Demand Cycling, By the Numbers

Introduction

Demand Cycling is an often mentioned method for leveling. With the rush to Lv 51 for Ancient Sentinel kill (Snake rank uncap) and Lv 53 for Maulers (Bonus Black Nanopods expiring), it is more important than ever to optimize XP gains.

The core of Demand Cycling is running a job as soon as Demand rises above the “depleted” level. Because Demand cannot be negative, this allows you to run the 24 hour job every time it recovers (75 minutes).

Having to check in so often can be very annoying, and even impossible for some. This analysis covers the benefits of Demand Cycling and at what point it becomes better than running shops normally.

IMPORTANT:

All Demand calculations are done with Level 50 values. When the level cap is raised from Level 49, only 1000 XP is needed to reach Level 50. Demand values then stay constant until Level 55.

Demand Cycling Basics

The Demand mechanic exists as a way to limit the rate at which players can get XP from shops. When you start a job, the XP reward is instantly deducted from the Demand bar. When your Demand is below the white line, shops of that category will provide significantly reduced XP. This state is called “depleted”.

Demand Cycling exploits two features of the Demand mechanic

• Jobs always give full XP when Demand is not depleted
• The minimum value for Demand is 0

By running a job right when Demand recovers from being depleted (75 minutes max), you can get XP faster than the regeneration rate of Demand. The greater the difference between the Demand recovered and the job XP, the better. As such, the job run should always be a 24 hour job.

Demand Cycling is repeating this process over and over. Dedicated players can get 12 cycles a day, but even lower numbers can be very beneficial.

Running Shops Normally

Before looking at the potential of Demand Cycling, it is important to establish a baseline XP rate. Each demand category has a maximum capacity, along with an hourly regeneration rate which is \(\frac{1}{24}\) of the maximum.

Category	Hourly Demand	Max Demand	75% Demand	50% Demand	25% Demand
Food	562	13,504	10,128	6,752	3,376
Tools	217	5,219	3,914	2,610	1,305
Spice	256	6,145	4,609	3,073	1,536
Meat	391	9,396	7,047	4,698	2,349
Drink	217	5,219	3,914	2,610	1,305
Goods	261	6,265	4,699	3,133	1,566
Meat	391	9,396	7,047	4,698	2,349
Security	174	4,177	3,133	2,089	1,044
Total	2,078	49,925	37,444	24,963	12,481
Total Without Spice	1,822	43,780	32,835	21,890	10,945

Even when running at maximum capacity (besides Spice), getting the 179,000 XP needed to go from Level 50 to Level 51 takes a little over 4 days. At 50% demand satisfaction, this takes over 8 days. As the Ancient Sentinel instantly respawns after it is killed for the first time, it is critical to level quickly. The faster you reach Level 51, the faster you can start promoting your BC-1 Snake.

Shops Needed to Cycle

For most players, cycling every 75 minutes is unrealistic. Very few people are able to start a new job right when Demand recovers, and even less are willing to stay up the whole night. A nice way to keep all your timers synced would be to somewhat match Tier 2 production by cycling every 2-3 hours.

The table below shows the number of jobs you can run given the time you sleep and the collection interval. The table also assumes you run one job right when you sleep, if demand allows.

Hours Slept	75 Minutes	100 Minutes	120 Minutes	180 Minutes	240 Minutes
6 Hours	14	11	9	6	5
7 Hours	13	10	8	6	4
8 Hours	12	9	8	5	4
9 Hours	12	9	7	5	4
10 Hours	11	8	7	5	4

These values aren’t what they seem, however. A key issue with many of these job counts is that you won’t have buffer time in case you aren’t right on time when restarting a job. The buffers are shown below, being the time between the last job (second last if running a job right when you sleep) and when you start sleeping.

Hours Slept	75 Minutes	100 Minutes	120 Minutes	180 Minutes	240 Minutes
6 Hours	30	5	0	0	45
7 Hours	45	20	60	45	60
8 Hours	60	60	0	60	0
9 Hours	0	0	60	0	105
10 Hours	15	40	0	45	45

If you sleep for 8 hours, cycling every 100 or 180 minutes looks to be the best. They have a lot of leeway, and you can even squeeze in another job in case you are playing in bed (not unlikely).

