2026-06-05
Task Bar Hero 1-3 vs 3-9 Farming Guide and Route Test
The best farming stage is not always the highest unlocked stage. The common 1-3 versus 3-9 question should be answered with repeatable results: use 1-3 when its fast, failure-free loop produces more useful progress per hour; use 3-9 only when the higher route remains stable enough to justify its longer and harder loop.
Do not publish or copy an exact drop rate without current-client evidence. Record visible rewards and compare the same party, client version, difficulty, and test length.
1-3 vs 3-9 Quick Decision
| Question | Choose 1-3 when | Choose 3-9 when |
|---|---|---|
| Clear stability | It runs unattended with almost no failures. | It also runs unattended without deaths or manual resets. |
| Clear speed | Several short loops beat one slow 3-9 loop. | The party clears waves and the stage endpoint consistently. |
| Progress target | Early EXP, gold, or low-risk idle time still helps. | Current high-area progression, gear checks, or 3-9 practice is the real goal. |
| Pet target | The route advances a confirmed target counter. | A later pet or enemy target advances while the party stays stable. |
| Attention required | You need a safe background route. | You can monitor the first tests and fix failures. |
Five-Run Comparison Method
Run each candidate five times without changing party, gear, skills, difficulty, or client version.
| Record | Use |
|---|---|
| Median full-loop time | Reduces the effect of one lucky fast clear. |
| Successful clears out of five | Converts deaths and resets into visible route cost. |
| EXP and gold gained | Measures the resource actually targeted. |
| Chests shown in stage or Mailbox | Separates reward display from route performance. |
| Useful items or materials | Records progression value without inventing a drop rate. |
| Pet counter change | Confirms whether the route supports the selected unlock. |
Compare the median successful loop and failure rate, not the best screenshot. A route with 20% failures should include the time lost to retries.
Choose the Metric Before Testing
| Goal | Primary metric | Secondary check |
|---|---|---|
| Leveling | EXP per measured time | Failure-free idle duration |
| Gold | Gold per measured time | Whether spending interruptions distort the test |
| Chests | Visible chest results per measured time | Mailbox delay and recovery display |
| Pet unlock | Target counter gained per measured time | Difficulty and failure rate |
| Gear or materials | Useful kept results per test block | Inventory and Mailbox capacity |
When to Move from 1-3 to 3-9
Move only when 3-9 completes reliably and supports the resource you actually need. If the team survives but the loop is slow, improve damage, AoE, attack speed, or weapon quality. If it dies, fix armor, healing, resistance, or formation before calling 3-9 the better farm.
v1.00.24 reduced minimum Common and Stage Treasure Chest acquisition cooldowns, while the July 30 hotfix improved recovered reward displays. Those changes make controlled testing important; they do not prove one stage has a fixed universal advantage.
For late-game execution, continue with the Torment 3-9 speed-farm guide, Nightmare 3-6 to 3-9 guide, and 3-10 Boss guide.
Next reads
Continue with the beginner route, update notes, or the full guide archive when you want a different angle.