Help! Phoenix 2020 daily prizes...?!

[LisaMV]

Hello, O great & more advanced players!

I have read so many posts (understanding only about 45% sometimes!) referring to event prizes being better than (wkshop/residence/etc), utterly pointless, I should have gotten more, wish I hadn't built, etc, etc... and now I realize I have NO IDEA which prizes are really worth going for. I have gone on elvengems a lot, but don't always understand the charts, have no idea what mana is, etc.

Some sage advice from my Elders would help!

Thank you

 

[Kekune]

As you progress through chapters, you'll unlock more resources. Mana, seeds, sentient goods, etc all bring their own challenges and players in those chapters often prioritize buildings that give them. Until you're there, though, it's not terribly relevant. What's good for an advanced player isn't always especially good for a smaller player. For example, players who need mana (ch 9 and beyond) get excited about mana huts, but they're really nothing special before ch 9.

The best way to compare things is by square. So, a building that takes up 10 squares and gives you 1000 population has a population density of 100 pop/square. So the best prize for you will generally be the thing that has the highest density of whatever you want. Elvengems provides those numbers in their charts so you don't have to calculate it. As a smaller city, though, be aware of total size. A building that's 3x3 may fit into your city much better than one that's 5x5, so you might want the little one even if the numbers aren't as good.

All that to say, "best" is often subjective and depends a lot on where you are in the game. And really, aside from a few fantastic grand prizes (like the 2019 fire Phoenix) differences are often not thaaaat big of a deal. If you don't get the "best" daily now, whatever you get instead is still useful, and there's always another event coming with more dailies. And when you're small, you outgrow them really fast anyway. It's important that you keep renewing your city and replacing things as you grow.

Anyway, long post... hope it's helpful! I'm sure someone else will add to it.

 

[LisaMV]

Anyway, long post... hope it's helpful! I'm sure someone else will add to it.

OH MY! Your absolutely perfect-length post is really helpful, though not the simplistic answer I was hoping for...
I guess I am on the right track with how I am doing it, but feel a bit overwhelmed with choices and undersupplied with space and goods. I just don't want to be kicking myself later on.

AND yikes - you all talk about 'replacing', but I am going to have a hard time letting go of some things, I already know it... like a little child going to school for the first time and not letting go of 'blankie!" Hopefully I will mature soon...

 

[AtaguS]

AND yikes - you all talk about 'replacing', but I am going to have a hard time letting go of some things, I already know it... like a little child going to school for the first time and not letting go of 'blankie!" Hopefully I will mature soon...

I still remember the first time I had to let something go to replace it with something "better". But it gets easier the greater your city's needs become. There is also upgrading so believe me, I am holding on to a few things no matter what!

But if keeping things around is a priority, then I'd say look for the building with the smallest footprint and a decent yield of culture because you'll never begrudge a building that gives culture. Personally I like the 1x3 Spring Pavillions or 4x1 Mountain Temples because they have decent culture for their size and are reasonable in RR spells to upgrade. They bring beauty to my city and I tend to keep them the longest for all those reasons.

 

[Kekune]

It looks like you enjoy tournaments. The tourney chests contain Royal Restoration (RR) spells and blueprints, which you can convert to RRs. A strong tourney fellowship will help you get those, making it easier to keep things you love.

 

[Crow Last Elf]

During the winter event, my first full event, I went for the daily prize that was the best seed producer, because it sounded like seeds were hard to come by. Since seeds are not needed for many chapters in the future, that building will be the first sold for spell fragments.

I agree with the other answers, so I won't repeat what they have said. Specifically, my approach is to believe that the frequency of events will stay the same therefore I prioritize what I need now, then what I need in the next 1 or 2 chapters. If there are any buildings that are the best in game, I will go for those at the expense of other prizes.

