlin Menders.

Sat, 08/02/2014 - 11:30

Lodesamoney

Nice, the game is finally

Nice, the game is finally giving me some love. Two Eternal Orbs from 8-2 in the last 30 minutes.

Two to go.

Sat, 08/02/2014 - 11:42

Batabii

there is no Jelly King

If you can't survive fiends, you shouldn't be Defender Elite yet.

Sat, 08/02/2014 - 11:50

Lodesamoney

If Fiends weren't ten times

If Fiends weren't ten times harder than Slimes, Beasts, Gremlins, Constructs, or practically anything else, maybe. But Greavers, Gorgos, and Devilites are unequaled in [DATA EXPUNGED]. The only reason I got through 8-1 is because I had so many sparks saved up from missions that I could just brute force my way through it. I didn't use a single spark until Rank 7.

Also, my equipment loadout completely lacks Shadow defense, and all my damage is Elemental.

Sat, 08/02/2014 - 11:54

Batabii

If you plan ahead and have good gear, they're barely 2x harder than other mobs. The only problem with devilites is they're extremely mobile for something with accurate ranged attacks.

Why is all your damage only one type? I mean defense isn't as big a deal because tier 3 focuses on offense, but how can you expect to get anywhere if you only have one kind of weapon?!

Sat, 08/02/2014 - 12:11

Lodesamoney

Because I don't have the orbs

Because I don't have the orbs to make an arsenal of weapons to cover every damage type!? Because I'm not rich!? Once I get to FSC and can start farming for Radiants and Eternals more easily, I might be able to work that out.

I'm trying desperately to save my crowns and actually farm my orbs instead of sinking money into them.

Sat, 08/02/2014 - 12:38

Batabii

Seriously? You only need THREE WEAPONS. And the whole point is to prepare BEFORE you reach tier 3. There are no shortcuts. Don't be lazy.

Sat, 08/02/2014 - 12:49

#10

Lodesamoney

How am I taking shortcuts?

How am I taking shortcuts? I've been soloing this whole time, so I haven't been relying on anyone to carry me. When I get out of Rank 8 and can actually run FSC, THEN I can focus on the loadout that I want. Which will likely include:

Blitz Needle
Argent Peacemaker
Sentenza
Swiftstrike Buckler
Gunner Helmet/Armor that covers all four defenses and has positive minor resistances against Fire, Freeze, and Shock.

Until then, I'm being frugal with the few resources and little money that I have. There's nothing wrong with that. I've been farming for hours and hours earning the crystals and orbs I need to make the stuff I want, rather than just buying it from the supply depot. I've been WORKING for my equipment. That is NOT lazy.

Sat, 08/02/2014 - 16:18

#11

Sonosuke

(~O ,O)~ #Sonosuks

Honestly, you probably should have started getting the three damage types while you were still around Knight rank. Sure, it's not that simple to do that, but I'm curious. What weapons do you have right now? And how did you get to The Great Escape without any kind of shadow protection?

Sat, 08/02/2014 - 17:19

#12

Lodesamoney

For Return of Ur and and 8-1

For Return of Ur and and 8-1 I had a large number of Life Sparks to burn.

Also, my weapons are Pulsar and Avenger.

Sat, 08/02/2014 - 18:11

#13

Ultimaximus

Mate, you can't blame a new or inexperienced player for being inefficient. Not everyone studies the wiki when they first play. Just tell them what you recommend, respectfully.

Sat, 08/02/2014 - 19:37

#14

Lodesamoney

Ultimaximus, if that was

Ultimaximus, if that was directed at me, I'm sorry. I didn't know I was being out of line.

Got my 12th orb just now. I have roughly 500 Shining Crystals after all that farming too.

Sat, 08/02/2014 - 19:43

#15

Sederts-Alt

It was for Batabii

He can be a little rough at times...

