Forums → Games → Gemcraft CS: How do you beat R1 ?

no tips ?

in the meantime i cleared C2. a hell of a field.
It's really all about the right gem combinations and paths.
after x attempts i made it. 4 grade 7 gems (red, pink, yellow)
towards the final waves. i was short of giving up .....

on most uncleared fields the first 40 waves are easy, but towards the end
it becomes unfair. R1 is pure hell (at least for "beginners" * )


* i played the previous gemcraft titles and made it to the final stages.

how different:

C4 first attempt cleared. 20.000+ mana left, the monsters not even
reached the orb .....

R fields are easy at 84. ESPECIALLY if you have that pouch, which gives you red on all fields, and lets you boost the effectiveness of red. (get level 3-ish in it)
...

from the grand interesection, first route the monsters to the right. make them go left when they get close to the red/orange gem. then make them go up between the red/green and red/blue gems. then make them swing by the tome chamber on the way to your orb.

skill setup: true colors, fusion: set to 9. set mana stream to 12, you'll need the extra mana. set masonry to...with your level, 7.
I forget where the ideal spot to put a fortress is. (fortress: tower plus up to 8 amps)

You do not need to bother with the monster nests on this level. destroying monster nests makes no change to the number of monsters-it only impacts WHERE they spawn. since the monster nests are not dangerously close to your orb, just ignore them. or maybe stick a purple gem set to "towers" to corrode them away over time.

GENERAL TIPS:
Anger early waves.
pure orange tower, plus beam enhancement, =early game mana farm.
Fortress: tower surrounded by amps. additional support towers may be built on the edges of the fortress. build one.
Best kill gem is red/yellow/black. red/yellow and red/black are acceptable substitutes if one of the three is missing.
White is next to useless.

some of the things you write i understand (or even tried for myself like red, yellow, black) but:

if i create a higher orange gem and give it the beam it surely gives me some mana, on the other side it doesn't reduce the monsters hp very much.

With the small mana amount it would last some waves, until i could build
a tower with a high grade gem and 8 amplifiers (which also need higher germs).
In that time the monsters would overrun my orb.
And is one fortress really that good ?
You then have one really strong gem, but can it fire so fast to kill
almost all monsters next to it ?

The problem with this field (and some others) is, that the first 40+ waves
are no big deal, but then it's getting unreal .....

if they are no big deal, anger them till they are hard. It will boost you to kill 40+ ones.

Yes, the fortress strategy is awesome. red=chain=multitarget=like extra firerate, yellow=extra damage, black=extra "everything", amps=more efficient everythin. It's so awesome it turns maxed beacon storm into a source of free exp when combined with anger management.
(The labyrinth equivalent is the turret, which is the same thing but with only one tower.)

The opening moves:
Use "optimal dual gem combining" (see bottom of post) to make a grade 5 red/yellow gem.

Place in tower.

Depending on mana remaining, build a grade 3 or 4 orange gem and/or the first and second amplifier(s). Set the orange gem to "least hp". (the orange gem should be closer to an entrance than the kill gem; having it nex

Then, anger the first wave with grade 1's so its armor is about 3/4ths your gem's minimum damage.

Mid game fortress management:

Most of the time, your amplifiers should be around 2 grades lower than the damage gem.

Add more amplifiers when the cost per amplifier is roughly equal to the cost per gem.

Attach low grade secondary towers as desired...or even secondary traps, depending on the map.

(sample secondary tower: red/blue/black/orange, grade 5, while killgem is grade 8 and amps are grade 6. do note that purple becomes pretty useless at this stage; if you've angered so much you need purple, you're probably doomed anyways.)

midgame anger management:

When the managain per monster exceeds 45 (after multiplying), switch to grade 2's for angering.
72+: grade 3
120+: grade 4
260+grade 5

-this will maximize the net managain per anger.

late game mode
(only if black is available).
Add a small amount of black to the killgem.
start combining the amplfier gems together. (continue using the optimal combining strategy). as you pull them out, replace with pure black gems.

End with 6 pure black in amps, 2 red/yellow in amps, and one red/yellow in a tower.

late game angering:
If you just want to beat the level, skip this section.
Depending on how fast you set this up, you may be able to anger some of the waves with 15 grade 5's. or more. "But what about the beacons?" -if you're to the point where your gem is able to pummel the mobs produced by x15 angering, the beacons won't be a problem. Except shield beacons. You'll want some traps here and there to get rid of the shields.

end-game mode:
(Do not attempt this unless your managem is at least grade 8 AND you have black. White just doesn't cut it. )

Remember that orange tower that you've been using to supplement your mana gain?

Combine it with a red/black gem, stick in a trap, surround with 6 black amplifiers.

optimal gem strategy.

Create a grade 1 red, and a grade 1 yellow. combine these.
duplicate the dual gem.
combine one of the duals with a grade 2 yellow, the other with a grade 2 red.
Combine these into a grade 4 gem.
duplicate the grade 4.
combine one with a grade 4 red, the other with a grade 4 yellow.
combine the...

duplicate the (even grade gem).
combine one with a pure yellow, the other with a pure red.
combine.
repeat.

I don't have white. (premium only?) I suppose it'd be a passable substitute for black if you can upgrade the skill itself...

ah. right. r1 is where yellow is unlocked, isn't it...
so use red/purple, red/blue, or red/orange.

If you have the magicians pouch, always use orblets. the early mana that you gain from that is so valuable.

R1 I believe has yellow as an initial gem, happily. At least, I seem to recall unlocking the tome using a dual RY...

And, fractal, is black free? I have yet to find out...tho I doubt it is....I mean, if pool is premium....black would be Mega Premium if there was such an option, it's that OP.

white and red for sure. One more I guess, but I can't check which one.

G2? White is at L6.

Also, chain is un unlockable, as is bloodbound, I believe.

i'm impressed with some strategies here.
how many attempts did you until finding out ?

too complicated for me, to be honest.

i mean, when i opened a field at around wizzard level 50 i would expect
that with level 85 it should be a nobrainer.
but that's not the case. poor gaming balance i would call this ....,


also, as someone complained, you get no xp-rewards for replaying fields (except with traits until it becomes unbeatable)

i would suggest some changes to the developers:

1) if you play a field you already didn't clear there should be a bonus (like a powerful starting gem) for every new attempt. the more attempts = the more powerful starting gems you should get.

2) fields already cleared should give at least the xp amount (based on zero traits) when you reply them.

3) on the map it would be nice to see at which rate (e.g. xp x 5.0) you already cleared a field. i have replayed some fields with high traits only
to find out that at the end the xp were lower than before ....

4) every second game i have to delete the useless talismans you almost get (1% experience or wizzard level %). annoying. It would be nice if you would be able to sort them (mana, damage etc.) in the inventory. pain in the ***.

1. no. then people would lose on purpose 3-4 times and bam everything easy no challenge

2. no no no no no.

3. mmmmm...ok ya that's a good one.

4. Yea sorting would be helpful.

since i have the orblets trait leveling up is easier.
i just made 255.000 xp on F4, only a few xp until wizzard level 90.

if then i can't clear the P and R fields i have no further idea.

regarding 1:
i have nothing against a challenge, but after 20+ attempts on a field it's no fun anymore.

i know, nobody cares but i just made 367.000 xp on I6, 3 wizzard levels higher now ..... that's fun.