[outdated] Caustic Arrow Solo Map MFer (20/300+)

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chimurestaurat escribió:

+2 is always possible on bosses, atlas completion only makes it more likely on bosses, and makes it possible on magics and rares. Completion over 100 makes it possible on normal mobs.

This is not true. Drop restriction on the mob takes precedence.

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Chris escribió:

1% chance for a map drop to upgrade by a tier per map completed (up to 123~125%). Higher than 100% means it can go up a second tier. Capped at maximum level that could drop from that monster

- From the Development Manifesto on the Atlas.

I.e., a rare monster in a T8 map will at maximum be able to drop a T9 map, regardless of Atlas bonus.

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chimurestaurat escribió:

I can see this is easy to maintain, but advertising is as some get rich quick method is likely just attention grabbing nonsense.

Yeah, I don't think that was necessarily intentional by Norse, but it definitely left that conclusion open to be made. Unintentional spread of misinformation.

I ran another 14 maps last night at 15% quality, single pack size. Dropped 13 Strands.

From all indicators, it appears as though while spending 8c per map between sextants, chisels and Zana mod will have an impact on your total Strand (or in your case, Spider Forest) maps returned using this system, it's not worth the investment.

I then ran another set of 10 going full-bore on the investment, and once again returned 14 maps out of the 10 run.

In other words, I averaged a return ratio of 1.4 spending 8 chaos. Over 10 maps, that's 80c spent. The refunded 10 maps are a wash, and you would sell the excess four for 4c each (16c back). That's still -64c.

So, I ran another 10. This time, I spent 1c each (10% chisel + alc). I refunded my maps (10 returned).

In order to match the return of the 8c map crafting method, I would have to buy four more maps (16c), for a total expenditure of -26c.

Thus, the cost-return differential between spending 8c going full-tilt and 1c going mild = +38c.

Which I can then use to buy an additional 9.5 Strand maps to match the total 80c expenditure.

Like..... why bother?

Crafting the Atlas in this way is useful to help chain and sustain maps to prevent yourself from having to go to the market to buy more Strands as often, to be sure, but it's not worth going full-tilt to try make a profit.

People don't seem to consider overhead and opportunity cost, and Norse has unintentionally spread a fallacy here that running Strands to get more Strands is profitable. Sure, he might have sold 50ex worth of Strands, but he spent 100ex to do it. He's still -50ex, net, speaking strictly in terms of investment vs map returns.

It's a pretty neat trick.

And while selling all the excess Strand maps in and of itself isn't likely to pay for the map runs, this method does generate a lot more wealth than mapping sans funneling.

Funneling ensures that, after applying Atlas bonuses, all T11 and T12 maps turn into Strands and Strands are about 3c each as compared to 2 alch for random T11's/T12's. So each time a Strand drops he's made roughly 2.5c more than he would without funneling (discounting the slight possibility that the T11 drop would have been a "true" Strand as opposed to a funneled Strand).

Moreover, Strand is a very good tile set so he's able to run his T11's quickly.
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So the question is, just what should you do to your maps in order to maximize income? In this context, the value of all drops you pick up constitutes income.

For example, is Beyond worthwhile? You'll get no maps from Beyond mobs, but is all that extra stuff they drop enough to cover the cost?

Another factor is portal availability and limited bag space. You're likely dropping excess stuff and will need to leave some items behind.

Hmmm... Since I have a crapton of map levels to grind to hit 10,000 it's probably worth my while to look into this, LOL.

Parting thought... if you combine funneling with CA magic find, I'll bet you can really start raking in the currency. How does CA magic find fare against T11 breaches?
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Along the lines of "It's sort of like World of Warcraft..."


"Time is money, friend."

I have made a google doc for those who want to track their Strand investment / returns.

Similar to how I started this science, I've set it up so you can start with sets of 10 and make adjustments from there.

If you decide to repeat the same variables for an additional 10 sets, just start a new row. That way things don't get too complicated.

You can download the sheet right here.


If you want to try and track if Beyond mobs will recover the 3c for you on average like Hank is wondering, you'll have to do that separately and just add a column that accounts for it.