The Crucible of the Unbroken is one of the most useful activities for leveling Beastmaster pets. With 50 pets to level from 1 to 6, having a fast and repeatable farming strategy can save a significant amount of time. For Board 1, fully clearing the board is recommended rather than entering and leaving after the first node. While some methods focus on resetting after the first node, completing the first board has proven to be a faster and more consistent approach for pet leveling. This guide, shared by Cole Evyx on his YouTube channel, covers the recommended pet teams, combat order, item priorities, and lower-level alternatives for efficiently farming Board 1. Let’s dive in.
Why Farm Crucible Board 1?
Once you start leveling Beastmaster, you will need to level a large number of pets. The Crucible provides a convenient way to progress multiple pets while using a small core of strong pets to handle most of the combat.
The main challenge is that not every recommended pet is immediately available when you first unlock the Crucible. For example, the Damselfly requires a higher level, so a Beastmaster around Level 30 will need alternative pets until it becomes available. For this reason, it is useful to have several team compositions rather than relying on a single setup. Some combinations can technically clear fights a little faster, but they may require more attention or create additional risks. For example, Sabotender can provide strong damage but also causes you to take damage, increasing the chance of eventually running out of HP or wiping during repeated runs. For consistent farming, a slightly slower team that requires almost no attention can be more practical.
Board 1 Item Recommendations
Before focusing on your pet team, pay attention to the items you obtain from shops and treasure nodes. The most useful stats for Board 1 include:
- Haste
- Critical Hit
- Auto-attack damage
- Other effects that directly increase your damage
The important thing is not to spend too much time looking for the perfect combination. Board 1 contains several shops and treasure nodes, and spending too much time comparing every possible item can significantly reduce your overall farming efficiency. If an item provides Crit, Haste, or another useful damage increase, simply take it and continue. You do not need to build a perfect item setup to farm Board 1 effectively.
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Feed Recommendations
Feed is not particularly important for Board 1, and you can comfortably farm without optimizing it. If you do choose to use Feed, prioritize physical damage, especially when using the Bug Team. There is no need to spend excessive time optimizing defensive stats or other specialized effects for this board. The goal is fast and consistent clears rather than creating a perfect build.
Recommended Board 1 Pet Teams
There are several useful team combinations for Board 1. The following setups are arranged around different levels of Beastmaster progression and different farming priorities.
1. Bug Team
The Bug Team is the most straightforward recommendation once you have access to the required high-level pets.
Recommended Order
Use the pets in this order:
- Damselfly
- Mantis
- Wespe
- Any pet you want to level
The basic idea is to use the first three pets as your damage core while filling the remaining slot with whichever pet you currently want to level. This setup is particularly attractive because it is extremely simple to use. You can repeatedly follow the same sequence without having to make many decisions during combat.
How to Use the Bug Team
Start with Damselfly and use its ability. After releasing it and triggering its burst, immediately switch to Mantis. Use Mantis, trigger its ability, and then release it before switching to Wespe. Once Wespe is active, use its ability and complete the initial combo. At this point, the target should be very close to death. Continue auto-attacking until the target's HP is low enough, then use Final Sting to finish it.
The timing of Final Sting takes some practice. Using it too early can leave the target alive and require additional auto-attacks afterward. However, even with occasional imperfect timing, the overall clear speed remains very fast.
Why the Bug Team Works
The main strength of this setup is consistency. The basic rotation is simply: Damselfly → Mantis → Wespe. You can repeat this sequence across encounters with very little thought. For players farming large numbers of pets, this low-maintenance approach can be more valuable than a slightly faster but more complicated setup.
Wespe Is the Key Pet
Among the pets used in these strategies, Wespe is particularly important because of Final Sting. Final Sting is not especially impressive when used at the beginning of a fight. Its damage becomes much more valuable as the target's HP gets lower. This makes Wespe an excellent finishing pet. After the other pets have reduced the target's HP, Wespe can use Final Sting to deliver the final burst of damage. Because of this, Wespe should be one of the first pets you consider leveling.
Lower-Level Alternatives for the Bug Team
The main problem with the Bug Team is that you may not have access to Damselfly when you first begin using the Crucible. Several pets can replace it.
Dullahan
Dullahan can take the place of Damselfly. Its release provides increased physical damage, making it useful as the first pet in the sequence. After using Dullahan, continue with Dullahan → Mantis → Wespe.
Sabotender
Sabotender is another possible replacement. It can provide strong damage, but there is an important drawback: its effect causes you to take damage. This makes it somewhat riskier for repeated farming, particularly when running Board 1 continuously.
Squirrel
Squirrel is another option because it provides Haste. It does not necessarily offer the same utility as the main setup, but the additional Haste can make it a useful alternative while leveling.
Uragnite
Uragnite provides Poison and can therefore serve as another alternative to Damselfly. These alternatives allow you to start farming Board 1 before obtaining every pet required for the main Bug Team.
The most important part of the setup is still the combination of Mantis and Wespe. Mantis helps increase the effectiveness of Wespe's Final Sting, while Wespe provides the powerful finishing attack.
2. Sabotender Team
The Sabotender Team can also clear Board 1 quickly, but it requires more attention than the Bug Team. The main reason is that Sabotender's effects cause you to take damage, so you need to keep an eye on your HP during repeated runs. This team also benefits significantly from using the correct pet order for each encounter.
General Team Order
For many encounters, a useful starting order is Wespe → Dullahan → Sabotender. Using Wespe early can help burst down the first enemy before it starts using more troublesome abilities, buffs, or AoE attacks. However, the optimal order can change depending on the enemy. In particular, the final boss benefits from a different approach.
Piscodemon
For Piscodemon, Dullahan is particularly useful as the final pet because the enemy is weak to slashing damage. A possible order is Sabotender → Wespe → Dullahan. This allows Dullahan to take advantage of its slashing damage against Piscodemon.
Banemites
For Banemites, either Sabotender or Dullahan can be used first. There is not a major difference between the two options, so you can use whichever feels more comfortable. It is recommended to finish the encounter with Wespe so that Final Sting can provide the finishing damage.
Ogre and the Final Boss
For Ogre, Wespe is again recommended as the final pet. The same applies to the final boss. The final boss is weak to piercing damage, which makes Wespe and Sabotender more useful in this encounter. Dullahan does not benefit as much here, so Wespe is a particularly good choice for the finishing position.
Efficient Pet Leveling with Board 1
The main purpose of farming Board 1 is not simply to clear it as quickly as possible. You are also using the board to level the pets you still need to train. Once your main combat pets are strong enough, fill the remaining team slots with the pets you want to level. For the Bug Team, this process is especially simple: Damselfly → Mantis → Wespe → Pet to Level. The first three pets handle the combat while the fourth slot provides progress for another pet. If you do not have Damselfly yet, use one of the alternatives discussed above and continue leveling until you can transition to the full Bug Team.
For the Sabotender setup, you need to pay more attention to encounter-specific pet order, but the same basic principle applies: use your strongest pets to handle the fight while putting the pets you want to level into the remaining slots.
