Spiral Knights - Arcade Classes for Birds

Arcade Classes for Birds

71 replies [Last post]

Sat, 01/17/2015 - 22:58

Skepticraven

Raven here, sharing some info that may be valuable to other players.

I did this awhile ago, but lots of people are horrified by the gigantic quantity of information.
Most people want a simple question answered: Is the arcade currently a good place for radiant farming?

Here is my answer:

Current Gates Nov 16-17 2018:

Emerald Sun Gate
S6 = Vanaduke.
Opinion: Bad Gate [Do mission instead].

Ruby Bishop Gate
D27 = Treasure Vault w/ Deconstruction Zone.
D28 = Clockwork Tunnels, Devilish Drudgery.
Opinion: Bad Gate

Sapphire King Gate
D27 = Compound, Clockwork Tunnels.
D28 = Compound, Clockwork Tunnels, Decon Zone.
Opinion: Okay Gate, if you wait for both clock tunnels.

Copper Titan Gate
D27 = Decon Zone, Compound.
D28 = Arena, Decon Zone.
Opinion: Okay gate if you wait for arena.

#Notes on my analysis:
I use wiki naming convention for depths.
Average boxes on depths are used to determine if a gate ranks better or worse payout compared to FSC. If you're looking for radiants only (and not crowns), I recommend running the mission Dreams and Nightmares.
Time is not a factor in ranking.
Will attempt to lazily update this thread as gates swap in and out.

Rankings are Good [Beats missions], Okay [Close to tie with missions/slightly worse], Bad [Outclassed by missions].

During Tortodrone event, farming glyphs is much better in the arcade than missions due to event rooms. Devilish Drudgeries have a chance for a bonus room at the end of the depth, Fiend Arenas have a chance for turning into a "mysterious" arena, and Fiend Clockwork Tunnels have a chance for gaining a "mysterious room" [similar to danger rooms]. Dark City related depths do not have these bonus changes and should not be considered "better" than their mission counterparts.

Sun, 01/18/2015 - 04:32

Thunder-The-Bright

algorithms are the solutions to any problem.

compounds have a 0.04 advantage over graveyards in terms of number of boxes.
seriously OOO, I think you have designed compounds just to see if you could boost mineral dumping in the arcade (noticed that before the arcade redux there were a lot more compounds? I did.) but now that we don't have that incentive, could you just adjust the box spawning?

Sun, 01/18/2015 - 08:48

Skepticraven

↓

Although it isn't clear in the summary analysis sheets, compounds never have to pay energy for the boxes. The majority of graveyard boxes cost 3E per 2 or 4 to access. Additionally, crown payout for compounds is right smack in the middle [S6 = rank 7/15]. They're average for crowns and heat, but far below average for rarity farming.

Scarlet fortress and aurora isles have a mix of unchanging box numbers since the levels don't change. Jelly Farm and Jelly Farm II aurora isles are "good" depths, while Stone grove and Low Gardens are not. There is a lot more information that I use and don't particularly describe because its just numbers and people don't like hearing that.

Sun, 01/18/2015 - 09:25

Bopp

nice

This is a nice antidote to our usual forum chatter. You show players how to make money while having fun (meaning not grinding FSC). Thanks.

Mon, 01/19/2015 - 08:11

Vohtarak-Forum

im vohtarak, call me by that name

This is a pretty useful tool

Also, I prefer graveyards over compounds mainly because the risk to reward ratio is better, gys are a good place for crowns where compounds just harass you with no special payout

Mon, 01/19/2015 - 21:51

Skepticraven

↓

Copper Clover Gate
S6 = Vanaduke.
Opinion: Bad Gate [Do mission instead].

Swapped out for

Dark Serpent Gate
S6 = Vanaduke.
Opinion: Bad Gate [Do mission instead].

Not really an interesting change.

Wed, 01/21/2015 - 21:57

Skepticraven

↓

Silver Phantom Gate
D27 = Jigsaw Valley.
D28 = Decon Zone.
Opinion: Bad Gate.

Swapped out for...

