USEFUL GUIDES/INFO and FAQs

[Trinity]

The following are some guides that I found very useful. And I will also be posting some compiled Frequently asked questions here too.

SHIPS/OFFICERS/CREW
==============
-Guide to ships and crew- by Stewie Doo
-Attack/Defense values of officers/crew- by Tstering
-List of ships in order of their overall attack if the best officers/crew are used- by Tstering
-Officer comparison spreadsheet- by Rafael

RAID RELATED
==========
-Tactics theorycraft- by Rafael
-Stamina/Attack breakdown on Raid damage- by Dahrizon
-Raid damage calculator- by Rafael
-Item/Troop/General proc statistics- by Ikari Rellik
-Stat Farming Guide- by Rafael
-Raid loot guide- by Methos
-Average experience from raids- by Anita

QUEST RELATED
==========
-Quest Loot Guide- by Methos

ALLIANCES
==========
-Guide to running a successful alliance- by Trinity
-Guide to Alliances- by Goran H
-Who you know, A Guide to Alliances- by Stewie Doo

GALAXY DOME/PVP
============
-Galaxy Dome Power discussion-
-Mechanics of PvP-by Prince

CHARACTER BUILDS
=================
-General guide to character builds- by Goran H
-444 rule of character building- by axej

BSI/LSI/TSI/LEVELING SPEED
===================
-Guide about BSI, LSI and TSI- by axej
-Leveling Calculator- by r3dspark
-LSI and leveling speed- by axej

ACHIEVEMENTS
===================
-General guide to Achievements- by Jonny
-Achievement Rewards List- by DuXX
-List of damage required to get Achievement Points- by anita

MISC
=========
-Item DPS and damage spreadsheet- by Roguerto Terques
-Official Legacy of a Thousand Suns FAQ- by Lena
-Beginners guide to the game- by Goran H
-Pictoral guide to LoTs- by Shadowalk
-Average Experience and cash from missions- by Anita
-Mission experience table- by Trap
-Why it is important to save those extra items- by Lillibeth
-Legacy of the Suns Wiki site- by Ashley
-In game References and Easter Eggs- by Thecowking
-Story of Legacy of a Thousand Suns- by Locke
-What different armor sets look like- by Tstering


FAQs
=====================
How much damage is required for a chance for good loot?
================================================== ================================================== =======
You should at least do your "fair share of damage" in a raid to get a chance for good loot/epic's. To get your fair share of damage, take the total health of a raid boss and divide that number by the total number of people that can possibly be in the raid. You can multiply this number by 2 if you like.

Formula for fair share of damage= Total health of a raid boss/Total # of people in raid possible

Here is a listing of "Fair share of damage" for each raid on NM difficulty-
Alliance Raids
Small
Swarm- 900k
Kang- 1M
Crossbones- 1.6M
Colonel Mustard- 2.4M
Medium
Infected- 1.2M
Death Flora- 1.4M
Justice- 1.8M
Grislak- 2.2M
Large
Saucers- 1.1M
Tourniquet 7- 1.2M
Exterminator- 2M
Horror- 5M
Ship of the Damned- 6M

Stamina Raids
Small
Centurian Commander- 30k
Garlax Ragebeasts- 400k
Supreme Cybertollahs- 800k
Nathaniel Vorden- 1.2M
Purple Lion- 1.6M
Medium
Centurian Void Killer- 200k
Carnus 9000- 600k
Centurian Cruiser- 1M
Blood Alley Gang- 1.4M
Advocate Tulk- 1.8M
Large
Telemachus-- 400k
Carnifex Prime- 700k
Commander Rautha- 1M
Kelovar Assassin- 1.3M
Robotic Rautha- 1M
Epic
Psychic Colonel- 1.2M
Vespasia's Android- 2M
Centurian General- 2.8M
Natasha Cybersmash- 3.6M
Centurian Sentinel- 4.4M
Colossal
Besalaad Warmaster- 2.8M


How much damage do I have to do to get Achievement points on a raid?
================================================== ================================================== =======

There is actually a formula for each size that determines if you get a kill credited or not for Achievements. For each boss you can use this: Boss HP/(2* Max Raid Participants)

So Garlax Ragebeasts for example, they have 2,000,000 hp.
Their max size is 10 people, so multiply that by 2 and you get 20.
2,000,000 divided by 20 gives you 100,000 damage needed for a kill to count.

