This is a page with several random tricks and tips about playing the collector class.
=General info=
In my opinion, the most important thing for a collector is going to quests at exactly the right times and places instead of simply farming only swamp quests for more pelt or just randomly picking quests. A collector with a great stamina management and useful quest time execution is an invaluable player in a guild. But don't worry, there are very comfortable tools to help with that. In general, you can check out [[Drop Time Overviews]] for an overview of tools that GeckoBot provides to help with that task.

==About drop tables==
I can imagine that remembering drop times for all tiers of gear quickly becomes too much. I can also imagine that some players simply have time to quest at one random point in their real life, but still want to get the most valuable drops for that timeframe. That's why GeckoBot offers overviews about "which items drop now". If you want to go questing now, you can check this reference to get the most out of your stamina. Again, I advise you to check out [[Drop Time Overviews]] for a detailed info about these tools and how to use them. The two relevant commands are <code>/drops</code> ([http://geckos-bot.de/index.php?title=Drop_Time_Overviews#Search_Drops_By_Time_and_Tier_and_Location /drops guide]) and <code>/current_drops</code> ([http://geckos-bot.de/index.php?title=Drop_Time_Overviews#Search_for_Current_Drops /current_drops guide]). They are made to help figuring out where to quest if you have time to quest just right now.

==Personal advice about questing preferences==
But in general, I'd advice you to study the drop time tables per tier and maybe follow the quest time suggestions mentioned here:

{|class="wikitable" style="width: 65%;"
|-
| '''Player level range''' || '''Perception level''' || '''Explanation''' || '''Link to overview'''
|-
| L20-L21 || n/a || no parts and recipes can drop, just go forest for more thread or swamp for pelt || n/a
|-
| L22-L31 || Perception 1 || 📗T2 drops are here. Maybe focus on getting your own hunter gear. Night quests give more valuable parts and recipes. Go swamp and valley for parts and recipes, ignore forest quests || [https://chatwars-wiki.de/index.php?title=List_of_T2_Drop_Times 📗List of T2 drop times]
|-
|style="width: 10%"| L32-L39
|style="width: 4%"| Perception 2
|style="width: 30%" | Now you can find the 📘T3 cloak parts and recipes ([https://chatwars-wiki.de/index.php?title=Storm_Cloak Storm Cloak], [https://chatwars-wiki.de/index.php?title=Durable_Cloak Durable Cloak] and [https://chatwars-wiki.de/index.php?title=Blessed_Cloak Blessed Cloak]) and as well the simple 📘T3 weapons ([https://chatwars-wiki.de/index.php?title=Thundersoul_Sword Thundersoul Sword], [https://chatwars-wiki.de/index.php?title=Guard%27s_Spear Guard's Spear], [https://chatwars-wiki.de/index.php?title=Composite_Bow Composite Bow], [https://chatwars-wiki.de/index.php?title=Imperial_Axe Imperial Axe]). The cloak items are more valuable, but drop at any time in swamp and valley. So no need to concentrate on anything. Just ignore forest questing again. Sadly 📗T2 items still drop and reduce the 📘T3 output.
|style="width: 10%" | [https://chatwars-wiki.de/index.php?title=List_of_T3_Drop_Times 📘List of T3 drop times]
|-
| L40-L45 || Perception 3 || The cloak items stop dropping and no 📗T2 drops anymore, too. The most valuable items for you are the lion items. Lion helmet is a day drop, Lion boots, armor and gloves are an evening drop. I suggest you focus on swamp and valley during day and evening. If you are pushing for one of the advanced 📘T3 weapons, check the drop times table to find out where and when you have to quest. || [https://chatwars-wiki.de/index.php?title=List_of_T3_Drop_Times 📘List of T3 drop times]
|-
| L46-L59 || Percpetion 4 || All 📘T3 items stop dropping and instead you find 📙T4 items. The drop times are more random now, you can't rely on parts dropping in swamp and recipes in valley like all the previous tiers. For specific crafts you really need to check the drop times table and focus at the correct times. Personally, I consider questing in valley most useful most of the time, because the [https://chatwars-wiki.de/index.php?title=Assault_Cape Assault Cape] parts drop there and the parts for [https://chatwars-wiki.de/index.php?title=Nightfall_Bow Nightfall Bow] too. || [https://chatwars-wiki.de/index.php?title=List_of_T4_Drop_Times 📙List of T4 drop times]
|-
| L60+ || Perception 5 || 📙T4 items stop dropping, instead you only find 📒T5 items. My experience is, that Manticore Helmet and Manticore Armor stuff drops in generous amounts and you don't really have to farm for that. As of today (2021-06-01), the 📒T5 cloaks were released just recently and the parts are very valuable. [https://chatwars-wiki.de/index.php?title=Onslaught_Cape Onslaught Cape] parts drop at forest morning, which I consider the best time to quest right now. At other in-game times, I can suggest questing at forest evening for [https://chatwars-wiki.de/index.php?title=Windstalker_Bow Windstalker Bow] parts, which are also very valuable. At night time, again in forest, the very rare [https://chatwars-wiki.de/index.php?title=Manticore_Gloves Manticore Gloves] recipe drop. But in the end, you need to find out yourself what you need and where you have to quest for your needs. || [https://chatwars-wiki.de/index.php?title=List_of_T5_Drop_Times 📒List of T5 drop times]
|-
|}

