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This page is about how you can get all the buildings in Territory in the shortest time possible i.e. most efficiently. I do have all the building yet, but I have a general idea about the guild. This page is more of a opinion, because I don't have the data to back it up. Feel free to share your opinion as well. Just try to back your opinion up with facts.


Solving Puzzles

  • The game provides you with 10 hints. Several of the character classes will decrease that amount as a penalty. Each new level constructing the Pagoda will increase the amount as a reward. Hints are helpful but you should avoid using hints as they will decrease the reward you get from solving a puzzle. Weapons, on the other hand, do not seem to decrease the rewards.
  • The quickest puzzles to solve will be ones with large numbers of consecutive filled squares, especially those puzzles where this large number of squares occurs along the puzzle edges.
  • Many are not aware but there is a subtle progress bar while you are working on a puzzle. It appears as a yellow bar above the ribbon bar at the bottom of the screen with all the buttons.
  • In the game's settings, there are many options that will make your puzzle solving a lot easier (especially larger puzzles) most of which are not turned on by default. These settings are by no means "cheating", they just make the game a lot easier. Admittedly, these settings do significantly reduce the challenge of solving a nonogram, and if you are just playing the game for the purposes of enjoying a tough nonogram then you should decide which of these settings you want to use. If your goal is to move quickly through the guild, though, these settings are highly recommended. In the settings, under "Assist", you should turn on the following settings:
    • Automatically cross out numbers (this will cross out numbers which the system has determined you have completed in the puzzle)
    • Fade out lines with completely crossed out numbers (if you complete a row or column it will be faded out)
    • Cross out border cells (this will automatically place X's around completed cells that the system determines requires X's)
    • Highlight errors (this will highlight rows or columns in which the system determines there is an error)
    • Suggest to fill trivial lines at start (this will give you a prompt at the start of the puzzle to fill any row or column in which the author has filled 100%. E.g. if you are doing a 15x15 black and white puzzle and the author made one row have any mix of numbers that add to 15 with required minimum empty cells, like 5-4-3-1, the system would automatically fill the row) (After testing, it seems that filling trivial lines will significantly reduce the reward for a puzzle, even if the lines are trivial to fill on your own. If your goal is to complete expeditions or achievements quickly, go ahead and fill trivial lines. However, if your goal is to get the maximum reward for a puzzle then you should not automatically fill trivial lines. Rewards also depends on how many lines it fills.)