Another example:
Nightmare Warmaster Kardoc has 1,400,000,000 hp.
His max size is 500 people, so multiply that by 2 and you get 1000.
1,400,000,000 divided by 1000 give you 1,400,000 damage needed for a kill to count.

Even though there is a minimum damage that you need to do to get achievement points, it is recommended to at least do your "fair share" of damage on a raid. (See above listing for fair share of damage) If you do your "fair share" of damage on a raid, it makes it much easier to kill a raid, because everyone is pulling their own weight and no one person has to catch up a failing raid.

Here is a list of damage required on a raid to get Achievement Points-
Alliance Raids
Small
Swarm- 450k
Kang- 500k
Crossbones- 800k
Colonel Mustard- 1.2M
Medium
Infected- 600k
Death Flora- 700k
Justice- 900k
Grislak- 1.1M
Large
Saucers- 550k
Tourniquet 7- 600k
Exterminator- 1M
Horror- 2.5M
Ship of the Damned- 3M

Stamina Raids
Small
Centurian Commander- 15k
Garlax Ragebeasts- 200k
Supreme Cybertollahs- 400k
Nathaniel Vorden- 600k
Purple Lion- 800k
Medium
Centurian Void Killer- 100k
Carnus 9000- 300k
Centurian Cruiser- 500k
Blood Alley Gang- 700k
Advocate Tulk- 900k
Large
Telemachus-- 200k
Carnifex Prime- 350k
Commander Rautha- 500k
Kelovar Assassin- 650k
Robotic Rautha- 800k
Epic
Psychic Colonel- 600k
Vespasia's Android- 1M
Centurian General- 1.4M
Natasha Cybersmash- 1.8M
Centurian Sentinel- 2.2M
Colossal
Besalaad Warmaster- 1.4M


What is diminishing returns?
================================================== ================================================== =======

The loot drop rates of the items did not change, though the formula for calculating what item a player gets did. This code was actually in the game since launch and working fine for Missions, unfortunately it was not working as intended for Raids and was fixed in Wednesday's patch.

The purpose of this code is to reduce the chances of someone getting stat point drops to the point where they can autolevel. For those unfamiliar with autoleveling, it is where someone has so much energy/stamina/honor compared to their level that when they do level up, the act of just spending their energy/stamina/honor levels them up again. They can usually continue to level up, gaining hundreds of levels in a day if they had the time and access to the right stat producing content. For many different reasons, autoleveling is bad for the game. This code change and past/present/future drop changes are essential for the long term health of Legacy of a Thousand Suns.

From here the plan is to watch the changes, once we feel comfortable with the data we can possibly raise the cap where DR starts and also reduce the effect that DR has. We have some other changes in mind (like permanent reduction to some timers), so between all of those changes things should improve.

Diminishing Returns discussion- http://www.legacyofathousandsuns.com...highlight=nerf
-http://www.legacyofathousandsuns.com/forum/showthread.php?1226-Diminishing-Return-filter-on-raids


What is BSI and how do I calculate it?
================================================== ================================================== =======
BSI: Battle Strength Index, basically it is your strength compared to your level (Note that some people calculate BSI using gear equipped and some prefer to calculate BSI with just base stats and and no gear)
BSI = (total ATT + total DEF ) / LVL
Example if you are Level 100, with ATT = 150 DEF = 50
Your BSI would be:
BSI = ( 150 + 50 ) / 100 = 2.0

