Etherian Economics - The Guide to Cost Effectiveness

This guide will assist players who are starting off their adventure with a focus on people who are committed enough to do Ancient Power resets. It will hopefully allow players to effectively use the currency and resources available to the player to get things done as quickly as possible.

Introduction

I have been playing Dungeon Defenders II since it's Pre-Alpha inception (and when it cost $20). I have seen how the game has evolved from it's bug ridden mess to the level cap to the addition of new characters to expansions. One thing I have learned that this plays out with an obvious combination of RPG and Tower Defense.

My interest has come and gone with this game but the addition and revamping of Ancient Power has sparked my interest. The ability to get 999 all talent caps, possess 10/10 Servos and Chips, CX Godly gear and pushing to crazy Onslaught floors can be fun to see how far your characters can push (much like with the crazy stat numbers Disgaea has).

However, with great power obviously comes great responsibility and said responsibility comes in the form of the grinding for resources. Arguably one of the biggest criticisms this game has recieved is the ridiculous amount of grinding required for progression, especially for early AP players (at the time I have written this guide, I am on AP6 about to reset to 7). The criticisms were especially a problem before Protean Shift (game's 2nd expansion) as you needed to get to Floor 65 and A250 every time and you had no means of evolving your gear to the next tier. You basically had to replace everything on the fly. Me and several other players did a cost benefit analysis back then and found out the costs were too great for a minimal benefit of some AP. As time went on, patches improved the rewards, Servos and Chips made keeping gear worth it and AP resetting was a bit more friendly, albeit the grind is still as bad. Hopefully this guide will help remedy that for the new players or help ongoing players formulate better plans.

Finally, this guide is designed to help give you the knowledge and understanding to formulate your own plans to help acquire resources and materials on your own. I will not discuss what you build, where you build it and what exact plan you should do. This is because I feel that you, the player need to figure things out on your own and what works for myself will not always work out for you and vice versa. Not to mention that you might not be a fan of the meta or the strategies that streamers do (eg, I am a big time Ballista user for AFK farming and I have been complemented for my uniqueness in a world dominated by auras) and it could lead to a boring and an experience that isn't worthwhile.


NOTE - If you see any instance of Snooki within this guide, it is the name me and my friends use for the Lady Orcs or Berserkers. I randomly blurted it out one game, we had a laugh and we just called them Snooki ever since.

Resources - Basics

The game has several resources at your disposal in the forms of materials and currency. This section will cover all of them and the rates you acquire them.

Gold

It the most common currency and the easiest to acquire, This currency effectively caps out at 2B (2 Billion). You gain this by:

• Coin drops or bags from enemies
  
• Opening the Victory Chest
  
• Surviving a Wave
  
• Selling items
  
• Mastery rewards (2 per tier)
  
• Defender Packs that give you a Cosmetic, Flair, Skin or Hero you already have will be converted to this
  
• Defender Packs can yield Piggy Banks up to 5M
  
• Various Levels on the Defender Pass
  
• Trading with players

It is used to cover Upgrade, Reroll and Evolve costs for Gear and you can use it to level up Shards your character has. Each use has costs (more covered in later sections) and the rate at which you get Gold is largely dependent on both your Ancient Power level, your overall strategy and what Chaos difficulty you are playing on.

If you have a Jackpot Shard on your Chest piece, you gain a 15% (or 19% if you Gilded it) chance to gain 300% more gold from Coin and Purse pickups, which can be helpful if you use it when you open the Victory Chest. This multiplier is additive with your AP Gold Multiplier but Jackpot has no effect on End Wave or Gold Bonuses (bonuses are discussed in further detail in the Gold and XP Rates and Bonuses section). No multiplier affects items you sell either to the game or through the Player Markets.

For obvious reasons, you should do Expeditions on the highest difficulty possible, use characters with the Jackpot shard gilded (or at least maxed) to pick up Coin drops from the Victory Chest and enemies and sell off any unwanted high end Servo and Chips to other players via the Market to maximize your gold pickup rates.

Defender Medals

The game's secondary currency and that be used in place of Gold for certain things and to get other exclusive benefits that Gold itself cannot cover. This currency caps at 12k (12000). You gain this currency effectively in various methods:

Method	Amount	Note
Victory in Expedition	25	Must complete all 5 Waves Chaos Tier doesn't matter
Victory on Boss Map Victory on Lost Temple w64+	26	Must complete all 5 normal waves and slay all Bosses on Wave 6 Chaos Tier doesn't matter
Onslaught Floor Victory	25-50	You must beat all waves (up to 6 for Lost Temple) If the floor you clear is currently your highest, you gain another 25 bonus Medals.
Incursion Victory	25	All waves of said Incursion must be cleared
Daily Mission	225 - 450*	See Farming - Daily and Weekly Missions for details
Mastery Rewards	1000	Limited to 1 payout per Tier
Weekly Mission	1200*	See Farming - Daily and Weekly Missions for details
Completing Quests	1000-1500	See One Time Bonuses for details
Daily Calendar Payoff	500	Only applicable 3 times per Calendar cycle (resets after Day 30)
Defender Pass Rewards	500-2000	Depends on Pass Level and Premium Defender Pass status

* - Factoring in base reward and not the individual games

Defender Medals should be best farmed using Dailies and Standard Expeditions as they are the most efficient ways to acquire them while squeezing in the Weekly every Week. All methods do not bypass the Cap of 12000, so if you say have 11500 and you use a Mastery Reward, you will lose 500 medals due to max cut off.

Defender Medals are used for various things:

• Alternative to Gold for Rerolling, Advancing, Evolving and Upgrading Equipment
  
• Transfering Servos and Chips between items
  
• Hero Cards and Heroes outside the starting 4
  
  • Cards run 1000 medals
    
  • New Heroes run 10000-12000 depending on Hero and Release Date
• Purchasing Shards (Packs and Singles) from Grand Ma'ster
  
• Resetting Ancient Power and Ascension Level spending
  
• Devolving items at the Blacksmith
  
• Rerolling tertiary stats on Godly items at the Blacksmith

Gems

The 3rd resource which uses real life Currency and how Trendy really makes money off players. Other than doing Adventures (150 Gems for Bling King, Harbinger and Maldonis), the Premium Defender Pass (which will refund the Gems you spend for the upgrade), Day 30 of the Daily Defender Rewards Calendar (100 Gems) and the first time reward for completing Campaign, you will need to fork over your cash to do it.

Gems are used for:

• Cosmetic based Micro-transactions such as Flair, Character Skins, Accessories to the base skins
  
• Buying Bags for Inventory
  
• Buying Vault Space at the Bank for more Inventory
  
• The Materials Tab in the Bank
  
• Purchasing items that you don't want to farm for
  
• Skipping Levels on the Defender Pass
  
• Alternative Currency for
  
  • Transfering Servos and Chips between items
    
  • Resetting spent Ancient Power and Ascension or Talent Points
    
  • Purchasing Hero Cards and New Heroes should you lack the Medals

If you want to keep your real life Entertainment budget to a minimal, I recommend only purchasing Bags, Vault Space if you need it and the Materials Tab (which you will most definitely need if you are going to be commited to this undertaking). Anything else is purely optional or can be earned via Gold and Medals. The last thing you want to do is go crazy with micro-transactions and then have a problem in real life. These things add up!

Resources - Materials (Part 1)

Alongside the Currency, there are Materials you gain from completing Maps. They are used largely to cover Gear modifications alongside the above mentioned currency. You will be needing these a lot more than you think.

If you are 100% committed to doing Ancient Power resets, I recommend purchasing the Materials stash tab from the Vault. Without this tab, 1 block can hold up to 99 of a material before it consumes another block and this will begin to fill up fast. With this tab, you can hold 9999 of all Materials. This tab doesn't work on Pet items.

Acquistion

The only way to acquire Materials is by opening the Victory Chest at the end of the match, cashing in Material Bundles from the Emporium or Daily Calendar or by opening the Survival Bag or Chest you get every Checkpoint or 5 waves you clear. If enabled, any Materials will be auto-collected and stacked to your Bags if there is any slots available. Otherwise, they will be sent to the Scavenger and you will have up to 2 to 3 hours to claim your goods before he trashes them. You can also purchase them from other players in their Shops.

All materials have 3 Tiers and the quality determines what Chaos or Onslaught Floor range you are currently playing on:

Tier	Chaos Difficulty	Onslaught Floor Range	Survival Wave Range
Plain (Green or Tier 1)	Chaos 1, 2 and 3	Chaos 1 - Floor 3 and 4 Chaos 2 - Floor 5 - 7 Chaos 3 - Floor 8 - 11	Chaos 1 - Wave 1 - 5 Chaos 2 - Wave 6 - 10 Chaos 3 - Wave 11 - 15
Shiny (Blue or Tier 2)	Chaos 4, 5 and 6	Chaos 4 - Floor 12 - 16 Chaos 5 - Floor 17 - 21 Chaos 6 - Floor 22 - 27	Chaos 4 - Wave 16 - 20 Chaos 5 - Wave 21 - 25 Chaos 6 - Wave 26 - 30
Pristine (Purple or Tier 3)	Chaos 7+	Chaos 7 - Floor 28 - 98 Chaos 8 - Floor 99 - 298 Chaos 9 - Floor 300 - 699	Chaos 7 - Wave 31 - 40 Chaos 8 - Wave 41 - 50 Chaos 9 - Wave 51 - 60
Exquisite (Orange or Tier 4)	Chaos 10 (X)	Floor 700+	Wave 61+

When you are doing Gear modifications, the item's Chaos tier will determine which material tier you need. So for instance if you are upgrading a Chaos 3 Medallion, you do Chaos 1-3 for the materials, but you should focus on Chaos 3 as you will get the most amount of Motes and it is the only method of getting Chaos 3 Ampoules.

Motes and Ampoules

They are the most easiest of the materials to acquire but also the most tedious and often used. These are the building blocks for covering your Gear Modifications. These drop from the Victory Chest at the end of every round. You don't need to open the chest as long as you set up at least 1 bag to auto-loot them. You may also trade in Medals for these at the Material Shop (see the Farming - Material Shop section for more details).

The amount of both you get from the Victory Chest are as follows:

Difficulty	Chaos 1	Chaos 2	Chaos 3	Chaos 4	Chaos 5	Chaos 6	Chaos 7	Chaos 8	Chaos 9	Chaos X
Mote Limit	7 Plain	8 Plain	9 Plain	7 Shiny	8 Shiny	9 Shiny	7 Pristine	8 Pristine	9 Pristine	7 Exquisite
Ampoule Limit	3 C1 Amp	3 C2 Amp	3 C3 Amp	3 C4 Amp	3 C5 Amp	3 C6 Amp	3 C7 Amp	3 C8 Amp	3 C9 Amp	3 CX Amp

There is also a chance if you play on Chaos 8 modes that you can get a Chaos 9 Ampoule when you slay a Miniboss type enemy that can drop items. The odds are rare but it can help you get Chaos 9 gear if you are having trouble doing it yourself.

Resources - Materials (Part 2)

Materials

Each equipment item in your inventory is bound to a specific Material and some materials are global but have different uses. These materials can only be gained by opening the Victory Chest at the end of a Map or you can buy them off players. Every victory you will get at least 1 Hammer, but most Materials will be dependant on which Chaos tier you are playing on:

• Chaos 1 and 4 drops nothing with a chance of getting 1
  
• Chaos 2 and 5 always yield 1 Material
  
• Chaos 3, 6, and 7 always yield 1 Material with a chance for another
  
• Chaos 8 and X always yields 2 Materials
  
• Chaos 9 always yields 3 Materials
  
• Maps that yield Talismans and Tokens at general rates will always give you 3 if you are on Chaos 9 or 2 if you aren't.

You will need to know which Map category yields in order to effectively farm for the required materials you need to play with your Gear. Note that these Materials are bound by the Tier rules as stated above in the Tiers subsection of this section, so this needs to be factored in as well.

Component	Map Location	Purpose
Hammer	All Locations	Main component for Transfering Servos and Chips
Ingots	Ravine and Crystal Mines Maps: Siphon Site D Dragonfall Sewers Dead Forest Temple of Necrotic Crystal Mine Lava Caverns	Secondary Component for Weapons and Shields
Quills	Dragonfall Castle Maps: The Ramparts Throne Room Ramparts Siege Assault on Throne Room Malakai's Sewer Malakai's Manor	Secondary Component for Helmets
Rings	Dragonfall Town Maps: Gates of Dragonfall Dragonfall Bazaar Greystone Plaza Littlehorn Valley	Secondary Component for Gloves
Scales	The Liferoot Maps: Forest Crossroads Liferoot Forest Forest Biome	Secondary Component for Chest Armor
Leathers	The Ruins Maps: Forgotten Ruins Nimbus Reach	Secondary Component for Boots
Clusters	The Lost Temple Embermount Dungeon Maps: Unholy Catacombs Crumbled Bulwark Buried Bastille Molten Citadel	Secondary Component for Totems and Medallions
Talismans	The High Seas Maps The Jacked Sparrow Plunderer's Paradise Tornado Valley Maps Tornado Canyon Tornado Highlands	Secondary Component for Rerolling Primary Stat on any Item
Tokens	Drakenfrost and Wild West Maps: Drakenfrost Resort Drakenfrost Keep The Wildest West Wild Westival Every victory in Onslaught past Floor 34	Secondary component for Rerolling Values on Servos and Chips

The only exception to the previously mentioned limit rules are if you complete a round on certain 6 wave boss maps, where you will be rewarded with the following:

	Chaos 1	Chaos 2	Chaos 3	Chaos 4	Chaos 5
Embermount	4 Plain Clusters	6 Plain Clusters	8 Plain Clusters	4 Shiny Clusters	6 Shiny Clusters
Tornado Highlands	4 Plain Talismans	6 Plain Talismans	8 Plain Talismans	4 Shiny Talismans	6 Shiny Talismans
Crystal Mines	4 Plain Ingots	6 Plain Ingots	8 Plain Ingots	4 Shiny Ingots	6 Shiny Ingots
Malakai's Manor	4 Plain Quills	6 Plain Quills	8 Plain Quills	4 Shiny Quills	6 Shiny Quills
	Chaos 6	Chaos 7	Chaos 8	Chaos 9	Choas X
Embermount	8 Shiny Clusters	4 Pristine Clusters	6 Pristine Clusters	8 Pristine Clusters	4 Exquisite Clusters
Tornado Highlands	8 Shiny Talismans	4 Pristine Talismans	6 Pristine Talismans	8 Pristine Talismans	4 Exquisite Talismans
Crystal Mines	8 Shiny Ingots	4 Pristine Ingots	6 Pristine Ingots	8 Pristine Ingots	4 Exquisite Ingots
Malakai's Manor	8 Shiny Quills	4 Pristine Quills	6 Pristine Quills	8 Pristine Quills	4 Exquisite Quills

Farming - Deciding Map (Part 1)

Now the fun part begins: Farming the Materials that were mentioned above.

Map Pros and Cons

Every Map has it's benefits and drawbacks and these will make or break your farming sessions. From the size of the map, to DU limit to enemy lane configurations, these factors must all be considered when choosing your Farm map. From my experience, these are the pros and cons that I consider of each map but this is definitely up for player debate:

Map	Pros of Farming	Cons of Farming
Gates of Dragonfall	Small Map Easy to contain attackers Easy to setup for Last Stand Cliffs allow for Low HP range to fight unabated	Enemies can take awhile to leave Spawners and they are invulnerable until they leave them. Low DU might be an issue in some builds Worst drop rates for Godly Items in Survival due to balancing reasons
Dragonfall Bazaar	Quick setup Bringing defenses that target Out of Bounds enemies greatly speeds up waves Air lanes can be targeted alongside Ground lanes if defenses are placed correctly If stand is made at Cart, you can merge 2 lanes into 1 if you lack Containment	Losing the subobjective can be a problem with DU division Lack of Out of Bounds targeting may make waves go by slower than usual If using Out of Bounds targeting, Gold Coins are impossible to collect Malthius is prone to getting stuck in the central lane, requiring skills or defenses that can target Out of Bounds Losing subobjective may be a problem for some builds
Greystone Plaza	Small Map Easily defendable subobjectives Defenses can be placed so main lane defenses can target Air lanes as well as ground	Double Jump and movement skills maybe necessary to navigate the map Kobolts on Chaos 7 are prone to divebombing the Western Gate Lock from the West unexpectedly without quick kills or Blockades Loss of a Gate can be disastrous on DU splitting in some builds
Little Horn Valley	Decent DU for Last Stand build Expendable subobjectives based on certain builds Defenses can be placed so main lane defenses can target Air lanes Loss of a Gate Lock isn't as disastrous as other maps as you can merge lanes for a doable Last Stand	Double Jump and movement skills maybe necessary to nagivate the map Setup will take the longest of all the Town maps DU Splitting can be an issue if you want to defend the gates Losing the Northwest Gate can be a problem as the Gate is very close to a Barricade
Siphon Site D	Small map Defenses can be placed so main lane defenses can target Air lanes Quick build and waves go through fast	Difficult without strong Containment Easy to fall off map into pits Losing the subobjective is disastrous for DU Splitting and can potentially cost you the game Hex Throwers are prone to sniping the Core from higher locations if left unchecked. Reflect Beams maybe required. Difficult map to clear on Chaos 7 due to Kobolt behavior and Zapper can get stuck in spawners. Difficult map to share Build Mana in Public Games
Dragonfall Sewers	Decent DU Defenses can be placed so main lane defenses can target Air lanes Loss of the Southern Pump isn't as disastrous as you can merge lanes	Easy to fall to your death Losing the Northern Valve can be a problem as it makes DU Splitting rough and the new lane is close to Pump The southwestern lane has a long path that may need Out of Bounds targeting in order to slay the enemies fast
The Dead Road	Decent DU Easily defendable subobjectives Defenses can be placed so main lane defenses can target Air lanes as well as ground Some lanes can be merged to effectively help with DU splitting Loss of the Eastern Soul Gate isn't as disastrous as you can pull back lane Skeleton lane is easy to control	Double Jump and movement skills maybe necessary to navigate the map Setup takes extra time compared to other Ravine Maps Losing the Northern Soul Gate can be a problem as the Gate is very close to Core Easy to fall off in some sections
Temple of the Necrotic	High DU Easily defendable subobjectives, but Holy Symbol is expendable Many lanes can be converged to help with DU splitting in various setups Loss of the Holy Relic hurts but not as awful. Relic also increases movespeed when you stand near it for a few seconds. Skeletons can be handled with minimal costs	Double Jump and movement skills maybe necessary to nagivate the map Setup isn't as bad but the length of the Waves is a problem Losing the Soul Gate can be a problem as the lane is near the Cart 1 Boss lane is in Skeleton lane
The Ramparts	Many configurations that can ease on DU splitting and easy to contain Defenses can be placed so main lane defenses can target Air lanes as well as ground	Double Jump and movement skills maybe necessary to navigate the map One of the longest Castle maps in wave duration Without Out of Bounds options, the entire East side can take longer than intended
The Throne Room	Decent DU Expendable subojbectives If subobjectives are defended, air lanes will be denied	Setup will take the longer than the Ramparts Enemies are prone to slipping through Blockades to attack objectives if not careful Chaos 6 onward can have Hex Throwers attack across lanes that they normally don't walk through Chaos 7 onward, Kobolts are prone to getting stuck out of bounds on the West side DU Splitting becomes a factor
Ramparts Siege	Many configurations that can ease on DU splitting and easy to contain Defenses can be placed so main lane defenses can target Air lanes as well as ground Expendable subobjective	Double Jump and movement skills maybe necessary to navigate the map One of the longest Castle maps in wave duration Without Out of Bounds options, the entire East side can take longer than intended
Assault on Throne Room	Decent DU Expendable subojbectives If subobjectives defended, air lanes will be denied Many lanes for Coins	Setup will take the longer than the Ramparts Enemies are prone to slipping through Blockades to attack objectives if not careful Chaos 6 onward can have Hex Throwers attack across lanes that they normally don't walk through DU Splitting becomes a factor
Forgotten Ruins	Small Map Easy to contain attackers and defend subobjectives Air lanes take awhile to get landfall, allowing the player or long range defenses to snipe them	The eastern lane not only takes awhile for enemies to become vulnerable (requires Out of Bounds targeting) but Malthius are prone to camping at the far reaches and getting stuck Chaos 6+ will require Blockades and Reflect Beams to keep Hex Throwers from direct targeting Relics Easy to fall off map if you don't watch your footing Losing a subobjective can be disastrous on DU splitting and low DU is an issue

Farming - Deciding Map (Part 2)

Map	Pros of Farming	Cons of Farming
Nimbus Reach	Large DU pool Multiple configurations can be used to assist in DU splitting Expendable subobjective	Easy to fall into pits in some locations Longest in Setup and Duration when compared to Forgotten Ruins
Forest Crossroads	Small Map Easy to contain attackers Easy to setup for Last Stand Cliffs allow for Low HP range to fight unabated Waves and Setup go by relatively quickly Waterfall allows for easy Drenching	If your defenses can barely handle, might be an issue to run across sides Can be difficult to place main lane defenses to shoot air units in some locations
Liferoot Forest	Minimal Lanes Quab is expendable Air Units fly along Ground lanes Enemies come out in set pattern and intervals	Waves may take extra time to complete Can be easy to fall off map
Forest Biome	Decent clear speed for large map If placed correctly, Southeastern lane can be treated as 1 Plenty of DU to work with Pickups scattered throughout map to enable buffs Cliffs allow for Low HP range to fight unabated Air lanes fly alongside main ground lanes for easier DU splitting and combos	Large Map Longest setup of the Liferoot Maps Pickups either become unnecessary or require knowledge to use properly
Unholy Catacombs	Small Map Easy to contain attackers at entrances Easy to setup for Last Stand Air units fly along path that makes them targetable alongside ground units Cliffs allow for Low HP range to fight unabated	Kobolts in Chaos 7 are prone to getting stuck at spawn points Spawner containment is doable, but can be difficult Last stand builds take longer to finish waves
Molten Citadel	Small Map Easy to setup for Last Stand, perfect for DU splitting Cliffs and ledges allow for Low HP range to fight unabated	Air Lanes will need to be factored into defenses if you don't build at spawners Double jumpers or movement skill usage maybe needed to traverse map Easy to fall into lava and kill yourself Defenses must be able to withstand punishment if you build on main staircases Takes longer than usual to complete waves, whether or not you perform a final stand build
Buried Bastille	2000 DU and player starts with 2400 Mana Quick wave completion Plenty of enemies to gain Coins	Longest setup of all the maps Enemies are very prone to slipping past blockades and backdooring Cores Mandatory Reflect Beams will be needed for Chaos 6 to prevent Hex Throwers from direct attacking Cores Containment builds will be difficult to manage Movement and Double Jump abilities will be mandatory to traverse map
Crumbled Bulwark	Small Map Easy to contain attackers One of the fastest Maps to complete in Dungeon Multiple configurations can help in DU splitting Easy to navigate the map	Finding an efficient build plan definitely takes practice Easy to fall into pits in some sections Without long range anti air or Obelisk, air takes awhile before it is in striking distance of defenses
Embermount	Largest payoff of Clusters in Dungeon Has exclusive Embermount items and servos Certain defenses can exploit terrain for multi lane targeting and DU splitting Air flies near Ground lanes at times	Phoenix must be fought on Wave 6 and is highly resistant to all damage Player gets 14 Medals upon completion vs 25-26 from other maps Easy to fall off map or get killed by Phoenix hazards Terrain setup can be confusing for new players
The Jacked Sparrow	Small Map Easiest map to acquire Talismans Easy transition between floors Contains Pirate Weapons with Exclusive Chips 2000 DU to work with and you can combine lanes at various spots for friendly DU splitting	Radar and enemy lane info can be misleading, especially in basement and Onslaught May take longer if player does Last Stand setups, especially in basement Air Lanes will need extra DU devoted for defense as they don't fly near ground Map can generate a lot of latency issues on lower end machines
Plunderer's Paradise	Many lanes allowing for extra Gold 2 of the 3 Air Lanes fly along Ground lanes for easy containment and DU splitting Several locations can be setup for lane merges for easier DU Splitting Contains Pirate Weapons with Exclusive Servos	Slowest map to get Talismans Takes awhile to complete Waves and Setup Air lane coming from Southwest will need to be factored in with Anti-Air defenses Movement skills and double jumping helps recommended as getting around is tedious
Drakenfrost Resort	Easiest map to acquire Tokens Air Lanes spawn within Ground lanes spawn gates, allowing for easy containment With enough practice, reasonable setup Fastest of the 2 Drakenfrost Maps to clear	Does not drop Drakenfrost weapons Last stands may take longer for waves to clear Some enemies are prone to slipping through Blockades Easy to fall off map due to raging streams Radar may make enemies hard to see Longer than usual delay after Wave 5 before Treasure Chest spawns
Drakenfrost Keep	Relatively small map Contains Drakenfrost Weapons with Exclusive Servos Gives 26 Medals per win instead of 25 Highest Experience yield of all the maps Air lanes fly within Ground lanes Easy to complete if you have Fire and Oil capabilities through your characters	You must survive 6 waves instead of 5 Drakenlord hazard makes AFK farm builds outside of T10 Tenacity C8 Relics impossible Without Fire and Oil combinations or even movement skills, the hazard can make this map difficult to master Drakenlord Hazard is known to have buggy behavior (freezing 2 sections, increased freeze rate, etc.) Victory Chest must be Legendary in order to get Drakenfrost weapon Drakenfrost weapon servo changes weekly, making it difficult to acquire the servo you want without knowledge Slow map for Token farming
The Wildest West	Multiple lanes combine for easy DU Splitting and fast setup Just as effective for XP farming as Drakenfrost Keep Air Lanes combine with Ground lanes Has exclusive Wild West items and only source of Snakeskin Armor	Long combat phases Slow map for farming Tokens Minibosses on Wave 6 are capable of OHKOing most heroes and prone to ignoring walls Snakeskin is a locked mod and it's tedious to get good Snakeskin armors
Wild Westival	Multiple lanes combine for easy DU Splitting Drakencoaster can instant kill enemies or bosses by running over them and harmless to you Has exclusive Wild West items Fastest Token collecting map Air merges with Ground Lanes	May require some double jumping and movement skills to traverse map Last stand builds take longer to complete No special Chaos miniboss on Wave 5 Snakeskin armors don't drop here

Farming - Deciding Map (Part 3)

Map	Pros of Farming	Cons of Farming
Tornado Canyon	Has access to Exclusive Tornado Valley items Smallest and easiest map for acquiring Talismans Air Lanes travel along Ground Lanes for effective DU Splitting Spots of high elevation to attack enemies unabated with ranged heroes and defenses Subcores when jumped on activate air vents that shoot up monsters into the air, making them helpless to you and your defenses. They are also expendable. Wave 6 Boss can be targeted by defenses as well as your own heroes Wins acquire 26 medals and higher experience than the other maps	Round has 6 waves Risk of falling off map is possible if not careful Defending Subcores is difficult due to lane sizes DU Splitting can be difficult due to lane count Subcore gimmick is ineffective against Wyverns, Minibosses, Geodes and Air Miniboss on Wave 6 has up to 1B+ HP, immune to stuns, takes reduced damage from all sources, tornadoes can bypass Reflect Beams and can spawn from any of the Ground lanes. Miniboss tornadoes can rail through defenses and attack Cores based on hero positioning. May require Reflect Beams to prevent accidental damage.
Tornado Highlands	Long pathways, giving you ample time to handle enemies Air lanes fly along Ground lanes for easy DU splitting 26 Medals per win and increased Experience compared to other maps Has exclusive Tornado equipment, including Genie pets Genie King can block certain minibosses at spots due to collision size at certain spots Largest Talisman payoff of all the maps	Round has 6 waves Impossible to AFK solo due to Genie King boss on Wave 6 Genie King requires a strong ranged attacker with smart use of cover to defeat swiftly. Also has annoying knockback mechanics, which makes doing melee builds difficult. Easy to fall off map Genie King Boss may make Talisman farming inefficient for this map
Lava Caverns	Plenty of DU to work with Long pathways make Fissures of Embermount effective at gates when paired with Last Stand setups Very last stand, multiplayer and AFK friendly Air lanes fly along ground lanes along specific spots, good for DU splitting Easiest map to clear X Win Hidden Caverns Dailies	Navigating for new players might be tedious, especially without double jump and hovering Long initial build and wave completion, especially with last stand setups Enemy is very prone to slipping through walls due to strange pathing at certain corners Very easy to fall off of map when traversing cores if not careful No exclusive chips on this map
Crystal Mines	Large DU pool to work with Highest Ingot and Defender Medal payoff upon round completion Long pathways make Fissures of Embermount effective at gates when paired with Last Stand setups Easier to traverse between the two floors Exclusive Crystal Mine weaponry and chips can be found here Some defenses like Volcanoes, Dragon Nests and Dryad traps can fly through ceilings and walls and assist on multiple floors when able to, helping with DU splitting Once figured out, Lava Beast is not as difficult to handle compared to other bosses 100% Tenacity on hero causes Lava Beast Ground Slam to be unable to stun you	Round has 6 waves Lava Beast makes AFK on Wave 6 impossible, boss takes reduced damage from heroes, spawns in his own unique lane and cannot be targeted by defenses Lava Beast can stun and knockback your hero, has an instant kill attack and can easily destroy defenses if not careful Although high Ingot payoff, there are other more efficient maps to get Ingots if you lack DPS Two floors can make map and navigation confusing at times
Malakai's Sewers	Air lanes converge with Ground lanes at various points, allowing ease of DU splitting Defenses that can target through obstacles are extremely effective on this map Easy map to navigate	No Malakai related items drop on this map Will require certain defenses to target multiple lanes due to terrible DU splitting Wolves spawn as regular enemies. Will require strong, multi targeting defenses to efficiently take down
Malakai Manor	Large DU pool Several ground lanes merge together at spots (especially inside Cathedral), easing DU splitting Defenses that target through obstacles are incredibly effective in the non-cathedral lanes Highest Medal and Quill material payoff out of all Castle Maps Carries exclusive Malakai-based equipment and pets as drops Lord Malakai himself is one of the easier bosses to take down compared to others	Impossible to AFK due to Lord Malakai on Wave 6 Lord Malakai must be fought within a cathedral that also intersects with an air and 2 ground lanes Lord Malakai himself has a charge attack that can displace defenses 2 airlanes spawn within the courtyard where the Crystals are and requires very high range defenses to effectively take down Sniper Wyverns spawn in air lanes and have very long attack ranges that can outrange some defenses if left unchecked. Middle air lanes are the most dangerous because of this.
Coral Reef Town	Multiple lanes merge together to assist in DU Splitting Very quick setup for last stand builds Smaller map to work with compared to the other High Seas locations Air lanes fly near ground lanes near the end of flight path Sharken can be hard countered by crowd control effects, especially by knockup to waste Enrage time. Drops Aquarion-themed weapons and chips 1 extra miniboss spawns on Wave 4 and 5 by default, making it an effective map for Kill X Miniboss dailies and farming for items	800 DU may not be enough for some builds, especially on higher difficulties Doesn't drop the Pirate themed weapons that the other High Seas maps drops Sharken when enraged are as tanky as Chaos 10 Warchiefs. Can be a issue for Brute Force builds. Hex Throwers are prone to attacking defenses from locations they aren't normally supposed to attack

Ascertain your build and best defenses when choosing your Map for a specific Material. If you are farming for Gold, go with the fastest map in both setup and clear speed on the highest possible Chaos difficulty you can muster.