Chpts 1-5 seem to benefit most from high pop and culture buildings. I would make them the priority for daily prizes. Then I would look at buildings that produce supplies (daily prizes) and goods (grand prizes) and decide if I would rather have them or my WS and manu's. Usually the answer is no, but playstyles are different. And the most attractive buildings to me usually are not the pop/culture buildings, so I would go for a few of those supply or goods buildings. However, if I win too many, since space is so limited, they usually decorate my inventory, not my city. And then become spell fragments when I need them.

Chpts 6-8 seem to benefit from buildings that produce goods. I'm just getting there now, so I'm still going for high pop/cult buildings and also going for ones that produce goods, though I'm not sure I will place them.

Buildings that are best in game incude wishing wells, which are not available this event, but were often (or always?) offered in past events. I also like ferris wheels, which are offered as a GP, so I prioritize chests with the lowest cost for the number of feathers returned.

The biggest target for this event for me is one of the 2019 Phoenixes (Phoenixii?) which consensus says, are best in game buildings. And far better than 2020's Phoenix. I probably won't place it until chapter 10 (if I can stand to wait) because it would otherwise take too many RR spells to upgrade. Because of that, I am prioritizing chests that will return the highest number of feathers (and grand prizes) for the amount of sky essence it costs.

Given that a daily player prioritizing Grand Prizes, can expect to collect about 21 daily prizes, I will collect far more buildings than I can place. And this event likely has no instants as daily prizes. So I am buying chests on days where there are buildings I think I will place (high pop/cult and high goods) and buildings that look nice that will either be in my city for a very short time, or will decorate my inventory list.

Have you looked into this calculator that helps you make choices among the chests?
minmax gamer's chest calculator

For culture, Burning egg had the highest per square. But others are close enough. I would try for Sculpture of Phoenix as a second choice for culture because if it is polished, that will bump my city's culture by more than if I place Obtrusive Phoenix Egg.

For population, I went for Phoenix Cult because it has highest TOTAL pop.

I picked up a Burning Pool, for goods but I expect this will just be turned into spell fragments.

 

[LisaMV]

I still remember the first time I had to let something go to replace it with something "better". But it gets easier the greater your city's needs become. There is also upgrading so believe me, I am holding on to a few things no matter what!

But if keeping things around is a priority, then I'd say look for the building with the smallest footprint and a decent yield of culture because you'll never begrudge a building that gives culture. Personally I like the 1x3 Spring Pavillions or 4x1 Mountain Temples because they have decent culture for their size and are reasonable in RR spells to upgrade. They bring beauty to my city and I tend to keep them the longest for all those reasons.

Yes, yes & yes! I forgot to mention (since it seems a less popular goal for most) that what I really want is a beautiful city! I already have my eye on the Spring Pavillions & Mountain Temples because of that, and being small. You are the first advanced person that has mentioned that aspect - thank you.

HOWEVER - I see no future possibilty of upgrading with RR (railroad..? no, wait...OH! Royal Restoration, yes) since even to craft them I need that little blue book thingy which is impossible to get. I am taunted by those craftable RR's every time - ouch!

 

[LisaMV]

It looks like you enjoy tournaments. The tourney chests contain Royal Restoration (RR) spells and blueprints, which you can convert to RRs. A strong tourney fellowship will help you get those, making it easier to keep things you love.

Ok - First of all, how does it "look like" I enjoy tournaments? And how do you know that, O Clever One? Hmmm...

I really DO love doing tournaments, but I am all alone doing them, and in the process being flattened in my goods to just end with the first chest. I am waiting for one person to join my Fellowship and double the size!

 

[LisaMV]

Crow Last Elf - WOW, a wealth of great information here, which I will have to peruse later... thank you so much!

 

[samidodamage]

Ok - First of all, how does it "look like" I enjoy tournaments? And how do you know that, O Clever One? Hmmm...

Bwahhahaha; there are secret societies of players unlocking techs that let them see into your soul
I, too, can 'see' how you like tourneys: you're a brand new chapter 3 player with tourney average of 958?
Yep, there's a bunch of FS that are looking for you! If you were on a different world, I'm in a 10chest/wk FS that would snap you up in a heartbeat!

