WIKI
The golden rule: fast clears beat hard stages
Your income in Task Bar Hero scales with clears per hour, not with stage level. A stage you delete in 3 seconds dumps far more chests, gold and kills into your account over an hour than a harder stage you scrape through in 30 seconds (or fail on). So the best farm is the highest stage your party clears quickly and reliably without dying — push difficulty only until clears start slowing down, then drop back one notch and let it rip.
Best farm stage = fastest reliable clear, not the hardest stage. If a clear takes more than a few seconds or your party occasionally dies, step down a stage.
What you're actually farming (and where it comes from)
| Resource | Comes from | How to maximise |
|---|---|---|
| Gear & materials | Chests dropped on kills + boss boxes | Fast clears + drop-rate gear + auto-open runes |
| Gold | Kills + alchemizing junk drops | High kill rate, then Alchemy in the Cube |
| XP | Kills | Highest stage with a fast clear; XP gear/pets |
| Soul stones | Specific stages (drops) | Fastest stage that drops the tier you need |
| Act-boss loot (red chests) | Act bosses (cost a soul stone) | See the bosses guide |
How to find YOUR best farm stage
- Go as high as you reliably one-shot. Move up stages until clears noticeably slow or your team starts taking real damage.
- Drop back one stage. That's usually your gold/XP/chest farm — maximum kills per minute with zero deaths.
- For soul stones, pick by drop, not level. Farm the fastest stage that drops the soul-stone tier you need, even if it's lower.
- Re-check after every upgrade. Each gear or rune jump shifts your sweet spot up a stage or two.
Crank up the farm rate
- Far North auto-open runes — open chests automatically so a minimised game farms loot hands-free (rune tree).
- Drop-rate & attack-speed gear — more chests and faster kills compound over hours.
- Pets — the Dragon stacks chest-drop, gold and XP bonuses; see the pets guide.
- A clear-speed team — the free Knight + Sorcerer + Priest with AoE shreds packs for fast clears.
Overnight AFK farm — setup checklist
- Park on your fastest reliable clear stage (no deaths)
- Far North auto-open unlocked (common + boss chests)
- Drop-rate / attack-speed gear equipped; Dragon pet active
- Keepers locked so bulk Alchemy can't eat them
- Game left running, minimised to the taskbar — not closed (offline drops zero chests)
Closing it isn't idling — offline drops no chests, only the small offline-reward trickle. Real overnight farming needs the game open and minimised. More in how the game works.
Farming soul stones
Soul stones gate Act-boss rewards, so they're worth a dedicated farm. The same rule applies: pick the fastest stage that drops the tier you need and run it on repeat — a quick lower stage out-farms a slow high one. And because soul stones are tradeable on the Steam Market, you can just buy the tier you're short on if farming is too slow. Details on the bosses & soul stones guide.
FAQ
What's the best AFK farming stage?
The highest stage you clear fast and reliably without dying — farm rate is clears per hour, not stage level. A quick lower stage beats a slow hard one.
Where do I farm soul stones?
The fastest stage that drops the tier you need; speed beats difficulty. They're also buyable on the market.
How do I farm while AFK?
Leave the game minimised (not closed), park on a fast-clear stage, and unlock Far North auto-open so chests open themselves.
Should I farm the hardest stage I can beat?
No — if clears are slow or risky, drop a stage. Consistent fast clears farm more per hour.
Exact best stages shift with your gear and the current patch; this guide gives the method rather than fixed numbers. Unofficial fan resource, not official Nugem Studio data.