[discussion] Best levelling/EXP runs

[draemn]

Rankings: (TBD)
1) Glitter - for anyone without the DLC maps, this is the best map by far.
2) City in the cliffs & servants quarters - lots of mini ogers for exp... servants slower than city but non-dlc map.
3) Aquanos/moroggo - not tested, but I'm sure Aqua better than moroggo
4) Misty - not tested recently, but used to be better than glitter.

===================================== City in the Cliffs

Currently I find City in the Cliffs insane to be immensely good for this on survival.

Pros:
- 6 player map, can add 4 alts and have 3 active heros for any repairs
- exp doesn't drop off sharply at later waves.
Cons:
- DLC only map
- initial build setup is slightly annoying

Exp data (insane HC run)
wave 10-13 (inclusive) ---- 7.6 mil with 30% no hero damage bonus applied (or about 6 mil if you take damage) for 20 minutes of build time + gameplay = 380k/min
wave 14-16 (inclusive) ---- 7.1 mil with 30% bonus for ~15 minutes of gameplay = 470k/min
wave 17 ------------------ 2.05 mil with 30% bonus for 5 minutes of gameplay = 410k/min
wave 18 ------------------ 2.4 mil with 30% bonus for 5 minutes of gameplay = 480k/min
waves:
10-13 || 10-16 | | 10-17 || 10-18 ||
380k/m | 430k/m | 420k/m | 425k/m |

I have tried aquanos and it is not as good for exp, usually about 600k to 1mil less exp per round and moroggo/misty are most definitely not as good for exp as city. I do not have a perfect build, but I assume with the right stats and some trying, you could make this map shine! I can do many of the waves in ~5 minutes or less and later wave (+20s) start taking a bit longer.

[Jay Em]

From the upcoming 7.33 patch notes:
* Nightmare-difficulty Wave completion XP globally increased by 35%
So after patch it will be NM something, maybe Aquanos or City or Glitter or something else but definitely NM.

[draemn]

yes most likely NM, but don't forget that MOST players can't build for fast NM runs. Also, just wanted to add that you should NOT do mixed-mode on city as the mini ogers are what makes the exp on this map insane (and mixed mode takes a bit longer to complete).

ALSO, they will be adding 15 du to this map, so should be able to speed it up yet again!

[lordrahl]

Right now, I get about 5.6mil xp per solo-duo NMHC Glitter run(on the alt able to get the weapons only bonus, anyways). Each run takes less than 10 minutes between combat (~7:00) and building (~2:30).

Comparing it to insane, i get about 3.4mil xp solo-duo with ~21 secs less combat time. NMHC Glitter clearly beats it.

[Illuminataen]

I did a survival servant quarters today. XP was around 3 mio XP per wave on 18. Mini ogers are the best.;)

[draemn]

Right now, I get about 5.6mil xp per solo-duo NMHC Glitter run(on the alt able to get the weapons only bonus, anyways). Each run takes less than 10 minutes between combat (~7:00) and building (~2:30).

Comparing it to insane, i get about 3.4mil xp solo-duo with ~21 secs less combat time. NMHC Glitter clearly beats it. I need to know how much exp you get from the time you start building to the time you you finish to compare it to the exp I'm getting per minute. Also, please give me builder exp, not the 1.3x bonus for only weapons used on alt.

[lordrahl]

I need to know how much exp you get from the time you start building to the time you you finish to compare it to the exp I'm getting per minute. Also, please give me builder exp, not the 1.3x bonus for only weapons used on alt.
Won't happen. I'm not going to tally up the xp I get between 3 characters (2 builders and the alt I swap to). Take off the 1.3x bonus from the afk alt and you'll get a roundabout figure assuming your builders don't get hit during combat.

[draemn]

it's not that hard... start the map, see what exp your builder is at, write it down and the time... end of match write down new time and new exp... That gives you total exp for the one hero and the amount of time it took.

[draemn]

k, I'm working on seeing how fast it actually is now... I started wave 10 survival and including build time, took 20 minutes on the dot and got 7.6 mil (assumed 1.3 no hero damage bonus) or 5.8 mil on insane at the start of wave 14. Will have to test lower waves as well in the near future. Now I'll be testing how fast it goes for survival advantage of not rebuilding... wave 14 I didn't check but 15 was 287 seconds.

I'd love to test NM on survival but it requires much higher stats to do any reasonable length of play. Wave 16 = 290 seconds.

City in the cliffs is looking not as good anymore in terms of exp/min :p will update as we make it further.

oh well, steam dropped me so I only tested waves 10-18 but I can tell you from last few times it never took longer than 330 seconds for a wave and if I didn't take any hero damage it was always above 2 mil exp.