Farming - Deciding Map (Part 4)

Personal Map Recommendations

World-specific Recommendations
Depending on your needs, there are 2 main purposes for each map: Rewards (to maximize profits and/or items you may need) and Ease of Play (you just want to clear the map for Dailies, your defenses aren't the greatest at this time and;/or you are AFK Farming). Each area tends to have maps split into these 2 categories with some inter-twining. The following are my suggestions.

Realm	Rewards	Ease of Play
Dragonfall Town	Gates of Dragonfall or Dragonfall Bazaar	Gates of Dragonfall or Dragonfall Bazaar
Dragonfall Castle	Malakai's Manor	The Ramparts
The Ravine	Siphon Site D	Dead Road or Siphon Site D
The Liferoot	Forest Crossroads	Liferoot Forest
The Ruins	Forgotten Ruins	Either Map
Dungeons	Embermount	Unholy Catacombs or Crumbled Bulwark
High Seas	The Jacked Sparrow	The Jacked Sparrow or Coral Reef Town
Drakenfrost Keep	Drakenfrost Keep for exclusive chips (depends on cycle)	Drakenfrost Resort
The Wild West	Either Map West for Snakeskin Armors Westival for Midas Touch and Outlaw Snipers	The Wild Westival
Tornado Valley	Either Map Talismans and certain chips from Highlands Certain chips from Canyon	Tornado Canyon
Hidden Caverns	Crystal Mines	Lava Caverns

Material-based Recommendations
However, if you are aiming to expedite farming for a specific material for transferring or upgrading your items, then you should aim towards clearing the following maps:

Material	Location
Ingots	Siphon Site D or Crystal Mines
Quills	Either Ramparts or Malakai Manor
Scales	Forest Crossroads
Rings	Gates of Dragonfall or Dragonfall Bazaar
Leathers	Forgotten Ruins
Clusters	Crumbled Bulwark or Embermount
Talismans	Coral Reef Town or Aquarion Throne Room
Tokens	The Wild Westival

These maps are considered the most efficient of the possible maps when collecting crafting materials. It will be up to you to decide how you lay out your defenses and take advantage of them. Make sure you know the strengths and weaknesses of your own strategy and the maps themselves. Some strats that work on a specific map may not work on others as well as you think, either because of less DU or the topography can screw with your projectiles.

Farming - Available Heroes (Part 1)

Now that you got an idea of the Materials and Currency you will be working with, you must decide what heroes you will use for this undertaking. Each hero has pros and cons and you must use their pros to outweigh the other's cons. By default, all players start with the main 4 but you can get secondary heroes from the Emporium for 10000 medals or 750 Gems at least.

Primary Heroes

These are the 4 heroes you ultimately start with. Before you begin playing, you must create 1 of each hero so that you can have access to all their defenses if you are to make it through Campaign and Expeditions. They will also be your gateways to acquiring the secondary heroes should you not use Gems to get them.

However, most people tend to pick 1 or 2 of them to actively fight back and the choice you make can make or break your strategies. It also doesn't mean you cannot neglect the ones you don't use as their pros might help mitigate the cons of the one you actively play as (eg. Squires largely cannot shoot down air without shards and abilities but they overcome Spellbreakers on Onslaught for Apprentices).

Hero	Pros	Cons
Squire	Thanks to Shield slot, has highest Life and Armor potential out of main 4 Defend can allow for a quick damage reduction against hard hitting enemies and can be outfitted with shards for benefits With Unholy Fire Shard and Prickly Shield chip on the weapon, Defend and high Armor itself can be weaponized With Fight Me Not and Provoke/Annoyance, can provide a definite bonus for your defenses against other enemies Defenses and hero attacks excel and slaughtering Spellbreaker enemies Has 2 effective blockades to hold back enemies Can be adjusted for strong AP and Hero DPS offense Seismic Slam with the right shards and high AP can be a devastating nuke. Can also Petrify poisoned enemies Betsy Beam can allow Squire to do long range offense without AP investment Swords or Axes that drop can also be used by other Sword wielding heroes. Ballistas armed with Fire or Burning Bolts Servos, Oily Harpoon and Empowered Bolt shards has the highest IDT (Increased Damage Taken) effect out of any single defense in the game. Ballistas armed with Splody Harpoon do splash and the explosion does full damage to Siege Rollers from any direction.	Melee DPS potential is completely outclassed by other heroes, especially Countess Ballista and Cannonballs require Piercer servos to be effective against Shield Goblins and Geodes Sword and Betsy Beams require Piercer chips or careful aiming against Shield Goblins and Geodes Hero has difficulty against air units without Sword and Betsy Beams Attack speed of weapon must be factored into your end game sword choice Has difficulty against Armored enemies without the use of AP and Betsy Beams Seismic Slam stun is ineffective against Headstrong enemies Provoke may not work on enemies if the enemy is close to a Core, Subobjective or cannot reach you Unholy Fire setups do no damage to Power Block enemies
Apprentice	Incredibly devastating AP potential through Mana Bomb and Arcane Volley, especially against Armored and Brittle enemies Standard attacks can be effective in taking down air units or enemies from a distance Tornado can stop legions of enemies and launch them into the air and remain helpless to other attacks. Enemies in air are counted as Air units for Anti-Air defenses and Shards. Tornado can prevent Orc Warchiefs from activating Warcries and bypasses the effect if they are currently under it. Secondary charge attack can pierce enemies, mark multiple enemies and go through walls Arcane Barriers can take reduced ranged damage and apply stand alone IDTs through their shards. Hex Throwers also cannot leave cursed ground attacking these blockades. Flamethrowers do extremely well at close range, do double against Frosties and melt Proximity enemies Earthshatter has ridiculous range, can petrify poisoned enemies and knock them into the air with Toss Up shard Both towers also bypass barriers, doing direct damage. Frostbite Tower can slow down enemies and has a multitude of helpful shards to improve it's performance. Extremely helpful against non-Frosty Headstrong enemies and Cyber Orcs.	Flamethrowers need Range investment to avoid being attacked by Frost Goblins and melee enemies The hero and defenses have difficulty against Spellbreaker and AP apprentices are screwed against Power Blocks. The Frostbite tower cannot slow down Snooki, Frosties or Unstoppable enemies The Arcane Barrier cannot attack until a damage threshold is met and covers less space than the Spike Blockade Withering Blast (Arcane Barrier's IDT shard) can only be farmed by a chance on a specific Incursion Tornado and Earthshatter cannot knock up Headstrong enemies, Geodes or Minibosses, or enemies affected by Elder Wyvern auras. Firing pattern of the Magic Staff must be considered when planning your final weapon and require Piercer mods Isn't as effective at Hero DPS as the Adept is You must get the hang of Marking in order to use Arcane Volley and requires Empowered Mark and Marknado in order to apply it to many enemies at once. Marks are consumed upon getting hit by Arcane Volley High crowd control resistance can prevent Marks from lasting long Mana Bomb if timed incorrectly can leave you in a bad spot as you are helpless during the casting animation. Also has cooldown and Mana cost problems. All damage dealing defenses cannot target air units.

Farming - Available Heroes (Part 2)

Hero	Pros	Cons
Huntress	Does heavy physical damage with standard attacks, especially on weakspot hits. Effective against Spellbreaker enemies. Poison Darts are incredibly devastating against Armored, Controlled Burn, Pile On and setup for mass Petrify. Explosive Traps can be effective against Spellbreaker and rearm quickly. All trap based defenses are highly effective against Proximity Enemies Can hurl Oil Flasks to oil targets to setup for a Piercing Shot or for Blaze Balloon burns. Devastates Frosties and breaks Drakenlord barriers. Piercing Flame Chip allows Piercing Shot to ignite without tossing Oil Flasks Geyser Trap can launch most enemies. While launched, enemies can be targeted by Skyguard Towers and slowed by them Geyser Trap can drench to setup for an electrocution from a Storm weapon or LSA Geyser Trap with Freezing Rain can instantly freeze attackers Blaze Balloon is extremely effective against Frosty and Armored enemies Blaze Balloon can also be shot with any of your hero's projectile weapons to prematurely detonate it. Can be effective if you want to time the Blazing Phoenix effect or if the enemy isn't stepping into detonation range. Charged shots can be incredibly painful when shot into weak spots, especially on Soft Spot enemies.They also bypass lane barriers and are able to do damage to enemies that are stuck Out of Bounds.	Worst Life multiplier of all the heroes (0.75 Life/Hero Health) Heavily requires Piercing chips or the Ring of Piercing in order to combat Shield Goblins and Geodes properly All traps require heavy Tenacity investment if plan to use on Cyber Orcs All traps suffer on enemies that have the Long Range affix Bow's firing pattern must be factored into final weapon Poison Dart Tower's darts do low damage, poison cannot stack, crit and procs Bloodlust constantly, are deflected by Geodes without Piercer servos. Geyser Traps cannot launch Headstrong enemies, Elder Wyverns, Minibosses and Geodes Geyser Traps' Drenched shard is easily consumed by other defenses if placed too close to others Oil Flask/Piercing Shot combo is ineffective against Power Block and consumes all mana on use of Shot. Requires Mana recovery options to effectively use. While firing the Piercing Shot, Huntress is helpless and is open to counter attacks. All traps succumb to Frosty Orc slow auras. May require overcapping speeds to use effectively. Charged Shots take time to build up to fire and Charged Shot shard procs infrequently
Monk	Has incredibly devastating Hero DPS potential with the right setup of shards and chips thanks to Heroic Wave Heroic Wave for AP users can heal an incredible amount of Life Is capable of both damage types with weapon (physical melee and ranged magic) and Ability Power (Pole Smash physical and Chi Blast magic) Flame Auras can devastate groups of enemies while LSA can nuke one enemy hard with the right Servos LSA can electrocute an enemy that has been drenched and synergizes well with Water weapons and it's massive range can be beneficial against Cyber Orcs. Skyguard Tower can be the ultimate air destroyer due to massive range and slowing effects. Can also target launched ground enemies and stun via the Crippling Blows shard. If a pair of Skyguards are attuned to Earth and Poison respectively, can ground flying enemies Boost Aura can improve the performance of nearby defenses and even hinder speeds of enemies with the Boosted Grasp shard. If armed with Boosted Grasp and Cyber Orc stuns Boost Aura, Boosted Grasp continues to work within aura range. Concussive Chi or Betsy's Zapper with a Water Weapon and a fast enough fire rate allows for reliable stuns Ability to double jump allows for extra mobility	The Heroic Wave Nuke requires a complicated setup before it can do the nuke against bosses. Monk is vulnerable during setting up process All auras are susceptible to Cyber Orc stuns. Requires Tenacity servos if necessary Skyguard Towers are ineffective against Unstoppable and may require support for Onslaught Chi Blast and secondary attacks may require Piercer chips or Ring of Piercing and the former only travels along ground Flame Auras and LSAs succumb heavily to Frosty Orc slows. May require speed overcapping in order to perform effectively against them. LSA can only strike 1 enemy at a time and it's multi target shard severely cripples it's damage potential. The Initiate's Water and Frost Strike Auras cannot be placed close to Fire and LSAs respectively Heroic Wave has cooldown issues that have to be mitigated

Farming - Available Heroes (Part 3)

Secondary Hero Analysis

The secondary heroes, as stated above, can be purchased from the Emporium either through medals or with gems. Once purchased, you will get another Hero Card and you will be able to create as many of that hero as long as you have blank Hero Cards.

A common issue new players have is which hero is the best to buy first and usually end up getting something that they don't have much clue how to use properly or end up getting something that is less useful than intended. This chart should help you gain an understanding:

Hero	Pros	Cons
Abyss Lord	Strong against Armored and Brittle foes due to abilities and has high AP potential, especially with Power Overwhelming shard. Skeletal Knight can stun and Headstrong enemies can still be flinched by minor knockback All defenses are setup instantly in Combat Phases. Useful for Timed Build Phases in Mastery. Ramsters have multiple uses ranging from damaging multiple enemies to spreading elemental damage for stun lock combos Skeletal Archers can wreck most enemies and can also target 2 units at once if placed correctly Skeletal Orcs double as offensive and defensive Blockades Colossus can take massive amounts of punishment and be moved around the map when needed With the right Chips, Shards and high AP value, Direct Command can be incredibly effective for active Abyss Lords. Ramsters can spread a flame jet that can devastate most enemies and especially Frosties, Skeletal Orcs when berserked have the highest DPS potential out of all the Blockades and Skeletal Archers can spread mass slow/Oil across a large area. Against large groups of enemies, maintaining Mana is relatively easy. Power of Storms is incredibly effective. With an Oil tome and Burning Knights or Fiery Brimstone, can easily ignite Drakenlords and torches at Drakenfrost Keep without the chancing of Burning Strikes Healing Fountain with high HP can withstand Dark Assassins, allow for tanking of some enemies and can also be rigged to reduce enemy damage and increase your movement speed Quick secondary attack usage can allow for damaging of air and from a safe range	Cannot regenerate Mana naturally and has difficulty getting it back against Single targets If using Power Overwhelming, will need several shards to mitigate high costs Very ineffective as a Hero DPSer and against Air All defenses have a small delay before they can begin attacking or interacted with, regardless of phase. Only 1 Colossus can be built and it consumes 80 DU Chips for Direct Command buffs require extensive Onslaught farming to acquire Skeletal Archer requires Piercer Chips to be effective against Shield Goblins and Geodes Abyss Stone is ineffective against Goblin Siege Rollers Siege Rollers can also instant kill Colossus if placed incorrectly Has incredible difficulty dealing with Spellbreaker and especially Power Block lanes on it's own
Series EV2	Can double jump without Bunny Hop, hover and has fastest land speed of all the heroes Proton Beams with the right elemental servo and other defenses can slow or stun any enemy with exception of Headstrong/Unstoppable enemies. Reflect Beams can protect defenses and cores from ranged attackers. The Automation Shard can allow it to deflect Cyber Orc stuns to protect your other auras, traps and nodes. Weapon Manufacturer is effective for spreading ailments to set up for stunlocking combos Strong AP and Hero DPS potential Bots of Oil Shard can spread Oil to help with ignites (carry Fire weapon) and allow you to damage Controlled Burn Death From Above can provide a devastating distraction against Minibosses if needed Proton Cannon can devastate entire legions of enemies or minibosses with enough exposure	Lowest Life multiplier of all the heroes (0.75 Life/Hero Health) and falls easily to Dark Assassins All capable damage types are Magic based. Performs poorly against Spellbreaker enemies. All Nodes outside of Buff Beams can be disabled by Cyber Orcs and are ineffective vs Air unless low flying or dropped to the ground Weapons spawned by Weapon Manufacturer are ineffective unless stacked with high AP Nodes require large DU consumption in some networks and all nodes share 10 target limit Requires hefty investment of Tenacity Servos and C8 shards to be effective Succumbs to overheating and cannot use Abilities if overheats (max heat) until heat returns to 0 Must factor in firing pattern and Heat reduction values when looking for final weapon Geodes, Shield Goblins and slow firing weaponry can make using Anti-Gravity Bots difficult Cannot move while using and channeling Proton Cannon Death From Above shuts down other abilities, heals and can get you stuck if used incorrectly Proton Cannon ineffective against Goblin Siege Rollers Hovering is slower than running without Aerial Mastery Shard
Lavamancer	Fissure of Embermount does higher base hit damage than Water and Flame Auras and can continue to burn enemies that leave it via the Embermount Flames Servo. High Life multiplier (1.4 Life/Hero Health) Can cover a lot of ground, heal and even gain Molten Power with Chips via Submerge Harden can significantly reduce incoming damage for easy facetanking Eruption can be incredibly effective in many situations and also buffs defenses Oil Geysers are cheap on DU to assist with igniting enemies With Oil weapon, can ignite any enemy within 2 attacks without the chancing of Burning Strikes. Effective vs Drakenlord, Controlled Burn, Pile On and Drakenfrost Keep torches. Maw of the Earth Drake has large collision size, health pool and can Petrify and Confuse enemies Volcano can cover a large radius, can be an effective wall for Mastery and can bypass Shield Goblin barriers without Piercer. Incredibly effective with Unique Servos Molten Power easily maintained with Fissures, Chips and Lava Warrior Shard	Volcano has largest DU cost, minimum range and only 1 can be placed per Lavamancer. Rocks are also stopped dead by Geode barriers without Piercer and can harm you via splash damage All capable types are magic based. Has difficulty against Spellbreaker enemies. Not as effective at DPSing as the other heroes Fissures can be disabled by Cyber Orcs and cannot tag more than 10 enemies per aura Oil Geysers when erupted cannot apply Oil. They also cannot slow Unstoppable enemies or Frosties. Although Oil Geysers can damage air units, they need a ground unit walking into their trigger radius to fire or have to be erupted. Ineffective against air units and has difficulty against Spellbreakers Without shards and chips, Molten Power is limited and Fissures can take awhile to generate more Molten Core takes practice to use effectively Eruption has long casting animation, rendering Lavamancer helpless while casting it.

Farming - Available Heroes (Part 4)

Hero	Pros	Cons
Mystic	High AP potential Can easily poison attackers with Serpent Kiss shard or Lash Out, allowing Controlled Burn to take damage and easy petrification with Earth weapons and defenses. Call to Madness can stall enemies by forcing them to attack each other. This effect bypasses all Tenacity and Headstrong effects. Dark Torment has high single target potential and the damage over time can crit. Also creates a defense that attacks up to 3 enemies with beams if enemy dies with Torment Has 3 natural Increased Damage Taken effects: Obelisk polymorph, Call to Madness with Debilitating Madness shard and melee attacking any enemy with max appeasement. All effects stack. Max Appeasement supplies various buffs and does AP based damage to enemies around you Obelisk has map-wide range and can turn enemies into snakes, applying a damage over time plus renders them helpless. This effect bypasses Headstrong Obelisk can apply protective shields and stat buffs to heroes, which can be amplified via the Empowering Blasphemy shard. It can also reduce the damage nearby defenses taken via the Serpent God's Protection shard. This effect stacks with Boost Aura, Hardened and Juggernaut. Obelisk can also be equipped with a Totem to assist with No Blockade masteries or to bait Kobolts on Onslaught into sacrificing themselves. Sand Viper has large range, coverage, increases in damage the longer it attacks. Can also use Focused Viper to trade multiple attackers for focused damage Viper's Fangs can bubble enemies, rendering them helpless and can be targeted by Air. Also has a small knockback. Serpent Coils can generate healing orbs from slain enemies that anyone can use All defenses bypass Shield Goblin and Geode barriers With Earth Weapon, can easily petrify enemies with Lash Out or Serpent's Kiss and secondary attacks Equipment that buffs damage based on firing pattern or attack speed apply both to melee and ranged attacks Snaking Sands when armed with the Sandstorm Warrior shard can increase the Ability and Hero damage of any hero that fights within the Sandstorm. It also slows any attacker to the point it eventually stuns them.	Snaking Sands is outclassed by most stunlock combos and stops channeling when stunned by Cyber Orcs. Requires Tenacity to use effectively. Snaking Sands is also ineffective against Unstoppable and Frosty enemies. It also cannot stun Headstrong or Tenacity enemies. Damage Over Time can be a detriment in some situations where direct damage is faster Melee attacking to trigger IDTs at Max Appeasement or to Petriy can be difficult to do if enemies do high damage and especially if they are attacking each other under Confusion. AP Mystics become difficult to use at 0 Appeasement and no souls on ground Call to Madness' duration is short and has a target limit Firing pattern has to be factored into main weapon choice Obelisk has difficulty with large amounts of enemies and the Bubble buff effect is extremely unreliable Offense based Obelisks can trigger Carnival Kobolds and Kobolts into divebombing into them, even if it was unintentional. Mystic cannot heal self without Serpent Coil orbs, Life Steal effects or external healing sources Sand Viper's damage returns to normal once it stops attacking. Focused Vipers have problems with multiple attackers Viper's Fangs bubbling has no effect on Headstrong enemies and bubble is popped by any attack. Souls in large amounts can despawn Gold and Health Orb pickups Lash Out is prone to petrifying Siege Rollers Obelisk, Serpent Coil and Sand Viper do reduced damage to Siege Rollers Ranged attack and Dark Torment are stopped by Geodes and Shield Goblins without the aid of Piercer servos
Gunwitch	Incredibly devastating AP damage potential Has several abilities that can Stun or Slow enemies, works well with Controller Chips All abilities are effective against most affixes, especially Controlled Burn, Armored and Brittle enemies. Incredibly effective with Focused AP/Weapon Chips due to number of cooldown abilities Ability to Double Jump and Vroom Broom increases movespeed while also healing the Gunwitch Crushes minibosses or high priority targets like Snooki with relative ease Abilities bypass most barrier checks without the need of Piercer Snipe Mode allows for easy weak spot aiming. Good against Soft Spot enemies, with Weakspot Damage Chips and high Hero Damage stat. An Earth gun with Spider's Kiss shard allows the Gunwitch to petrify with Snipe on hit. Book Drop, Vroom Polymorph and Read or Die triggers bypass Headstrong and Wyvern Aura effects	Low HP multiplier and falls to Dark Assassins easily Cannot build any defenses Most crowd control effects are negated by Headstrong enemies Incredibly ineffective against Power Blocked and Spellbreaker enemies Gun firing patterns must be factored into final weapon choice Has the most C8 exclusive shards of all the heroes Long cooldowns need to be mitigated by Inspiration and other shards Two at Twice the Price renders you unable to use other abilities during effect Snipe's attack cooldown must be factored in for Snipe builds to succeed Once you move in Vroom Broom, you cannot remain stationary until you end the effect.
Dryad	Starfall is extremely powerful against groups and Minibosses When weapon is armed with Earth Chip, can cause mass Petrify for stunlocking with standard attacks Can equip Squire weapons Defenses have extremely large range, making them easy to place outside of Cyber Orc influence and can engage enemies out of bounds World Tree has lowest DU cost of Blockades, can heal nearby heroes, provide crit bonuses and unaffected by Power Surge, Buffs and healing improve and linger with the help World Tree with Thick Vines shard can do effective rot damage to anything that enters range and the damage over time stacks with other auras if they overlap Bees, Harpies and Dryad's standard attacks crush Spellbreaker and Poison Leaves allow Controlled Burn to take damage Corrupt Form provides buffs to defenses and self, making them more effective Capable of indefinite hovering and double jump Powder Toss combined with Dryad Blessing and Earth weapons can help Dryad facetank most opposition Angry Nimbus is effective at tracking and destroying Armored enemies over time and can Drench or Shock enemies for Controlled Burn Slime Pits with a Fire Servo can instantly ignite an enemy, allowing for increased damage taken and to drop Drakenlord barriers. Slime Pits can also fully damage Siege Rollers if Slimes impact the Roller from behind.	Cannot directly heal without Powder Toss, World Tree or Life Steal effects Corrupt form needs constant maintenance of Celestial Power via Shards and Chips. World Tree's collision size is small, can get easily destroyed and defenses shut down if tree goes down Bees and Harpies can be slow in handling large numbers Starfall is ineffective against Power Block and/or Spellbreaker enemies Angry Nimbus can be unreliable due to massive range and slow movement Angry Nimbus and Moss Hornet Nests may need Fleeting Nature in order to track fast enemies or cover ground quickly. Also, they need Tenacity servos or be placed out of reach to avoid Cybork or Goblin Berserker stuns.

Farming - Available Heroes (Part 5)

Hero	Pros	Cons
Initiate	Better AP offense potential than Monk Can equip Monk weapons and some Monk shards Can deal both Physical and Magical damage across both ability and hero damage attacks Has access to many natural Increased Damage Taken effects: Draining Wave, Chi Spirit Tower, Chi Aura and attacking with the Chi Burn shard equipped Chi Aura can not only self heal, but can be rigged to deal damage over time, boost damage, cripple foes and reduce damage taken for yourself AND allies. Breath of the Dragon can deal double damage to Frosties over a respectable range, burns over time and can be rigged to stun via Thundering Breath chip. Talisman of Empowerment when placed correctly can be effective at buffing, damaging with the Burning Talisman Chip and is immune to Cyber Orc stuns Radiant X Shards also stack with Talisman of Empowerment, allowing for a potential Tower Buff build. Firework Cannons can damage multiple attackers and can decimate tight groups with splash damage. Missile and explosion also bypass Shield Goblin shields. Water Aura is capable of mass drenching, which synergizes well with Storm or her Frost Strikes Aura to cause electrocution and frozen respectively. Frost Strikes Aura with Lingering Frostfire shard can freeze any attacker without aid of Water defenses if necessary. Uses Blue Mana. Can use shards and chips that help restore Blue Mana effectively like Power of Storms.	Worse Hero DPS potential than Monk Chi Aura has increasing mana costs the longer it is channelled and suffers hard from cooldown problems without mana and cooldown recovery boosts. Both auras require protection from Cyber Orcs with Tenacity servos or an Automation Reflect Beam in front of them. Flame of the Dragon has 3 charges and can burn through them rather quickly Frost Strikes Aura with Lingering Frostfire too close to spawn gates may stunlock Siege Rollers out of bounds and stall them unnecessarily. Can also rack up Crowd Control resistance quickly and has no effect on Frosty or Headstrong enemies. Talisman of Empowerment has no effect on Boost Auras and Buff Beams and has cooldown issues Draining Wave is affected by barriers and cannot pierce Shield Goblins and Geodes without Piercer. Chi Spirit Tower requires Piercer Servos to pierce Shield Goblins and Geodes Firework Cannons require Piercer Servos to pierce Geode barriers. If rockets get stopped by barriers, can be fatal to heroes and defenses alike. Chi Spirit Tower projectile may require Spirit Charge Shard to effectively hit multiple enemies. Chi Spirit Tower is also one of the most frail defenses in the game. Keep away from attackers. Although uses Blue Mana, cannot use Meditation
Adept	Arcane Bubble is an effective stun, removes Dark Assassins from her, reduce damage of enemies with Wither Bubble (effect stacks with other damage reduction), deflects Phoenix's lava bolts and with Sanctuary can be a very effective heal Can equip Apprentice weapons and some shards work on both heroes Has better Hero DPS potential than Apprentice due to Arcane Bubble Hailstorm Tower has fast attack rate, even without the need of Defense Rates. Can also damage any enemy from great distances. Flameburst Towers are effective against Frosty enemies and greatly outrange Orc slow auras. Very effective with the Gathering Burst shard equipped. Marking Bubble allows for fast setup of Arc Lightning without the need of Marknado Chip or Empowered Mark shards With a Water Weapon or Aura, Arc Lightning with Thunderwave and Tesla Coil Towers can mass electrocute Tesla Coil Tower with Ramping Voltage shard can handle groups of enemies effectively as long as it keeps attacking Better at fighting Controlled Burn than Apprentice is (4 different combos vs 1) Uses Blue Mana. Can use shards and chips that help restore Blue Mana effectively like Power of Storms and especially Meditation for another cooldown.	Low HP Multiplier Apprentice has better AP damage potential thanks to Arcane Volley and Manabomb Flameburst may require Piercer servos in order to effectively damage enemies in some situations. Also has a high target priority, rivaling that of Blockades. Gathering Burst has little to no effect if enemy closes the distance on the Flameburst tower. Arc Lightning is ineffective vs Goblin Siege Rollers Hero completely sucks vs Spellbreaker without Tornado or support defenses Arcane Bubble has steep mana cost and cooldown without help of shards and cannot stun Headstrong enemies Tesla Coil Tower's Reckless Shock shard although applies an increased damage taken effect, it also increases movespeed of enemies. Especially dangerous on Tenacious, Speed Demon and Bloodlusted enemies. Hailstorm Tower requires Piercer servos in order to damage Bullet Sponge air, Shield Goblins and Geodes effectively. Also cannot chill Unstoppable enemies. Crystal Hammer cannot strike air and is very dependent on positioning and/or Crystal Fissure Shard
Barbarian	Highest HP multiplier of all heroes in game (1.8 HP/Hero Health) With Turtle Stance, cannot be targeted by Dark Assassins and immune to Drakenlord aura 2 weapon slots means 6 Weapon Chips and Shards, plus up to 3 elements at the same time! Can equip Squire weapons Very devastating DPS potential and excels at high Onslaught floors Capable of stuns, physical and magical damage. Can adapt to almost all Onslaught affixes. With right setup, Hawk Strike can turn Minibosses or groups of cluttered enemies to ash or cripple them royally Staggering Shout can be used to slow down or reduce damage from enemies, allow anyone to life steal off of them or flat out take increased damage based on the Primary Stance used.	Suffers against Armored enemies without Elemental conversion chips Not very effective with AP as with Hero Damage Requires large investment in resources to spec Requires constant damage dealing and taking to maintain Wrath and Fury Cannot build any Defenses Can easily be slain if enemies are not stunlocked and without the aid of Turtle Stance in some scenarios, specifically Primes and High Onslaughts. Without Siphon Stance and Life Leech/Regen effects, Lightning Stance can be fatal Cannot heal self without attacking other enemies and outside healing sources such as World Trees or healing orbs from Serpent Coils Incapable of ranged offense and poor vs high flying enemies Although Turtle Stance makes you unable to be targeted by Dark Assassins, solo play will prevent them from ever leaving the spawner and multiplayer will force them to focus on squishier allies. Stances require knowledge and timing to use properly.

