[EXP] Experience the difference with Vital Spirit

[Darkfisher]

 

In this guide, I will present to you the utility of Vital Spirit(Ability) in exp farming.

 

Vital Spirit(Ability) - outside of battle effect:

Attracts higher level enemies.

 

This means that, on average, we will be encountering mons with greater levels, which should increase the average exp gained.

 

How much? It depends on the spot!

 

Example 

Spoiler

Lets take the Tentracruel 5x Horde spot at BATTLE FRONTIER in Hoenn.

Level range: 46-48

Level probability for each individual is as follows:

 

Hence, the expected level of a single Tentacruel without using Vital Spirit equals:

E(WITHOUT, 1) = (1/3)*46+(1/3)*47+(1/3)*48 = 47

With Vital Spirit:

E(WITH, 1) = (1/3)*(1/2)*46+2*(1/3)*(1/2)*47+(1/3)*(1/2+1)*48 = 47.(3)

 

But what we care about is exp, so we simply substitute levels with their respective exp values:

46->1183, 47->1209, 48->1235

(single mon exp, no bonuses, no Exp. Shares nor similar)

 

Hence, the expected exp gained from a single Tentracruel without using Vital Spirit equals:

E(WITHOUT, 1) = (1/3)*1183+(1/3)*1209(1/3)*1235 = 1209

With Vital Spirit:

E(WITH, 1) = (1/3)*(1/2)*1183+2*(1/3)*(1/2)*1209+(1/3)*(1/2+1)*1235 = 1217.(6)

 

Assuming each level roll in a horde is independent of one another,

we can calculate the expected exp gained from 5x horde as follows:

E(WITHOUT, 5) = 5*1209 = 6045

E(WITH, 5) = 5*1217.(7) = 6088.(3)

 

That's a difference of 43.(3) exp points per horde!

And that's without any exp bonuses!

 

General formula for exp increase:

5*(Amax-Amin)/(2n),

where Amax is maximum exp gained at given spot,

Amin is minimum exp gained at given spot from killing a single mon,

n is range size

(no mixed species spots)

 

Proof(simplified)

Spoiler

Assume, that at a given spot for defeating a mon at level i in range L1-Ln we obtain A(i) experience points.

According to diagram used in Tentacruel example it is easy to observe that only lowest and highest cases change their probabilities.

Lowest is halved down and highest is increased by its half.

 

Hence, expected exp gained after killing a single mon:

E(WITHOUT, 1) = (A(L1)+A(L2)+...+A(Ln))/n 

E(WITH, 1) = A(L1)/(2n)+(A(L2)+...+A(L(n-1))/n + 3*A(Ln)/(2n)

Therefore, difference can be easily computed:

DIFF = E(WITHOUT, 1) - E(WITH, 1) = (A(Ln)-A(L1))/(2n)

 

Which for assumed independence gives us:

E(WITHOUT, 5) - E(WITH, 5) = 5 * DIFF = 5 * (A(Ln)-A(L1))/(2n)

□

 

Example 

Spoiler

Lets take the Rapidash 5x spot at Route 12 in Unova.

Level range: 46-47

Respective exp:  46->1150, 47->1175

So using the formula we obtain exp increase of:

5*(1175-1150)/(2*2) = 31.25

 

The difference might not seem to be significant, but using a Vital Spirit mon should increase your experience gain in the long run, so it's worth considering.

Especially when using exp bonuses.

 

 

Mons with Vital Spirit ability:

as Hidden Ability: 

 

Out of these Primeape, Vigoroth, Electrivire and Magmortar seem to be the best options for efficient exp farming

as they can learn strong multi-target moves like Earthquake or Rock Slide,

and have good overall stats.