In Rise of Kingdoms, the Season of Conquest introduces crystals as a new resource. Crystals are only available for the season’s duration and can be used to upgrade crystal technology. This new set of technology research provides valuable buffs to help you perform better in the current season. Crystal technology provides boosts in march speed, attack, defense, the ability to deal more damage to barbarians and more.
This guide has everything you need to know about crystals and crystal technology in Rise of Kingdoms, showing you the best way to level up your crystal technology.
Crystal Buildings in Season of Conquest
As soon as you enter the Lost Kingdom map in Season of Conquest, you’ll have two new buildings available: the Crystal Mine and Crystal Technology Centre. Build both of these structures right away to start earning crystals and commence technology research.
The Crystal Mine generates crystals passively by utilizing resources. By investing resources into the mine, you’ll receive crystals as output. The speed of crystal production increases with the level of this building. Therefore, it’s advisable to reach building level 25 as soon as possible to enhance crystal production throughout the entire season.
The Crystal Technology Centre is the structure responsible for offering crystal research technologies. Much like the academy that handles regular research, this building exclusively provides crystal research specific to the Season of Conquest. At the end of the season, this building disappears alongside all of the researched technology.
Each time a technology is researched within this building, a currency called Season Coins is earned, which can be spent in the season store. As you progress in leveling up this building, additional technologies become available for research, and the crystal cost for each one decreases.
As a free-to-play player, reaching level 25 for this building might be costly, and you may not unlock enough research. Therefore, it’s more practical to concentrate on acquiring as much technology as possible based on the current building level. Next in this guide, we will discuss the recommended building levels at various stages of the season.
Crystal Technology Optimal Levelling Order
For free-to-play or low spenders, follow the numbered order in the diagram below to level your crystal technology optimally. This strategy emphasizes economic technologies first to increase crystal earnings and minimize costs. Later, you can prioritize combat-related technologies to boost your firepower.
When leveling war technology, prioritize your main troop type—be it Infantry, Cavalry, or Archer. If you find it more convenient, we’ve also provided a checklist for reference:
- Skillfull Operations I – 2/5
- Swift Marching I – 3/5
- Larger Camps – 3/5
- Skillful Operations I – 5/5
- Quenched Blade I, Improved Bows I, Mounted Combat Techniques I, Improved Projectiles I – 5/5
- Swift Marching II – 3/10
- Skillful Operations II – 6/10
- Swift Marching I – 5/5
- Treaties I, Cultural Exchange I – 5/5
- Barbarian Reports I, Karaku Reports I – 5/5
- Cultural Exchange II, Treaties II – 7/10
- Plunder I, Karaku’s Gift I – 5/5
- Plunder II, Karaku’s Gift II – 4/10
- Attack Formation – 3/10
- Quenched Blades II, Improved Bows II, Mounted Combat Techniques II – 3/10
- Quenched Blades III, Improved Bows III, Mounted Combat Techniques III – 3/10
- If you’re fighting, focus on war technology after this. If not continue working on the economic technology.
Methods of Obtaining Crystals
In addition to the Crystal Mine, there are several other methods to acquire crystals in Rise of Kingdoms. Below, we’ll explain how you can obtain them:
Bastions
Bastions are structures on the Season of Conquest map, led by in-game commanders. When one of your alliance or coalition buildings aligns with a bastion, it unlocks. You can then complete quests to level them up, earning crystals and favor. At bastion level 6, you unlock the featured skill of the leading commander, adding extra power to one of your marches.
Bastion quests will task you with various in-game activities, each offering varying amounts of crystals and favor as rewards. For the highest crystal rewards, concentrate on completing quests related to training troops and increasing power. Keep in mind that you can only complete 15 quests per day, so it’s advisable to refresh them to find ones that offer the highest crystal rewards. As you level up your crystal technology, you’ll notice an increase in the crystals obtained from these tasks.
