How do you like your creations? Temp or Perm?

[Evnissyen]

Is there anybody here who prefers temporary creations over long-term pets?

 

[Lilith]

I used a charged vlish to help fight Shaftoe once, because my lifecrafter didn't know Essence Shackles yet. That's the only time I've ever found charged creations useful at all. Once or twice during my no-magic shock trooper challenge, I had to reabsorb all my creations and create a pack of disposable glaahks to stunlock something that just couldn't be beaten any other way. Other than that, I keep all creations alive for as long as possible.

[Sudanna]

Temporary, here. They are tools to be disposed of.

[Goldengirl]

Temporary and permanent are so subjective.

 

That said, I usually make one or two creations and keep them around for the remainder of the chapter, and part of the next chapter, until I can make their replacements.

 

I've also been known to make a few temporary creations to explore a mined area, or help kill a difficult enemy, or something.

[Gandalf the Purple]

VERY permanent. I like to keep my creations around the whole game as a challenge. You can do very well until the Titan's Pit. There it is nearly impossible to keep Cryoas alive.

[Sleeping Dragon]

Originally Posted By: Goldenking

Temporary and permanent are so subjective.

Oh, I just thought he was asking if we used any of the charged creations that literally only last a short time. That's not so subjective, and my answer is no. If we're talking about how long we keep permanent creations before replacing them, I upgrade as soon as I get new skills, simply because it gets boring looking at the same creation for a whole game. I like variety.

[Evnissyen]

No, I wasn't referring specifically to creations that are made to self-destruct, although I had those in mind, too. I was thinking really of situational creation-making in general... whether or not there are a lot of people who play as an essentially solo Shaper who only shapes creations in order to deal with some sort of challenge. The story seems to be set up to encourage that (since our foes like to do it); but I've never tried it.

 

I guess it's always seemed to me a more challenging approach to use creations only situationally and strategically.

 

[Lord Safey]

maybe as a challenge someone can try to keep a charged creation alive the whole game.

[-x-OMEN-x-]

I dont think that is possible is it? Doesnt the charged creation disinegrate every time you leave a level?

[The Mystic]

For most of the game, my creations are temporary. But when things get too tough for my singleton, I make one or two permanent creations to help.

[Garoth]

Charged creations drive me nuts. I don't think I've ever found them to be necessary or worth the essence cost vs. non-charged alternatives. I don't keep my creations all game, though, I start out playing solo, make a pair of Vlish ASAP, then trade them out for a Wingbolt/Drayk combo in early chapter 3. Sometimes I dabble in Cryodrayks, and eventually end up with an Ur-Drakon or two.

[Nioca]

Meh. I thought that the charged creations weren't powerful enough. They were short-lived, to be certain, but that only achieves half of the short-lived glass-cannon equation that's supposed to be the Charged Creation. If my creation is burning its lifeforce into pure firepower, then I'd like it to be something that'd knock down an unbound in two or three hits. I mean, the Unstable Firebolt was such a disappointment.

[Gandalf the Purple]

And, the firebolt was far and away the the best charged creation. Although an Unbound kill in two hits is a little overkill.

[Nioca]

Yeah. It could do a total of only about 400 damage a round. If I wanted that, I could just keep my regular wingbolt, haste it, and dodge all the fire resistance prevalent in the end game, all with only a fraction of the essence.

 

Now, if it did 400 damage per hit, I'd use it.

 

Also:

Originally Posted By: Gandalf the Purple

Although an Unbound kill in two hits is a little overkill.

That's the idea behind a Charged Creation! They should be overkill! After all, their lifeforce is actually fueling their attacks, so it should be something really over-the-top for its tier (especially considering how pricey they are in terms of essence).

[Gandalf the Purple]

A hasted firebolt would do 1200+ damage a round though, and that would be nearly game breaking. They certainly need a damage buff, just not quite that big. Perhaps double the damage instead of triple.

