Spiral Knights - Giving up hope of reaching Tier 2

Giving up hope of reaching Tier 2

14 replies [Last post]

Fri, 04/15/2011 - 06:13

Loosebones

Legacy Username

I've built up a play time of about 10 hours now, but I'm giving up hope of ever reaching Tier 2. For me that is also the point at which I'd imagine regularly buying energy, so maybe Three Rings won't ever see any financial return for their lovely game from me.

Why? Well, the price and utility of recipes vs off-the-peg vendors makes it a no brainer that you only want to get your equipment from the alchemy machine. I'd enthusiastically made a shopping list for my path to 2 star equiptment bliss, and started on swords buying Bolted Blade and Calibur recipes and piliing up materials from adventures. I estimated I'd need do about 50 levels to buy 5 more 2* recipes - a big difference from the 15 the Spiral Warden needs for tier 2, but no worries, it's fun bumbling around this beautiful, varied world.

I realised I wasn't picking up enough 2* materials, but I wasn't worried because I'd seen Brinks swapped tokens for these. I was also hoping I could rely on Basil to come up with the more interesting recipes on my wish list. I thought I could then offer something useful to the guild that kindly took me on mixing recipes for others. However, I've noticed the last few times I've visited Basil there's only been the same undesirable 1* recipes available. Then the penny dropped that my tokens didn't match the swaps Brinks would make for the Swordstone I wanted, and he didn't offer things like Jelly Core and Frayed Fabric at all.

Suddenly the likelyhood of much more than 50 levels in Tier 1 and loads of hanging around Haven trying to trade materials opened up, and I lost the will to carry on. Perhaps I'm playing like an idiot. Perhaps I should be buying energy, trading it for crowns, then buying equipment from vendors. Perhaps I should relish 100 game hours in Tier 1 or learn to love haggling in Haven. But I had been enjoying my strategy and don't really want to change.

It's been said before that the game needs an exchange/ auction house (for materials and recipes as well as equipment). Without it, I don't think I'll spending much more time playing it. That is a shame, because it is fun, very scenic and well priced (I expected to pay about $2/ month for the slots and crafting in casual play).

Fri, 04/15/2011 - 07:20

Tempestua

Legacy Username

You'll find you get better

You'll find you get better materials/crowns/heat in the levels past the mid-point terminal, so make sure you're not quitting too early.
And if it's swordstones you're after, make sure you're doing gates/levels that have most mobs that drop them.

Edit: Also you're being unlucky in only seeing 1 star recipes from Basil

Fri, 04/15/2011 - 07:42

Shoebox

I have a whole bunch of

I have a whole bunch of recipes in my Help for New Players thread.
If you have the materials, crowns and energy I'd be more than happy to craft any of the items I have for you.

This is actually why I made the thread in the first place, to make T1 a little more bearable for new players :)

Fri, 04/15/2011 - 08:21

Icee

Consider Kozma, and get 1* before 2*

Unless you want to go through the Cobalt/Calibur/Defender path, which is always available from Kozma, you'll have to make a bunch of trips to the terminal to get recipes.

I have found (albeit this is very anecdotal and not proven with hard data) that the recipes I see from the vendor in the terminals seem related to my experience and gear. With my main character (who is already in 3* gear), I see a mix of 1* and 2* recipes at the first terminal, and 3-4* recipes in the second terminal. With a new character that I played yesterday for the heck of it, I only saw 1* recipes in two trips to the first terminal. I bought a couple of those and I'm going to see if having 1* gear means I'll see a few 2* recipes, too. Basically, if you don't see what you want, try to upgrade your gear to something more intermediate rather than trying to jump from proto to 2*. That step up to 1* may help unlock some new recipes. I'll try to play my new character a little more to test that theory.

I do not recommend having someone else craft for you. First of all, they may keep for themselves all unique variants, while you'd get the bonus if you craft yourself. Second, they could simply scam you, take your materials and energy and disappear. It's better to craft things yourself.

Fri, 04/15/2011 - 09:47

Crixdec

Getting to t2 isn't

Getting to t2 isn't impossible, just need to get out there a bit, first off from what i read in your post you're only planning on using materials you find, this in my opinion isn't the best way to get to t2, there are people constantly selling mats that you mean need and even recipes you could use, if you lack sword stones you can easily buy those from another player for 1K to 1.5K maybe even less if you're lucky. Second don't be afraid to settle for Cobalt/Calibur/Defender path, the moment you get to t2 you'll find much better materials and make much more money than in t1. Third get into the CE market right now its about 3.5K for 100 CE and it seems to be stable right now, you can make more than 3.5K with 100 energy just with t1 runs believe I know.

Fri, 04/15/2011 - 10:39

Metaknight

also join a guild and you can

also join a guild and you can get help from friends crafting things you want right now but dont have the time to hunt down the recipes for. you can always aquire them later if you want to try different varaitions in the same weapon path, or try to craft a new one with a good UV.

Fri, 04/15/2011 - 10:45

Deslare

Legacy Username

Seriously? My girlfriend and

Seriously? My girlfriend and I made it to T2 in like day one. Get someone to craft you some T2 stuff, then you're set. Crowns/Drops are common in T2, you start getting 2-4 star recipes in T2 as well.

Fri, 04/15/2011 - 12:53

Xcommando

Legacy Username

I could help

I might be a little busy, but message me in game. Ill try and hook you up with a few tier 2 items. I should have extra materials and w/e.

Fri, 04/15/2011 - 15:49

Groa

Legacy Username

Contact me in-game (name is

Contact me in-game (name is the same as on the forums) and I'll make a full 2* set for you next to nothing, just whatever appropriate materials you have and maybe a little energy and crowns to cover costs. I'm bored and feeling generous, and I have a ton of low end materials.

