Creation Questions (G5)

[Potato]

I've been getting back into Geneforge five recently, and after giving up on a missile only servile build, I've decided to take the easy road and fire up a shaper. I wanted to try some tactics I haven't before, so I've got a few questions.

 

1) Is the Ur-Glaahk an upgrade on top of the Glaahk in any way, or is it just one of those leveled up advanced creations, like he battle beta? After discovering that I could sneakily grab the Glaahk canister in Gorash-Kel without disturbing the postings, I've decided to try my hand at some magic shaping in my next play through for some extremely early Glaahks (and if I'm to invest into magic shaping, then I'd mind as well check out Ur-Glaahks on the way; never used them before, want to try something new).

 

2) I've read previous games' analysis on low tiered creations with lots of stats added to them, but haven't found much on the subject in G5. The super-cryoas topic regarding G4 comes to mind. Anything like this in G5? I never added stats to creations before past the two intelligence, and I've only read a bit about it. How do Clawbugs, Vlish,

or Artila fare when compared to Battle Alphas or Wingbolts at equal levels (given increased strength and endurance, for equal or lesser essence costs)? I've been wondering if a highly leveled Vlish with pumped stats would prove useful, given its unique cursing effect. I'd imagine it would grow too slow and squishy for its own good although it'd be cool to keep one around for the whole game (I've heard people mention this briefly).

 

3) Is there any alternative for front line tanks (non-magic damage ones) other than the Rodhitzon? I imagine that battle alphas would be the the next best durable creation, leveled with endurance, but I'm not experienced in using them (this is of course, exempting Ur-Drakons, which are obtained way late into the game).

 

[Lilith]

1) The Ur-Glaahk pretty much just has a higher level. It might also have slightly better resistances, but it doesn't play dramatically differently from the regular Glaahk.

 

2) You can comfortably keep Cryoas and Vlish around into the midgame, but you're right: eventually their low base HP and resistances will make it hard to keep them alive.

 

3) War Tralls make pretty great tanks; they hit harder at range than they do in melee, but the most dangerous enemies are ranged attackers anyway, so that's not exactly a disadvantage. It's possible to get them surprisingly early in the game, and they perform wonderfully in almost any combat situation.

[Randomizer]

Glaahks don't do well versus Kyshakks since there are highly resistant to each other's attack. I used them once in the Storm Plains and watched them act as distractions until my PC could do real damage.

[Potato]

So what made it so that in geneforge four Cryoas could match with Cryodrayks with enough boosted stats and levels, cost for cost? Has it changed in G5 or what?

 

I think I read somewhere that creation dexterity only depends on levels, so I'll try out keeping a Vlish for a long time and raising its dexterity a bit so it doesn't act last and get whomped. I want to try different things this play through instead of the usual chucking rocks at enemies with a pack of War Tralls. Maybe I'll throw in some Kyshakks this time too, they seem good.

[Lilith]

I personally found Kyshakks disappointing: their low accuracy means their damage output isn't as good as it looks on paper, and while their HP is high most of their resistances are quite low, so their durability isn't fantastic either. Other people swear by them, though, so you might have better luck than I did.

[Questionably Legal]

All of the top tier creations are pretty tank-ey, really. War Tralls and Drakons have nice high HP, and Gazers are heavily resistant to everything but hypothermia.

[Hawat]

As QuickLex said, all of the top tier creations can tank fairly well (though Drakons do suffer a bit against magic damage, so for fire creation focused playthroughs I like to aim for at least one highly leveled Kyshaak, in order to deal/tank magic damage). So far as I've been able to determine, raising stats beyond 2 intelligence in creations is sometimes viable but almost never optimal. It's usually objectively better to add another creation/upgrade a weaker creation type to a stronger one. The only possible exception i've come across is that with extremely high levels of magic shaping, an Ur-Glaahk with increased dex makes a pretty good evade tank.

 

Ur-Glaahks are simply 10 levels higher than normal Glaahks if memory serves, but that's actually quite a boost. Unfortunately, stun is a very weak effect in G5, so Glaahks are basically weak compared to other tier 3 creations.

 

Ur-Drakons are obtainable with quite a bit of game left, but it's a pain in the neck to get them. They're awesome though. I just love Ur-Drakons.

[Mosquito---Slayer]

Kyshaaks are pretty good if you can keep them for some time , they start out weaker but eventually become better than even wingbolts, I don't have definite stats but on basis of my experience while playing I think Ur-Glaahks probably have better resistances compared to Glaahks.

[Valdain the King]

This is a mistake, one of the creations wasn't listed.

[Questionably Legal]

This is a mistake, one of the creations wasn't listed.

What do you mean?

[RainbowDashRadical]

Have you tried to make Clawbugs early on? They prove very effective in early game, and can even carry you through midway until you get those more powerful creations. Another good early creation in G5 could be the Vlish, but they are frail. You may want to have Clawbugs as a supporting tank, and the Vlish could be used to weaken your foes with their curse ability. It is a possible strategy wondering the Mera-Tev area.

[Spukrian]

I played a sorceress and kept 2 fyoras, 2 cryoas and 2 roamers right untill the end. Granted, half of them died in the final battle... Of course, I played on normal difficulty. It is possible to keep basic creations around, but fyoras (and maybe roamers too?) have the problem that eventually their melee attack does more damage than their ranged attack.

[mouton]

Ur-Drakons are obtainable with quite a bit of game left, but it's a pain in the neck to get them. They're awesome though. I just love Ur-Drakons.

How? I know three canister locations, one of which is endgame. Challenge area?

[Randomizer]

Create Drakon - Gazaki-Uss (canister), Kayar's Spire Cells (canister), Inner Gazaki-Uss (canister)

[Mosquito---Slayer]

How? I know three canister locations, one of which is endgame. Challenge area?

You can go to the endgame area, take the canister, come out of the area and play the rest of the game.

[mouton]

A pity, I hoped there was some fourth canister not documented elsewhere. It would be nice to get ur-drakons in a non-powergamey-sneaky-exploity way. Oh well.

[Lilith]

You can go to the endgame area, take the canister, come out of the area and play the rest of the game.

 

Note that you can't do this on Ghaldring's path, since it has a different endgame than the other four paths.

[Hawat]

A pity, I hoped there was some fourth canister not documented elsewhere. It would be nice to get ur-drakons in a non-powergamey-sneaky-exploity way. Oh well.

 

Err... I RP a shaper who peeks in at lvl 32, takes a look a the end boss and nopes back out until he's gotten a bit better at his job? Seriously though, I wouldn't recommend going for Ur-Drakons in a first playthrough, as you've got to take some immersion breaking steps to make it work. Ur-Drakons are so fun though that I don't personally mind that tradeoff.