Prices of high tier maps -- or am I doing something wrong?

Short version: Why do people pay 1 Ex for a tier 14 map -- in my impression, you get way less than 1 Ex of worth from running it.

I am currently running tier 9 - 12 maps, and trying to get up to 15. I've played some 13, and even two 14 maps, but could not sustain them. I thought about buying a tier 14 or 15 map today and checked the prices -- wow!?! They cost >= 1 Exalt!

So I think I must be doing something wrong. Because I do definitely not get an exalt out of a tier 14 map when running it! Not even close. And why would people buy them for an exalt if they don't get it back?

So what are people doing with these maps? Do they only run them with a ton of MF gear?

What I do is: chisel the white ones to 20% quality (costs 4 chisels) and then alch them to rares. If the map is very high (tier 13 or 14 for me) I add a vaal fragment or sometimes even 2 when I'm in the mood. (For chisels, I do the recipe, but it does not help much, so I buy them.)

I run the map with an item quantity gem in my 5-link fireball setup (so 4 links left for damage). Apart from that, I only have a bit of item rarity on my amulet. Atm I cannot afford to wear MF gear in a tier 14 map. Should I simply not run these maps at this time? Safe them until I can run them with more MF gear?

People can't conceptualize exp/min. They think running t14/15 is the only way to quickly level.

In theory, if you had infinitely wealth and a build that could clear 14/15 as fast as 10/11/12 then there is no reason to do the former. However, most people have build limitations and limited wealth so from an efficiency stand point it makes more sense to do lower tiers.

With group play this is thrown out all the window because a single T14 lets you run 6 14s.

Thanks for your answer, I did forget about running for XP in groups. Valid point.

Btw: Should I pickup items in high-tier maps that I usually would not pick up? Because of ilvl or something? E.g., white rings or amulets to alch them? (I thought maybe I dont get the ex back because I'm wasting items I should take.)

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t13-15 maps meant to be a challenge u can do from time to time and not chain them like crazy.

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1337fun wrote:

t13-15 maps meant to be a challenge u can do from time to time and not chain them like crazy.

Yeah. I read some threads here were people were asking howto stay in t14/15 maps. And after a while I also got the impression that it's simply not wanted by design. (I guess it would feel like you completely finished the game if you could run one t15 map after the other. The way it is, you are always happy to be able to shortly venture into t14/15.)

@Entropic_Fire: Yeah, seems you can get t14 for 30c and t15 for 40c in standard atm with the cheapest offers, you're right. But still, I also do not get 30-40c out of the maps.