=Which /mem class?=
A very important thing in the game is the choice of the /mem or /mes class, in other words which class you want to combine with a collector. I'll discuss each class below. As of now (2021-06-01), I think the best choice is picking ranger, due to incredible synergies with the skills. I'll explain in detail below.

==Ranger==
Playing Collector/Ranger or Ranger/Collector creates a very OP character, due to very useful synergies. Being a ranger provides the skill [https://chatwars-wiki.de/index.php?title=Power_Napping Power Napping], which reduces the time to regenerate stamina, when the character is at "🛌Rest". But a reduced stamina regeneration time means that the player can do more quests in the same time. And doing more quests for a collector means that "Gifted Pathfinder" can trigger more often. In other words: Power Napping increases the output of "Gifted Pathfinder", making it even stronger, giving the possibility to quest very often.

Note: On higher levels with a high GP and a high PN skill, this can start to be really challenging, to quest down all stamina and not let it overflow..

But if you're willing to be very active and take the challenge of managing an insane amount of stamina, then this class combination discloses its full potential. FYI: Power Napping on high levels means stamina regeneration every 45 minutes. This is 25% faster than normally. This means 25% more quests that can trigger Gifted Pathfinder. So in total, you will get even more than 25% more quests than other players. I estimate around 30% more. This also means 30% more loot, parts, recipes... everything.

Yes, it is challenging. But it's worth it. Another aspect of Ranger/Collector is the possibility to use a bow and aim. At higher levels, the full aim time is 40min. If you optimize for XP gain, you can try to aim just after your stamina regenerated, if you prefer helping with lots of stats in battles, just try to get the full aim time.
Example: As first /mem cycle player with class Ranger/Collector at only L64, I reached up to 1400⚔️. These numbers can be very relevant in castle or alliance battles, both.

==Knight==
Being a Knight/Collector does not provide as many synergies as with a Ranger, but if you go for Knight/Collector instead of Collector/Knight, you are effectively an improved normal knight with the ability to find the most relevant items in the game, while providing very decent attack stats in battles. You'll play with Sword/Dagger, which offers the best potential to actually win the weekly arena title, due to the stat bonus in arena when having equipped a dagger or a shield. But most players combine Ranger or Alchemist as secondary class and don't use dagger and shield. Still being a bit "old school" and using a dagger pays off there. Also, being a Collector gives access to [https://chatwars-wiki.de/index.php?title=Off-Hand_Mastery Off-Hand Mastery], giving +3⚔️ per skill point if having equipped a dagger or +3🛡 if having equipped a shield. For players with arrows or potions in off hand, this skill is completely useless. So Off-Hand Mastery adds up a decent amount of stats for Knight/Collectors.

A disadvantage of this class combination is, that Knights gain a lot of their XP from pledges. But for pledges, you need to foray. And foraying does not trigger GP. So every foray wastes a bit of the strong collector potential. As of now (2021-06-01), getting pledges is supposed to be much easier. So it could be worth it to do only a couple of forays to stack up the first three (most valuable) pledges and then hurry up to do real quests again for GP and valuable loot.

=Advanced Skills=
==Picky Eater==
Picky Eater is typically considered to be a useless skill, but I disagree with this. Using Picky Eater lets you select resources to reject. Rejecting a resource means you will not get this resource in quests anymore and any potential drop could be rerolled instead. This means that instead of a rejected resource, you obtain a different resource. By selecting common resources on Picky Eater you get a lot of rerolls that can get you more valuable resources, or even parts and recipes.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
| '''Level''' || '''Number of rejectable resources''' || '''Player level unlock'''
|-
| 1 || 2 || 50
|-
| 2 || 2 || 55
|-
| 3 || 3 || 60
|-
| 4 || 3 || 65
|-
| 5 || 4 || 70
|-
| 6 || 4 || 75
|-
|}

Leveling up Picky Eater allows you to reject more types of resources and also increases the chance to reroll. Using Picky Eater to obtain more expensive loot pays itself back quickly!