Ruby Skull Gate
D27 = Clock Tunnels, Wolver Den, Compound.
D28 = Compound, Arena, Compound, Clock Tunnels, Wolver Den.
Opinion: Good gate if you wait for clock tunnels. Even better gate if you wait for arena.

Fri, 01/23/2015 - 00:05

Fehzor

Thank you for this thread by the way. Now I can check the only relevant part of arcade gates without having to launch the game.

Sat, 01/24/2015 - 07:10

Skepticraven

↓

Golden Rook Gate
D27 = Clock Tunnels or Compound.
D28 = Wolver Den.
Opinion: Bad Gate.

...was swapped for...

Coral Falcon Gate
D27 = Compound.
D28 = Clockwork Tunnels.
Opinion: Okay Gate.

Mon, 01/26/2015 - 06:43

Skepticraven

↓

Jade Knight Gate
D27 = Clock Tunnels, Wolver Den, or Compound.
D28 = Clock Tunnels or Wolver Den.
Opinion: Good Gate if you wait clockwork tunnels.

... was swapped for...

Jade Lion Gate
D27 = Aurora Isles
D28 = Compound, Clock Tunnels, Wolver Den
Opinion: Good Gate if you wait clockwork tunnels and Jelly farm variations [I or II] of Aurora Isles.

Wed, 01/28/2015 - 08:42

#10

Skepticraven

↓

Dark Serpent Gate
S6 = Vanaduke.
Opinion: Bad Gate [Do mission instead].

... Swapped in for ...

Emerald Bishop Gate
S6 = Vanaduke.
Opinion: Bad Gate [Do mission instead] Also, plenty of arenas for T1.

Fri, 01/30/2015 - 10:27

#11

Skepticraven

↓

Ruby Skull Gate
D27 [7 minute level rotation] = Clock Tunnels, Wolver Den, Compound.
D28 [6 minute level rotation] = Compound, Arena, Compound, Clock Tunnels, Wolver Den.
Opinion: Good gate if you wait for clock tunnels. Even better gate if you wait for arena.

... Swapped out for ...

Sapphire Phantom Gate
D27 = Scarlet Fortress
D28 = Clock tunnels, Lichenous Lair, Compound.
Opinion: Okay gate if you wait for Grim Gallery of scarlet fortress and clock tunnels.

Sun, 02/01/2015 - 07:40

#12

Skepticraven

↓

Coral Falcon Gate
D27 = Compound.
D28 = Clockwork Tunnels.
Opinion: Okay Gate.

... Swapped out for...

Onyx Serpent Gate
D27 = Compound, Candlestick Keep.
D28 = Clockwork Tunnels, Candlestick Keep.
Opinion: Good gate if you wait for Clockwork Tunnels + Candlestick Keep. *Candlestick keep has a good average, but extremely high variance. You can get 3 boxes, or you could get 30+.

Wed, 02/04/2015 - 08:19

#13

Skepticraven

↓

Jade Lion Gate
D27 = Aurora Isles
D28 = Compound, Clock Tunnels, Wolver Den
Opinion: Good Gate if you wait clockwork tunnels and Jelly farm variations [I or II] of Aurora Isles.

... Swapped out for...

Amber Rook Gate
D27 = Concrete Jungle
D28 = Clock Tunnels, Candlestick Keep
Opinion: Bad Gate.

Wed, 02/04/2015 - 10:43

#14

Parasthesia

Thanks for this thread, and

Thanks for this thread, and all work you put into it.

Thu, 02/05/2015 - 09:56

#15

Arylide

When there's trouble you know who to call!

So this post is just for saying: Thank you for making this! I really admire the dedication I see in your threads and posts. This makes the never-ending quest for radiants more fun, now that I know where to look besides FSC. Thanks again!

~Arylide

Thu, 02/05/2015 - 10:13

#16

Skepticraven

↓

Emerald Bishop Gate
S6 = Vanaduke.
Opinion: Bad Gate [Do mission instead] Also, plenty of arenas for T1.

... Swapped out for...

Iron Clover Gate
S6 = Vanaduke.
Opinion: Bad Gate [Do mission instead] Also, plenty of arenas for T2.

These FSC gates sure seem to give arenas in other tiers recently.