Sat, 08/02/2014 - 19:44

#16

Batabii

@munnymunnymunny
I'm saying you can't expect to become vanguard overnight. Don't think you won't have to grind for orbs like everyone else. Reaching 5* takes lots of work and planning. You only really need one armor set because tier 3 is focused on offense far more than defense. That said, if you only have elemental weapons, you'll be no use at all against gremlins and wolvers, and only moderately effective versus fiends and slimes. You have to be patient, and yes, you might need to spend crowns on orbs and recipes.

@sonosuke
Yes, thats exactly what I was saying.

@ultimaximus
How does a person get to tier 3 and still be "inexperienced"? He's not "first playing". This is all basic stuff you should know before you even reach rank 8.

Sat, 08/02/2014 - 20:19

#17

Lodesamoney

I AM grinding for orbs

I AM grinding for orbs Batabii. Exactly what part did you miss when I said that I have been farming 8-2 ALL DAY for the last three days looking for orbs and crystals. I am working TIRELESSLY to EARN my orbs.

All I'm saying is that I'm not about to spend money I DON'T HAVE to buy Orbs that I DON'T NEED. If I can get away with making one loadout that gets me past Rank 8 AND works well in FSC, and I don't need to use more than 12 Orbs to do it, then that's what I'm going to do. I'm trying to get to Vanguard using the minimum resources possible without having to buy more, because I know that money and orbs will become much less of an issue the faster I can start running FSC. My rate of income and resources will increase threefold, at least.

It has nothing to do with me wanting to farm them or not, I accept that and I've been doing it round the clock. I'm just not going to be WASTEFUL.

Sat, 08/02/2014 - 21:01

#18

Sonosuke

@Ultimaximus

For a second there, I thought you were talking about me. I can't possibly refer to someone who's nearly done with a rank I just got to "inexperienced". That's just insulting to them and ruins my rep as that one idiot everyone either knows or has seen somewhere on the forums before.

@Munnymunnymunny

I get that you don't want to waste anything, but you can't possibly not have money to buy the orbs if you've been grinding T3 all day. By that, I mean all those crowns you're getting can be converted to energy, thus be saved up to buy orbs.

Also, not you specifically, but "FSC! FSC! FSC IS THE ONLY GOOD GRIND SPOT! EVERYTHING YOU NEED YOU CAN FIND IN FSC!"
I am so Sick of constantly hearing all this worship towards FSC. That's not the only place one can grind for their stuff. It's never been the only place to grind for stuff. I've said it once and I'll say it again: Run the bloody Arcade. From Day 1, the Arcade has been The place to grind mats, crowns, rarities, you name it. Ever since the bosses were added (I joined right before Battle Sprites were finally a thing, so correct me if I'm wrong), FSC has been run nonstop. Lots of players constantly playing this single mission, The King of Ashes, day after day, with several more wondering how they aren't bored out of their minds doing the same daily process. It surely confuses the heck out of me. I'm most likely only going to run it until I get the Blackened Crest, then I'm going back to the Arcade. Feel free to join me if you get bored of that literal hell hole.

... I'm sorry for all this ranting on your thread. I just needed somewhere to vent.

Sat, 08/02/2014 - 21:13

#19

Lodesamoney

That money is going to

That money is going to recipes. 5 5* recipes from the AH = 150k, which is about my entire budget.

Even so, the point is that why SHOULD I waste my hard earned money on orbs and crystals when I can get them for free just running missions over an over?

Also, I pefer running Jelly King, but it's apparently dead, as every time I click to join a party for it, there aren't any to join.

Sat, 08/02/2014 - 21:27

#20

Sonosuke

(~O ,O)~ #Sonosuks

Why are you getting recipes from the AH? The players always put the recipes up for a higher price than they already are. Which should be apparent, considering a 5* recipe from the NPC merchants (Basil, the Heroes in the HoH) is 25k, yet you're getting 5 from the AH for 150k. Do the math, it'll save you a couple thousand crowns.

