Great Buildings are a huge game-changer in any city, and your choice of GBs will ultimately need to compliment your play style. Getting the initial BPs is challenging enough, but that’s just the beginning. Eventually, you may want to take one or more GBs beyond level 10, and to do that you’re going to need an entire set of BPs again… for each consecutive level. So one set of BPs will get your GB to level 10, and then you need a full set for each level beyond that. This can get expensive!
When you’re initially starting out, you’re probably going to pay a lot for your BPs. Those first few GBs do not come easy, and it tends to take dedication to get them. This can be the case when you’re hunting for BPs for a GB that isn’t readily being offered up with spots in a guild thread, too. If you’re really hunting and there aren’t good opportunities in your guild, then you’re probably going to pay more for your BPs than what is recommended as a good price. That’s absolutely okay! Ultimately, your need -vs- the supply available to you is going to determine how much those BPs are worth to you.
As you look to plant GBs, and take them beyond level 10 especially, the major goal is to not spend diamonds on the BPs. This is huge, because they can get expensive, fast! The cheapest set of diamonds sells for $4.99 USD, and that gets you 250 diamonds. It comes out to about $0.02 a diamond, which means each BP you have to spend diamonds on costs you about $4.00 USD. Not spending that kind of money, constantly, is a good thing.
If you take a GB beyond level 10, you’ll quickly find out about your “Magic BP”, and this BP is the one that is the lowest in quantity for you. It’s the determining factor for how many levels you can achieve before you have to trade or purchase a BP to move on. Getting your magic BP when a GB you’ve invested on levels is its own kind of joy, for sure.
It is not recommended to trade BPs to try and fill in the magic one after you have planted a GB, because you’re going to need every BP you can get, in every slot, to keep going. It’s far better to lock spots on other GBs to earn the BPs, so that you keep amassing more and more.
When you’re looking for BPs, you are going to want to determine their worth to you. On average, 20 FPs-30 FPs is a good deal for one BP. More than 30 FPs is getting a little pricey, and less than 20 FPs is a steal. This is of course if you’re in a guild that doesn’t have Power Arcs taking locks. If you are in a guild with a locks thread, then you should never expect to pay more than a Power Arc for a spot.
The cost of a BP is determined by how many FPs you’re investing to lock a spot, minus the FPs you will get back from the contribution reward, divided by the number of BPs earned. It’s important to subtract the FPs you’re going to get back from the contribution reward, because in essence you didn’t spend those, you loaned them. Only the FPs that you won’t get back (so, that you’re actually paying) should determine how much those BPs cost.
So in the example to the left, we can see by hovering (PC)/clicking (mobile) on the first place contribution reward (often referred to simply as a reward or a spot) that it offers 70 FPs, 1,732 Medals, and 2 BPs. For our purposes, the medals are irrelevant, and just a nice extra.
If you were able to secure the spot by donating 70 FPs to the GB, then your net cost for BPs would be 0 FPs. This is because you’d get all 70 FPs back.
If you were able to secure the spot by donating less than 70 FPs, then you would profit in FPs, and get your BPs. This is often something snipers manage to do, but you could get lucky in-guild if someone is being kind.
If you were able to secure the spot by donating more than 70 FPs, then you do your subtraction to determine true cost. If you didn’t want to pay more than 30FPs a BP, then you wouldn’t want to donate more than 130 FPs to secure that spot. This is because 130-70=60, and 60/2=30. So you can absolutely work backwards and multiply how many FPs you want to pay per BP, max, by the number of BPs in the reward you’re going for, and then add in how many FPs you’ll get back in the reward. That gives you your total amount.
If you’re in a guild with a lock thread, say a 1.9 thread, then you’d multiply by 1.9 to figure out what the lock rate is. In this case it’s 70×1.9=133. If you had a level 80 Arc that’d be break-even. So if your guild Power Arcs are willing to give that person 133 FPs, that’s what you should expect to spend too, maximum. Then you can do the same subtraction, assuming you don’t have a Power Arc, so 133-70=63 which is about 30 FPs a BP.
The last thing you need to do before making that donation is determine if it’s safe to add the FPs in. Safe means that once you put those FPs on, no one can pass you and take your spot. This is easily determined with a simple formula, but you need some information first.
- Scenario 1: If only the GB owner has deposited FPs on the GB, subtract the total amount of FPs it costs to level the GB, minus the total amount the owner has deposited, and divide by two (rounding up if you get a decimal). Since you don’t need to donate to level the GB, you just need to know what half of what remains is. Since you’ll be the first to put your FPs in, that means that even if someone matches you, they won’t pass you.
So for example: If it costs 500 FPs to level a GB, and the owner has put in 150, then 500-150=350, and 350/2=175. So 175 FPs would lock 1st safely on that GB. If that number meets or is less than your target amount, you’re safe to put your FPs on. If it is more than your target amount, then you have to wait. - Scenario 2: If the GB owner has deposited FPs on the GB, and there is someone else in the reward spot you want, then you have to subtract the total amount donated from the total cost of the GB, and then add in what was donated by the person in the reward slot you want, before dividing it in half. You have to add back what was already donated specifically to the spot you want, to account for those FPs when determining your safety.
So for example: If it costs 500 FPs to level a GB, and the owner has put in 150 and you want reward spot 1 but there’s already someone with 40 FPs on it, plus others which brings the total donated overall to 230 (150 from GB owner + 40 from the person in the reward spot you want + 40 from other random contributors), then 500-230=270, and 270+40=310, and 310/2=155. So in this instance, 155 FPs safely locks that spot. - Scenario 3: If the GB owner has not deposited FPs, and there is no one else on the GB, then divide the total amount of FPs it costs to level the GB by two. That’s how much will lock first.
- Scenario 4: If the GB owner has not deposited FPs, and there are others on the GB, then you must do as in Scenario 2. Subtract everything that was donated already to the GB from the total cost to level it, add in the amount already donated by the person in the reward spot you want, and divide by 2 to get how much you have to donate to be safe in that spot.
It seems really difficult, but as you practice it when locking GBs for BPs, it will get easier. 🙂
The final thing to note is that when you see a GB with reward spots open in a BP Opportunities style thread, it means it’s fair game. First person to call their spot, and then add their FPs, gets the BPs. It’s always kind to look out for your younger mates and help them get their GB planted if you already have it and they don’t, but don’t be so selfless that you hinder yourself in the process. If it’s a GB that you really need BPs for because bringing it beyond level 10 is going to help you help the guild, that is equally important to helping a mate plant it for the first time.
Remember too, the BPs may not seem important right away, because level 10 seems so far away; but eventually you will be there and you will need BPs. So if you can plan ahead and get the BPs as they’re available (and possibly very cheap!), you’ll thank yourself later. Every BP counts, and the higher you take a GB, the more crucial it is to have them in advance. What GBs you take beyond level 10 will totally depend on your play style, and there’s almost no wrong answer to this one (if you power level something like Colosseum though, I have concerns).
If you are the GB owner looking to get your building leveled, and fill up the reward slots, look over the above information too, and see if perhaps you need to self-invest a bit [more] to make it viable to mates without breaking their banks. The best way to get it leveled is a locks thread with Power Arcs, but not all guilds have them. FP swap threads are an option, as are direct/dedicated swaps to get a GB leveled, but if you’re putting it into BP Opportunities this is something to be mindful of for sure.
So get out there, and get those BPs! But don’t break the FP bank to do it. 😉
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