Resources • Calculators
Tarot Calculator
Calculate SM Factor reduction time and Black Gem farming for Tarot progression
The Tarot Strategy
In Revolution Idle's Tarot system, you farm Black Gems (1% spawn chance) to earn Tarot card draws. The challenge is managing your SM Spawned Factor which increases with each Special Mineral spawn and dramatically raises costs after 7,500.
Recommended Automation Setup
In the Automations tab, configure "Autospawn Special Minerals" with:
- ✓Max Spawned Factor: 7500 (prevents exponential cost explosion)
- ✓Max Cost (+base): 0 (spawns exactly at base cost)
SM Factor Reduction Technique (Node 68)
Refine Node 68: "For every 100,000 attack levels gained reduce your SM Spawned Factor by 1"
- ✓Enable "Automate Unity" at your max attack level
- ✓Unity automation is capped at 1 per second (affected by Time Flux)
- ✓Time Flux x3: Speeds Unity to 1 per 0.333 seconds (3x faster reduction)
The 7500 Breakpoint
Calculator
Core Stats
Your current maximum attack level
Game speed multiplier from Time Flux tab
Your current Special Mineral spawn factor
Black Gem Info
List gem levels (space/comma/dash separated)
Level at which Black Gems spawn (base 1, 2, 3...)
Draws when deleting a level 1 gem (default: 0.10 without upgrades)
Probability of getting a Black Gem per SM spawn (default: 1%)
Partial draws you already have accumulated
🎯Goals (Optional - Fill at least one)
Desired SM factor to reach (commonly 7500 or 0)
Black Gem level you want to reach by merging
Understanding the Mechanics
SM Factor Reduction Formula
Based on Refine Node 68: "For every 100,000 attack levels gained reduce your SM Spawned Factor by 1"
Reductions/sec = (Max Attack Level ÷ 100,000) × Time Flux
Example 1: 5,000 attack × Time Flux x1 = 0.05 reductions/sec = 20 seconds per -1 factor
Example 2: 100,000 attack × Time Flux x3 = 3 reductions/sec = 0.33 seconds per -1 factor
Gem Conversion to Base Level
When calculating time to reach a target level, the calculator converts all your gems to base level equivalents.
Formula: Gem Level N with Base B = 2^(N - B) base gems
Example with Base Level 2:
- • Lvl 2 = 2^(2-2) = 1 base gem
- • Lvl 3 = 2^(3-2) = 2 base gems
- • Lvl 4 = 2^(4-2) = 4 base gems
- • Lvl 5 = 2^(5-2) = 8 base gems
Practical Example:
You have: 1 Lvl 2 gem + 1 Lvl 4 gem (Base Level 2)
Equivalent: 1 + 4 = 5 base gems
Target: Lvl 5 (needs 8 base gems)
Still need: 8 - 5 = 3 more base gems
Black Gem Farming Time Calculation
Step 1: Calculate spawns per second (reduction rate)
spawns/sec = (Max Attack ÷ 100,000) × Time Flux
Step 2: Calculate time per spawn
time_per_spawn = 1 ÷ spawns_per_sec
Step 3: Calculate spawns needed per Black Gem
spawns_per_gem = 100 ÷ spawn_chance_%
(default: 100 ÷ 1 = 100 spawns/gem)
Step 4: Calculate time per Black Gem
time_per_gem = spawns_per_gem × time_per_spawn
Step 5: Calculate total time
total_time = gems_still_needed × time_per_gem
Note: The calculator accounts for Black Gems you already own at the base level!
Black Gem Fusion & Tarot Draws
Black Gems merge like all minerals: 2 × Level N → 1 × Level N+1
Gems Needed for Level:
- Level 2: 2 lvl 1 gems (2¹)
- Level 3: 4 lvl 1 gems (2²)
- Level 4: 8 lvl 1 gems (2³)
- Level 5: 16 lvl 1 gems (2⁴)
- Level 6: 32 lvl 1 gems (2⁵)
Tarot Draws per Level (always from level 1):
- Level 1: 0.10 draws
- Level 2: 0.20 draws
- Level 3: 0.40 draws
- Level 4: 0.80 draws
- Level 5: 1.60 draws
- Level 6: 3.20 draws
Formula: Draws = base_draws_lvl1 × 2^(level - 1)
Default: 0.10 draws at level 1 (without upgrades)
Note: All draws are calculated from level 1 reference, regardless of your base spawn level
Example Scenario
Setup: 5,649 attack, Time Flux x1, Base Level 2
Current Gems: 1 Lvl 2 + 1 Lvl 4
Goal: Reach Level 5 (needs 8 base lvl 2 gems)
Gem Conversion:
• Lvl 2 = 2^(2-2) = 1 base gem
• Lvl 4 = 2^(4-2) = 4 base gems
Total owned: 1 + 4 = 5 base gems
Still need: 8 - 5 = 3 base gems
Time Calculation:
Reduction rate: 5,649 ÷ 100,000 = 0.0565/sec
Time per spawn: 1 ÷ 0.0565 = 17.70 seconds
Spawns per gem: 100 (with 1% chance)
Time per gem: 100 × 17.70s = 1,770s = 29.5 minutes
Total time: 3 × 29.5min = 88.5 minutes = 1h 28min
Result: Thanks to your existing gems (5 equivalent), you only need to farm 3 more instead of 8, cutting your time from ~4 hours to ~1.5 hours!
Optimal Strategy Walkthrough
Step 1: Initial Setup (After Node 70)
- 1.When you unlock Tarot (Node 70), your SM Factor is set to 5000 (or -1000 if you had less than 6000)
- 2.Configure automation: Max Spawned Factor = 7500, Max Cost = 0
Step 2: Farm Initial Black Gems
- 1.Farm Black Gems at or under factor 7500 - this is where rune costs start increasing rapidly (1% spawn rate)
Step 3: Reduce to 0 (Achievement #372)
- 1.IMPORTANT: Do this right after getting Chariot! Don't wait.
- 2.Enable "Automate Unity" at max attack level (must have Node 68 purchased)
- 3.Set Time Flux to x3 for maximum speed
- 4.Use this calculator to see how long it takes to reduce from 7500 → 0
Step 4: Mass Farm Black Gems
- 1.At SM Factor 0, Special Minerals don't cost any runes
- 2.If you are close to tarot draws, spam spawn Special Minerals (try not to go further than SM Spawn factor 7500)
- 3.Merge all Black Gems to increase Base Level (SPM Progression - Node 46)
- 4.Goal: Base Level 2 Black Gems (spawn at level 2) for maximum efficiency
- 5.IMPORTANT: Never delete Black Gems below level 5 - you'll lose SPM progression
⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid
- ✗Deleting Black Gems below level 5 - You'll lose all your Special Mineral Progression (for base level increase), very inefficient
- ✗Letting SM Factor go past 7500 early - Costs become astronomical
- ✗Waiting to do Achievement #372 - Much harder if factor is high
- ✗Using Tower Arcana recklessly - Can delete your high-level gems by accident
📝Pro Tip