Farming - Available Heroes (Part 6)

Hero	Pros	Cons
Mercenary	High HP multiplier (1.65HP/Hero Health) 2 weapon slots allows for 6 Chips, 6 Shards and potential for up to 3-4 elements. Incredibly devastating DPS potential, both Magic and Physical. Uses same weapons as the Mystic and has no need to worry about firing pattern or rate Uses Blue Mana like the original heroes. Compatible with Power of Storms and Bounty to recover mana fast for AP builds Abilities, shards, servos and chips can allow hero to adapt to many Onslaught affixes, especially Controlled Burn, Pile On and Spellbreaker. One of the most effective Onslaught heroes to get through AP resets with Backstab shard allows for fast dispatching of minibosses or high priority targets, especially Goblin Siege Rollers. Combat Preparation provides a significant boost to damage output, allows for Poison via Poisoned Blades shard, can be enhanced further by Frenzy proccing and triggers Ability and Damage Buff chips. With an Earth Chip on 1 dagger or Earth Ring and the help of Poisoned Blades or Poison Dagger Throw, can petrify attackers easily. Royal Guards with the right shards and servos (Plated Armor, Juggernaut, Hardened, etc.) have the best resistance to Ranged attacks. Nether Spiders are one of the 2 Trap defenses that can do direct damage to Goblin Siege Rollers if Spider explodes behind. Also has high splash radius. Nether defenses have the potential to inflict slow debuffs on enemies and don't need Piercers. Effective vs Headstrong on Onslaught. Elvish Artillery Cannon (EAC) does incredible Shock damage, large 360 degree targeting radius, can stunlock Drenched enemies, does splash damage, can be rigged for high Critical Hit potential and bypasses Shield Goblin barriers. EACs synergize well with Initiate's Water Aura for mass electrocution when needed Has natural 50% Tenacity and can get to 100% via the Escape Artist shard when Gilded, rendering Tenacity chips pointless. Fan of Knives with Marked for Death chip on a dagger can have potentially devastating effects if setup correctly.	All Mercenary defenses have difficulty combating Spellbreaker enemies Has issues dealing with Air attackers without high AP investment Like Barbarian, has highest maintenance cost for Shards, Servos and weaponry compared to other heroes Hero DPS setups may have difficulty handling Armored and AP setups have issues with Power Block and Spellbreaker EACs will require Piercer servos to handle Shield Goblins and Geodes and suffer from falloff damage without the aid of shard and servos EACs' massive range can be a detriment in certain setups and Critical builds reduce their overall range for power. EAC projectiles also have a habit of orbiting enemies depending on angle, which won't register damage until the projectile connects. AP Setups may also need Piercer chip on 1 of daggers to handle Shield Goblins and Geodes properly Spiders require sight to sight targeting to explode properly and acquisition range is small Although has Blue Mana, Meditation has no effect on this hero.
Countess	Has a plethora of Fire damage methods. Effective at destroying Frosty and Armored enemies. Melting Point allows all Fire Damage sources from Countess to ignite without Oil Chips or Burning Strikes and applies a more effective IDT (Increased Damage Taken) effect that stacks with Ignite. Melee attack is effective against Spellbreaker enemies. Also shoots a flame projectile that does well against Armored. flying and Frosty enemies Oil weaponry will instantly ignite any enemy simply by getting hit by the Fury projectile Factoring in Chips and Servos, has the highest damage multiplier against Ignited enemies. Factoring in equipment, Shards and buffs, has the highest Armor stat in the game for Armor-based builds. Has far better Hero DPS potential than the Squire Flame Surge's repeating hits make it effective against Brittle enemies. Valiant Charge if lined up correctly is capable of devastating AP damage Uses Blue Mana. Power of Storms and Mana Capacitor can be effective if using an AP build. Can use Squire weapons and shields. Can also Defend like Squire to reduce incoming damage. Flak Cannon capable of knocking back attackers, even if Headstrong or under Warchief warcries. Oil Catapult capable of oiling enemies and leaving oil ground with Oily Overflow. Allows for easy igniting from a distance and can trigger Controlled Burn. Elder Drake is capable of devastating on hit and lingering Fire damage and can be powered up with the Motherly Instinct Servo when placed near Dragon Nests. Dragon Nests have large range, flies through obstacles and can be placed outside of range of Cyber Orcs to attack unabated.	Limited to 1 Elder Drake per Countess Fury deals less damage to Spellbreaker enemies and her standard slashes deal less to Armored Her Defend skill has less effectiveness than Squire's due to lack of Block Power in Ascension points. Elder Drake's Motherly Instinct requires extra DU in Dragon Nests in order to be used effectively. Can be an issue on Low DU maps. The Armor Build's Unholy Fire ability has no effect on Power Block enemies, plus requires heavy Armor investment via Shards and Equipment Dragon Nests can be shut down by Cyber Orcs without aid of Automation shard or Tenacity servos and only 1 nest can affect a single enemy at a time. Dragon Nests can attack the masts in Jacked Sparrow due to a bug Flak Cannons and Oil Catapults require Piercer servos to bypass Shield Goblins and Geodes. They are also not as damaging as the Elder Dragon or the nests Flak Cannons also cannot knock back Geodes, Elder Wyverns, Queen Snooki and most Minibosses. Oil Catapult projectile is prone to missing enemies, especially fast enemies like Snooki and activated Kobolds. Fury's projectile speed is slow and can be difficult to shoot down air from far away. AP Countesses will have extreme difficulty dealing with Air units Call to Arms has increasing mana cost the longer it's kept up. Requires Mana recovery shards, mods and correct timing to effectively use it. Valiant Charge locks your movement and can potentially get you stuck, shoot yourself off of or fall through the map or surrounded by enemies. Also requires aiming before casting. Has no means of stunlocking on her own. Requires Servo, Chip and Pet combinations. Suffers heavily from cooldown problems for AP builds. Requires Cooldown reducers. Although has Blue Mana, Meditation has no effect on this hero.

Farming - Available Heroes (Part 7)

Hero	Pros	Cons
Engineer	Has better Health Multiplier than most ranged heroes (1.2 Life/HH) Factoring in Chips, can have the highest Crit Chance and Damage potential of all the heroes Uses same canisters as the Series EV2 Can double jump without the need of the Bunny Hop shard All tower-based defenses can bypass barriers, doing full damage to Shield Goblins and Geodes Magnetic Knight can hit the same enemy twice. They are also the only Tower that can full damage Siege Rollers from the front without modifications Gains damage the more heat he generates. The Overclock shard can further enhance Critical Hit Chance and Damages with more heat generated. Can self-repair every 5 seconds. Stacks with Regeneration shard.	Most abilities and attacks have difficulty with Spellbreaker enemies Steam Vent locks Engineer's movement during animation, leaving him vulnerable to counter attacks. EMP Traps need Tenacity servos to avoid Cybork stuns Unlike EV2, the Engineer gains heat when firing and cannot hover Cannot attack or cast abilities outside of Steam Vent at Maximum Heat AP Builds and Focused X Weaponry need to consider current heat levels when using skills Firing pattern and speed need to be factored into final weapon Self-repair rate is ineffective on it's own. Needs Life Leech and outside recovery assistance. Magnetic Tower Knights do reduced damage per enemy pierced and ceases damaging after 10 enemies hit. Railgun Towers and Sentry Gun Towers have issues handling groups of enemies without the aid of shards and servos.
Hunter	Reasonable health multiplier for Ranged Hero (1 HP/HH) Has the highest potential Dodge chance of all heroes thanks to Natural Instincts, Ring of Wind and Dodge chips Uses existing Huntress bows. Can fire Charged Shots for increased damage and knockbacks on certain monsters. Standard attacks can rail through Spellbreaker enemies effectively and abilities do well against Armored. Handles Controlled Burn mobs effectively with Poison Siphon shard and Gargoyle Statue attacks With aid of Wound, Bloody Strikes and Napalm Gargoyles, has access to 3 IDT effects outside of conventional means Blood Effigy creates a sentinel that can attack and use your Stakes against nearby enemies regardless of where you are on the battlefield. Can double down on an attacker. Cloaked prevents him from being targetable by enemies, including Dark Assassins. Also gains increased move speed, damage and every hit is a Critical hit. Also counts as a Buff for Damage and Ability Buff chips. Extremely high Critical Damage potential without the need of Critical Hit chance investment due to Cloaked skill Wooden Stakes can rail through multiple enemies in a line when lined up correctly. Can also shotgun with Tristakes shard. Sonic Bat can stun enemies without the need of elemental combos and Gargoyle Statues can poison on hit. Very effective against Controlled Burn enemies. Werewolf Commander is the only Blockade that can flat out negate an attack by chance and has a Range attack. Werewolf General Shard allows it to emit a Power Pylon effect that also stacks with Power Pylon	Must continuously deal damage through standard attacks to maintain Blood for AP builds. This effect also has a cooldown. AP Builds may have to be concerned with Spellbreaker enemies as HD builds do with Armored enemies. Cooldown durations might be a concern for certain builds (especially on Cloaked). May require Cooldown reducers like Ring of Time and shards. Only means of reducing Blood cost for Abilities comes at the cost of self damage Must acquire a Piercer Chip or Ring in order for attacks and certain abilities to bypass Shield Goblins and Geodes Gargoyle Statues will require Tenacity Servos or place outside the reach of Cursi-Kaze or Cyborks Sonic Bat will require Piercing Servo in order to bypass Shield Goblins and Geodes Cloaked has no effect on Dark Assassins once they target you and you can still take damage from splash attacks Bow's firing pattern must be factored into final Bow Cannot heal directly outside of Blood Siphon. Needs other healing support like Life Leech and World Trees Werewolf Commander's ranged attacks do half the damage of the melee and has the highest DU cost of basic Blockades. Has no improved movement effects without the aid of shards
Aquarion	Is capable of inflicting all status effects and elemental combos, factoring in defenses and hero's abilities. Very effective against Pile On and Controlled Burn enemies and good candidate for Weakness Targeting shard. Defenses and hero abilities decimate Armored foes as well. Uses existing Monk and Initiate weapons, while also ignoring firing pattern modifier. Her secondary attack can be rigged to do incredibly high damage and can pierce through solid walls Has a natural IDT effect through the Superheated Water shard and Oceanic Rifts Summoning a Whirlpool and using the Water Orbs can allow for a very effective stunlock. Useful for either AP or HD builds The Artillery Crab with the Hard Headed Squids shard can instant kill aerial units if they are stunned over death pits Uses Blue Mana. Can recover Mana quickly with Channel and Power of Storms shards	Relatively fragile hero AP Aquarions will have difficulty against Spellbreaker enemies and especially Air Frost abilities do not chill or Freeze Frosty, Unstoppable enemies, or enemies affected by Elder Wyverns and Warchief buffs All defenses except Jellyfish will need Piercer servos to bypass Geodes Jellyfish, although strong have bad range and have to give up targeting 4 enemies for maximum damage effectiveness Water Orbs have escalating mana costs the longer they are out and you have to have her turn her back or place the Roller to the right of her for them to do full damage to Rollers. Secondary attack needs enemies to be lined up for maximum effectiveness, plus missile has somewhat slow flight speed Has no movement enhancement effects without the aid of shards Although uses Blue Mana, cannot use Meditation

Purchase Order Suggestions

Whether or not you acquire the All Hero Bundle (3200 Gems or $32 USD) off the Emporium, I recommend acquiring and/or speccing the heroes in the following order:

• Series EV2 gives you access to very powerful support nodes. You will need her Reflect Beams on your Walls and Cores by the time you begin farming Chaos 6.
  
• Initiate and Mercenary together gives you a very powerful stunlock combination that can handle almost all opposition up to Chaos 8. Plus the Initiate gives you access to Talisman of Empowerment to buff defenses in a pinch. See the AFK Farming section for details.
  
• Lavamancer for Chaos 9+ as the Fissures, Oil Geysers and Volcanos will assist you in Brute Force strategies and assist with Ignite.
  
• Dryad has a plethora of defenses that can resolve almost every modifier in Onslaught, especially Spellbreaker (Moss Hornets and Harpy Perches) and Controlled Burn (Nimbus and Slime Pits). Very cost effective for AP50+ resets.
  
• Remaining heroes as you see fit

As you get more heroes going, you can diversify your strategies and it will make using Diverse X setups and do Mastery maps with Unique Defenses or Diversity stars a lot more manageable and effective.You are going to need at least some of the heroes outside of the original 4 if you are going to succeed properly in this game.

Farming - Chaos Tiers and Champion Score

Now that you decided on your preferred map(s) and the heroes you need, you will need to ascertain which Chaos tier you must farm on. In order to unlock higher tiers, you must achieve a specific Champion Score requirement.

Item, Gear and Champion Scores

Item Score
Every item has an individual Item Score, which is displayed by hovering over the item and looking at the number next to the cog. This score is obtained through the following factors:

• The value of the primary stat based on the allowed range
  
• The value of the secondary stat based on the allowed range
  
• The amount of and values of each Servo and Chip that item has. The type of Servo and Chip doesn't apply.

The higher the values, the better the item score will be. You can increase this by either upgrading and evolving equipment, getting higher valued items from drops or transferring better servos and chips to the item.


Gear Score
The Gear Score, which is shown as a number within the Hero Card itself while browsing your Inventory and Deck, is the average of the following Item Scores:

• Your character's main hand weapon
  
• Your character's helmet, chest, boots and gloves slots

Therefore, Relics, the Squire's Shield slot and the Barbarian's off hand weapon slot do not count towards your Gear Score progression.


Champion Score
The Champion Score, which is shown in your Inventory and Pause Menus is equal to the character that has the highest Gear Score of your Deck.

This score is important as it will ultimately determine which Chaos Tier you are able to do. If you form a party with other players, then the lowest Champion Score of the party will be applied when calculating which Chaos Tier you are able to enter.

The required Champion Score for each Chaos Tier is as follows:

Chaos Tier	Chaos I	Chaos II	Chaos III	Chaos IV	Chaos V	Chaos VI	Chaos VII	Chaos VIII	Chaos IX	Chaos X
Champion Score	300	580	1050	1740	2750	3800	5300	7850	9850	12750

Therefore, the fastest way to unlock the higher tiers would be to work with 1 character and have that character unlock Chaos 8 as soon as possible while picking up or upgrading Relics to maintain Defense strength. Once you hit Chaos 9, then you can fill in the missing parts with the best drops of that chaos tier. A new player with the right plan can handle up to Chaos 8 solo before needing assistance with 9 and X.

If you're assisting another partner with carries or you are trying to get your mutlibox account up faster (see the Multibox Section for more details), then consider using the Player Shop to transfer over any finds you get to the other player for a small Gold cost. Note that the person who buys your items will have the item synced to their game progression and it will drop to the Tier of that player's Champion Score. This is to prevent people from skipping Chaos Tiers for free carries. You may have to fork over materials if necessary.

Finally, if your Champion Score is high enough and you enter a pre-Chaos X game outside of Onslaught, then all items will be set to 10/10 upgrade levels.

Farming - Expedition Combatants (Part 1)

Expedition Combatants

As your Chaos tier rises, you will be forced to face off against the Chaos enemies that are added. Each of them have unique abilities and must be factored in when planning defenses and their servos.

For generic reference, as all these enemies are classified as Chaos, so the Anti-Chaos and Chaosplosion Servos and Chips can help overcome the odds. I will however, add other classifications that can be also factored in as these effects do stack (eg. Anti-Goblin/Chaos Medallions will cause the defense to have 2 bonuses when targeting Vanguards).

Monster	Chaos Tier(s)	Typing	Abilities and Notes
Vanguard (Shield Goblin)	Chaos 1, 3, 4, 6+	Melee, Goblin	All blockable projectile attacks when targeting front deal 0 damage unless supported by Piercer Chips and Servos or deal splash damage (eg. Flameburst Tower or Artillery Cannons). Penetrating effects like Tornadoes, Chi Blasts and Apprentice/Adept charge attacks are also stopped unless supported by Piercer. Stunning the Goblin shuts down block effect.
Cybork (Cyber Orc)	Chaos 2, 5 and 10	Orc, Melee	If approaches an Aura, Trap or Node, will slam hammer into the defense and stun it for 10 seconds. Will not attempt stun if defense is already stunned. Also fires an EMP wave when attacking normally or stuns a defense that also shuts down defenses for same duration. Tenacity Servos can reduce stun duration. Attaching an Automation Hyper shard or T10 Chaos 8 Tenacity mod to the relic will make the defense stunproof. Reflect Beams with the above conditions will deflect the EMP blast it fires. If the Cybork can't stun the defense, it will repeatedly attempt to stun it, effectively locking it in place. The boss variant, Thorc can stun your defenses for a longer period than the standard ones.
Geode	Chaos 3, 4, 6-9	Support	Any blockable projectiles that make contact with this barrier from the outside will cause it to be deflected. The deflected projectile CAN damage you and/or your allies. Some projectiles explode instantly on contact with barrier (eg. Volcano, Firework Cannon). Piercer Chips and Servos bypass this effect. Stunning or Electrocuting the Geode will shut down the barrier. Geodes cannot be launched into the air by knock up abilities and defenses. The boss variant, Geode Prime has a far larger radius for it's barrier.
Snooki (Orc Berseker)	Chaos 4+	Melee, Orc	Runs fast, deals heavy damage and cannot be Slowed by any means. Frostbite Towers will not target this monster but Proton Beams can still damage and apply Frosty Beam. Oil effects will not slow but damage will still apply and will still ignite if hit with Fire damage. The boss variant, Gnash can ignite defenses, heroes and cores on hit with her flaming cleaver.
Dark Assassin	Chaos 5, 6-9 (Wave 3 onward)	Melee	When spawned, will pick a random hero and it will now emit a purple cloud. After a few seconds, a Dark Assassin will latch onto that hero, doing damage at a constant rate. While latched, your last action is cancelled and you cannot build, repair, attack, use abilities, double jump but you can still use Pet powers. While latched, the assassin is targeted as a Ground unit and becomes vulnerable to damage. Once free, you will get 5 seconds (or 10 if you respawned) of immunity from future Dark Assassin latching and the assassin is targeted as an air unit again. If stunned or killed in the middle of latch, will instantly break off, allowing for free hits. If you fail to kill it fast enough when it breaks off or appears, it will teleport back to it's spawn, heal up and retry. If hero has 100% Tenacity across armor, Assassin will still warp, latch onto and attack you, but you will still be able to use your abilities and fight back. Barbarians under Turtle Stance are immune to Dark Assassin targeting unless you disable it and then re-enable it when purple smoke appears. If this happens, Dark Assassins will warp but cannot latch onto you. Dark Assassins ignore the Hunter's Cloaked effect for latching and targeting. The boss variant, Skarnash latches onto you for a longer period of time than normal ones.
Hex Throwers	Chaos 6 and 7+ (Wave 4 and 5 only)	Ranged	Has twice the range of Javelin Thrower. On ranged hit, leaves behind cursed ground that reduces the damage of affected defenses, regardless of defense type. Reflect Beams will deflect javelin if it makes contact and can damage other monsters. Cursed Ground will not generate if the spear's lifespan expires before hitting a defense, if it hits an obstacle like a doodad or elevated ground or the javelin hits the Apprentice's Arcane Barrier
Kobolt	Chaos 7	Support	Flies low and is targeted as an air unit. If within proximity of a defense, will do a suicide dive in the direction of it. If successful, deals heavy damage and stuns defense for 10 seconds. May target hero if necessary but will not inflict stun. Tenacity Servos can reduce the stun duration and the defense becomes stunproof if it holds an Automation Hyper Shard or a T10 Chaos 8 Tenacity mod. Auras, Traps and Nodes cannot be targeted and are unaffected by the damage or explosion. The Boss variant, Zapper does far less damage but has a far larger effect radius and longer duration.
Spiders	Chaos 8	Melee	Comes in 2 variants: regular spiders and the Death Weaver miniboss. Both variants attack with melee bites and the Death Weaver also carries a long range shot. Death Weaver is also classified as a Miniboss and is Ranged instead of Melee for Anti-X. If either variant is slain, it leaves behind an area of webbing on the ground. The web ground effect and both attacks all apply Web status that slow the infected's attack and move speeds as well as range and damage on Defenses. These effects do stack and bypasses Tenacity effects.
Elder Wyverns	Chaos 9	Ranged, Support	Emits a powerful aura. Once enemies are inside the aura and for 5 seconds after they leave it, they take less damage from all attacks and become immune to crowd control effects until slain or the duration expires. Any hero that enters the range of this aura also takes damage over time The aura has no effect on the Wyvern itself or any nearby Wyverns. Wyvern-blessed enemies can still be confused, polymorphed, taunted and Oiled (but not slowed by Oil). Attacks with a bolt that can be reflected by Reflect Beams. The boss variant, Ancient Wyvern has a higher damage reduction effect.

Farming - Expedition Combatants (Part 2)

Monster	Chaos Tier(s)	Typing	Abilities and Notes
Goblin Berserker	Chaos 10	Goblin, Melee, Support	Carries explosives on it's back and cannot be slowed by any means. On death, will explode and the explosion will stun any affected defenses for 6 seconds. Tenacity Servos can reduce the stun duration. If defense has an Automation Hyper Shard or T10 C8 Tenacity equipped, the defense cannot be stunned by their explosions. When slain, can be raised by Malthius as Skeletons.
Queen Snooki (Orc Queen)	Chaos 10	Orc, Melee	Runs just as fast as her lesser Berserker cousins and carries the same immunity to slows they have. However, they are also larger, have a higher life pool, hit harder and now have complete immunity to stuns as well. You can still inflict Oil, polymorph and confuse them if necessary.
Orc Warchief	Chaos 10	Orc, Melee	Walks slowly and cannot be slowed by any means. If this Orc's Life drops below 30% (or 50% if it's the Orc Warlord), it will release a Warcry. Under it's effect, the Warchief will heal itself and any nearby Goblins and Orcs that heard the warcry and also give them Slow and Stunproofing. The Warchief itself will almost be near-impervious to any damage source. The heal will bring back about 60% of the target's life if they have no taken any damage during the process. If the Warchief or any nearby Goblins or Orcs have been struck with a Defense or Weapon with the Anti-Heal Servo or Chip, the healing effectiveness is reduced for 15 seconds. At C8 10/10, Anti-Heal cuts off healing completely. While it is invulnerable, you can still Oil, Polymorph, Root, Taunt, Launch or Confuse them if necessary. When slain, can also be raised by Malthius as Skeletal Orcs.

When facing these new threats, factor in their abilities and either have defenses work around them (eg. use towers when facing Cyber Orcs or place stunable defenses out of reach of them) or work with Anti-X and X-Splosion relics to allow defenses to do additional damage to them and/or blow them up to do damage to nearby foes.

Being able to figure out how these enemies behave and work will not only assist you in Expeditions, but also when they start working together in various schedules in Onslaught.

Farming - Gold and XP Rates and Bonuses

Gold and XP are vital to your progression in this game. The former is used to cover a wide variety of services such as buying items off players and improving your own equipment. The latter is used to gain Ascension Levels in tandem with your Relics to improve your Defenses. Being able to acquire both quickly is paramount to your success.

Although Onslaught, Mastery and Incursions are able to give you Gold and XP, Expeditions are the best way to acquire these resources the fastest so we will be using this mode

Rates

When you win in Expedition, you will receive Gold and Experience towards your Ascension level. The Chaos tier you are currently playing on determines your base value. Obviously, the higher the Chaos tier, the better the values will be.

An approximate base value (AP0, solo play, no subojectives on a 5 Wave Map) for both Gold and XP per win are as follows:

Resource	Chaos 1	Chaos 2	Chaos 3	Chaos 4	Chaos 5	Chaos 6	Chaos 7	Chaos 8	Chaos 9	Chaos X
Gold	21k	27.3k	33.6k	39.9k	46.2k	52.5k	58.8k	65.1k	90.1k	99.1K
Experience	776k	1.35M	1.93M	2.51M	3.09M	3.67M	4.13M	6.0M	7.88M	8.77M

These base values also gain bonuses based the following situations. All effects are stacked additively before applying the final total and apply to all game modes:

• +5% Gold and Experience for every AP Reset you have committed yourself to.
  
• +5%, 10% and 20% Gold and Experience based on your current Win Streak (1 - 3 or More wins respectively). Replaying or Randoming a new Map will continue streak. Losing, getting disconnected or leaving for the town or tavern ends the active streak. This applies only to Expedition mode.
  
• +33% Experience for every player that is in your party.

To acquire these resources fast and in high amounts, aim for the highest Chaos level you can do in tandem with parties and increase your AP level. There are methods that can assist you such as AFK Farming or Multiboxing, which are covered in their respective sections.

One Time Gold Bonuses

Every AP iteration, including AP0 has one time cash payoffs when you complete a certain objective. Once you commit to an AP Reset, these rewards will be available again, allowing you to repeat these one time bonuses provided you meet the requirements each time. Although the values may look small in some cases and are unaffected by your Gold Multiplier, getting as many as you can per reset can go a long way.

Bonus Name	Requirement	Payoff
Champions of Expedition X*	Get your Champion Score to that Chaos X requirement	30k (Chaos 2 Unlock) 35k (Chaos 3 Unlock) 40k (Chaos 4 Unlock) 45k (Chaos 5 Unlock) 50k (Chaos 6 Unlock) 55k (Chaos 7 Unlock) 25k (Chaos 8 Unlock) 35k (Chaos 9 Unlock) 125k (Chaos X Unlock)
Mastering Expeditions X*	Complete a Map on Expedition mode on that Chaos tier for the first time	25k (Chaos 1) 30k (Chaos 2) 35k (Chaos 3) 40k (Chaos 4) 45k (Chaos 5) 50k (Chaos 6) 55k (Chaos 7) 120k (Chaos 8) 240k (Chaos 9) 480k (Chaos X)
Trials to Onslaught X*	Complete any 3-9 Maps on Expedition mode for that Chaos tier	25k (Chaos 1 @ 3 Wins) 30k (Chaos 2 @ 4 Wins) 35k (Chaos 3 @ 5 Wins) 40k (Chaos 4 @ 6 Wins) 45k (Chaos 5 @ 7 Wins) 50k (Chaos 6 @ 8 Wins) 55k (Chaos 7 @ 9 Wins)
First Steps Into Chaos	Clear Floor 3 (first C1) on Onslaught	25k
Welcome to Chaos	Clear Floor 4 (final C1) on Onslaught	25k
Approach to Chaos	Clear Floor 16 (final C4) on Onslaught	25k
Chaotic Ordeal	Clear Floor 21 (final C5) on Onslaught	25k
Final Approach	Clear Floor 27 (final C6) on Onslaught	25k
The World is Yours	Clear Floor 28 (first C7) on Onslaught	25k
Onslaught X	Clear any floor divisible by 10, up to Floor 100 on Onslaught. Beyond Floor 100, any floor divisible by 20. Applies to all floors that meet criteria at least once.	25k

* - Applies to each Chaos Tier once

If you wish to claim as many of these as you can, your best bet is to get your Champion Score to 9850, the Champions of Expedition for every Tier and then get all the Onslaught Floor rewards that you are able to do. The Onslaught Floor rewards are unaffected by your current Onslaught Floor (eg. If your starting floor is 30, you can still get the reward for F3, 4, 10, 16, 20, 21, 27 and 28 once).

Although Trials to Onslaught helps, most AP resetters tend not to get these as it requires a total of 53 Wins across all 9 Chaos Tiers, which is more than 1 reset worth of Onslaught Floors. Do these only if you got the time, need the cash or you are trying to farm for specific materials or shards.

Farming - Exclusive Chips and Servos (Part 1)

While you are playing maps, you will find there are certain Chips and Servos you can use with strong effects, but they come with limitations. It can be either you need a specific hero or you need to do a specific category of runs to acquire them. The former isn't as much of a problem as the latter. This section is designed to help you deal with the latter more effectively.

Character-Exclusive Servos and Chips

• Burning Bolts - Squire (Ballista)
  
• Drain Aura - Monk, Initiate (Boost Aura)
  
• Embermount Flames - Lavamancer (Fissure of Embermount)
  
• Empowering Claws - Hunter (Werewolf Commander)
  
• Energy Overload - Engineer (Rail Gun Tower)
  
• Fiery Fangs - Mystic (Sand Viper)
  
• Fireblossom's Blessing - Dryad (Harpy Perch)
  
• Lingering Frostfire - Initiate (Frost Strikes Aura)
  
• Lingering Hellfire - Abyss Lord (Ramster)
  
• Motherly Instinct - Countess (Elder Dragon)
  
• Proactive Traps - Huntress (Explosive Trap)
  
• Ramping Voltage - Adept (Tesla Coil Tower)
  
• Shatterquake - Apprentice (Earthshatter Tower)
  
• Shocking Revelation - Series EV2 (Weapon Manufacturer)
  
• Spectral Arrows - Mercenary (Nether Archers)
  
• Venomous Overload - Aquarion (Puffer Fish)
  
  
• Aerial Strike Chip - Adept (Magic Staff)
  
• Buffer Chip - Series EV2 (Canister)
  
• Echoing Command Chip - Abyss Lord (Tome)
  
• Exploding Lashes Chip - Mystic (Dagger)
  
• Explosive Volley Chip - Apprentice (Magic Staff)
  
• Flame Eater Chip - Countess (Sword)
  
• Frosty Shard Chip - Gunwitch (Gun)
  
• Icy Fury - Aquarion (Polearm)
  
• Lucky Strikes - Hunter (Bow)
  
• Marked for Death Chip - Mercenary (Dagger)
  
• Oil Spill Chip - Huntress (Bow)
  
• Overclock Chip - Engineer (Canister)
  
• Prickly Shield Chip - Squire (Sword)
  
• Shroomite Chip - Dryad (Sword)
  
• Thundering Roar Chip - Initiate (Polearm)
  
• Tidal Wave Chip - Monk (Polearm)
  
• Toe Burner Chip - Lavamancer (Lava Arm)

These Servos and Chips can be found at any time on any Epic-level or higher Medallion, Totem or associated weapon. The only catch is that you must have one of these heroes in your active Deck while you play. The hero you are currently playing as will have their specific Servo or Chip drop more frequently.

Example, if you are using 2 Lavamancers, a Mystic and actively using an EV2, you can get Shocking Revelation Medallions or Buffer Canisters with improved chances with the Lavamancer and Mystic unique chips and servos being chanced as normal.

Betsy Weaponry

• Betsy Beam - Squire (Sword)
  
• Cluster Nades - Huntress (Bow)
  
• Betsy's Zapper - Monk (Polearm)
  
• Betsy's Curse - Apprentice (Magic Staff)

These 4 weapons only drop in the Campaign when you beat Betsy's Nest or the Wyvern Den Prime Incursion and open the Victory Chest. You will always receive one.

These weapons aren't very potent at Campaign strength, you can still Evolve them as you go. These powers are also available on shards. However, you cannot remove the Chip from the weapon as they are locked in and all 4 have a Shard equivalent that can do the job plus can be Gilded. Note that Betsy Beam will also not work if you give it to a Barbarian, Dryad or Countess.

