A Few Tips On GOLD PRODUCTION Part 2

Hi!

So we saw on the previous post that having LEVEL 2 FAST gold mines is really the way to go. If you can't do it now - you should aim for it in the near future IF you want to go down the gold production route.

So now we have level 2 FAST gold mines.

But what should we do? Buff with BADGES? Or BASKETS?

Well, since both yield more or less the same thing we can have 2 deciding factors:
1 - we do not want to spend masses of hwp, marble and gold ore to make Badges.
2 - we want to save as many licenses as possible...

My personal choice is the second one. I have built my hwp and marble prod as much as I reasonably can. I feel I can do more with the extra license that following the Badge strategy will give me.

Let us examine this strategy more closely (in 3 steps):

Step 1
A Badge is a triple buff, right? So that means that TWO gold mines TRIPLE buffed give out the SAME ORE amount than THREE gold mines DOUBLE buffed (minus the gold ore you will use to make the badges themselves...)

So it's mines to build overal. You're saving not only in the resources to build them - but also on licenses. ;)

So that's step 1. Two gold mines BADGE buffed produce the same as 3 gold mines BASKET buffed (give or take).


Step 2
So what about Gold Smelters?!
Funny thing isn't it? The same thing applies... 2 gold smelters triple buffed produced as many gold bars as 3 gold smelters double buffed...
With two great advantages: you save an extra license (if you were to have 3 gold smelters instead of two) - and all those costly upgrades... BUT you also save LOADS of COAL (and buffs...). As you probably know Gold Smelters soak up coal like nobody's business...

What does this mean?!
This means that with just 2 gold smelters triple buffed (placed in good positions) you can actually keep THREE (yes, that's right, 3!) COINAGES going...

That's Step 2. You BADGE Gold Smelters and you can have more COINAGES running!

Step 3
Step 3, of course, is simply: BADGE COINAGES AS WELL!


This is the second part of gold production. If you get to fast gold mines and you have the resources to back them up, you will be able to have a lot more gold ore, gold bars and coins being produced!

To run 3 coinages, 2 gold smelters and 2 FAST gold mines (all you need to keep the 3 coinages running!) you will need PER DAY:

TWO level 2 gold mines
2x 1400 hwp = 2.8k hwp
2x 1400 marble = 2.8k marble
2x 1500 tools + 2x 500 tools = 4k tools

To buff everything: 2x 7 BADGES = 14 Badges
14x 300 hwp = 4.2k hwp
14x 300 marble = 4.2k marble
14x 50 gold ore = 700 gold ore

The Badges will also take some 7h to produce in the Rarity Provision House.

In TOTAL you will need to be producing:
7k hwp
7k marble
4k tools
700 gold ore

EVERYDAY too keep these going smoothly. So, if you're going down this route, make sure you level up buildings, keep them buffed and boost up your various productions accordingly.

NOTE:
Only run gold production when BUFFED! When buffs run out - PAUSE IT! Then re-buff and restart ;)

Hope this helps!

A Few Tips On How To Buff

Hey Peeps,

It seemed to me from today on chat that quite a few people were still not entirely sure how this buffing thing works - particularly in relation to the Pumpkin Fields.

So, what I'm about to say is not valid for just the Pumpkin Fields but to ANY PRODUCTION BUILDING.

First, let's look at how a production cycle takes place at our Building X.

The production cycle starts when our settler John leaves the nearest storehouse and makes his way to Building X (just X from now on). This physical distance is measure in seconds and you can find it in the details tab when you click on the building.

This is the initial time of the production cycle.

When John reaches X and enters it the making of the goods actually begins. This is the core cycle of the production. It does not shift wherever you may place the building - it's constant.

So John works for a while and, as soon as the goods are completed he will not leave them there but will rather make his way back from X to the nearest storehouse.

When John enters the storehouse, the goods are delivered, become part of your stock and this production cycle ends.

And a new one begins immediately after, as John  leaves the storehouse and returns to work.

Why all this?

Because people have been having problems understanding how buffs operate and what works - and what may cause things NOT to work.

People have been advised to pause Pumpkin Fields in order to save on buffs and intelligently increase the number of pumpkins obtained.

HOW CAN THINGS GO WRONG?

Well, if you pause X whilst John is away, walking or at the storehouse, he may not be able to re-enter X. This means that when you unpause the building the production cycle is still in its inception.

