I learned from overspending on Stack Attack - it can be a waste as the deck may not even contain all the cards you need to win a round - that is still unconfirmed. I do like the game, so I play, just less. Funding wise, I can justify spending 1 k or 2 k in gold if I've played at least 2 games of Booty Grab. OR, you can take that same 1 or 2 k and buy a formula for Alchemy and cover its crafting cost too.
The other thing is time. Collecting bugs in town is a good way to get ink, trade in and sell. I'm not fond of that, but it works. The price of an ink can easily cover the buy price of 100 Philosopher's Caches in The Bifrost. So before I ramble too much, what do I have?
1) A love for walking around Towns picking up paper and flowers. It makes me happy to clean. smile
2) A compulsion to grab any Booty Grab tank, Enki, Grunny Sub or not. The item drop possibility is also exciting. ^_^
3) An obsession with Fishing - it feels great to catch the big fish. This is a resting activity though, or at best, a studying one since it's hands on.
4) A lucky dip complex which means at least 4 times a day, I will Dumpster Dive - again like the idea of finding "trash" to turn into treasure.
It's not the formulaic set up for levelling Alchemy, but it was said on that thread that those willing to put in some leg work for components will always come out better than those who look to buy everything at the inflated MP prices.
That's why I decided to go ahead and earn the last 8 XP for Alchemy by making Orb Aggregates - I've already put in so much Zomg time that the orbs are just there doing nothing, so why not level up?
Use what you already have.
Additionally, the formulas crafted from just caches have a "Very low" success rate, whereas Orb Aggregates are "Medium". Chances are I would have lost more money trying to buy more caches to supplement the stash of freebies, or having to retry having failed.
The other side of the coin though, is that sometimes what you have just enough. Like how I ran out yarn for the chipmunk despite going down several hook sizes. There are times when you just have to admit you're going to have spend more money, time or effort to get what you want. The delicate balance lies in knowing when to hold and to say: Sold!
