Saving the resources required for large upgrades

[Bako Bullyz]

Great Post

 

[lobsterboy]

UPDATE: By using this strategy, I have been able to do the following major notable upgrades: helipad 15/16, a total of 8 squad camps upgrades from 14/14/13/13 to 16/16/15/15, training camp 13/14, firebomb 4/5, RPG soldiers 11/12, Gordos 13/14. I have only used 500 gold at the most to accomplish all this, all for shields. I have upgraded 3 (almost 4) of my diegos to level 50 and have ranked one up to blue stars. I am waiting on crafting gear to rank up the other 3. I felt like I was hitting a wall but, with the advice of some more experienced players on this forum (thanks again @Vinnie Di Maggio), I was able to keep moving along. While I was am still in the middle of doing all my squad camp upgrades, I am able to clear most of my map with only 3 squad camps available. This is further increasing my skill and makes things feel so much easier when I do have all 4 squad camps available to use. The bottom line is you do need to spend money but you don't have to break the bank. I have faced the fact that I may never have perfect talents for my sicarios but I haven't needed them yet. Shortage of cash is my only issue for helipad energy upgrades. Wood, stone and iron just keep coming without much issue but with careful planning. I used my most recent emerald to purchase 2500 gold and that is going to be my final purchase. I can't justify paying any more for this game because the value just isn't there for me, personally. I am level 42 3/4 and have also bumped up my storage capacities enough to allow for upgrades that require 2,000,000 iron (squad camp 17/helipad 17, etc).

 

[Don David Sisi]

Its all very fun and make you guys happy .
But
When you will reach level 45 (i am 46) you will see that clearing the map or revenges are not that easy when getting half of the map bases with 75+ RL health x3 .
X2 Nerve gas ...
Even with 4 scorpions that as for the moment has FB damage of 63.000 still things not that smood ...
This game is all about money money money....
But. Good info indeed .

 

[Yeo]

Its all very fun and make you guys happy .
But
When you will reach level 45 (i am 46) you will see that clearing the map or revenges are not that easy when getting half of the map bases with 75+ RL health x3 .
X2 Nerve gas ...
Even with 4 scorpions that as for the moment has FB damage of 63.000 still things not that smood ...
This game is all about money money money....
But. Good info indeed .

I agree. I currently don't have too much trouble at the moment being lvl44. Maybe 70-80% of the time I have to "find another" base on my map, but since I'm about to step into the realm of 3x RL and 2x Nerve I know I'm in a world of hurt.

I think FTX really have to think hard about the balance of the game and the direction they want to take it. I have no qualms about the game being pay to win but the current meta is far too reliant on Reapers and Diegos. For your average player, Reapers are the easiest and most reliable way to boost your defense. As a result, players are also required to have Diegos to combat the Reapers. Now you're stuck in a corner with balance because:

1. People are going to rage if you make changes to sics that they paid for.
2. Nerfing either one will just make the other more OP.

The game becomes stale because the sics & def buildings you want to use are pretty much determined for you. You have more freedom if you're a whale because you can easily get top talents for your sics, such as running Butchers with 5/5 health boosts, but that's not realistic for most players.

 

[lobsterboy]

At what xp level are you able to upgrade to finca 20 and put out a second nerve gas cannon? I haven't seen it yet, although I am starting to see 3 rocket launchers once in awhile. I still don't see too many unmanageable Reaper rocket launcher health boosts yet. The ones that are impossible, I just switch out. I know my time will come but so far, so good. I am now level 43. I have my missile damage up to 12,671 and Gordos up to level 15 now. Finca is currently going to level 18 and my final squad camp is going to level 16. I am able to easily rip through most bases with minimal casualties still. I think I will focus my efforts to a couple more levels of helipad next. My starting battle energy is currently 49. I need more!

 

[Bako Bullyz]

At what xp level are you able to upgrade to finca 20 and put out a second nerve gas cannon? I haven't seen it yet, although I am starting to see 3 rocket launchers once in awhile. I still don't too many unmanageable Reaper rocket launcher health boosts yet. The ones that are impossible, I just switch out. I know my time will come but so far, so good. I am now level 43. I have my missile damage up to 12,671 and Gordos up to level 15 now. Finca is currently going to level 18 and my final squad camp is going to level 16. I am able to easily rip through most bases with minimal casualties still. I think I will focus my efforts to a couple more levels of helipad next. My starting battle energy is currently 49. I need more!

