Right - I’m saying max out all the buildings you can build, and squeeze out the last drops of utility by doing a “max” trap build.
Before I finish playing for the day, I upgrade all my container buildings as high as possible. Next morning, maximum resource joy.
Got through the Metal challenge, and got all my miners back. I’ll do a few more levels, make some more helium and then it’s on to the next challenge I guess.
Trying out Size. Maxed out my trumps and got to zone 12. Be glad when this is over. 
Finished Size. It wasn’t so bad after all. I wound up getting more resources made and ready to spend.
I’m trying out max Range and Power this time out, to see if it helps with Void. So far, I’m outpacing my resource output and having to wait for it to catch up. I’ll see how it gets in later zones.
Hmm, weird, my response disappeared, but I did say Congrats on Size :D. Hope you are enjoying your carpentry perk.
Got the new perk Carpentry and maxed it out. Nonstop clicking ensued and I had to take a break.
Broke the planet finally! Had portaled 6 times, and was running this build. Was really relying on my high block though since I was so far behind in Coordination… now that enemies on 60+ have that block-piercing ability, it’s quite tough. But on the bright side, the 90% reduction in equipment costs makes it possible to actually catch up a bit in that department. I want to see if I can get a bit further, but will likely be portaling again soon.
Wow, you must be a lot more patient than me, I get to about zone 45 and then progress slows to a crawl because my army gets instakilled by snimps most of the time and I restart. It’s a bit scary that Trimptopia has a casualty rate of about 15,000% of the population, too.
Are you getting the Gymystic on zone 45? Keep in mind that you get one every 5 levels up through 55, and those + as many gyms you can buy is absolutely crucial for maxing out your block (it becomes much more important than the shield. In fact - shield starts becoming pretty useless compared to gyms). Through most of the 50s, enemies weren’t doing any damage to me at all because my block was higher than their entire attack range. It still took a long time to chip away at their massive health pools compared to my meager attack value, but it was doable.
Also, prioritize food production and tributes, because gems become your most important and limited resource later when you need to build Collectors (they cost a ton of gems). And even moreso later for Warpstations, I’m learning now.
I looked just now and apparently my highest run noped out on zone 44 because it was taking too long. I’d probably do better on it now with a couple more perks, so I’ll give it another shot. I need to unlock more challenges anyway, and Scientist 2 looks like it could be useful.
One thing I’ve been curious about on these types of games, is there a mathematical formula that you can use to optimize your workforce? Is it more optimal to have 10K miners and 1K farmers to keep your gear up to date, or is it more optimal to have 10K farmers and 1K miners so you can have more trimps faster?
(I know, I left wood out but I was trying to keep it simple and 2 variables is easier than 3).
There are just way too many variables for one clean formula. And the state of the game changes significantly at certain key points, so it’s best to focus on those:
Early zones: a roughly equal ratio of all 3 resources is fine.
Late 30s through 59: prioritize food production (not for “having more Trimps faster” though, but so you can buy as many tributes as possible to increase your gem production). You will need the gems in order to buy as many Collectors as possible from 50-59. But also make sure you have enough wood to buy enough gyms to keep your block higher than the enemy’s attack (this isn’t that hard when you hit the key Gymystic levels: 40/45/50/55). As long as you meet that requirement, you don’t need any more wood.
Metal is not as important during these levels, because the cost of higher tier equipment becomes prohibitively high and you don’t need it if your block meets the minimum standard explained above. As long as you have at least ~700 Qa combined health and block (and it will be almost entirely block), you can make it through 59 and stop purchasing any equipment upgrades.
60+: After breaking the planet at zone 60, all the equipment costs are reduced by 90%, and at this point metal becomes extremely important and should be prioritized. Not only for that reason, but also because Warpstations cost a massive amount of metal in addition to gems. My ratio of farmers/lumberjacks/miners now is roughly 2:1:4.
I’ve found it’s important to have about half farmers in the first 20-30 levels, because food is usually the biggest component of housing structures, followed closely by wood. Also, food costs for trainers get high really quick. Wood of course is essential for blocking shields and gyms. The problem with metal is that you don’t need much of it when weapons & armor are levels I-IV, but at higher levels you do, and lots of it. I usually wind up with a crapload of Weapon and Armor Upgrades I can’t afford, and when I do buy them, I have to wait forever till I can make actual items. Using perks that increase trimp productivity helps considerably.
I also thought I didn’t need that many Explorers, 4-5 at most. But when Gateways become unlocked, now I need hundreds.
I’ve only gotten up to about zone 37. But so far I’ve found that keeping the upgrade setting on “Equip” allows me to get the best possible points for the least resources. I only buy shield, dagger, and occasionally boots. By keeping it on Equip these are always upgraded first, and so I never have to pay the high price of swords and breastplates to have the highest available damage and health. I never even buy the upgrades for the other equipment.
I got through the “size” challenge last night. I really barely noticed it. There are fewer of them, but they accomplish more, so it pretty much balances out. The Trimp bonus at the end of the Anger map was delicious, though.
Folks keep talking about maxing out “Trumps”. I’ve never bought that one, it seems pretty useless, really. All that helium for an extra 8 or 9 Trimps per level? It seems to me that carpentry and motivation will get you a lot more for a lot less, although I haven’t done the math.
I maxed out Carpentry and Motivation for this go-round, and it had a weird effect. I didn’t get any Upgrades for weapons and armor II until zone 15. I think those Upgrades occur in Maps. I kept going through all the World zones on Autofight. Even though I was nickle-and-diming the monster imps a lot more than usual, my reproduction rate kept up to the point where there was no idle combat time. I finally put a stop to it and created a Map, then found the Upgrades.
Carpentry works on Trumps too, which makes every territory expansion give about 20 trimps after some upgrades. It’s somewhat less useful at higher zones when housing is better, but it’s nice not to have to build a lot of houses at the start.
When I get stuck, I run a metal map, on repeat forever. This can triple or more your metal production.
Also makes sure you are current on all your upgrades.
I’m doing Size now. Hit zone 14 and things are getting rough. Just need to let the game sit a bit and build resources. I was kind of hurrying to get through the challenge. I did get a bonus for clearing The Block within a few hours or so.
I’ll have to try this “Equip” thing.
Spent bones and got my first Imp-ort, a Whipimp.