Advanced dimension strategy

When dimensions were introduced to Wartune, I wrote a few articles about dimension strategy, but I did not write a new post since the last changes - although there were many. So let's see how good are dimensions nowadays and how I do them.

The way the explore dimensions is still the same - run in rows, each 2 rows far from each other, so you can see all squares by using the minimum energy. You can explore the entire dimension this way as fast as possible, and enjoy the final resist and chest bonus.

However, something has changed with the last dimension nerf. Previously, dimension lifespan was measured in days - the more complex dimensions lasted for more days. So it didn't matter how many levels you explored, the dimension expired at the same rate. So the best strategy was get to the end asap, and then start looting up.

Now the situation has changed. Dimensions lifespan is measured in a percentage. And the more levels you explored, the more percentage it loses each day. After complete explore, the life loss accelerates. So dimension now require a bit different strategy. In a bigger dimension (advanced, extended) its okay to go slow, and loot up everything before you go to the next level. And not only percentage loss is slower - the final chests and resist bonuses are pretty poor, so you much better off with these dimension being around longer than finishing it quick.

Here is how I do dimensions:

I always make sure I have 5 active dimensions. If one one my dimensions expire, I start a new one, regardless of how the others are explored. If I know I will have a dimension expire the next day as well, I will do a basic dimension. If I have more time, I start an intermediate dimension instead. Basic dimensions are now not so good - mainly because the reapers there drop useless eudaemon enchant items, while you still need them from other dimensions. Because the other loot is pretty weak too, I just explore the basic dimension, but don't bother looting it up later.

If I have 5 dimensions, and I have an intermediate which will expire soon, I loot it up. I claim all treasures etc, but don't do regular monsters because they mostly drop useless shards.

Also I have one extended or advanced dimension open. Only one is enough, the rest is intermediate / basic. I do not rush to explore these fully: rather, I go slow, and loot up them as well. If you do it slow, it expires very, very slowly, and you can do basic/intermediates meanwhile to replace the ones which expired.

I try to have dark / electro / fire dimensions open: these are the most common sylphs used in pvp, so the resist bonus is helpful also.

Extended dimension

My favorite is now the extended dimension. Too bad I found only one so far. This is the only one where you should do even basic monsters: because they always drop intermediate or advanced dimension shards, no basic ones. The loot is great, and the dimension expires very, very slowly. So you have time to loot up all the 30 levels. Dragon den gives really awesome treasure, but it's really tough.

The real pain with dimensions is the time they take do to each day. The common energy nodes are nice, but this means that actually you have 200 moves each day, which include a lot of combats. It's easily 1 hour or more (have a second monitor ready where you can watch a film meanwhile). I would love too see a feature which allows me to purchase dimensional essences (which extend lifespan of dimension) for several hundred energy. This would save a lot of time!

Dimension pvp

I have to mention the really bad thing about dimensions: the pvp aspect, which allows other players to steal it. So here is what you can do to reduce this risk:

1. Be the strongest player on the server. (joking, this option is not available to 99% of the players :) )

2. Be in the strongest guild. Maybe you did not know, but people from your own guild will not plunder you. So in optimal case, the server has only one big guild - and then no one have to worry about dimension plunder.

3. Do dimensions which less people do. Advanced dimensions, or wind/air intermediate dimensions are started less often. People can steal your dimension only if they open the same type as you have!

4. If you do a basic or intermediate, explore it fast (basic takes 1, intermediate 2 days) so their lifespan drops below 80% asap, and then it cannot be plundered.
5. A friend of mine said they have an agreement on their server: if you enter someone else's dimenson, you delete it and start a new one. Well, need a very good community with no hatred to do that, but it seems it's possible...

Dimension war guide

updated: 2015-02-09
Dimension war is a very nice new feature of Wartune. It's a refined version of the underground palace. If we shall ever see underground palace again is a mystery, but I would regret not being able to collect the mount from there.

How to start

To start this event, you must speak to NPC Lycus in Cloud city (between sylph arena and market). He will give you a basic coordinate chest. Opening it, you will get a "basic XX dmiension coordinate", which you need to use. After that, you can enter your dimension through the mystic gate in your city.

Movement

These Wartune dimension can have 6 elemental forms, like your sylphs. Each day, you start with 1500 energy in the dimension. Each movement to a new square costs some energy. The higher your given resistance, the less. For this reason, you are recommended to have all 6 types of sylphs, and equip the proper type while moving inside. A weak, white sylph will suffice, monsters are very weak (except the bosses in advanced / expert). It is also good to convert your resistance crystals to the type of the dimension. When I entered a dimension with the wrong sylph, one move cost 50 energy. When I equipped the proper sylph, one move cost only 30 energy. After I converted 5 lvl 5 resist crystals to the dimension's, movement cost was reduced to 21 energy (further decreased to 20 after I entered the 2^nd level). You can reduce your movement cost to as low as 10 energy, if you have multiple dimensions of the same type conquered!