HOW DO YOU FIX THIS?

Simple: just make sure you pause the building AFTER there's a bit of green in the progression bar.

Because the KEY IDEA IS THIS: even if the building is paused, the core production cycle keeps going until the end.
And, as soon as you unpause the building the production finishes and you get your goods (even though John still has to travel to the storehouse...)

SO, if you BUFF the PAUSED BUILDING when you know that the MAIN PRODUCTION CYCLE has ENDED, then WAIT for the BUFF to become ACTIVE - then you can UNPAUSE BUILDING and get double the amount of goods (or more if you use a triple or quadruple buff).

The only thing left to do is to WAIT for John to return to X and the main production cycle to begin once more. Then you can PAUSE once more.

Obviously this is way too much work to do with everything.

But with certain buildings it pays off.

WHICH BUILDINGS?

The Pumpkin Fields, obviously... but also
Coinage
Gold Smelter
Gold Mines
Ornamentalsmith
Fairy Castle
and perhaps other high level buildings you might be running

(I certainly did this with my Exotic Wood Sawmill at least - it becomes quite easy after you get the hang of it... just wait for the buff and unpause, that's it. Then pause again shortly after the buff has ended, making sure there's a bit of green on the progression bar in the building)

Hope this helps clarify a bit better how a production cycle works - and how you can use your buffs efficiently!

A Few More Tips on the HALLOWEEN EVENT 2013!

Hey peeps!

In order to help you move swiftly and safely through this Halloween Event of ours we have created a little spreadhseet that will enable you to remain ahead of the Golem-bashing curve...

Click for the Halloween 2013 Golem Destruction Calc Tool!

With this you will be able to see how many resources you will need to defeat each golem, how much that will cost - and if it is profitable to do so or not. ;)

The Golem numbers highlighted in DARK BLUE are the ones to which we have the CORRECT VALUES - the rest are estimates as taken from the Test Server Trials. We have decided to keep those as they may be very close to what lies ahead - thus giving you some inkling to how to prepare.

We will update these values as the next Golem comes about. And the next. And the next. And the next...

You can play with the current prices per 1k of Marble, Wheat and Water versus Pumpkin prices to see how this increases or decreases your profits from the event. Since all these are likely to fluctuate a lot during this event there is no straight answer about costings.

We also have a spreadhseet that allows you to calculate the TIME it will take to make all these buffs.

Click for the Provision House Calc Tool!

All you need to do is type in your Provision House Level at the top of the sheet and in the Orders Needed GREEN CELL for the Marble, Ropes and Buckets Buffs. It will give you not only the total costings - but also the time it will take for you to build them (on an unbuffed Prov House).

A FEW TIPS:

ONE:
Small Pumpkin Fields take 8h to produce 1 Pumpkin. Contains a total of 45 Pumpkins.
Common Pumpkin Fields take 4h to produce 1 Pumpkin. Contains a total of 80 Pumpkins.
Noble Pumpkin Fields take 1h to produce 1 Pumpkin

Buffed they will all produce TWICE the amount (with platters, sandwiches or baskets).

TWO:
So HOW TO BUFF?!

Since the production cycles for SMALL and COMMON Pumpkin Fields are so long you can just KEEP THEM PAUSED and, when the time is almost up or u, BUFF them with a FISH PLATTER and, after the BUFF is ACTIVE you can UNPAUSE.

It's a bit of work - but it's the cheapest way to get double amount of Pumpkins off this event fairly easily.

If you want to simply keep the darned things buffed all the time - ASK SOMEONE TO BUFF FOR YOU. Buffs will last 50% longer this way.

It is definitely profitable to KEEP the NOBLE PUMPKIN FIELDS BUFFED pretty much all the time.

THREE:
So what about TRIPLE BUFFS?!
Simple. There is profit in buying them at certain prices and using them on Noble Pumpkin Fields. And profit to sell them at (crazy...) prices too... See below for details.

NOTE: These calculations were all done considering that you can buy 100 pumpkins for 1250 coin, ie, 12.5 coins per pumpkin. This is the current value for them it seems.

If you're BUYING TRIPLE BUFFS, make sure you buy Potions of Endless Energy and Exotic Fruits Baskets for LESS than 234 coins each. Red Flying Settlers need to cost you LESS than 435 coins. And Rabbit Lucky Charms LESS than 1011 coins. You will need to be buffed by a friend for you to MAKE SOME PROFIT on these. Of course, the cheaper you buy them - the bigger will be your profit.