Prestige Weaponry

• Burning Talisman Chip - Initiate (Polearm)
  
• Earthen Power Chip - Lavamancer (Lava Armo)
  
• Marknado Chip - Adept, Apprentice (Staff)
  
• Mana Command Chip - Abyss Lord (Tome)
  
• Meltdown Chip - Series EV2 (Canister)
  
• Piercing Ice Chip - Gunwitch (Rifle)
  
• Searing Flame Chip - Huntress (Bow)
  
• Seismic Launch Chip - Squire (Sword)
  
• Serpent Avatar Chip - Mystic (Dagger)
  
• Spectral Chip - Dryad (Sword)
  
• Stance Dancer Chip - Barbarian (Axe)
  
• Stunning Wave Chip - Monk (Polearm)

These weapons are found on Prestige Energy Weapons you find as rewards for completing certain floors or on the exclusive Chaos 8 or 9 weapons you win from Prime Incursions. The weapon you receive will be completely random, not factoring in Active Hero Deck or purchased Heroes, but the Servo level on it will always between 5 and 10. Note that some weapons can be used on multiple heroes but you must be that hero to use the Chip and the weapon will chance any of the associated chips (eg. You may get the Energy Sword with Spectral or Seismic Launch, but Bows will always have the Searing Flame chip).

You will get an Prestige Weapon through Onslaught when:

• You AP Reset and it will be Campaign level
  
• Every 10th Floor in Onslaught and it will be that difficulty in Chaos Tier
  
• Every 20th Floor past Floor 100 and it will always be Chaos 8 until Floor 300, which will then be Chaos 9

Your best bet of farming these is to do it through Onslaught progression as it is guaranteed. Plus you can repeat the floor that drops a weapon to get another random weapon. Only use the Prime Incursion method if you wish to farm Rings alongside it.

Pirate Weaponry

• Grave Infection
  
• Shackled
  
• Black Flag
  
• Hurricane
  
• Favorable Winds
  
• To Arms
  
• Grog-a-tov
  
• Walk the Plank
  
• Knot Stopping
  
• Banjacked

Weapons with these Chips can only be found when you complete either Plunderer's Paradise or Jacked Sparrow from the Victory Chest, provided it spawns Legendary. If you are solo, the chest has a chance to not spawn Legendary level and you will not receive a weapon in this case. These chips can also be transferred to other weapons.

Drakenfrost Weaponry

• Drakenlord's Soul
  
• Frozen Path
  
• Frostfire Remnants
  
• Torch Bearer
  
• Oil (Any weapon in the Region)

Weapons with these chips can only be found when you complete Drakenfrost Keep on any Difficulty or Mode from the Victory Chest provided it spawns Legendary. These servos can also be transferred to other weapons with the exception of Frostfire Remnants if there is a X-Splosion Chip already on the weapon (will overwrite it if you attempt to do so). All Drakenfrost Keep Weapons also come with a removable Ice Chip that adds Frost Damage, which allows you to freeze drenched enemies.They also run on a weekly cycle that changes every week on Tuesday. You will need to clear the map to find out which 3 weapons and chip is up for grabs.

Western Weapons and Armor

• Curse of the Rattlesnake
  
• Runaway Minecart
  
• Desert's Shadow
  
• Radiant Heat
  
• Midas Touch
  
• Snake Skin Armor (Wildest West Only)
  
• Goat Launcher (Wild Westival Only)

Weapons and Armor with these Chips can only be found when you complete any map in the Wild West region from the Victory Chest. Except for Snake Skin, all chips can be transferred to other weapons.

Embermount Weapons

• Bouncing Phoenix
  
• Immolation
  
• Internal Combustion
  
• Mark of the Phoenix
  
• Phoenix Shot
  
• Rise From the Ashes

Weapons with these Chips can only be found on the Embermount map provided you slay the Phoenix on Chaos 8 (chanced) or higher (always drops), provided you don't get the Shield or Ring of Fire. The Phoenix itself has 88% damage reduction so be prepared for a slog unless you got a very effective DPSer.

Tornado Weapons

• Canyon Bells
  
• Cyclostrophic Wind
  
• Genie King's Curse
  
• Genie's Protection
  
• Owl God's Wisdom
  
• Blinding Sand
  
• Sand Path
  
• Sand Storm

Weapons with these Chips can only be found in the Tornado Valley region once you slay the two final bosses on Wave 6 and on Chaos 8 (chanced) or higher (always drops). Both bosses have damage resistance and will take some time to gun down. The Genie King is more challenging than the Cyclone Shaper and also has phases, but it also has exclusive pets.

Farming - Exclusive Chips and Servos (Part 2)

Crystal Mines Weaponry

• Shift Rotation
  
• Metamorphosis
  
• Axerang
  
• Gold Rush
  
• Molten Cage

Weapons with these chips can only be found in the Crystal Mines after you have slain the Lava Beast on Wave 6 and on Chaos 8 (chanced) or higher (always drops). The boss itself is not too troublesome but it does have an instant kill burrow attack that can be difficult to avoid for new players or ones who don't pay attention and the ability to knock you back and stun you. It also has 88% damage resistance.

Malakai's Weapons

• Blood Craze
  
• Spectral Vanishing
  
• Spicy Garlic
  
• Wrath of the Bat
  
• Vampiric Embrace

These weapons can only be found on Malakai's Manor when you slay Lord Malakai on Wave 6 and on Chaos 8 (chanced) or higher (always drops). Lord Malakai is an easier boss to handle and contain compared to the others but he can be disastrous if he manages to charge through his chapel and displaces your Blockades or Towers. Lord Malakai also has 88% damage resistance.

Chaos Tier-based Servos and Chips

Campaign and higher

• Ability (Armor Set)
  
• Exploit Weakness (Armor Set)
  
• Light (Armor Set)
  
• Medium (Armor Set)
  
• Heavy (Armor Set)
  
• Power (Armor Set and Servo)
  
• Single (Armor Set)
  
• Triple (Armor Set)
  
• Quintuple (Armor Set)
  
• Robust (Armor Set)
  
• Earth (Weapon and Relic)
  
• Fire (Weapon and Relic)
  
• Storm (Weapon and Relic)
  
• Water (Weapon and Relic)
  
• Goblin (Weapon)
  
• Orc (Weapon)
  
• Warboar (Weapon)
  
• Gobsplosion (Weapon)
  
• Orcsplosion (Weapon)
  
• Anti-Orc (Relic)
  
• Hardened (Relic)
  
• Fortitude (Relic)

Chaos 1 and higher

• Healthy AP (Armor Set)
  
• Healthy Power (Armor Set)
  
• Swap AP (Armor Set)
  
• Swap Damage (Armor Set)
  
• Skeleton (Weapon)
  
• Warboar (Weapon)
  
• Skelesplosion (Weapon)
  
• Boarsplosion (Weapon)
  
• Anti-Skeleton (Relic)
  
• Anti-Warboar (Relic)
  
• Anti-Goblin (Relic)
  
• Accumulator (Relic)
  
• Protective Downgrade (Relic)

Chaos 2 and higher

• Steel Skin (Armor Set)
  
• Tenacity (Armor Set and Relic)
  
• Last Stand (Weapon)
  
• Mana Gain (Weapon)
  
• Mana Growth (Weapon)
  
• Suppsplosion (Weapon)
  
• Support-Boom (Relic)
  
• Unique Power (Relic)

Chaos 3 and higher

• Piercer (Weapon and Relic)
  
• Anti-Melee (Relic)
  
• Anti-Support (Relic)
  
• Diverse CD (Relic)
  
• Diverse Critical (Relic)
  
• Diverse Power (Relic)
  
• Melee-Boom (Relic)
  
• Range-Boom (Relic)
  
• Refund (Relic)

Chaos 4 and higher

• Ability Buff (Armor Set)
  
• Damage Buff (Armor Set)
  
• Manaburn AP (Armor Set)
  
• Manaburn Damage (Armor Set)
  
• Focused AP (Weapon)
  
• Focused Power (Weapon)
  
• Melee (Weapon)
  
• Meleesplosion (Weapon)
  
• Ranged (Weapon)
  
• Rangesplsion (Weapon)
  
• Anti-Ranged (Relic)
  
• Defense Rate (Relic)

Chaos 5 and higher

• Pest Repellent (Helmet Only)
  
• Crit Damage (Weapon and Relic)
  
• Crit Chance (Weapon and Relic)
  
• Miniboss (Weapon)
  
• Minibossplosion (Weapon)
  
• Support (Weapon)
  
• Anti-Miniboss (Relic)
  
• Controller (Relic)
  
• Miniboss-Boom (Relic)

Chaos 6 and higher

• Chaos (Weapon)
  
• Chaosplosion (Weapon)
  
• Controller (Weapon)
  
• Lifeburn CD (Weapon)
  
• Lifeburn Critical (Weapon)
  
• Anti-Chaos (Relic)
  
• Chaos-Boom (Relic)
  
• Defense Range (Relic)

Chaos 7 and higher

• Lifeburn Armor (Armor Set)
  
• Poison (Servo)
  
• Unique CD (Servo)
  
• Unique Critical (Servo)

Chaos 8 and higher

• Normal Damage (Armor Set)
  
• Normal AP (Armor Set)
  
• Frostsplosion (Weapon)
  
• Frosty (Weapon)
  
• Anti-Frost (Relic)
  
• Damage Buff (Relic)
  
• Frosty-Boom (Relic)

Chaos 9 and 10

• Counter-Attack (Armor Set)
  
• Counter-Surge (Armor Set)
  
• Dodge (Armor Set)
  
• Swap Crit Chance (Armor Set)
  
• Swap Crit Damage (Armor Set)
  
• First Strike (Weapon)

Chaos 10 Only

• Armor (Arnor Set)
  
• Fragile Power (Armor Set)
  
• Fragile Damage (Armor Set)
  
• Swap Tenacity (Armor Set)
  
• Healthy Crit (Weapon)
  
• Anti-Heal (Weapon and Relic)
  
• Air Superiority (Weapon)
  
• Pre-emptive Strike (Weapon)

The following are the remaining chips and servos that can be found globally on any item across any game mode, with the only restriction being you need to play on the specified Chaos tier or higher in order to start spawning them.

Knowing when they drop the soonest can help you when you need to reroll chips and servos to get 10/10 as they can potentially save you millions on Gold and materials. Also, as the Chaos tier drops, it omits chips and servos that are too high and chancing natural 10s can be more in your favor (eg. Defense Rate on Chaos 4 has ~1/90 chance of spawning vs. ~1/140 on Chaos 10).

Farming - Dailies and Weekly Missions

Along with winning maps, there is another method of gathering Medals and Defender Pass experience (more information on this is in the Farming - Defender Pass section) for future transactions: Dailies and the Weekly.

Basic Mechanics

Every day at 8:00:00 PM EST (Use this converter[www.timeanddate.com] to ascertain your time zone's equivalent), the game will give you a random Daily Mission that you can complete for bonus Medals and Defender Pass experience. You can have up to 3 dailies on your board at once. If your daily card is full and the next day happens, you will not get a new Daily, so make sure to log on at least once every 3 days to clear them out or get on before midnight and clear out at least 1 of your dailies. Note that if you have reached the Medal cap of 12000 and/or have finished your Defender Pass, you get nothing if you complete them.

Every day, you also have the capacity to reroll 1 daily of your choosing into something else. This can be useful if you get a 2 Wins and then want to get something like 3 Specific Wins (which is double payoff). If you have any progress in the Daily when you reroll it, it is lost. You also cannot reroll the Daily into either the same result or one you already have (eg. If you reroll a 2 Wins and already have a 3 Ruins Wins, you cannot get the same 2 Wins or another 3 Ruins Wins, but you can get 2 Ruins Wins). The conditions can also stack. So if for instance you win a Ruins map and you have a 3 Wins + 2 Ruins Wins, then you get progress for both.

The weekly is a one time payoff that you have from Tuesday of every week starting at 8:00 PM EST until Tuesday of next week at 7:59:59 PM EST. All Weekly missions are worth 1200 Medals and 200k Gold. The gold payoff is also affected by your Ancient Power's Gold Multiplier. The difficulty, host of the game and game mode in some cases doesn't matter, as long as you meet the requirements to complete the weekly.

Daily Payoffs

Knowing the payoffs is important as it will assist you with your rerolling options and speeding up the acquisition of Medals. The following are the possible payoffs, factoring in the wins required:

Daily Objective	Medal Payoff	Bonus*	Total Medals Gained	Equivalent Payoff
Win 2 Maps	225	50	275	11 Wins (275)
Win 2 (X) Maps	300	50	350	14 Wins (350)
Win 3 Maps	300	75	375	15 Wins (375)
Kill X Y Enemies - Low Count	300	Varies	300 + Wins	At least 12 Wins (300)
Win (X) Incursion	300	25	325	13 Wins (325)
Win 3 (X) Maps	450	75	525	21 Wins (525)
Kill X Y Enemies - High Count	450	Varies	450 + Wins	At least 18 Wins (450)
Jump X Times	300	Varies	300 + Wins	13 Wins (325)
Repair X defenses	300	Varies	300 + Wins	13 Wins (325)
Win X Games with No Core Damage	300	75	300 + 75	15 Wins (375)
Ignite X Enemies	300	Varies	300 + Wins	13 Wins (325)
Kill X Enemies with Abilities	300	Varies	300 + Wins	13 Wins (325)
Win X Waves on any Survival Map	300	Varies	300 + Checkpoints	12 Wins (300)
Weekly	1200	Varies*	1200+	48+ Wins (1200+)

* - All bonuses assume you will be playing non-6 wave Expeditions only (+1/win for any boss maps)

Regardless of what Daily or Weekly you clear, you will always get 750 and 3000 Defender Pass XP respectively.

Reroll Exploit

Due to a series of bugs and exploits, a user by the name of Primal Pete has found means to guarantee a 3 win specific each day. I have tested this and it works with the only requirement is your Daily card needs 1 Daily and you haven't rerolled it. His guide to performing the trick can be found here.

The jist there is a bug that causes your Daily to sometimes reroll without consuming the reroll function and it cycles itself every time you leave or join a game. If this is happening on your end, you can keep leaving and remaking games or alternate between entering and leaving your Private Tavern through the door until you get a 3 win specific. Once you achieve the Daily you desire, you either purchase an item from the NPC vendors in Town or Tavern or complete the map to lock it.

Personal Recommendations

If you are a casual player and come onto Dungeon Defenders II infrequently, try to find some time in your day to log in a reroll a daily if you can as you will make the most of your Dailies. Then when 3 days have passed, make a session where you clear out the Daily Card. Players who log on and do sessions every day should immediately check their Daily and try to get the best payoff as possible, either by reroll or by using the exploit to ensure you get the most Medals per day.

With most of the Dailies, they are not bound by Chaos Tier or game mode in most cases, so you can pick any Chaos Tier you are comfortable with, but you should try to factor in another objective while you do it such as getting shards and materials. For instance, if you are about to AP Reset and find out you are low on Feathers, C2 Ampoules and/or Basic Motes, consume your dailies on C2 runs to not only get Medals, but gain Motes and Ampoules and using your Generic Wins on Castle to acquire Feathers. This will get your rewards faster but also give you less grinding to do in the future. If you are desperate for Gold, then do the Dailies on Chaos 8 or 9 as they have the highest Gold payoff.

For Incursions, if you are able to do so, try to beat them on Chaos 9. This will add on Rings to the reward pool and they can either be useful to you or someone else if the ring's base and stats are both good. Otherwise, you can do them on the standard difficulty or Chaos 8.

If you have more than 1 Daily and want to efficiently burn through them, analyze your dailies and figure out a plan to get them all done in the least amount of time possible. This can involve treating Generic and Specific Wins together or doing a specific location while making sure the area you are going to can spawn the necessary enemies.

Farming - Multiplayer and Carries

In most games, farming was always rough when you paired up with others. Either the enemies got more rough, or it became difficult to cooperate or players would ninja your drops. However, if done correctly, having multiple players in your game can make your quest and farming far more efficient.

Mechanics

For every player that is added to your session, the following happens:

• All DU per wave will be divded across all hands equally
  
• All enemies will have their health and crowd control resistance increased, 20% and 10% respectively
  
• The Victory Chest will add 2 legendaries per added player for all players. If the map is Drakenfrost Keep or a High Seas Map, you will always get at least 1 exclusive weapon
  
• All players gain 33% increased Experience per added player and this stacks with other bonuses
  
• All players get exclusive drops, but you can use your Player Shop to share items across each other if necessary
  
• All players will have the rate at which they get the guaranteed 10/10 mod is increased per player. How this is done is covered in detail in the 10/10 Mods section.

With a full house, you can get 6 more legendary items and if you are playing on C7 at least, you are guaranteed at least 1 Ascension Level per round at AP0. However, your combined defenses and heroes must be able to deal with the increased health and crowd control resistance, so make sure all hands are capable of fighting off the waves or at least 1 person's defenses are able to flatten all opposition.

Carrying and Being Carried

In the event you are playing on a lower difficulty with stronger characters, either because you are hunting for a specific Shard or Servo, odds are you will have many weaker players join your game if it is Public. This is where you can take advantage of the additional hands and carry them. As for vice versa, if you are in a game with people who are better builders than you or have far stronger defenses, then it might be wise to assist them to make your life easier.

The first thing you must establish is who is going to build. If you can build, immediately request all players to send Green Mana to you on Wave 1. If they don't know how, remind them where you are with a ping and tell them the command is Ctrl + M. If you cannot build, give all your mana to the person who is either currently building or has the highest Gear Score, AP or who you think is the host. If you are able to build with someone else, split the construction between them so you can setup defenses quickly and reduce downtime. Eventually, the team will develop a rhythm that will make things go efficiently. Make sure that your available defenses can maintain efficiency and not impede strategies (eg. placing a Blockade in front of the spawn point is a terrible idea while having a player build Boost or Lightning Strikes Aura with another guy's Weapon Manufacturer might be more better).

Once everything is ready or when the waves are complete, try to press G as fast as possible to keep things moving. If you need to go AFK or you need to sell items, make it fast so you aren't holding up the game. Every second you are stalling is another second of potential resources lost. When the game is complete or at the Warm-Up Phase of the next game, you can go through your inventory to see if you got any new improvements or sell items. Unless you are going back to town right away or soon, try to keep inventory space available so you can continue your win streak with the others.

If the game is Chaos 5 or higher and you must go AFK, under NO CIRCUMSTANCES should you stand on or near any Cores or fragile defenses. If a Dark Assassin targets your hero and releases it's hold, the Assassin's melee swing does AOE damage it will hit the Core and/or Defenses. I have had personal instances where I have almost and actually lost because of this and I have had to harshly remind people not to do it or kick them from the game. It is a waste of time to have to repeat the wave because of some player's terrible decisions so don't make it worse for yourself. The last thing anyone wants is to be a target for getting kicked by the other players.

Personal Recommendations

Having extra players can be a blessing or a curse. If you have a problem either playing with others or you want to make things go as fast as possible, then keep your games private and only let in people you can trust with building or with defending the Cores. It would also be wise to keep the circle small when you play high floor Onslaught or Primes as you will need the combined efforts of your allies to overcome adversity.

However, if you are with a functional team, regardless of composition of carriers and the carried, you can accelerate your collection of resources and experience.

Farming - 10/10 Mods

As you are probably aware, equipment comes with Mods (Servos for Medallions and Chips for Weapons and Armor) that bestow passive or conditional effects to your characters. The maximum level these Chips and Servos go to is 10. It is obvious that you should aim towards acquiring these top of the line mods depending on what your build is.

Acquiring Them

There are a few ways to get 10/10 mods:

• Chanced on drop naturally, although the odds are rare.
  
• Buying them off players at their Player Shops, which their value changes based on the salesperson's value and the type of mod.
  
• Rerolling them using Tokens (See the Gear-Modding section for more details).
  
• The game will automatically give you one every 1706 Mods generated.

Every account has a built in counter for mods that carries over in sessions. When an Epic or Mythical non-shield/material item is generated, this counter goes up by 1. Legendaries that generate mods can go up by as much as 2. Once the counter gets 1706, the next Epic or better item that can yield a mod will always be 10/10, but you will have no control over what the mod is or the item will be but the game will factor in your current Hero Deck for chancing the character exclusives. This counter will only reset once you hit 1706 mods, so if you chance a natural 10 or reroll it via Tokens, it will have no effect.

Tips

There are a few things the player can do to accelerate the counter to get these mods faster:

• Playing with others on Expedition, Mastery, Onslaught or Incursions will always add 2 Legendaries per player to the final chest, giving you up to 12 mods from 6 Legendaries (assuming all the Legendaries that spawn are non-shields).
  
• Doing maps that chance Slekleon as a boss will cause it to appear in every subsequent wave afterwards and he can drop items. Slekleon will continue this effect for up to 5 waves.
  
• Not playing as or having a Squire or Countess on your Deck removes Shields from the drop pool, which cannot carry mods.
  
• Completing Onslaught floors that generate Mananode Gifts and Prestige weapons can add up to 2 mods. Although there are some Mananode Gifts that can generate shields and 0 or 1 mod weapons
  
• Completing Embermount or Pirate, Wildest West, Drakenfrost Keep, Crystal Mines and Shifting Sand Maps on Chaos 8 and up will always add an exclusive weapon(s) or armor from the chest, adding up to 2 mods. This item is separate from the Expedition Party bonus.
  
• Farming for items on Wild West or Drakenfrost not only give you exclusive Legendaries, but the maps also drop Tokens and Motes, which you can use alongside raising your counter to reroll existing mods you own and make them 10.
  
• Finally, if you are multi-boxing, you will have 2 mod counters at play and both get another 2 Legendaries from the Victory Chest, so you can double the rate of getting 10s. Just note that because of the way the game generates items, both accounts will very rarely reach 1706 mods at the same time. See the Multi-Box Farming section for more details on how to set this up.

If you acquire a 10 that you think someone else needs, then sell it on the Player Shop, preferably at a value that is both profitable and affordable. If you are shopping for 10s, have the same mentality in mind.

Farming - Defender Packs

There are also Defender Packs that can be collected or bought, which are considered Dungeon Defenders II's equivalent of the Loot Box. Within the boxes you can get a plethora of different items:

• Exclusive Flairs
  
• Exclusive Skins
  
• Defense Skins
  
• Hero Unlocks
  
• Character Cosmetics
  
• Pets (including 2 Robot Pets and Microtransaction ones)
  
• Pet Items
  
• Piggy Banks containing up to 5M Gold

If your luck is good, you can forgo paying Gems and/or Medals for some of the more elusive items, or you could get a big sack of nothing.

Tiers

Like items, there are tiers for the Defender Packs and each rank determines the amount of items you get. And htey are as follows:

• Defender or Green - 1 item, with at least Powerful rarity
  
• Epic or Blue - 2 items with a chance of 3, with at least 1 of Epic rarity
  
• Mythical or Purple - 3 items with a chance of 4, with at least 1 of Mythical rarity

For Epic and Mythicals, once the item condition is met on at least 1 of them, the other items will be randomized ignoring conditions.

Acquisitions

To gain a Defender Pack, there are various methods:

• Chanced when you complete your highest current Onslaught floor and open the Victory Chest (Quality is randomized).
  
• Completing the High Seas Adventure yields a 1-time Mythical Defender Pack
  
• During the Seasonal Events, you can get a regular Defender Pack from either Ol' Peepers (Halloween) or the Christmas Tree.
  
• Regular ones can be chanced from the Carnival Box, which can be obtained on Day 13 of the Daily Defender Login Calendar
  
• Talking to Ol' Peepers on Days 9, 21 and 29 can net you up to 3 Defender Packs via the Daily Defender Login Calendar
  
• Clearing a Checkpoint on Survival has a 20% chance to yield a Chest that can contain a Standard Defender Pack.
  
• Clearing Survival Wave 150 on a map can net you a Mythical Defender Pack alongside a title. Applies once to each map.
  
• Clearing certain Levels on the Standard and Premium Defender Passes nets up to 10 Standard, an Epic and Mythical Defender Packs.
  
• Buy them with Gems at the Emporium for the following rates:
  

  Defender Pack Amount	Cost in Gems	Approx Cost in US dollars
  1 Defender Pack	75	$0.75
  10 Defender Pack	750	$7.50
  20 Defender Pack	1875	$18.75
  50 Defender Pack	3750	$37.50
  1 Epic Pack	200	$2.00
  1 Mythical Pack	500	$5.00
  10 Mythical Packs	5000	$50.00

Upon collection, they will be added to the Defender Pack tally in your Inventory. You must then go to Town or your Private Tavern in order to open them. You must also have enough item space (1 to 4 depending on quality) and you must be standing on flat, open ground before you can open it. Once used in your Inventory, you must open the box that spawns and you will get your random items. If you do not like the items you received, you have the option to reroll the entire Pack but it will cost you 250 Medals/item, up to 1000, so you must take the entire pack or don't. You also have about 20 seconds to make a decision or your items will be collected regardless.

Duplicates and Analysis

Now you are thinking, why did you include Defender Packs in the farming section? Simple, they can be helpful tools for acquiring resources.

When you are given a flair, cosmetic part, skin or hero unlock you already own, the border of said emblem or card will turn red and the item's description will tell you have a Duplicate of said item. The more Flair and Cosmetics you have unlocked, the more likely you will end up getting duplicates from the Packs. If you confirm a Defender Pack that has duplicates, you will instead receive a Gold substitute based on the duplicates you accepted.

The following are the Gold equivalents for duplicate rewards:

Reward Type	Gold Payoff
Cosmetic (Powerful Rarity)	155k
Cosmetic (Epic Rarity)	250k
Tower Skin Pack (Epic Rarity)	250k
Hero Skin (Epic Rarity)	250k
Cosmetic (Mythical Rarity)	780k
Hero Skin (Mythical Rarity)	780k
Flair (Mythical Rarity)	780k
Flair (Legendary Rarity)	1.47M
Hero Skin (Legendary Rarity)	1.47M
Hero Unlock	1.15M

Along with duplicates, you can also get Piggy Banks that will give you instant Gold, up to 5M. That is enough to fully upgrade 2 Medallions from Campaign to Chaos 7 (costs are analyzed in the Gear section) or gild 2 Shards with Gold alone (analyzed in the Shards section). However, the odds of getting Piggy Banks are pretty rare and it will take several Defender Packs before you start getting duplicates at an effective rate.

Given that they are best chanced via Onslaught or Survival progression, it would be wise to save your Gems for other things such as Hero Skins or Unlocks and just use the aforementioned methods of gathering Defender Packs for free. If you do decide to purchase Defender Packs, do not go overboard as microtransactions do pile up in the long run. For instance, the cost of 50 Standard or 10 Mythical is basically enough for you to get a new game on Steam or dinner at your local bar.

Because of the way Onslaught works, it might be wise to use Onslaught to progress through to Chaos 7 or 8 when you do AP Resets as raising your Gear Score will also increase the Highest Onslaught Floor automatically. On average, you should be able to get around 2 Defender Packs if you do minimum requirements for a Reset, assuming you did not change your Highest Onslaught Floor via Gear Score.

It would also be wise to consider using Medals to unlock Heroes and use Gems to purchase Skins if you wish to acquire these. Defender Packs are extremely unreliable when it comes to unlocking things. I myself have only ever gotten a Hero Unlock once (The Abyss Lord) and it was about 20+ packs. Sometimes, it's better to get a confirmed method than it is to chance it.

Farming - AFK Sessions (Part 1)

Time doesn't stop for anyone and we all have personal lives outside this game. You may need to go to the washroom or you might have to eat or you would rather multitask and do assignments, homework or watch something (I won't lie, I usually catch up on Wrestling and Youtube Commentators while I am playing outside of Onslaught). If you wish to get some progression done, there are things you can do to pull off AFK or Away From Keyboard setups.

Understanding AFK

The game will allow you to go AFK, but you still have to keep tabs on your game in some fashion. The game will kick you from the server if you are inactive for too long. You will also need to go back to press G to start the next wave and leaving Gold and Green Mana on the ground for too long will despawn the Gold coins, making Jackpot shard users and high AP players have some concern.

Setting up for AFK

The first major requirement you will need to do is get to at least Chaos 8 10/10 and Max Attack Rate (Either Gilded Defense Rate shards or 10/10 Defense Rate on a Chaos 8 to 10 medallion followed by Ascension Points in Defense Rate) on all your major defenses. Next, you will need to ascertain which difficulty you will be AFKing on. Each Chaos tier has an effective strategy and strengths and weaknesses to consider. There are multiple setups you can do but it basically boils down to 2 playstyles: Stunlock and Brute Force.

Method 1 - Stunlocking

This method is largely for people who just entered said difficulty, having trouble dispatching enemies swiftly, are contending with Controlled Burn or Pile On lanes on Onslaught or want to keep Minibosses in check while your other defenses finish them off. This method is required to succeed in Onslaught and can help you farm Expeditions and Incursions up to Chaos 8.

With the addition of Elemental combos, you are able to stun enemies and prevent them from moving or fighting back. The two main combos that your defenses can pull off are:

• Electrocution - Hit a Drenched enemy (Inflicted via any Water elemental defense or by chance on hit with the Water Elemental shard) with a Shock-elemental Defense
  
  • While Electrocuted, the enemy takes no extra damage on it's own but Controller chips and servos apply their bonuses to these enemies.
    
  • This effect shuts down Geode barriers and the Shield Goblin's frontal shield, but cannot ground Air units
    
  • This effect allows you to fully damage Siege Rollers with projectiles or attacks from behind but you must ignite Drakenlords and shut down their barriers for them to take full damage.
  
  
• Petrification - Hit a Poisoned Enemy with an Earth-elemental Defense
  
  • While Petrified, the enemy takes 5% increased damage from all sources, but the Poison damage over time that triggered it is negated
    
  • Although this effect applies Controller bonuses, it will not shut down Geode barriers or Shield Goblin's frontal shields.
    
  • Any aerial enemies that are petrified fall to the ground and become targeted as ground enemies. If the enemy falls into a pit, the enemy is instantly killed.
    
  • While Petrified, Drakenlords take full damage from all sources regardless of barrier status. However, all damage done to a Siege Roller is treated as if attacking it from front, even if missile or attacks hit from behind.

If you meet either of these conditions, you will paralyze your attacker. If you are able to do the combo again while the enemy is paralyzed, it will refresh the effect, but it will also reduce the duration of it and begin to apply Crowd Control resistance to the monster. If you paralyze the monster too many times before you can kill it, the enemy will be immune to all crowd control effects until a duration has passed or the enemy is slain.


The easiest ways to achieve this combo without resorting to Elemental Servo overrides are the following:

• Earthshatter Tower (Apprentice, Earth) and Poison Dart Towers (Huntress, Poison)
  
  • Can be done with default heroes
    
  • Will require Piercer Servo on the PDTs for Geodes and Shield Goblins
    
  • Cannot petrify Air units as Earthshatters cannot target them
    
  • Explosive Poison Shard on PDT and Shatterquake Servo on Earthshatters allow for widespread petrification
    
  • Earth Toss Shard on Earthshatter can launch any monster except Minibosses, Geodes and Elder Wyverns if enemy is not petrified. While in air, enemy is targetable by Anti-Air defenses
    
  • Both defenses are susceptible to Kobolt divebombs. Have anti-air defenses ready.
    
