Crafting and pet evolution
Crafting in Time Heroes turns several pets of one form into a single pet of the next form up. The chain runs Basic, Golden, Rainbow, Astral, Nova, and each step multiplies damage by three: Golden is 3x a Basic, Rainbow is 9x, Astral is 27x and Nova is 81x.
The whole system is one number: how many pets you feed the machine. Feed one and you have a 13 percent chance. Feed six and it is guaranteed. Everything in between is a gamble you are choosing on purpose.
The craft odds ladder
These percentages are fixed and apply at every evolution step, from Golden all the way to Nova.
| Pets fed in | Chance of success |
|---|---|
| 1 | 13% |
| 2 | 29% |
| 3 | 47% |
| 4 | 63% |
| 5 | 88% |
| 6 | 100% |
What a failed craft actually costs
A failed craft consumes the pets you fed in. That is the entire risk model, and it is why the ladder is interesting rather than decorative. Six inputs is the only rung that cannot fail, so the real question is whether you would rather spend six pets for one certain result or run three separate two-pet gambles and accept the variance.
At the guaranteed rate the chain compounds fast. One Astral is six Rainbows, which is thirty six Goldens, which is two hundred and sixteen Basic pets. That number is worth remembering before you sell a bag of Commons.
The Shiny carry rule
If you craft from a Shiny input, the output is a guaranteed Shiny. This is the single most useful crafting fact in the game, because Shiny doubles damage and also doubles the pet's coin sale value. A Shiny Basic is worth far more as craft fuel than as a sale.
Where the machines are
Evolution machines unlock separately rather than all at once. The Golden Machine arrives at level 6, which makes it one of the first real decisions in the game, and the Rainbow Machine follows at level 28. The Nova tier is endgame and only opens after your first Supernova reset.
- Level 6: Golden Machine
- Level 28: Rainbow Machine
- Nova crafting: unlocked by your first Supernova
Crafting gives experience too
Evolution is a real experience source at higher tiers, which matters because pure hatching gives only 5 experience per egg.
| Craft | Experience |
|---|---|
| Golden pet | 30 |
| Rainbow pet | 90 |
| Astral pet | 300 |
| Nova pet | 300 |
| Any item craft | 1 |
Item crafting is a different system
Pets are not the only thing you craft. The shuttle carries a chain of industrial stations that turn ore into components, and there are consumable stations too, with Brew arriving at level 33. Those stations share one console, and by default a tap makes exactly one item.
The quantity slider on that console is a research purchase, not a default. Until you own the mass craft research at level 33 the slider stays locked at one, which is why two players at the same station can have very different grind experiences.
How does crafting work in Time Heroes?
Crafting in Time Heroes feeds several pets of one form into a machine to produce one pet of the next form. Success depends only on input count: 13 percent for one pet, 29 for two, 47 for three, 63 for four, 88 for five and 100 percent for six.
What happens if a craft fails in Time Heroes?
A failed craft in Time Heroes consumes the pets you fed into the machine. Feeding six pets is the only guaranteed rung, so anything less is a deliberate gamble.
How do I get a Shiny pet from crafting in Time Heroes?
Craft with a Shiny pet as an input and the resulting pet in Time Heroes is guaranteed Shiny, which means double damage per second and double coin sale value.