Profile for Student of Trinity
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Displayed name | Student of Trinity |
| Member number | 3431 |
| Title | Electric Sheep One |
| Postcount | 3335 |
| Homepage | |
| Registered | Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
Recent posts
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| Author | Recent posts |
|---|---|
| Agent vs. Guardian in Geneforge Series | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Thursday, May 19 2005 18:46
Profile
I thought Faizah was the daughter! I have to apologize to Kyna too, if she's still around, for confusing her and DV. I think 'rogue creation' not infrequently when my three-year-old daughter runs amok ... [ Friday, May 20, 2005 13:55: Message edited by: Student of Trinity ] -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Agent vs. Guardian in Geneforge Series | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Thursday, May 19 2005 17:04
Profile
My apologies to DV for the gender error, which I have amended in my last post. I thought I remembered an old exchange in the Geneforge forum, before G2 came out, in which one member referred to herself as the 'rogue creation (daughter)' of another, and (as I recalled) mentioned the other as her mother. (Since I have a small daughter myself now, the 'rogue creation' line kind of stuck with me.) I further had the impression that DV was one of these people; obviously I was wrong. It's the cosmic rays, they've had too long to work on my DNA. At the end of the day I'll vote for the Agent as the most overpowered class every time. At least until the end of the day, though, I'd like to argue the other side, because I don't think the difference is really as big as it seems. Agents kill enemies quickly, and never get a scratch themselves. (That's because if they get hit at all they die, and you reload; but if you have the patience to play cautiously, there's no reason to get hit.) Guardians do take longer to hack the enemy down, and take a lot of damage in the process. But is this really a sound measure of relative power? The Guardian gets the job done every bit as much as the Agent does, and (assuming sound tactics all round) the final outcome isn't any more uncertain. Guardians are made to take a lot of damage: they've got the Health, so they may as well use it. Agents really only have (and only need) one tactic, which consists of a triple nested loop: 1) cast Speed and enter combat mode, 2) advance to contact, 3) blast and retreat. Just repeat each level of loop until victory. G3 has ramped up the resistances of monsters to different damage types, so Agents do have to figure out which blast to cast on which enemies. But that's it. (And if that much thought is too much, just go with Searer, or even Firebolt, and the worst you'll be is victorious a bit slower than you could have been.) Guardians take more thought -- and I'm not even talking about Guardians that make creations. Constant War Blessing and Protection are algorithmic, but other than that you're constantly weighing whether to close to melee, retreat to re-buff, flip a crystal, pop a pod, switch your sword for a wand, heal Alwan, or try a Daze (at least in the early game). Your reconnaissance really matters, because you have to figure out how to avoid getting swarmed. You're having to decide in each zone whether this one is worth burning off a couple of potions to get Essence Armor, or enough Essence for an Augmentation or two, or a short burst of Speed when it counts. And you're even having to decide, back in town, what gear to carry -- you're strong enough that you have a lot of luggage to choose, and you actually need stuff, so you have to choose carefully. Once again, though, does this really mean Guardians are weaker? In their more complicated way, they get the job done just as well. They are, I'm beginning to think, more fun to play. Or maybe they're good to play on your third time through, as I am now, when you already know the plot and the major item locations, and need some more challenge. I'm really getting to like the G3 Guardians, and I don't want to hear them dissed too bad! What I haven't yet gotten to work is the Guardian shaping. My creations are always at negative pressure. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Agent vs. Guardian in Geneforge Series | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
|
written Thursday, May 19 2005 09:59
Profile
