Top End Collector Comparison (2024)

We just saw a major shake-up in the pollen collector scene with big changes to how Bubble Wand and Scythe work and the introduction of the new most-expensive collector, the Porcelain Dipper. I just want to compare their stats and make a few points about them.

Stats[]

Top End Pollen Collectors
Collector	Bubble Wand (old)	Bubble Wand	Porcelain Dipper	Scythe	Scythe (old)
Cost (in millions)	3.5	3.5	100	3.5	3.5
Collection Area	16 (ring)	16 (ring)	81 (area)	8 (line)	7 (line)
Rate (in seconds)	.65	.65	.75	.45	.55
White Pollen	5/flower, 123.077/sec	3/flower, 73.846/sec	3/flower, 324/sec	4/flower, 71.111/sec	9/flower, 114.545/sec
Blue Pollen	6/flower, 147.692/sec	9/flower, 221.538/sec	1/flower, 108/sec	4/flower, 71.111/sec	8/flower, 101.818/sec
Red Pollen	4/flower, 98.462/sec	3/flower, 73.846/sec	1/flower, 108/sec	12/flower, 213.333/sec	10/flower, 127.273/sec
Average Pollen	5/flower, 123.077/sec	5/flower, 123.077/sec	1.67/flower, 180/sec	6.67/flower, 118.519/sec	9/flower, 114.545/sec

"Averages"[]

An "average gather rate" for any of these collectors is a bit of a misnomer. Not taking into account the size of any flowers, gathering from different flowers can use different rates of collection and produce different results. The only field which has an even blend of white and each color of flower is Clover Field. Every other field skews towards one color or another with only Mountain Top Field having a tie for most dominant color. The substitution of the white pollen gather rates for the "average" for the Bubble Wand and Scythe previously was a convenient way of saying that, over time, you are likely to collect about as much from blue flowers as you do from red flowers, so their average is the same rate as that of white flowers. In practice, it varies considerably.

With the new stats, there is even more room for variance in practice. Both the Bubble Wand and Scythe are much worse outside of their main colors than previously and much better in their matching color. The Porcelain Dipper is similarly skewed, though towards white. The skew is so heavy that the Bubble Wand and Scythe are about two to three times as good as the others in their respective colors and four-and-a-half times for the Dipper in white. Additionally, the Honey Dipper's new average rate of 108.889 pollen puts it ahead of any of these top end collectors outside their focus at a marginal cost.

Recommendations[]

Given the info, a few different strategies emerge:

• Maximize collection: Acquire all three of these top end collectors and swap out as necessary to get the most value out of each field. This involves a 107 million honey investment though.
• Stick with best average: Save up and buy the Porcelain Dipper and use it everywhere.
• Best average on a budget: Buy the Honey Dipper and don't bother with the other collectors.

My recommendation is the last on the list, with some caveats. First, if you already bought a Bubble Wand or Scythe (or both), just stick with one of them (or switch between as you like) and don't bother with the Porcelain Dipper. Second, if you don't have any of these collectors yet, maybe don't bother with any of them. I don't have the numbers to prove it, but if your hive is well set up, it will make you far more pollen than you get off a collector. The collector in a game like BSS plays a largely traditional role. Other simulator-style games have collectors, but BSS puts the bees at the center of honey collection. Pouring money into making your swarm more effective is a much better use of honey than buying any of these collectors. The Bubble Wand and Scythe used to be items to dump honey into if you had no other good use for it. With how the game has progressed in the past month and looks to grow going forwards, this is really not the case. There's usually something much better to spend money on than a collector, so don't even bother once your swarm becomes solid.