If you're SELLING TRIPLE BUFFS... well, you should sell them for quite a bit more than what's said above.

Here are some prices for them (taken just now from the TO):
Exotic Fruit Basket, 250 coins
Potion Of Endless Energy, 420 coins (it's the same as the Exotic Fruits Basket and yet the price is almost double! Ridiculous!)
Red Flying Settler, 450 coins
Rabbit Lucky Charm, 750 coins

This means you'd do well in selling your Exotic Fruits Baskets and Potions of Endless Energy for these crazy prices. Same with the Red Flying Settler. BUT you're better off using the Rabbit Lucky Charm on your NOBLE Fields instead ;)

POTIONS OF ENDLESS ENERGY are made in the Mayor's House.

FOUR:
Be careful when you are trading for pumpkins. There will be lots of people trading and some will try to take advantage of the confusion.

You don't need to buy Pumpkins just for gold coins - you can try and swap resources for them.

Try and set a price for how much you are willing to pay per pumpkin - so you can more easily set up trades and see if it's worthwhile picking up a trade or two on offer.

FIVE:
We are a GUILD. If you have doubts about something - or need some resources - ask around. ASK for help but OFFER help as well. If we pool our resources together we will make this event easier and more enjoyable for ALL OF US.

So do not be afraid to come on chat - even if you usually don't. This is one of those times when being in a GUILD can be really useful.

Have FUN!

and...

GOOD LUCK GOLEM BASHING!!!!

To Buff?... Or Not To Buff?... The Question Of The Ages Finally Answered!

Hey Peeps!

Today one of our fellow guildies made a very simple question: What should we buff?

After my long answer on chat it got me thinking. So much so that I knew this kind of thinking could only be resolved with a nice, groovy spreadsheet!

Here's what I did:
I calculated the costs for each of the 3 buffs we can produce so far (though tomorrow we will have new ones that we can build... but that's for another day - maybe...). Then I compared those costs to what we would profit from selling the excess production they delivered for a few key buildings.

In order to be profitable to buff we need to make at least the same value in gold coins as what you'd get resource-wise for the duration of the buff. Ie, a Fish Platter needs to generate 0.11 gold coins in half an hour (or 45 minutes if it's a friend buffing); a Solid Sandwich needs to generate 1.1 gold coins during the 2h (or 3h if a friend's buffing) it is active; and a Aunt Irma's Basket needs to produce 4.3 gold coins during the 6h (or 9h) it is active.

I'll spare you the raw data and simply give you the short version. Suffice to say that I used the NEWFOUNDLAND TRADE SHEETS (NTS) current values for the prices of things, with shortish production times. I do not take the NTS as being an incredibly accurate tool but, nonetheless, it was accurate enough for these purposes.

You can check the SUMMARY HERE, in a chart that I hope is quite clear and straightforward to everybody.
 
All those cells in red mean you are losing gold coins every time you buff.  All those in green mean you can buff at ease for you are profiting (or, at the very least, covering the expenses of making the buff). Those that have numbers simply mean that if the production building is at least that level, you can safely buff without fear of losing gold coins. ;)

At a quick glance we can see that FARMS, HARDWOOD SAWMILLS, LONGBOWMAKERS, STONE MASONS, PINE SAWMILLS and COKING PLANTS/RECYCLING MANUFACTORIES (buffed with baskets) are the LEAST PROFITABLE of all productions analised in the chart. Ie, unless they are very high level - and a friend is buffing you - you are probably making a loss every time you buff.

(this means you'd actually profit more if you sold the resources you used to make the buff)

The MOST PROFITABLE of all productions analised seem to be BREAD, IRON BARS, IRON SWORDS, STEEL BARS, STEEL SWORDS, EXOTIC WOOD PLANKS, BREW (either Brewery or Friary), GOLD ORE, GOLD BAR, NIBS, ADVANCED PAPER and BOOK FITTINGS.

So, if you have limited amount of buffs to use - choose carefully what you should buff.

Of course, all this is assuming the productions are balanced. If they are not, well... until they are we don't have much of a choice now do we?...