Guardians aren't nearly as bad as they've been made out to be; just don't put so much into Parry to start with, and I think you'll be fine. Parry is nowhere near the gamebreaker it was in G2, but it isn't actually such a bad skill; I may even start putting more points into it soon. It just isn't at all worth sacrificing your other initial abilities in order to start the game with huge Parry. I seem to have lived down that initial error at last, and I'm now rolling comfortably through Dhonal's Isle, after some very rough patches on Harmony. My melee attack is effective enough that the wands and crystals are piling up in Fort Wilton. I'm even starting to get some noticeable payoff from my high Parry skill -- somehow it has crept up to 22%, at least against clawbugs. I'm pretty sure now that the more traditional melee Guardian is a fine alternative to Delicious Vlish's 'Hunter' version. His basic point that missiles and wands are important for Guardians in G3 certainly remains true, though: you can't afford to ignore Missile Weapons, and you will want to use missiles quite frequently, as any kind of Guardian. Dexterity may even be worthy of attention for a change (though I'm not sure I could get it high enough to start seeing enemies miss me a lot, without trashing my currently effective melee balance). [ Thursday, May 19, 2005 16:15: Message edited by: Student of Trinity ] -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Whats the Highest level You have Ever Gotten a Charactor? in Geneforge Series | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Thursday, May 19 2005 09:51
Profile
The levels reached in G3 are definitely lower than in G2. My Shaper finished at 37, my singleton Agent at 41 (just shy of 42). It's interesting to note the small difference between those levels: even though my Shaper shared experience with five other party members for most of the game, and my Agent never shared a single point, they only wound up four levels different. And at high levels, that translates into no more than a couple of skill points. On the other hand, the smallness of this gap is somewhat illusory. The singleton was ahead by what translated into several skill points, and a few levels of damage, throughout the game. And the game is closely enough balanced to your character's advancing power, that even a modest edge like that translates into a significant difference in play. (Do your attacks kill the enemy, or only almost kill it?) The bottom line is that it won't kill you to drag along a couple of buddies, but it is worth making sure that they're pulling their weight. If they're not, you should realize that they're not really going to get any better unless you do something to upgrade them. They will gain levels automatically if they survive, but the game will keep getting harder as you progress, and they will always be dead wood in context. A buffing item or some evolution will be needed, or you'd better absorb them and make something better. Alwan and Greta do more or less keep pace with you, if you keep them around, if you remember to keep pumping their abilities as they gain levels, and if you pay for their upgrades on Dhonal and Gull. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Do you cheat??? in Geneforge Series | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
|
written Thursday, May 19 2005 09:35
Profile
That's where I got 'em -- there is a deranged gazer in a cell in Chadwick Prison. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| The artifacts (SPOILERS) in Geneforge Series | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Thursday, May 19 2005 09:34
Profile
Thanks! I guess I'd forgotten that. By now I'm suspecting that I was wrong in thinking Solidified Flame could be found earlier, in Maker's End for instance. Or are there actually three Solidified Flames as well? -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Capitalism ho! in General | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Thursday, May 19 2005 07:14
Profile
"'Tain't earning now, it's saving does it, you may lay to that." -- Long John Silver And he was in a high-risk, high-margin industry! -------------------- It is not enough to discover how things seem to seem. We must discover how things really seem. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Hello Everybody! in General | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Thursday, May 19 2005 07:09
Profile
Notice how Custer's magnificent rant would have been slightly but painfully marred, had he screwed up the past participle of 'lay'. But he pulled it off! :cool: -------------------- It is not enough to discover how things seem to seem. We must discover how things really seem. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Do you cheat??? in Geneforge Series | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Thursday, May 19 2005 07:01
Profile
The Puresteel Soulblade is dropped by one of the Shambling Rotbeasts in the north-center of Monastery Caves. I did get some Gazer Skin Boots, but I'm not sure where ... Maybe Omen Eye, in Maker's End? -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Agent vs. Guardian in Geneforge Series | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
|
written Wednesday, May 18 2005 22:56
Profile
Or as an added challenge you can try to keep a pumped-up Ornk alive through the Monastery Caves ... -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Bahss Rated... in Blades of Avernum | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Wednesday, May 18 2005 19:50
Profile