Items

  • The best way to gather a huge cache of resource is to go through all the 5x5 and 5x10 sections of the user submitted puzzles. These are puzzles that should be completed very quickly for any seasoned user. While many puzzles will give no reward beyond minimal experience, many will give something, and since the game has to give you SOMETHING when it wants to, the ratio works in your favour. 1 Wood for completing a 5x5 puzzle, versus 1 Wood for completing a simplistic 20x20 puzzle. With over 5,000 puzzles among these four sections there is a huge opportunity to gather a huge bounty of items quickly (as well as advance progress in completing achievements). Note: You will need 10x10 nonograms for level 1 expeditions, so don't solve to many.
  • Weapons can't be sold at the shop, but can be thrown into the Cauldron to receive more materials for construction (such as wood and stone) or gold ingots. Just be aware that a few weapons will be required for construction (Fan and Katana for later levels of the Pagoda) or for an expedition (arrows for Level 1). I generally throw all weapons except arrows into the Cauldron. This is why the Cauldron is so vital to unlock as soon as possible.
  • Certain buildings require that the user achieves a certain level in the guild to continue. Getting experience can be hard early on, which is where the Sushi item is very useful. But you should only really use Sushi on hard 80x80 puzzles to maximize its value. A "hard" 80x80 puzzle will usually offer 1500-3000 XP. A 20% XP boost from the Sushi represents an extra 300-600 XP. This is particularly useful at lower levels, however once you get past level 20 (or so), Sushi becomes less valuable. Side note: don't use Sushi immediately on an 80x80 puzzle. First assess the puzzle to make sure it is hard. If you think it is going to be hard (as determined by the fact that there are very few trivial lines filled), use it (there is no penalty for using it at different times) for the 20% boost.
  • NEVER sell Rubies. They are hard to come by and are required in every aspect of the game to advance (in building, in skills, etc.). 50 coins for selling a Ruby early on in the game seems tempting, but once you get the Cauldron, your gold needs will plummet as the chance of getting a gold ingot is quite high, especially if you throw the right items in there (e.g. Katana). Note: You can trade Coffee beans you get from watching ads for Rubies (50 Coffee beans = 1 Ruby).
  • Coffee Beans and expedition maps should not be sold. These items are more common, but still hard to gather over time. Coffee Beans will be required to construct the Coffee Bonsai (120 and 240 for Level 1 and Level 2, respectively), and 100 (!!!) coffee beans will required to advance in the Shogun Katana quest, to purchase the Level 3 Smuggler's map. 2 Level 1 expedition maps will be required to learn a ship skill. Note: It's better to construct Coffee Bonsai later in the game (at least 25+ level). Therefor you should sell your Coffee beans once you learn all Haruka skills, since you will have plenty of them from watching ads and going on expeditions. Treasure maps have more value, if you complete expeditions.
  • Mortar and Battering Ram should really only be used on puzzles that are 80x80 to maximize their value. 10% (mortar) of a 20x20 puzzle is 40 squares filled. 10% of an 80x80 puzzle is 640 square filled. You should use these items before you hit your maximum capacity to avoid getting "paid out" in XP for excess capacity.
  • I do not recommend throwing Sushi into the Cauldron. 7 sushi will definitely result in a greater reward from the Cauldron, but you will be kicking yourself when you get to the point of initiating the Smuggler's map (as many are required).
  • Throwing wood beams or wood planks in to the Cauldron is also not a good idea. These are items used for construction and require a lot of time to produce.
  • You should avoid letting items get to their maximum capacity, if you can. Getting paid out in XP for excess items is not as good as using, selling (at the shop, if possible) or throwing the item (in the Cauldron). Here are some tips for avoiding maxing out your capacity:
    • Build up the warehouse to increase backpack capacity.
    • Learn the "Athlete" skill to increase backpack capacity.
    • If you are about to maximize your wood, fabricate some wood beams or wood planks (assuming you have constructed the Lumber Mill). You will always need more. Note: Early on you will need a lot stone. Wood can be traded for stone in Bourse.
    • If you are getting tons of coins and don't want to max out your coins storage, don't sell items that are only for selling (gold ingots, chests, duplicate artifacts, coffee, maps, etc.). Keeping the saleable items is like virtual storage. Having 50 gold ingots is like having 1000 virtual coin storage which you can sell at any time.
    • If you are about to max your capacity of a weapon, throw it in the Cauldron and try to get more resources.
    • If you are about to max your capacity of chemicals, gunpowder, iron sand, charcoal or steel, throw some into the Cauldron. I always made sure to keep these items at a level no less than 90. If I got over 90, I'd toss them in the Cauldron. There is no special reason for the number 90 other than just liking that number, besides the fact that no building construction, weapon fabrication or expedition required anywhere near that number. Do note that you need Steel for level 2 expeditions.
    • If you are about to max your capacity of mortar or battering rams, use them. What I did (since I want to complete all the achievements) was focus on an achievement (e.g. completing 500 puzzles in the section "Anime"), go immediately to the 80x80 puzzles and one by one, download them, open them and fill all trivial lines (if they existed). Lots of times you find puzzles with 70%, 80%, or even 90+% immediately filled. For the battering ram, I would identify puzzles that were 76% filled such that using the item would immediately complete the puzzle (and to feel like I maximized the battering ram's 25% fill). Similarly, for the mortar, I would identify puzzles that were 91% filled (and to feel like I maximized the mortar's 10% fill).
  • At later points in the Guild construction, when you have completed most of the buildings, you will find that the need for stone plummets and you will be building up your reserves of stone quickly to the maximum. At this same time you will find the need for wood will skyrocket thanks to the new buildings that require Wooden Planks. I always make sure I consistently have 50 wood to throw to maximize the Lumber Mill's ability (100 Wooden Planks requires 50 wood). So instead of gambling at the Cauldron game and hoping that trading 7 Stone will yield Wood, I instead trade it at the Bourse for guaranteed Wood. 32 Stone can be traded for 20 Wood per cycle. I also buy the Shop's wood each cycle (10 units for 60 Coins with Level 3 shop).


