Source of: Crystal Cluster Valley (Crystal Valley): veins, skills and rank rewards
← Crystal Cluster Valley (Crystal Valley): veins, skills and rank rewards
**Crystal Cluster Valley**, or simply the Crystal Valley in player talk, is a separate map that alliances enter for half an hour to mine Purified Crystal. Rosters run large, up to 350 players, and groups are matched by Sanctuary level, from 15-25 upwards to 37-45. An alliance carries its own progression and its own rewards inside the mine, so the season there is worth planning in advance.
## Valley rules
The valley opens for 30 minutes per session, participation requires Sanctuary level 15, and the first session falls in the third week of a server. On entry every player receives soldiers up to the capacity of their Barracks, all of the highest unlocked tier, so no army is prepared for the valley in advance. Territories cannot be attacked in the valley, but a gathering point held by another player, an alliance member included, can be seized: if it has already gathered enough crystal, the crystal scatters as shards around it.
A failed seizure records a failure for the hero; consecutive failures stack and, past a certain number, weaken the hero, while a timer removes them one by one. Plague Rats roam the valley: they drop Skill Crystals that activate Valley Skills, which work only here and reset at the next session. Relocation in the valley is free with a cooldown, and during the cooldown Advanced Relocate items take its place.
## Veins
Crystals come out of veins, and veins come in two kinds. The table gives the stock each one holds and how quickly it is drained.
| Vein | Stock | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Crystal Cluster 1 | 8,640 | 12 |
| Crystal Cluster 2 | 17,280 | 24 |
| Crystal Cluster 3 | 34,560 | 48 |
| Instant Cluster 4 | 4,000 | 200 |
Regular veins double in stock per level; instant clusters are small but drained far faster.
## Mine skills
Skills run on local experience and arrive in pairs, one skill taken out of each pair, 5 times in total. The price climbs from pair to pair: 200, 500, 900, 1500, 2300.
| Skill | Effect | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Crystal Surge | Periodically gain 1080 Purified Crystals | 200 |
| Plague Rat Hunter | Gain 1500 extra Crystals when you slay a Plague Rat | 200 |
| Force Expansion | Single Hero March Capacity +50 | 500 |
| Swift March | Troop March Speed in Crystal Cluster Valley +25% | 500 |
| Valley Plunder | Gain 5000 extra Purified Crystals when you seize a Lode. CD: 60s | 900 |
| Valley Vigil | Gain 5000 extra Purified Crystals when you fail to seize a Lode. CD: 60s | 900 |
| Crystal Mining | Crystal Cluster Gathering Speed increases by 15% | 1,500 |
| Iron Will | Reduces the duration of debuffs received by 30s | 1,500 |
| Valley Awakening | Increases Hero DMG by 15% for 60s. CD: 300s | 2,300 |
| Crystal Resonance | Temporarily increases Crystal Cluster Gathering Speed by 50% for 60s. CD: 300s | 2,300 |
The choices are not cosmetic. The first pair sets a steady crystal income against a one-off payment for killing rats, and the third weighs a reward for capturing someone else's vein against a reward for surviving an attack, which amounts to a choice between offense and defense for the whole season.
## Rank rewards
Standings are counted on three separate scoreboards, and each one pays on its own.
Fort capture runs across four stages. First place pays 100,000 crystals, second takes 80,000 and third takes 60,000, with the rest tapering off.
Zone standings pay three times as much: 300,000 crystals for first place, 250,000 for second and 210,000 for third. There are fourteen zones with over twenty places each, so the paid part of the table is easier to reach than it looks.
Points and gathering pay in items instead of crystals: 25 of each speedup type plus 1,500 glory medals at the top threshold. Gathering thresholds open at 10,000 crystals and continue at 25,000 and 40,000.
## Related pages
- [[special-events|Special events]]
- [[alliance|Alliance]]
- [[kingdom-war|Kingdom war]]
- [[season-era|Age]]