* The following guide contains spoilers. Proceed at your own risk.
** Earning Gp by enjoying the game and slowly acquiring exciting new cards is part of the thrill of Culdcept titles. The strategies below are meant to earn Gp as fast as possible and are mind-numbingly tedious. Proceed at the cost of fun.
*** Names and terms below are subject to change in the English version. The guide will be updated once official translations are known.
The GP System, Card Blocks, and Card Packs
In previous Culdcept games, cards were obtained directly by winning matches. After finishing a match, you earned a number of certain types of cards based on your rank, your (dis-)advantage, and the particular map you played on. So, with a judicious choice of map and setup, you could rig things so you were earning 6-10 cards every minute or two vs. the AI. This made grinding out all the cards a relatively short bout of tedium. This is no longer the case in Revolt due to changes to the card earning mechanic; namely, card blocks and the Gp system.
Rather than dump a ton of new things on the Cepter's lap at once, Revolt paces exposure to new cards and map elements. The catalog is divided into card blocks and each new quest exposes the Cepter to new creatures, abilities, lands, and buildings. This promotes a gradual understanding of the game and prevents Cepters from quickly grinding out power books to take online. The unlock table below lists the quests, associated card blocks, card abilities introduced in the block, and new lands and buildings introduced in the quest.
Quest
Card Block
Abilities
Lands / Buildings
Awakening
Starter
-
-
Rebels
-
-
Multi-Element Land
Drifter
Drifter
Penetrates, Instant Death, Anti-Spell, Support
Warp, Bridge, Fortune Teller, Spell Circle
One Who Hides in Darkness
One Who Hides in Darkness
Secret Art, Synergy, Vigorous
Morph Land, Path Switch, Card Shop, Magic Trap
City of Salvation
City of Salvation
Synthesis
Siege Tower
The Sleeping Gods
The Sleeping Gods
Item Creature, Hidden
Gem Store
You can see which block a card belongs to by checking the quest emblem on the card's description. For example, below we see that Fighter is a member of the Starter card block by noting the Free Bats emblem.
After completing certain stages within quests you'll unlock card packs that you can purchase from the in-game Shop (detailed below). This is typically how you will obtain cards in Revolt, though there are also a couple of other ways.
Card Pack
Unlocked After
Cost (Gp)
Contents
Blocks Included
Economy Pack
Quest 2-1
500
N5
Starter
Starter Pack
Quest 3-1
1500
N6, S3, R1
Starter, Drifter, In Darkness
City of Salvation Pack
Quest 4-8
3000
N4, S4, R2
All but Gods
Sleeping Gods Pack
Quest 5-8
3000
N4, S4, R2
All but Salvation
Fire & Earth Pack
Quest 3-3
800
N3, S2, Fire and Earth only
All
Water & Air Pack
Quest 3-3
800
N3, S2, Water and Air only
All
Fire Element Pack
Quest 4-1
2500
N6, S3, R1, Fire only
All
Water Element Pack
Quest 4-1
2500
N6, S3, R1, Water only
All
Earth Element Pack
Quest 4-1
2500
N6, S3, R1, Earth only
All
Air Element Pack
Quest 4-1
2500
N6, S3, R1, Air only
All
Neutral Element Pack
Quest 4-5
2500
N6, S3, R1, Neutral only
All
Item Pack
Quest 3-5
2500
N6, S3, R1, Items only
All
Spell Pack
Quest 3-5
2500
N6, S3, R1, Spells only
All
Rich Pack
Quest 4-8
5000
S6, R4
All
You purchase these card packs with Gp, which is the basic currency of Revolt. You obtain Gp by completing matches, selling cards and breed parts, and as the occasional online reward (in game only; there are no micro transactions for Gp). So, rather than finishing a match to earn cards, you finish a match to earn Gp, which you then use to buy packs of cards. Story and challenge stages are simple: there is a first-completion reward, which decreases by 20% for all subsequent completions of the stage. In the example below, you'll earn Gp 3600 the first time you complete the stage, and only Gp 2880 each additional time.
