TABLE OF CONTENTS
Developing Army General Specialties
Specifically, the biggest mistake that can be made in Evony is taking the wrong Army General to four (4) maximum level (4-Yellow) Specialties. Be VERY CAREFUL about which generals you decide to take to 4-Yellow Specialties.
Criteria should probably be something like this:
Top 3 in categories with more than 10 choices or Top 1 in categories with 10 or less choices.
Newer than 1 year (in most cases).
Mechanics of Army General Specialties
The 1st, 2nd and 3rd Specialties (from the left) are open and can be developed on any Army General that reaches level 25 (or above). The 4th Specialty cannot be started until the 1st, 2nd, & 3rd Specialties have reached maximum (3-Yellow) level. As a reward, the 4th specialty starts out as green (saving 200 Immortal Runstones (or about 2,000 Runestone Chests).
Runestone Chests
When opening Runestone Chests they breakdown into the following amounts:
33.85% Leadership Runestones - 1st Specialty (1st on the left)
30.77% Military Runestones - 2nd Specialty (2nd from left)
24.62% Glory Runestones - 3rd Specialty (3rd from left) = about 1/4 chance or 1 per 4 Runestone Chests
10.77% Immortal Runestones - 4th Specialty (4th from left, aka 1st on right) = about 1/10 chance or 1 per 10 Runestone Chests
Lucky Favor Stones
As indicated above, the 4th Specialty Runestones are very rare when compared to the other types. Therefore, any LUCKY FAVOR STONES should ONLY be used on the 4th Specialty when going from Orange Level to Yellow Level. I typically use nine (9) per attempt for an 80% chance to get a double increase.
Number of Runestone Chests Needed
Approximate amount of Runestone Chests needed for specialty levels for ONE (1) Army General:
3-Green = 800 = 200 x 4
3-Blue = 2,800 = 700 x 4
3-Purple = 6,800 = 1,700 x 4
3-Orange = 18,800 = 4,700 x 4
3-Yellow = 50,800 = 12,700 x 4
4-Yellow = 125,000 = 12,500 x 10
Approximate amount of Runestone Chests needed for a LINE-UP OF 60 Army Generals:
3-Green = 48,000 = 200 x 4 x 60
3-Blue = 168,000 = 700 x 4 x 60
3-Purple = 408,000 = 1,700 x 4 x 60
3-Orange = 1,128,000 = 4,700 x 4 x 60
3-Yellow = 3,048,000 = 12,700 x 4 x 60
4-Yellow = 7,500,000 = 12,500 x 10 x 60
Time and Money Required to Accumulate Runestone Chests
Before discussing how long it takes to accumulate Runestone Chests, we need to go establish ranges for spending levels. Like it or not, Evony is a Pay-to-Win game. If you want to accumulate a huge number of Runestone Chests, the fastest way to do it is spending money on the game.
"Don't hate the player, hate the game."
Ice-T (1999)
Unfortunately for free players, I'm not sure it's realistic to get even one (1) Army General to Maximum (4-Yellow) Level Specialties. The way the game is set up now, a free players MIGHT be able to get one (1) Army General to Maximum (4-Yellow) Specialties every 2-3 years? That's assuming the free player is active 4-5 hours per day, EVERY DAY for 2-3 years.
Original Runestone Scenario
A Heavy Spender ($3,000/month), who is also very active, can accumulate about 55,000-65,000 Runestone Chests per month. Meaning that a Heavy Spender can accumulate enough Runestones to max-out one (1) Army General's Specialties about every two (2) months (or six (6) Army Generals per year).
A Heavy Spender with a line-up of SIXTY (60) Army Generals would require the following amounts of time/money to achieve the Specialty Levels for all sixty (60):
3-Green = 48,000 Runestone Chests = 3 weeks = $2,250 US
3-Blue = 168,000 Runestone Chests = 2.8 months = $8,400 US
3-Purple = 408,000 Runestone Chests = 6.8 months = $20,400 US
3-Orange = 1,128,000 Runestone Chests = 18.8 months = $56,400 US
3-Yellow = 3,048,000 Runestone Chests = 51 months = 4 years & 3 months = $153,000 US
4-Yellow = 7,500,000 Runestone Chests = 125 months = 10 years & 5 months = $375,000 US
RUNSTONE REDUCTION
Fortunately, there are a couple ways to reduce those insane amounts.
Scenario 1: 3-Yellow/4-Yellow at 3:2 Ratio
If about 59.3% of the Army Generals are taken to 3-Yellow Specialties, and around 40.6% of Army Generals are taken to 4-Yellow Specialties (ratio of 3:2), it will significantly reduce the number of Runestone Chests required.
A Heavy Spender ($3,000/month) with a line-up of SIXTY (60) Army Generals where thirty-six (36) Army Generals are taken to 3-Yellow Specialties and Twenty-four (24) Army Generals are taken to 4-Yellow Specialties:
Thirty-six (36) Generals at 3-Yellow:
36 x 12,700 = 457,200 Glory Runestones (25%)
Twenty-four (24) Generals at 4-Yellow:
24 x 12,700 = 304,800 Glory Runestones (25%)
24 x 12,500 = 300,000 Immortal Runestones (10%)
457,200 + 304,800 = 762,000 Glory Runestones requires about 3,048,000 Runestone Chests.
Scenario 1: Conclusion
3,048,000 Runestone Chests would take a Heavy Spender ($3,000/month) about 50.8 months (4 years and 2.8 months) and approximately $152,400 US. That's a 60% reduction from the original scenario, however it's still about as much as buying a new 2023 Aston Martin Vantage automobile.
RUNSTONE REDUCTION
Scenario 2: 3-Orange/4-Yellow at 4:1 Ratio
If 79.8% of the Army Generals are taken to 3-Orange Specialties and 20.2% of the Army Generals are taken to 4-Yellow Specialties (ratio of 4:1), it will substantially reduce the number of Runestone Chests required.
Using the same scenario as the above paragraph, a Heavy Spender with a line-up of SIXTY (60) Army Generals where forty-eight (48) are taken to 3-Orange Specialties and twelve (12) Army Generals are taken to 4-Yellow Specialties:
Forty-eight (48) Generals at 3-Orange
48 x 4,700 = 225,600 Glory Runestones (25%)
Twelve (12) Generals at 4-Yellow
12 x 12,700 = 152,400 Glory Runestones (25%)
12 x 12,500 = 150,000 Immortal Runestones (10%)
225,600 + 152,000 = 377,600 Glory Runestones requires about 1,510,400 Runestone Chests.
Scenario 2: Conclusion
1,510,400 Runestone Chests takes a Heavy Spender ($3,000/month) about 25.2 months (2 years and 1.2 months) and approximately $75,600 US. That's an 80% reduction from the original scenario, however it's still about as much as buying a new 2023 BMW M4 automobile.
Army General Specialties and Runestone Chests Conclusion
So, as you can see, the scarcity of Runestone Chests make the decisions about which Army Generals get Maximum (4-Yellow) Level Specialties very important. So, choose very, very carefully.
If you have any comments, requests, or questions, please let me know in the comments section below. Also, directing my attention to any mistakes is especially appreciated.
Thanks,
DD
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