Seriously, I'm guessing @Kekune looked you up on ElvenStats. You can go straight to the page for your city here
It's a great player run site that gathers data you could get if you visited and analyzed a city and makes it available in a clear, usable format. You can check out players and fellowships there. Seriously, we need to find you a different FS. I can't even get yours to pull up on ElvenStats! I expected to pull it up and see lots of inactive members; not sure what level of inactivity would cause it not to come up at all! To pull your full weight in a 10chest/wk tourney FS you only need 1600 points/wk. A good FS will take you in and help you along since your growth benefits everyone. And you'd be getting those elusive RR's and blueprints as you grow and they'd help so much...

 

[Kekune]

Lol busted by @samidodamage . I liked being "O Clever One," even if only for a moment.

But seriously... you should think long and hard about what you want from the game and a fellowship, and whether building your own is the best path to that (spoiler: it's probably not). If high tournament performance is important to you, you can quickly find an established group that shares that goal. There are plenty, including many who will take small but motivated players like you. Blueprints are more achievable than you think, if you join the right group.

 

[AtaguS]

HOWEVER - I see no future possibilty of upgrading with RR (railroad..? no, wait...OH! Royal Restoration, yes) since even to craft them I need that little blue book thingy which is impossible to get. I am taunted by those craftable RR's every time - ouch!

Get yourself a tournament strong fellowship...you will love the RR spells coming your way (and even blueprints!) and then you can pick and choose the culture items to keep around and upgrade and beautify your city on and on!

You can visit the Game Worlds section of the forum here and find the right fellowship for you. It's worth it

 

[LisaMV]

Bwahhahaha; there are secret societies of players unlocking techs that let them see into your soul
I, too, can 'see' how you like tourneys: you're a brand new chapter 3 player with tourney average of 958?
Yep, there's a bunch of FS that are looking for you! If you were on a different world, I'm in a 10chest/wk FS that would snap you up in a heartbeat!

Seriously, I'm guessing @Kekune looked you up on ElvenStats. You can go straight to the page for your city here
It's a great player run site that gathers data you could get if you visited and analyzed a city and makes it available in a clear, usable format. You can check out players and fellowships there. Seriously, we need to find you a different FS. I can't even get yours to pull up on ElvenStats! I expected to pull it up and see lots of inactive members; not sure what level of inactivity would cause it not to come up at all! To pull your full weight in a 10chest/wk tourney FS you only need 1600 points/wk. A good FS will take you in and help you along since your growth benefits everyone. And you'd be getting those elusive RR's and blueprints as you grow and they'd help so much...

"a brand new chapter 3 player with tourney average of 958" = is that good, or bad?
I play small but really smart & patient - that's (unfortunately!) how I have to do my life as well - ha ha, lots of experience in that.

I AM my entire Fellowship! I was hoping to attract members with my odd mix by now, or soon: I work from home, so I am on every day quite easily; I do not want to be in one of those high-powered SELL EVERYTHING NON-BOOSTED and WIN WIN WIN!!! ones, nor am I a 'just for fun' player, "la dee dah whatever". I love math & the planning of it all, and everything I do I take seriously and do my best, but I cannot have another stressor in my life either. Hmm. I am complicated.

You all seem like a pretty advanced secret society to me! I am fine with that.

 

[Kekune]

I AM my entire Fellowship! I was hoping to attract members with my odd mix by now, or soon: I work from home, so I am on every day quite easily; I do not want to be in one of those high-powered SELL EVERYTHING NON-BOOSTED and WIN WIN WIN!!! ones, nor am I a 'just for fun' player, "la dee dah whatever". I love math & the planning of it all, and everything I do I take seriously and do my best, but I cannot have another stressor in my life either. Hmm. I am complicated.

