Fyrosfreddy
I'm very disappointed in the existence of spoilers ....
I cannot but tell that a bit hypocritic. I am playing the game since 16 mths now, not since 6 oder 7 years like some, and I want to experience it in broadth and depth. I am not taking simple solutions easily. But I am not sure whether I have the seven years to experience Atys like you possibly had. I am usually not using spoilers from the Web, except the hints for mat locations, but I do not refuse exchanging information with others.
Similar with having an alt. I originally used the second account only to have a permanent char on Silan and to do some experiments (and to support Winch to make the game survive). Unfortunately, our server is not the best populated at all, and hadn't I used my alt in cases when I could not get a healer, caretaker or level group (I still prefer to play with others, of course), it would have taken eternally to reach an acceptable level in off ele or melee, abilities which are a prerequisite for a neutral player like me to reach all locations I want to.
Beneath, playing with an alt is matter of taste, and I do not think that we should patronize one another.
I did not take the light ways. I refused from the very beginning to take dappers from anybody, I did no source throwing for others (where some were constantly begging for), and I completed my first digging region (desert) without any outside help, neither from my alt nor anybody else. Right now, when I "waste time", I prefer to "waste" it in RP, events, and e.g. guiding younger players through touring the camps, showing kitin lair and PR.
As for the 20-30 minutes per task, again not possible with a single character since you can't do more than 3 occupations at a time and have the 2 day cool down in between. At best, playing as a single toon, you need 4 days to complete production. To get all 8 slots filled ....7 days.
Again, I spoke about 20-30 minutes to obtain one stack of cats (q250) per character. This is, in the first place, independent from the question which maximum one may obtain on a per day basis.
One production (2x4certs) yields 18 products at 100%. That is worth while 1 unit for obtaining nexus crystals if it is a non kitin lair occupation, else 2 units. To exchange products, one needs units from 4 occs at minimum, with bonus crystals for more than 4. It is easily possible to do 4 occs a day when dropping one after producing and taking the next one. The maximum occs that can be possibly done per day is 4.5 on average, either 6,3 or 5,4 in turn. I rarely did that, because it means more stress than fun, it is possible anyway.
Once one has amassed sufficient products, they may be exchanged at any time at the faction dealer into nexus crystals, no tool, campfire etc. necessary until starting producing cats. Nexus crystals are the pre-product for cats, converted into cats at 1:1 if catalyst artificer skill is sufficient (otherwise losses are possible).
When exchanging, the poach (crafted before and ever used without wearing out) counts for 300 nexus crystals, as much as any product unit. There are bonuses when exchanging products from more than 4 occs at a time as following:
# crystals
units bonus total per unit
------------------------------------
4 | ---- | 1500 | 375
5 |180 | 1980 | 396
6 |315 | 2415 | 402
7 |600 | 3000 | 428
8 |810 | 3510 | 438
------------------------------------
I am usually exchanging 6 or 7, seldom 5 and seldom 8 different products, as a rule of thumb, I calculate 400 crystals per unit (it is actually bit more). 3 kitin lair occs are worth 6 units, i.e. 2400 crystals, with 2 kitin lair occs and one non lair it is 5 units and so on. I frequently do 4 occs a day, but leave that out here and then not to overdo. My average yield per day is around 1600 and 2000 crystals per character. I usually need less than an hour to collect the certs, and to practise occs. Often, I combine that with other activities in the regions in question (granted, in the lair is not so much, except hunting Kizokoo ;) ).
And where did the "drop leveling" come from ?.... Craft / Sell when standing in front of a hawker means 0 drops.
But again, I don't think that it is useful to impose the own style of playing to one another. I would like much more to do more leveling, occs etc. together with others, but it is not possible all time.
You'll have to explain to me how standing in front of a hawker is not realistic or any "less fun" than crafting in front of a stable or wherever your selling your crafts.
I also find it quite contradictory when you say working efficiently (as in changing clothes while running) "spoils the fun" of the game, while you have no problem at all using "spoilers" as well as an alt to bypass that "fun" in order to gain a "cat production advantage". That contradiction exists in your 1st paragraph where you have sacrificed the fun of the "logical and mathematical challenge" so you can get the "cat production advantage" of 100% recipes with a "no matter how you get them" approach. Digging in the Egg Room is a challenge and requires the development of skill when you are alone ..... when ya have an alt hiding in the corner, not so much. Where's the "challenge" and the "fun" when there's no risk involved ?
Digging in the egg room is thrilling in the beginning, if you are doing it for fun, not just for achievements. No matter if a friend or an alt is waiting or acting in another part, or if you're there in a group sufficiently powerful to kick ass of the patrols, it is easier and yields better results. My alt is involved in roleplay, not just a service robot, and it takes some care and time to develop the character of my younger sister and to present her in roleplay accordingly. It is not just using shortcuts carelessly. I did mention, btw. that I obtained solutions mainly from friends and guilds who held them, and not for free. I did things for them like showing younger or inexperienced players how to act in the lair, digged q250 mat and so on. That is cooperation and absolutely legitimate. And, again, it is my way to play as an independent player without a powerful guild or alliance and without a cult and the easy porters to PR and 250s.
As for fighting, working jabs, kinch or jugs....until ya get to 240ish and need plods, your getting way more XP per hour if ya selecting the proper mob for ya level.
100,000 XP / 30 minutes = 3,333 XP per minute .... a rather paltry production IMO.
I did not succeed so far in killing kinchers 1 a minute or even faster by daggers or 1hand sword (my master and closest to master melee weapons so far). I trained on cuttlers for a long time, most time naked not to spoil my light armor and jewels. That is interesting even with a healer (and hard without). Agreed that with good prey, fighting leveling may be nearly as fast as the benefit from cats. Yet, that is only true for levels beyond 200. I barter q250 cats to q200 at 3:5 and (as far as I have left any need, there) to q150 at 2:5.
I'm not saying that "there is no advantage from obtaining cats through advanced occupations." I see a clear advantage when doing them in groups or as a guild effort. But as to being worth the investment for a single player .... single being defined as no outside help from other accounts, alts, spoilers, etc., the math just doesn't work and it's not a real option for unaligned players or small guilds looking to enjoy all the game has to offer without "cheats".
Even with your in my opinion unfair and patronizing vilifying of playing with an alt (not with a crowd of macro-steered f2p robots where I understand the objections) I cannot but disagree. Beneath that the math does work, fun does as well. Doing the basic professions on a regular base sends me through the realms and the lair on a regular base, that is definitely more funny than standing another hour in front of the same hawker or slaying the same spawn for the fortysecond time and gives me a lot of opportunities to observe, meet people and so on. And even if the math could not beat the performance of a 6 or 7 years playing, in most skills outleveled regular, it is good for a just starting humble neutral Tryker girl to practise and improve her abilities and to learn more about the world of Atys.
---
Daomei die Streunerin - religionsneutral, zivilisationsneutral, gildenneutral