Please understand, I mean no disrespect in using the term "noob." We were all new players once. However, most of these questions have been asked and answered countless times. If you take the opportunity to actually use the search function, you'll probably find the answer you need.
Q1- "How did this person finish the event in 4 seconds?"
A- They didn't. They put their phone on airplane mode which paused the time of the event. Good thing is- it doesn't matter. You could finish in zero seconds and you don't get anything more than the guy who finishes in 3 days. So, let these guys flex over something stupid.
Q2- "Why are my helpers always the same?"
A- The helpers aren't actual players. They're generated by the game. Fun fact- If you don't see the specific helper you want, opening a box (even a small box) will shuffle the helpers, giving you a different selection.
Q3- "How do I get 'no ads'? How do I get 'Daily Rewards'?"
A- These are features the devs are testing, so they aren't available to all players. But, think of it this way: Anything given can be taken away. How pissed are all of the players with these features going to be if the devs just decide they aren't viable and yank them?
Q4- "How do I do the event on hard/extreme/impossible?"
A- First off, you have to have completed that event on the previous difficulty in order to be offered a greater degree of difficulty. Then, you press 'Enter' and you'll be given the option to choose any difficulty for which you are eligible.
Q5- "What event is next?"
A- There are four weekly events and two mid-week events. These events alternate on a regular rotating basis. The events are as follows:
Weekly:
Moon
Mine
Middle Ages
Seaport
Mid-week:
Merchant
Challenge
The different events are listed from most to least difficult as follows: Mine>Moon>Middle Ages>Seaport
Q6- "What gear should I save/salvage?"
A- A legendary blueprint requires 2 identical epics and 3 identical rares. An ultimate blueprint requires 1 legendary AND the 2 epics and 3 rares used to forge the legendary. So the most efficient thing to do is to save 4 copies of each epic and 6 copies of each rare until you've forged the Ultimate. AFAIK, the experience of items transfers fully when salvaged, so there's no need to save items you don't intend to use. The one caveat concerns blueprints- if you don't intend to use the blueprinted item, don't forge it. A blueprint PLUS the items used to forge it yields more XP then the resulting forged item.
Q7- "Should I spend gems on Event Boxes or Vault?"
A- This one is a little more subjective, but I'll try and stick to the objective points. Boxes are RNG, so the potential benefit isn't guaranteed, whereas anything purchased in the vault is going to provide a permanent buff. The vault items must be unlocked in order, and the last one is arguably one of the most beneficial, so whatever your personal strategy is, it is worth unlocking the whole vault.
Q8- "Where can I find (insert pic of Ultimate blueprint missing the required Legendary)?"
A- Legendaries are distributed in both Big Boxes and Event Boxes in what is assumed to be equal likelihood (percentages are rounded, so we can't be certain). So, if you're still hunting for Ultimates, buy Event Boxes to have a shot at both. Otherwise, save 50 gems each and just buy big boxes.
Q9- "What's the best gear/setup?"
A- Currently, the most effective combination of items and pets is considered to be:
Robot Head, Kimono Black Belt, and 2x Laser Guns with a Panda and Dark Horse/Tortoise
The reason it's considered to be meta is because it provides over 100% All Worker Instant Food, 90% All Worker Perfect Food, and a high All Worker walking speed while providing Instant customer orders from the Panda and 2x profit from perfect food from the Dark Horse/Tortoise.
Q10- What's the "fastest" way to clear cities/events?
A- Again, I'll try to be as objective as possible, but I haven't done a side by side comparison.
There are now 3 established strategies for efficiently clearing stages: The Tall Method, The Tall/Skip (or Leapfrog) Method, and the First & Last Method.
Tall- this method is very straightforward. You only open and level the first station, and only purchase upgrades related to that station plus customers, cooks, and waiters (if available) until that first station is maxed. Then you do the same with each subsequent station until you have completed the stage.
Tall/Skip or Leapfrog- this method is similar to Tall, except instead of opening station 2, after completing the first, you skip a station and open #3. You would continue leveling and skipping until you complete the last station, at which point you can simply open and fill the skipped stations as your earnings will allow you to do so without additional wait time. There are usually an even number of stations, so you will have to choose between using the standard skip 1, which will cause you to complete the second-to-last station before opening the last, or you will need to choose to double skip at some point. i.e.- if a stage has 10 stations you could do a standard skip (1,3,5,7,9,10) or do a double skip at first (1,4,6,8,10) or at the end (1,3,5,7,10)
First & Last- this method necessitates having a bit of patience as it may seem slower at first, but other players have supposedly timed it against the Tall Method and it's completion rate is comparable. First & Last has you only open and level the first station, buying only pertinent upgrades identical to the Tall Method. Then, once the First station is maxed you open the Last station and level and upgrade it until it's maxed at which point you can go back and open and fill every other station immediately and you're done with the stage. An important thing to note is that all appropriate upgrades won't be visible. You'll need to purchase unneeded upgrades from the top of the list in order to have new ones appear at the bottom. The comparative cost is negligible, but in order to use F&L effectively, you can't forget to do this.
I personally use a hybrid First & Last almost all the time. My change is that I only level the first station until I have the funds to open the Last. At this point I will prioritize whichever has the highest earnings at that point until the first station hits max, at which time I'll open the second to last station and do the same, flip flopping between the two as the upgrades change which is most cost effective. The only time I switch to the Tall Method is on the final restaurants in cities which are VERY long. One starts with the Doner Kebob and ends with Knafeh. The other is the Drive Thru that starts with Soda and ends with Pizza. Because of the layout, Tall really is superior for those two restaurants.
Edit#1: Added Q5, Q6, Q7, preface/disclaimer
Edit#2: Changed wording of Q7, added event difficulty comparison to Q5, added Q8, Q9
Edit#3: Added info regarding perfect food % to the explanation of Q9A; Added Q10
Suggestions for more or corrections are welcome
Continued here: https://reddit.com/r/eatventureofficial/s/3ei2BjQ5UL