# So I've found the SECOND most addicting game to exist on the internet. No, really. **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [September 14, 2016, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ive-found-the-second-most-addicting-game-to-exist-on-the-internet-no-really/765917 "2016-09-14T07:22:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 35
**Author:** ![Sofis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Sofis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofis)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2017, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ive-found-the-second-most-addicting-game-to-exist-on-the-internet-no-really/765917/682 "2017-11-05T23:09:22Z")
You control it by setting limits on how many of each building to construct and how large a fraction (down to 0.1%) of your current resources it may use to build something. I rate it quite highly: it’s one of the things making it possible for me to start a run and then come back two hours later and be at zone 400. I’d have to do a lot more micromanagement without it. It’s less useful if you still need to use Gigastations to reach the magma though, since it does not automate that. ---
**Author:** ![Sario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sario/32/18580_2.png) [@Sario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sario)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2017, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ive-found-the-second-most-addicting-game-to-exist-on-the-internet-no-really/765917/683 "2017-11-10T16:08:52Z")
I hate you people. I have enough time sucks in my life already. Now I’m slogging through my first run, already impatient for my first portal. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2017, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ive-found-the-second-most-addicting-game-to-exist-on-the-internet-no-really/765917/684 "2017-11-30T09:42:39Z")
Some pretty big content updates today. Some of them are for the higher levels (I’m only in the lower 190s at this point), but one big change is that there are some new and expensive customization options for maps that actually make fragments worth caring about once you outgrow Gateways. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2017, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ive-found-the-second-most-addicting-game-to-exist-on-the-internet-no-really/765917/685 "2017-12-01T01:08:34Z")
I curse Idle Thoughts with the intensity of 1000 suns for mentioning this game!!! ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2017, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ive-found-the-second-most-addicting-game-to-exist-on-the-internet-no-really/765917/686 "2017-12-11T18:06:08Z")
Brr Bring a world enemy’s attack below 1 Reward: +40% Damage I’m not sure what this means, or how to do it. Any hints? ---
**Author:** ![Sofis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Sofis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofis)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2017, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ive-found-the-second-most-addicting-game-to-exist-on-the-internet-no-really/765917/687 "2017-12-11T18:12:32Z")
It relates to the nature empowerments that unlock a short ways into the magma. ---
**Author:** ![Rhodes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhodes/32/273_2.png) [@Rhodes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhodes)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2017, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ive-found-the-second-most-addicting-game-to-exist-on-the-internet-no-really/765917/688 "2017-12-12T16:36:12Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Brr > Bring a world enemy’s attack below 1 > Reward: +40% Damage > I’m not sure what this means, or how to do it. Any hints? I did this one. You need to keep an enemy alive for a lot of hits while the Ice empowerment is active. My Chill debuff is 4.9%. Was done with a run, ready to portal, and was in an Ice empowerment zone. Killed world enemies until I got to one with Corrupted Toughness. Then I switched to Health formation and re-spec’d to 0 Power and 0 Power-II. After 3800 fights with the same enemy, I had the achievement. Then I put my Power and Power-II back to their previous levels and portalled. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2017, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ive-found-the-second-most-addicting-game-to-exist-on-the-internet-no-really/765917/689 "2017-12-12T19:14:57Z")
> [@Sofis](#): > > Headstart only affects corruption/helium, not dark essence. The key thing to realise is that the amount of corruption in a zone is based on how many zones past the start of corruption it is. So the mastery doesn’t just give extra helium on zones 175 - 179, where the helium amounts are small, but also every zone past that. The headstart sequence are among the best masteries, in my opinion. > > . . . I’ve seen hints online that Headstart I makes the Spire harder. Anybody know why? Does it increase the number of corrupted cells? ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2017, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ive-found-the-second-most-addicting-game-to-exist-on-the-internet-no-really/765917/690 "2017-12-12T19:15:15Z")
> [@Rhodes](#): > > I did this one. You need to keep an enemy alive for a lot of hits while the Ice empowerment is active. > > My Chill debuff is 4.9%. Was done with a run, ready to portal, and was in an Ice empowerment zone. Killed world enemies until I got to one with Corrupted Toughness. Then I switched to Health formation and re-spec’d to 0 Power and 0 Power-II. After 3800 fights with the same enemy, I had the achievement. Then I put my Power and Power-II back to their previous levels and portalled. Interesting. I’ll try that. > [@TruCelt](#): > > I’ve seen hints online that Headstart I makes the Spire harder. Anybody know why? Does it increase the number of corrupted cells? Yes, it does. But corrupted cells are not as hard to beat as the later rows, so it doesn’t make a lot of difference, if any. ---