Level 47 has the 2 gas cannons...I'm a level 46 and been facing level 47, 48 & 49's...all beatable but not without mass casualties, I usually wait to attack the ones with mad health boosts last then I shield up lol. Don't forget to upgrade your Flashbang.

 

[lobsterboy]

UPDATE: I have recently turned level 44 but have MANY MORE offensive upgrades under my belt now. Two of my squad camps are level 16 (8 Gordos) and two are level 17 (13 RPG soldiers). My missile damage is up to 14,401 and my fire bomb damage is 11,104. My helipad is now maxed for my finca level at level 18. I just keep my focus on upgrades that will make me stronger and I can beat most bases with minimal casualties. I also now have spare diegos to plug and play when one has fallen, which makes map clearing times lower. Three of my main Diegos are now blue star. My Gordos are now level 16 and my RPG soldiers level 13. My goal is to upgrade my training camp a couple more levels so I can beef up my troops. I only use gold for shields at just the right time to get those big upgrades. I just continue to switch out the high roller bases I don’t feel I am capable of beating and life is good. They don’t interfere with my goals yet. I feel like I am rolling along nicely and still have not been forced to spend outside my comfort zone. I have spent $75.31 CDN to date and have a reserve of 1,324 gold today. I won’t be spending any more money until I feel it’s deserved by the powers that be. I even had to resist using my RARE emerald.

 

[Crashy2]

UPDATE: I have recently turned level 44 but have MANY MORE offensive upgrades under my belt now. Two of my squad camps are level 16 (8 Gordos) and two are level 17 (13 RPG soldiers). My missile damage is up to 14,401 and my fire bomb damage is 11,104. My helipad is now maxed for my finca level at level 18. I just keep my focus on upgrades that will make me stronger and I can beat most bases with minimal casualties. I also now have spare diegos to plug and play when one has fallen, which makes map clearing times lower. Three of my main Diegos are now blue star. My Gordos are now level 16 and my RPG soldiers level 13. My goal is to upgrade my training camp a couple more levels so I can beef up my troops. I only use gold for shields at just the right time to get those big upgrades. I just continue to switch out the high roller bases I don’t feel I am capable of beating and life is good. They don’t interfere with my goals yet. I feel like I am rolling along nicely and still have not been forced to spend outside my comfort zone. I have spent $75.31 CDN to date and have a reserve of 1,324 gold today. I won’t be spending any more money until I feel it’s deserved by the powers that be. I even had to resist using my RARE emerald.

Allot of higher levels have quit playing and you can imagine they've spend thousands. I too had a emerald offer this time with 51% off but I've quit spending and upgrade things whenever I get free gold. Well done on your part

 

[PUZZLE]

As I was approaching level 41, I was planning out how I was going to save enough resources to upgrade my finca to level 17 with the least impact on my bank account. Based on the last few upgrades, I knew it wasn't going to be possible without spending some real money, since my gold balance is low. This is my strategy. Hopefully it helps others.

Finca level 17 requires 3 million wood, 2.5 million stone and 1 million iron.

Before you begin, make sure your storages have capacity to hold what you are trying to save up. If they can't, you need to do some storage upgrades first. Getting close to saving up enough resources for a big upgrade and then realizing you don't have capacity can sting a little.

1) Let your map spawn a bunch of player bases, outposts, and revenges throughout an evening and overnight.

2) The following morning, clear as many player bases, revenges, and possibly some outposts, as you can while remaining online. Do not go offline during this period.

3) Buy a one day shield to protect your resources just before you become vulnerable to attacks.

4) Continue to clear outposts, special bases, and pablo bases while the shield is active. If you are able to manage without one or two of your main sicarios, substitute in a Darwin or two to add a sicario bonus your resources (thanks to @CRABNUTZ). Your shield will only expire if you attack a player base or resource center that is already owned by another player. You can also attack resource centers that are currently unowned (thanks to @Vinnie Di Maggio). You will receive a prompt asking if you want to proceed if you hit attack on one of these bases by mistake. During these periods of resource saving, you will also gain a large cash balance, which you can use for opening new outpost areas on your map or cutting down trees on your resource centers. Every little bit helps.