Achievements

Several of the achievements can be completed somewhat quickly but others are a significant grind. Completing 500 puzzles in the "Anime" and the "Dragon" sections fall into this category. There are not many smaller sized puzzles to do quickly, and most puzzles in this section are colored (which presents a significant challenge for completing these puzzles on a mobile device as they won't fit on screen, especially when they are 80x80 with 10 colors). While it sounds counter intuitive, the best way I have found to quickly finish these achievements is to focus on 80x80 colored puzzles in a section. Many of the authors are very elaborate in their art and routinely make almost all rows and columns trivial (not on purpose, of course). If you have the "suggest to fill trivial lines at start" option enabled and opt to fill those trivial lines it will make solving these puzzles extremely easy. There are plenty of puzzles where you will get 100% of the puzzle filled. There are countless ones which will fill 90%+ without any effort. You should also sort by "Difficulty", ascending, using the sort function and work on puzzles that the community has rated as easier to complete (as identified by its rating score in number of Katanas. 1 Katana = easy, 5 Katana = hard).

Note: I think some colored nonograms are easier that black-and-white nonograms, since they are just multiple easier nonograms layered onto each other.

Expeditions

The requirements for an expedition will seem daunting from the start, but as you become more accustomed to them they are not that bad. Here are a few quality tips for expeditions.

  • The quickest way through an expedition is to focus on puzzles which meet the minimum requirements. If the expedition asks for puzzles no less than 10x10, then focus on only 10x10. Yes, bigger puzzles will satisfy the requirement, but it is wasted effort.
  • Use the "Weight Categories" option (under the user submitted section) to identify puzzles by size.
  • When in a weight category, identify puzzles which are easier and quicker to solve by using the sort function and sorting by "Difficulty" in ascending fashion.
  • When searching for "True Nonograms" use the filter function to filter out puzzles that are required by the expedition. If the expedition asks for you to complete a 40x40 puzzle, instead of scrolling to find a 40x40 puzzle (a huge time waster) the filter function will find them for you.
  • If you run out of puzzles in a certain weight category (as I made the mistake of doing before the guild was created by the developer, by making a personal challenge to finish certain weight categories such as 20x20 black and white, or 20x20 colored) you should be able to reset puzzles and do them again for credit. You can also wait and over time new user puzzles will be added to the section. After a couple of days you can do the same puzzle again for rewards.
  • While it is noted that you should do the minimum size puzzles to save time, larger puzzles will give you more credit towards completion. This has always existed in the system, however, with update 14 of the Nonograms Katana App, now the number of puzzles you have completed will now be shown as a decimal value (previously you were only shown the partially filled green box to imply you have a partial credit). For example, completing an 80x80 puzzle for credit in a Level 1 expedition for 10x10 puzzles should generally give you credit as two (or more) completed puzzles.