Also, it has not been taken into the account the investment made to level up buildings and mines. This is intended merely as a simple guideline to whatever already is in place.It is in no way meant to tell which productions are more profitable or not - that's an entirely different story...

Hope this helps!

Happy buffing!

A Few Tips On PRODUCTION LINES

Whatever the level you are at you will always struggle with resources.

If it's not pinewood planks, it will be marble or hardwood planks, or tools, or not enough swords of one kind or another, or bread, or granite and exotic wood planks or, plain and simple, the basis of all trading: gold coins.

This will happen.

And you know why?

Because, if you are playing the game right, you will use up the resources you are creating to upgrade buildings, to go on adventures - to play the game.

So, how to solve this unsolvable problem?

Well, you don't solve it really - you only make it less of a problem.

The main thing to do is to make your production more efficient. This means you will need to buy less in the Trade Office and will in turn be able to sell more instead.

But how do we do that?

The first thing we need to make sure is that our production lines respect building ratios. You can't just have one farm and one mill and one bakery and expect your bread production to be efficient. It won't be. Because you do not have enough buildings to make it so. (so click on the link above and have a good look at what that forum post contains and, perhaps, change a few things in your production lines accordingly)

But even if you have the correct proportions of buildings maybe your production still won't be all that effective.

Why?

Because the distance from these buildings to the storehouse and/or deposits, is also a crucial factor. So if you put buildings too far away or too close, your production will change accordingly. So, click on this link if you want to know more about efficient building placement (it's a series of youtube videos, the link is for the first one).

But perhaps you have already sorted out the ratio of buildings and placed them efficiently in regards to your storehouses. And still you don't have enough...

Well then, you can try and keep those buildings buffed - so that you have more production over time. And, of course, you can build more buildings and increase your production line.

But perhaps you do not have enough licenses to do just that?

Then you need to either purchase gems - or simply save up on the ones you get once a week, if you log in everyday.
Or maybe you can do without some buildings. For instance in the beginning I had several stone masons and pinewood planks sawmills. Now I only have the one stone mason - and even that one won't be staying around for much longer.
But that's because at the higher levels your needs will change somewhat - and you will need to tweak and alter your production accordingly.


The thing with this game is that a lot of things are inter-dependent. To me, that's one of the fun things. And, in fact, it is a bit like life and how we humans are: we do not stand alone - we are a part of the social fabric and interaction is the name of the game.

Of course, Settlers Online is just a game. And you can choose to play it whichever way you want it. But, chances are, if you've read it this far, you are interested in improving the efficiency of your production lines.

Besides all that has been said you can still do a couple of things more:

Check the building ratios for each of the production lines you have (or want to have), and add up the numbers and compare to what you have. See if anything's missing. See if anything's in excess perhaps. Then remove and add accordingly.

Check if a few well placed buffs can sort out your production deficit. Or if the upgrading of a well placed building can smooth your production out. Sometimes the solution can be as easy as that - and the Economy Overview can be instrumental in finding out such things. So use it often - and find out how useful it is.


These are just some ideas on how to direct and adjust your production lines. They are general ideas. Let me know if you want something more in depth at a particular problem and I will try to reply here with a post.

Happy Settlering!

A Few Tips On BUFFING

Buffs are a great thing. They help boost our production and they add colour to our islands!

But here's a few things you may or may not know about buffing:

1 - When a building is being upgraded it's production STOPS. This means if you buff it... nothing will happen and your kind gesture will go to waste...

2 - When a building is sleeping or is lacking a settler to operate it, the same thing as above will happen. If the production is stopped the buff will not boost anything...

3 - When you are buffed by someone the buff lasts time and a half more. This means a Solid Sandwich runs for 3h, instead of the usual two - and a Basket runs for 9 hours instead of the usual 6h. Good huh?!

4 - Most of us are a bit peculiar about our buffing. This is because our production lines are tailored in a specific way. This means that you should always try and check with someone before you actually buff them. They will be able to tell you, better than anyone else, what they need help the most with.

5 - If you're buffing something that has various buildings producing, buff those of a higher level. Remember, if they are higher level, the buff will boost more!

6 - If you want you can try and setup a buffing partner. Someone that will buff you regularly in exchange of you doing the same for them. I will try and setup a post for this matter here in the Guild Blog so that everyone knows who is helping who. As soon as a buffing team has been set we can simply add it so all know that those people are pretty much sorted.