Analyze optimal outpost levels for maximum core dust production in Goddess of Victory: NIKKE
This Python project analyzes core dust production across different outpost levels in NIKKE to identify optimal breakpoints—specific levels where core dust production increases significantly. The breakpoint is the level where you CROSS the threshold and gain the benefit—you profit when you reach that level, not before. By focusing on reaching these breakpoint levels, players can optimize their resource acquisition and character development.
How Outpost Leveling Works: You gain one outpost level automatically per stage cleared in campaign (both normal and hard mode). You can't choose to level your outpost—it happens automatically as you progress through stages. The strategic decision is about when to push campaign stages harder—if you're close to a breakpoint, push to clear more stages and reach that breakpoint level. You don't want to leave extra resources on the table by stopping just before a breakpoint.
The project provides both a modular Python library and a Jupyter notebook interface for generating interactive Plotly visualizations.
- Data-Driven Analysis: Combines data from Reddit, Discord, and personal gameplay
- Visual Breakpoint Identification: Interactive Plotly bar chart clearly shows production jumps
- Modular Architecture: Core logic extracted to reusable Python module
- Unit Tested: Comprehensive test coverage for reliability
- Easy to Use: Jupyter notebook format with step-by-step code
- Exportable Results: Generate HTML charts for sharing or documentation
- Campaign Progression Planning: Calculate how many stages to push for next breakpoint
- Competitive Advantage Analysis: Understand resource accumulation over time
graph TD
A["CSV Data<br/>(outpost_core_dust_breakpoints.csv)"] --> B["core_dust_chart.py<br/>(Module)"]
B --> C["load_breakpoint_data()"]
B --> D["create_breakpoint_chart()"]
B --> E["get_breakpoint_levels()"]
C --> F["pandas DataFrame"]
F --> D
D --> G["Plotly Figure"]
G --> H["HTML Export<br/>(outpost_core_dust_breakpoints.html)"]
G --> I["Jupyter Display"]
J["PlotlyGen.ipynb<br/>(Notebook)"] --> B
K["tests/test_core_dust_chart.py"] --> B
-
core_dust_chart.py: Core module containing:load_breakpoint_data(): CSV loading with validationcreate_breakpoint_chart(): Plotly chart generationget_breakpoint_levels(): Breakpoint extraction utilitygenerate_chart(): Complete workflow function
-
PlotlyGen.ipynb: Jupyter notebook using the module for interactive analysis -
tests/: Unit tests ensuring data validation and chart generation correctness
When you're pushing hard campaign or normal campaign, each stage cleared automatically gives you one outpost level. The strategic decision is about when to push harder—if you're close to a breakpoint, push to clear more stages and reach that breakpoint level. Reaching a breakpoint means more core dust per hour, which directly helps you:
- Level faster: More core dust per hour accelerates your character leveling
- Beat difficult stages: Some stages aren't beatable until you level up your characters—reaching breakpoints gives you the resources to level and overcome these walls
- Know when to push harder: If you're just a few stages away from a breakpoint, push to clear those stages rather than stopping
- Don't leave resources on the table: Stopping just before a breakpoint means missing out on the production increase—push to reach it
If you're competing with other players (rankings, guilds, etc.), having more resources per hour gives you a significant advantage:
- Out-level competitors: Given enough time, more core dust per hour means you'll out-level players who haven't optimized their breakpoints
- Sustained resource advantage: The hourly production difference compounds over days and weeks
- Faster character development: More resources = faster upgrades = stronger teams = better competitive performance
- Python 3.7+
- Jupyter Notebook or JupyterLab (for notebook interface)
- pip or conda
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/whykusanagi/nikke_coredust.git
cd nikke_coredust
# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt
# Or using conda
conda install --file requirements.txt-
Start Jupyter:
jupyter notebook PlotlyGen.ipynb
-
Run all cells to generate the core dust breakpoint chart
-
Review the chart to identify optimal outpost levels
from core_dust_chart import generate_chart, get_breakpoint_levels, load_breakpoint_data
# Generate chart (automatically detects breakpoints from new CSV)
fig = generate_chart(
csv_path="coredust_levels_outpost.csv",
output_html="outpost_core_dust_breakpoints.html"
)
# Extract breakpoint levels
data = load_breakpoint_data("coredust_levels_outpost.csv")
breakpoints = get_breakpoint_levels(data)
print(f"Breakpoint levels: {breakpoints}")- Copy
web_app.htmlto your web server (or integrate into main site) - Ensure
coredust_levels_outpost.csvis in the same directory - Open in browser - the app will:
- Load data from CSV
- Automatically detect breakpoints
- Display interactive chart with level range filter
- Show breakpoint list
Note: The web app uses corrupted-theme styling. Paths are relative to the main site root. If integrating into the main site, place web_app.html in the appropriate directory and update paths as needed.
