RaptorBlitz
03-28-2012, 04:13 AM
Yeah. It's me. RaptorBlitz. Again. What are you gonna do about it? :p
So I've put a bit of effort into farming the Sandstone Caves and I think I've got enough knowledge to cobble together the...
Guide to farming the Sandstone Caves
What are the Sandstone Caves?
The Sandstone Caves are an elite campaign pack for brave adventurers level 20-25, though you can start to access them at level 18. You have to, at the time of posting, pay 10 platinum to gain access to the dungeons within. The Sandstone Caves can technically replace the Fathom Crypts campaign pack, but I wouldn't advise leveling through the Caves. Within, you'll find monsters which can instantly heal back to full health, ones which can summon endless mobs, and ones which can One-Hit KO you, no matter if you're level 66 or 20! However, if you can master these deep mines, you will find...
The Sandstone Caves are a great place to farm!
Dropping coveted Earthquake, Onyx and Crystalline pinks which can fetch up to several hundred thousand gold in the CS, the Sandstone Caves can give you massive amounts of $$$ if you stick to it!
But wait... What's that you say? What is farming?
Farming is the running of a single dungeon, over and over in the hopes of getting a rare item drop from the boss. The farmers then sell the items, sometimes fetching millions of dollars (gold, but whatever)!
So are you interested in farming the Sandstone Caves?
If you replied with a resounding NO, it's probably best if you get out of my thread, as I'm not catering to you today. But if you said YES, read on, fellow farmer!
Disclaimer:
This guide is based mostly off what I have gathered from my experiences, so I might not be 100% correct. Secondly, I'd like to acknowledge that ALL Sandstone bosses drop 2 pinks, Gemstone Lightning Staff of Presence and War Hammer of Legend. However, they are virtually worthless, so I'd just like to get that out of the way. This guide is made with lvl25 drops in mind, so sorry about that. However, the lvl 21 and lvl 23 markets do follow suite with the lvl25 market, so one set of drops will always be more valuable than others. Lastly, make sure you enjoy this guide, and I hope it helps you :)
Alright, so now we've got all that out of the way. The rest of my guide will be dedicated to studying the dungeons where you'll find your dough.
Layout:
I will be using this layout to explain each dungeon:
Boss: The boss in the dungeon.
Farming for: What drops you're looking for.
Mobs needed for boss to spawn: How many bad guys have to remain before the boss spawns in.
Drop Value: A rating out of ten about how valuable the drops are.
Drop Rarity: How often the drops actually drop. Out of ten.
Ease of Farming: How easy the dungeon is to defeat. Out of ten.
Overall Value: How much cash you will earn over time. Rating out of ten.
My verdict: What I have to say about the dungeon.
With all that being said, let's get started!
Underground Desert
Boss: Magnetic Golem
Farming for: Crystalline pinks
Mobs needed for boss to spawn: 19
Drop Value: 4/10
Drop Rarity: 8/10
Ease of Farming: 7/10
Overall Value: 6.5/10
My Verdict:
IMO, Magnetic Golem is one of the worst bosses in the Sandstone Caves to farm. Crystalline has been farmed to death so it has little value. Magnetic Golem also has an incredibly annoying attack which kills everyone, regardless of armour or health. Basically, 4 pillars in the arena light up with red orbs. One has a blue orb. You must stay in that blue orb or you WILL die. The only advice I can give is that the first blue orb pillar is the top-left one. Overall, I suggest staying away from this dungeon. The drop rate is decent, but I think Magic Golems have an even higher drop rate for Crystalline, if you really want it so bad.
Sandstorm!
Boss: Sandstorm Golem
Farming for: Earthquake pinks
Mobs needed for boss to spawn: 23
Drop Value: 8/10
Drop Rarity: 5/10
Ease of Farming:10/10
Overall Value: 7.5/10
My Verdict:
A fairly decent place to farm. The place drops Earthquake pinks, which are worth a nice bit of cash. The only downside is how relatively rare the drops are. However, it makes up for this by being extremely easy to farm. Unlike other Sandstone bosses, Sandstorm Golem does nothing special, just summon more Sandstorm mobs, as the name says. They're easily dispatched and aren't hard to kill at all. IMO, this can be a good alternative to farming Earthquake Golem if you can't gather the necessary support to take Earthquake down.
Magic Rocks
Bosses: Magic Golem red orb and Magic Golem green orb.