For any other kind of battle, including online battles, the following Gp reward formula holds:
Gp = 80 * Round # * Other Multipliers
Where the Round # multiplier is capped at 30. The "Other Multipliers" entry is the product of all applicable multipliers below.
Finishing Place
1/(1+ # of higher placed cepters)
# of players
1.0 + (# of players - 3)*0.4
Alliance
1.0 + (# of allied enemies - # on allied team)*0.4
Online rank (for Random Battle only)
1.2 if highest ranking opponent has 125% or more Arena Points than you, 0.8 if that opponent has 75% or fewer Arena Points, and 1.0 otherwise.
Handicap
1.0 + (enemy handicap average - allied handicap average)*0.1
Floor Correction
Internet Random Play = 1.5 or 1.0
So, you can see why the old strategy of finishing vs. AI matches quickly fails: your reward is lower the faster you finish a match! Not to mention that the old quick setups will give you multipliers less than 1 here. So, the only options are to play matches (the best option; take your time and enjoy the experience) or to find some Story or challenge stages to exploit.
Best Gp Earning Strategies
In terms of sheer speed, there are three best offline stages to complete. No matter what book you use, include two breed dragons. After they reach AGE 10 (10 matches), reset them to AGE 0 to earn G6000 (you earn AGE xG300 for each reset).
THE ESSENCE OF THE EMPEROR, TRIAL 2
Here you face Gen using his "It's Serious!" book on the Simple Circle map. The goal is to force Gen to pay a G1000 toll. Our strategy is to get a Kelpie with Greed down on a level 4 land in a 2 chain as quickly as possible (with an Armor card in hand). Below is a sample book.
The basic strategy is to satisfy one of three ending states: 1) Kelpie on a level 4 territory in a 2-chain, and enchanted with Greed; 2) Kelpie on a level 4 territory in a 5-chain; 3) Kelpie on a level 5 territory. Each of those states satisfies the victory condition. To that end, you will lay creatures down quickly and without worry of the land element because Makara, Birdmaiden, and Storm Shift will ensure you obtain a water lands very quickly. Earn G from laps, Manna, Land Drain, and Golden Totem. If you have Greed in hand by the time you have a water 2-chain, you can focus on leveling up a territory to level 4 and dropping Kelpie on it and casting Greed. If not, either continue until you have a 5-chain and then drop Kelpie, or level a territory up to 3 or 4, swap Kelpie in, earn G from the toll, and level Kelpie up to 5. If you have an item in hand you can level without much worry (but if you have only one be aware that Gen has Shatter x2) . If not, be aware that Gen has Battle Axe x4, Magma Hammer x2, and creatures that can crit like Gladiator, and use your best judgement.
Clear times range from 4-9 minutes. Once you get used to the book and the timing, you'll be pushing closer to 5, on average. To get that faster average, suspend the game and restart the stage (~10 seconds) if you don't have at least two of the following [Greed, Kelpie, Armor, Creature] in your starting hand,. If you have three or all four, you'll likely get a 4 or 5 minutes win. You'll earn G1840 each time.
THE ESSENCE OF THE EMPEROR, TRIAL 8
Here you face Sych, using his book "The End" on the map Spikes. The goal is to last 20 rounds without paying a toll; if you do, you instantly fail. There are two general book strategies to consider: a creature heavy book with lots of the Support ability, or a spell heavy book with some useful creatures thrown in. The former strategy lets you easily win any necessary invasions (Sych's book has no Support and only six defensive cards (Squid Mantle x2, Storm Shield x2, Trident x2)). With the latter strategy, you can instead manipulate your movement, Sych's hand and toll collection, and destroy his creatures from the map. This also has the advantage of moving things along faster as you avoid any battles. As such, below is a sample spell heavy book.
