Cultivation Rooms

**Cultivation Rooms** refer to Rooms dedicated to Cultivation, usually containing a Cultivation Array centered on a Qi Cushion. The goal of a Cultivation Room is to optimize the Element Composition and the Tile Qi on the Cultivation Spot through Gather Qi items. This is in order to optimize Cultivation Speed, Breakthrough chances, and in particular the Golden Core Breakthrough. An easy way of achieving this is to build a Room consisting of Displays and placing Gather Qi items on them within their respective Ranges.

## Early-game cultivation arrays

The example arrays have been properly optimized according to the factors detailed in the following sections, and you can blindly replicate them. However, they're not using anything from the Tricks and Bug abuses section, so they can be improved by using those tricks at your discretion. The materials used are those available early from nearby Adventures, Camps and Secrets, and it's assumed the player does no Stealing, so adapt according to your game plan. You can also always improve the proposed rooms by using a Qi Cushion once they become available to you. It is also always possible to replace Spiritwood with stronger Gather Qi objects with element-neutral range of 4, like a Dragon Scale.

### Metal

The next step to improve your array would be getting extra Dragon Feces or Panacea Pill, as Panacea Pill at range 2 is 90 Gather Qi, whereas Dragon Feces is 85.5.

### Water

The next step to improve your array would either be to get extra Lumina Core from Abyss and some Sage Fruit or unlock and build an Altar of Magic.

### Wood

As those cultivations arrays often use cold items, consider raising your cultivator's Temperature Tolerance and/or setting up a Temperature-controlled room. A common method is to put the Wood and Earth cultivation arrays in the same room, as they use Water and Fire items respectively, balancing each other.

The next step would be to acquire some Soul Pearl from Deathknell Cave and some Prism Lotus, filling up the Dragon Feces at range 3 whenever enough emit is available.

### Fire

The next steps would be to acquire some Gnarled Vine for a significant range 1 improvement and to make use of their extra emit to incorporate more Dragon Feces.

### Earth

As those cultivations arrays often use hot items, consider raising your cultivator's Temperature Tolerance and/or setting up a Temperature-controlled room. A common method is to put the Wood and Earth cultivation arrays in the same room, as they use Water and Fire items respectively, balancing each other.

The next steps would be to acquire more Crimson Fruit for a significant range 1 improvement and to make use of their extra emit to incorporate more Dragon Feces.

## Qi Cushion Material

The Qi Cushion is an Unlockable Building obtained at 500 Sect Reputation. It has 60 Gather Qi at range 1 (on its tile only) and is a better option than the base Cushion. Moreover, as it's compact, it allows for more Gather Qi items around it than the Cushions you unlock later, making it optimal for (Golden Core) Breakthrough rooms. As discussed in a later section, there may be better options for Cultivation Rooms, but it stays a very good and usually optimal option throughout the game.

The Qi Cushion is a Feng Shui Building but not an Element Emitter so it should usually be built out of what maximizes its Coziness regardless of the element of the Array or cultivator. Since it's not an element emitter it won't disrupt the composition of the tile and its auspiciousness doesn't affect anything except the Room (if any) and Sect Feng Shui. This means:

* early game: use Spiritwood (Timber) for all elements
* if you don't have any and are a bit more developped, another option is Spirit Crystal Block (not Spirit Stone Block)
* afterwards: use Holy Stone Block for all elements

To ensure the room isn't slightly ominous or worse, add other Feng Shui buildings in the room, for example Leisure buildings as discussed in Room Layout and Materials or an active Spirit Relic.

## Terrain Choice

As the Element emission of the Terrain is ever present, even with Flooring on it, it is important - particularly in the early game - to choose a convenient terrain for one's Element. Using the elemental "cost" calculation detailed in the Element Composition article, we can determine the necessary additional elemental strength needed for the maximum cultivation speed, shown in the table below. This is the elemental emit amount that must be added by items surrounding the cultivation spot in order to reach the maximum boost to Cultivation Speed and Mood that can be obtained from Element Composition. The easiest/cheapest terrain for each element has been bolded (**lower is better**).

As Spirit soil also has a gather qi of 40 (as long as you build no flooring on it), when it is available and you have enough element strength to counteract its element, it can be the best option. On the other hand, as you always need to build flooring to build on Spirit Water, it is not possible to benefit from its gather qi for a cultivation array (only for plants).