It is very important to have one extra shop when performing Demand Cycling. As is the nature with 24 hour timers, the timer will always move later every day. This is made worse if you are accidentally a couple minutes late.

As such, you should always have one more shop than the expected number of jobs run per day.

Demand Categories

Some shops above Level 50 will be included. Calculations will still use Lv 50 Demand values.

Effective XP means the XP gained minus the Demand regenerated in 75 minutes. This is important as the regenerated Demand is wasted when performing cycling. As a result, the best jobs are the ones with the greatest Effective XP.

Food

Food has a massive Demand capacity. That capacity combined with the rather low 24 hour XP rewards makes it a poor category to cycle. A couple Organic Grocers running blue arrow jobs should satisfy Demand easily without the hassle of cycling.

Shop	24h Job XP	XP per Pop	XP as % of Cap	Effective XP per Cycle	Effective XP/Pop/Cycle
Convenience Store	1,083	270.75	8.02%	379.67	94.92
Organic Grocer	2,254	563.5	16.69%	1,550.67	387.67

Food Shops & Demand

Cycles to Match Demand

Shop	24h Job XP	Cycles for 100% Demand	Cycles for 75% Demand	Cycles for 50% Demand	Cycles for 25% Demand
Convenience Store	1,083	12.47	9.35	6.23	3.12
Organic Grocer	2,254	5.99	4.49	3.00	1.50

XP From X Cycles

Shop	4 Cycles	5 Cycles	6 Cycles	7 Cycles	8 Cycles	9 Cycles	11 Cycles
Convenience Store	4,332	5,415	6,498	7,581	8,664	9,747	11,913
Organic Grocer	9,016	11,270	13,524	15,778	18,032	20,286	24,794

Tools

Tools is a category which just isn’t worth Demand Cycling. Even though the Demand capacity is low, the best 24 hour jobs all give too little XP to make it worth doing. The Research Lab is slightly better, but is unlocked after the Solar Power Plant, making it worthless for Demand Cycling.

Shop	24h Job XP	XP per Pop	XP as % of Cap	Effective XP per Cycle	Effective XP/Pop/Cycle
Machine Shop	1,035	258.75	19.83%	763.18	190.79
Research Lab	1,510	377.50	28.93%	1,238.18	309.54
Zoey's Tool Shop	1,342	447.33	25.71%	1,070.18	356.73

Tool Shops & Demand

Cycles to Match Demand

Shop	24h Job XP	Cycles for 100% Demand	Cycles for 75% Demand	Cycles for 50% Demand	Cycles for 25% Demand
Machine Shop	1,035	5.04	3.78	2.52	1.26
Research Lab	1,510	3.46	2.59	1.73	0.86
Zoey's Tool Shop	1,342	3.89	2.92	1.94	0.97

XP From X Cycles

Shop	4 Cycles	5 Cycles	6 Cycles	7 Cycles	8 Cycles	9 Cycles	11 Cycles
Machine Shop	4,140	5,175	6,210	7,245	8,280	9,315	11,385
Research Lab	6,040	7,550	9,060	10,570	12,080	13,590	16,610
Zoey's Tool Shop	5,368	6,710	8,052	9,394	10,736	12,078	14,762

Spice

The Greenhouse is the only shop in this category. You should not Demand Cycle with it. Despite being a Nanopod shop, the XP on the 24 hour job is very low. Building Morgan’s Houses would be a better idea than trying to Demand Cycle Greenhouses.

Shop	24h Job XP	XP per Pop	XP as % of Cap	Effective XP per Cycle	Effective XP/Pop/Cycle
Greenhouse	1,150	383.33	18.71%	829.95	276.65

Spice Shops & Demand

Cycles to Match Demand

Shop	24h Job XP	Cycles for 100% Demand	Cycles for 75% Demand	Cycles for 50% Demand	Cycles for 25% Demand
Greenhouse	1,150	5.34	4.01	2.67	1.34

XP From X Cycles

Shop	4 Cycles	5 Cycles	6 Cycles	7 Cycles	8 Cycles	9 Cycles	11 Cycles
Greenhouse	4,600	5,750	6,900	8,050	9,200	10,350	12,650

Meat

Frontier Butcher and Ramsey’s BBQ may appear to make Meat a viable category to cycle, but Meat has the second highest Demand capacity. As such, it is better to run shops normally and save the population/Nanopods.