  • Siege Rollers take full damage from Poison Dart hits if shot from behind, but Poison deals damage as if taken from the front. Earthshatters always do reduced damage except on certain slopes
  
  
• Elvish Artillery Cannons (Mercenary, Shock) and Water Aura (Initiate, Water)
  
  • Will require at least 20000 Medals to acquire both heroes
    
  • Will require Piercer Servo on the Cannons for Geodes and Shield Goblins, although splash damage bypasses Shield Goblins
    
  • Can be rigged for long range sniping, far outside the reach of enemies or heavy damage via Critical Hit Chance increasers and damage, at the cost of range.
    
  • With proper placement, can stop Kobolts if they get electrocuted within the Water Aura's range and be detonated safely away from EACs.
    
  • Cyber Orcs can shut down Water Auras without the aid of Tenacity Servo, Automation Shard or a REflect Beam with either in front of it.
    
  • Water Auras are also susceptible to Spider webs if they infect the core, reducing damage, range and attack rate
    
  • Cannon's missile does full damage to Rollers if projectile hits Roller from behind. Water Aura damage is always treated as if taken from the front.

If you are able to work with elemental servos and various shards, there are other options available to you:

• Using Storm Servo alongside the Water Elemental shard can allow the defense a chance to electrocute on it's own. Good contenders for this are the Weapon Manufacturer (EV2) or the Ramster (Abyss Lord).
  
• The Proton Beam (EV2) can not only slow down and damage any enemy that walks through it, but this effect ignores Crowd Control resistance and you can put an element (Storm, Water, Poison or Earth) and combine it with another element to electrocute or petrify. Frosty Beams Shard can also freeze enemies by chance every hit
  
• Stunning Revelations Servo on the Weapon Manufacturer not only increases it's damage but also gives it a chance to stun seperately on it's own. You can combine this with the aforementioned Storm Servo/Water Elemental Shard to increase the chances of stunning an enemy further. Note that both effects can trigger at the same time.
  
• Using the Mystic's Bubble Beam and Split Viper Shards gives it a chance to bubble up to 3 enemies every time it deals damage. Viper's Fangs can also bubble up to 3 enemies at once while also stalling enemies as an effective wall. While Bubbled, the enemy is targeted as an air unit. You cannot bubble Minibosses, Wyverns and Geodes.
  
• Using 2 separate Monks and/or Initiates, you can have a Poison elemental and Earth elemental Skyguard with extremely long range and Petrify aerial enemies. This is very effective if said units fly over bottomless pits or lava. The slow effect that is applied after the first shot will maintain Controller bonuses and the Skyguards will continue to target the enemy as it is falling or recovering.

Farming - AFK Sessions (Part 2)

Method 2 - Brute Force

When you enter Chaos 9 and beyond, you will have to contend with enemies that prevent or are flat out immune to Crowd Control effects. Elder Wyverns can bestow this effect to nearby enemies, Queen Snookis are immune and Orc Warchiefs with their warcries can render themselves and any nearby Orcs or Goblins immune. Because of this, you will need to resort to a brute force strategy over stunlock.

There are some pre-requisites to be able to AFK this difficulty effectively:

• You should be at least AP20-25 and have maxed out Ancient Destruction, Strikes, Defense Critical Chance and Damage. Ancient Fortification helps for your walls.
  
• The defenses you will be using must have Relics that are at least Chaos 8 10/10 or better. Chaos 9 recommended. All shards must be gilded and Servos should be at least 8/10 or better.
  
• The defenses you use for offense should have maximum attack rate, Gilded Destructions and/or Vampiric Endowments alongside any combination of Anti-Melee, Chaos, and Ranged to deal with the worst threats, specifically Snooki, Wyverns and Minibosses.
  
• Any walls you build for stalling should have:
  
  • Around 2M health or higher at Tier 1. 3M+ is optimal.
    
  • Hardened and Protective Downgrade Servos with Fortification and Juggernaut Hyper Shards
    
  • Royal Guards should have Plated Armor to reduce ranged damage or Earthen Guard to proc a strong attack
    
  • Maw of the Earth Drake is recommended for petrification if you lack Ignite for Drakenlords
    
  • Automation Shard or Auto-Repair System Hyper Shard to repair itself during waves.
    
  • Withering Blast on Arcane Barriers allows melee enemies and minibosses to take increased damage from all sources if the wall goes off
    
  • World Tree should have Defense Range Servo and either Vicious or Deadly Strikes Shards.
• A reliable method of Igniting enemies. This requires an Oiled target to take Fire elemental damage. Ignited enemies take 25% increased damage from all sources, shuts down the Drakenlord barrier and Wyvern auras cannot stop this effect.
  
• A strong Boost Aura and/or Buff Beam that can increase Defense power by at least 9-10k or higher at Tier 1. Destructive Pylon on Boost Aura is recommended.
  
• Reflect Beams (EV2) for large DU maps. Placed in front of walls can stop any Cannon Ogres, Quiblies, Wyverns and Hex Throwers from damaging and/or Cursing your walls and defenses.

There are several defenses that fit the criteria for the Brute Force method, here are several:

• Ballista (Squire)
  
• Chi Spirit Tower or Water Aura (Initiate)
  
• Fissures of Embermount or Volcano (Lavamancer)
  
• Flame Aura (Monk)
  
• Any of the Mercenary's attack defenses
  
• Earthshatter Towers (Apprentice)
  
• Skeletal Archers (Abyss Lord)
  
• Sand Vipers (Mystic)
  
• Angry Nimbus (Dryad)
  
• Dragon Nests (Countess)
  
• Any of the Adept's defenses, but Telsa Coil preferred

You may also opt to use Brute Force on any Chaos difficulty outside of Chaos 9 as the strength of your defenses, especially in Chaos 7 or lower should be enough to deal with attackers without having to resort to stunlocking, aside from bosses.

Support Suggestions - Either Method

To work alongside both Stunlock and the Brute Force methods, there are a few defenses you can use to augment your damage capabilities.

• Fissures of Embermount (Lavamancer) with Embermount Flames
  
  • If enemy gets hit by this defense and leaves the aura's range, it will continue to burn at the rate and damage of the defense that inflicted it until the target is slain or up to 80 seconds have elapsed. This effect stacks with other Embermounts and each Embermount can apply this up to 10 enemies.
    
  • Place these at the entrances and/or start of long, defenseless lanes to allow for maximum effectiveness of damage over time.
    
  • Can be effective on Chaos 8 to destroy or weaken Spiders as they more often die outside of range of this aura and web must affect the core to apply the debuff
    
  • Optionally, if you put an Automation or 10/10 Tenacity at C8, this defense cannot be shut down by Cyber Orcs, frozen by Drakenlords or cursed by Cursi-Kaze.
• Ballista with Piercer and Fire or Burning Bolts Servos, Oily Harpoon and Empowered Bolts Shards
  
  • This combination will instantly apply a 51% Increased Damage Taken effect to any enemy hit (25% Ignite + 26% Gilded Empowered Bolts).
    
  • You may also place it in certain spots that can back attack Siege Rollers if needed.
• Obelisk
  
  • Smite does high damage to one random enemy on the map. Range is mapwide and bypasses barriers.
    
  • Has a 20% chance to Polymorph an enemy, which renders it helpless and takes 20% increased damage from all sources. This effect bypasses all Tenacity-based checks (eg. Elder Wyvern Aura or Warchief warcries)
    
  • Good for miniboss nuking and sniping Air stragglers near the end of waves.
    
  • Great candidate for Unique-X Servos and All For One shard
• Reflect Beams with max attack rate, Anti-Heal and (Tenacity or Automation)
  
  • Mandatory for certain maps on Chaos 6 or higher to prevent Hex Throwers and ranged minibosses from direct targeting defenses and/or (sub-)objectives
    
  • At Chaos 8 or higher with 10/10 Tenacity or Automation Shard, can be placed in front of auras, traps and nodes to reflect Cyber Orc stun blasts.
    
  • Anti-Heal allows it to counter Orc Warchief warcry and Tuskarr regeneration effects when they get close.
• Boost Aura
  
  • Buffs all nearby defenses as long as aura is active
    
  • Boosted Grasp shard allows it to be placed in lanes to slow down enemies for other defenses to deal damage more often Boosted Grasp still operates if the defense is disabled.
• Slime Pit (Dryad) or Nether Spider Spawner (Mercenary)
  
  • If either of these defenses target a Siege Roller and they explode from behind, they will do full damage to it. Perfect for if you are on Chaos 7 and can't risk using projectile-based towers due to Kobolt threat. Both defenses will require sight to sight targeting.
    
  • If Slime Pit has a Fire Servo, can instantly ignite any enemy, just like the Ballista
    
  • If using Slime Pit, World Tree must be able to sustain incoming damage or placed out of range of enemies to power the Slime Pits.

Farming - AFK Sessions (Part 3)

Procedure

Once you get the defenses ready to go, request and receive all mana if necessary and you will setup defenses in each lane so that you can effectively use your stunlock or brute force combinations, accounting for all contingencies when doing so. Example, if you are AFKing on Chaos 7, you need to make sure that your stunlock and brute force is able to handle Kobolts, so they don't divebomb into your precious defenses. Factor in the strengths and weaknesses of yourself and the map you are AFKing. If the Current chaos tier and/or terrain allows it, you may add on defenses into boss lanes so that you are able to backstrike Siege Rollers if necessary.

Once you are finished, press G and switch out your window and return either when the wave is complete or a Siege Roller or minibosses spawn so you can help dispatch themselves when necessary. Make sure you also do a trial run of your AFK strategy to make sure that it works without fail by watching it unfold during combat phases. If you need to adjust your build order and defenses, then do so and practice your build until it becomes second nature.

While you are AFK, place your hero in front of defenses or within the range of auras and away from Cores if the game is Chaos 5 or higher. This will not only allow your pet to help deal damage to nearby enemies but it will prevent Dark Assassins from flying off and attacking the Core in an attempt to damage you and also accelerate wave completion if the defenses manage to destroy it. If left unchecked, they can destroy defenses or even the core itself. Another benefit with placing your hero in front of defenses is there are various heroes with passive effects that can assist your defenses.

• Squires with Annoyance and Fight Me Not shards can draw enemies towards him, applying an increased damage taken debuff and also susceptible to Controller bonuses.
  
• An Abyss Lord with Withering Fountain and high health can withstand punishment by passively recovering health and reduces the damage of any enemy in range. Useful for Minibosses and Dark Assassins.
  
• A Dryad's World Tree within range can not only allow your hero to heal passively, but it increases the critical hit chance of the Pet and you can place Dryad traps around your hero.
  
• A Countess with Flaming Retribution and/or a Fire elemental pet and the Melting Point Shard can chance an increased damage taken effect. If you are carrying the Flame Eater chip and you have a passive way of igniting enemies, then the pet will deal increased damage on it's own. Both effects stack.
  
• A Hunter with all Dodge chips, a Ring of Wind and the Hunter's Instinct shard placed on the front line can make a hero that enemies will have an incredibly awful time trying to hit.
  
• Any hero with Radiant Power, Rate and/or Critical Power shards can increase the damage, defense rate and/or Critical Hit Chance and Damage of any defense near the hero. Very effective on Auras, Traps and Nodes and overcoming Frost Orcs on CX.
  
• Tamer's Gambit will amplify Pet damage, allowing it to repel attackers and even minibosses in the right circumstances.

If you are playing on Chaos 6 or higher, do not place any blockades near your main attack defenses or cores without Reflect Beam aid as Hex Thrower attacks may pierce the blockade and direct target anything behind it and/or curse the ground around it. If you are also playing on Chaos 7, do not place any towers or blockades near cores as Kobolts may do splash damage to the core and destroy it in an attempt to disable the defense it is targeting.

Make sure also set up your monitor and windows so that you can keep tabs on your game while you are busy with your other project or task. A common practice I use is I run DD2 on Windows mode and rearrange my web browser or VLC so that I can at least see the wave counter and enemies remaining on the side. If you are using multiple monitors, then consider using a 2nd monitor for DD2 while you do what you are doing on your main monitor. If you are doing something like homework or reading a book or news article, then consider keeping the main game focused so you can hear or look up every once in awhile to see what's going on.

If you are AFKing on Onslaught, make sure you factor in the schedules of the lanes you are on an be aware that Headstrong and Unstoppable affixes will require alternative crowd control or overwhelming force to dispatch. It becomes more difficult to do this the higher up the Onslaught floors you go but I and several others have been able to pull this off, especially with high APs.

If you are also being carried by another player, make sure you remember to give the player your mana first and check on the status of the game so you aren't holding the game down by not pressing G. If you are carrying another player and they are AFK for too long, kick them if you are able to or consider making your AFK farming sessions private. Although Carries do afford benefits, it can cut into efficiency if they are too slow to give you mana, hit G or stand on the Cores beyond Chaos 5.

Finally if you are AFK Multiboxing, you will need to press G on both instances check on both of them to make sure that both accounts don't get removed for inactivity.

Advantages

The main reason you want to consider AFK farming is largely for multitasking and convenience. If you are doing something like watching shows, paying bills, eating, working on projects or doing a 2nd game that requires attention, you can run DD2 to gain resources for yourself while you deal with other business, provided you keep tabs on the game to prevent yourself getting kicked from inactivity.

Farming - Multi-Box Farming

If you have either strong or multiple hardware on you, there is another farming strategy that can greatly accelerate your collection rates. This method is known as Multiboxing[isboxer.com] or Alt Accounts.

Requirements

There are two methods of performing Multiboxing, but you will need multiple Steam accounts and they must have Dungeon Defenders II installed. Your machine(s) must also be able to run the game flawlessly and both accounts must have access to all available Chaos tiers in Expedition for maximum effectiveness.

Methods

The two methods of pulling off Multiboxing are Hardware and Software.

Hardware requires having 2 machines and both must be logged onto the game. It is wise to have both machines within close proximity within each other. and both run off different monitors or screens.

Software will require downloading a program that supports multiboxing such as Sandboxie and then running multiple Steam + Dungeon Defenders II instances on the same machine. The instructions for setting up the multiple instances will depend on which Multibox software you have installed.

Execution

Once you get your sessions working, all you need to do is have your main instance create a private game and then have your second instance that is running off the second hardware or instance join it and party with you. Once this is done, have the instance that isn't building drop all their mana for the one that is and then build your defenses.

Just remember that both instances must confirm Ready and you must keep tabs on both inventories so you don't have items sent to the Scavenger. Also, you must make sure that both instances don't get disconnected due to inactivity.

It would be recommended to make sure you got defenses that can handle all difficulties with ease as if you are playing AFK style. You will also need to factor in the increased health of your enemies and Dark Assassins do have a chance to attack your second character at random.

Sandboxie Guide

If you want to know more about the advantages of Multiboxing or how to get Sandboxie working for yourself, I have written a guide:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2946362433

The guide will allow you to install and operate Sandboxie for yourself and set up your second account. It will also show you some things you can do that you may have never considered.

Be warned: Use Multiboxing at your own risk and I will not be held responsible should you use it for malicious purposes.

Farming - Material Conversion

As of the patch in April 2019, a new feature has been added to help assist in farming: Material Conversion. This feature can be accessed from the Enchanter in Town or the Private Tavern.

Basics

The Enchanter can take any pristine quality hammers, motes, materials and Chaos 7 or higher Ampoules and covert them into their lesser quality predecessors. Simply select which Material you want to use and the outcome. You can make them in denominations of 1, 10 or 100 provided you have the materials to do so. Once confirmed, the material will be sent to your Bag, so make sure you have enough space in your inventory.

The materials for conversion can be either in your bags or Materials Stash Tab and the feature will also tell you how many before and after materials you have of that type.

Material Conversion Costs

Regardless of which conversion you use, you will need 1 Pristine or Exquisite of that Material for each Material you create (eg. 1 Pristine Mote for each Plain or Shiny Mote you create). The exception to the aforementioned rule is Ampoules. The Currency costs will differ based on what you are working with and what quality you are trying to downgrade to. As always, you can choose between Gold or Medals. The costs of Converting each Material to a different quality (1:1 ratio) are as follows:

Material	Quality	Ampoules	Medals	Gold
Ampoule	Chaos 1 - 6	3 C7 or 2 C8+	7	12.5k
	Chaos 7	2 C8+	7	12.5k
	Chaos 8	2 C9+	7	12.5k
	Chaos 9	2 CX	7	12.5k
Mote	Plain	0	5	12.5k
	Shiny	0	5	10k
	Pristine	0	5	12.5k
Hammer	Plain	0	5	2k
	Shiny	0	7	3.5k
	Pristine	0	7	6k
Cluster	Plain	0	5	15k
	Shiny	4 C7 or CX	7	35k
	Pristine	4 CX	7	50k
Ingot	Plain	0	5	8k
	Shiny	4 C7 or CX	7	10k
	Pristine	4 CX	7	12.5k
Feather	Plain	0	5	8k
	Shiny	4 C7 or CX	7	10k
	Pristine	4 CX	7	15k
Scale	Plain	0	5	8k
	Shiny	4 C7 or CX	7	10k
	Pristine	4 CX	7	12.5k
Ring	Plain	0	5	8k
	Shiny	4 C7	7	10k
	Pristine	4 CX	7	12.5k
Talisman	Plain	0	5	8k
	Shiny	2 C7	7	5k
	Pristine	2 CX
Token	Plain	0	7	12.5k
	Shiny	2 C7	4	10.5k
	Pristine	2 CX

Analysis

For the sake of efficiency, we will be using Chaos 8 and 9 for our analysis as the yields are better than Chaos 7. A Chaos 8 and 9 win yields to following:

• 3 Chaos 8 or 9 Ampoules
  
• 8 - 9 Pristine Motes
  
• 1 - 3 Pristine Hammers
  
• 2 - 3 Craft Material

Given the limits, you will find that Material Conversion can be more or less efficient than farming the specific Chaos difficulty, but it depends on what you are aiming for.

Ampoules
It is not recommended to convert C7 or C8 Ampoules into the others as you will need to pay the entire victory yield just to make 1 Ampoule where you can play the difficulty of the Ampoule you need and not only keep your Gold, but get extras plus free Motes.

The only time you should convert Ampoules is if you wish to stay in Chaos 8 for gear and materials and you only need them to Evolve gear to the next tier after an AP Reset.

Motes
Motes are a mixed bag as it depends on which Motes you need. If one were to do a complete conversion of your Chaos 8 or 9 motes, you can make the following:

• 8-9 Plain Motes for 100k-112.5k Gold or 40-45 Medals
  
• 16-18 Shiny Motes for 112k-126k Gold or 40-45 Medals

When you factor in the Mote limits for Chaos 3 and 6, which give you 9 Plain and Shiny Motes respectively, you will find that Chaos 8 and 9 are better for farming Shiny Motes (+7 - 9 Motes) than Plain Motes (-1 Motes on Chaos 8) per victory. If you are an AP0 player, you may not be able to make 100k+ a win either, so you will effectively have to sacrifice your Gold yield and sell some drops to pay off the Conversion.

As you gain Gold Rates from AP Resetting, you can offset these weaknesses while staying in Chaos 8 or 9 with the only real consequence is losing a Plain Mote. If you are very stingy about Gold, then you are better off playing Chaos 3 or 6 for Plain and Shiny Motes. Otherwise, Material Conversion for Motes can be more efficient while staying in Chaos 8 for gear and materials.


Other Materials
Materials are a bit more forgiving for Plain as you don't really need them outside of transferring Servos, with the exception of Talismans and Tokens. Also, Plain do not have an Ampoule requirement so you can do simple 1:1 conversions as long as you got the Gold and Medals to do so.

However, Shiny Materials is where efficiency is questioned and they are also more used as they are gatekeeper materials to finish upgrading at Chaos 5 and 6. Plus, you need to spend Chaos 7 Ampoules as the Converter will not accept Chaos 8 transactions.

For Chaos 7, your limits are:

• 3 C7 Ampoules
  
• 1-2 Hammers
  
• 1-2 Crafting Material

Given you get 3 Ampoules every C7 round, you must do:

• 1 C7 Game in order to convert 1 Talisman or Token (requires 2). You will have 1 spare.
  
• 2 C7 Games in order to convert 1 of the rest (requires 4). You will have 2 spares.
  
• Since Hammers do not require Ampoules, you can convert your 1-3 hammers as long as you got the Gold to do so, but you are better off doing this in Chaos 9 as you always get 3 Hammers per win.

To compensate, the Gold and Medal costs of converting are low so you will have plenty of spare currency left over after 1 or 2 wins.

Conclusion

Material Conversion can be very helpful if you want to stay in Chaos 7 to 9 farming or while you are progressing through your Onslaught floors. However, in the case of Ampoules, certain Materials or if you are farming for a specific Shard, you should consider using the difficulty that quality or Ampoule drops in order to greatly accelerate the acquiring of those.

Farming - Material Shop

As of July 2021's patch, a new feature was added to the Town/Tavern, The First Mate's Material Shop. This allows players to exchange excess Medals and Gems for Materials.

His tent his pitched up next to the mailbox in Town or between the Enchantress and Special Pet Egg Seller in your Private Tavern. Simply interact with him and select which Material (offers all 4 Qualities) or Ampoule (all Chaos Tiers) and then pay the required Gems or Medals. You can purchase in denominations of 1, 10 and a full stack of 99.

Costs

The costs for one of each Material in Medals and Gems are as follows:

Material	Grade	Medals	Gems
Motes	Basic	25	5
	Shiny	40	10
	Pristine	60	15
	Exquisite	60	15
Ampoules	C1 to C7	100	25
	C8 & C9	120	30
	CX	120	30
Talismans Tokens	Basic	80	20
	Shiny	100	25
	Pristine	120	30
	Exquisite	120	30
Hammers Ingots Feathers Scales Leather Rings Clusters	Basic	40	10
	Shiny	60	15
	Pristine	80	20
	Exquisite	80	20

Analysis

Given the maximum amount of medals all players can carry is locked at 12k, you will be able to purchase the following with a maxed out wallet (Note the Equivalent in Games does not factor in the special boss maps):

Material	Quality	Maximum Purchased at 12k Medals	Equivalent in Games
Motes	Basic	480	54 C3
	Shiny	300	34 C6
	Pristine	200	25 C8 22 C9
	Exquisite	200	29 CX
Ampoules	C1 - C7	120	40 C1 - C7
	C8 & C9	100	34 C8 & C9
	CX	100	34 CX
Tokens Talismans	Basic	150	75 C3
	Shiny	120	60 C6
	Pristine	100	50 C7 or C8 34 C9
	Exquisite	100	50 CX
Hammers Ingots Feathers Scales Rings Leather Clusters	Basic	300	150 C3
	Shiny	200	100 C6
	Pristine	150	75 C8 50 C9
	Exquisite	150	75 CX

Looking at each individual material, it is best reserved for:

• Basic and Shiny Motes for your AP Resets.
  
  • 480 Basic Motes is enough for 12 items
    
  • 300 Shiny Motes is enough for 6 Items
• Pristine and Exquisite Materials for when you are ready to max out your C9 and CX items respectively.

Everything else is either good for an emergency or you are better off farming the difficulty for it and save your medals for more important transactions.

As stated in the Multibox Farming section, having multiple accounts running the game makes this even more advantageous as you get 2 pools of Medals to work with, allowing you make even more effective use of this shop, especially if you aren't planning on spending any medals with your 2nd account.

Summary

The Material Shop is a good way for players to spend their Medals should they have no other use for Medals at this time or to protect your Gold supply for future upgrades or Player Shops. Just be aware what you are purchasing as there are alternative methods to acquiring each (eg. Material Conversion, Player Shops, Multiboxing) and that you are making the most of both acquiring your Medals (covered back in the Farming - Daily and Weekly Missions section and using Expeditions) and the materials you are planning on purchasing.

Note that this service is designed to work along with your farming to speed up collection, not to be depended on to acquire everything.

Farming - Prime Incursions (Part 1)

As of August August 28th, 2019, there is an extension to the new game modes: Prime Incursions. This mode basically takes all the Incursions and some Campaign boss fights and amps them up to high Onslaught levels of strength with some minor changes designed to test your strength. If one is able to beat them, you will net some powerful rewards that can be helpful for AP Resets or pushing up Onslaught.

Mechanics

There are 7 Prime Incursion groupings, each with 2-3 Incursions within them. You must complete all the waves within the conditions of said incursion in order to complete the map. When you finish all the Prime Incursion maps for that Prime group, you will receive a Hyper Shard based on what the grouping is.

You must also complete the Incursion with no failures. Should you fail, there is no replay wave feature in this mode, so you will be sent back to the Build Phase of Wave 1. Make sure you know what you are doing before playing.

Groups and Changes

Although the Incursions have the same mission objectives, the Prime aspect throws in some extra curve balls for the players to consider. An obvious one being that all the enemies are roughly high Onslaught floors in HP and striking power. You will also face the general Chaos enemies of that Chaos tier alongside with any special enemies exclusive to that Incursion.

The changes to the Incursions are as follows:

Incursion Name	Prime Grouping	Changes from Standard	Approx. ONS Floor Enemy Power C8	Approx. ONS Floor Enemy Power C9	Approx. ONS Floor Enemy Power CX
Griblok's Horde	Prime 1	All Goblins are replaced by Snooki in fewer numbers	41	327
Chrome Enemies	Prime 1		46	344
Kobold Bling King	Prime 1	You have to collect a lot more Crystals to end the wave (7-15) Allotted time is ~4-4.5 Minutes All waves spawn an Ogre after Wave 1 and Siege Roller(s) after Wave 2 (with 2 spawning at 5) Explodinators can spawn as Minibosses. Victory Chest has a chance to spawn the Kobold Bling King Pet	110	396
The Demon's Lair	Prime 2		81	368
Wyvern Enthusiasts	Prime 2	Each wave ends with a massive Air Raid of Wyverns and Kobold Gliders	138	425
Forest Poachers	Prime 2	All Poachers now spawn in groups of 3 with Wave 3 and 4 chancing Poachers on multiple lanes Wave ends with massive Air Raid on all lanes where applicable	161	448
Malthius	Prime 3	All healing zones heal monsters for an increased amount (~800k/second on C8)	208	494
Power Surge	Prime 3	All defenses last only 25 seconds instead of 35 World Trees are unaffected by this effect (hint hint)	104	391
Dark Awakening	Prime 4		116	402
Return of Maldonis	Prime 4	All Dark Marks deal 300k/second to any hero or tower type defense built in their effect	184	472
Bastille Master	Prime 4	Once you begin Wave 1, you have 1300 seconds to complete all Build and Combat Phases	231	517
Altar of Athame	Prime 5		265	551
Revenge of the Yeti	Prime 5	Normal (Non-Chaos) versions of the Frosty enemies are mixed in with the Frosties There are no Chaos monsters on this map and the Frosty species get added as the waves continue Wave 2, 4 and 5 spawn 1-3 Yeti respectively	334	621
Spectral Assault	Prime 5	The Spectral Knights do increased damage to the Core. Their mechanics are the same Explodinator can spawn as a boss	300	587
Dawn of the Blood Moon	Prime 6	The 2 houses in the north area and the skeleton pile in the southern caves are Skeleton spawns Wave 2 onward, Skeletal Heroes spawn at any Ground Lane except South Skeleton spawn Only Trikk, Treet and Slekleon spawn as bosses All air lane enemies are replaced by flying Demon Eyes No Hex Throwers will spawn in enemy lanes All build phases except Wave 1 and 5 have a 25 second time limit Wave 5 has infinite monsters and will only end when the Eye of Cthulu is slain	345	632
Wvyern Den	Prime 6	Starting on Wave 3, Ogres or Siege Rollers begin to spawn with 305M - 400M HP each Starting on Wave 4, Hex Throwers are added to the ground lanes Betsy herself has 2.17B HP and Wave 5 will continue until she is slain or one of the Royal Eggs gets destroyed. She is treated as an Aerial Miniboss for Anti-X and targeting and cannot be Stunned or Slowed. Betsy can now OHKO any hero with all of her attacks except for her repeating tail slam Betsy drops Betsy weapons at the Chaos tier you are doing the Prime on. If the Reward Chest spawns Legendary (Gold), there is a 5% chance that you will get a Crystal Betsy Egg from it that will hatch into a Crystal Betsy Pet for your heroes.	276	631

Farming - Prime Incursions (Part 2)

Groups and Changes (con't)

Incursion Name	Prime Grouping	Changes from Standard	Approx. ONS Floor Enemy Power C8	Approx. ONS Floor Enemy Power C9
Harbinger's Warship	Prime 7	Harbinger now has 2B HP regardless of Prime, it takes more damage to break his Meteor spell and the Cannons take a lot more punishment to break Ship's Engine doesn't repair at the end of Waves Harbinger will drop a Harbinger item will scale with current Chaos Tier	276	507
Jester's Revenge	Prime 7	Has 6 Waves instead of the usual 5 with no Miniboss spawns Jester Boxes spawn at fixed positions across the map that can spawn groups of Miniogres, Minikobolds or Carny enemies at random intervals. Both air lanes are replaced with Carnival Kobolds and will divebomb your hero, defenses at 40% life or Core if within aggro range. Wave 6 has colossal Ogre boss Western Items are still available upon completion of the map	345	632

Rewards

Completing a Prime Incursion has a chance to get you a Chaos 9 Ampoule from any miniboss that can drop items and the Victory Chests also have a chance to give you a Chaos 8 10/10 Weapon. Each Prime Incursion group has a different set of weapons and all weapons spawn with only 1 Chip, but this chip can have Onslaught and Prestigious Chips as well as standard ones. However, if you commit to an AP Reset, this weapon will return to Campaign 10/10 strength like any other weapon and selling them will sync the Chaos level to that player's Chaos tier based on their Champion Score.

Completing any Prime 7, Kobold Bling King or Wyvern's Den has a chance to also get you a special Pet that can roll unique abilities exclusive to them. The chest must roll Legendary in order for this egg to be chanced.

As stated above, completing all the maps in the Prime group for the first time on Chaos 8 nets a 2nd Hyper Shard that can be used. Check the Shards section on information for what each one does.

• Prime 1 - Destructive Pylon
  
• Prime 2 - Explosive Shielding Guard
  
• Prime 3 - Thunderstruck
  
• Prime 4 - Radiant Critical Power
  
• Prime 5 - Automation
  
• Prime 6 - Vicious Strikes
  
• Prime 7 - Juggernaut
  
• All Primes cleared (Any combination of Chaos 8 and 9) - Mass Destruction
  
• All Primes cleared on Chaos 9 - Genie King's Blessing
  
• All Primes cleared on Chaos 10 - Tandem Strike

Rings

If you decide to take the risk, you may opt to do the Prime Incursions on Chaos 9 or higher difficulty. You will be facing the Chaos 9 or 10 enemy lineups outside of Revenge of the Yeti but you will also be rewarded with a guaranteed Ring drop. The ring is equipped into the character's ring slot and will always supply the hero with Hero Health and either Ability Power, Armor or Hero Damage. There is also a Servo on it that will bestow special effects and 1 of them will scale with the Servo level. This ring also has the added bonus of being unaffected by Ancient Power resets, so you will always maintain the power it currently has.

