Because this is getting ridiculous.
I've been doing arcade runs from the surface to the core on elite and I've been next to none rarities.
I mean seriously what the hell?
After multiple (from 0 to 27) runs, all I've gotten are 2 eternal orbs and a spark of life.
I wouldn't complain but the crown payout is pathetic as well (5000 crowns on a good run and 4000 on bad run from the entire arcade run).
Is running FSC the only way we're supposed to get resources anymore?
FSC isn't necessarily the best way to farm; I've been doing arcade runs on that Orange gate (can't get the name off the top of my head), it has 3 potential danger rooms on the last 3 depths; I've had up to 40 radiants or 3 5* orbs in one run; sparks of life do come in every now and then too, although I don't care much about those. Basically been just speedrunning the whole gate, not killing mobs and only getting boxes/danger rooms. Worked quite well for me, but really depends on how good arcade gates are.
"(5000 crowns on a good run and 4000 on bad run from the entire arcade run"
I get that much on a T1 run.
(5000 crowns on a good run and 4000 on bad run from the entire arcade run).
Similarly to what Skepticraven said, I get around 7.5k to 9k for a tier 3 arcade run on elite, and this is speedrunning through the first strata.
For rarities, run the newest arcade gate - it has a depth 28 undead/freeze arena.
In other words, the rarity drops are not bugged but they are, well, rare. Hence, the name and all.
You ran depths 0-27, and didn't bother to go to depth 28?!
I assume that you're not counting 3- and 4-star fire crystals. Are you also not counting 5-star fire crystals?
Maybe I stole your luck... game decided to give me three Elite orbs in one T2 clockworks run...
I don't count low star fire crystals, as for 5* ones I get about 10 per clockwork run.
Fire crystals are rarities too. Sparks of life are not as common as fire crystals, but more common than orbs of alchemy. If you're running the clockworks for certain orbs of alchemy, you should be running depths they appear at. (i.e., don't run tier 1 if you're looking for eternal orbs, and don't run tier 3 if you're looking for advanced orbs)
And are you speedrunning the clockworks? Like, only fighting when forced to? I have no idea how you could possibly only get 5000 crowns running the entire clockworks. Last I checked, defeating every enemy, you should get at least 20k crowns.
I clear the whole level all enemies, statistically I get more orbs than sparks. This is the first spark I've seen in 3 weeks.
There is some anecdotal evidence that Sparks of Life drop more after you have used one. If that is true and you rarely use them, then you will rarely get them. Accumulating a stockpile of them is not easy (anymore).
Edit: Like the other responders here, I don't understand how you are getting so few crowns.
Last I checked, defeating every enemy, you should get at least 20k crowns.
This. A full tier 3 run nets something around 9-13k depending on the levels, tier 2 gives about 5k, and tier 1 gives around 2k.
The only different thing about my arcade runs is that I don't do the run with vanaduke because I solo and can't kill him alone, as for sparks, I don't use any. At all. If I die I take it from the top.
I'm trying to gather a pile to use for when new when shadowlairs/raids get added (haha, yeah right), but they nearly never drop.
Reason I say what I do is because I have about 1050 sparks of life (bound) and around 260 eternal orbs of alchemy. In my own experience, I get about 4 sparks to every orb, especially since sparks of life can drop at any depth.
And an entire tier 3 run should still net over 9000 crowns. Vanaduke alone gives that amount, however add stratum 5 and you can easily make up for what you get in Vanaduke.
You'll find many more orbs of alchemy/items you're looking for if you start at a deeper depth. Start at tier 2 and you'll find a lot of advanced orbs instead of 1*-2* orbs. Plus tier 2 pays out better than tier 1.
If you're only making it halfway through tier 2 before wiping and claiming that it doesn't pay out well enough, that's not the entire clockworks payout - it is a partial one.
How the f are you guys finding so many sparks, when I have to do fifty missions to find 1? Its not fair :/.
For one, I play the game a lot on elite. For two, I play the arcade a lot on elite. For three, I play tier 3 arcade a lot on elite.
I also don't really ever use my sparks so this is about 2 years of spark buildup, and I didn't even play all that frequently when sparks dropped like candy at the introduction of rarities.
But bottom line is rarities, like all loot, is RNG. I'd recommend playing higher tiers for crowns to trade for energy to pay for rarities on the supply depot. That's how you should be thinking, but it's rarely how players actually do think (instead that they are entitled to rarities, much like in mist days they were entitled to free elevators. The latter they sort of are, but rarities reward you for playing well and playing frequently).
I really like how whenever something is absurdly rare its always that the players are entitled.
"You're entitled, it doesn't matter you have to do tens of not hundreds of runs, to aquire and craft the items you want, you should open wide and let the devs shove whatever they want down your throat, its their game, and you're their b."
It's one thing to not be able to play the game as much as possible.
It's another thing to not have your gear at max level.
You are entitled to your gear at level 0. Put enough effort in and you'll be able to get it to level 10.
Besides, orbs of alchemy are not "absurdly rare". They are the rarest of rarities for sure, but they can be reliably farmed(crowns > energy > orbs). You just don't have a progress bar on orb collection like you do heat.
@Hexzyle
"A full tier 3 run nets something around 9-13k depending on the levels, tier 2 gives about 5k, and tier 1 gives around 2k."
Running the averages that you linked to my study in an earlier reply... 5038crn for T1, 7477crn for T2, and 8892crn for T3 [total of 21.4kcrn avg full arcade run].
Most of the change there is because there are 6 T1, 8 T2, and 9 T3 depths per run.
The OP is doing something wrong if they're only getting 1/4 of that number.
Of course with some informed selection of which gates to run, you can easily boost those "averages" by 20-30%.
@Ellthan-Cosmolion
Rarities are... rare. Hexzyle linked to my study that suggests that they are close to 0.51% and 0.36% chance of being dropped from green treasure boxes. There's an average of 12 boxes a depth and 23 depths per full run... meaning on average you will get 1.4 orbs and 1 SoL per full run.
http://forums.spiralknights.com/en/node/90750