This thread has been around for a LONG time! 

Still stand by my earlier post but would add that if you want to up the quality of your invader gear then you need to hit your highest level royal guards  or the uber that can drop royal guard gear. In either case hit with hero boosted and single shots until max boost reached (600% in my case)

I am of the thought that anything less than Legendary gear is a waste. You WILL have to up them all to Legendary at some point so why waste the limited materials you already have on them? Worked out well enough for me I must say. I made one piece of less than Leg. gear and was informed of why it wasn't really a good idea. Its proven itself TO ME to be an accurate assessment too. 

I would/did combine my material hunt with getting the "Hunt Has Only Just Begun" achievement. Hit 1's and hit them constantly. Yes, your materials will all be lower tier and will have to be combined BUT not only will you eventually get your Legendary materials you will get that achievement which give much Gold and a decent combat bonus to boot. With the Gold you can buy Hero energy to get more materials and/or knowledge to hit higher tier Invaders. Ubers are worth all the time/energy it takes btw.There are NO shortcuts in this game. 

Astonished to find an old topic of mine had been revived, and has since garnered two additional posts, so I thought I would add a third.

Yes, it's a very old post and the question I raised  never got me a satisfactory answer, but 

the title is still relevent.

The dispatching of invaders, and now ghosts is still as significant a part of the game as it was then, as is  the question 'are old tactics redundant?'  The answer being yes.

Things change , the game moves on.

Why did I write hero level 60 ? Pretty sure it is so long ago that's all there was,otherwise I would have put 70.

Energy was not that abundant, which is why I wanted to use mine efficiently.

As to  Guardsman gear, I have still to be convinced on the arguement as to its early usefulness.

Eventually, I got all the best legendary hero experience equipment, and then transferred my attention to the guardsman gear.

 First thing I forged was Boots  and that's when it hit me. I had wasted energy chasing its procurement.

 I was getting hardly any energy savings from the Boots,and I still  wanted the experience boosts.

Took me a while to get enough material to get all the guardsman gear, and guess what...

I still haven't forged it...Why?  might you ask

Simple... I still need the experience boost to get to hero 70.

As I wrote, I would have liked to try both methods of waitiing  for legendary and upgrading to see what if any difference there was. John  suggests there may be none.

One thing seems clear, the waste of silver,in forging and upgrading,might not be as significant now, as it was then. The waste of material still unknown.

On this comment from John.

''I can say that, if time allows, persisting with normal attacks right to
the end of each run produces significantly more material than finishing
off with an enhanced attack.  What you are seeking is the most attacks
at your highest power.'' 

This I would like to see.

 May be that is how it's supposed  to be, or how it worked for you,but had believed most of my  hero experience came from hitting invaders, certainly feels like that currently.

 I apprecitate that the guardsman might come into its own,but one hitting ubers is relatively new ,and is something I don't do.

As for experience points,again lots of available/winnable task refreshers is also new,and its not just the quantiity, but quality, I get few legendary tasks, and there's the necessary  multi completion element to contend with.

Really would like to watch someone else play the game and see for myself.

 Your suggestion is admirable,  but wouldnt want to waste your game time or resources.

To reitterate.

I still need hero experience  ie hero not 70, so I am only using hero experience equipment.

Ergo, though I could, I have not built RGM, the boots I did build knock only a disappointing 7 units of energy per hit , yes it will accumulate per hit needed.

Also no, my invader skills are not maxed out either, which  would assist the reduction, but  whilst I still need the hero experience points I see no reason to forge the guardsman gear.

The suggestion regarding ghosts skills improvement sounds more important , but are long builds and take mega resources.

In order  to keep plugging away at Uber invaders,  as in all aspects of the game,there is the need to accumulate more than is given , or earned, otherwise the pot ends up empty.

Though I believe hitting Ubers is probably a fast way to progress, it's not so easy to do now and am glad I got  White Wolf 10, before One hit Uber kills  become so fashionable.

You got a lot of keys to get to hero 70 ... cuz you need a ton ... first thing to do is make guardsman gear ... and max out invader skills ... then worry about hero experience ... use hero experience when doing tasks ... NOT when attacking invaders ... 

Bit of a stray from thread title but for max hero experience and assuming that you are a clan member I would get VIP up to lvl33 as soon as possible as this unlocks multiple tasks for personal, premium and clan. The last also gets you loyalty points with which you can buy keys in Clan store. With experience boost and experience gear the multi tasks soon add up.