Shop	24h Job XP	XP per Pop	XP as % of Cap	Effective XP per Cycle	Effective XP/Pop/Cycle
Frontier Butcher	1,633	408.25	17.38%	1,143.63	285.91
Ramsey's BBQ	2,902	967.33	30.89%	2,412.63	804.21

Meat Shops & Demand

Cycles to Match Demand

Shop	24h Job XP	Cycles for 100% Demand	Cycles for 75% Demand	Cycles for 50% Demand	Cycles for 25% Demand
Frontier Butcher	1,633	5.75	4.32	2.88	1.44
Ramsey's BBQ	2,902	3.24	2.43	1.62	0.81

XP From X Cycles

Shop	4 Cycles	5 Cycles	6 Cycles	7 Cycles	8 Cycles	9 Cycles	11 Cycles
Frontier Butcher	6,532	8,165	9,798	11,431	13,064	14,697	17,963
Ramsey's BBQ	11,608	14,510	17,412	20,314	23,216	26,118	31,922

Drink

The Water Filtering Plant gives a decent chunk of XP, making it seem appealing. However, it is unlocked after the Solar Power Plant, a shop which both gives more XP and takes zero demand. The only Drink shop worth Demand Cycling is the Cocktail Lounge, though it costs Nanopods and only becomes available at Level 53. As this is the level at which Maulers are unlocked, it won’t help in the rush to save the October Bonus Nanopods.

Shop	24h Job XP	XP per Pop	XP as % of Cap	Effective XP per Cycle	Effective XP/Pop/Cycle
Distillery	815	203.75	15.62%	543.18	135.79
Water Filtering Plant	1,950	487.50	37.36%	1,678.18	419.54
Brewery	1,200	300.00	22.99%	928.18	232.04
Cocktail Lounge	3,898	974.50	74.69%	3,626.18	906.54

Drink Shops & Demand

Cycles to Match Demand

Shop	24h Job XP	Cycles for 100% Demand	Cycles for 75% Demand	Cycles for 50% Demand	Cycles for 25% Demand
Distillery	815	6.40	4.80	3.20	1.60
Water Filtering Plant	1,950	2.68	2.01	1.34	0.67
Brewery	1,200	4.35	3.26	2.17	1.09
Cocktail Lounge	3,898	1.34	1.00	0.67	0.33

XP From X Cycles

Shop	4 Cycles	5 Cycles	6 Cycles	7 Cycles	8 Cycles	9 Cycles	11 Cycles
Distillery	3,260	4,075	4,890	5,705	6,520	7,335	8,965
Water Filtering Plant	7,800	9,750	11,700	13,650	15,600	17,550	21,450
Brewery	4,800	6,000	72,00	8,400	9,600	10,800	13,200
Cocktail Lounge	15,592	19,490	23,388	27,286	31,184	35,082	42,878

Goods

The Orphanage is the best non-nano shop to Demand Cycle with. A few cycles already exceeds the low Goods Demand capacity, and you can get double with just 5 cycles. Cycling Orphanages is a good idea during the rush to Levels 51 and 53.

The Recycling Plant is the best shop for Demand Cycling. If you can stomach both the Nanopod cost and time investment, it can generate an incredible amount of XP per day.