5) When your map has filled again with player bases and revenges, just prior to 24 hours later when the shield is about to expire, start attacking player bases again. You should force the shield expiry before it expires on its own by attacking another player, or you may end up in tears from that one player that keeps hitting attack on your base waiting for you to be vulnerable to rob you of all your hard earned resources.

6) repeat steps 2-5 as many times as necessary to gain the resources you need to upgrade. Before you buy a shield, go through the motions of making the upgrade to see how much gold you have to spend for resource shortage. If the amount of gold is less than 80, just go ahead and start the upgrade, since buying a shield will be more expensive.

I cleared my map as much as possible this morning and just bought my first one day shield. I have 1.5 million wood, 1 million stone, and 460,000 iron, which is 40% of the way on my stone balance. These numbers will continue to grow as I keep clearing outposts and missions. I will update this post with the resources I have collected just before my shield expires. Chances are very high that I will be over halfway to my upgrade before I start attacking player bases again.

I enjoy this game and am willing to help others advance, since it is clear many don't understand how to achieve these big upgrades. You just can't progress for free once the big upgrades hit. That's a fact. If you are cheap and you can't stay online for 3 hours, you also can't achieve these big upgrades. That's also a fact.

Any questions? Fire away. I used this strategy for fincas 15 and 16 and it works, with minimal impact on the actual dollars I need to spend.

One more thing to note is that you will continue to get attacked during the 24 hour period your shield is in place, however, you won't lose any resources from the attacks. You can raid those players who attacked you because your base showed on their maps. You can't raid back those who took revenge on you. (thanks to @Vinnie Di Maggio ). Only exact your revenge once the shield has expired.

Other tips added by forumers:

• Have your buddies in your cartel put their finca out front for you when they're on your map. Hit those with darwins (@CRABNUTZ )
  
• You might not want to start your shield until your map is full, you have about a days worth of trucks to harvest, and you have a little more in resources then your bunker capacity. (@Julio )
  
• You can replace product shipments that don't have the resources you are looking for. (@Julio )
• Be aware that unlike the player base from your map, you only get one chance to revenge. Sometimes when you make a bad start, you will retreat and start over because it is cheaper than reinforcing. This isn't possible when you take a revenge, so be prepared.
• Make your finca vulnerable while you are on a shield so that you get more revenges (@Vinnie Di Maggio )

Update 1 (after clearing most of my outposts and with 17 hours left on shield): 2.1 million wood, 1.5 million stone and 670,000 iron. This already puts me 60% of the way to finca 17, based again on my stone balance. Stone has become my limiting factor. Things are looking good here.

Update 2 (after continuing to clear outposts that spawn and with 3.5 hours left on my shield): 2.8 million wood, 2.0 million stone and 960,000 iron. This puts me at over 80% of the way to finca 17, based on my stone balance. I now have enough spawns on my map to force the shield into expiry by attacking a player base. I'm going for it...stay tuned!

Update 4 (after clearing a few player bases): Finca upgrading to level 17. Cost me 80 gold for one shield. Paid $15 CDN for 1500 gold, which means this upgrade cost me about 80 cents. I can live with that

UPDATE: By using this strategy, I have been able to do the following major notable upgrades: helipad 15/16, a total of 8 squad camps upgrades from 14/14/13/13 to 16/16/15/15, training camp 13/14, firebomb 4/5, RPG soldiers 11/12, Gordos 13/14. I have only used 500 gold at the most to accomplish all this, all for shields. I have upgraded 3 (almost 4) of my diegos to level 50 and have ranked one up to blue stars. I am waiting on crafting gear to rank up the other 3. I felt like I was hitting a wall but, with the advice of some more experienced players on this forum (thanks again @Vinnie Di Maggio), I was able to keep moving along. While I was am still in the middle of doing all my squad camp upgrades, I am able to clear most of my map with only 3 squad camps available. This is further increasing my skill and makes things feel so much easier when I do have all 4 squad camps available to use. The bottom line is you do need to spend money but you don't have to break the bank. I have faced the fact that I may never have perfect talents for my sicarios but I haven't needed them yet. Shortage of cash is my only issue for helipad energy upgrades. Wood, stone and iron just keep coming without much issue but with careful planning. I used my most recent emerald to purchase 2500 gold and that is going to be my final purchase. I can't justify paying any more for this game because the value just isn't there for me, personally. I am level 42 3/4 and have also bumped up my storage capacities enough to allow for upgrades that require 2,000,000 iron (squad camp 17/helipad 17, etc).

