Resources, Gems and purchases: find what you really need

The best purchase solves a useful bottleneck; it is not necessarily the one with the largest advertised discount. Start by naming what your next goal requires.

Manuscripts cannot make up for insufficient Affinity. Adventure Supplies cannot replace the Emblems for an advancement. Buying “a bit of everything” may leave the very same requirement unmet.

Where to look for each resource

This list tells you where to look; it does not promise that every offer is available in every kingdom today.

Gifts: useful for closing a small gap

The values in the source file are: Copper Horn: 10 Affinity points; Silver Goblet: 100; Elite Spices: 1,000.

Before using a large reserve, check the milestone you are aiming for and the Emblems needed to advance through it. A gift that helps you reach a useful milestone has a clear purpose; a gift used only to make a number rise does not always have one.

The option to use gifts before a Master settles has not been adequately verified in every interface. Check whether the gift option is available; if it is not, progress through journeys. Do not base a recruitment plan on a button you cannot see.

Do not mix up Emblems

Master specific: tied to a particular Master. General: a flexible resource whose destination you choose from the options on screen. Choice chest: you select one reward from a list. Random chest: its contents and probabilities determine the result.

Open the preview before spending or buying. A chest that may award resources for several Masters is not equivalent to a guaranteed amount for Pan.

The arrival of a new Master can change the possible rewards from a random pool. It does not automatically reduce the value of a general Emblem when you can still choose its destination.

Journey Supplies: avoid buying on autopilot

You can buy up to four bundles of 5 supplies at 1,000 Gems each, or 4,000 Gems per day.

That can speed up progress, but regular encounters remain random. If you do not make frequent purchases, saving Gems for other goals is a perfectly valid choice.

A good reason to buy: you know the near term goal and the cost is acceptable. A poor reason: the button appears every day, so you press it every day.

Adventure Supplies: the value of targeting

They let you choose a known Master in Lostlands. That is their main benefit: concentrating a journey on the character you want.

Shop records in the source file list 750 Gems each, up to 10 per week, from VIP 9. These are observed conditions to check on your own screen before buying. Official support confirms the VIP Shop as a source, but does not guarantee a permanent price.

One targeted supply and five regular supplies are not identical units whose value you can compare by price alone. The right choice depends on what you want to achieve.

An example of a sound decision

You already have enough Manuscripts for the skill you want, but Pan's relationship is not yet high enough.

Buying more Manuscripts will not unlock the skill. Targeted journeys may bring you closer to the required Affinity, provided you also have the Emblems. If a few free journeys will soon suffice, waiting may be better still.

This reasoning holds whether you spend money or not. Paying speeds things up; it does not remove prerequisites.

Before buying a pack

Read its exact contents, actual price, purchase limit and any conditions for a later offer. Compare the part that serves your goal with the part you will leave unused.

The first offer in a chain does not prove that later ones provide the same value. Do not pay for one stage merely to discover a hidden price farther along.

Finally, decide on your budget before opening the shop. Nothing in this series requires a purchase to play well.

One last question often suffices: “What will this purchase let me do that I could not do before?” If you do not have a clear answer, there is no rush.