User:Piotrus/Tips for New Players

This is a short list of things I wish I knew when I started playing. It is not exhaustive (the rest of this wiki is for details), but it covers some of the key DON'Ts and DOs.

DON'Ts

 * spend Rainbow Gems on anything until you understand the game. In particular:
 * don't use Rare Recruit except during Sugo Fest days
 * Stamina Refills may be tempting, but the later you use it (the higher your Player Level (P-LV), the more benefit you get from them. Before using a Gem, make sure that you have tried all five daily Transponder Snails, which can give you a free refill if you are lucky!
 * restarting a battle may be tempting as well, but is rarely worth it. Do it only if you have collected valuable posters (and except on Extra Isle this is unlikely to happen before you finish the boss anyway). It is usually more efficient to use the Gem on Stamina refill, and even that is not advisable.
 * expanding the Character Box is good, but don't spend all your gems on that at once. Do it when you are out of options and would have to throw away valuable characters or rare fodder (evolvers or boosters).
 * use a good character or a rare evolver for powering up.
 * For characters, if it has two stars or more, it may be good to keep. Yes, even some two star characters that appear weak at first glance can be useful later (for example Helmeppo). Make sure to favorite (star) any characters. If not sure whether a character is weak or strong, search or ask. If you get a weaker version of a character you already had (such as another low-level Luffy), keep it until you understand how sockets and leveling-up skills work.
 * With regard to evolvers, do not, under any circumstances, use anything that has a rainbow color, or any dragons or lobsters for powering up. Early on you will also want to save your crabs (later on you'll have too many of them, but until you know you have too many, try to save them).
 * use the Treasure Turtles for powering up the characters, unless you are pretty sure you know what you are doing. In particular, understand that those turtles are the required evolution material for Pigs. Baby pig needs 2,350 EXP to reach max level, then 2 tiny turtles (worth 6,000 EXP) and a Sea Pony/small Penguin/Hermit Crab to evolve into a booster that gives over 50,000 EXP. For the same reasons, conserve your supply of the related evolvers.
 * do not spend overspend too much EXP trying to level up a character. Check the character info here to see how much EXP it needs for the max level.
 * focus on the Story Mode too much. After you unlock the Extra Isle (by finishing Shells Town), it is a very good alternative, as the rewards there are better and relatively unique. Story Isle should almost never be attempted when there are no rewards (2xDrop, 2xPirate EXP, 2xBeli, 0.5xStamina). Out of those, 0.5xStamina is best for rushing the Story, and together with 2xDrop is best for farming for certain characters. 2xEXP may occasionally be better then Extra Isle, but the rewards (drops) are usually not as good, and 2xBeli is really just barely better then no bonus.

DOs

 * log in at least once each day to get your daily log-in bonus and mail. No need to play if you are busy, just log in to the game screen.
 * use Transponder Snails (there are five of them each day). If you want to keep your Twitter account free of game stuff, start a secondary one just for this game. Those five daily rewards do add up.
 * understand Guerrilla Turtles Times and try to catch them as much as possible on Daily:Monday and Friday quests.
 * try to use your stamina efficiently, real life time permitting.

FAQ
Q: how do I evolve character X?

A: check the wiki page for that character

Q: how do I find evolution material X?

Q: On the Extra Island on different days, or in particular missions. See pages on Crabs, Penguins and Lobsters. Dragons do not appear in the story isles.