On the map I can see up to four levels on each floor, but we only go through 1 on each floor..
So how long does it take for one floor to switch level..
gate path..
I know I can only pass through one gate per floor..
But when looking at the gate map when down in a gate, you can sometimes see as the path change..
So the real question would be if its worth to stand by an elevator and wait for the path to change to a level you prefer?
That depends on what you prefer vs how much time you're willing to wait for it to change. I don't know how long it takes, I'll say 10 minutes like above but I really don't know.
And waiting for it to change usually isn't that important. You could probably finish a level and return to haven and start your dive again in the time it could take for you to wait it out for an arena that's 3 spaces apart.
Oh and I'm sure you know this, but saying it anyway, there's the ? levels where its random, so you can't figure out what level is going to appear next.
Personally I always wait till the Arena gets lined up. For me it's worth the wait. Go downstairs, make a coffee, come back and set some mecha knights on fire. Good times.
yeah ive been hand picking levels when i can afford to wait. i know which ones are more lucrative than others, for the most part -- or easier when I just need to get deeper. the worst is the random floors, because I get the treasure room too often and I actually think its a waste of CE.. i want the graveyard! thats the flippin jackpot :)
~12 1/2 minutes to gate change, just timed it out, same as the time to get 1 mist energy. But, they are on independent timers obviously, because stages are instanced.
I think the time to rotate levels also depends on the depth. I remember at one point I was on floor 6 and the level below would change every 5 minutes, but at floor 9 it would take much longer(10 mins?) and this was in the same run.
The term "rotate" used by zero2009 seems very appropriate to me. Imagine levels on a floor to be on a dial inside the clockworks. That dial is rotating. The floor you're currently on is rotating as well, in the opposite direction.
How quickly a new level comes up depends on how many levels are on that floor. I've observed a maximum of 5 levels per floor. It seems that when this is the case it takes about 12 minutes for them to rotate out of scope (full rotation of 5 levels in 60 minutes). When there's less levels on a floor, it seems there are "gaps" in the placement of levels on that dial. Because of this it will sometimes take 12 minutes, sometimes a multiple of this to cycle in another level.
I've never had the patience to sit and stare at a gate for an hour though. I could easily be wrong (the Clockworks could consist of dials which rotate at different speeds). And I don't care. :)
You can only pass through one gate on each floor, regardless of what you do. As for the amount of time it takes for a floor to switch, I'm not sure. Maybe 10 minutes? I know it's not a horribly long time.