**Author:** ![Rhodes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhodes/32/273_2.png) [@Rhodes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhodes)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2017, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ive-found-the-second-most-addicting-game-to-exist-on-the-internet-no-really/765917/691 "2017-12-12T19:25:47Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > I’ve seen hints online that Headstart I makes the Spire harder. Anybody know why? Does it increase the number of corrupted cells? Yes, that’s why. By the time you’re beating the Spire, the corrupted enemies are trivial compared to the 9th and 10th rows of the spire. But the first army of trimps will take a few hits of Corrupted Sharpness. Headstart gives you more corrupted cells in more rows of the Spire, so there’s a chance that your first Spire army will be killed or weakened. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2017, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ive-found-the-second-most-addicting-game-to-exist-on-the-internet-no-really/765917/692 "2017-12-13T04:07:36Z")
Okay, that worked, and it pushed my achievement bonus above the magic 2000%, so a double thank you there. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2017, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ive-found-the-second-most-addicting-game-to-exist-on-the-internet-no-really/765917/693 "2017-12-13T16:27:00Z")
Talk to me about how you spend your nullifium. As I understand it, nullifium is hard to lose. If you use it to upgrade a shield/staff element, and then later you get a better shield and recycle it, you get all of that nullifium back to do with as you please. The only way to lose it is to upgrade an element, and then delete that element to replace it. I’m only up to level 210 though, and haven’t beaten the spire yet. So my question is a) Is there another use for nullfium later on which will make me wish I hadn’t spent it? and b) How do you prioritize your spending? Attack or Crit? Crit chance or damage? That sort of thing. Any thoughts/advice? ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2017, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ive-found-the-second-most-addicting-game-to-exist-on-the-internet-no-really/765917/694 "2017-12-13T16:31:32Z")
And speaking of heirlooms, has anyone else noticed a weird shift in chance once you start running voids at 181? Up til then I got maybe one staff for every 8 or 10 shields. Now I’ve won three ethereal staffs, but still only magnificent shields (250-ish shields). Is this just coincidence, or is there some weird tweak in the formula? ---
**Author:** ![Rhodes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhodes/32/273_2.png) [@Rhodes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhodes)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2017, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ive-found-the-second-most-addicting-game-to-exist-on-the-internet-no-really/765917/695 "2017-12-13T16:48:00Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Talk to me about how you spend your nullifium. > > As I understand it, nullifium is hard to lose. If you use it to upgrade a shield/staff element, and then later you get a better shield and recycle it, you get all of that nullifium back to do with as you please. The only way to lose it is to upgrade an element, and then delete that element to replace it. > > I’m only up to level 210 though, and haven’t beaten the spire yet. So my question is a) Is there another use for nullfium later on which will make me wish I hadn’t spent it? and b) How do you prioritize your spending? Attack or Crit? Crit chance or damage? That sort of thing. > > Any thoughts/advice? a) Not that I know of. I’m up to zone 305, and Nullifium is so far only for modding and upgrading Heirlooms. b) Attack first. Then crit damage and crit chance. Then health. Actually, I like having 2 shields: one with Attack/Crit/Void chance and the other with Attack/Crit/Health. I use the first until I am ready to run voids, and then I switch to the second. Block/trainers might be nice while you’re in the low 200s, but as you get deep into the magma you’ll have plenty of block for all of your void maps without using an heirloom. > [@](#): > > And speaking of heirlooms, has anyone else noticed a weird shift in chance once you start running voids at 181? Up til then I got maybe one staff for every 8 or 10 shields. Now I’ve won three ethereal staffs, but still only magnificent shields (250-ish shields). Is this just coincidence, or is there some weird tweak in the formula? I’m gonna say coincidence. On my current run I’ve earned 5 shields and 7 staffs. One shield is blue; all the rest are orange. The probability of ethereal goes up at 181 IIRC, but I think shields/staffs remain 50/50. ---
**Author:** ![Sofis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Sofis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofis)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2017, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ive-found-the-second-most-addicting-game-to-exist-on-the-internet-no-really/765917/696 "2017-12-13T18:34:20Z")
I mostly agree with **Rhodes**. I’d add regarding the magma that before it you’ll have lots of health from nurseries, making additional health less valuable, which is the other half of why block can be preferable at that point. Block won’t help you beat the spire though, so health can still be what you want. Void map drop chance is good. The way it’s presented in game is quite misleading though. 