In general (This all depends on what raids you fight and how you use your stamina)-
BSI ------- Build Type--------Leveling speed------Battle Strength
-----------------------------(Without GSs)--- (Within LVL bracket)
0 - 1 ---> Power Leveler ------ Extremely Fast ---- Very Weak
1 - 3 ---> Monster Hunter ---- Very Fast ---------- Weak
3 - 5 ---> Hybrid ------------- Fast --------------- Strong
5 - 7 ---> PvP ---------------- Slow -------------- Very Strong
>7 -----> Pure PvP------------ Very Slow --------- Extremely Strong


Where can I find the Permission slips and Cloorian Material to create the Legendary Items?
================================================== ================================================== =======
Anti-Matter Whip
Permission Slip 1 - General Rahn Mission Boss (Any difficulty, harder difficulties have a higher chance of dropping the slip)
Permission Slip 2 - NM Colonel, NM Vespesia, NM Rahn (Raids)
Permission Slip 3 - Gifting / Help requests
Permission Slip 4 - NM General Rahn (Raids)
Permission Slip 5 - NM Vespesia (Raids)
Permission Slip 6 - NM Colonel (Raids)

Multi-Colored Cloorian Pants (Note- All Cloorian parts can also be obtained through gifting as well, but they are very rare to get as a gift)
Brown Cloorian Material - Gifting
Grey Cloorian Material - NM Nathaniel Vorden (Raids)
Green Cloorian Material - NM Blood Alley Gang (Raids)
Blue Cloorian Material - NM Kelovar Assassin (Raids)
Purple Cloorian Material - NM Natasha Cybersmash (Raids)
Orange Cloorian Material - Help Requests/Gifting

Deathmachine
Deathmachine Arms- NM Admiral Tulk (Raids)
Deathmachine Legs- NM Robotic Rautha (Raids)
Deathmachine Head- NM Purple Lion (Raids)
Deathmachine Torso- NM Centurian Sentinel (Raids)
Deathmachine Circuits- Robotic Rautha Quest Boss
Double Ended Laser Blade- NM Besalaad Warmaster (Raids)

Red Thunder
-Equip the following officer and item(s) to receive a chance to proc the item while attacking a specific raid.
-You will get a item message saying "you have obtained: Upgraded Modulator Barrel" (example message)
Upgraded Multispectral Scope- Attack= Cybertollahs/ Equip= Big Bull (Loot from NM Saucers raid), Battle Chainsaw (Purchased from game shop)
Upgraded AK-47000- Attack= Carnifex/ Equip= Raiyama (obtained from warmaster quest boss)
Upgraded Enhanced Powerpack- Attack= Cybersmash/ Equip= Mycroft, Kill Tech Masar (Loot from NM Swarms raid)
Upgraded Stabilizer- Attack= Tourniquet 7/ Equip= Anita (Loot from NM Exterminator raid), white noise pod (Purchased from game shop)
Upgraded Modulator Barrel- Attack= Assassin/ Equip= Rautha's Head (Loot from NM Robotic Rautha 2.0 raid), Blitz


How does Pursuit of excellence affect experience in raids?
================================================== ================================================== =======

Its a new year, here is your peek behind the curtain for 2011!
PoE will double any of these numbers. Sometimes you wont see PoE proc because of a low roll, even if it has. For example, if you were to get 40 exp for a 20x attack, with a PoE attack it would show as 80, but there is no visual difference between that and a regular 80 exp roll.
Regular Raids
1x Attack = 1-4 exp
5x Attack = 5-24 exp
20x Attack = 21-100 exp
Alliance Raids
1x Attack = 1-2 exp
5x Attack = 5-10 exp
20x Attack = 20-40 exp

What tactics should I use on raids?
================================================== ================================================== =======
Here is how I rank the tactics. I know there are no raids with 10 tactic slots currently, please use the slots based on how many available tactic slots your raid has.
Slot 1- Lightning assault (Chance for extra attack) (I put this first, because less are likely to have it. And more people already have PoE to use)
Slot 2- Pursuit of excellence (Chance for extra exp)
Slot 3- Better to Receive (Chance for extra loot drop)
Slot 4- Take a Chance- (Chance for extra damage, exp or credits)
Slot 4- It's a Trap (Increased chance for critical hit)
Slot 6- Cunning Plan (Chance for huge damage hit)
Slot 7- Flank attack
Slot 8/9- Forte against Foible/Support
Slot 9/10- Sting like a bee/Float like a butterfly
Slot 11/12- Plan 10 or SF
Slot 13- Space Raiders (This can be switched to 5 or 6 as money has more value in this game when you are staring out)

