We now have an objective that explains, in-game, how to use minerals and approach gate construction. The Wiki gives a lot of explanation on how gate construction might be influenced. The forums are full of complaints about auto-selling leading to "bad gates".
I've looked everywhere I could think of and have never found any discussion of why we would want or need to influence gate construction.
What makes a "good" gate versus a "bad" gate? Are there gate combinations that do or do not lead to certain bosses or to the core? Are there difficult-to-complete strata that drop rarer materials? Or is this simply a really convoluted system for players to promote the level types they find more fun?
I'm happy to contribute to making "favourable" gates by skipping the auto-sell function but I'd like to see some discussion of what the benefit of doing so would be, either to myself or to the community.
Thanks!
I think people want variety in their gates, mostly. Or perhaps, say, someone really needs to collect a kind of material. If I want fine fabric, I'm going to really root for a Fiend level below the Moorcroft Manor point.
While the slime-all-the-time gates of days past annoyed me as well, I have a soft spot in my heart for slimes and would spring for a slime level before every clockworks terminal if I could.