However, in order to maximize the ring's effectiveness, you will need to cough up to 114.5M Gold per ring; 50M to max the power at Chaos 9, 2M and a CX Ampoule to access Chaos X and another 62.5M to max the power at Chaos X If you get the Ring on Chaos X, you bypass the Chaos 9 maxing and evolution step and only have to pay the 62.5M to max.

You may also need to reroll the hero health, servo level and/or keep farming to get a ring with a high secondary stat that you need. Only max the ring if you feel its best in slot and you got the gold to burn.

Depending on the Prime category you clear, you get the following ring:

• Prime 1 - Ring of Wind
  
• Prime 2 - Ring of Time
  
• Prime 3 - Ring of Poison
  
• Prime 4 - Ring of Water
  
• Prime 5 - Ring of Regen
  
• Prime 6 - Ring of Earth
  
• Prime 7 - Ring of Piercing

Farming - Prime Incursions (Part 3)

Farming Prime Incursions

If you decide to farm Prime Incursions, an analysis factoring in everything shows that

• Some of the Incursions are good for farming Chaos 9 Ampoules on Chaos 8 if you have difficulty doing Chaos 9.
  
• It is your only means of acquiring most of the Rings without having to buy them off Players at Player Shops
  
• The 10/10 Weaponry can help the player start off Onslaught big pushes or even AP Resets if your defenses are mighty enough
  
• Depending on the map, the Experience payoff can be better than even Expedition, but not the Gold Rates outside of Bling King.

All the Primes have at least 1 map that is fairly easy to do compared to the others and knowing which ones that are can make your farming more efficient and effective. The following are my recommendations for each Grouping and why:

Group #	Incursion Name	Reasons and Suggestions
Prime 1	Griblock's Horde	Enemies are at their weakest and very AFK friendly with the right setup
Prime 2	Any Map	Wyvern Enthusiasts or Forest Poachers Minibosses aren't very threatening and can be dispatched in a myriad of ways Air Raids at end can be handled swiftly with strong AA and/or lane defenses as they all travel along Ground lanes. Both maps are effective for clearing the Kill X Air Enemies dailies in the shortest time Very AFK friendly Demon's Lair Lowest strength level of enemies in Prime 2 Has 3 waves controlled by boss HP. Fastest source of Medal farming in game if done with a well specced boss killer. Due to Boss HP controlling Wave completion, infinite enemies can be helpful for clearing Kill X Y type Dailies or Weeklies.
Prime 3	Malthius	Does not have gimmick that destroys defenses in 25 seconds Easiest to do solo and/or if you are lacking a Dryad Healing Zones can be negated with proper defense placement, out-dpsing the heal rates or using Anti-Heal defenses. Very AFK friendly
Prime 4	Dark Awakening	Easy to setup map with no time limit or lives Dreadbones is easy to defeat with heroes and anti-boss setups Large map size encourages use of Dryad defenses and Embermounts Also yields Pirate Weaponry alongside other drops Can be AFKed effectively if defenses are setup correctly and Dreadbones spawn spots are factored and memorized.
Prime 5	Revenge of the Yeti	No Chaos enemies Strong stunlock, Fire and/or Anti-Frost defenses can handle the Frost enemies effectively. Yetis can be destroyed from great distances or with auras, traps or nodes away from your main line or arm 100% Tenacity where needed. Only source of Withering Blast shards for the Apprentice's Arcane Barriers Very AFK friendly if player installs correct countermeasures
Prime 6	Wyvern Den	Crystal Betsy can be destroyed in one cycle with strong AA defenses and/or a well specced boss killer Larger DU pool to work with and less lanes than Blood Moon Cursed Ground spots can be worked around placing defenses outside of lanes Boss can yield Crystal Betsy Egg, which can be sold for a high price to players via trade or kept for personal use Can be AFKed
Prime 7	Harbinger's Warship	2-3 lanes of enemies and plenty of DU to defend them A well specced Boss killer or Barbarian and smart use of the Orange Gems can overcome boss quickly. Far faster clear speed than Jester's Revenge Also yields Harbinger weaponry when slain

Even if you are able to farm these maps effectively, note that you must ensure you have strong defenses and/or heroes to take these undertakings effectively. If you are having difficulty or they are taking longer than they should, either get better items and Ascension Levels or ask for assistance. If you decide to take the assistance route, make sure that both you and your help have effective heroes and/or defenses as you will also have to deal with higher health pools and it does no service if you or your help are getting constantly killed in 1 hit by Dark Assassins or other monsters.

Farming - Survival and Godly Orbs/Gear

(Coming Soon)

Farming - Defender Passes

Note: This section is written as of Season 1 (started October 24, 2023) and is subject to changes.

As of the October 24, 2023 patch, the game now features a Battle Pass system called Defender Passes, which rewards you with added bonuses for completing maps and financially supporting them. You can access the Defender Pass UI by clicking Defender Pass in the Game Menu or pressing U by default. You cannot check the Defender Pass UI while you are in a Combat Phase.

Mechanics

The Defender Pass is split into 80 levels. Each level requires 1500 XP to complete and it's done in sequence, starting at Level 1. Everytime you complete a map, clear a Checkpoint in Survival, complete a Daily or a Weekly, you will be rewarded with XP. At 1500 XP or paying 40 Gems (Premium Pass users only), the level is cleared, you will be notified by popup you got the item and it will advance to the next available level if possible.

The amount of XP gained for completing a task are as follows:

Task	XP Payoff
Campaign Chaos 1	100
Chaos 2	115
Chaos 3	130
Chaos 4	145
Chaos 5	160
Chaos 6	175
Chaos 7	190
Chaos 8	205
Chaos 9	220
Chaos X	235
Any Daily Cleared	750
Any Weekly	3000

Some things to note:

• The Map Victory can be of any game mode (Onslaught, Expedition, Mastery, Incursion)
  
• For Survival, you will get the XP after you clear a Checkpoint and the XP gained will be based on the current Chaos tier you are operating under.
  
• The Daily and Weekly missions don't matter what Chaos Tiers you do them on, but you may want to aim for as high as possible for Chaos Tiers (eg. doing Demon's Lair on CX vs C4)
  
• Multiple instances of XP stack. Example, if you got 3 Ruin wins and you clear all of them on Chaos 9, you will get (220 x 3) + 750 or 1410 XP when you get the 3rd win.
  
• Any excess XP beyond 1500 will count towards the next available level, so a Weekly clear will remove 2 Levels worth on your Defender Pass, with the exception of the final reward.

Regular vs Premium Defender Pass Rewards

Any level on the Defender Pass that has the Free marker above it's Reward can be claimed under both Regular and Premium. However, in order to gain all 80 Rewards, you must upgrade your Defender Pass to Premium, which will cost 1500 - 1840 Gems ($15 - 18.40 USD) and then acquire the 120k XP (or 90k XP if you paid 1840 Gems) before the Season ends. The duration of the season is approximately every major patch (2-3 months) or when Chromatic Games creates a new Defender Pass. If you do progression on the Regular Defender Pass and then upgrade to Premium, any Premium rewards you have accumulated up to the date of purchase that are not claimed will be claimed.

The differences between the Standard and Premium Defender Passes in terms of Rewards for the current Season are as follows:

Standard Defender Pass	Premium Defender Pass
Rewards begin at Level 2 and every 4 afterwards	Rewards are accumulated every level
6.5M Gold 1.5k Defender Medals 150 Gems 1 Goblin Insurance Item 1 Shard Pack (Chaos Tier is randomized) 1 Plain, Shiny, Pristine and Exquisite Material Pack (Contains 40 Motes and 10 of each Crafting Material of that Quality) 1 Pet Bundle (10 of each tier and species of Evolution Material and Premium Pet Food) 3 Large Pet Affection Boosters 3 Standard Defender Packs 1 Flair	26M Gold 5.5k Defender Medals 1500 Gems 2 Hero Cards 4 Goblin Insurance Items 9 Shard Packs (Chaos Tier is randomized) 5 Godly Orb 3 Plain, Shiny, Pristine and Exquisite Material Packs (Contains 40 Motes and 10 of each Crafting Material of that Quality) 1 Pet Bundle (10 of each tier and species of Evolution Material and Premium Pet Food) 1 Golden Creeper Egg 1 Shark Cat Egg 3 Large Pet Affection Booster 10 Standard, 1 Epic and 1 Mythical Defender Packs 5 Flairs 4 Hero Skins (Huntress, Lavamancer, Initiate, Hunter)

Like most Battle Pass based systems, you will eventually make back the 1500 Gems you spent on the Premium upgrade if you at least get to Level 73 (109.5k XP) before the Season ends.

Strategy

The fastest way to get Experience is to high Chaos Tier maps that you are confident in doing or with other people and complete your weeklies and dailies as you go.

Without the aid of Dailies and Weeklies, it will take the following amount of victories or Checkpoint clears of that Chaos Tier to clear 1 level on the Defender Pass:

Campaign Chaos 1	Chaos 2	Chaos 3	Chaos 4	Chaos 5	Chaos 6	Chaos 7 Chaos 8	Chaos 9 Chaos X
15	13	12	11	10	9	8	7

Since dailies all share the same 750 Experience pay off, you may opt to doing quick dailies like Incursions or the Win Any 2 Map dailies that normally don't pay off a lot of medals to accumulate experience faster. It takes 2 dailies to clear 1 Level and you get 2 Levels with a Weekly clear. Try to do the Daily or Weekly progression on the highest Chaos Tier you are able to do and consider doing the Prime version of said Incursion over it's default.

It is recommended also that if you are on a budget that you earn the Experience completely by playing and not spending extra Gems to boost your Experience. The only time you should pay for boosts is either:

• At the start as the Bag of Gems (2300 Gems at $20 USD) as it can net you a 20 Level boost alongside your 1st Premium Pass with about 500 Gems left over and you aren't going to buy anything else
  
• You are lagging behind in the Levels and you want to get any last minute items
  
• You join late to the Season but you feel confident you can complete the Pass before the Season ends with them. Otherwise, it might be wise in this scenario to hold off on the Defender Pass upgrade until next Season and start that one at Day 1.

Once you have completed the Defender Pass for the season and you have the Premium Defender Pass rewards, it is suggested you keep the 1500 Gem reimbursement on the next season's Defender Pass if you aren't planning on using your gems for anything else. This is a wise idea if you are playing this game on a budget.

Finally, if you are running a Multibox setup, it will depend on how long you will be utilizing your Alt if you plan on getting Premium passes for both accounts and if you are financially able to do so. If you do upgrade both. then both accounts will also get separate instances of Experience as their Dailies and Weeklies will most likely not be the same. You can also pool together all the material and Gold based rewards together to your Main account and greatly accelerate your projects and plans.

Conclusion and Personal Recommendation

The Defender Pass is largely for people who are 100% committed to playing this game for a long time and wish to financially support Chromatic Games in their future endeavors. If your budget is too tight or you are exploring this game, I would suggest not purchasing the Premium upgrade. If you do purchase the Pass, you are 100% responsible for the purchase and clearing the Pass before the season ends.

This is also my first game being exposed to this system and you get a lot for 1500 Gems if you complete it. You are also financially reimbursed once you fully clear the pass, unlike SOME systems (eg. Blizzard and Diablo 4).

Gear Modding - Upgrading and Evolving Gear (Part 1)

Arguably the biggest Gold sink in the game for Ancient Power resets: Maintenance of your character's equipment.

When equipment drops, the Chaos difficulty and your Current Champion Score will determine how strong the equipment is. The maximum upgrade level on all Chaos Tiers is 10. If your Champion Score is high enough and the difficulty is less than Chaos X, then the items that drop will most likely be max upgraded already. However, the limit for Chaos X is always 6/10.

Upgrading Gear

If you have an item you wish to upgrade, you must spend Gold or Medals alongside Motes. The quality and quantity of the motes depends on the Chaos Tier you are upgradining in. At Chaos 5 to 7, you must offer up Crafting Materials in order to finish the final upgrade while Chaos 8 onward requires you to pay Materials per upgrade. Chaos 9 and 10 has the added requirement of extra Ampoules per upgrade level.

The following chart shows all the costs for upgrading gear based on Chaos Tier and gear in Gold. Costs are total to get from 0/10 to 10/10 for all 10 Chaos Tiers. The chart will assume you are only using one type of Currency for all your upgrades for the totals.

Equip Type	Material	Chaos 1	Chaos 2	Chaos 3	Chaos 4	Chaos 5	Chaos 6	Chaos 7	Chaos 8	Chaos 9	Chaos X
Relic	Cluster	11.5k	36.8k	89.7k	141.7k	213.8k	297.0k	641.8k	800k	15M	18.8M
Weapon and Shields	Ingot	8.9k	29.0k	70.9k	111.6k	168.3k	236.6k	511.8k	600k	15M	18.8M
Helmet	Feather	2.4k	7.5k	18.4k	28.6k	42.6k	60.0k	257.4k	300k	15M	18.8M
Chest	Scale	3.9k	12.6k	30.9k	48.4k	73.7k	103.1k	444.5k	600k	15M	18.8M
Gloves	Rings	1.9k	5.7k	14.0k	21.5k	32k	45.1k	191.9k	250k	15M	18.8M
Boots	Leather	2.2k	6.7k	16.1k	25.0k	37.5k	52.7k	227.0k	300k	15M	18.8M
Substitute (All Items)	Medals	100	120	140	160	180	200	300	600	2000	2500
All Items	Motes	10 Basic	10 Basic	20 Basic	10 Shiny	20 Shiny	20 Shiny	20 Pristine	80 Pristine	100 Pristine	100 Exquisite
All Items	Materials	-	-	-	-	2 Shiny	2 Shiny	1 Pristine	20 Pristine	10 C9 Amps 50 Pristine	10 CX Amps 50 Exquisite

Evolving Gear

When you max out your item to 10/10 and the item isn't Chaos 10 yet, you have the option to evolve the item to the next tier and access the next set of upgrades. This is useful for new players if you get a piece of gear that has good Servos or Chips and this is important for AP Resets as you can effectively make the most out of your Campaign resetted gear. In order to cover the cost of the evolution, you must pay with an Ampoule from the entering tier along with a fee, paid either in Medals or Gold.

The following are the costs to evolve the item. All items types share these costs and the subtotals assume you will use that currency across all transactions:

Currency Type	Chaos 1	Chaos 2	Chaos 3	Chaos 4	Chaos 5	Chaos 6	Chaos 7	Chaos 8	Chaos 9	Chaos X
Ampoules	1 C1	1 C2	1 C3	1 C4	1 C5	1 C6	1 C7	1 C8	1 C9	1 CX
Gold	5.2k	5.2k	16.4k	40k	62.8k	94.6k	132.4k	200k	2M	2M
Medals	75	100	120	140	160	180	200	400	2000	2000

Gear Modding - Upgrading and Evolving Gear (Part 2)

Analysis

For players committed to AP Resets, it would be wise to analyze the total cost of raising 1 item from Campaign to Chaos 8 10/10, factoring in both upgrade and evolution costs and without using Material Conversion. The primary reason we will use Chaos 8 10/10 is because a full loadout of Chaos 8 equipment is not only enough to get access to and potentially clear Chaos 9 solo, but it is adequate enough with Ascension and Ancient Power to get to Floor 320 for AP51 and beyond without having to consume extra resources bar Chaos 9 Ampoules if necessary.

The cost to raise 1 item to Chaos 8 10/10 are as follows:

• Gold or Medals:
  

  Item Type	Gold Cost
  Relic	2.79M
  Weapon and Shield	2.23M
  Helmet	1.27M
  Chest	1.88M
  Gloves	1.12M
  Boots	1.23M
  Medal Substitute	3175 Medals

• 40 Plain Motes (5 wins on Chaos 3)
  
• 50 Shiny Motes (6 wins on Chaos 6)
  
• 100 Pristine Motes (13 wins on Chaos 8 or 12 wins on Chaos 9)
  
• 4 Shiny Materials (2 - 4 wins on Chaos 6)
  
• 21 Pristine Materials (11 wins on Chaos 8 or 7 wins on Chaos 9)
  
• 1 of each Ampoule between Chaos 1 and 8 (1 win each)

For multiple items, you will need to multiply the Material and Motes count by the # of items and then add up all the Gold and Medal totals together to get your final tally.

Because of 2 weapon hand slots, Barbarians, Mercenaries, Countesses and Squires become the most expensive to cover if you plan to do complete upgrades for them. The Gunwitch becomes the cheapest as she doesn't carry Relic slots.

Personal Recommendations

As evolving and upgrading will be your biggest Gold sink for any playstyle, it would be wise for AP Reset players to keep the costs as minimal as possible by upgrading only essential items and then scavenging Mythicals and Legendaries for the rest. The items you use and the strategy you undertake will ultimately be based on your playstyle.

Casual players can consider upgrading gear if they wish to advance their Champion Score faster but you must be aware that you mustn't go overboard with these upgrades as you will find better items in the next Tier.

Personally, Medallions and Weapons are the most important as the former ultimately determines how strong your defenses are and the latter holds the biggest influence to your Hero in terms of benefits via Chips and stat gains.

Gear Modding - Advancing Gear

When you pick up weapons, armor and relics, they come in different rarities. The rarity of the item determines the number of Servos and Chips that can be installed into the item and the number of Shards that can go into the item. The higher the rarity, the more unlikely it will drop in battle and the more Servos or Chips and Shard slots the item can have. The rarity goes as follows:

• Godly (Teal)
  
  • 3 Shard Slots
    
  • 3 MOD slots
    
  • 3 Stat Increases
    
  • Natural drops come with 3 Chips or Servos installed, can vary.
    
  • Natural drops exclusive to Survival only.
    
  • When sold, yields Godly Orbs
  
  
• Legendary (Orange)
  
  • 3 Shard Slots
    
  • 3 MOD Slots
    
  • Usually comes with 2 Chips or Servos installed, can vary.
    
  • Shields have 2 Shard Slots only
  
  
• Mythical (Purple)
  
  • 3 Shard Slots
    
  • 2 MOD Slots
    
  • Comes with 1 Chip or Servo installed
    
  • Shields only have 2 Shard Slot
  
  
• Epic (Blue)
  
  • 2 Shard Slots
    
  • 2 MOD Slots
    
  • Comes with 1 Chip or Servo installed
    
  • Shields only have 1 Shard Slot
  
  
• Powerful (Green)
  
  • 1 Shard Slot
    
  • 1 MOD Slot
    
  • No Mods or Servos are installed
    
  • Shields have no Shard Slots
  
  
• Sturdy (Biege)
  
  • 0 Shard Slots
    
  • 0 MOD Slots
  
  
• Worn (Grey)
  
  • 0 Shard Slots
    
  • 0 MOD Slots

If you pick up an item that isn't Godly, you can have the option of advancing the item to the next rarity. This is useful if you pick up say an Epic or Mythical item that has good Servos or Chips you want to use or it has a good Primary and Secondary stat that is an improvement to what you are using. Note that when you advance a Shield or Weapon, the cosmetic will stay the same. With this, you could for instance have a Legendary or Godly wooden sword with a happy face to smite your foes.

All Primary and Secondary stats plus any Servos and Chips will be maintained when you advance as well. However, if you advance your item to Godly, it will randomize a 3rd stat at a lesser value than the secondary, but there are some exclusives only available to this slot (eg. Defense Resistance, Move Speed, etc.).

To advance an item up one rarity, you must take a non-Godly Item and pay several Ampoules based on the Chaos Tier the gear is on followed by a fee paid in either Medals or Gold. You must also add on 5 Godly Orbs in order to advance the item from Legendary to Godly. All item types share the same advancement costs.

The cost for One Advancement are as follows:

Currency Type	Campaign	Chaos 1	Chaos 2	Chaos 3	Chaos 4	Chaos 5	Chaos 6	Chaos 7	Chaos 8	Chaos 9	Chaos X
Ampoules	None	2 C1	3 C2	7 C3	7 C4	13 C5	10 C6	30 C7	30 C8	16 C9	30 CX
Gold	6.8k	6.8k	15.3k	27.7k	39.1k	44.0k	59.6k	677.9k	727.9K	877.9k	1.23M
Medals	25	25	45	60	70	70	70	200	200	200	200

Analysis

When you compare the costs of advancement in tandem with the imposed limits on the resources required, you will find that:

• It is cheaper on Gold and Medals to advance before Chaos 7
  
• Pre Chaos 7, you will need 1-3 wins to cover the Ampoules and Medals compared to 8 wins. Gold will vary depending on your AP progression, Gold Rates and how often you sell things.
  

  	Chaos 1	Chaos 2	Chaos 3	Chaos 4	Chaos 5	Chaos 6	Chaos 7	Chaos 8	Chaos 9	Chaos X
  Ampoule Limit per Round	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3
  # of Wins Required for Ampoule Requirement	1	1	3	3	5	4	10	10	6	10
  # of Expedition Wins Required for Medals (1 Win = 25 Medals)*	1	2	2	3	3	3	8	8	8	8

  * Assuming you are doing non-Wave 6 Expeditions for Medals (add +1 medals for Wildest West and Drakenfrost Keep)
  
  
• The cost of Campaign Advancement is the same as Chaos 1 but without the Ampoule cost
  
• You must pay each advancement as stated before. Worst case scenario, you are effectively paying 5 times the cost (Worn to Legendary) for a single item!
  
• It is easier to work with higher rarity items on lower difficulties than it is with lower rarity items on higher difficulties

Personal Recommendations

I would recommend either equipping Legendaries that you find from Victory Chests or enemies or buy them off players from their shops if you can afford them. Only save Advancement for Mythicals that have a high Primary and/or Secondary stat that you feel will benefit from Legendary status as you will only need to pay once. If the Epic or Mythical has a good Servo or Chip already on it, it would be a lot cheaper on your wallet to transfer the Chip or Servo to a Legendary.with better Stats, provided both items are on the same Chaos Tier.

Players who are working on AP Resets should consider saving Advancement for after an AP Reset as the currency cost for Campaign items will be the same as Chaos 1 without the Ampoule consumption. Otherwise, it is best NOT to Advance as you will be needing the resources for your future AP Resets and odds are you will be scavenging with the drops themselves. Equipping Mythicals and Legendaries you find for the Shard Slots is far better in this scenario.

If you are a rich player, then you can opt to purchase materials from other players, but make sure you understand which players are selling the right amount for the right price and which ones aren't ripping you off. It might be easier to do a few Chaos 5s for example than to pay 4-5M for 99 C5 Ampoules.

Finally, if you are going to use Godly items, make sure you use your Godly Orbs on your final equipment and sacrifice Godlies that are not going to be useful to your cause or have outlived their usefulness. If the Godly items that you are planning to destroy have any 10/10 Servos or Chips on them, transfer them to dummy items with Goblin Insurance Items before you scrap them. If you are still doing AP Resets, advance your end-game items to Godly while they are Campaign to save on further resources later.

Gear Modding - Rerolling Attributes on Gear (Part 1)

Sometimes, you will end up getting an item with great Servos or has a high secondary stat, but you find out the primary or value on the Servo are garbage. Before Isle of Dread, you would end up having to trash it or use it until a better one dropped. However, thanks to that expansion and Drakenfrost, the code monkeys at Trendy have provided the player with the means of Rerolling attributes on gear.

When you commit to a reroll, you must pay up the necessary resources and it will random a new value while comparing it to the old one. You can then either confirm it or stay with the original.

Rerolling Primary Stat

The primary stat is the top stat gain that item has, so basically you can reroll:

• Weapon's Hero Damage
  
• Armor and Shield's Armor bonus
  
• Medallion's Defense Power
  
• Totem's Defense Health
  
• Ring's Hero Health

The new number will be randomized between the range of values specified. The % value stated within the range tells you the ratio between your current value and your maximum value.

Rerolling Servo and Chip Values

All you need to do is select which Servo or Chip you want to reroll. The game will then random a number between 1 and 10 and if you accept, it will set the level to that number. Otherwise, you keep your old number.

As a failsafe, the game will give you a 10/10 Servo or Chip if you attempt 286 consecutive rerolls. This will reset anytime you get a 10/10 before 286 and the game will force you to confirm it when you get it. Before you attempt a reroll session, make sure you got at least enough materials and currency to attempt 286 times.

In the case of Primary Attribute, there is no failsafe so try to aim within the 99.X% area and keep 100%+ rolls when you see them. There is no safety for rerolling Primaries so make sure you do them carefully and don't accidentally skip a high roll.

Costs

You must pay up a Talisman (Primary Stat, found in High Seas or Tornado Valley) or Token (Mod Reroll, found in Drakenfrost or Wild West) along with a fee in Gold or Medals and Motes to be able to reroll an item's stats. The quality of the Material and Motes will depend on what Chaos Tier you are attempting to reroll the item on.

The costs for each attempt are as follows:

Currency	Campaign	Chaos 1	Chaos 2	Chaos 3	Chaos 4	Chaos 5	Chaos 6	Chaos 7	Chaos 8	Chaos 9	Chaos X
Gold	2.5k	2.5k	2.8k	3.5k	4.5k	5k	6k	11k	25k	25k	25k
Medals	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	24	24	24
Motes	2	2	2	2	5	5	5	3	4	5	5
Quality Required	Plain	Plain	Plain	Plain	Shiny	Shiny	Shiny	Pristine	Pristine	Pristine	Exquisite

Analysis

When you analyze the cost and the effectiveness of rerolls, you will find:

• Although cheap per attempt, the costs can stack up relatively quickly if you are aiming for near or sheer perfection
  
• The Medal cost is global across all difficulties pre-Chaos 8, which is 1 win with 12-13 medals leftover. Otherwise, you only keep 1-2 medals.
  
• Chaos 3, 7 and 8 are the only difficulties where you can get 2 rerolls done per win, greatly accelerating you attempts towards the 286 rule.
  
• If you are able to do Chaos 9, you can do 3 rerolls and break even with the materials if you use your rerolls on a C7 item.
  

  	Chaos 3	Chaos 6	Chaos 7	Chaos 8	Chaos 9	Chaos X
  Mote Limit	9 Plain	9 Shiny	7 Pristine	8 8ristine	9 Pristine	7 Exquisite
  Mote Cost based on Quality	2 Plain	5 Shiny	3 Pristine	4 Pristine	5 Pristine	5 Exquisite
  Reroll to Wins Ratio	2 : 1 5 Mote leftover	1 : 1 4 Motes & 1 Token/Talisman leftover	2 : 1 1 Mote leftover	2 : 1 Break Even	1 : 1 4 Mote & 2 Token/Talisman leftover	1 : 1 2 Mote & 1 Token/Talisman leftover

Gear Modding - Rerolling Attributes on Gear (Part 2)

Analysis Continued

• When you factor in the average "286 Rule" for Tokens to ensure a 10/10 roll on that MOD, the following are the costs required for a worst case scenario along with the 286 Tokens:
  

  Currency	Campaign	Chaos 1	Chaos 2	Chaos 3	Chaos 4	Chaos 5	Chaos 6	Chaos 7	Chaos 8	Chaos 9	Chaos X
  Gold	715k	715k	800.8k	1.01M	1.29M	1.43M	1.72M	3.15M	7.15M	7.15M	7.15M
  Medals	3718	3718	3718	3718	3718	3718	3718	3718	6864	6864	6864
  Motes	572 Plain	572 Plain	572 Plain	572 Plain	1430 Shiny	1430 Shiny	1430 Shiny	858 Pristine	1144 Pristine	1430 Pristine	1430 Exquisite

  
  
• To achieve the required Motes, you must win the following amount of games:
  

  	Chaos 3	Chaos 6	Chaos 7	Choas 8	Chaos 9	Chaos X
  # of Games	64 Wins	159 Wins	125 Wins	143 Wins	159 Wins	205 Wins
  # of Motes Acquired	576 Plain Motes 4 Leftover	1431 Shiny Motes 1 Leftover	861 Pristine Motes 5 Leftover	1144 Pristine Motes	1431 Pristine Motes 1 Leftover	1435 Exquisite Motes 5 Leftover

• Although you get the motes required the 286 Rule for Plain items faster than the others, you will need to add on another 79 games of Chaos 3 to get the required Tokens. This brings the total games required to 143.

Personal Recommendations

Rerolling although can be expensive, it can be as efficient as Transferring Servos or Advancing higher primary stat items in some cases. To acquire Tokens effectively, you can either do Drakenfrost Resort runs to get excess Gold or Onslaught Floor 34 onwards to mix Tokens in with other Materials at the cost of Gold. Jacked Sparrow is the best map to farm Talismans once you get a route for setting up defenses going. Either way, save farming Materials for Chaos 6 and 7 as it gives you a chance for 2 Talismans or Tokens alongside Gold. It is also suggested to make sure that all your Chips and Servos are 10/10 and your primary.secondary stats are near maximum before turning them into Chaos 9 unless you have a large abundance of resources and/or a multiplier to compensate for the cash.

If you want to get your best values fast for your ultimate items, it is best to collect base Servos and Chips or items with a high secondary stat and then begin the rerolling process. Try to aim for 95% or more for Primary Stats. Although Armor can be helpful, it isn't as important as the Armor's secondary stats and Chips. The Weapon's attack stat can be helpful in most builds, especially if you plan on doing high Onslaught or Primes and your Ascension Level is high. Medallions and Totems should try to get the highest primary stat possible but try to get Medallions with high Defense Health if you plan on using that relic with Vampiric Endowment for maximum effect.

If you happen to find an item with a high Servo or Chip already installed on it and you aren't planning on using the item, you are better off just transferring the Servo or Chip to save your Gold and Tokens for other items. For obvious reasons, do not reroll max stat items or 10/10 Servos.

Gear Modding - Transferring Servos and Chips

In your journey, you will come across Servos and Chips that are glorious but are tainted by either other bad Servos or Chips or the base stats of said item are terrible. Luckily, Professor Proteus has offered us the means of moving Servos and Chips between items at the Private Tavern and Town.

Basics

To use his services, you must have two items: An item with the Servos and Chips you need and the item that they will go to. There are however rules in the cases of both items that must be followed:

• You cannot transfer a higher Chaos Tier mod to a lower Chaos Tier item.
  
• If you attempt to transfer a lower Chaos Tier mod to a higher Chaos tier item, it will maintain the value of it's source item (eg. A Chaos 7 10 Tenacity Chest will give you 23.4% to a Chaos 8 or 9 Chest instead of Chaos 8+'s 10 Tenacity value of 25%).
  