UPDATE: I am starting to see 3 rocket launchers once in awhile. I still don't see too many unmanageable Reaper rocket launcher health boosts yet. The ones that are impossible, I just switch out. I know my time will come but so far, so good. I am now level 43. I have my missile damage up to 12,671 and Gordos up to level 15 now. Finca is currently going to level 18 and my final squad camp is going to level 16. I am able to easily rip through most bases with minimal casualties still. I think I will focus my efforts to a couple more levels of helipad next. My starting battle energy is currently 49. I need more!

UPDATE: I have recently turned level 44 but have MANY MORE offensive upgrades under my belt now. Two of my squad camps are level 16 (8 Gordos) and two are level 17 (13 RPG soldiers). My missile damage is up to 14,401 and my fire bomb damage is 11,104. My helipad is now maxed for my finca level at level 18. I just keep my focus on upgrades that will make me stronger and I can beat most bases with minimal casualties. I also now have spare diegos to plug and play when one has fallen, which makes map clearing times lower. Three of my main Diegos are now blue star. My Gordos are now level 16 and my RPG soldiers level 13. My goal is to upgrade my training camp a couple more levels so I can beef up my troops. I only use gold for shields at just the right time to get those big upgrades. I just continue to switch out the high roller bases I don’t feel I am capable of beating and life is good. They don’t interfere with my goals yet. I feel like I am rolling along nicely and still have not been forced to spend outside my comfort zone. I have spent $75.31 CDN to date and have a reserve of 1,324 gold today. I won’t be spending any more money until I feel it’s deserved by the powers that be. I even had to resist using my RARE emerald.

Good book you wrote. Spend 5$ and get shields. It's enough to collect ress for even finca 20.

 

[Thamer]

I read this great thread a while back. It made advancing in the game way easier.

The 3 Darwins I have became really useful while clearing outposts. ×1.8 more resources with each attack. (and if a player is not strong enough I use 2 Darwins in the attack)

 

[lobsterboy]

I read this great thread a while back. It made advancing in the game way easier.

The 3 Darwins I have became really useful while clearing outposts. ×1.8 more resources with each attack. (and if a player is not strong enough I use 2 Darwins in the attack)

Absolutely. Using Darwins can make resource collection easier. Funny thing is I haven't even gotten a single Darwin yet. Go figure.

 

[lobsterboy]

UPDATE: I am still progressing easily without having spent real money since June. I am at xp level 46.5 and finca will be going to level 20 as soon as I level up again. Helipad is level 19, squad camps 17, 17, 17, 18 and I will be upgrading my first squad camp to 19 in a few short hours ( I am attempting to upgrade them all to 19 right now), training camp 16 (I have done lots of upgrades inside), missile 17 (14,735 damage), fire bomb 11 (14,792 damage). I still have 687 gold and use it sparingly for shields. My diegos are all blue level 6 now and have been leveled up to level 60. It will be a very long time before I can begin to rank them up to purple 7 star. I am in no rush. In addition to offensive upgrades, I have also started working on leveling up my rocket launchers and piercing cannons. I only do these when I can't save up enough resources to upgrade a squad camp or other large upgrade.

 

[Bonzo]

This is all good, thanks fellas!

 

[lobsterboy]

Oh, and I have accumulated about 5,000 free gold from the offer wall in the last two days. This will help immensely with these big upgrades coming up. Thanks for the offer wall, FTX.

 

[lobsterboy]

When you get to level 47 + your going to need them... immensely
Cause you are not getting past level 47 without spending. This is just the beginning of the real no-deploy stages where you better have level 4/5 skill sets, or your just a sitting target that will get raided with ( no-deploy ) of course.
When you need 5 mill / 6 mill / 6 mill per upgrade. That's not happening up here as a free player.
Your either buying to instant, or buying to shield.

Either way... BUY those Skill sets to level 4/5
Your going to need them.

Why do you sound so threatening all the time?

This thread is to help people save for large upgrades, not to knock me down. I never said I was getting anywhere as a free player. I am explaining how it is possible to do large upgrades with minimal amounts of gold. I am nearing 8,000 free gold from the offer wall and I am positive I can get a few levels further using this gold for shields, irregardless of what you state.