Shop	24h Job XP	XP per Pop	XP as % of Cap	Effective XP per Cycle	Effective XP/Pop/Cycle
Orphanage	2,650	662.5	42.30%	2,323.70	580.92
Recycling Plant	4,287	1071.75	68.43%	3,960.70	990.17

Goods Shops & Demand

Cycles to Match Demand

Shop	24h Job XP	Cycles for 100% Demand	Cycles for 75% Demand	Cycles for 50% Demand	Cycles for 25% Demand
Orphanage	2,650	2.36	1.77	1.18	0.59
Recycling Plant	4,287	1.46	1.10	0.73	0.37

XP From X Cycles

Shop	4 Cycles	5 Cycles	6 Cycles	7 Cycles	8 Cycles	9 Cycles	11 Cycles
Orphanage	10,600	13,250	15,900	18,550	21,200	23,850	29,150
Recycling Plant	17,148	21,435	25,722	30,009	34,296	38,583	47,157

Security

Despite the low Demand capacity, the Security category is similar to Tools in that all the XP outputs are too low to cycle with. The Home Defense Expo could be cycled at lower levels but isn’t good enough at Level 50.

Shop	24h Job XP	XP per Pop	XP as % of Cap	Effective XP per Cycle	Effective XP/Pop/Cycle
Home Security Store	1,100	275	26.33%	882.45	220.61
Home Defense Expo	1,503	375.75	35.98%	1,285.45	321.36

Security Shops & Demand

Cycles to Match Demand

Shop	24h Job XP	Cycles for 100% Demand	Cycles for 75% Demand	Cycles for 50% Demand	Cycles for 25% Demand
Home Security Store	1,100	3.80	2.85	1.90	0.95
Home Defense Expo	1,503	2.78	2.08	1.39	0.69

XP From X Cycles

Shop	4 Cycles	5 Cycles	6 Cycles	7 Cycles	8 Cycles	9 Cycles	11 Cycles
Home Security Store	4,400	5,500	6,600	7,700	8,800	9,900	12,100
Home Defense Expo	6,012	7,515	9,018	10,521	12,024	13,527	16,533

Demand Cycling Effectiveness

For players without Nanopod shops, cycling Orphanages is an easy option to gain XP faster. Sleeping 8 hours also causes the first job of the day to be a blue arrow job. Taking this bonus into account, synchronizing your cycling with 3 hour jobs can get you more than double the XP of the Goods Demand. This is both convenient and effective.

Just by cycling with Orphanage, the rate at which you can level increases by a noticeable amount.

Demand Satisfaction (%)	No Cycling	5 Cycles	6 Cycles	7 Cycles	9 Cycles	11 Cycles
100%	4.09	3.53	3.35	3.19	2.92	2.69
75%	5.45	4.33	4.06	3.83	3.44	3.12
50%	8.18	5.59	5.16	4.80	4.20	3.74

Demand Satisfaction (%)	No Cycling	5 Cycles	6 Cycles	7 Cycles	9 Cycles	11 Cycles
100%	12.75	10.99	10.45	9.95	9.09	8.37
75%	16.99	13.48	12.67	11.95	10.73	9.74
50%	25.49	17.43	16.10	14.96	13.10	11.65

Using other non-nano shops will end up being a waste of population. Even if you can spare the population, the effort needed heavily outweighs the benefit.

Solar Power Plant

Demand Cycling has two key issues: Its high time investment and heavy population use. Higher XP shops tend to require 4 workers to run, and some may even require 2 workers when off.

Both are solved with the Solar Power Plant at Level 61.

The Solar Power Plant only requires 3 workers, 1 when off, and does not use Demand. As such, you can collect all of them at the same time. Sure the 24 hour timer means creep, but when the reward exceeds all but the Orphanage in XP output, it’s a minor problem.

For non-nano players, Demand Cycling is no longer practical after Solar Power Plants.

Because the Solar Power Plant does not consume demand and thus has no need for cycling, it can even outperform shops like Ramsey's BBQ and Recycling Plant when built in higher numbers.

Shop	24h Job XP	XP per Pop
Solar Power Plant	2500	833.33

Conclusion

If you already log in every 3 hours to collect Tier 2 resource jobs, Demand Cycling with Orphanages is a good choice. It just about doubles the daily amount of XP you gain from Goods with very little extra effort. The main cost is the extra population.

However, for those who log in less, doing blue arrow jobs and ignoring cycling may be better.

Don't Demand Cycle with non-nano shops of other categories. The closest shop, Frontier Butcher, is half as efficient per worker. The rest are around a third or less.