Tinker's Construct "Moss" mechanics

[Jerx99]

So, I've been tinkering abit, and I'm trying to decide on how I should make my next pickaxe. By this point I have access to Cobalt, Ardite and therefore also Manyullyn. I'm thinking something along the lines of:

Cobalt Head, paper binding, many rod (Cobalt for speed and more importantly, Reinforced II)
Many Head, paper binding, many rod (for maximum durability)
or even:
Cobalt Head, paper binding, ardite rod (for speed, Reinforced AND Stonebound II)

Anyway, I'm intending to stick one or two moss balls on there to keep it going indefinitely, but I'm curious about the mechanics of the moss modifier, as I'm not sure of exactly how it works.

Some questions about it:

Does the "main" material determine the recharge rate?
Does the "base durability" (eg. that of the complete tool before modifiers) determine the recharge rate?
Does the full durability determine the recharge rate (and if so, does it matter in which order the moss is placed relative to emeralds etc?)?
Or is it just a flat rate of recharging, and is not based on what kind of tool it is, at all?


I'm kinda hoping it's percentage based, since that would encourage using high-durability parts on an auto-repairing tool, instead of more or less completely removing the durability aspect of such tools.

I've been trying to test it out for myself, but I've come up with few, unconclusive results.

(Please note, I'm not looking for input on how to make the best pickaxe, just the actual mechanics of the auto-repairing moss modifier)

Cheers, Jerx99

 

[Gimply Goose]

As far as I know it is a flat rate; not percentage based. I would say roughly 1 durability per 10 seconds per moss.

 

[Jerx99]

Just did a small test with 4 pickaxes (head/rod = wood/paper, wood/wood, paper/wood, paper/paper) and a stopwatch.

Turns out the amount of seconds per durability recharged was between 4 and 6.5 in all tests, with a noticable randomness (one pickaxe "ticked" several times in a row, just to sit on a fixed value for a long time after).

I'd say it's probably a random rate with an average of approximately 1 durability per 5 seconds, regardless of material type. To confirm this I'd have to do the same test with a larger durability, but I can't really do that right now.


Anyway, if it's a correct assessment, it means the only ways to increase the effective recharge rate is stacking Moss or Reinforced (since it increases the average amount of uses per durability, it also increases the amount of uses repaired over time - unless there's some underlying mechanic to counteract that).

 

[Bibble]

I think it is constant rate, so you're better off upping the reinforced level, rather than the durability, unless you are wanting something that you can use for a long time, then leave to recharge.

Personally, I never found the durability of manyllyn to be of enough benefit to outweigh the speed of cobalt.

 

[Jerx99]

I think it is constant rate, so you're better off upping the reinforced level, rather than the durability, unless you are wanting something that you can use for a long time, then leave to recharge.

Personally, I never found the durability of manyllyn to be of enough benefit to outweigh the speed of cobalt.

It would seem so. I ended up going with Cobalt Head (for speed and reinforced), paper binding and a Manyullyn rod (just for that buffer). Going with an ardite rod instead was really tempting too, but I figured I might aswell use Manyullyn for something

 

[Symmetryc]

If you have Thaumcraft 3 installed, I'd recommend Cobalt/Paper/Thaumium, as it gives an extra modifier (in addition to the paper modifier).

 

[Jerx99]

If you have Thaumcraft 3 installed, I'd recommend Cobalt/Paper/Thaumium, as it gives an extra modifier (in addition to the paper modifier).

Yeah, I definitely will look into that when I get that far into TC3. What's the handle modifier of Thaumium?

 

[xXShadowOo]

All I know that the rate increases when it's on sunlight.

EDIT: That was mentioned on one of the guide books, I think.

 

[Symmetryc]

Yeah, I definitely will look into that when I get that far into TC3. What's the handle modifier of Thaumium?

I think it's about 1.25x, and while that may seem low, trust me, these pickaxes have so much durability that you'll never run out with a bit of moss on it. I consider speed a much larger priority.

 

[TheAbstractHippo]

Why are you going for high durability when you have Moss?

 

[PhantomRage]

If you are using a tech pack, it would be a better idea to go Electric rather than moss (you're bound to be using some sort of electric armor somewhere), but yes, Moss is a flat rate, and can be stacked multiple times for more repair. Best combinations imo would be...
~Moss
Cobalt Head
Paper / Thaumium Binding
Manyullun Rod (More Durability / Good handle modifier)
~Electric
Cobalt Head
Paper Binding
Thaumium Rod (As you are using electric power, durability does not matter, as long as you have 'nuff power)