**How to read:** if you have a Fire cultivator and want to put your cushion tile on Soil, you'll need to have 36.5 feeding (Wood) emits to have perfect element composition, which is a lot. On the other hand, putting your cushion tile on Rocky Terrain, you'll only need to have 15.4 Wood emits which is easy to get.

## Array Items

Using the right items in your cultivation array can have a significant effect on its final suitability.

### Feeding Gather Qi objects

*See: Complete list of Gather Qi Objects*

This table shows the relationships between each element, and what kinds of items can be put around the cushion to feed the cultivator's element while improving the gather qi of the cushion tile. The Qi Gathering range of each material has been put in brackets. You can always use None Gather Qi items safely. As detailed below and shown in the Beginner Cultivation Arrays section however, it is rarely optimal or possible to only use items feeding your cultivator's elements.

 Water | Metal | Lumina Core Bar (3)
 Wood | Water | Ice Essence Bar (3)
 Fire | Wood | Spiritwood (4)
 Earth | Fire | Fire Essence Bar (3)

### Gather Qi objects with Element-neutral range

*See: Complete list of Gather Qi objects with neutral range*

Some items have a Gather Qi range which exceeds their Element Emission range, which means they can be used outside of their element range without disrupting the Element Composition of the cultivation tile. Three relatively available early-game items that can be used that way are:

* Spiritwood, as its Gather Qi range is 4 and its Element emission range is 3, making it safe to use at range 4,
* Stone Essence and Jade Essence, both having a Gather Qi range of 3 and an Element Emission range of 2, safe at range 3.

Those items are a great choice if you struggle to find Gather Qi items of appropriate range and element in the early game, or if they simply are better than the available options for your element.

### Gather Qi objects of others elements

#### Compromising on Element Strength

It is almost never worthwile to compromise on element composition in favor of extra qi gather, though it differs slightly depending on whether Cultivation Speed or Golden Core Breakthrough is considered. The table below shows the breakpoints of the qi increases compared to the tile qi at optimal element strength (

P
r
e
v
i
o
u
s
T
i
l
e
Q
i

{\displaystyle PreviousTileQi}

) needed to make a worse than optimal element composition worthwile.

Calculation example

```
546+0.36*600 = 762 higher, so 600 + 762 = 1,362 Tile Qi minimum

```

#### Budgeting element strength

Without compromising on Element composition you might still want to use other gather qi items:

* Dragon Feces is the strongest range 3 gather qi item, and only emits weakly
* 150 and 200 Gather Qi elemental Water items like Flood Dragon Forbidden Scale can get acquired way earlier than the neutral Chaos Jade
* The Spirit Soil terrain has 40 Gather qi as long as you don't build flooring on it
* Huge Ginkgo Trees are the only Gather Qi items of range 5 from the start.
* Some Natural Wonders have an effective gather qi range of 4 with a strength of 36.45, which is better than Spiritwood

To be able to do so, you need to have enough of the feeding element for your cultivator on the cultivation tile to "pay" for the elements you introduce. The cost (taken from the Element Composition page) is:

* Overcoming: 25.67 Feeding emits
* Neutral: 12.33 emits
* Same: 5,67 emits

For example, for a Fire cultivator array, if you want to use a Phoenix Fire Jade at range 1 (Same element, 12 strength), you'll need to have at least 12 \* 5.67 = 68.04 Wood elements emitted on your cushion tile to use it. This is after deducing the cost of the terrain, as discussed in the Choice of the Terrain section.

Once you have a fairly built sect, an easy way to pay for other gather qi elements is by using spirit fruits such as Ocher Essence as they are Element Emitters of range 5 with high strength. You can put some at the periphery of your cultivation array to influence the element composition of your cushion tile, as long as you don't already have filled that space with range 5 gather qi items. Late game, it is also possible to use Immortal's Mortal Body in the same way as they are range 8 emitters.

As an example, the first Wood cultivation array below has 3 extra Prism Lotus to balance the Dragon Feces at range 3. With 8.23 Earth emit, the cost is 8.23 \* 12.33 = 101.48 Water emit and the array has 106.55, so the element strength is still optimal (

106.55
∗
2

106.55
8.23

=
1.857
≥
1.85

{\displaystyle \frac{106.55 \* 2}{106.55+8.23} = 1.857 \geq 1.85}

). The Gather Qi on the cushion tile is 1152.23, compared to only 863.57 for the 2nd array, which only uses Water items and items with Element-neutral range.

