Well-Actually War Trall alhoon Posted April 11 Share Posted April 11 (edited) So, Context: I am playing a Shaper at level 9. I have a rotgroth, 2 drayks and a Fyora as creations (+Xander for free). After tediously going through areas to scrounge the money needed, I have gathered enough money to pay Tuldarik to teach me shaping of either Drakons or Gazers. Now, the situation: I have the Rot, it costs 28 essence and it is level 13. I am not-optimized = I have put a few points in Battle creations + the armor that gives+1 so I have Battle Shaping 4. My Rot is level 13. I have two drayks, level 13. Essence 26. They are awesome with their cone. I have a Fyora, level 12, that is my first creation and I won't absorb her. In fact, I will load game if she dies. I have 7 essence left-over after creations. I don't mind even if I go down to 4 essence, I have healing spores and curing spores if I need healing I have magic just 1 and I can get another 1 from the armor. I also love gazers from previous games and I certainly plan to eventually have a Gazer in my army. Magic 2 is, I think, enough to get a Gazer. Now, the question: Spend the money to buy Drakon Shaping, Absorb Rotgroth, Shape Drakon (which would be level 15!) at 24+7=31 essence? If yes, which single upgrade should I take? Spend the money to buy Gazer, absorb Rot, Shape Gazer (at low level, 11 I think) and then once I get a level (I am early level 9 though) boost magic Shaping a bit, and boost the Gazer with more Essence? Keep the Rot that when quick action kicks in deals a lot of damage? (I haven't been able to afford the spew acid power) I have read the Shaping Balance thread. I am trying to see what fits my "playstyle" more. Also, considering how much damage a Drakon has and how many hp has, for "about as much as the cost of a Drayk" the Drakon seems a very solid creation (also has some interesting magic). Also: I have two items that increase magic damage of creations (total 20%) and the charm that increased melee damage by 5%. If I put one of the items that gives +10% magic which most of my creations use, I have to take off the armor that gives +1 level to the rot, so it will drop to level 12. Edited April 11 by alhoon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyshakk Koan BenS Posted April 12 Share Posted April 12 (edited) I'll try to help. I'm playing a Shaper, near end-game so I don't remember where I was at for 9th level exactly but... Based on your fondness for your Fyora and the 2 Drayks...you might as well get a Drakon b/c then you are just focusing on 1 (Fire) Shaping school. For the time being. So when you put more pts into it, literally all your creations would get boosts. I thought I'd go Fire Shaping mainly for my current Shaper, as that's what I typically do. But. I decided to try both (the improved) Battle Shaping as well as Magic Shaping. At 20th l. have (w/ gear/canisters) 11 pts in Battle & Magic Shaping, and (w/ gear/canisters) 16 pts in Essence Mastery. I run w/ 2 maxed out Rotdhizons & 2 maxed out Gazers, w/ essence (my total essence is 378) to spare on spells quite easily. The point of this? The Battle creations are great tanks and the Magic creations are great nukes. It's been a solid strategy for me. For you, I suspect the Drakons are a middle ground you can use if you really do go all in on Fire Shaping. They're not as tanky as Rots, but certainly more than the Gazers, and thematically fit your team. If you want to do some future planning, here's the minimum/maximum essence needed for Tier 4 creations. Maybe you'll want to get Battle Shaping up there as well, IDK (notice the modest essence requirements compared to the other Tier 4s). Drakons (24/87); Ur-Drakons (36/126); base levels 10 & 13 respectively Rotghroths (18/63); Rotdhizons (26/89); base levels 10 & 12 respectively Gazers (22/76); Eyebeasts (32/113); base levels 10 & 13 respectively Good luck. Edited April 12 by BenS Whoops! Forgot to use my 20th l. skill pts. Upgraded Shaping stats above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall alhoon Posted April 12 Author Share Posted April 12 (edited) 378 essence and you go 2 Gazers, 2 Rots? May I ask why "fully upgraded" Rots and Gazers instead of having them 1-2 levels lower and avoid some meh powers (the Rotgroth has some easily avoidable, I don't know about the Rotdhizon and the Gazer) and getting another Gazer in there? I followed your advice and I bought the Drakons. I didn't make any though till I got to level 10. I will make one now, after I ... well, the Rotgroth is not with us any more. The question now is for the Drakon: Daze (I am crap in mind, but I do have it, although I don't cast it) or Chain lighting? EDIT: Chain lighting was a complete waste. I wanted the drakon for more "single target" only, as I have the two level 14 drayks for cones. And the Fyora, my character and Xander that all together do as much area damage as a Drayk in two rounds - if I use two crystals. The chain lighting looks veeeery impressive graphic-wise aaaaand... it is not worth it. And since the Drakon practically doesn't need rechargable powers as it is, the recharge power I got for him so he could spam his chain lighting is also a waste. That's 14 essence down the drain... I should have made an Ur-drakon unupgraded or better put 1 level on the Drakon and get daze. Edited April 12 by alhoon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyshakk Koan BenS Posted April 12 Share Posted April 12 I haven't played w/ a Drakon/Ur-Drakon in this current game beyond doing the min/max stats I provided above, so you already have more in-game xp w/ them than I do. You will soon decide how and when to upgrade them I'm sure. If I do another Shaper run, I will try Fire & Battle; for my Guardian run I will do Fire; for my Agent run, Battle. As for why I run w/ maxed out Tier 4s...rather than w/ greater #s...partly b/c in past GF games I went w/ quantity > quality, and it's fun to try something new. Also, while an overcharged Rotghroth can be awesome offensively, the Rotdhizons will be higher level and last longer thanks to their dmg resistant upgrade (and top them off w/ Regenerate and Essence Shield and Protection and...) and they're the tankiest thing you will ever create. If you decide to just keep w/ Fire Shaping and ignore Battle/Magic, may I suggest you also become a halfway decent mage? Not so much for Battle magic, but for Blessing Magic. Also don't ignore Healing Craft, as you're Strong in that. Unless you're fine w/ consumables but those only go so far; you can't reproduce everything you can w/ actual magic. alhoon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall alhoon Posted April 12 Author Share Posted April 12 I always go mixed-party but Fire priority + Blessing/healing and let my creations do the work. I considered, and I am still considering, danking 4 skill points to missile + item to get to missile 2 to use some nice batons but my firebolt would soon eclipse that damage so it would be a waste. Rotdhizons were often good in other games too. I don't know their possible upgrades as I couldn't make any. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice Aoslare Posted April 12 Share Posted April 12 full commentary: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall alhoon Posted April 12 Author Share Posted April 12 26 minutes ago, Slarzahl said: full commentary: I can't say I understand that joke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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