The module uses Plotly to create a bar chart visualizing the relationship between outpost level and core dust production. The chart clearly shows breakpoints—levels where production jumps significantly. Important: The breakpoint is the level where you CROSS the threshold and gain the benefit. For example, if level 117 is a breakpoint, you get the big production increase when you reach level 117, not when you go from 117 to 118.
The primary data file (coredust_levels_outpost.csv) contains comprehensive data with breakpoint markers:
Outpost level,Credit/M,Credit/H,Battle data/M,...,Core Dust/H,Core Dust/H (maxed Aca),breakpoint
1,36,2160,74,...,13.96,20.24,yes
2,41,2460,106,...,15.13,21.93,yes
3,47,2820,142,...,16.13,23.39,yes
...Breakpoint Detection:
- Breakpoints are marked where core dust reaches a new integer value
- The breakpoint is the level where you CROSS the threshold and gain the benefit—you profit when you reach that level
- 41 breakpoints identified across 400 levels (10.3% of levels)
- Breakpoint column is pre-calculated and stored in the CSV
- The module preserves all original columns while using breakpoint markers for visualization
The chart generation process:
- Load Data: Reads CSV file and validates required columns
- Color Mapping: Red bars for breakpoints, blue for regular levels
- Visualization: Creates interactive Plotly bar chart
- Export: Saves as HTML for sharing or displays in notebook
Breakpoints are identified by analyzing production jumps:
- Levels where core dust production increases
- Visualized with red bars in the chart
- Extracted programmatically using
get_breakpoint_levels()
The project includes comprehensive unit tests:
# Run all tests
python3 -m pytest tests/ -v
# Run with coverage
python3 -m pytest tests/ --cov=core_dust_chart --cov-report=html- ✅ CSV data loading and validation
- ✅ Error handling for missing files
- ✅ Error handling for invalid CSV structure
- ✅ Chart generation with correct data
- ✅ Breakpoint extraction
- ✅ HTML export functionality
============================= test session starts ==============================
platform darwin -- Python 3.11.14, pytest-7.4.0
collected 7 items
tests/test_core_dust_chart.py::test_load_breakpoint_data PASSED
tests/test_core_dust_chart.py::test_load_breakpoint_data_file_not_found PASSED
tests/test_core_dust_chart.py::test_load_breakpoint_data_missing_columns PASSED
tests/test_core_dust_chart.py::test_create_breakpoint_chart PASSED
tests/test_core_dust_chart.py::test_get_breakpoint_levels PASSED
tests/test_core_dust_chart.py::test_generate_chart PASSED
tests/test_core_dust_chart.py::test_generate_chart_custom_title PASSED
============================== 7 passed in 0.87s ===============================
- 41 breakpoints identified across 400 outpost levels (10.3% of levels)
- The breakpoint is the level where you CROSS the threshold and gain the benefit—you profit when you reach that level, not before
- Production jumps are significant when you reach these breakpoint levels (often 1+ core dust per hour increase)
- Strategic leveling should focus on reaching breakpoint levels to maximize resource gains
Campaign Progression:
- You gain one outpost level automatically per stage cleared in campaign (normal and hard mode)
- You can't choose when to level your outpost—it happens automatically as you clear stages
- The strategic decision is about when to push campaign stages harder—if you're close to a breakpoint, push to clear more stages
- Reaching a breakpoint means more core dust per hour, which helps you level characters faster