I definitely agree that getting to Tier 2 can be hard, especially when I didn't realize accounts shared energy between characters and I re-rolled to change my name and such. Getting my Calibur was the hardest since just finding a gate that had the right monsters to drop swordstone was a pain.

If you haven't checked it out yet, the wiki for this game is excellent. I use it constantly to find what kind of monsters drop the materials I want so I can pick the appropriate gate.

Naturally, anyone else who reads this and is struggling to clear Tier 2 I wouldn't mind helping out, naturally for as long as I have the materials. This is one hell of a fun game and I can do something to keep someone from leaving it before getting really into it I'll do it.

Fri, 04/15/2011 - 16:20

Sirrocco

Legacy Username

The real thing here is that

The real thing here is that you should be willing to trade a bit. Whatever your path is, you're going to have a lot of mats that you just won't use, and others will - sell them. Meanwhile, buy up the level 2 mats that you need for your preferred gear. Buy up the last few recipes for your preferred gear, if necessary - worth noting that there is a recipe salesman in haven, who rerolls his recipes every day at midnight, and can carry level two gear. First of all you should check him for yourself, and second, every account gets a different list from him, which means that you may well be able to pay someone else a small premium to just buy a recipe that they're being offered and resell it to you.

Basically, yes you do want to haggle in Haven, but honestly, you don't have to do it that much in order to get the things you need. High level characters generally have lvl 2 mats flowing out of their ears. If you want to buy a swordstone, *someone* will sell it to you pretty quickly. Don't worry about getting the absolute best deal and it won't take as much time and stress.

Fri, 04/15/2011 - 16:21

#10

kesyntre

Legacy Username

Crafting Materials

I was getting frustrated, too, until I did a random solo run and found my first graveyard stage. You have to hurry through it, but the prizes that you find are fantastic for tier-two crafting! I actually got 2 sword stones and a gizmo that I was needing for my progression, in the same level! I went ahead and bought some gear afterward, but I recommend only playing through levels with the possibility of a graveyard for the chance to score big.

Also, look at what your party members pick up along the way, when you withdraw at level 8. If someone has something you would like, remember their name, send them a message, and barter for it! There's always a chance they did the same to you, and you can try to work something out. That or be greedy and do plenty of solo runs by (if you did not already know) starting a party, make it private, and invite only.

Fri, 04/15/2011 - 17:25

#11

Akkhima

Legacy Username

I managed to get to T2 in

I managed to get to T2 in under 10 hours, but I 1) picked equipment that I both liked *and* I had most of the materials for and 2) I traded for the rest.

Fri, 04/15/2011 - 18:24

#12

takewithfood

Legacy Username

Don't give up hope! You can

Don't give up hope! You can do it.

I think it also took me around 10 hours or fewer to get to T2. I soloed exclusively, and only bought about 300 energy for the purpose of spending it on runs through the clockworks. Granted, at the time, I was buying ce for ~2,000 to ~2,500 crowns, and it's easily 1k more than that, now. That definitely slows things down by a few days, but by the hour it shouldn't make any difference.

I skipped 1* equipment and went right for the 2* stuff. My first big purchase was a Troika, which I find to be a good choice for a solo player. Next I bought armor, going with Wolver Coat, Spiral Demo Helm, and an Owlite Shield (eventually added a Skelly Mask for shadow levels). I'm not sure how differently drops are handled in group play, but I wound up with an abundance of materials; maybe I just got lucky. The only thing I had trouble getting was driftwood for my Troika, so I just bought one premade. I bought the recipe for the demo helm, and commissioned people for the rest. I eventually upgraded to a Cryotech Alchemer, but didn't like it; I much prefer the Blaster series (higher combo, faster fire rate, and reliable damage, at the expense of a chance to inflict a debuff sounds like a good trade to me).

Getting to T3 is going to take a loooong time, though. I'm only just starting to upgrade to 3* gear (half way done) and 4* seems like forever away. But the point is that I'm having fun in the meantime. I only buy energy for crafts when I'm feeling lazy; otherwise I get enough enjoyment out of my daily ~100 mist. Levels and fights seem a little longer in T2, so my lift fees seem to stretch a long way.

Anyway, look me up in game if you need help with some materials; maybe I can hook you up. /w Tinfoil anytime, though I'm most often on at around 10am EST.

Sat, 04/16/2011 - 01:42

#13

Dorael

Reaching T2

I dragged a few friends from WoW onto here. Most of them haven't bought any CE yet (either with real money or crowns) and most of them are hitting the T2 level now having only played with mist. They didn't do it but one thing I really recommend is just buying 2 star gear from other players. A lot of people will craft tons of 2 star gear trying to get UVs and you can get them for relatively cheap. Once you're actually in T2 and are comfortable enough in it to feel you can handle it it is not at all difficult to make enough money to progress further from there.

Sat, 04/16/2011 - 12:18

#14

Loosebones

Legacy Username

Big thanks

Big thanks all round for encouragement, tips and offers. Icee, you hit the nail on the head with trying to avoid the Cobalt/ Calibur/ Defender path. I suddenly saw this as all I could do, and it felt like the game was on rails (craft those to start out at 2* before adventuring in T2 to get the materials for the other 2* gear), which was disappointing. However, I guess I have just had bad luck with Basil, and shouldn't be put off.

Some other things I've learnt from the tips:

Spend more time past Terminal (I was turning back there too often).
Don't get hung up on getting the best price (maybe learnt unreliably from forums) when buying 2* materials (I guess its still way better than pre-made costs).
Try leaning on guild members more while I'm starting (I can see I would be happy to help others once I'd filled up on initial recipes and materials).
Pick gates with the tombstone icon or just grey icons (for my wish list; I was just going for anything).
Learn patience for the next leg to T3!

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Giving up hope of reaching Tier 2