Greetings children. I've posted this information before, two years ago, but many of you were not around at that time, so I am reposting, with some edits.
For those of you who don't know, chest runs are when you do pack runs just for the item in hopes of getting alphas/other valuable items. It's proved effective for me, I found two pairs of alpha ghost dragon wings, and 4-5 other alphas back when I did it. So let's get to it.
My Pack Running Background (Feel free to skip this part unless you want to learn more about me Lol)
Few people know that I used to be a "professional" runner, meaning I ran for the leader boards. There was a pack called "Running Beyond Stars" that one of my friends made, I joined for 5-6 months and ran competitively with my friends. But- if you've ever been in a running pack, you know there's a lot of drama, and that pack was ultimately disbanded. I stopped running almost entirely after it was disbanded. I would occasionally "Chest run" (Running for just chests) just to get some items usually to sell for sapphires. In late April/early May, I decided I would try chest running for Alpha Items. I started slow doing probably 20-50 runs a day, and eventually up to probably 100-300 runs a day. Eventually I started to have success, there was even a day when I got two alpha items in one day! (A pumpkin lantern and a Pi plushie if you're curious) I continued to run through May and June, although less because I got busy. But I'm back on it now! So here are all the tips and tricks I've learned!
⭐ Chest Run Basics and Tips ⭐
Running Format: So the format for chest runs is fairly simple, you go to your pack hideout start a run, run around until you find the chest with the item, end the run, and start another.
Do I collect the crabs? Personally, I don't, I ignore them. If you want to get the sets that's cool, but it's not really a chest run if you're running for the crabs as well LOL.
Solo or with multiple players? This is the question I get asked most often. And the answer is: Solo. Let me explain why. In a solo run, there will always be two chests. One chest will contain an item, and one chest will contain gems OR a spring crystal. When you play with multiple players, the amount of chests increases, but those added chests will only contain gems or spring crystals. So SOLO for chest runs. MULTIPLE PLAYERS if you want to farm spring crystals.
Are certain animals faster than others? I used to run with people who only ran with a specific animal because they were convinced that they were faster- personally I don't believe any animal is faster than any other animal. (In case you were wondering, they played as Arabian Horses) I think any animal is fine, I would choose a smaller animal over a larger one though, just because you're less likely to block a chest from view if you're a smaller animal.
Will speed potions make me faster? I also had/have friends who use speed potions on their runs. Let me let you in on a secret, they don't make you faster. Although VISUALLY, they speed up your animal's actions, they do not actually make you run faster. (If you can prove me otherwise, I would love to hear it)
Chest spawn points: On every map there are approximately 20 spots where a chest CAN spawn. Every round a two chests will spawn in two of those twenty spots. They could be close to each other, or they could be on opposite sides of the map! The chest spawn points are random every round. (Although they can spawn in the same place two rounds in a row)
Memorizing the map: It is super important to memorize the map! Some maps are more complicated than others. I almost exclusively run/chest run on the forest map (Firefly and Ladybug run map) because I have that map memorized like the back of my hand. I have all the chest locations memorized by heart.
Should I take the same route, or just wing it every round? I highly recommend making a route and taking that route each round. With a planned route you are less likely to miss chests and you will build muscle memory in which direction you are supposed to go next. (Basically saying you can zone out but you'll still be going the right way because of muscle memory)
Chest Render Distance (IMPORTANT) So if you don't know, render distance is: the maximum distance of objects in a three-dimensional scene that are drawn by the rendering engine. In other terms, you can only see things from so far. You have to be close enough to the chest for it load in. NOW, render distance for me is pretty far, so I don't have to be close to the chest by any means, but I do have to be close enough for it to load. I imagine render distance might differ depending on what device you're using, although I am not certain.
How to fight boredom:
Trust me, I know running over and over again gets REALLLLY BORING. So when I run I usually watch a movie/YT or listen to music while I run.
If you're superstitious at all, I'll let you know that BOTH times I've gotten Alpha Ghost Dragon Wings from running, I was watching Markiplier. Do with that information what you will...
My inventory is full! What do I do?!
You will accumulate, many items from chest running, some good! Some- not so good. Items you can get from pack running vary from, store bought items, seasonal items, small rare tag items, home theaters, modern couches, curved sofas, glass shelves, tall shelves, A-frame bookshelves, monster hats, dragonfly wings, firefly necklaces, vintage clothing, and alpha items! (And so much more!) You can keep these goodies, or do what I do!
Shops my den!
Higher value pack run items: With higher value items (Home theaters, monster hats, a-frame bookshelves etc) I sell them just under whatever the average price they go for on the explorer. And, if they're the cheapest on the explorer, they sell quickly! I've made easily over 10k sapphires selling higher value pack run items.
Medium value items: These are the small items and RIMs that you don't really want- but would feel bad if you recycled them. To sell these medium value items, I have a 5 sapphire sale. I fill my shops with these items, all priced at 5 sapphires! People love cheap stuff, even if the items aren't great! Start advertising your shops as a 5 sapphire sale and pretty soon you'll have tons of buyers! Even at such a low price, the sapphires add up!
Low value items: These are your in store items, or bad seasonal items, I usually recycle them or sell them for gems!
Notes as of this repost:
Man, I love a good informational post.
Because of AJ's reroll feature (Member's exclusive) the odds of receiving an alpha or a different good item have now doubled. So, I will be doing chest runs this week to see if I can snag anything good. Happy running chicos~
@Checkmate221 @CATASTRØ @Calyps0Wølf @LauperRen