- Some stages aren't beatable until you level up—the extra core dust from breakpoints gives you the resources to overcome these progression walls
- Don't leave resources on the table: if you're just a few stages away from a breakpoint, push to reach it
Competitive Advantage:
- If you're competing with other players (rankings, guilds, etc.), having more resources per hour gives you a significant advantage
- Given enough time, more core dust per hour means you'll out-level players who haven't optimized their breakpoints
- The hourly production difference compounds over days and weeks
- More resources = faster character development = stronger teams = better competitive performance
Strategic Planning:
- Check your current outpost level and find the next breakpoint above it
- Calculate how many campaign stages you need to clear to reach the next breakpoint
- If you're close (within a few stages), push harder to clear those stages and reach the breakpoint
- Use the breakpoint data to know when you should push harder vs. when you can take a break
- Focus on the 41 breakpoint levels that actually matter—push harder when close to them
- Nikke Reddit: Community discussions and data sharing
- Nikke Discord: Player reports and verification
- Personal Gameplay: First-hand outpost level testing
core_dust_chart.py- Core module with chart generation logicPlotlyGen.ipynb- Main analysis notebookcoredust_levels_outpost.csv- Primary data file (levels 1-400) with breakpoint markersoutpost_core_dust_breakpoints.html- Generated chart (HTML)web_app.html- Web app version with corrupted-theme integrationcore_dust_chart.png- Static chart imagerequirements.txt- Python dependenciestests/- Unit tests
coredust_levels_outpost.csv: Comprehensive dataset (400 levels) with breakpoint markers:- Outpost level
- Credit/M and Credit/H
- Battle data/M and Battle Data/H
- Commander Exp/M and Commander Exp/H
- Core Dust/M and Core Dust/H
- Core Dust/H (maxed Aca)
- breakpoint - "yes" for breakpoint levels, "no" for regular levels (41 breakpoints total)
Contributions welcome! Please:
- Fork the repository
- Create a feature branch:
git checkout -b feature/your-feature - Add tests for new functionality
- Ensure all tests pass:
python3 -m pytest tests/ -v - Submit a pull request
# Install development dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt
pip install pytest pytest-cov
# Run tests before committing
python3 -m pytest tests/ -v✅ Modular Architecture: Core logic extracted to reusable Python module
✅ Unit Tests: Comprehensive test coverage (7 tests, all passing)
✅ Error Handling: Validates CSV structure and file existence
✅ Documentation: Type hints and docstrings for all functions
✅ Dependencies: Pinned in requirements.txt
✅ Consolidated Data: Single CSV file with all data and breakpoint markers (400 levels, 41 breakpoints)
✅ Web App: Interactive web version with corrupted-theme integration
- Data Validation: Add schema validation for CSV data (e.g., using pandas schema)
- CLI Interface: Add command-line tool for batch processing
- Data Updates: Automated data collection from game API (if available)
- Visualization Options: Additional chart types (line charts, heatmaps), maxed Aca toggle
- Performance: Optimize for large datasets (currently handles 400+ rows efficiently)
- Web App Features: Add export functionality, level range presets, comparison mode
- NIKKE SR Doll Calculator - Calculate resources for SR doll leveling
- NIKKE Deficit Calculator - Calculate CP deficit and stat penalties
MIT License - see LICENSE file for details
For questions or issues:
- Open an issue on GitHub
- Join the Discord: whykusanagi.xyz/links
Made with 💎 by whykusanagi