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
Summon in multiples of something. Non-premium, 4 for example is grade 1 for summons, 25 is grade 5. For grade 5, summoning 3000 is about 192 000 mana, less since you probably summoned some since you made it to the point of summoning the final ones
Anyway, you kill stuff until you have #killed - 1 = some multiple you can get to with gem bombs, then stop killing (probably using traps, so no worry about shots in the air), just move gems to turrets near the pylon(s) you need to charge, and set to target structures (shift + click on gem). On d4, you want a decent damage gem (like 10k+) that covers the top center of the board so you'll get the shadow before it spawns monsters at you.
Use armored or giant only if premium so you don't have to add up all the monsters killed stats, besides, they're slow and that makes things way easier
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Also using random waves for 7k monsters killed amulets is the easiest thing I've found. I got the 14 wave map with 10k kills first time, but had a nice group of 3 giant waves around wave 12 to make a stupid high level mana farm. Man, giants are even easier than armored waves to abuse...well at least now that armor increases on them somewhat
thank you for your email, but I am having trouble understanding "you kill stuff until you have #killed - 1 = some multiple you can get to with gem bombs, then stop killing"
I understand that at some point you stop killing, but what does that look like? s it like i detailed in the above post ot, will it say "#killed - 1" on the screen? I havent seen that in anyone elses pictures.
I can now get to wave 300-400 in monst maps befor eI get bored and finish it!! but I want to know what this '#killed -1' means...
I really love all the statistics throughout this thread, but for the life of me I can't get past a grade 11 gem, with 8 grade 6 amps around it, without that being around the time I die. Maybe it's because I'm only just passed lvl 100, whereas I should be 500+? I haven't finished the game yet, I'm trying to get as much exp as possible and I personally feel like I need to blow away every level, including the late ones, but maybe I should stop putting on a tons of multipliers and unlocking stuff and just complete it normal.
I like the videos that have been posted too, but I would love to see someone walk through step by step once instead of skipping for time. Even sped up would be fine. Cause I really want to be able to get 6-8 of those (circle) grade gems and murder the crap out of everything, but I just can't seem to.
Magnivore, use a grade 8+ lime/orange gem in a TRAP, and let it attack monsters to get you mana. Also do upgrade your manapool more aggressively, so that your mana trap will yield more mana per shot. If you will massively upgrade it and its amps, you will end up with a grade 14-15 in no time, and if you're playing endurance, a grade 29-30 is what you need there to pass it through.
LOL! I'm actively playing some level right now with your advice vesper, and, well I haven't seen so much mana ever, this is awesome! It almost seems like the cost of the mana extend is gonna be more than I have in my pool, but I doubt that'll happen.
I got to wave 210 or something close to that. Pretty epic! Gained 8 levels, not bad. But it's no lvl 500. Ironically I was watching the video that ifju posted on the first page of this thread when I died X)