Partially based on Einfach's Gemcraft chapter 0 walkthrough.
Also thanks to Kongregate players: LordBucket (main quest strategy), pongi01 (orange\lime+orange tables, frostlion(grade scaling)
Updated 12 July 2014 - fixing broken formatting.
Basic tips can be found in strategic guide and in game on tutorial pages, even about target priority!.
1.First steps
2.Tricks.
3.Some targets
4.FAQ.
Part I. First steps
Storyline.
Our target of this part - blazing through storyline to get decent level and obtaining trait (for premium).
When you reach first pylon, make a stop.
Use these videos as a guide.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfmksNzFA7E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5FuGnOgibc
Main idea behind this trick - formula for summoning multiplier, which is equal to (summoned/(killed-summoned)+1)^0.53. Pylon levels let you do (killed-summoned)=1, thus provide insane multipliers. Since version 1.12 it is capped on 50, nonetheless it is still best gain of exp for time invested.
Cap will be reached with 1606 monsters summoned (you need 1607 killed), bear in mind that there are amulets which require 2k kills and 120 shrine kills.
Summoning. You summon by gem bombing the sidebar. It causes an increase in the number of monsters, monster health(7+3*grade), and the monster armor(125%). Beware! Summoning can easily kill you. Even though the monster health increases slowly, the armor level increases rapidly when summoning with grade 1s. The armor level shields creatures from damage equal to their armor level of hit points every hit (so if a tower fires a shot with a damage of 10 that hits a creature with an armor level of 2, the creature will only take 8 damage). A high armor level can make creatures almost invulnerable to damage. Summoning with grade 1s causes 4 (5 with violent explosion skills) more monsters to be summoned in the next wave.
Pulling this trick would level up you to level 90+.
Example:
Settings
Skills used (took screenshot after win)
Gems obtained during play. Green for poison traps and cyan/blue duals for pylon charging.
Leveled from 18 till 34 level. Failed at summoning exact amount.
After getting decent result on D10 max wild gem, support skills, lime/yellow/orange masteries.
Part 2: Tricks.
Gem building strategy.
1.Grade1 lime+grade 1 yellow[orange for manatrap]
2.Duplicate it
3.(dual +pure yellow [orange])+(dual+pure lime)
4.repeat from step 2
When your gems would be around grade 10, make gem ((purple G1 + lime G1) + lime G2)...+lime G9.
Use this gem in step 3 instead of pure lime.
Resulting gem would have triple gem bonus without diluting Yellow and Lime by weaker colour*.
*Don't spend skillpoints in Purple
If you would follow this path, you will get notably stronger gems.(for example, x2 crit multiplication at 7 grade)
If You don't have premium:
Better to start with highest base exp fields - they have decent number of waves, so you can get more amulets. Then it will be easier to get more exp with lowest exp fields(with higher level you can manage more summons).
Using random wave composition + restarts would give you early giant waves. Summon the hell out of them, then use high grade yellow gem in shrines. Result is individual, with high resonance grade 7 gem in shrine could kill 120k hp monsters.
If you have premium:
Endurance is easier to start with highest settings on lowest exp fields (less hp for starting monsters=more angers=easier to build defence). Example of endurance
Part 4. FAQ:
1. Unlocking hidden levels.
A1 : L9 Challenge Amulet (Kill 7000 monsters)
A13: Kill 12 Apparitions Amulet
M1 : Kill 200,000 monsters Amulet
M13: K9 Challenge Amulet (Beat 100 waves) Yes, impossible without premium.
2. Changing target priority. Shift-click on gem
3. Breaking tomb. Set target priority to "structures"
4. I replayed field and didn't get exp!?!
You get as exp difference between you current attempt and you previous best attempt, obviously if you scored better.
5. How to kill *spoiler* at *spoiler*?
Grade 7 yellow gem in shrine.
6. Crystal ball near A13. Horizontal bars over the stages.
It shows your performance on fields.
For every 5x multiplier you get on field it shows 1 bar, with maximum being 4.
7. Multipliers.
Summoning (summoned/(killed-summoned)+1)^0.53
Endurance based on waves beaten and isn't related with amount of summoned monsters
Thank you for the great instructions.. but there is ONE problem I can see. Go to page one where Gremlion explains the lime/yellow grade 2 into grade 4. I have tried this each and every way round I can, but the grade 4 gem i get only has a MAXIMUM damage of up to 94, not 200 as gremlion has indicated. I have the premium edition btw. and im at level 360 ish, without using any method specified here, and wanted to improve .... but i cant get any of the above to work! please can you offer some assistance.
I have also followed the "hardest settings endurance" in you tube, however, the gem that is greated only gives a maximum damage of 383, as opposed to gremlions lvl 7 at max damage of 1367. What am i doing wrong.
I also have all the skills maxed out, apart from mana gain, initial mana and they sit about 100-120 each.
Now what?? whats wrong? and how come I only have 2,600 mana in the poo to start at any one time?? it never seems to get much larger
well, firstly check your starting level. And Gremlion's video gives not the complete details, but tips and normal strategy of how to play full-set endurance. So, just level up and UP and UP again, invest into resonance for extra damage, focus and wild gem for initial mana, replenish for easier mana gain throughout the level.
Resonance skill. In video i have 500% damage boost, overall x6 of raw gem damage(7 grade - around 200). You have Resonance less than 100%? I recommend to start grinding exp on pylons (you don't need to meet cap=you don't need high grade gems) After this make some non-hard endurances (without WGTF and tenfold hp) on high-exp fields. It need less time than hardest settings on low-exp fields and will give you more exp. AFAIK jsonic during G-13 challenge did hardest settings(without shadow) on G13 with ~150 level, but you need to know game pretty well. G-13 challenge
got ya! I will do the pylon levels aain a few times on easier settings! if you fail the pylon do you still get the XP, or do you have to charge it? or have i missed the point? I will re-read your guide again...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ibx9dNl0vpI Now i could do it better, and i made mistake about red in trap Also you could see my other vids, maybe 70k per 40 sec will be helpful for you.
I watched and copied your video. I managed to get all my gems to level 14, and I kept getting more waves, and at wave 200, I decided to smash the pylon.
the game had been running all day!!!! CPU was maxed out. but after all that i only got a pityful 15,000 xp!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! O_O!!!!
What went wrong? is it because i hadnt killed all the monsters i had summoned?