In addition to receiving crystals for completing quests, leveling up a bastion with favor also boosts the crystal mine production speed. The amount of this boost varies, so we have provided a table that shows the increase for each level:
| Bastion Level | Epic Commander Mine Boost Speed | Legendary Commander Mine Boost Speed |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | +0% | +0% |
| Level 2 | +1.5% | +2% |
| Level 3 | +3 | +4% |
| Level 4 | +4.5 | +6% |
| Level 5 | +6 | +8% |
| Level 6 | +7.5 | +10% |
| Level 7 | +9 | +12% |
| Level 8 | +10.5% | +14% |
| Level 9 | +12% | +16% |
| Level 10 | +15% | +20% |
Map Exploration
Similar to the main Kingdom, when you first visit the Lost Kingdom the map will be overun with fog which you will need to explore with your scouts.
Scouts will uncover Mysterious Caves and Tribal Villages, which can be visited to receive various rewards and occasionally a small number of crystals. Mysterious caves come in three rarities: Low, Medium and High. The higher the rarity, the better the rewards.
Premium Season Crystal Supply
At the beginning of each new Season of Conquest, the Premium Season Crystal Supply bundle is always available for purchase at $4.99. This bundle enhances the Crystal Mine production speed by 50% and offers a daily supply of 60,000 crystals. If you want to obtain a lot of crystals, purchasing this is a great way to get them.
We highly recommend purchasing this bundle on the very first day of the season to get the full value of the package. The 50% extra Crystal Mine speed right from the start is crucial. If you’re a low spender, this bundle is a must-buy, offering the most value during a KVK season. If you have the extra funds, it’s a smart investment for a considerable advantage.
Kahar The Hidden
Kahar the Hidden can be summoned by using Kahar’s Bone Whistle, which is obtained by completing specific bastion quests. Once summoned, you can send a march to defeat him and earn various rewards, including guaranteed crystals.
Initially, you could level crystal technology to enhance the amount of crystals obtained from defeating him. However, the game has since been balanced, and the crystal technology for this has been removed. Now, Kahar The Hidden awards a fixed amount of 45,000 crystals per kill.
Farming Barbarians & Barbarian Forts
A straightforward way to earn more crystals in the Season of Conquest is by defeating barbarians and barbarian forts using action points. Higher-level barbarians and forts may be more challenging to defeat, but they offer greater crystal rewards.
We’ve included another table displaying the crystal rewards for each level. Additionally, investing in levelling up the Plunder crystal technology can further increase the crystals earned.
| Barbarians | Barbarian Forts | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Level | Crystals Earnt | Level | Crystals Earnt |
| 41-43 | 400 | 11 | 2,500 |
| 44-46 | 450 | 12 | 2,750 |
| 47-49 | 500 | 13 | 3,000 |
| 50-52 | 550 | 14 | 3,250 |
| 53-55 | 600 | 15 | 3,500 |
Alliance Crystal Fields
Alliance Crystal Fields appear on the map and are essential for alliances to construct flags and other buildings. Moreover, they offer hourly crystal earnings that benefit the entire alliance. To claim these crystals, navigate to the alliance territory menu and click the “claim” button.
The Trial of Kau Karuak
Completing The Trial of Kau Karuak is an excellent way to earn additional crystals. Similar to the Karuak Ceremony event, this event is exclusive to the Lost Kingdom and offers five different difficulties ranging from easy to hell.
Governors can conquer various trial levels that escalate in difficulty to earn season coins, crystals, and more. An added advantage of this event is the passive crystal earning. Every 10 completed trial levels provide an hourly crystal gain speed boost, allowing passive crystals to be redeemed from a chest within the event’s interface.
We advise completing the different difficulties as soon as they become available because the crystal rewards are significant, and you’ll want to accumulate as many passive crystals as possible. If you encounter challenges in some trials, consider upgrading the Karaku Reports crystal technologies to make the task easier.
Conclusion
Playing your Season of Conquest strategically, obtaining crystals efficiently, and leveling technology sensibly can greatly enhance your performance. While free-to-play or low-spender players might feel at a disadvantage compared to big spenders who can quickly maximize crystal technology, applying the right strategies gives you a chance to make a significant impact on your kingdom.
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