Lodestone Gauntlets?[G5]

[Doo]

I did a little search through the forum and I can't seem to find any specific mention of this pair of Lodestone Gauntlets that I've stumbled upon. It was dropped by one of two cryodrayks that I managed to stop from rushing into Perikalia from the Perikalia Orchards. It gives +9% Armour, -1 Strength, -1 Dexterity, +10% hostile resist and +4 Spellcraft. It also sells for a very very sassy price of 1000.

 

Thoughts on how to best utilise this? I'm on a second Lifecrafter/Shaper run - this time a Shaper with rebellious tendencies, as opposed to a Lifecrafter with loyalist leanings :3 - but I don't see it as terribly useful. I'm wearing the Shaper Robe and Dancing Pants, so I've got a healthy weight margin. I'm wearing the Gauntlets of Succor right now, so I guess the question is whether +4 Spellcraft is loads more useful than +1 Mental Magic - without which I won't be able to cast Essence Shackles, which isn't a terribly great loss IMHO. I've never been one to delve into the mathcraft side of games, just merely intrigued by the additional option on this occasion.

 

As an aside, initial impressions is that this is a rather rare item, and I'm wondering if anyone's got this, and how often. This is about my seventh or eighth run through and only my first time getting it (would've been far more useful on my Agent, I'd expect).

[Randomizer]

It always drops there, but it all the confusion with combat and the likelihood that a soldier did that kill it's easy to miss it.

 

Having +4 on Spellcraft makes all your spells better, but there are artifact gauntlets that can give +3 or +5 in the Batte/Mental/Blessing Magic which would be more helpful once you get the ingredients. Until then they are really nice.

 

As a Lifecrafter/Shaper it will make you Blessing spells last longer and Mental attacks like daze and dominate work better. Essence Shackles isn't really that helpful when you can just use ensnaring fibers as an area attack.

[Emmisary of Immanence]

The critical mathematical detail, if you're missing it, is that a point of Spellcraft counts as a point of Mental Magic, Battle Magic, and so on in all the calculations of spell power. The only extra benefit of the area-specific skill is the ability to cast those more complex spells. 4 is much better than 1, so go with the Lodestone Gauntlets.

 

—Alorael, who very much hopes that your lifecrafter isn't reliant on Strength or Dexterity. That would be a significant problem.