Mariant Guide

A guide for spending Mariants.

Whether you're a spender or not, Mariants allow you to buy the best buildings and troops in the game. However, If you don't spend a lot, you will need to make the most of this real-money component... but where should your valuable mariants go first? This guide aims to explain how to make the most of Mariants on a low buget and also to help guide where your money should go first.

Mariants are generally bought with real money or through promotional offers. There are also some free ways to attain it.

## Free Mariants

Before getting into how to spend Mariants, note these few ways to aquire Mariants for free.

### 1. The Tutorial

* Your biggest source of free Mariants is right at the start of the game, in the tutorial. If you followed the tutorial fully you will probably have somewhere around ~65 Mariants. There will be 5 Marints granted when you join a corporation. That will be the last batch from the tutorial. They won't come at this frequency later so hold onto them, if you want to make the most of the freebies.

### 2. Sharing on Facebook

* Your second source of Mariants is from clicking the 'like' icon in the bottom right corner of troops and buildings. Clicking the like allows Element to post on your facebook, granting Element some advertising space on your page. Although slow, it will grant you 1 free Mariant every day.

### 3. Dark Hive

* The third source of free Mariants is from the Dark Hive. The number and frequency of Mariants from the dark hive is random, but it is a very rare drop. In the early levels you can expect somewhere between 5-20, if you're lucky.

### 4. Corporation Purchases

* The fourth source requires you to be in a corporation and depends on how spendthrift your corporation members are. Whenever a fellow corporation member buys Mariants they automatically gift members with a 'case'. The 'Bargain' deal (the most expensive but cost-effective deal) provides all corp members with a **Mariant Case**. There is a small chance that opening one of these will drop Mariants. The number of Mariants dropped varies and can be anywhere up to 200 (edit if more have dropped). The Mariant cases also come as part of exclusive sale offers, which are considerably cheaper to buy than the bargain deal.

### 5. Trade Union

* The fifth source of Mariants is from Element's Trade Union page on facebook (a link to it is above the game wiindow - top right). Once in a blue moon the element guys will place a 24 hour link on their page with free Mariants. Check the page daily to get the link.

## Spending Guide

There are many ways to spend your Mariants ingame but if you are trying to make the most of your limited supply you will want to save them for a little while. A general rule of thumb is **don't waste Mariants on consumables** (this includes reviving dead troops). You'll want to give yourself a permanent advantage with your purchase. So here is a list in order of priority, to give you that edge.

### 1. A 2nd Cargo Shuttle (200 Mariants)

* Your first cargo shuttle is good but it often leaves you lacking the bitmoney needed to revive your troops, expand territory or construct buildings. Adding a permanent second shuttle will double your cargo space and allow you to increase your income. Sure, you'll need to ramp up your early datablock farming but that is not going to be much of a problem at level 20. You can have a maximum of 4 cargo shuttles but there is no point in owning more than you can continuously fill. *Add more when you can consistently flll them*.

### 2. Element Verge Lab Upgrade (250 Mariants)

* The rate at which the Element Verge Lab produces elements is painfully slow. Upgrading it will increase your Elements from 6 to 8 per day. Its a seemingly small improvement but roughly adds 33% more per day. Not bad for a permanent\* change. (\*until that inconceivable day when there is no more left to learn)

### 3. Turrets (100 Mariants)

* Nothing is more of a nuisance when attacking an enemy than well placed turrets. If you're low on troops you'll be avoiding turrets like the plague. However, bear in mind they won't stop a determined attacker. Placing a few of these in your base can add a layer of protection to key buildings. The downside to these is that you will need quite a few to deter people away or own upgraded ones, which is costly. Luckily, level 1 turrets are the cheapest Mariant building.

### 4. Orbital Shuttle (2000 Mariants)

* You could consider this as the first thing to buy but be warned, it will drain your supplies faster than anything else early in the game. Having said that, it is by far the most useful building in the long run. This is why the cargo shuttle is suggested as a first buy item and the orbital shuttle is reccomended as a long term purchase. It houses a whopping 500 cargo space, the equivalent of ten level 1 cargo shuttles.

### 5. +6 Elements(250 Mariants/Variable)

**REMOVED FROM GAME**

* ~~Once you have eliminated the above choices and you have spare Mariants to burn, you could invest them into completing research faster. More permanent troop strength and defence can't be a bad thing. Note: A higher level lab will charge more Mariants for a greater number of elements.~~

### 6. +4 Orbital Charges (120 Mariants/Variable)

* Orbital Charges are easy enough to burn through. Adding a few more will help you have a greater choice of targets in any one instance. Be weary of the upper limit of your Orbital Command though, or you may wind up replacing good targets. Note: A higher level orbital command will charge more Mariants for a greater number of charges.

### 7. Everything Else (Varied)

* All the other options are now up to your play style and cashflow. The majority of the remaining Mariant purchases are consumables, including reviving troops. These are the least efficient uses of Mariants but they will grant you temporary advantages that could reduce battle losses or help gain strength. Items such as black market purchases (e.g. special bonus items) are easily consumed and are likely most practical at endgame. You will likely still need Microchips to improve your research, so spare Mariants could be spent into areas where you can temporarily increase your Microchip yields (e.g. a temporary population boost to increase your army size or just buying troops from the black market).