10% void map drop chance does not mean that your chance of getting a void map is 10% higher when the game checks if you should get one. The way it works is this: every time you get a void map (or at the start of the run), there is a minimum number of world enemies you have to kill before you can get another. Once you reach that threshold the chance of getting a void map is proportional to how many enemies you’ve killed past the threshold. “10% void map drop chance” reduces that threshold by 10%, which is generally better than increasing the odds of getting one one the random check would be. It also means that the scaling on this modifier gets better the higher it is instead of worse. Increasing your damage modifier from 0% to 10% increases your damage by 10%, but increasing it from 100% to 110% increases it by 5%; it gets worse. Increasing your void map drop chance from 0% to 5% decreases the minimum kills by 5%, but increasing it from 50% to 55% decreases the minimum kills by 10%; it gets better. Golden void upgrades work the same way. A side note is that stack transfer rate for nature empowerments are basically pointless at low levels but really good at high levels by similar logic. For heirloom modifiers, I don’t think it’s worth replacing any before getting to the top tier and wanting to build a perfect heirloom, but filling in an empty slot (which is much cheaper) on an otherwise good shield is generally worthwhile. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2017, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ive-found-the-second-most-addicting-game-to-exist-on-the-internet-no-really/765917/697 "2017-12-13T23:42:21Z")
> [@Rhodes](#): > > I’m only up to level 210 though, and haven’t beaten the spire yet. To beat the spire first time I had to grind for days. The trick is to get weapons and armour from zone 215 Bionic Wonderland. You’ll probably need to grind until you’ve bought all the available upgrades. Possibly it would have gone a lot quicker with the new map options. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2017, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ive-found-the-second-most-addicting-game-to-exist-on-the-internet-no-really/765917/698 "2017-12-14T06:10:14Z")
> [@Sofis](#): > > . . . > > For heirloom modifiers, I don’t think it’s worth replacing any before getting to the top tier and wanting to build a perfect heirloom, but filling in an empty slot (which is much cheaper) on an otherwise good shield is generally worthwhile. See, I’ve heard this philosophy before, and it makes no sense to me. Why would you not pick up an extra 35% attack or 15% crit chance, when the nullifium is just sitting there begging to be used? When you get a better heirloom, you just recycle it and get the nullifium back to improve on the new one. What’s the point of leaving it in the bank? ---
**Author:** ![Rhodes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhodes/32/273_2.png) [@Rhodes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhodes)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2017, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ive-found-the-second-most-addicting-game-to-exist-on-the-internet-no-really/765917/699 "2017-12-14T06:42:59Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > To beat the spire first time I had to grind for days. The trick is to get weapons and armour from zone 215 Bionic Wonderland. You’ll probably need to grind until you’ve bought all the available upgrades. > > Possibly it would have gone a lot quicker with the new map options. Not sure why the quote tag in your post shows my name and not **TruCelt**. But I agree. I beat the spire when my highest zone was 231 and my coordination at zone 200 was (+20). It took a couple days to earn metal and complete Bionic level 215. Now I bet it’s easier to farm some Large Metal Chests and then run a lvl 205 map for prestiges. > [@TruCelt](#): > > See, I’ve heard this philosophy before, and it makes no sense to me. Why would you not pick up an extra 35% attack or 15% crit chance, when the nullifium is just sitting there begging to be used? When you get a better heirloom, you just recycle it and get the nullifium back to improve on the new one. > > What’s the point of leaving it in the bank? Don’t leave it in the bank. Go ahead and _upgrade_ as much as you can. You’ll get the nullifium back when you recycle. But _adding_ a mod to an empty slot costs 2x nullifium, non-refundable. And _replacing_ a mod with another mod costs 6x nullifium, non-refundable (and also destroys any nullifium that you’d spent on the previous mod). That’s probably OK if you have an ethereal heirloom and don’t anticipate getting any magmatic heirlooms in the near future. [Heirlooms | Trimps Wikia | Fandom](http://trimps.wikia.com/wiki/Heirlooms#Nullifium_refunds) ---
**Author:** ![Rhodes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhodes/32/273_2.png) [@Rhodes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhodes)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2017, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ive-found-the-second-most-addicting-game-to-exist-on-the-internet-no-really/765917/700 "2017-12-19T23:34:12Z")
Has anyone tried the Nerfed achievement yet? “Beat the Spire with no respect and less than 100M HE Spent.” Any tips? Or Bionic Sniper? “Complete a Bionic Wonderland map 45 levels higher than your zone number.” I think the trick to that one may be to do it at zone 245 with a fuckton of Coordinated perk, taking care to keep the Dimensional Generator tank full with no waste all the way from 230 to 245. I’m going to try with 40 Coordinated, but I’m not optimistic. ---
**Author:** ![Sofis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Sofis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofis)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2017, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ive-found-the-second-most-addicting-game-to-exist-on-the-internet-no-really/765917/701 "2017-12-19T23:47:11Z")
I tried (and failed) Nerfed, using [this perk optimizer](https://grimy.github.io/perks.html) to measure out 100M helium so I didn’t have to count by hand. I think my mistake was focusing attack over health by 50 to 1. This lead to not being able to run high enough Bionic Wonderland to get the needed prestiges. So next time I’ll try with more health. I’ve done Bionic Sniper, but don’t have any real tips; I have enough Coordinated and Dimensional Generator upgrades to buy all coordinations as soon as I get them, and that makes it easy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ive-found-the-second-most-addicting-game-to-exist-on-the-internet-no-really/765917.md?page=34) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-ive-found-the-second-most-addicting-game-to-exist-on-the-internet-no-really/765917.md?page=36)