Farming for: Crystalline pinks
Mobs needed for boss to spawn: 28
Drop Value: 4/10
Drop Rarity: 10/10
Ease of Farming: 8/10
Overall Value: 7/10
My Verdict:
I've heard some people say that Magnetic Golem drops more Crystalline pinks. I really don't think so. The dual Magic Golems are just pink mania, you can get something every 3-5 runs in my personal experience. Albeit it might be just a junk staff, but still :) This place has gained a lot of popularity as the best place to farm in Sandstone Caves, because pinks drop so often. But that's sort of it's downfall. It's this place which has completely screwed up Crystalline pink value. They drop so ridiculously often you need to get a LOT of pinks just to make any real cash. You can still make a pretty nice penny if you're farming 21 stuff though. Not the best, but not the worst. Oh, how to kill the twin bosses? You'll want to take out the red orb golem first, as the green orb golem spams heals, so it'll be hard taking it out before the red golem pummels you to death. The red golem just releases a flurry of attacks.
Trembling Beneath the Earth
Boss: Earthquake
Farming for: Earthquake pinks
Mobs needed for boss to spawn: 22
Drop Value: 10/10
Drop Rarity: 7/10
Ease of Farming: 5/10
Overall Value: 7/10
My Verdict:
Here, ladies and gentlemen, is where you'll find your most valuable drops. Onyx is a very close second but Earthquake just beats it. Why? Well, that's the bad part. It's how hard Earthquake I'd to farm consistently without a 65 or two. His special attack, which he launches every 10 seconds or so, causes rocks to fall from the ceiling. These rocks cause MASSIVE damage to anyone in the vicinity, and is easily enough to OHK any lvl 20-25s. Get the heck out of the area or you WILL die, unless you are a lvl60+ with decent health and armour. As an example to how powerful the attack is, my lvl 47 bear with optimal tanking build and with self buffs can take over half health damage from one direct hit. Problem is, once he ends the rock fall, and you run back in to attack, he will have started his next rockfall. By far the easiest way to kill Earthquake is to have a lvl 60+ tank the rockfall and keep pounding on him while the rest of you just dart in and out. Otherwise, farming EQ becomes a monumental challenge. If you are going to farm EQ without a lvl 60+, have every single Mage spam heal while a bear tanks. Actually, don't. There's a reason I rated EQ so low on Ease of Farming. Just farm Sandstorm Golem, if you don't have a lvl 60+.
That's all for now, don't have time for the entire thing yet. Was typing completely on my iPad, so forgive any errors on the text. Hope you enjoy, and more to come! :)
So I've put a bit of effort into farming the Sandstone Caves and I think I've got enough knowledge to cobble together the...
Guide to farming the Sandstone Caves
What are the Sandstone Caves?
The Sandstone Caves are an elite campaign pack for brave adventurers level 20-25, though you can start to access them at level 18. You have to, at the time of posting, pay 10 platinum to gain access to the dungeons within. The Sandstone Caves can technically replace the Fathom Crypts campaign pack, but I wouldn't advise leveling through the Caves. Within, you'll find monsters which can instantly heal back to full health, ones which can summon endless mobs, and ones which can One-Hit KO you, no matter if you're level 66 or 20! However, if you can master these deep mines, you will find...
The Sandstone Caves are a great place to farm!
Dropping coveted Earthquake, Onyx and Crystalline pinks which can fetch up to several hundred thousand gold in the CS, the Sandstone Caves can give you massive amounts of $$$ if you stick to it!
But wait... What's that you say? What is farming?
Farming is the running of a single dungeon, over and over in the hopes of getting a rare item drop from the boss. The farmers then sell the items, sometimes fetching millions of dollars (gold, but whatever)!
So are you interested in farming the Sandstone Caves?
If you replied with a resounding NO, it's probably best if you get out of my thread, as I'm not catering to you today. But if you said YES, read on, fellow farmer!
Disclaimer:
This guide is based mostly off what I have gathered from my experiences, so I might not be 100% correct. Secondly, I'd like to acknowledge that ALL Sandstone bosses drop 2 pinks, Gemstone Lightning Staff of Presence and War Hammer of Legend. However, they are virtually worthless, so I'd just like to get that out of the way. This guide is made with lvl25 drops in mind, so sorry about that. However, the lvl 21 and lvl 23 markets do follow suite with the lvl25 market, so one set of drops will always be more valuable than others. Lastly, make sure you enjoy this guide, and I hope it helps you :)
Alright, so now we've got all that out of the way. The rest of my guide will be dedicated to studying the dungeons where you'll find your dough.
Layout:
I will be using this layout to explain each dungeon:
Boss: The boss in the dungeon.
Farming for: What drops you're looking for.
Mobs needed for boss to spawn: How many bad guys have to remain before the boss spawns in.