Sat, 08/02/2014 - 21:28

#21

Klipik-Forum

To be fair, this game doesn't do a very good job of explaining to you that it's VERY IMPORTANT to have all 3 damage type primary weapons. And even though it does try to explain it a little bit, the game progression itself promotes upgrading everything as fast as possible and ignoring lower-tier gear entirely. And while I'm thinking about it, it also doesn't caution against doing bad things like making weapons that don't have full 5* alchemy paths (cautery sword, winmillion etc)

Sat, 08/02/2014 - 21:32

#22

Lasersheild

Lucas ain't a wimp, Ness lived a rich life for BABIES

Why is everyone being so hard on munny? It's not like he's begging for crowns or asking how to get 100000000000 cr in one minute. No, he's just asking how to be more efficient with his methods that he has invested time and effort in. He's not going to rewrite them from the ground, everyone has their own way of doing things. As for you munny, I would reccomend this one poison mission that I think is 7- something, it might be sewer stash but don't hold me to it. Gl and hf hunting those Dragos - I mean orbs

Edit: ignore the last part, I thought you were hunting elites.

Sat, 08/02/2014 - 21:34

#23

Sonosuke

(~O ,O)~ #Sonosuks

Actually, I think Sewer Stash is 6-1. And he's looking for Eternal Orbs; that mission is good for finding Elite Orbs.

Sat, 08/02/2014 - 21:35

#24

Lodesamoney

I am hunting Elites too. Need

I am hunting Elites too. Need them for trinkets. And I like to run Sewer Stash and JK when hunting those.

Sun, 08/03/2014 - 00:31

#25

Antice

it's not that hard

You are not missing anything here. Seriously, people are just playing dumb with you when they comment and say unrelated stuffs, wtf ? (hope they are not really, well, dumb). Your method is correct and you are simply not having enough luck. You are just a little bit less lucky than an average player in farming, that's all.

Sun, 08/03/2014 - 01:42

#26

Bopp

post #1

The relevant information is post #1 by Fangel. If you insist on finding orbs, then you will progress very slowly. The fastest way to progress is to use energy to buy the orbs that you lack.

Sun, 08/03/2014 - 21:38

#27

Lodesamoney

Finally got out of my 4*

Finally got out of my 4* equipment and made it to Champion.

Farming the Shining crystals actually took longer than getting the orbs, not to mention grinding enough heat. I hope Radiants are common in FSC and not a PITA to get in large quantities.

Sun, 08/03/2014 - 23:58

#28

Bopp

Is that a joke?

Your hopes are about to be dashed. Radiants are hard to find. That's why there are so many complaint threads about radiants on the forums. (By the way, please don't start another one.)

Mon, 08/04/2014 - 01:04

#29

Lodesamoney

Well thankfully I'm leaving

Well thankfully I'm leaving this gear at Lv1 and saving my Radiants for Sentenza and AP. SS Buckler doesn't need them either.

Also, no parties for FSC? What nonsense is this? This mission should always have lobbies looking for players.

Mon, 08/04/2014 - 01:12

#30

Batabii

because fsc is BORING

I can't beleive people complain about Shining Fire Crystals! They are the most common fire crystals in the whole clockworks! They appear for 10 whole depths or more!

Mon, 08/04/2014 - 02:18

#31

Lodesamoney

It's because having to farm

It's because having to farm them BEFORE being allowed to advance beyond Rank 8 is a major, MAJOR PITA. I needed well over 1000 to get four pieces of 4* gear to level 10. It took three days of non-stop mission running to get that many without having to purchase them.

Now I'm finding Radiants are appearing more often than Shining.

Also, Munnymunnymunny is now a Vanguard.

Mon, 08/04/2014 - 05:59

#32

Sonosuke

(~O ,O)~ #Sonosuks

"They are the most common fire crystals in the whole clockworks! "

No, they're not. If anything, the Warm Fire Crystals are the most common. Tell me why these things are not only found in Stratum 2, but also part of Stratum 3 and ALL of Tier 1?