Buildings

First you should build your economy with buildings that give you resources back or enable you to get resources. Some building are a waste of your resources and others are an investment, which start making a profit after a long time. Buildings I would avoid are those which make weapons (exception is Alchemist's Hut because of Cauldron). The best building order should look something like this:

  1. Guild level 2 (better daily rewards)
  2. Warehouse level 1 (unlock Bourse)
  3. Shop level 1 (to enable purchase of Chemicals to construct Alchemist Hut)
  4. Alchemist's Hut level 1
  5. Alchemist's Hut level 2 (unlock Cauldron)
  6. Rock Garden level 1 (create passive income of Stone. Get Rock Garden before Garden as stone is harder to find than Wood)
  7. Rock Garden level 2 (increase passive income from 1 Stone to 2)
  8. Lumber Mill level 1 (enable Wooden Beams construction, which is required for Level 3+ buildings)
  9. Guild level 3 (enable level 3 building construction)
  10. Rock Garden level 3 (increase passive income from 2 Stone to 3)
  11. Lumber Mill level 2 (speed up construction of Wooden Beams)
  12. Garden level 1 (create passive income Wood)
  13. Garden level 2 (increase passive income from 1 Wood to 2)
  14. Garden level 3 (increase passive income from 2 Wood to 3)
  15. Lumber Mill level 3 (enable Wood Plank construction)
  16. Guild level 4 (better daily rewards and enable level 4 building construction)
  17. Guild level 5 (better daily rewards, enable level 5 building construction and complete the "Build the Guild" quest for large reward of coins and XP)
  18. Pier (the Pier is required to build the Ship, and the Pier is also required to advance in the Shogun's Katana quest)
  19. Ship level 1 (still learning of its abilities, but it is required to advance in the Shogun's Katana quest and enables ship expeditions which will allow you to collect items like Spices, Pearls and Salmon, which are necessary to build some buildings)

Regarding skills (see Character) during this time, it is best to focus on skills in this order, and learn them whenever you can (assuming you have them unlocked):

  1. Logistician, all 5 levels, to increase chance of finding Wood and Stone
  2. Carpenter, both levels, to increase production time at the Lumber Mill (very useful when you start producing Wood beams)
  3. Rock Garden Contemplator, both levels, to increase production time at the Rock Garden
  4. Gardener, both levels, to increase production time at the Garden.


Regarding expeditions, early on it is best to really only focus on doing only Level 1 expeditions to try to get the "Axe" and "Pickaxe" artifacts to increase your chance of getting Wood and Stone. Level 2 and 3 artifacts have their utility, but early on they are not worth the expense of doing the expedition especially considering there is only a 60% chance of finding an artifact. The lumber spent on a Level 3 expedition is better spent on constructing a building. As such, you should delay wasting Rubies on learning the Cartographer expedition skill to unlock Level 2 and Level 3 expeditions. You will eventually get to a point that learning them is useful (you need to do a Level 2 expedition to advance past Chapter 2 of Shogun Katana for example) but very early on, there is no need to burn Rubies that can be better spent on building. Regarding expedition skills, "Economist" should be the first focus as it reduces the expenses for starting an expedition by 20%, while "Some more coffee!" will increase expedition coffee reward bonus by 25%.


At this point, all remaining buildings and skills won't assist much in your quest to finish the Guild, because you don't get more resources or assistance towards getting more resources. If you have resources (Rubies, Gold Coins) to spend a good idea is to upgrade your Warehouse to increase storage, upgrade the Shop to increase the amount of resources you can purchase per cycle (helpful for buying more Wood and Stone), or learn some of the remaining useful skills for increased abilities (e.g. Athlete for more storage, Antiquarian for increased chance of finding a mosaic fragment, etc.).