[Men are from Slars]

Over the top charged creations would make the game very not-fun. Because they'd essentially always be the best tactical option, and would largely make the game too easy; but using them extensively is also a chore compared to regular creations.

[Garoth]

That said, it's counterintuitive that charged creations are supposed to be insanely powerful and deal at best very little more damage than their regular counterparts.

[Men are from Slars]

True. It would be nice if they had situationally powerful attacks that encouraged their intended use as, you know, situational creations. I'm not sure what those would be, though.

[Alorael at Large]

Most of my creations are permanent, at least until the next tier becomes available, and I'll confess to reloading if they get killed. Since unstable creations fall apart as you walk around with them, they're only rarely useful. I do occasionally have temporary meat shields or additional damage creations that I know will die or that I will absorb to free up essence, but they're always permanent types so they don't die before they reach the battle.

 

—Alorael, who thinks unstable creations might be more appealing if they were very powerful but less prone to spontaneous and inevitable combustion. Creations that are normal but that disappear whenever you leave the zone, creations that cannot ever gain health, even by magic, but that only lose it when attacked, and creations that lose health rapidly every round but only in combat mode would all be more potentially useful and more tactically interesting.

[Dikiyoba]

I kind of like the idea of charged creations, but I don't like them as evolved creations. If all evolved creations were permanent and charged creations were a separate set, then I'd be more interested in them.

 

Dikiyoba.

[Gandalf the Purple]

I like that idea Dikiyoba. I hated the charged creations most because the Rotdhizons were gone. If the evolved creations were normal and there was a charged set, I would like them more.

[Lilith]

The main problem is that charged creations are just too damn expensive -- they'd barely be worth the cost even if they didn't die off so quickly. If they all cost exactly the same as their non-charged versions, they might be worthwhile.

[Gandalf the Purple]

I'e come to the conclusion that charged creations are brilliant on paper, and horrible in application.

[Khoth]

I make moderate attempts to keep my creations alive, but I'm happy to absorb them if I can make better ones, and I generally don't reload when they die.

[Corker]

Actually, the sort of temporary creatures I would have liked to have seen would have been ones that faded quickly like charged creations, but instead of being stronger were just a fair bit cheaper. So you'd have a couple of permament creations with you maybe, and you'd have enough essense to do in battle summoning of creations and have it viable.

 

A lot of the encounters with shapers seem to do that sort of thing, and it would seem relatively easy to balance on top of being useful. Some rounds it feels like there was not much else for my lifecrafter to do but throw a firebolt at the enemy.

[Gandalf the Purple]

I'm pretty sure Jeff has already said we won't be able to shape in battle, but that would be a fairly viable way to have "charged" creations.

[Garoth]

I've always liked the idea of being able to shape in combat, and like the idea of cheaper, rather than stronger, charged creations. I think that the roster limit provides enough limitation on abuse of that to make it a valid idea, though exactly what they should cost is subject to debate.

 

I also like the idea of charged creations being a separate subset. I <3 Rodthizon's.

[Sleeping Dragon]

Enemies can often shape during combat, so you should be able to as well.

[Sudanna]

Nah- you're a neophyte, who has not been provided sufficient time to grasp the subtleties of Shaping, like Shaping quickly or under pressure.

[Corker]

I disagree with that. I mean, maybe at the start of the game but by the end of it you're summoning Gazers and Drakons which is the sort of thing only the strong and experienced shapers can do.

[Ghaldring]

I found the Charged Vlish and Unstable Firebolt to be of some use. Charged Vlish is very useful when fighting enemies with ice attacks.

[Gandalf the Purple]

You actually found the "charged vlish" useful!?! I thought everybody thought the charged vlish were crap.

[Sudanna]

Ah, but you do so in less than a year, a far quicker and less effective way of learning. Possibly, you learn by canisters, which certainly don't teach those skills. You learn many spells and Creations in a very short amount of time. You have a very strong but crude grasp of Shaping, while the more learned have finesse.