A complete guide 

In the world of In-Match3, character development is the foundation of success. The path from the initial Herald to Divine grade takes time, strategy and tactics, but each transformation opens up new opportunities and advantages. This guide will show you how to effectively prepare your character for the next grade, what key elements of development you should consider, and why VIP access and Volcarr Mine can be your main tools.

Important: The world of In-Match3 is very dynamic, and the guide may change significantly as new mechanics, locations, resources and other game elements appear. To keep abreast of all the changes and not to miss important things, be sure to follow the Professor's Diaries and fan zone newsletter. The current version of the guide is up to date for the end of 2024 - beginning of 2025.

No matter what grade you are currently at, the main tactical goal is always to prepare for transformation to the next grade. Transformation up to and including Ancient grade is currently available, and a Herald grade character is available for free.

Each player can choose between two development paths:

• Free2Play (F2P): Completely without investment. This is a slow but stable way.

• With the use of attachments: speeds up progress, allowing you to reach your goals faster.

In both cases, the development process is the same: investments only shorten the time, but do not change the game mechanics itself. In this guide we will look at both approaches.

For any player - whether F2P or with investments - it is important to get VIP access and mine in the energy mine as soon as possible. These two elements significantly speed up character development and reduce time expenditure.

VIP access

VIP access is a paid tool that can be purchased for any period of time: from one day to a year. Even the minimum term of VIP significantly increases your efficiency in the game.

What gives VIP:

• Increase in resource extraction by 2 times. This applies to all in-game activities: battles, gathering and mining.

• An additional free trip to Vanguard. This is a unique opportunity to get more rare resources.

• Extra turn in resource mining mode. This allows you to mine more gems needed to progress.

• Reduced tax on the exchange and auction. Instead of the standard 30% you will only pay 20%, which makes trading more profitable.

Oddly enough, doubling resource mining is the least significant VIP bonus at this stage of In-Match3 world development. The energy mine provides a huge amount of gems, which makes buying them easier and cheaper than spending time mining them manually. However, the other VIP bonuses prove critical to efficient development. 

• An extra turn in resource mining mode increases the number of strange gems

• Reduced tax on the exchange increases profits from the sale of strange gems and artifacts. 

• An extra pass in Vanguard helps you level up your character faster, which in turn increases the social points you can get in the Forest or Cave. This allows you to reach higher positions in the monthly tournament and get generous rewards in gems.

The first money you earn or invest should be used to purchase VIP access. This is one of the most effective investments for accelerating the development of your character. However, it's important to keep in mind that the cost of VIP is highly dependent on the term for which it is purchased: the longer you take VIP for, the cheaper the cost per day is.

At the time of writing this guide, VIP for one day costs 49 $TIN, while for 12 months it costs 2,937 $TIN. If you do the math, one day of VIP for a year would cost about 8 $TIN, which is 6 times cheaper than buying one day. Thus, long-term VIP is not only more cost-effective, but also eliminates the need to constantly renew access, allowing you to focus on development.

Energy mine

The Energy Mine is your key source of gems, which are the main currency for character upgrades. The mine is one of the most valuable items in the game and can be a real lifesaver for both F2P and invested players.

What the Volcarr Mine gives (it is the middle one of the mines that mines one type of gems):

• Without VIP, it yields 720'000 gems per day. With VIP it doubles this amount to 1'440'000 gems per day.

• Chance of getting an artifact up to and including Legend grade

For comparison, a level 60 Crusader without VIP gets about 1'400 gems for winning Camp Defense. To reach the Volcarr Mine daily income without VIP, you need to:

• Win about 500 fights daily.

• With an average win chance of 70%, this means you will need to have over 700 fights per day.

• If one fight lasts about 2 minutes, you'll spend over 23 hours a day just on fights!

The mine becomes especially important during the stages of preparation for transformation to the next grade, providing a constant flow of gems that speeds up development and minimizes time for routine actions.

Although the cost of Volcarr Mine is quite high, the official Energy Mine Guide suggests an effective way: to acquire Ingnisia Mine as soon as possible. Its cost is much lower, and with the right circumstances it can upgrade to Volcarr and then even to Radiar. If it doesn't, it can always be upgraded manually by accumulating the necessary funds, which will still be a profitable solution in the long run.

To move to the next grade currently requires:

• Gems - the amount depends on the character's level. The higher your level, the fewer gems you need to transform. This creates an extra incentive to level up before planning a transformation. But keep in mind that around level 70, the amount of gems needed for transformation starts to exceed the savings! 

• $TIN for Guaranteed Transformation - Using $TIN increases the probability of success to 100%. Without $TIN, the probability of success can be as low as 30% or lower, making the transformation process risky and resource intensive.

• Strange Gems - to transform to Legend grade and above, you will also need Strange Gems. The only way to get them at the moment (apart from the Auction) is by mining resources in the Forest and Cave. Under no circumstances should you ignore this aspect of the game and better spend considerable time mining them. Their value will only increase, so it will be an effective investment of time in any case.

Gems or $TIN? How to choose the optimal path?

Here, it's important to weigh all options carefully and determine what's more beneficial to you:

• Spending more gems on multiple transformation attempts.

• Save up or purchase $TINs for guaranteed success on the first attempt.

The decision depends on a variety of factors:

• Are you playing Free2Play or using attachments?