The most critical buffs in my opinion are LA, PoE, and Trap. These give you more experience, chance to hit for free, and a chance to double your damage. Better to receive is very important for an extra loot drop. (This tactic was available during Christmas season 2010) If you are the summoner, it is important to remove any inferior tactics for better ones. Example- while space raiders might be useful for a beginner there are a lot more tactics that can impact the raid more like "LA". Also keep in mind that a tactic is always better than having no tactic in a slot no matter what the tactic may be.


Is it okay to use an alt (multiple accounts) to play Legacy of a Thousand Suns?
================================================== ================================================== =======
It is against the game's Terms of service (TOS) to use multiple accounts to play. Using multiple accounts can get you banned from playing the game. Here are some FAQs from Felendis regarding alts that should clear up any questions you have.

Q: What is an alt account?
An alt account is any other account beyond your main; account that you personally access. It is very clear in both Facebooks Terms of Service and our Terms of Service that you can only have a single account. To put it as plainly as possible, you can only play Legacy of a Thousands on one account.

Q: What is the big deal? Alts don’t really hurt anything.
Alt accounts absolutely affect the game in negative ways and I am not about to list all the ways someone can abuse them here. Alt accounts are against Facebooks Terms of Service, as well as ours. Regardless of your personal feelings on alts, they are against the rules and if they are not turned in will get you banned.

Q: How do I find my Facebook ID to report my accounts?
On Facebook, click on the Profile button in the top right corner of the screen. Send us the URL that it takes you too, it will look something like http://www.facebook.com/AccountName or http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=12345678910.

Q: What if my family plays on the same computer or from the same location?
Thats awesome! We think it is great when you can enjoy a game like this with friends and family, it is in no way against the rules. While situations like this are certainly looked at, it is far from the deciding factor on banning alts.

Q: How do you know which accounts are alts and which are not?
I am not going to go into the details, but we look at a number of different things. One thing to point out is that it is a manual process, there isn’t some random program running on the server banning people at will. When an account is banned, time and thought are put in to it.

Q: What if I play two different accounts, but they have no interaction with each other?
That is an alt account, if not turned in by the deadline both accounts will be permanently banned.

Q: What if my spouse plays their account all the time, but asks me to play it only on the weekend while they are away?
If you are playing someone elses account or someone is playing yours, it is considered an alt and both will be banned. Don’t play anyone elses account. Period.

Q: What if I spent money on my alt account? Can I keep it? Can I transfer it?
Alt accounts have always been against our Terms of Service, spending money on it does not allow you to keep them or transfer anything over in any way. As stated in the announcement post, you need to send us the IDs of all the accounts and designate which one to keep, the rest will be banned.

Q: I once had an alt, but I disabled that FB account months ago. Can I still be banned if I'm not using it?
In short, it is possible, yes. You need to turn in any alts you have used to play the game, even if you havent used them in days/weeks/months. If the accounts have been completely deleted off of Facebook and you no longer have the IDs, please contact us with that information.

Q: What if you ban a legitimate account?
You can dispute the ban by emailing support@legacyofathousandsuns.com . We can review the ban, but if we had cause to ban it then chances are it was for a good reason.

If you have any guides or FAQs that you think should be included in this please post on this thread. Thanks and I hope this helps you guys out. =)

[Trap]

Damn I just wanted to make one tomorrow but nice one!

You should sticky it, so everyone can see at top.

[danubus]

Thanks! This will help out vets as well as new players a lot!

[David Smith]

Wow, thanks Trinity! That will be a very useful compilation to have bookmarked

[Trinity]

Thanks everyone, glad you like this post. We have made it a sticky post so hopefully it can help more people out.

