Wrapped up my first waterfall run last night. I have a current total of 270 pearls (100 of those came from completing the assignment). I think I've found my groove in the new area. If I can alternate two waterfall runs, the first being a supplies collecting run and the second being the full run to the end, that seems to be a good way to do it. The Acres is great for passive play, whereas the Falls is much more active. 

Oh, and I also have both of the new tactical tomes. @Gymfan15, is there anything else to do with idea germs besides Prolific Printing Paper? Or maybe they'll come in handy in the next area?

I really like this pair of areas. They're nice and simple, but it's also well designed in terms of drops and being able to easily collect the supplies you need. So  

Posted by: @starkat

A better way to get gold so I can buy some of the stuff I keep missing.

So much of supplies as a whole is dependent on how much you play. Even if you can't be active, but can keep yourself signed in, you'll make a lot of gold in the background. Obviously not everyone can do that, but I think that's why I have quite a bit stored up (not enough to finish that last Dragon trap though, unfortunately).