• Rarity doesn't matter but the Destination Item must be at least Powerful (Green)
  
• Both items must be of the same type
  
  • Medallions and Totems are considered Relics
    
  • Each class' weapons are considered Weapons and can be transferred between each other (eg. You can move a Bow servo to a Dagger)
    
  • Because of this, Class-specific Servos and Chips will not work outside of that class (eg. Shocking Revelation does nothing if the Relic is being used on a Flamethrower or Piercing Flame is put onto a Lavamancer Arm)
  
  
• You cannot transfer or overwrite locked Chips found on Terraria, certain Mananode, Western and Betsy Weapons and armor.
  
• The destination item must have slots available for transference
  
• If both mods exist on the same item, then the Servo from the Source Item must overwrite the Servo of the Destination Item, even if the Destination's level is stronger.

You are able to transfer all 3 mods if necessary but you will have to pay for each transfer. Regardless of how many Servos or Chips you transfer, once the transfer is finalised, the Source Item is destroyed and the Destination Item will now have the Chips and Servos transferred to it. The exception to this rule is if you use a Goblin Item Insurance (found at the Black Market Dealer in Town or Tavern) as it will prevent the Source Item from being destroyed. To use it, simply have at least 1 scroll on you in your bags or your Materials tab and press Shift at the Mod Transfer window and it will add the Scroll to the payment. However, this will cost you 10M Gold or 1200 Medals or 300 Gems per scroll and it is also 1 scroll per mod you want to transfer. Regardless whether or not you use the scroll, make sure you look over your transfer and check the confirmation of the item being destroyed or not before you confirm the transfer.

Costs

The cost for each transaction will require either Medals or Gems, followed by Hammers and Materials. The item's class will determine which Material is needed and the Chaos Tier will determine what quality the Material and Hammer must be in order to complete the transfer.

The costs for one transfer are as follows:

Currency Type	Campaign	Chaos 1	Chaos 2	Chaos 3	Chaos 4	Chaos 5	Chaos 6	Chaos 7	Chaos 8	Chaos 9	Chaos X
Medals	25	25	25	50	75	75	100	200	200	200	250
Gems	10	20	20	30	40	40	50	60	60	60	70
Hammers	None	1 Plain	1 Plain	2 Plain	1 Shiny	2 Shiny	2 Shiny	2 Pristine	4 Pristine	8 Pristine	8 Exquisite
Materials	None	None	1 Plain	2 Plain	1 Shiny	1 Shiny	2 Shiny	2 Pristine	4 Pristine	8 Pristine	8 Exquisite

Analysis

When you look at the costs and how the feature works, you will find that:

• It is far easier to transfer Servos and Chips at lower difficulties than higher ones, but most players farm Chaos 7 or 8 which somewhat mitigates the costs at end-game.
  
• It will take several wins in some cases to cover the costs, thanks to the Medals required:
  

  	Campaign	Chaos 1	Chaos 2	Chaos 3	Chaos 4	Chaos 5	Chaos 6	Chaos 7	Chaos 8	Chaos 9	Chaos X
  Wins Required (25 Medals/Win)*	1	1	1	2	2	3	4	8	8	8	10

  * - Assuming Expedition wins outside of 6 Wave maps (Drakenfrost Keep and Wildest West)

Personal Suggestions

Transferring of Servos and Chips is vital if you are going to be successful in this game, but you will need to be wary of using it as using it all the time could render you hungry for materials.

If you are AP resetting, you should hold onto any Servos and Chips that are necessary either next iteration or at the end of the quest and transfer them to items while they are Campaign difficulty. Make sure you bring enough Medals so you can do your transfers before Upgrading and Evolving your gear. If you decide to play with a scavenger strategy in mind, go for priority Servos such as Piercer or Robust but do so when you hit the Chaos 7+ areas. It might be more cheaper in the long run just to pick up a Piercer Medallion for your projectiles than it is to transfer it as well.

It might be wise to consider using your Dailies to give you an incentive to collect Materials and to help pay off the costs. A 3 Win Specific gives you enough medals to cover 2 transfers at Chaos 7. When you do an AP Reset, the same daily can cover up to 22 transfers on Campaign, which is enough to fully deck out a character's equipment bar relics.

Because the costs are unaffected by Servo and Chips levels, it would be wise to save these transactions for Servos and Chips with either a high level (7 or up) or a unique one such as the ones from Prestige, Pirate or Frost Weapons or unique mods found on Relics like Shocking Revelation. You can also use the Reroll feature to reroll values to cut down on Material and Hammer consumption if necessary. These combined methods will help you achieve 10/10 upgrades in no time.

Gear Modding - Devolving Gear

As of August 8th, 2023, a feature has been added to the Public Town and Private Tavern through the Blacksmith: Devolving Gear. This feature will allow you to take an item from a higher Chaos Tier and reduce it's Chaos Tier.

Procedure and Costs

To devolve an item, you must take the item you want to devolve and bring it to the Blacksmith in the Public Town or Private Tavern. You must also have Ampoules and Hammers and the costs are paid in Defender Medals or Gems.

The exact cost of devolving the item to that Chaos Tier is as follows:

	Campaign	Chaos 1	Chaos 2	Chaos 3	Chaos 4	Chaos 5	Chaos 6	Chaos 7	Chaos 8	Chaos 9
Medals	25	25	25	75	75	100	100	100	100	125
Gems	20	20	20	40	40	40	40	40	40	70
Ampoule	None	1 C1	1 C2	1 C3	1 C4	1 C5	1 C6	1 C7	1 C8	1 C9
Hammer	1 Plain	1 Plain	1 Plain	1 Shiny	1 Shiny	1 Shiny	1 Pristine	1 Pristine	1 Pristine	1 Exquiisite

Once you have selected the item, use your payment method and confirm it. Once done, the item will drop a Chaos Tier and it's upgrades will go back to 0/10.

Advantages and Usage

There are several advantages of devolving the item to a lower tier. The big one is economic efficiency with rerolls.

Beyond Chaos 8, there are several useful, but exclusive chips and servos such as Dodge, Anti-Heal, the Fragile Xs and Swap Crit Xs that drop on Chaos 9 and 10. At these tiers, you also have to consider the reroll costs of getting these to 10/10. A worst case for Chaos 9 and 10 will run you:

• 1430 Pristine or Exquisite Motes
  
• 286 Pristine or Exquisite Tokens
  
• 7.15M Gold regardless

You also have to consider there is a big difference between Chaos 8 and 10 that not only the enemy strength, but also the types of enemies you are facing. For instance, you might not have a 10 Anti-Heal defense yet and this is mandatory to keep Warchiefs and their minions from recovering most of their health or you may still have to rely on Crowd Control over brute force to conquer the high Chaos tiers, but Elder Wyverns and the Warchief's warcry on Orcs and Goblins disable this.

You can also use this feature if you accidentally transferred a low Chaos Tier servo to a higher tier one to bring the destination item back to the tier of the servo and chip you transferred and evolve the item properly.

Strategy and Anaylsis

The following are the best usage of Devolution:

• Taking a Chaos 9 item and bringing it back to Chaos 7-8 will shave off up to 4M Gold and almost 600 Pristine Motes for a worst case scenario reroll on the chips and servos. Plus you can get 3 attempts per C9 win vs 1-2 if the item you are rerolling is Chaos 7.
  
  
• Taking a Chaos 10 item and bringing it back to even Chaos 9 will allow you to work with a far easier Material Quality to acquire (Pristine vs Exquisite) for rerolling or transferring. This is especially important as there are far more Brute Force strategies that work better on Elder Wyverns and Chaos 9 than on Chaos 10 and the War Parties. Not to mention you would be better off using Exquisite Materials to level up your items to CX 10/10 over transferring CX Servos and Chips across items (with the exception if you get an upgrade).
  
  
• Taking a Chaos 4 or 7 item and bringing it back to the previous Chaos Tier can be effective if you got a surplus of Plain and Shiny Tokens and Motes, but not enough Shiny and Pristine respectively or you are doing Chaos 3 or 6 Shard farming and want to kill multiple birds with one stone.
  
  
• You screwed up a Servo/Chip transfer where you transferred a lower Chaos tier servo to a higher tier item (Eg. You transferred a C7 10 Tenacity servo to a C8+ Relic) and you don't want to do an AP reset.

It is best to use this feature on as few items as possible as the Medal costs can detract you from other goals such as buying Shards or Heroes. You also have to be careful as the item will go back to 0/10 and this can add on another massive Gold and Material cost, especially if you need to level the item back up to Chaos 10 again.

If you got a lot of items that you need to bring back to a lower Tier, you might be better off saving them for your AP Reset as they will be brought back to Campaign tier for no cost or you can take advantage of Multiboxing and simply AP Reset your Alt with whatever high Chaos tier items you need rolled back or transfer the items to the alt and back via synchronizing them to the Alt's tier progression.

Shards - Basics (Part 1)

Along with Servos, Chips and Secondary Stats, there is another passive equipment system called Shards. These will provide passives or ability enhancements to any character equipping them or their Relics.

Shard Basics

They come in 2 flavors:

• Blue, which are used within Character equipped items like armor and weapons but are bound to specific equipment types (eg. Bulwark can only go to Armor)
  
• Green, which are used within Relics equipped by Characters designed to buff Defenses

All Shards come with various restrictions such as only certain characters can use them. Two examples are Critical Restoration, which only be used by the Gunwitch as she is the only character with Broom Power and Blazing Phoenix can only be used by a Medallion equipped to the Blaze Balloon slot on the Huntress. The shard's description will tell you who can equip which shard, otherwise it will specify All and the only restriction is the color and the item it goes into.

Although all items and Relic slots have 3 equip slots for Shards (with the exception of Shield only having 2), you can only access their power by equipping items of certain rarities.

• Powerful (Green) will cause the top shard to be active at all times
  
• Epic (Blue) will cause the top and middle for standard items and top shard for Shield to be active at all times
  
• Mythical (Purple) and Legendary (Orange) allow access to all shards at all times

Once you meet the equipment requirement, the shard is considered active and will now benefit you. For obvious reasons, you must wear Mythicals and Legendaries at all times and advance and/or replace if necessary.

Acquistion

In order to receive Shards for free, you must win games and open the Victory Chest. The tier of the main shard will be based on what Chaos Tier you are on. If you are playing on Campaign or Adventures, it will always be Campaign. You will also get a chance (or always depending on the game mode) of a 2nd shard to drop along with it. However, this shard will follow certain rules:

• The shard will never be equal to the tier you are currently playing on (eg. Chaos 4 will only random Campaign to 3)
  
• The Shard will not be Campaign tier if you are playing on Chaos 6 or higher
  
• Due to a bug, the 2nd shard on Chaos 3 will not spawn if it rolled Chaos 2
  
• If you are playing on Onslaught, you will get a 3rd Shard and it will always be Campaign tier

If your Win Streak in Expedition goes beyond 3 wins, then every win you will get a Bonus Shard equal to the difficulty you are currently on. Replay or Random Map will maintain the streak for the next game. The streak ends either when you quit, get disconnected, kicked from the game or you get defeated.

You may also get shards from opening Survival Bags or Chests. The Survival Chest will always net you a Survival exclusive shard and the Bag will chance it or any shard from Chaos 1 to X depending on the quality of the bag. You can also trade Godly Orbs to the Explorer that stands next to the Blacksmith for Survival Shards at a rate of 1 Godly Orb per Shard.

Once you pick up or acquire the shard, either manually or automatically when you end the game, if you have an empty slot in your bags, it will take up one square. If your inventory is full upon pickup, it will be sent to the Scavenger and you will have 2-3 hours to claim it or it will be gone forever. If you Right click on it, it will open and the game will give you a random shard from that tier's Shard Pool.

Note: You must have at least another blank space along with the Shard in order to open the box, otherwise you will have to sell an item to make space.

Read the benefit and understand who can use the shard and where it goes. To equip it, simply select the item slot you want it equipped to and either drag the shard into the box or right click on the shard itself. You can exchange or swap around shards simply by right clicking the Shard and left clicking the new location.

Dusting

Now that you got your shard, what happens if it isn't applicable to your build and none of your characters need it? Well, this is where dusting comes in.

To dust a shard, you simply sell it. The game will then ask you if you want to sell it. If you click OK, it will turn into a Dust item. The quality of the Dust will depend on what the Shard's Tier is. Like Materials, you can have up to 99 Dust in one space or you can deposit them into the Materials tab and they can be stacked up to 9999 of a specific Dust. As of the Endless Survival patch, there are 12 tiers of Dust (Campaign, Chaos 1 to X and Survival).

The guard next to the Grand Ma'aster in Town will allow you to exchange 10 of a specific dust for 1 shard of that dust's Chaos Tier (eg. 10 Chaos 7 dust can get you a Chaos 7 shard). This effectively allows you to reroll shards to try for a different Shard, which can be useful to getting something else or for Gilding (which will be explained later).

Shards - Basics (Part 2)

Purchasing Shards

If gambling isn't your fancy, the Grand Ma'ster can sell you Shards across all Chaos tiers except Survival. She can either sell you a specific shard of your choosing for 1000 Medals or 250 Gems each or you can press your luck with a Shard pack for 500 Medals or 150 Gems. A Shard Pack will give you 5 random shards of that Tier.

If you purchase a Shard Pack, you must have at least 5 open spaces in your Bags before you open it and there is still a chance you will get duplicates (eg. a Chaos 4 Pack could give you 2 Defense Rates along with 3 unique shards).

As stated in the previous part, you will need to open Survival Bags or Chests and trade Godly Orbs to the Explorer in town in order to acquire Survival Shards outside of the Survival Mode.

Acquiring Shards outside of map or Suvival Wave completion can get expensive, so it is best to use these features in tandem with farming to accelerate your shard collection.

Shard Tab

If you are 100% committed to the game and you got a lot of Shards you are working on, you may opt to throw 1450 Gems into the vault for the Shard Tab. This tab will store up to 5000 unique Shards (both regular and gilded) and stack indefinitely. This will save massive space on Bags and Vault for other things like endgame items and servos.

Once placed, you can right click on the individual shard to extract 1 or left click to take out the entire pack, provided you got the bag space to do so. Gilded shards will also be stored separate of regular shards.

Be warned: Any shards you put into this tab will be reset to level 0, whether or not they are gilded. Make sure any shards you take out you are committed to upgrading and equipping or destroying in the gilding process. Any shards like Hyper Shards (explained in the next section) you want to keep you should keep in your Bags or Vaults.

Hyper Shards

If you play Mastery or Prime Incursions, there are 10 Hyper Shards that can provide incredible effects to whomever uses them. However, in order to acquire them, you must complete Mastery objectives and acquire Stars or complete all the Incursions within that Prime category at least once. These shards cannot be dusted.

The 9 shards that hold this elusive title are the following:

Shard Name	Mastery Stars Required	Prime Incursion Requirement	Effect
Mass Destruction	50 Stars	Clear all Prime Incursions	Increases the Defense Power of the Equipped Defense by up to 70%. Stacks with Destruction.
Vicious Strikes	155 Stars	Clear all Prime 6 Incursions	Increases the equipped Defenses' Range stat by up to 2275 units before applying coefficients and multipliers
Radiant Critical Power	260 Stars	Clear all Prime 4 Incursions	When equipped, the character emits an Aura that increases any nearby defenses Critical Strike Chance by 3% and their Critical Strike Damage by up to 5%
Explosive Shielding Guard	365 Stars	Clear all Prime 2 Incursions	Causes the Defense to have a 35% chance when struck to place a barrier that negates damage up to 500% Defense Health stat and releases an explosion that does up to 500% of the tower's Defense Power as damage to nearby enemies. The shield lasts 5 seconds or until the damage condition is met. Both effects do not stack with Explosive Guard and Shielding Guard.
Thunderstruck	470 Stars	Clear all Prime 3 Incursions	When you hit an enemy with an attack, you have a 25% chance to inflict Drench on your target for 7 seconds. Your primary attacks also gain up to 40% additional damage as Storm.
Destructive Pylon	575 Stars	Clear all Prime 1 Incursions	Your equipped Defense now emits an Aura that increases nearby Defenses' Defense Power by 20% and the equipped Defense gains 34% Defense Power itself. Does not stack with Power Pylons or other Destructions on this defense.
Automation	680 Stars	Clear all Prime 5 Incursions	Defense repairs 2% of it's Maximum Life and dispels any stuns when struck. The defense repair effect has a 700ms cooldown.
Juggernaut	785 Stars	Clear all Prime 7 Incursions	Defense gains 70% Defense Health and 20% Damage resistance. This stacks with Fortification and the damage resistance stacks with Hardened Servos and Damage Resist from Godly items.
Genie King's Blessing	880 Stars	Clear all Prime Incursions on Chaos 9	If the equipped hero slays an enemy by any means, you will gain Green Mana. This effect can only work up to 100 kills. Kill count is reset at Build Phase.
Tandem Strike	975 Stars	Clear all Prime Incursions on Chaos X	After damaging an enemy with any hero ability or attack, the enemy takes 20% increased damage from all defenses for 5 seconds.

If you need assistance getting through Mastery, I have made a playlist on my Youtube channel where I beat all the Masteries for 5 Star solo up to Chaos 7. Most of my videos were done pre-Protean Shift (this patch was when Servos and Chips were introduced) but the strategies should work out as effectively. I would recommend making sure you have access to all known heroes and decked out gear before you attempt Mastery.

Shards - Upgrading and Gilding

Now you got your shards and you want to use them. you now have the next biggest Gold sink to worry about: Maintenance.

Upgrading Shards

Like your items, Shards have internal Levels that determine how strong the effect is. However, unlike your items, the number of levels that the shard can be upgraded differs from Shard to Shard.

You must pay Gold or Medals to upgrade your Shards. The cost to upgrade is dependant on the number of upgrade levels your shard has. The most expensive shards on average shoot up to almost 600k Gold or 250 Medals. Mastery Shards require 2M Gold or 2000 Medals to fully upgrade, with the exception of Accumulator at 3M Gold.

However, if you do an AP Reset, you will lose all the upgrade level progression the shard has and it will go back to Level 0. You must then pay the same amount of resources to max it again. When you are planning your AP Resets, make sure you bring enough resources for your essential shards alongside your uprgrade costs as these can potentially make or break your AP Reset speeds.

Gilding Shards

Although AP Resets reset your upgrade levels, there is a way to circumvent this issue: Gilding.

When a Shard is Gilded, not only does it gain 4 additional levels to upgrade, but any progression done on these shards are not lost when you commit to an AP Reset. In the long run, this can potentially save you Millions of Gold and/or thousands of Medals and more importantly: Time.

The only con though is the costs of doing this and they are indeed steep, it will require:

• The shard you want to Gild at Max Level
  
• 10 Copies of the shard in your Bags and the copies cannot be equipped.
  
• Pay 2000 Medals or 2M Gold

Once you confirm your 10 shards and the payment, your 10 copies will be destroyed and the Maxed shard will now be the same but with a gold border. You can now upgrade it to a new limit and no longer have to worry about losing it's levels.

Analysing the Gilding of Shards

Because gilding shards is considered one of the most effective means of gaining stats and also one of the worst grinds in this game (largely because of the chances of getting a specific shard, let alone 10 copies of it), there are several approaches you can take for this undertaking.

The first is how you collect shards: Are you focusing on a specific Shard or Shards or are you a big time hoarder and just picking up all the shards you find until you get the Gild requirements? Either way, you will need to factor in the amount of Bag and Vault space you have as both methods can potentially cause your Inventory Bags to fill to the max quite quickly.

The second is the frequency at which you will Gild them. Not doing them enough will inevitably fill up your inventory too fast and have an incredibly annoying backlog while doing them too often will leave you broke and you will need to use extra time to acquire more resources for your future AP Resets.You will need to find the sweet spot between investing in your Gilded Shard and your AP Resets so that you can keep progression done. This gets a lot easier on higher AP levels as your Gold Multiplier will get to the point where a few wins in a short session will give you all the Gold you need. You can also use your Dailies and Weekly to assist in gilding as getting 2000 medals becomes simple regardless of what AP you are on.

No matter the method, it is wise to do so on Expeditions on your most efficient map in terms of clear speed and setup on the difficulty of the shard's Tier. So for instance, if you are farming Defense Rates and Power Transfers, stick to Chaos 4 games. Try to also get in more than 3 rounds as you will get the Bonus Shard of that difficulty. If you aren't using Medals for anything important, you can also buy Shard Packs or specific Shards from Grand Ma'ster. Worst case scenario, it will take 22 or 46 wins on Expedition to get enough Medals to purchase a Shard Pack or specific Shard respectively.

Try to also prioritise shards that are vital to your AP Reset or Onslaught progression first as you can reduce the amount of startup capital you need when you do your Reset. Once these are done, then start branching out to the others. Try to get multiple Shards into your priority pool as you must also factor in the drop rates of getting a specific one you desire.

There are several utility shards that can be Gilded that all heroes can use, such as Speed Boost, Worm Scarf and Defense Rate. Although it is vital to make copies of these, you can get away with 1 Gilded for now and then exchange them between your heroes if you want to play as a different hero during your AP Resets.

Finally, during AP Resets, do not upgrade any Shards you will not be using for that iteration as you will be wasting resources. Only upgrade the useless shards if you are planning on Gilding them right away.

Shards - Shard List (Part 1)

To help you hunt for specific shards, this list will be of assistance as well as the information from the 2 previous sections.

Campaign

• Cataclysmic
  
• Concussive Chi
  
• Concussive Shock
  
• Construction
  
• Corruption's Fortification
  
• Defensive Critical Damage
  
• Electric Paralysis
  
• Drenching Strikes
  
• Enduring Tornado
  
• Enhanced Decoy
  
• Fortification
  
• Fountain of Speed
  
• Ghastly Curse
  
• Knife Club
  
• Retribution
  
• Speed Boost
  
• Support Magic Specialist
  
• Swift Provocation
  
• Tri-Stake
  
• Wither Bubble
  
• Withering Blast
  
• Worm Scarf
  
• Zephyr's Warpath

Chaos 1

• Advanced Rocketry
  
• Annoyance
  
• Binding Roots
  
• Bloody Strikes
  
• Bots of Oil
  
• Broomnado Power
  
• Bulwark
  
• Concussive Power
  
• Crance Stance
  
• Critical Strike
  
• Crumbling Stone
  
• Destruction
  
• Dragon's Haste
  
• Electric Fingers
  
• EMP Gargoyles
  
• Empowered Flame
  
• Exploding Effigy
  
• Explosive Blades
  
• Full Shell Ahead
  
• Fury Speed
  
• Haunting
  
• Heavy Rounds
  
• Laser Boost
  
• Lashing Power
  
• Molten Striker
  
• Power Volley
  
• Rippling Explosions
  
• Shroom Doom
  
• Stun Fire
  
• Thundering Call
  
• Withering Fountain

Chaos 2

• Atomic Capacity
  
• Batter Up
  
• Berserk Master
  
• Blazing Phoenix
  
• Combined Power
  
• Corruption's Harmony
  
• Critical Restoration
  
• Defensive Critical Strike
  
• Dewey Deathimal System
  
• Diamond-Tipped Drill
  
• Dragon Stance
  
• Dummies and Bots
  
• Empowered Mark
  
• Empowered Throw
  
• Enchroaching Flames
  
• Frenzy
  
• Frosty Duet
  
• Fury Restoration
  
• Harbinger's Slam
  
• Heroic Charge
  
• High Explosives
  
• Icefall
  
• Inspiration
  
• Lava Warrior
  
• Magma Maelstrom
  
• Overcharge
  
• Panic Fire
  
• Piercing
  
• Power Bolts
  
• Power of the Knight
  
• Press Your Luck
  
• Protective Chi
  
• Quake
  
• Sanctuary
  
• Sentry Rocket
  
• Serpent's Appeasement
  
• Spectral Amplification
  
• Spirit Charge
  
• Stunning Surprise
  
• Turtle Power

Chaos 3

• Abyss Knight Bargain
  
• Abyss Stone Attunement
  
• Aerial Mastery
  
• Betsy's Curse
  
• Betsy's Zapper
  
• Bewitching Hour
  
• Big Boy
  
• Boosted Grasp
  
• Bounty
  
• Cataclysm
  
• Channel
  
• Corruption's Bargain
  
• Corruption's Blessing
  
• Deadly Strikes
  
• Drenched
  
• Echoing Shout
  
• Empowered Bolts
  
• Empowered Frostbite
  
• Empowering Blasphemy
  
• Enhanced Flame
  
• Exsanguination
  
• Extended Cloak
  
• Fight Me Not
  
• Frosty Explosion
  
• Icy Spiders
  
• Jackpot
  
• Laser Rounds
  
• Lava Floor
  
• Lingering Poison
  
• Melting Point
  
• Numerous Reflections
  
• Oil Slick
  
• Oil Spill
  
• Overwhelm
  
• Overpowering Screech
  
• Overwhelming Buster
  
• Powder Shot
  
• Rain of Oil
  
• Scorching Steam
  
• Shielding Guard
  
• Thunderwave
  
• Tormented Power

Chaos 4

• Abyssal Mandate
  
• Beacon of the Storm
  
• Betsy's Beam
  
• Call of the Kobold
  
• Caustic Oil
  
• Celestial Attunement
  
• Charge Blast V2
  
• Critical Allocation
  
• Darkest Syphon
  
• Defense Rate
  
• Earth Toss
  
• Effigy Overdrive
  
• Electric Retribution
  
• Empowering Aura
  
• Enduring Drop
  
• Enduring Flame
  
• Enduring Lash
  
• Explosive Surprise
  
• Fan of Knights
  
• Follow Through
  
• Freeze Buster
  
• Frozen Core
  
• Hemolytic Poison
  
• Holy Empowerment
  
• Inspiring Strikes
  
• Insulating Decoy
  
• Lasting Conflagration
  
• Lateral Blast
  
• Let's Rock
  
• Manabomb Power
  
• Marking Bubble
  
• Mine Blast Radius
  
• Natural Frequency
  
• Piercing Power
  
• Plated Armor
  
• Puncturing Bolts
  
• Sandstorm Warrior
  
• Seismic Tremors
  
• Shroom Bloom
  
• Shroom Gloom
  
• Draining Strikes
  
• Smashing Fists
  
• Spinning Up
  
• Arc Shielding

Chaos 5

• Anti-Air
  
• Cluster Nades
  
• Boosted Blockade
  
• Burning Strikes
  
• Chi Burst
  
• Corruption's Embrace
  
• Cthulhu's Embrace
  
• Debilitating Madness
  
• Drenching Broomnado
  
• Earthen Guard
  
• Empowered Beam
  
• Enduring Provocation
  
• Explosive Arrows
  
• Explosive Guard
  
• Explosive Poison
  
• Fire For Effect
  
• Flaming Knight
  
• Flare Up
  
• Focused Vipers
  
• Frosty Beams
  
• Frosty Bind
  
• Heavy Cannonball
  
• Heroic Power
  
• High Pressure
  
• Hunter's Instinct
  
• Inferno
  
• Madness' Embrace
  
• Maelstrom
  
• Mana Leech
  
• Manabomb Power
  
• Meteor Rain
  
• Mine Blast Damage
  
• Mineheat Compensator
  
• Molten Charge Power
  
• Molten Stun
  
• One With Chi
  
• Poison Leaves
  
• Read or Die
  
• Scatter Power
  
• Talon Strike
  
• Thunderbolts and Lightning
  
• Vampiric Endowment
  
• Volcanic Shock

Chaos 6

• Backstab
  
• Boiling Blood
  
• Boosted Beam
  
• Boosted Power
  
• Brain of Confusion
  
• Crippling Wave
  
• Dragon Flare
  
• Enhanced Poison
  
• Explosive Finale
  
• Flaming Death
  
• Flaming Retribution
  
• Frosty Power
  
• Gathering Burst
  
• Health Pylon
  
• Heat Dispenser Module
  
• Howling Feast
  
• Inspired Shout
  
• Lasting Siphon
  
• Mark Targets
  
• Megarock
  
• Molten Core Power
  
• Momentum
  
• Nightmare Fuel
  
• Pole Power
  
• Power of Storms
  
• Reckless Shock
  
• Sharpened Spear
  
• Scatter Striker
  
• Serpent God's Protection
  
• Shadow Prince
  
• Sharpened Spikes
  
• Shattering Stones
  
• Shellshock
  
• Snipe Critical Strike
  
• Surging Siphon
  
• Unholy Fire
  
• Water Jet
  
• Werewolf General

Shards - Shard List (Part 2)

Chaos 7

• Charged Shot
  
• Chi Supercharge
  
• Constrictor
  
• Enduring Slam
  
• Enhanced Effigy
  
• Enhanced Throw
  
• Fiery Brimstone
  
• Flame Cloak
  
• Focused Lens
  
• Ghost Arrow
  
• Glacier
  
• Heroic Boost
  
• Life Leech
  
• Mage Gambit
  
• Mana Capacitor
  
• Manufacturer's Overcharge
  
• Node Increase
  
• Obelisk Shield
  
• Oily Entrapment
  
• Poisoned Blades
  
• Power Gambit
  
• Power Pylon
  
• Proton Cannon Insulator
  
• Proton Supercharge
  
• Ramster Power
  
• Ravenhost
  
• Restoring Snipe
  
• Ride the Lightning
  
• Serpent's Kiss
  
• Sharpened Stake
  
• Snipe Critical Power
  
• Splody Harpoon
  
• Tectonic Breaker
  
• Twice as Bright
  
• Viscous Oil
  
• Wreckless

Chaos 8

• Block Power
  
• Blood Ritual
  
• Buckshot
  
• Celestial Power
  
• Chi Burn
  
• Death's Grasp
  
• Double Tap
  
• Enduring Bubble
  
• Enduring Price
  
• Escape Artist
  
• Freezing Vault
  
• Ghastly Blades
  
• Harbinger's Powered Block
  
• Holy Restoration
  
• Lightning Touch
  
• Lingering Core
  
• Oily Harpoon
  
• Power of Embermount
  
• Power Overwhelming
  
• Price of Power
  
• Proton Cannon Boost
  
• Proton Flame Charge
  
• Pumpkinator
  
• Radiant Power
  
• Regeneration
  
• Rupturing Smash
  
• Serpent God's Fury
  
• Shattering Torpedo
  
• Snake Bomb
  
• Snakes on a Plane
  
• Spider's Kiss
  
• Submerging Blast
  
• Submerging Speed
  
• Sundering Blow
  
• Superconductor
  
• Taser Suit
  
• Tempered Anger
  
• Torpedo Striker
  
• Vengeance
  
• Water Elemental
  
• Wave of the Storm
  
• Zero Entropy

Chaos 9

• Ambush
  
• Amped Charge
  
• Atomic Madness
  
• Augmented Explosions
  
• Auto-Repair System
  
• Boosted Beam
  
• Blood Rage
  
• Bubble Beam
  
• Bunny Hop
  
• Charged Restoration
  
• Chi Boost
  
• Chi Curse
  
• Colossal Fissure
  
• Concentrated Pyrotechnics
  
• Crippling Blow
  
• Critical Empowerment
  
• Crystal Fissure
  
• Electric Arcing
  
• Electric Discharge
  
• Freezing Rain
  
• Frenzied Swarm
  
• Giant Harpy Feathers
  
• Hasten
  
• Heavy Armor
  
• Incendiary Rocket
  
• Oily Overflow
  
• Radiant Empowerment
  
• Rainbow Flask
  
• Rebounding Strike
  
• Run and Gun
  
• Sharp Thinking
  
• Tamer's Gambit
  
• Tank Gambit
  
• Titanic Slam
  
• Venomous Strikes
  
• Voltage Spike
  
• Vroom Polymorph
  
• Wild Fire

Chaos X

• All For One
  
• Arcane Refulgence
  
• Bot Augmentation
  
• Blessing of the Dragon
  
• Broad Head Arrows
  
• Buster Booster
  
• Coup de Grace
  
• Diffusion
  
• Double Eruption
  
• Double Wish
  
• EF Upgrade
  
• EMP Shells
  
• Empowered Furious Slash
  
• Empowered Slam
  
• Enduring Effigy
  
• Heightened Rage
  
• Meditation
  
• Mighty Hawk
  
• Napalm Gargoyles
  
• Poison Siphon
  
• Power Transfer
  
• Radiant Rate
  
• Ramping Beam
  
• Range Pylon
  
• Satellite Strike
  
• Spirit Blessing
  
• Stoking Fury
  
• Steel Hurricane
  
• Volatile Gemstone
  
• Weighted Stone
  
• World Tree McBufferson
  
• Wound

Survival

• Brace for Impact
  
• Double Time
  
• Fleeting Rebirth
  
• Heroic Convergence
  
• Icy Strikes
  
• Long Shot
  
• Marks for Life
  
• Resolute Armor
  
• Stand Your Ground
  
• Struck by Inspiration
  
• Thick Vines
  
• Tranquil Haste
  
• Weakness Targeting

Pets

Along with your equipment, you can also equip Pets that can assist you in battle. Although these Pets don't offer much in damage, their special ability can assist you in battle if you get the correct pet and ability.