Please note if you move to a square which you already visited, it cost you no energy.

The map

This mini game is pretty simple, you will discover how it works very fast. It has 5 levels, each level consist of 12 x 8 squares for basic and intermediate (the advanced and expert levels are rougly 4 times bigger). When you move to a new square, you also see the neighboring squares around you, so you don't have to step on each to discover a level.
Also, there is a trick when moving around: after you discovered some of a level, you can move around clicking on any far square, and your toon will run there automatically.
My suggestion is that you run through each level in a S shape, so you discover every square using the minimum amount of energy. After you conquered the dimension, and get all the bonuses, you can come back to loot everything.

The goal

There are 2 things you must find on each map: the entrance to the next level, and the special objects (for example, Tree of Life in wind) which you must occupy to own the level. Some dimension levels need more than one object to occupy. To enter the next level, you must occupy all objects.

Loot

Unlike in underground palace, the loot here does not improve much further levels, unfortunately. You can find the same items like in underground palace (mahra, sepulcrum, skeleton key, beredin's wine etc). They also added the new items needed for making, refining and enchanting sylph equipment. There is also plenty of bound balens, but I did not see a spirit covenant or VIP like in underground palace, and no big treasure chest either. Instead of that, you get X chests in mail each day, where X equals the special objects you occupied. The 2 chests I got after 1 day contained one runstone, and one skeleton key, quite neglectable. After occupying last level, I got a chest, with the items inside you see on the first screenshot above.*

You can find merchants who sell items for balen, the prices are ridiculous as usual, the only good deal people report is mire rune (probably nerfed with today's patch).

Also there are kill/revive objects like in U.P., and some which increase your energy.
* Please note that the rewards have been severely reduced in February. See changes here.

Dimension types
There are 4 different dimensions: basic, intermediate, advanced and expert. Basic last for 10, intermediate for 14, advanced for 35, expert for 70 days. The loot you find inside is exactly the same, but intermediate has 10 levels. Advanced has 10 levels too, but each level is 4 times bigger. I haven't visited expert, but someone said it's 30 (!!) levels. With 10 energy per move, you can complete a basic in 1 day, an intermediate in 2 days, an advanced in a week, an expert, maybe a month? Do not try advanced or expert unless you have very high resist and can move for 10 energy!
You can get dimensions the following ways:

• collect dimension shards inside the dimension by killing guardians, and forging under blacksmith into a chest. 
• get lucky and open one from the dimension chest you get as a reward each day for completed dimensions.
• buy them for balen inside the dimension at a merchant.
• buy them in a balen sale.

Final loot from basic dimension:

Final loot from intermediate dimension:

Please note that these loots have changed in February, see more details here.

Tactics

Move in an S line, to explore the full level by spending a minimum amount of energy. With each level completed, the bonus you get increase, and movement cost is reduced. You should loot up everything outside of your path only after you conquered the dimension, and have no room for more dimensions in your Mysic gate.

You can buy an additional 100 energy for 45 balens (5 times a day). I don't think it's a good idea to spend balen on this, cost more balens than the reward worth, but sometimes when you need a few more steps to complete a dimension you can spend the bound balens you earned here.

Strategy

Dimensions give a good resist bonus, which is useful in combat. For this reason, I recommend doing dimensions which give protection vs the most popular sylphs: electro or dark. You have to try do to dimensions of the same type, so their bonus stack together, and you can move cheaper and cheaper. Ideally, if you collected a bunch of electro or dark dimensions, start doing whichever is more numerous. If you you have a small collection, then start doing something of which have the most (my first dimensions were fire).
You should start off doing a basic dimension. Convert your 5 best resist crystals to that type so you move for the minimal energy. After that, do one more basic, the one more: until your movement cost is reduced to 10. At this moment, you can do an intermediate. Keep doing basic and intermediate until your dimension list is full. Please note that with VIP9, you can have 5 dimensions.
When your dimension list is full, you can start looting them. In basic, open only the chests, in intermediate you can do the fights as well so you get more intermediate dimension shards.
The dimension has a lifetime, after that, it expires, and you need to summon a new dimension. You will always have enough pieces from killing the guardians to create a basic dimension chest. You can extend the dimension by using dimension essences, which are rare drop from the final chest. 
About advanced dimensions: eventually you will be "lucky" to find one in an intermediate reward chest. Do it ONLY if your movement cost is 10, and your other dimensions still have 5+ days lifetime. Advanced dimension levels are 4 times bigger than basic, but it has the same number of loot. So in other words, you get 4 times less loot for your energy. Still, the final resist boost is nice, so it's okay to do it (but only if the above conditions are met). Since the nerf, I don't think doing expert dimension is a good idea. You miss out an incredible amount of loot.

So this was a very nice event, good for non-cashers as well. Too bad they nerfed it, reduced the final resist bonus significantly, and severely reduced the treasure in the final chests.