I agree with blazebo. Best guard gear possible for hitting invaders. Also agree with hitting lvl1 invaders and ghosts for The Hunt Has Only Just Begun as this drops good amounts of gold.

 Given the disappointment of getting so little energy reduction from wearing the RGM white boots ,I shouldn't have been surprised to find that the difference of wearing or not wearing experience gear is not that significant either.

 Though I wasn't going to do so until my hero experience was maxed out,as I can forge the rest of the RGM gear ,I might has well do it, see what each piece gives individually,and the total reduction,check if the energy saved compensates for the lost experience ,or just break even.

Yes I know it takes a lot of keys,and depending on how the game is played it can be a long grind to progress any where.

Which takes me back to the theme of the O.P.

Though certain aspects of the game are fundamental, the game changes and so perhaps so should tactics and according to how each player sees fit,when being in full knowledge of certain critical information.

The benefits of boosts can be so illusiory,and small, that though they might as well be obtained than not, they do seem to be more significant in the earlier part of the game, rather than when much work has been done with various upgrades.

Whether, and when, to forge and upgrade, or wait till legendary, remains and important consideration.

I was going to add in my response to Blazeo and John.

The question of whether to blow out a lot of energy on killing higher levels, or steadily plow through level one, remains part of the original question, especially now since the introduction of achievements and goodness knows what else.

 Also,I may now just have enough keys and books to finish all the way to hero 70, but as with other reasons for not maxing out invader knowledge, it may be time to reconsider.

As a aside , but related to the questions asked in this thread. MY Hero, with full Legendary Invader gear (Royal Guardsmen) I can kill a Uber with approximately 50k Hero energy. Thats by wearing him down not one hitting. THAT is a major reduction imo. 

Yes, the game keeps changing more and more. Now it is Ubba gear and Reine gear that you need- and to upgrade that gear as high as you can.

For that you need incredible amounts of materials- so you need to hit those uber chiefs A LOT, all 4 of them.

Don't even think of hitting an uber chief without full invader gear, a 20% hero booster, and your hero points adjusted.

You are right, much has changed,such that I can't recall the timeline, except I do know it's around 2 years ago that the achievements were introduced,and the real rot intensified for me when they changed the parameters.

It is also certain that this post has had more attention since its surprising recent revival, than when I first posted and really needed the advice on how best to use the little amout of hero energy that I had, was available then. 

WDYWTNTF ,I realise a lot has changed since this thread was created,the biggest change being the need for legendary gems to transform to dust for any clan that has a L4 sh and is capable of running a stronghold defence (IMO) this is where a full set of invader gear is really important to help get a better quality drop of gems.

Plarium is constantly moving the goalposts and should they continue to do so i too may reconsider my commitment to the game and part ways

Thanks for your input, I knew, and others probably did also, that the RGM hero gear does the things you describe, but as you point out, it's still all about cutting the overall energy cost in killing invaders.

Also, because I  had only built White boots, and the reduction in energy required per hit is obvious when you put them on, is why I only mentioned this part.

 Edited below.

It is highly deceptive when they quote X % reduction, because the base level is obscured.

No problem. I wish you well in the game.😀

The scales fell from my eyes, so I can no longer take the game seriously,too much manipulation by too many types of people,instigated  partly by the changes to the game which has effectively  locked players out of certain aspects of it, seemingly to force players into a specific, and faster way of play that only results in harder objectives ( e.g. no runic coins till level 33,and only in the higher leagues like you complained about) and more time and cash needed.

 There is so little to be gained  for me otherwise so I now play mostly to the pass the time and whatever I do or can do is not really by design, but by accident.

Like I said,time for a rethink,maybe forget the few goals, and using up what I have quickly, and actually stop altogether, which I have considered, they are making it so much easier to do, I still curse when I miss the opportunity to claim something, but what the heck, it now doesn't matter like it did when I started  this thread, and perhaps the time is more precious spent elsewhere.

All I can say is good luck to rest.

I already have the hero experience equipment and yes thats about all I'm doing,upping the level,apart from similarly with ghosts and occasionally trying to finish floor 10.

Forging the rest of the RGM  and seeing the results will provide some different ertainment and enlightenment.  

Didn't get to address the other points about building and learning, already got the maximum from Inga, need more charms for Baggi to get his, but I am not building or learning, so I don't need the shaman gear, nor better special equipment that  I have no access to, but couldnt forge if I did because I don't have the gear to forge them with, cause it takes too much to get them, no, not be gettting mega energy pots and hitting umpteen ubers to speed that  journey up .