Why do people who are so angry with this game continue to play and continue to post on this forum? It baffles me. I'll check back in with you when I am level 50 and still haven't bought gold. No deploy doesn't scare me. In fact, when I hit a wall where I need to spend money to remain competitive, I will just move on. Why would I stay? I can buy a 7 day shield and do 2 large upgrades in that time. Squad camps to 19 are 5/5/4 resources and a piece of cake so far. 5/5/5 does scare me but I'll get through them, as well. I just don't see it being an issue.

Perhaps some players are just better at planning these upgrades than the majority who have gotten stuck? Perhaps not. I will continue to share my knowledge and will also continue not to let the negativity get to me.

Honestly, folks. The game is what it is. Stay and play or just leave. Either way, I am going to keep leveling up and find it relatively easy to do so.

 

[Bonzo]

Thanks again for this @lobsterboy. I'm almost at lvl 50, haven't bought gold in a while and am planning, carefully...

'Tis true gold diminishes slowly but steadily and with that I'm planning for the day of no shields.

Blah, blah, no deploy, skills ********, nuff said.

Progress should be interesting, if slow.

 

[HenryHimmler]

It's been nice reading your thread
How is leveling atm?
You should update this once in a while.

 

[lobsterboy]

UPDATE: I had sort of given up on participating in this forum but I will continue to update this thread, since it seems to still be assisting people. I have still not spent any money since June. I participate actively in the offer wall and have gotten about 18,000 honest gold from these offers. It has been a lot of work, and I understand FTX still indirectly gets rewarded from these offers. I vowed not to spend any more of my own money and that's all I am sticking to. I used lots of this gold to beef up my talents during the 50% off talents sale.

That being said, here are my current numbers:

xp level = 47 1/4
finca = 20
helipad = 20 - starting battle energy is 57 with cartel bonus
squad camps = 17/18/20/20 and my current project is getting all 4 to level 20.
training camp = 17
missile = 18
fire bomb = 13
gordos = 18
rpg = 16
total missile damage (with sic bonuses) = 23,772. I can single missile those pesky 23,600 health rocket launchers on outposts now
total fire bomb damage (with sic bonuses...I rolled two perfect ones in my quest for better talents during the sale) = 25,032

maxed buildings = iron mine, sawmill, quarry, bank, wood storages, stone storages

I am usually on a shield now and in between shields I clear all my revenges and my map. I feel strong and still don't have much of an issue taking enemies down. Extreme rocket health is the only thing that slows me down now.

No deploy still doesn't scare me. In fact, defenses just don't matter if you are thinking ahead. I never defend and mean never. It doesn't matter...not yet, anyway. 100% offense is still the way to go, although I am thinking ahead with reapers and rocket launcher health. I know what awaits me.

If there are any questions, feel free to ask. I am still cruising along pretty effortlessly but when my gold runs out, I may be in trouble. I have 8,000 gold left still, most of which i am reserving for shields.

 

[LVMonkey]

That being said, here are my current numbers:

xp level = 47 1/4
finca = 20
helipad = 20 - starting battle energy is 57 with cartel bonus
squad camps = 17/18/20/20 and my current project is getting all 4 to level 20.
training camp = 17
missile = 18
fire bomb = 13
gordos = 18
rpg = 16

total missile damage (with sic bonuses) = 23,772. I can single missile those pesky 23,600 health rocket launchers on outposts now
total fire bomb damage (with sic bonuses...I rolled two perfect ones in my quest for better talents during the sale) = 25,032

100% offense is still the way to go.

I suggest holding off on Squad Camps to 20 and maxing your Training Camp now. That way you can work on (cash) maxing missiles, fireball, and gordos while you're saving for the 16,000,000+ iron for the level 20 squad camps.

Good luck buddy, and see you on the map!

 

[lobsterboy]

I suggest holding off on Squad Camps to 20 and maxing your Training Camp now. That way you can work on (cash) maxing missiles, fireball, and gordos while you're saving for the 16,000,000+ iron for the level 20 squad camps.

Good luck buddy, and see you on the map!

Ya, that makes perfect sense. I have been maxing missiles, fire bombs, and my troops for each training camp level before upgrading my training camp (since I started this thread, of course). I got way behind on my training camp because I had three builders going 24/7 for the first few months and my ability and troop upgrades just couldn't keep up. I have gotten my tc up several levels since I started this thread and I will keep doing exactly that. My troop and ability upgrades have also been going 24/7 but I can only do one at a time and I don't rush them. Thanks for the advice.