[X-POSTED] per request.
I have a question about how Heat works with regard to leveling weapons and the Depth or Tier. Some areas seem to level faster than others and maybe I was trolled but when I was in Tier3 earlier, someone was QQing about how aside from the potential for better mats, there's really no incentive to go to Tier3. So I have a few direct questions that the Wiki doesn't address (and probably should).
1. When you are in a dungeon with a full party, all of the Heat is shared. If you die and someone revives you, do they receive 30% of your share when they revive you or when you are on the lift after completion of the level?
If it is the former, then if you are in a party of two and you each die once, and each time you die one person revives the other, the second person to revive should in theory have "more" Heat, right? If so this is a great incentive to revive people and make sure you're the last person to revive on each map. This leads to me to my next question.
2. Can heat "max out?" There's a graphic display for when the heat is "overflowing" but the Wiki nor SK's developers seem to have ever been clear as to if you can max out your Heat yield.
3. Will a 4* Level 1 item level faster in certain depths than others? Is the difficulty of leveling based on the depth and yields of heat on those depths or is it based on the level of the weapon and it doesn't matter where you level it.
The reason I am asking these questions is because as I take a step away from my 4* gear and trade in tokens for items I have to build from 2* or 3* I'd like to know how to best level them up in the fastest way possible.
Thanks!
1a) They receive your heat the moment they revive you.
b) Yes, painfully so (if you are the last one to die, that is :) )
2. I've seen heat become a glowing/flaming ember like this one: http://wiki.spiralknights.com/File:Heat_Full.png
But it's hard to determine a maximum, as you said.
3. It actually depends on how far within a Tier you are in. You earn more heat in Depth 16 (near the end of Tier 2) than you would in Depth 19 (start of Tier 3). The amount of heat you earn depends on how far in the Tier you are in, not how deep you are.
Overall? The best depth to level up your equipment is in Tier 3, Firestorm Citadel - but keep in mind your skill level, and your party's skill level. You don't want to lose all that heat for nothing!
Personally, the best places to level up your equipment is the Jelly Palace (haven't checked the Ironclaw Munitions yet) or Firestorm Citadel.