Drop Value: A rating out of ten about how valuable the drops are.
Drop Rarity: How often the drops actually drop. Out of ten.
Ease of Farming: How easy the dungeon is to defeat. Out of ten.
Overall Value: How much cash you will earn over time. Rating out of ten.
My verdict: What I have to say about the dungeon.
With all that being said, let's get started!
Underground Desert
Boss: Magnetic Golem
Farming for: Crystalline pinks
Mobs needed for boss to spawn: 19
Drop Value: 4/10
Drop Rarity: 8/10
Ease of Farming: 7/10
Overall Value: 6.5/10
My Verdict:
IMO, Magnetic Golem is one of the worst bosses in the Sandstone Caves to farm. Crystalline has been farmed to death so it has little value. Magnetic Golem also has an incredibly annoying attack which kills everyone, regardless of armour or health. Basically, 4 pillars in the arena light up with red orbs. One has a blue orb. You must stay in that blue orb or you WILL die. The only advice I can give is that the first blue orb pillar is the top-left one. Overall, I suggest staying away from this dungeon. The drop rate is decent, but I think Magic Golems have an even higher drop rate for Crystalline, if you really want it so bad.
Sandstorm!
Boss: Sandstorm Golem
Farming for: Earthquake pinks
Mobs needed for boss to spawn: 23
Drop Value: 8/10
Drop Rarity: 5/10
Ease of Farming:10/10
Overall Value: 7.5/10
My Verdict:
A fairly decent place to farm. The place drops Earthquake pinks, which are worth a nice bit of cash. The only downside is how relatively rare the drops are. However, it makes up for this by being extremely easy to farm. Unlike other Sandstone bosses, Sandstorm Golem does nothing special, just summon more Sandstorm mobs, as the name says. They're easily dispatched and aren't hard to kill at all. IMO, this can be a good alternative to farming Earthquake Golem if you can't gather the necessary support to take Earthquake down.
Magic Rocks
Bosses: Magic Golem red orb and Magic Golem green orb.
Farming for: Crystalline pinks
Mobs needed for boss to spawn: 28
Drop Value: 4/10
Drop Rarity: 10/10
Ease of Farming: 8/10
Overall Value: 7/10
My Verdict:
I've heard some people say that Magnetic Golem drops more Crystalline pinks. I really don't think so. The dual Magic Golems are just pink mania, you can get something every 3-5 runs in my personal experience. Albeit it might be just a junk staff, but still :) This place has gained a lot of popularity as the best place to farm in Sandstone Caves, because pinks drop so often. But that's sort of it's downfall. It's this place which has completely screwed up Crystalline pink value. They drop so ridiculously often you need to get a LOT of pinks just to make any real cash. You can still make a pretty nice penny if you're farming 21 stuff though. Not the best, but not the worst. Oh, how to kill the twin bosses? You'll want to take out the red orb golem first, as the green orb golem spams heals, so it'll be hard taking it out before the red golem pummels you to death. The red golem just releases a flurry of attacks.
Trembling Beneath the Earth
Boss: Earthquake
Farming for: Earthquake pinks
Mobs needed for boss to spawn: 22
Drop Value: 10/10
Drop Rarity: 7/10
Ease of Farming: 5/10
Overall Value: 7/10
My Verdict:
Here, ladies and gentlemen, is where you'll find your most valuable drops. Onyx is a very close second but Earthquake just beats it. Why? Well, that's the bad part. It's how hard Earthquake I'd to farm consistently without a 65 or two. His special attack, which he launches every 10 seconds or so, causes rocks to fall from the ceiling. These rocks cause MASSIVE damage to anyone in the vicinity, and is easily enough to OHK any lvl 20-25s. Get the heck out of the area or you WILL die, unless you are a lvl60+ with decent health and armour. As an example to how powerful the attack is, my lvl 47 bear with optimal tanking build and with self buffs can take over half health damage from one direct hit. Problem is, once he ends the rock fall, and you run back in to attack, he will have started his next rockfall. By far the easiest way to kill Earthquake is to have a lvl 60+ tank the rockfall and keep pounding on him while the rest of you just dart in and out. Otherwise, farming EQ becomes a monumental challenge. If you are going to farm EQ without a lvl 60+, have every single Mage spam heal while a bear tanks. Actually, don't. There's a reason I rated EQ so low on Ease of Farming. Just farm Sandstorm Golem, if you don't have a lvl 60+.
That's all for now, don't have time for the entire thing yet. Was typing completely on my iPad, so forgive any errors on the text. Hope you enjoy, and more to come! :)