Also thanks for all the comments. Glad people are actually getting use out of this thread.

Thu, 02/05/2015 - 17:47

#17

Rothni-Halias

Subject:

Just wanted to say that this is very much appreciated. Thank you for doing this.

Thu, 02/05/2015 - 21:05

#18

Doctorspacebar

Spiral Knights has now joined a list populated by Fire Emblem and Teen Titans: the prestigious list of awesome people with Raven in their name. Hats off to you!

Fri, 02/06/2015 - 08:25

#19

Arylide

When there's trouble you know who to call!

Wow! I seriously thought nobody would notice! Hats off to you too!

Sat, 02/07/2015 - 08:00

#20

Skepticraven

↓

Sapphire Phantom Gate
D27 = Scarlet Fortress
D28 = Clock tunnels, Lichenous Lair, Compound.
Opinion: Okay gate.

... swapped out for...

Silver Queen Gate
D27 = Compound, Arena, Wolver Den
D28 = Compound, Wolver Den.
Opinion: Good gate, if you wait for Arena.

Sat, 02/07/2015 - 09:54

#21

Amarille

[insert t-bone falling on table here]

Thanks for this thread, dude. Appreciate it! :D

Sat, 02/07/2015 - 10:40

#22

Avihr

Void

Tweet tweet?

Mon, 02/09/2015 - 08:34

#23

Skepticraven

↓

... Swapped out for...

Dark Knight Gate
D27 = Compound, Wolver Den.
D28 = Compound, Clock Tunnels.
Opinion: Okay gate if you wait for Clockwork Tunnels.

Tue, 02/10/2015 - 13:37

#24

Fangel

So much potential...

Dark Knight Gate
It's the gate we need, not the gate we deserve...

Wed, 02/11/2015 - 08:29

#25

Skepticraven

↓

Amber Rook Gate
D27 = Concrete Jungle
D28 = Clock Tunnels, Candlestick Keep
Opinion: Bad Gate.

... Swapped out for...

Ruby Pawn Gate
D27 = Jigsaw Valley
D28 = Compound
Opinion: Bad Gate.

Thu, 02/12/2015 - 06:51

#26

Arylide

Bump

Lol Fangel, that was exactly what I was thinking.

Fri, 02/13/2015 - 06:16

#27

Skepticraven

↓

Iron Clover Gate
S6 = Vanaduke.
Opinion: Bad Gate [Do mission instead] Also, plenty of arenas for T2.

... Swapped out for...

Copper Rook Gate
S6 = Vanaduke.
Opinion: Bad Gate [Do mission instead].

Sun, 02/15/2015 - 07:49

#28

Skepticraven

↓

Silver Queen Gate
D27 = Compound, Arena, Wolver Den
D28 = Compound, Wolver Den.
Opinion: Good gate, if you wait for Arena.

... swapped out for...

Diamond Queen Gate
D27 = Jigsaw Valley
D28 = Compound.
Opinion: Bad Gate.

Mon, 02/16/2015 - 10:23

#29

Arylide

Bump

Thu, 02/19/2015 - 07:38

#30

Skepticraven

↓

Dark Knight Gate
D27 = Compound, Wolver Den.
D28 = Compound, Clock Tunnels.
Opinion: Okay gate if you wait for Clockwork Tunnels.

... Swapped out for...

Emerald Sun Gate
D27 = Compound, Clock Tunnels.
D28 = Clock Tunnels, Wolver Den, Treasure Vault, Graveyard.
Opinion: Chance of Good or Okay gate if you wait for D27 Clockwork Tunnels.

Thu, 02/19/2015 - 07:38

#31

Skepticraven

↓

Ruby Pawn Gate
D27 = Jigsaw Valley
D28 = Compound
Opinion: Bad Gate.

... Swapped out for...

Dark Serpent Gate
D27 = Jigsaw Valley
D28 = Clock Tunnels, Decon Zone
Opinion: Okay Gate if you wait for Clockwork Tunnels.

Thu, 02/19/2015 - 08:02

#32

Fehzor

It would be cool if we had a statistic going for this thread, like-

Good gates: 6
OK gates: 5
Bad gates: 11

While this is "just" what you think, your opinion is pretty much spot on when it comes to whether or not the gate has radiant fire crystals or garbage at the bottom.