#### Element costs

The table below shows the cost in emits for each element to use the gather qi items at the considered range. Lower is better. Spririt Roots are ignored as they work differently, as well as None Gather Qi items as they can always be used (cost of 0).

## Array Layouts

The layout below shows how items should be arranged around a cushion to maximize Qi Gathering efficiency. The X symbolizes the cushion itself, while the numbers around it show where a display should be placed. The value of the numbers is the minimum Qi Gathering Range of an item for it to have an effect. That is, at the tiles marked by a 4, only items such as Spiritwood and Blazing Feathers, which have Qi Gathering Ranges of 4, will have an effect. Of course, an item will also still have an effect if its range is greater than the tile's value. The distance is also included to reflect the Gather Qi Falloff (and Elemental emit falloff, which works the same way).

### 4-range Altar of Magic

If you are not using an cushion, but instead an Altar of Magic, the center will be considered as the top-middle tile of the Altar. That is:

## Room Layout and Materials

The layout of the room itself has a lessened impact as the array takes most of the space. However, the flooring of the cultivation tile itself will impact the element composition of the tile. It should be feeding/begetting the element of the cultivator, so for example a Fire want a flooring out of Wood on the cultivation tile. However if your cultivation tile is on Spirit Soil Terrain, you don't want Flooring on it as it would prevent the Gather Qi effect of the Spirit Soil to work.

### Temperature handling

It can be important to manage the room's Temperature. A common method is to put the Wood and Earth cultivation arrays in the same room, as they use Water and Fire items respectively, balancing each other. It is also possible to build Displays made out of Igneocopper Bar or Ice Crystal Bar as desired, as Displays never emit element so they won't disrupt the array, whereas they'll still emit heat (or cold respectively). It is also obviously possible to raise your cultivator's Temperature Tolerance through Talisman or Clothing.

### Leisure buildings

You should include a light source like a Crane Lantern or a Lantern near the cultivation array itself to avoid some negative moodlets due to a dark room. It can also be a good idea to include Leisure items such as a Zither Table near your cultivation array because the Qi Recovery is based on Element Composition and Qi on tile. Breakthroughs use up your cultivator's Qi so ensuring they're increasing Mental State (when on Mind) in the proper environment will help prepare for a breakthrough or recover from a failed one.

### Feng shui

If the Room has a Feng Shui Rating, you want it to be at least Slightly Auspicious, as Cultivation in a Slightly Ominous to Very Ominous room incurs Injury risks. This is particularly relevant in case you're using a Qi Cushion made from an item counteractive to your array to maximize coziness, for example using a Qi Cushion made from Holy Stone Block in a Fire array full of Wood items. Adding more Feng Shui Buildings in the room (like previously mentioned Leisure ones) with a proper feng shui rating is an easy way to solve the issue.

### Spirit stone as material

If possible, building displays, doors and walls out of Spirit Stone Block will help a minuscule amount for the qi on the cushion tile as items made out of these blocks don't absorb Qi. The improvement is about 10 to 20 Qi on the Cushion tile as shown in the example, so it should not be prioritized over more pressing concerns such as Temperature.

The example above uses MoreGridInfo (Mod) to display the Qi on tile.

## Separation of Cultivation and Breakthrough rooms

Using the same room for cultivation and breakthrough is optimal early on, as any choice made to optimize (golden core) breakthroughs also helps with Cultivation speed. However, upon acquiring the Unlockable Building Altar of Magic, the distinction starts being relevant. Indeed, you may prefer giving up some total Qi on tile in favor of using the Altar of Magic with higher coziness for more cultivation speed, but cultivation speed doesn't matter for (Golden Core) breakthroughs so it may be worthwhile to have 2 distinct rooms, depending on the materials available to you.

Another factor creating a difference are Cursed Spirit Roots, as one may benefit from up to +200% Cultivation Speed Bonus per Cursed Spirit root in range. While it costs Mental State, having both Blessed and Cursed Spirit Root in range will compensate each other for a net gain of up to +100% in Cultivation Speed Bonus. Balancing around Spirit Roots is not an easy exercise however.