Sooo.... full disclosure on my earlier comment about not trying to start your own fellowship. I joined a tiny fellowship early on, and when I was about where you are now (8k points, ch 3) the top half of the group quit en masse, leaving me as archmage with about 12 other people, most of whom were smaller than me. I can say from far too much experience that attracting and retaining like-minded players is the single most difficult and stressful aspect of the game.

You're right to see that it's key to find the right fit in a group. The folks in those "WIN WIN WIN" fellowships generally aren't stressed about it, because it suits their playstyle. There's probably already a group out there that would strike the right balance for you, and save you the stress of starting from scratch. You can read group descriptions in the game and watch forum posts, then check them out on elvenstats to see if they match your tourney activity level.

a brand new chapter 3 player with tourney average of 958" = is that good, or bad?

That's very good. You'll hit a tough spot in a chapter or two, but if your long- term tourney activity scales with your size you're on track to be a little powerhouse.

 

[LisaMV]

Oh - that's great! I wasn't sure if you were horrified at my low score... What happened in Ch 2 is that I was not prepared, and ran out of goods. Even now, I will probably skip the next one and prepare for the one after...
Having a humming fellowship will make all that easier, I am guessing. I will keep an eye out!
thanks

 

[samidodamage]

Yes, finding a fellowship that's the right fit is key. And you'd be surprised at the number of FS out there that are probably right up your alley.
I have 2 cities and am in very different fellowships in each of them.
My first city/first fellowship is the group that picked me up when I was a newbie stranded on the map with tumbleweeds instead of gold mines... We're now a 10 chest/week FS, but there are no requirements that you play or that if you play you get xxx points. Visits/providing neighborly help requirement there is avg 3x/wk. While we encourage boosted only builds for efficiency and more space, there are members who prefer to have all the buildings and that's fine as it's an informed choice; they know what they're giving up. Participation in Fellowship Adventures (FA) is optional and everyone is encouraged to get in a badge somewhere just to get in on the prizes. We went for over a year placing in the top 20 on our world in the FA and placed 7th last summer. Since then, it's mostly been a 'been there, done that' and we finish all three paths and get all the stage prizes but no longer push for FA ranking points. We don't 'advertise' ourselves as a 10-chest group because it could change as folks' real lives change. While we have one member who's been with us for over a year that has never typed one word in chat or msgs, I've been with many of these folks for 3years now. We go through spurts of chatting constantly then...crickets. I wouldn't change FS there now even if we got down to 5 chests/week, lol!
My second city I started over a year after the first with the intent to focus on building it to do well in tourneys, events, & FA's from the start. Once I reached Ch5, I applied to a 10chest/week FS that was much more focused and structured. They had been around a year or more longer than I'd been playing the game. Daily play is expected along with almost daily visits (sometimes you skip a day to get everyone back onto a better time for yourself), there is a website maintained for the members, Ancient Wonder kp swaps (you can learn about those later, lol) and FA's are handled via spreadsheets you can access from that site. Real life issues take precedence, but if something were going to curtail my ability to play as regularly on a long term basis, I'd feel the need to leave until such time as I could play more often. Expectation on tournament points is 1200-1600/week as small cities; 1600+ once you grow. Chat is hit or miss for activity, and I really like all the players in this group as well.
Just an example of how 2 completely different set ups can be attractive to the same player. I'd advise striking up a conversation with the Archmage or Mage(s) of a FS you are considering joining regarding expectations, etc. Of course, check them out on ElvenStats first and make sure they're not a FS of black triangles, lol. Note: on ElvenStats there is an icon (black triangle with exclamation point) next to a players' name if they haven't had a score change in x period of time (a week I think); if you hover over the triangle, you'll get a pop up with the date of the last score change). Having 1 or 2 members could just be real life stuff if it's only a week or 2. Having half the names with last score change months ago is obviously a red flag, lol.

 

[NightshadeCS]

Wow! I am going to jump right on the bandwagon, here.

Get yourself in an active fellowship! They will funnel goods your way and you can rock out with your...well, you know. You make me wish I played your world and could invite you. I am almost tempted to start a city there and join you, but I would have to quit my job if I invested any more time in Elvenar.