• Do you have a mine (such as Volcarr or Radiar) that provides a steady stream of gems?

• How much time per day can you devote to the game?

If you have a mine, then gems are stable and the amount of gems for several transformation attempts can be easily replenished. However, if you are playing without investment and your main gem mining is through battles and events, the time spent farming can far exceed the benefits.

In most cases, it is more profitable to mine and sell strange gems or artifacts, and then use the proceeds to buy ordinary gems on the exchange. This can save you a lot of time, especially if you have VIP access.

A great addition to your transformation strategy is to participate in the monthly tournament. This mode not only allows you to earn Social Points, but also offers rewards in the form of gems.

The number of gems you receive as a reward depends on your position in the tournament rankings. However, even average positions can yield significantly more gems than you would be able to get by farming continuously in Defense or Ruins. Tournament rewards are especially valuable if you have limited time for active play, as they allow you to optimize your efforts and maximize your results.

The world of In-Match3 is full of different locations, each of which has its own peculiarities and purpose. The choice of where to spend your time in the game depends on your current goals: gaining experience, mining resources or earning money on the market. Below we will look at the key locations, their characteristics and uses. 

Vanguard

The Vanguard becomes mandatory from about level 25 onwards. This is the main place to gain experience, and very quickly you will realize that one trip to the Vanguard brings more experience than hundreds and sometimes thousands of fights in Defense.

All available pass attempts should be used daily, as it directly affects your progress. VIP doubles the number of attempts, which makes camping even more valuable.

At later stages of the game, starting at a certain grade, level or income, you will probably start buying additional walkthroughs, as their value for character progression increases many times over.

Ruins

Ruins are the main location for mining Artifacts. It's already obvious that every character needs Artifacts, and their value will likely only increase over time.

This is a great investment of time, whether you are collecting Artifacts for your character or selling them on the market.

Currently, selling a single Legend Artifact can buy gems for two attempts to transform from Herald to Crusader.

Interesting fact: the probability of getting artifacts is the same for all characters, whether they are a level 1 Herald or a level 100 Legend. This makes the Ruins attractive to players at all stages of the game.

The Forest and the Cave

Forest and Cave are locations that are similar in their mechanics, but differ in the monsters that live there. The difference is not only in their appearance, but also in the grade of the monsters, which determines the difficulty and effectiveness of farming in these locations.

In the Forest you will be facing Herald grade monsters, which makes it a great place for farming with lower grades. For Archon and higher grades, the Forest becomes less effective and more of a boring place, as the monsters are not a serious challenge and the loot is limited.

The Cave is inhabited by Crusader grade monsters, making it more difficult for Herald grade characters to visit. For higher level characters, the Cave becomes a more useful location.

In both locations, you can get some gems for defeating monsters (much less than in Ruins or Defense).

The main advantage is Social Points, which can only be earned in these two locations.

The number of Social Points depends on the level of your character, the grade of the defeated monster and whether you have VIP access.

In addition to combat, a resource extraction mode is available in Forest and Cave, which utilizes different game mechanics.

What can be mined:

• Strange gems - a valuable resource for trade and progress.

• Location-specific resources - such as stones, logs and other materials that are used for construction and improvements. These resources play an important role, such as how they were recently used to strengthen the Energy Mine.

VIP will significantly increase the amount of resources you can mine, as it adds one turn per game, allowing you to build more complex combinations.

Camp Defense

Playing in Defense is quite inefficient right now. There are often higher-grade opponents in battles, which makes this location difficult and resource-consuming for most players.

However, the only undeniable advantage of Defense at the moment is its important role in the New Year's Event. Only here you can encounter monsters from any location, which makes it much easier to collect the frozen monsters needed for the event.

If your goal is to participate in the event, then Defense becomes a key location to visit. Otherwise, it's better to focus on other, more efficient ways to spend your time.

In-Match3 is a game where the development of the story directly depends on the actions of the players. We choose the direction of development ourselves, influencing what will be explored, discovered or added to the game. This makes each player's participation especially meaningful and adds an element of collective creativity to the game.

In order to understand which direction to take, it is necessary to read the Professor's Diaries carefully. It is there that clues and details are revealed that help to work out common solutions. Sometimes individual goals need to be put aside to focus on collective objectives. Joint efforts can lead to grandiose successes that will be beneficial to all players!

What do we already know?

• Visiting the Vanguard

Actively participating in battles in Vanguard helps speed up the appearance of new in-game locations. This makes Vanguard an important part of the game's overall progress.

• Forest and Cave sweeps

In the past, the massive sweep of these locations has led to new game mechanics.

What will the second level sweep lead to? It remains a mystery, but it will definitely be an important step in the development of the story.

• Collecting Herald Grade Artifacts

We know from the Professor's Diaries that these artifacts are needed to unlock Synapses. How exactly they will be used and what will be revealed with their help - that remains to be seen (although the hints are already more than enough to get the general picture).

Follow new issues of the Professor's Diaries to stay on top of current challenges and directions.

Maintain a balance between individual and team goals. Sometimes the combined effort of an entire team of players can open up incredible opportunities for everyone.

Team up with other players to complete tasks that affect story progression faster and more efficiently.

In-Match3 story progression is not just a game, but a true cooperative adventure where each player contributes to the creation of a new world!