Don't believe me? I run Arcade daily, down to D23 Terminal. This is the rarities outcome of me doing that.

Mon, 08/04/2014 - 10:20

#33

Batabii

Oh no, THREE DAYS! How terrible! You'll die of old age by then!

As for warm, I had no idea they were in tier 1. That really makes no sense, considering they're 3* items.

That said, tier 1 is only 6 floors long. The first three strata combined are only 10 depths total, so it's only longer by theoretically one depth, and shinings might drop in shadow lairs too, I don't recall.

Mon, 08/04/2014 - 10:25

#34

Lodesamoney

I'm stuck on 4* right now and

Well, I need to go back and farm Elite orbs now, for Sentenza and trinkets. I also need Advanced orbs, but those are somewhat cheap at least.

As for armor, I'm gonna keep Vog Cub until the Gunner update comes out and I can see the new armors. I want a Gunner armor set that's either ideal for FSC, or has moderate defenses across the board for multiple stratums.

Mon, 08/04/2014 - 10:33

#35

Sonosuke

(~O ,O)~ #Sonosuks

Holy crap, I worded that one wrong. I meant to say in Stratums 3 and 4.

Warm is the 2* crystals. And the strata are seperated so that each one goes with a specific star rank. Stratum 3 is 2*, thus why you need 2* gear to get into T2 in the first place. But why do I find them in Stratum 1, where there shouldn't even be 2* items?

Mon, 08/04/2014 - 10:55

#36

Lodesamoney

Anyone know a good mission to

Anyone know a good mission to farm Advanced orbs? I'd rather find them instead of paying for them if I can. So far I've been running 6-2 Sewer Stash a lot, but all I'm seeing are Elites.

Which I need, but still, I'd like both.

Mon, 08/04/2014 - 11:11

#37

Sonosuke

(~O ,O)~ #Sonosuks

There's quite a handful of guides, including orb hunting, you can find through the Steam community. Be sure to remember that Orbs aren't guaranteed to appear, the guide is just the places where you're most likely to find orbs. Higher difficulties are recommended. Or not, if you prefer not to die so easily.

Mon, 08/04/2014 - 11:16

#38

Skepticraven

↓

Some people update the wiki on this topic.

Some even crazier people even attempt to find out how rare rarities are.

All in all, my suggestion is as always : Farm crowns on an even stratum. If you are looking for orbs that appear on an even stratum (simple, elite, eternal), farm on that stratum (2, 4, 6). Unless the arcade has a repeatable arena without wait, it is generally not worth farming flawed or advanced orbs.

Edit:
The guide that the post above links to has some nice suggested missions that have high box counts and low monster battle arenas (so that you can run through and only grab the boxes). I personally can kill monsters fast enough (even without endgame gear) to farm crowns to buy orbs faster than this method.

Mon, 08/04/2014 - 20:28

#39

Lodesamoney

Well, Flawed Orbs aren't too

Well, Advanced Orbs aren't too expensive, two FSC runs can cover that easily.

Now, the question I face is, do I keep using my Vog Cub armor until the Gunner update, or do I bite the bullet early and make a Gunner loadout now.

Right now I have Argent Peacemaker, Blackhawk, and a SS Buckler, and I'm contemplating making a Blitz, and working towards two Trueshot modules as well.

Mon, 08/04/2014 - 20:22

#40

Klipik-Forum

So what I"m getting from this is, I need to speedrun some arcade clockworks tunnels in S3 with MSI VH and only break boxes if I want any significant amount of Advanced orbs?

Mon, 08/04/2014 - 23:33

#41

Batabii

Speedruns are a waste of loot that you'll probably need later anyway. Especially if you want to use crowns to buy energy to buy orbs. Also there's the whole boredom issue.

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Where's the best place to farm Eternal Orbs before Rank 9/Champion?