Tier 3 significantly slower than tier 2 and less profitable than 2 but costs significantly more?

[UnwieldyRex]

IDK, tier 3 just feels like a big rip off to me. Buying the equipment runs over a million to fully set up (conveyor belt and hopper + dumptruck added on) vs the 108k it takes to fully set up the mobile wash plant + magnetite trailer (using a large excavator). Renting the Tier 3 equipment costs like 11k per day. Haven't even mentioned that it's a PITA to set up (close to an hour between shopping, dropping in place, hooking it all up to power and water, etc) and the constant driving back and forth to unload and load dirt.

FOUR dump truck loads out of Old Arnold (I know, not the best place for anything beyond Tier 2) yielded me about 30 ish ounces, whereas 4 buckets from the mobile wash plant would get me about the same amount in the time frame it takes to do 2 dumptruck loads. So costs 10x more and takes 2x more work for the same yield. Isn't the whole point of upgrading to make things more efficient?

[Pwnocchio]

They did buff the mobile wash plant a year or so ago and it does feel pretty good right now. On hardmode I'm netting around 3oz of gold per bucket.

However, my last playthrough I was definitely netting more gold from the T3 plant.

Are you cleaning out all of the clean-outs?

1. Nugget Catchers in the S-T Sluice between the Shaker & Trommel
2. T-DJ Sluices between the Trommel and Duplex Jigs
3. Duplex Jig Buckets
4. Hogpan Sluice runs below the Duplex Jigs

[M.Stranger]

There are many factors in the game that will affect your results, or efficiency to recover gold from pay dirt. Type and level of equipment, adding workers to key wash plant machines, level of those workers, and how you dig the pay dirt.

Keep in mind is the efficiency of each level of wash plants.

Mobile Wash plant recovery is about 7%. so every 100 oz of potential gold in pay dirt, you will only get 7 oz of gold. (at the time of testing, this may have improved)

So How you dig and what Level the equipment you process it with affects your outcome.

Wash Plant Efficiency:

Bottom line is that the returns are:
T1: 96% (Highly efficient but VERY slow)
T2: 7%
T3: 20%
T4: 27%
T5: 33%

Whilst the % difference might not seem big, the returns you're getting are massive (Tier 5 over 50% more gold, than Tier 3).

Remember also, that these tests are WITHOUT workers, so they'll also add to the bottom line and will add a greater % to Tier 5 than they will to Tier 3, pushing the 33% much higher.
This information is from testing that was done by a group of players to find out what factors affect the processing of pay dirt, and the best modes of operation, that was repeatable by different players.

Last edited by M.Stranger; May 2020

I may be able to fine the tests done with how workers affected key machines on wash plants.

[UnwieldyRex]

Originally posted by Pwnocchio:

On hardmode I'm netting around 3oz of gold per bucket.

Are you cleaning out all of the clean-outs?

Yes, I am getting all the clean-outs. 3oz per bucket is significantly less when you think about that you have 6 buckets (2 per duplex, 1 total for the mats, 1 for the grates = 18oz total) from a full clean-out on Tier 3, compared to my 5.5+ oz per bucket from the mobile washplant and to get four buckets out of that is significantly less dirt then the three to four dump truck loads it takes to get a full clean-out. Heck, even my magnetite suffered, dropping from 50+ oz from a full bucket of washed pay dirt to around 2-5 oz per bucket from Tier 3. So far it has just not paid off at all and seems like a waste of time and money to even bother with it.

Originally posted by M.Stranger:

adding workers to key wash plant machines, level of those workers.

these tests are WITHOUT workers, so they'll also add to the bottom line

Yeah the worker system for me seems to be totally non-functional. I had my initial overseer hire and then no other application has come through.

[M.Stranger]

I saw no value from the overseer(my opinion, no testing) But workers on the Conveyor Hooper & Conveyor, Glacier Creek, Trommel, Gravel Pumps, plus 4 others add a 4.5% bonus as well as improvement to that equipment as their experience grows.

[M.Stranger]

(About Workers: Per the tablet in the tent, with workers at 100%)

Conveyor Belt Hopper adds 7%
Conveyor Belt adds 7%
Glacier Creek adds 20%
Reinforced Trommel adds 10%
T-DJ adds 2%
T-DJ adds 2%
9 Workers on Wash Plant adds 4.5% bonus

Hog Pan Pump Workers add 25% to the Hog Pan gold recovery ( per each Hog Pan Pump).

This can be verified per the worker tab, on each worker at 100% that is assigned to their respective equipment.

Hope this helps.

[UnwieldyRex]

Originally posted by M.Stranger:

(About Workers: Per the tablet in the tent, with workers at 100%)

Conveyor Belt Hopper adds 7%
Conveyor Belt adds 7%
Glacier Creek adds 20%
Reinforced Trommel adds 10%
T-DJ adds 2%
T-DJ adds 2%
9 Workers on Wash Plant adds 4.5% bonus

Hog Pan Pump Workers add 25% to the Hog Pan gold recovery ( per each Hog Pan Pump).

This can be verified per the worker tab, on each worker at 100% that is assigned to their respective equipment.

Hope this helps.

Doesnt help if I still cannot get exployees beyond the Overseer. Kinda need applicants in order to have employees.

[M.Stranger]

retrain overseer, or fire him, try either one, make a new different save, if it doesn't work, go back to first save.

[M.Stranger]

I am on my second play through with all Tier 5 equipment and full employees at 100%.
Feel free to check screenshots in my profile, might see something to give some ideas on each parcel.

[ArmedSheep]

Originally posted by UnwieldyRex:

Originally posted by M.Stranger:

(About Workers: Per the tablet in the tent, with workers at 100%)

Conveyor Belt Hopper adds 7%
Conveyor Belt adds 7%
Glacier Creek adds 20%
Reinforced Trommel adds 10%
T-DJ adds 2%
T-DJ adds 2%
9 Workers on Wash Plant adds 4.5% bonus

Hog Pan Pump Workers add 25% to the Hog Pan gold recovery ( per each Hog Pan Pump).

This can be verified per the worker tab, on each worker at 100% that is assigned to their respective equipment.

Hope this helps.

Doesnt help if I still cannot get exployees beyond the Overseer. Kinda need applicants in order to have employees.

are you running the game speed at 1x? applications come around every second day or so, that mite be why you are getting low applications