For the purposes of this guide, I won't be going into the Pets themselves and their overall mechanics, but I will get into how you can efectively raise their Stats.

For more Pet information, check out the Wiki[wiki.dungeondefenders2.com] or this guide

Raising Power

The Power stat determines the striking power of the Pet. To raise this, you must feed it food items that you get from slain monsters or you can purchase Broccoli from the Pet Store in Town or Private Tavern. When a food item drops, it will random either a Fish, Cake or Ham.

Each Food item offers a certain amount of experience:

Food Item	Value	Rarity
Broccoli	500	500 Gold each @ Peternarian
Fish	1500	Common in Pet Food Boxes
Cake	5000	Uncommon in Pet Food Boxes
Ham	12500	Rare in Pet Food Boxes
Dragonfruit	20000	Rarest in Pet Food Boxes

To understand how much Power experience you get, a slice of Cake is the same as gaining 1 level instantly (1 Level = 5000 XP). All Power levels require the same Experience regardless of rarity, pet species and tier. However, the amount of levels you require changes based on the Tier of the Pet itself:

Pet Tier	# Of Levels
Hatchling	10
Fledgling	25
Veteran	45
Elder	60

For obvious reasons, it is recommended to slay monsters to gain food to feed them as you will not only save money but even the worst Food you get from the boxes is the same as 3 Broccoli.

Raising Affection

Affection determines the Stat gains the pet offers. There are two methods of raising this: Pet Candy and Wave Completion.

For wave completion, you must have the hero with said pet in active use when the Wave is compelte. The amount of waves required to raise the affection by 1 are as follows:

Pet Tier	Wave Requirement	# of Games*
Hatchling	6	2 Rounds
Fledgling	12	3 Rounds
Veteran	12	3 Rounds

* - Assuming standard game of 5 waves

Drakenfrost Keep and Omega Waves in Lost Temple will fully count, despite they are 6 waves. If you are able to handle the former effectively, you can use said map and save yourself a round while farming for Drakenfrost exclusive weaponry. Note that difficulty doesn't matter either, so you can basically do Chaos 1 or Campaign maps and blitz through Pet Levels quicker.

The second option is through Pet Candies, which can be bought from the Colonel's Treasure Shop in the Town or Private Tavern for 250 Medals each. You will need to complete at least a daily or 11 wins to cover the cost for 1 Candy. You can also get Large variants from completing Mastery and gaining enough Stars for the Pet Reward. You will collect 10 Large Candies up to 70 through this method.

To get an understanding of how strong Pet Candies are: A regular Candy is enough to get a Pet's affection value to max on Hatchling and 8 Affection Levels beyond that (equivalent of 96 Waves). A Large Candy completely maxes out Pet Affection regardless of what tier it is in one use.

Given the cost of these Candies and the effectiveness of them, it is best to use at least 1 Pet Candy and then fill up the rest of the way with maps to save on Medals and maintain good cost effectiveness. If you plan on using Large Candies, save them for beyond Hatchling as you will make the most out of your Mastery rewards.

Rerolling Modifiers

If your Pet has a bad ability or stat gain, then you can reroll it with Pet Reroll items. These are collected from pink Pet Boxes that drop from slain enemies. There is one for rerolling Pet Stats, Pet Empowerment (the stat bonus the Pet gives you) and Pet Ability. In order to attempt a reroll, you must have the specific item and then you can use the Peternarian's Reroll feature.

The cost starts off relatively low at 1000 Gold, but it begins to pick up, eventually requiring 10k Gold to reroll. 10k may not look like much, but it can pile up, especially if you are focusing on getting the right Pet Ability on a generic Pet.

Try to keep rerolls to a minimal and don't aim for complete perfection unless you got the cash to burn.

Premium Pets

Also at the Colonel's Treasure Shop are the Pets from the old Monthly Quests, except now you can purchase copies. Each Pet is worth 7500 Medals with the Lil' Betsy being worth 10k. Once you purchase said egg, you can hatch it at your own leisure as it won't expire in 48 hours.

From first glance, it may sound like ridiculous pricing as it would take a player several days or weeks of combined Dailies and Victories to cover the egg cost. However, when you factor in you can purchase Dragoliches and the Lil Betsy's curse effect making bosses like Cannon Ogres a lot easier to handle, then it may become apparent that the costs are well worth the grind.

I would recommend only doing so when you have secured your other items and acquire the Medals while you farm for other things such as Gold and Materials.

Gem Pets

One option you also have with your Eggs is to pay a Gem fee to hatch the Pet as a specific type. To do so, bring a generic Egg to the Stable Boy and pay the Gems. Instead of getting a random Pet, you will get your choice.

The thing about these pets is that although they look cool, they are largely for bragging rights and you can easily take a free pet of Epic or higher and tune it to suit your needs.

Selling Pet Items

In the event you have finished all your pets, you may think that you are done with Pet Vials and Food. However, you can either sell them to desperate players through the Player Shops or just sell them as vendor trash when you reach the max stack of 99. It might not sound like much, but every Gold coin stacks up, especially for AP Reset committed players.

Player Shops and Trading

Like in my RPG games, there are instances where you are going to need items other people have or you have things that others need. Luckily, the game now offers the means of doing trading between other players: Player Shops

Mechanics

All accounts have a Player Shop and every player starts with 2 Bins. You can purchase 14 more bins up to 16 and each will cost 50 Gems.

Once you have an empty bin, you can place an item within it by Editing your Shop (Menu > Player Shops). As you move items into bins, you can then apply a price to your items. The items will stay in the slot until:

• You sell the item, which you will the sale price back - 15% as Etherian Tax
  
• You reclaim the item, which you need to pay the Etherian Tax to reclaim
  
• You AP Reset, in which the item will return to your Inventory or Scavenger and it will go back to Campaign strength for no cost

If you sell an item, simply go back to Edit Shop and edit the Sold item spot.

To check another player's Shop, simply left click on their name in the Menu if they have a box with green gems in it next to their Gear Score and select Player Shop. The game will load their player shop and you can see what they are all selling. Simply select the item and confirm the purchase. You will need at least 1 empty slot in your inventory in order to purchase another player's item and you will need the required Gold.

Understanding the Market

I will not mention prices in this guide as it changes based on person and demand or am I doing this to influence the market directly.. However, I want to give insight into what I and many others will look for when they check your Shop.

The first factor you need to consider is your target customer. There are a large combination of different players: Newbies, Casual, AP Resetters, etc. The rate at which they collect gold and their needs is a factor. Newbies usually want an item to get ahead but don't have the Gold to muster. AP Resetters tend to go after high end Servos to transfer to their Medallions or Weaponry for their final gear or to help with their progression. Although they can acquire gold faster than new players, you must still consider that not everyone is AP100 and made of cash.

Second, I have seen people use shops slots unwisely. For instance, I have seen people sell Common Pets for well over 400-500k when I can easily complete a Map and hatch an egg for one. Or I have seen people sell something like 10 Basic Motes for 500k when I can easily do 2 rounds of Chaos 3 to get that, plus make over 100k Gold for my pocket (I am AP11 at the time writing this). You must factor in accessibility of items in tandem with Gold rates in order to make the most of your item slots as a whole.

Third, you must have patience. I have had items sell but it took several AP resets and games before I got a lucky break.with my sales. If you wish for more people to notice you and your inventory, hang out in Public Games and Towns, especially if you go to the Europe IE server at night. You are competing against others for their business, so stand out!

Suggested Pricing

Several users on the Dungeon Defenders Official Discord server have created a price guide. You will need to search DD2 Market Prices and find the version created by Cryo and 5 other contributors (last updated Feb 2022). I would post the link but Steam considers this as malicious content even though it is not. Once you find it, save it as a Bookmark on your web browser. Use this in tandem with your own judgement to ascertain the buying and selling value of your item.

It is best to buy or sell items that are 10/10 mods or if they are materials, a full stack of 99. The following are some of the most sought after items or MODs by players:

• Defense Rate and Range Servos
  
• Tenacity Chips and Servos
  
• Piercer Chips and Servos
  
• Anti-X, specifically Melee, Chaos, Frosty and Miniboss Chips or Servos
  
• Diverse-X Servos
  
• Controller Chip or Servo
  
• Swap, Healthy, or Standard Ability (AP) or Power Chips
  
• Light or Heavy Chips
  
• Fragile Damage or Power Chips
  
• Focused AP or Power Chips
  
• Fissures of Embermount Servo
  
• Effective support servos like Burning Bolts or Stunning Revelation
  
• Drakenlord's Soul Chip
  
• Snake Skin Armor
  
• Certain Elemental Chips and Servos (Fire, Poison, etc)
  
• Full stacks of Plain or Pristine Motes and Materials bar Hammers
  
• Certain Legendary pets like Dragoliches or Dino
  
• Equipment with near max or higher Primary and/or Secondary stats
  
• Good rings like Earth, Piercing or Time
  
• Phoenix ranged weaponry, especially if they meet the above criteria

Only sell items if you don't need them and purchase them if you can afford them and need them for yourself. Buying too many items may leave you broke and with extra farming work to do and selling too many may leave you in a disastrous spot at the end game as you will have to farm materials to reroll mods you could have kept for yourself.

AP Resetting - Basics

Once you feel confident in your Onslaught progression, you can opt into Ancient Power or AP resets. This action comes with a consequences (which will be covered in this section), so only do so if you are 100% committed to this action and/or this game.

Instructions

To commit to your first AP Reset, you must first have at least an Ascension Level of 250 and you must complete Floor 99 of Onslaught. Once these conditions are met, go to the Town and talk to the Mananode near the Dwarf salesman and Terraria portal. He will allow you to confirm your reset. To see your current bonuses and access your points, access your inventory screen and select Powers from the Deck window

Mechanics

Once you have committed to your reset, you will gain the following benefits:

• You get 1 Prestigious weapon at Campaign strength.
  
  • The weapon is randomized and ignores your Hero Deck
    
  • The level of it's main skill will always be between 5 and 10
    
  • If it's the Sword or Polearm, it can have either the Dryad or Squire power and Initiate or Monk respectively.
• If you are between AP1 and 10, you get a cash bonus
  
• Your Gold and XP Multipliers go up by 5% each. This effect applies to all game modes and difficulties. Gold applies to coins picked up as well.
  
• You gain an Ancient Power point. These points are used to raise the global stats of yourself and your allies in battle and are also applied to all game modes and difficulties.. You can invest into improving the following passives:
  
  • Defense Power
    
  • Defense Health
    
  • Defense Range
    
  • Defense Build/Upgrade Times
    
  • Defense Critical Strike Chance
    
  • Defense Critical Damage
    
  • Hero Health
    
  • Hero Ability Power
    
  • Hero Damage
    
  • Hero Critical Strike Chance
    
  • Hero Critical Strike Damage
    
  • Hero Damage Resistance
    
  • Hero Respawn Time
    
  • Hero Primary/Second Attack Lifesteal
  You can invest up to 5 points in any of these and the total combined (you + all allies) cannot exceed 10 points.
  
• Your Ascension Talent Caps increase depending on your totals upon reset. This only affects passives that have a 140 max by default.

However, these buffs come at the following costs:

• All your Gear, both equipped and not equipped will be set back to Campaign 10/10 strength, keeping rarity, MODs and their tiers
  
• Any shards that are not gilded will have their levels set back to 0
  
• Your Minimum Ascension Level will now be set to a new value based on what your totals were upon reset. In some cases, this can be a benefit
  
• Your Onslaught progression will be lost. You will have a new minimum floor and the required level for which you need to reset again will increase. The limit for Minimum Floor caps at 299 and the Onslaught Floor requirement to reset eventually caps at 320.
  
• The items in your Store will be removed from the slots without paying Etherian Tax and their levels will be set back to Campaign 10/10. If your inventory is full, they will go to the Scavenger.

Because of the sacrifices, you will be essentially sent back to Chaos 1 and forced to climb up Onslaught and Expeditions again. A common mistake players make is they do the AP Reset without grasping the risks and mitigating them. Luckily, I have done this many times and I am willing to share information to help you mitigate the losses should you be committed to this undertaking.

Minimum Ascension and Talent Cap

As stated above, your minimum ascension and talent cap change depending on your performance.

Your Talent Cap is calculated through the following formula:

(Current highest Onslaught Floor - 30) x 4.16 + (Current Ascension Level / 50)

While your Minimum Ascenion level is calculated through the following formula:

3 x ((Overall Record Onslaught Floor - 30) x 4.16  + (Overall Record Ascenion Level / 50)) 

Given the way the math works, increasing your Onslaught floor is better than gaining Ascension levels but it gets harder as you progress, where Ascension's XP requirement is constant (8.5M per level at max).

It is wise that for your first reset that you are able to clear at least 1 round of Chaos 9. This will set your minimum ascension to over 3300 and your max talent cap to 999. This is enough to max out 1 defense with rate. your critical stats, resource pool, range gambits and one hero stat of your choosing. This is enough to do several dozen AP resets with random relics you can pick up from the ground and will save you resources when you eventually do need them.

Risk Management and Suggestions

As stated in the previous section, if you are able to clear Chaos 9 for your first reset, this will give you enough starting Ascension power to do the first few resets with minimum trouble, using nothing but trash relics and gear you find from victory chests and bosses. As you commit through AP progression, you will find that trash relics might not be enough, especially when you reach AP32 onward where you need to be able to handle Chaos 9 yourself. At this point, it would be wise to carry enough resources to bring 2-3 medallions with your best Servos to at least Chaos 8 10/10 or Chaos 9 0/10 if you got the Ampoules to spare. Check the Gear Modding section to ascertain the costs.

As you progress and decide which defenses and character(s) you will be using every reset, be sure to gild whatever shards they may be using so you don't have to constantly pay to max them every reset. Try to also avoid using Hyper Shards if possible as these have a hefty cost to max. The sooner you are able to do this, the better.

If you want suggestions for which defenses you should be using, here are some:

• Reflect Beam - With an Automation Hyper Shard, is immune to Cyber Orc stuns, allowing you to use traps, auras and nodes unabated as the EMPs are reflected. With these conditions, you don't need to upgrade it either.
  
• Elvish Artillery Cannon - Can be rigged for both stunlocking with Water defenses and brute force when you need to farm Chaos 9.
  
• Ballista - With the Oily Harpoon shard, Fiery Bolts/Fire and Piercer, can ignite any target outside of the range of Frost Orcs and Drakenlord auras. Although ignite doesn't effect Controlled Burn, it is an effect for Pile On. If you don't apply any Fire servos, the Oily Harpoon allows for tagging of Controlled Burn.
  
• Proton Beams - Can slow Headstrong enemies and freeze even Unstoppables via the Frosty Beams shard. Can be attuned with an element to allow for stunlocks with other defenses.
  
• Poison Dart Tower or Water Aura - Catalyst for stunlocks (pair with Earth or Storm and Frost respectively) and both can allow Controlled Burn enemies to be damaged by any source.
  
• Sand Viper - Has an attack that can bypass barriers, good range and can eventually build up to double it's base damage
  
• Skeletal Archer - Can be useful for destroying Spellbreaker enemies, especially if Double Tap triggers frequently.
  
• Chi Burst Tower - With Piercer, will allow you to apply an increased damage taken effect to all enemies it rails through. Useful in the event if your damage is lacking.
  
• Fissures of Embermount - With the Embermount Flames servo, allows it to do continuous damage to anything it tags. With the right Anti-X modifications it can flat out destroy lower Onslaught floors on it's own bar a few exceptions. Very effective at all Chaos levels.

If you are also desperate for Gold as you go, don't forget that some of the Gold Bonuses for doing certain objectives are also reset and they are affected by your Gold Multiplier. The easiest and fastest ones to do are the early ones you get every 10 floors, getting your Champion Score up to 5300, beating the first round of Expeditions on that Chaos tier and the specific floor ones.

Finally, if you are Multiboxing, you can take advantage of this by having your secondary account do at least 1 reset after Chaos 9 and then using the non-resetting account to build.

AP Resetting - Reset Plans and Strategy (Part 1)

As someone who has gotten to AP100, I know how much of a tedious task this can be and I did this back when Chaos 7 was the highest difficulty. As explained in the previous section, there are things one can do to mitigate the risks and spending so you aren't sacrificing your stockpile of resourcing. This section is a variant of the plan that I executed to get from AP0 to 100, adapted to Chaos 9 standards. Feel free to use this plan verbatim, but if you have your own idea, you can do so as well but consider implementing my suggestions if you got the time.

Your First Reset (AP0)

As stated in the previous section, your main objective here is to get to Chaos 9 Expeditions (Champion Score 9850) and have someone carry you to a win or do it yourself if you can and then get Ascension Level 250. This will ensure your first reset gives you 3000+ ascension points, which is enough to max 1 hero stat, a defense power or health with attack rate and the entire support section.

If you haven't do so, purchase the Materials stash tab at the Vault and get extra inventory space if they are on sale or you got the money to burn. These will be invaluable to your undertaking by saving space. Use the vault to keep your most important items that you don't want to lug around.

If you are able to do so with assistance, it is recommended to get the Series EV2 (preferably by medals) and then clear out Prime 5 to get the Automation Hyper Shard. This shard when placed on Reflect Beams will protect your auras, traps and nodes from Cyber Orcs so you don't have to go crazy getting 10/10 Tenacity relics. The other Hyper Shards are useful but need a 2-3M Gold investment every reset to use them properly.

If you managed to get some Rings, you may opt to max ONE for now but you will have to put down a 50M Gold investment or 10k Medals, which can take a long to acquire at AP0, even with a Multibox.

Once you feel you are ready, you may begin your first reset.

AP1 Onward - Solo Strategy

Once you commit to your reset, you will do the following:

• Allocate your Ascension Points and Ancient Power
  
• Reapply the levels on your non-gildeShards that you will be using
  
• Transfer any 10/10 servos to your end game relics and items while all your servos and gear is Campaign.
  
• If necessary, take your medallions that you will be using and upgrade them to Chaos 8 10/10 or Chaos 9 0/10. Check the Analysis section in for more information on the costs.

You will then use Onslaught or Survival to pick up temporary items to increase your Champion Score so you can use Expedition to change your minimum floor value. How far you go into Onslaught depends on whether or not you brought your Medallions this iteration and what your minimum onslaught floor is:

Onslaught Floor Minimum	Chaos 8 Medallions?	Onslaught Strategy and Stoppage
<27	Doesn't Matter	Climb from minimum floor to Chaos 7, acquiring items until Champion Score can access Chaos 7 or 8
Between 27 and 98	Doesn't Matter	Climb from minimum floor and acquire character gear until Champion Score can access Chaos 7 or 8
Between 98 and 298	Yes	Climb from minimum floor until Champion Score can access Chaos 8 or 9
	No	Start from 27 and acquire medallions and base gear, then go to 98 and repeat the strategy. Continue up floors until Champion Score can access Chaos 8.
260	Yes	Start at 260 and use the relics you brought to C8-9 10/10 to destroy the floor, equipping throwaway weapons and armor while also picking up support relics when necessary. Once the Champion Score is 9850, do a round of C9 Expeditions to lock your Onslaught Floor to 300. Then proceed through Onslaught to 320 if needed.
	No	Start from 27 to acquire temporary Chaos 7 medallions to get your strategy going, then either skip to 54 to get Chaos 7 10/10s or straight to 98 and acquire items to help get your Champion Score to Chaos 8. Once that is met and you have sufficient throwaways, start at floor 260 and collect and equip enough items to get access to Chaos 9. Once you feel you got what you need, push through Onslaught.

If you have time, there are some cash reward payoffs (as discussed in the One Time Gold Bonuses portion in the Gold and XP Rates and Bonuses section) you can get that are affected by your AP gold multiplier and can be collected once per AP Reset. The following are the easiest to acquire with minimal work:

• Getting your Champion Score to each Chaos Tier, up to Chaos 9
  
• Champion of Expedition for each Chaos tier (win the first round of that Chaos tier on Expedition)
  
• Trials to Onslaught up to Chaos 3 (3 + Chaos Tier wins in that Chaos Tier)
  
• Clearing any onslaught floor divisible by 10. With Chaos 8 medallions, your 3000+ Ascension and a good strategy, you should be able to do this up to at least 100.
  
• Clearing Onslaught Floors 16, 21, 27 and 28

Once you are done Onslaught to as far as you can take it or you need materials to raise your temporary items to the next Chaos Tier, use Expedition on your highest Chaos tier to finish the job. Repeat the rounds until your Champion Score is 9850 and you are satisfied with your current strategy if necessary.

Once you get back to Chaos 9, check your Onslaught Floor. If your required floor is greater than 299, then you will need to do some Onslaught floors until you meet the required floor for your next reset. Otherwise, commit to your reset once you have:

• Enough Medals to transfer your new 10/10 on your future end game gear
  
• Enough materials and gold to upgrade the medallions you will be using to Chaos 8 10/10 and re-max your Shards that aren't Gilded
  
• You've completed any shards you planned to gild
  
• You finished the Primes and Masteries you were planning to do that reset.
  
• You've sold your temporary items as these will reset to Chaos 0 once you commit to it.

AP1 Onward - Multibox

if you are multiboxing with an alternate account (see the Farming - Multibox section for more details), you can ease your workload by having your secondary account do the building for your primary account. You will still use Onslaught to shoot up your Primary's Champion Score as you cannot use the Player Shops to transfer higher Chaos tier items as the trade will sychronize the item to your current progression.

All you simply need to do is start from the minimum floor of your primary account and use your secondary account's defenses to acquire base character items to raise your primary's champion score to at least Chaos 7, 8 or 9 based on your secondary's ability to handle opposition. Only use Expedition if you need to acquire materials to further increase your Champion Score as you can also transfer materials your secondary has been hoarding to cover the costs.

It is still recommended however to clear some bonuses each reset you are able to on your primary.

If you are planning on doing resets on both of your accounts, do the strategy in the aforementioned Solo strategy except you must factor in both accounts.

AP1 Onward - Getting Carried

You may also opt to have a friend or another player help you push up Onslaught. The strategy is approximately the same as having a Multibox. The only difference is make sure you give all your Green Mana to the player who is building for you and assume your ally is able to crush Chaos 9 effectively. The carrying player may opt into handing items they acquire through Player Shops to expedite the process.

The gold bonuses maybe out of the question for the person who is carrying you, depending on the patience and priority of the person helping you. You may want to consider doing to gold bonuses yourself if you got the time and resources.

AP Resetting - Reset Plans and Strategy (Part 2)

Floor Skipping

A fast way to acquire items to speed up your Champion Score increase is to take advantage of certain floors on Onslaught, where 10/10 upgrade items can be acquired, even if your Champion Score requirements aren't met.

The following floors are when items of that tier are always 10/10 upgrades in:

Difficulty	Campaign	Chaos 1	Chaos 2	Chaos 3	Chaos 4	Chaos 5	Chaos 6	Chaos 7	Chaos 8	Chaos 9
Onslaught Floor	2	4	6	9	14	19	25	78	234	524

As you pick up 10/10 items, check the Gear Score on it. If the Gear Score is >= the Champion Score of the next difficulty (check the Chaos Tiers and Champion Scores section for my information), equip said item. The best items for this are usually high end Mythical and Legendary items. By doing this, you can access Chaos tiers faster without overdoing Expedition runs. The worst you will have to pay for is Evolving the item to the next tier.

You may also use Survival to collect items to help accelerate through Chaos Tiers quickly if you are able to do so. Although the upgrade levels fluctuate between 0 and 10, it maybe faster to do this than to risk it on Onslaught and there is also the possibility you can get Godly Items, which can be either useful to you or be destroyed now or later for Godly Orbs. A reminder of which Chaos Tier represents which Wave is the following:

Chaos 1	Chaos 2	Chaos 3	Chaos 4	Chaos 5	Chaos 6	Chaos 7	Chaos 8	Chaos 9	Chaos X
Wave 1-5	Wave 6-10	Wave 11-15	Wave 16-20	Wave 21-25	Wave 26-30	Wave 31-40	Wave 41-50	Wave 51-60	Wave 61+

If you are doing the Multibox or a friend is assisting you, they can use these floors or Survival Waves to acquire items and then transfer them over to you. If the account has access to and has beaten Chaos X, they have the added benefit of getting 10/10 items on any difficulty less than Chaos X from Expedition.

To combat the progression sync, all you need to do is clear a round of Expedition of the Chaos tier the item is on (eg. if the item is c8 10/10, then just do a round of c8) and then pay the Evolution cost to correct the course. Once you do an Expedition in the next difficulty, your Onslaught Floor will change, saving on Onslaught work.

If you exploit Floor Skipping mechanics, it will also be wise to carry some extra gold and Ampoules in your Inventory or Materials Tab. The worst you will have to pay with Evolutions is Chaos 9 at 10M for 5 items.

Ongoing Goals

While you are doing your resets, you want to hold onto the following as you will need them when you complete your resets and go for the F999 push:

• Equipment with close to or equal to the maximum value in their primary and/or secondary stat. The primary stat will save on Talismans and Motes. The secondary stat is important on medallions that you are going to be using Vampiric Endowment on.
  
• Motes for Rerolls and Upgrading
  
• Materials to Upgrade, Transfer and Reroll stats and servos
  
• Copies of important shards you will be using regularly and especially if you are planning on Gilding them
  
• Any 10/10 mod items, especially if they have valuable Servos like Defense Rate, Anti-X or Tenacity

If you acquire any Defender Packs as you climb Onslaught, obviously open them and don't spend medals on rerolling the contents, especially if you get duplicates.

While you are climbing floors or doing Onslaught progression, try to increase the affection values of your Pets so you can get builder and offense pets going.

For your medals, it is recommended you first get all the heroes outside of the main 4 as you will need their options if you want to advance further into Onslaught and especially Mastery as some challenges can't be done without most or all of the heroes. Check the Available Heroes section on which hero does what and analyze the pros and cons of each hero before you make your decision. Once you have all the heroes, use the medals to acquire the special Pets like Dragolich, copies of shards you are having difficulty farming or materials from the Material Shop you will need later.

You can deal with any unfinished Primes or Masteries once you complete your resets Getting Ancient Powers and using your personal best in slot equipment will make this difficult undertaking a lot easier. Only go beyond Floor 320 once you have fully completed your resets and got all your Ancient Powers.

Conclusion

AP Resetting can be a tedious chore, but if you plan out your resets and do side projects as you go along, it won't be as difficult and time consuming.

[Bamethyst38]

That sounds like a technical issue on your end. I do not know what that issue is.

[PAPCIO]

how you hide the GUIDE thing on the left its impossible to see article when this thing is at top of it

[Moon owns my of body]

Thanks for your dedication, i always check ur guide since the day i found it.

[Bamethyst38]

I have modified the Exclusive Chips and Servos section to include all the globally accessible Chips and Servos, updated several sections regarding Defender Packs due to the changes to Ol' Peepers and added a section to Shards - Basics on the Shard Vault.

I will add more Pros and Cons to the Aquarion once I get the hero going (I don't have the Hero Bundle and I have 10.5k medals as of writing this).

[Bamethyst38]

Coming up on the next patch, I will be modifying the Exclusive Chips and Servos sections to break down which Chaos tier minimum that you get certain Chips and Servos as well as posting the Pros and Cons of the new maps and Aquarion hero when she is released.

Stay tuned.

[Bamethyst38]

I have completed the Farming - Defender Passes section for those who want to learn how the system works and how to fully take advantage of it for all the rewards.

DISCLAIMER: I am not an employee at nor shilling for Chromatic Games. The section nor I will not force you to upgrade your Defender Pass to Premium as that is 100% your decision, The section will help you make the most of your time to quickly get the rewards should you purchase it.

[Bamethyst38]

I am aware of the new Hunter hero coming out on the 24th. I have made an entry in the Available Heroes but I will expand on the pros and cons when the hero releases, I eventually acquire it via Medals and work with it when there is an opening in my CX Max Phase.

I will also work on the Survival/Godly Orbs/Gear section as I get more information on how to efficiently work this mode as I am also not focused on it at this time.

[Bamethyst38]

Yes I do, Paimon. Bamethyst38.

My avatar is the very Kotemon you see before you. If you DM me, I will get back to you when I can.

[Paimon]

I appreciate all you have done here. I'd love to chat with you directly to reward you for the contributions to the community. Do you have Discord?

[Bamethyst38]

As of the Survival Patch released on Aug 8th, 2023, I have begun working on the sections of the guide where this applies.