### Altar of Magic's Coziness

To explain why it's worthwile:

* Qi Cushion's best coziness is 2.2: 1 from base + 1.2 from Holy Stone Block, for all cultivator elements,
* Altar of Magic's best coziness is 2.6, a 18.2% increase: 1.4 base + 1.2 from Holy Stone Block, for Metal cultivators,
* Altar of Magic's 2nd best coziness is 2.4, a 9.1% increase:
	+ 1.4 base + 1 from Spirit Crystal Block for all other elements,
	+ (as an alternative) 1.4 base + 1 from Spiritwood (Timber) for Fire cultivators

The reason Spirit Crystal Blocks may be preferred (other than Holy Stone Block's availability) is that Altar of Magic is an Element Emitter and thus only Metal Cultivators can use an Altar of Magic made from Holy Stone Blocks (without paying a lot of Element Emits, which isn't worth it). On the other hand, as Qi Cushion aren't Emitters, they can always use Holy Stone Blocks for its Coziness.

### Tradeoff example

This means that if you can make a separate cultivation Room while losing less than 9% of the qi on tile compared to the breakthrough room, you'll have slightly improved cultivation speed. This can be useful to make "cheap" rooms for secondary cultivators, and early game when resources are rare. As an example, a room made from:

* Spiritwood at range 4
* Dragon Feces at range 3
* Spirit fruits such as Gnarled Vine at range 2
* and a Holy Stone Block Qi Cushion
* (as well as the items needed to balance the element strength)

Would have about ~1% faster cultivation speed than the same room with an Altar of Magic made of Spirit Crystal Block, saving 3 Spirit Fruits, 5 Dragon Feces and 6 Spiritwood (and possibly a number of materials needed to balance the element strength). In other words, this is an improvement over most early-game cultivation rooms, and stays a cheap alternative even into late game.

### Comparison between Cultivation and Breakthrough Rooms

The following table lists a comparison summary.

 Element Strength | x
 Cushion coziness | x

While a "pure" breakthrough room would also care about Breakthrough Chance Bonus Spirit Relics, in practice only the Golden Core breakthrough is worth optimizing for.

## Tricks and Bug abuses

There are a number of ways to improve either the gather qi of the cultivation room or its element composition. As it's probable most or all are unintended, use them as you see fit.

### Cushion trick

It is possible to put a Gather Qi item on the floor and to build a cushion on it (either a Cushion or a Qi Cushion), giving you the option to use one more Gather Qi item.

In case you're using decaying items, be sure to check the decay rate first.

### Huge Ginkgo Tree display

It is possible to drop a gather qi item on top of a Huge Ginkgo Tree trunk, thus making it a gather qi display. As items are always dropped in the same order, the first being on the tile directly below the character, one can do it by placing oneself behind the tree trunk, then dropping the item.

    Like for the Cushion trick, be sure to consider the decay rate if appropriate.

### Flower tech

Elemental flowers are weak Element Emitters that can be built on Fields, and they emit even as buds. If you destroy the fields, the flowers buds themselves are not destroyed, and you can put Flooring and buildings on them without destroying them. It is possible to use them to adjust the Element Composition of the cushion tile slightly. It can for example be used to counterbalance the use of gather qi items that don't feed the Cultivator's element.

Note: in the image above, as Elemental Flowers only have an emit range of 2, the flowers at the corners don't contribute element to the cushion tile.

### Door Tech

This is an extension of the cushion trick. Just like cushions, Doors can be built on top of gather qi items. However, unlike cushions and qi cushions, Doors are Element Emitters of range 2, which means they can be used to adjust the element composition of the cushion tile. This can be used in addition with the Flower tech.

### Flooring bug

Flooring has a bug where, anytime flooring is removed from a tile, the element bonuses of the terrains are reapplied until the game is loaded again. For example, if flooring is removed once from a Mud tile, which has 1.5 Water and 1.5 Earth emit by default, the tile would have 3 Water and 3 Earth emit until the game is loaded. This also applies to the Gather Qi of the Spirit soil terrain, so it is possible, provided it's done in one uninterrupted playthrough (including no interruption from entering camping maps), to repeatedly destroy and replace flooring on a Spirit soil tile to increase its gather qi indefinitely.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Compared to cheapest terrain as detailed in the Choice of Terrain section