This is not a guide for grade-100 gems.
Welcome to chasing shadows, where a LOT of stuff is going on.
In order of difficulty and complexity: "gemcraft"( chapter one), gemcraft chapter 0, gemcraft labyrinth, gemcraft chapter 2: chasing shadows.
It is advised to play at least chapter 1, in order to familiarize yourself with the fundamental concepts of gemcraft.
"so what color do I use?"
The best colors at low levels are red, yellow, and to a lesser extent, black.
Pure orange becomes usefull once beam is unlocked. white may be substituted for black if only white is available.
Poison and cyan are only usefull below wiz level 10, or on very specific maps (like the one where you can only build traps).
Blue and purple are moderately usefull support colors
"what grade do I use, and how many gems should I have?"
rule of thumb: any gem meant to do actual damage should have 2 to 4 times as much MINIMUM damage as the ARMOR level of the reavers. (reaver=normal monster.). Untill you get amps, 3-4 killgems is typical. after amps, you'll usually use 1 killgem-a tower surrounded by 8 amps, with maybe a few anti-swarmling towers attached to the sides.
"but what about rain, snow..."
IGNORE IT.
and now for the most important strategy of all: anger management.
[since "anger management" sounds much cooler than "enraging properly", we shall use the older term "to anger"]
To anger a wave, simply toss a gem-bomb on the wavestone. This means more monsters in that wave, which means more mana from that wave!
...provided you anger with the correct grade.
look at the managain per monster of the target wave. You may multiply the managain out if you wish.
below 15: do not anger. (happens with swarms)
15-45: anger with grade 1's. g1
45-72: g2's
72-120: g3's
120-240: g4's
240+: g5's.
DISCLAIMER:
This table is calibrated for normal reavers. it does not apply to giants, swarms*, or altered reavers. (possesed?) For these, either use delta(sumoned) over delta(gem cost), or use some common sense.
*it may be used for swarms if you really want to, as you won't outright lose mana. You won't max your managain either.
Great! now you'll maximize the net managain per anger!
so. "how many times do I anger", you say?
if you are relying on multiple gems to do damage, look at your second-strongest gem. If you have only one killgem, look at it.
look at the gem's minimum damage.
Half that.
Half it again if you're nervous, or multiply by 1.5 to throw caution to the wind.
Anger till the armor excceeds the number.
"but what about hp?"
using this rule of thumb causes the hp to magically fall into line
If you find yourself struggling because, say, you don't have red or yellow on a level, simply drop to a slightly lower angering grade and a slightly smaller number of angers.
by the time you get to levels with a starting hp of 180+, you'll be comfortable enough with the rules of angering to adjust your strategy accordingly.
coming soon: skillpoint management, or "don't spend all your skillpoints!"