As for the event buildings....

1. It is always ok to go for looks. I find many of the phoenix buildings to be the most beautiful in the game. Love the Galactical Phoenix Egg (find it in someone's city if you can, the whirling blue is not apparent in the still pic).

2. Where you are chapter-wise, I second that population and culture will probably be best for you. You have some squares taken up by "regular" culture buildings (ones you can build from your culture menu). You may want to find something that will fit in the same spot without shuffling buildings around. For example, where you have the Spot of Whispering Trees, you could put a Phoenix Excursion (Day 21). It is the same size and shape, higher culture than what you have now, plus population! Or, if you move those unicorns with it, you can fit in a 4x4, like the Phoenix Nest.

You have 3 Orange Trees, which would equal up to a 3x3 space. Sculpture of Phoenix, Passageway of the Acolytes, or Unobtrusive House would fit there. You can go pure culture with either of the former and just decide what you like the looks of better, or go for some goodies with the latter.

3. With less space, you will definitely be happy with those smaller buildings. I kept my Spring Pavilions around forever because it was easy to put them alongside other buildings and fill up what would otherwise be wasted space.

4. Buildings that offer coins and supplies very rarely provide enough of either to make a difference. I would concentrate on pop and culture (and what you like the look of!), and if it also gives coins or supplies, just view that as a bonus.

 

[LisaMV]

Wow! I am going to jump right on the bandwagon, here.

Get yourself in an active fellowship! They will funnel goods your way and you can rock out with your...well, you know. You make me wish I played your world and could invite you. I am almost tempted to start a city there and join you, but I would have to quit my job if I invested any more time in Elvenar.

As for the event buildings....

1. It is always ok to go for looks. I find many of the phoenix buildings to be the most beautiful in the game. Love the Galactical Phoenix Egg (find it in someone's city if you can, the whirling blue is not apparent in the still pic).

2. Where you are chapter-wise, I second that population and culture will probably be best for you. You have some squares taken up by "regular" culture buildings (ones you can build from your culture menu). You may want to find something that will fit in the same spot without shuffling buildings around. For example, where you have the Spot of Whispering Trees, you could put a Phoenix Excursion (Day 21). It is the same size and shape, higher culture than what you have now, plus population! Or, if you move those unicorns with it, you can fit in a 4x4, like the Phoenix Nest.

You have 3 Orange Trees, which would equal up to a 3x3 space. Sculpture of Phoenix, Passageway of the Acolytes, or Unobtrusive House would fit there. You can go pure culture with either of the former and just decide what you like the looks of better, or go for some goodies with the latter.

3. With less space, you will definitely be happy with those smaller buildings. I kept my Spring Pavilions around forever because it was easy to put them alongside other buildings and fill up what would otherwise be wasted space.

4. Buildings that offer coins and supplies very rarely provide enough of either to make a difference. I would concentrate on pop and culture (and what you like the look of!), and if it also gives coins or supplies, just view that as a bonus.

Thank you for this! (I must have missed it yesterday...) And yes, I do have a little romance going with the pop/culture buildings!
I was SO SO SO SO SO disappointed that I didn't get the pretty little Spring Mountain Temple, for which I was saving those eggs for days, but never managed to get. Waa.

QUESTION: I saw the Stash Output early on... but couldn't get my brain around what it was. I saw it when visiting a neaighbor this morning, and it is so pretty! Now I want it! Any info would be nice (even if I have to wait a whole year now... ah - steep learning curve on Elvenar!)

 

[NightshadeCS]

That is usually a special offer for purchase. I don't much pay attention to them these days. If you get one, you want to get them as soon as possible, as they multiply the sky essence that drops around your city. And after the event, they are not particularly useful, I think. Someone who bothers with them will probably have better info for you.

 

[Ashrem]

Since seeds are not needed for many chapters in the future

The building shouldn't be producing seeds if you don't need seeds. Is it not giving you supplies or T3 instead?