Transmutation
Transmutation converts items into other items through timed recipes. It runs inside your Refinery, and is unlocked by the Transmutation Research node.
How it works
- Commit the input items for a recipe, wait for it to finish, then claim the output.
- It needs an active Refinery Module. Speed grows with your Refinery Modules and the Transmutation Speed upgrade (see Speed).
- Transmutation makes no heat and ignores the Refinery's operating mode.
- Recipes cost only their input items, no Salvage. Conversions can lose value, so compare inputs and outputs before committing.
Speed
Transmutation works through a recipe at a steady pace, measured in BC of item worth per minute. Each conversion needs work equal to the worth of its inputs plus the worth of its outputs. Boost recipes need three times that. Outputs finish one at a time as the work completes, so a long batch can be claimed in parts.
Your pace is set by two things:
- Refinery Modules. Each unpaused Module adds 1 point, plus 0.2 for every level, so a level 15 Module adds 4. Modules count strongest first, and each further Module counts 5% less than the one before it. Pausing Modules for Salvage also slows Transmutation.
- Transmutation Speed upgrade. Without it, you run at 5% of full speed. The tiers raise this to 20%, 40%, 60%, 80% and 100%.
At full speed every point gives 2 million BC of work per minute.
| Refinery Modules | No upgrade | Tier 1 | Tier 3 | Tier 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 at level 1 | 0.78 billion | 3.1 billion | 9.4 billion | 15.6 billion |
| 5 at level 15 | 2.6 billion | 10.4 billion | 31.3 billion | 52.1 billion |
| 15 at level 15 | 6.2 billion | 24.7 billion | 74.2 billion | 123.7 billion |
| 25 at level 15 (the maximum) | 8.3 billion | 33.3 billion | 99.9 billion | 166.5 billion |
A day of nonstop Transmutation
How much you burn in a day depends on the recipe, since outputs count toward the work too. Your "BC transmuted" stat counts only the worth of the inputs used up. With Transmutation Speed at tier 5 and the Refinery running all day:
| Recipe | Work per conversion | 5 Modules at level 15 | 25 Modules at level 15 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 Green → 1 Amber Gemerald | 1.5 billion | 34 conversions:
|
110 conversions:
|
| 3 Red → 2 Purple Gemerald | 4.5 billion | 11 conversions:
|
36 conversions:
|
| 1 of each colour → 1 Pluperfect Gemerald | 3.25 billion | 16 conversions:
|
51 conversions:
|
| 240 minute to 480 minute Personal Boost | 36 billion | 1 conversion:
|
4 conversions:
|
Without the upgrade everything runs 20 times slower: one Green to Amber conversion takes almost 14 hours with 5 level 15 Modules.
Recipe groups
| Group | What it does |
|---|---|
| Gemeralds up and down | Combine lower Gemeralds into higher ones (up to Pluperfect), or split them back down |
| Action boosts | Upscale high-tier Personal Boost items, or convert between actions. Uses Pluperfect Gemeralds |
| Pet and farm boosts | Upgrade pet and farm boost items |
Boost recipes take three times as long as Gemerald recipes.
Queue
With the Transmutation Queue Research node and the matching upgrade, you can line up several recipes to run back to back. Later steps can use the output of earlier ones.