Here are the buildings you should avoid building and why (at least from the start of the game):

  • Furnace - you will need Steel to go on level 3 expeditions, but you get plenty of Steel from the Cauldron. However, this is the only building I would optionally choose to build (as opposed to 100% avoid) as being able to construct Steel sometimes is useful later in the game.
  • Workshop - this building is just for building weapons which won't help you build buildings. (However, 10 mortar will be required to learn the Patrolling ship expedition skill, and you won't collect enough through leveling up). Building weapons just to toss into the Cauldron is a waste.
  • Smithy - this building is just for building weapons which doesn't help you construct buildings.
  • Onsen - this increases the daily reward (we still have no information on its abilities) and offers passive chemicals at Level 2, but you will get plenty of Chemicals from the Cauldron.
  • Coffee Bonsai - Level 1 is a mere 1 coffee per 12 hours, while Level 2 is 2. You get more by watching ads offered in the Bourse - 2 coffee per hour!
  • Food stall - function unknown
  • Pagoda - this building only gives you extra hints, and I don't suggest using hints since it reduces rewards on puzzles.
  • Shop (level 2 and 3) - it only increases the amount you can but per day.
  • Alchemist's Hut (level 3, 4 and 5) - only builds weapons. You only get this building for Cauldron and nothing else.

Classes

  • The only class for progressing fastest in the Guild is "Geologist" which gives an increased chance to find Wood and Stone (+15% each) at the cost of 5 hints (which is not a big deal since you really should avoid using hints to maximize puzzle rewards). These two resources are the most important for construction. It also gives you a chance to find Charcoal, Iron sand and Chemicals (which is nice but you will get plenty of those from the Cauldron).
  • Before you reach the required level to learn the "Geologist" skill, you can get the "Rogue" skill temporarily. It gives you an increased chance of finding gold coins, ingots or chests.
  • Classes that give you increase chance of finding weapons or experience are a waste.
  • Changing classes has a cost and it doesn't matter if you have learned that class or not.

Skills

  • Save your resources to learn all 5 levels of "Logistician" as this will increase the chance to find Wood and Stone, 5% for each level for a total of 25%. I really don't recommend you focus on other skills until you have maximized this skill (in other words, save your rubies for this skill if you are looking to use rubies on skills). All 5 "Logisitician" levels + "Geologist" class = 40% added chance of finding wood and stone. And if you find the "Axe" and "Pickaxe" Level 1 artifacts, which offer a 10% increased chance of finding stone and wood, respectively, that is a combined 50% chance of finding wood and stone, EACH.
  • "Weapon Collector" is an underrated skill. While you don't need the weapons, you can use weapons to throw in the Cauldron to get more building materials. But again, I wouldn't focus on this skill until you complete the "Logisitician" skill.
  • "Treasure Hunter" is a nice skill, but mostly unnecessary because you will be receiving plenty of gold ingots from throwing items in the Cauldron..
  • "Athlete" is a nice skill later in the game. Each new level of the Warehouse will gives you a larger capacity, but the Athlete skill does this quicker (especially if you are in a position to complete the larger rewards from a mosaic and need space for the coins, for example).
  • "Antiquarian" is really only a skill for people trying to finish the mosaics. However, I would still skip it (unless you have rubies and gold coins you want to spend) because finishing a hard 80x80 puzzle will almost always yield mosaic pieces and in large amounts.
  • "Intellectual" is really only a skill for people trying to get higher levels to finish the achievements. You will get so much experience from finishing expeditions and hard 80x80 puzzles that a 5% bonus isn't much.
  • "Gardener" and "Rock Garden Contemplator" are really good skills to learn if you can fit them in. Increasing production (or reducing the time to produce passive income) is very very helpful. Each level is a 10% drop in time. Side note: the 10% is not compounded. It is 10% of the original value. Meaning, if the time required is 1 hours (or 60 minutes), then each level would be a 6 minute decrease and the final time would be 48 minutes.
  • "Carpenter" is useful at later times in the game when you start constructing wood beams, and even more importantly, wood planks. 100x wood planks requires 8 hours to complete with both skill upgrades. Without it it is 10 hours!
  • "Metallurgist", "Mechanic", "Blacksmith" and "Alchemist" are completely useless and should be avoided.
  • "Boatswain" might be useful at some point...however getting 20 salmon is a real challenge.


Also check https://www.reddit.com/r/NonogramsKatana/.

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