I just added a new link with how armor sets look. =)

[arun6030]

THANK U SO MUCH ..... EXCELLENT SHARE....

[Trinity]

Added how PoE affects raid exp, and what tactics to use in the FAQs area. =)

[Iron Monkey]

please also add the wiki

[Trinity]

please also add the wiki

Wiki is already on there under MISC section =)

[Iron Monkey]

Wiki is already on there under MISC section =)

ah yes... found it now LOLz... thanks

[Trap]

I think "How to use Honor?" should be put into FAQ too. If I looked right, then it is only shown in the beginners guide by Goran H, but I think it would be easier to put it here too to find it faster without searching much.

[Trinity]

The FAQs are for more advanced FAQs, otherwise I would be putting every detail from each guide under FAQs. I will leave "how to use honor" in the beginners guide. Thanks for the suggestion though. =)

I also will try to put in the FAQs any useful info people post on the forums that is generally not found in any guides.

[Tstering]

Just to add I think this is really really useful, thanks Trinity!!!

[Trap]

Okay Trinity, but I would add at "What is BSI and how do I calculate it? " that you have to use the BASE ATK/DEF or the total ATK/DEF to calculate the BSI. People get sometimes irritated.

[Trinity]

Okay Trinity, but I would add at "What is BSI and how do I calculate it? " that you have to use the BASE ATK/DEF or the total ATK/DEF to calculate the BSI. People get sometimes irritated.

Added "total". Don't want to add both ways, as some people calculate BSI using with gear, and some people use base. That is why I am leaving it at total attack/def.

However I did add this "(Note that some people calculate BSI using gear equipped and some prefer to calculate BSI with just base stats and and no gear)"

That way people know that some use gear to calculate and some don't and go by base stats.

[axej]

http://www.legacyofathousandsuns.com...es-it-all-mean
http://www.legacyofathousandsuns.com...acter-building
bam, two more

[Mythology]

Excuse me are there Officer named change from the Older path of this game?
Because i cant find Blitz and Xiang Kua officer in the Guide of officer & ships
And also would anyone also mention where to get "The Top Officer" based on the list
Thanks for explanation very much

[Trinity]

@axej- Added both of your new guides. Thanks. =)

@Mythos- You should contact the original writer of a guide if you want it to be updated. I am just posting links to guides, I am not keeping the guides updated, the original posters are. You should look at Methos raid loot guide. Any officers that you can't get from raids, you will find from quests, the shop or from expeditions.

[Ripley]

What tactics should I use on raids?
========================================
Here is how I rank the tactics. I know there are no raids with 10 tactic slots currently, please use the slots based on how many available tactic slots your raid has.
Slot 1- Lightning assault (Chance for extra attack) (I put this first, because less are likely to have it. And more people already have PoE to use)
Slot 2- Pursuit of excellence (Chance for extra exp)
Slot 3- Better to Receive (Chance for extra loot drop)
Slot 4- It's a Trap (Increased chance for critical hit)
Slot 5- Cunning Plan (Chance for huge damage hit)
Slot 6- Flank attack
Slot 7/8- Sting like a bee/Float like a butterfly
Slot 8/9- Plan 10 or SF
Slot 10- Space Raiders (This can be switched to 5 or 6 as money has more value in this game when you are staring out)

Do you know where Sting like a Bee and Float Like a Butterfly falls into this line up?

[axej]

Do you know where Sting like a Bee and Float Like a Butterfly falls into this line up?

slot 7/8

Added "total". Don't want to add both ways, as some people calculate BSI using with gear, and some people use base. That is why I am leaving it at total attack/def.

However I did add this "(Note that some people calculate BSI using gear equipped and some prefer to calculate BSI with just base stats and and no gear)"

That way people know that some use gear to calculate and some don't and go by base stats.

and trinity, the indexes are meant to compare and categorize builds across levels, not equipment sets
i strongly recommend that you disregard equipment when calculating them