I take advantage of the Rune Adept + Form Portal combo to avoid Sych's territories completely. The goal is to get Rune Adept out as quickly as you can and then find Form Portal as fast as possible. Use whatever spells you have to avoid tolls, and take advantage of the spikes to alter where you land. Decoy and Great Fossil will help you get the Water land you need quickly, and they can hold it until you draw a Rune Adept. Rag Doll will keep him from being killed. Once you have a Form Portal in hand, land on a gate or gain a lap bonus and have Rune Adept use Form Portal next turn (via his Creature Spell). You'll be teleported to the nearest gate so he won't be Down. Repeat this and you'll hop between two towers. By the time you're almost out of G, use Blackout and walk to the next tower and repeat the combo. You should have little problem stalling out 20 rounds this way. You'll earn Gp 2160 for each victory in about 9-10 minutes.
SLEEPING GODS 6-5A, "DIGNITY WITHOUT DESTRUCTION"
Here you face Glodis, using "Rage of the Gods" on the map Bullseye. The goal is G8000, but the map is small and you can easily avoid his high level territories. Because of this, I suggest you use a passive Powder Eater and/or Gooba Queen book with Tiny Army and Long Line. Below is a sample book.
Use Spirit Walk and Powder Eater to go for a 4-chain immediately on one of the linear sections of the outer area of the map. Haste and Remission will help you lap quickly to reset your PEs. Use Tiny Army and Long Line to make a lot of G quickly, and invest it in your chained lands. Profit further by using Land Transfer to multiply your G and reinvest it in territory levels. Expect to win in 12-15 rounds, or something around 6-9 minutes. You earn G2000 each time.
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Card Buying/Sniping
The best way to spend your Gp on cards is to avoid the Economy Pack and use the starter book to unlock the Standard Pack. Spend just enough money on Starter Packs to build a workable Kelpie or Old Willow book and use that to finish the quest One Who Hides in Darkness quickly. Now you can spend more Gp on Standard Packs to earn N rarity cards. As there are no N rarity cards in the Salvation and Gods card blocks, that's all this pack is good for, and it's the most efficient way to earn them. Just don't blow all of your Gp on it; you can always finish off the N cards later.
Continue to work your way through Sleeping Gods saving as much Gp as possible, for once you finish, you have access to every card in the game! Now spend all of your hard-earned Gp on the Rich Pack to earn all of your S and R rarity cards, and the Standard Pack for any remaining N. Note that I don't suggest you buy Salvation or Gods Packs as Rich Packs are more efficient, and other special packs are better for sniping (Salvation/Gods Packs include every card in the Standard Pack and this hurts the percentages).
If you want to try and snipe for a specific card, the table below gives you the percentages, by rarity, of getting a specific card. At G800, the dual element packs are great for getting S cards that you want 4 of early.
Pack Name
N
S
R
Standard Pack* (Drifter complete)
5.5% Â
5.1% Â
3.4% Â
Standard Pack* (In Darkness complete)
5.0% Â
3.8% Â
2.4% Â
Â
Pack Name
N
S
R
City of Salvation*
3.4%
3.0%
2.3%
Sleeping Gods*
3.4%
3.0%
2.4%
Dual Element Packs
11.5%
4.7%
-
Single Element Packs
46.1%
14.2%
7.1%
Neutral Element Packs
60.0%
15.7%
6.6%
Item Pack
27.2%
9.0%
5.0%
Spell Pack
17.1%
5.5%
2.2%
Rich Pack
-
3.1%
2.9%
*These percentages are with respect to the card block restrictions on these packs
How long before I have every card?
Short answer: quite awhile. There are 31 main Story stages, not including the tutorial, and if you assume that you finish each map in 20 minutes without ever losing, that's 10+ hours before you even have access to all of the cards.
The rule of thumb is that somewhere around 7000 PP (Personal Points) is where you've made enough Gp to have acquired every card using the card purchasing strategy above. Having done it twice, I agree that's about right if you're playing normally with a mix of some grinding thrown in. If you're purely grinding after finishing the story the PP estimate is lower (my second time doing this I had every card at around 6200 PP which involved only grinding with some online play thrown in). By a back-of-the-envelope calculation, I'd say you'd have around 20-40 hours of grinding (depending on your average grind time and luck with card packs) before you have every card, much less 4 of every card and enough parts to make decent breed dragons.