Another thing worth mentioning are T2 levels, but only if they're really worth mentioning. So maybe like-

Fictional Example Gate
D11 = Arena, clockwork tunnels
D13 = Arena, clockwork tunnels, compounds
D15 = Arena, decon zone
...
D27 = Compounds, Decon Zone
D28 = Decon Zone, Compounds, Compounds, Decon Zone
Opinion: Good gate for farming in T2, poor gate for farming radiant fire crystals

Thu, 02/19/2015 - 08:56

#33

Skepticraven

↓

That statistic could easily be generated from the non-OP comments I've been making - Keeping a log of the gates that existed. I think a more interesting idea would be to identify if there is a "good active gate" during each rotation. Using the numbers, roughly 1/4 of the gates are good - which is good because we have 4 gates active at once. The issue is that they are not equally spread and there are "bad farming" zones... like at the time of this post.

I do sometimes mention T1/T2 areas of interest, but that's only if they catch my eye. I'm not actively looking for them because I still have ~20 elite orbs left over from the gunner update. Most people are interested in Radiants, Elite orbs, and event based areas. I will likely mention event area farming while an event is active [such as fiend areas for tortodrones].

Thu, 02/19/2015 - 12:04

#34

Smalltownguy

survival ratings?

Another rating might be how hard it would be for someone with less-than-max equipment to survive the trip through D19-26. I'm not sure how we could rate survivability since everyone's skills are different (of course), but it's something to think about.

For instance: Compounds, Candlestick, and maybe Dark City come to mind as hard for me. Arena levels as well, as they have good payouts but poor survival rates. On the other hand, I seldom have trouble with Clockworks levels or Wolver Den levels even at D28.

Thu, 02/19/2015 - 13:33

#35

Autofire

You are experiencing a PICNIC ERROR!

Sweet! First time I decided to look at this thread. It gets my full support.

Also, I'm wondering, are you taking into account the fact that Danger Rooms are crammed with red boxes? (I mean, are you considering that players do them or not?) I once got a room-full of Radiants after a Danger Room. :P

Thu, 02/19/2015 - 14:27

#36

Skepticraven

↓

@Autofire

Average numbers include all energy gates being opened, with the cost of the energy subtracted from the profit of the room being opened.

Specifically, for my data, there is about a 50% chance of a DR in each clockworks tunnel... with an overall net profit for all DRs except on depths 1, 9, and 19. Those become profitable when you are in a party of 2 or more and split the cost.

Sat, 02/21/2015 - 09:39

#37

Skepticraven

↓

Copper Rook Gate
S6 = Vanaduke.
Opinion: Bad Gate [Do mission instead].

... Swapped out for...

Golden Lion Gate
S6 = Vanaduke.
Opinion: Bad Gate [Do mission instead].

Mon, 02/23/2015 - 07:01

#38

Skepticraven

↓

Diamond Queen Gate
D27 = Jigsaw Valley
D28 = Compound.
Opinion: Bad Gate.

... Swapped out for...

Ruby Clover Gate
D27 = Clockwork Tunnels
D28 = Clockwork Tunnels, Compound.
Opinion: Good Gate, if you wait for Clock Tunnels.

Wed, 02/25/2015 - 07:49

#39

Skepticraven

↓

Emerald Sun Gate
D27 = Compound, Clock Tunnels.
D28 = Clock Tunnels, Wolver Den, Treasure Vault, Graveyard.
Opinion: Chance of Good or Okay gate if you wait for D27 Clockwork Tunnels.

... Swapped out for...

Silver Pawn Gate
D27 = Aurora Isles.
D28 = Clockwork Tunnels, Wolver Den.
Opinion: Good gate, if you wait for Jelly Farm variations of Aurora Isles and Clockwork Tunnels.

Wed, 02/25/2015 - 16:59

#40

Likal

Thank you

Thank you for constantly updating the first post with the current gates. ^_^

Fri, 02/27/2015 - 09:12

#41

Skepticraven

↓

Dark Serpent Gate
D27 = Jigsaw Valley
D28 = Clock Tunnels, Decon Zone
Opinion: Okay Gate if you wait for Clockwork Tunnels.