==It's a trap (For Collector/Ranger players)==
Trapping players with regular traps is not worth the gold investment to buy the traps. But skilling "It's a Trap" higher -- at least to L3 -- gives access to buy other items. And one of them is very interesting:
/use_trp_tow

Crafted: Observer ward x1
Equipping an Observer Ward in you Off Hand slot, works basically like regular traps. Going to quest with it can set up the Observer Ward. But instead of players from enemy castles triggering it, the Observer Ward will be triggered by a questing player of the same castle. If the Ward is triggered, the player who set it up gets a buff for 30min which increases the chance for encounters after quests. AKA: Go questing with the buff again, finish all encounters and enjoy all the bonus XP you get from it. Investing the gold to buy the Observer Ward in the first place pays off once you gain decently more XP in the following quests. Also: you don_'t need to equip an Observer Ward in every quest. Equip it once, wait for it to trigger, then go questing like you'd normally do. The buff will stay and there is no need to refrest the buff by setting up another ward directly after the first one.

Finding Gurus

2021-05-17T14:10:01Z

Lynnsane:

Searching for gurus has its own trigger: <code>/gurus</code>
Guru search master page

Guru shops seen open in the last week for type: helmet

QC-Lvl: 6
🧢6️⃣ 🦅[CHS]Horus💧2278
/ws_mgNiW | Online right now!✅

🧢6️⃣ 🌑[SV]Vodkas Knight💧1253 | (contact,channel)
/ws_8C9IP | Online right now!✅

🧢6️⃣ 🐺[DR]dragonyaaaaaaaaa💧1415 | (contact)
/ws_cat | Online right now!✅

🧢6️⃣ 🐉[NAN]4YOU💧621
/ws_jvPdl | Last seen: 11 minutes ago.

🧢6️⃣ 🦅[IND]Onyx💧2220 | (contact)
/ws_1VUn7 | Last seen: 1 hour, 31 minutes ago.

🧢6️⃣ 🦌[WAL]Stewie Ferrer💧2014 | (contact,channel)
/ws_alchy | Last seen: 2 hours, 41 minutes ago.

QC-Lvl: 5
🧢5️⃣ 🌑[AVG]Treadkill💧2301 | (contact)
/ws_Yxdbr | Online right now!✅

🧢5️⃣ 🌑[FAP]Machine💧2735 | (contact,channel)
/ws_rzUDb | Online right now!✅

🧢5️⃣ 🦅[G0D]Yatendouji💧2055
/ws_PHVmv | Last seen: 16 minutes ago.

🧢5️⃣ 🦈[PFB]Anvil_Master💧1725 | (contact)
/ws_9d2B1 | Last seen: 1 hour, 20 minutes ago.

🧢5️⃣ 🐉[DG]DS Maha💧1490
/ws_rnok4 | Last seen: 2 hours, 26 minutes ago.

🧢5️⃣ 🥔[DTI]Uezuki💧2136 | (contact)
/ws_zK4YC | Last seen: 8 hours, 41 minutes ago.

🧢5️⃣ 🦌[GET]Deer Nanay💧1976
/ws_r1Oy6 | Last seen: 1 day, 18 hours ago.

Click the following commands to search for guru shops seen online during the last week, sorted by guru type. The commands are set as default to show only highest level gurus. If you want to see all QC-levels
or all Alch-levels respectively, add a space and the letter 'a', like: '/gurus_weapon a'. Adding the letter 'a' as option works for Alch-guru commands and for BS-guru commands.

Blacksmith guru types
These commands will show as default only the QC5 and QC6 shops.

/gurus_weapon
/gurus_shield
/gurus_helmet
/gurus_armor
/gurus_gloves
/gurus_boots
/gurus_coat

Alchemy guru types
These commands will show as default only the Alchemy 7 shops.

/gurus_dreamweaving
/gurus_apothecary
/gurus_blandleafurry

The guru lists are sorted by type. Using a <code>/gurus_{type}</code> command shows a list of all QC5 dn QC6 BS-gurus that were seen during the last week.

Setting Triggers

2021-05-16T20:00:27Z

Lynnsane: /* Setting global triggers */

=Setting local triggers=

Everybody can set local triggers with the bot in any chat. There is no restriction for that, no admin needed or similar things. It works as follows:
* Send the message you want to have as trigger to the chat. This can be text, stickers, gifs, pics...
* Reply to the message with <code>/addtrigger triggertext</code>
* Done

Example:

[[File:Setting local triggers.jpg|400px]]

=Deleting local triggers=

Deleting local triggers works with <code>/deltrigger triggertext</code> in the chat where the local trigger existed.

=Setting global triggers=
Global triggers can only be set by users who were granted the rights for it by Vik, manually. Setting global triggers works exactly like local triggers:
* Send the message you want to have as trigger to the chat. This can be text, stickers, gifs, pics...
* Reply to the message with <code>/addtrigger_g triggertext</code>
* Done! Now you can trigger the reply by typing the triggertext in the chat you set the trigger in

=Deleting global triggers=
Users with rights to set global triggers can use <code>/deltrigger_g triggertext</code> in any chat with the bot.

=Granting global trigger rights=
Use <code>/give_global_trigger tgID setting</code>, e.g. <code>/give_global_trigger 12345678 1</code>. Only Vik can do that.