... Swapped out for...

Amber Titan Gate
D27 = Jigsaw Valley
D28 = Jigsaw Valley
Opinion: Bad Gate.

Sun, 03/01/2015 - 08:40

#42

Skepticraven

↓

Golden Lion Gate
S6 = Vanaduke.
Opinion: Bad Gate [Do mission instead].

... Swapped out for...

Copper Queen Gate
S6 = Vanaduke.
Opinion: Bad Gate [Do mission instead]... S2 not bad for simple orbs.

Tue, 03/03/2015 - 08:19

#43

Skepticraven

↓

Ruby Clover Gate
D27 = Clockwork Tunnels
D28 = Clockwork Tunnels, Compound.
Opinion: Good Gate, if you wait for Clock Tunnels.

... Swapped out for...

Jade Rook Gate
D27 = Treasure Vault, Clock Tunnels, Lichen Lair, Graveyard
D28 = Compound, Lichen Lair.
Opinion: Bad Gate [with a chance to be okay].

Thu, 03/05/2015 - 06:24

#44

Skepticraven

↓

Silver Pawn Gate
D27 = Aurora Isles.
D28 = Clockwork Tunnels, Wolver Den.
Opinion: Good gate, if you wait for Jelly Farm variations of Aurora Isles and Clockwork Tunnels.

... swapped out for...

Dark Serpent Gate
D27 = Compound.
D28 = Compound, Devilish Drudgery
Opinion: Bad Gate.

Thu, 03/05/2015 - 06:48

#45

Whimsicality

What is this? Bird school? Which is for birds? Gr8 work, Skeptic, this saves me the hassle of booting up the game itself to see which gates are worth the time.

Thu, 03/05/2015 - 11:13

#46

Skepticraven

↓

@Whimsicality

I would lecture you on the advantages of a birds eye view for analysis, but the careful fetching and assembly of my marvelous nest of data should speak for itself. Hopefully this comment should allow you to question my ways... nevermore.

It is, of course, a course for birds. No school [the strangers won't fund it].

Fri, 03/06/2015 - 12:30

#47

Cheshireccat

@Skep

TY! Great idea! :D
Would it be worth including S4 arenas when they are available? I find they produce a good amount of Cr in a short time, and also drop Advanced/Elite Orbs.
D14 arenas appear pretty frequently in the depth before JK and RT.

Note:D14 seems (anecdotally) to be a 25% Advanced 75% Elite. D16-17 seem to be all Elite.
--Chesh

Sat, 03/07/2015 - 08:36

#48

Skepticraven

↓

Amber Titan Gate
D27 = Jigsaw Valley
D28 = Jigsaw Valley
Opinion: Bad Gate.

... Swapped out for...

Coral Phantom Gate
D27 = Treasure Vault, Lichen Lair, Graveyard
D28 = Compound
Opinion: Bad Gate [with a chance of being Okay Gate].

@Cheshireccat

I try and mention some of the back to back arenas in lower stratums. Logistically, it isn't always worth going to a single arena before a boss depth. Back to back arenas in any stratum are definitely worth it if you need rarities from that stratum.

Sat, 03/07/2015 - 11:32

#49

Shadorian

Date Stamp?

It would be nice if on the OP you listed the dates it was last updated, right next to "Current Gates". This would remove amy confusion in the case you're unable to update this one week or if/when this thread dies. It doesn't show a "last edited" date, so I figure this might be useful. Obviously if you go in-game you can see if the gates match but this would remove having to do that.

Otherwise, very handy, thank for the effort.

Sun, 03/08/2015 - 21:34

#50

Skepticraven

↓

Copper Queen Gate
S6 = Vanaduke.
Opinion: Bad Gate [Do mission instead]... S2 not bad for simple orbs.

... swapped out for...

Ruby Clover Gate
S6 = Vanaduke.
Opinion: Bad Gate [Do mission instead].

Also updated a datestamp in the OP to give valid day ranges...

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Arcade Classes for Birds