I have read this in idle curiosity and haven't played any scenarios, but I think I have some idea of what TM is bothered about. I hesitate to make a suggestion when I know nothing of the details, but would TM's cause perhaps be helped any by such a simple measure as establishing another rating and criticism site, on which only sufficiently experienced designers and players would be permitted to post? Since these folks are apparently few and well known to each other, identifying them should pose no problem. If the contributors to the 'expert critics' site made a decent effort to make their comments intelligible to less experienced readers, then I would think that as many of those as had ears to hear might still be recruited to the 'elite' community, enabling it to survive. In other words, why be a mere apostate when you can be a heresiarch? -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Hunter Guardian Endgame. in Geneforge Series | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
|
written Wednesday, May 18 2005 18:23
Profile
A little further along on Dhonal's Island, and I think my Sulla is going to be okay as a melee Guardian. Well, actually his Strength, Endurance, and Dexterity are all around 8, and his Melee Weapons, Missile Weapons, Quick Action and Parry are all around 10. While his Mech is decent everything else is pretty minimal. So his wands and crystals are quite effective, and his Shaped Lances at least whittle things down a bit. But with frequent second swings from QA, and a good blade courtesy of Lord Rahul, his best damage is definitely from melee. Sulla hasn't made a Thahd or anything else since Harmony. In fact he has been having a lot of trouble keeping Alwan alive, and has been finishing a lot of fights on his own. I think Sulla would work fine as a singleton, but I want to keep Alwan around for companionship. The point of Alwan's sudden jump in mortality is that Sulla has had a sudden jump in proficiency, and it was definitely stealing Rahul's gear that got him going. Since then it has kind of snowballed: he has gotten a lot of experience from clearing tough areas alone, and beating Spharon let him forge the Crystalline Shroud, and begin applying the game-breaking speed tactics that Agents thrive on. [ Wednesday, May 18, 2005 18:23: Message edited by: Student of Trinity ] -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Hello Everybody! in General | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
|
written Wednesday, May 18 2005 17:01
Profile
Now that's a post! See, padawans, we can all aim even higher than parsable grammar and passable content. -------------------- It is not enough to discover how things seem to seem. We must discover how things really seem. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Drakefyre, Mariann, Jeff, Linda.. you're all dead. in General | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Wednesday, May 18 2005 08:59
Profile
I don't understand how it can be impossible to restore a member number or a post count. At some level, however lofty and remote, a human controls UBB, no? Give that human a lollipop, and the deed can surely be done. -------------------- It is not enough to discover how things seem to seem. We must discover how things really seem. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Box of odds and ends in army camp in Geneforge Series | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Wednesday, May 18 2005 08:54
Profile
Okay, so perhaps you can actually answer my question: what quest? -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Box of odds and ends in army camp in Geneforge Series | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Wednesday, May 18 2005 07:15
Profile
Checking the scripts shows that it is possible to find a 'woven crystal spool' that will be 'useful to somebody' in that box (the one in the Main Army Camp contraband vault). This appears as a special item, not an inventory item. To get this message and item you need to have flag (50,10) set to 1. You can do that with the cheat code "sdf 50 10 1". But I haven't been able to find anything in any of the scripts (using grep) that sets that flag, or even anything else in the game that mentions that flag at all. This would seem to be a bug. [ Wednesday, May 18, 2005 07:21: Message edited by: Student of Trinity ] -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| The artifacts (SPOILERS) in Geneforge Series | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Wednesday, May 18 2005 06:28
Profile
Ha! Thanks very much. But now where on earth is the Unmelting Ice? I'm sure it's on Dhonal's Isle somewhere ... -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Hunter Guardian Endgame. in Geneforge Series | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Tuesday, May 17 2005 13:49
Profile
Hey, he told me to be resourceful and scrounge stuff. I'm just following orders. If he didn't want me to take this stuff, he shouldn't have left it just lying around behind a bunch of elite guards and battle betas, two locked doors, two Ur-Glaahks and a text box. I'm putting it to better use than he was, anyway. "I proclaim first of all my complete innocence, and secondly the absence of criminal intent." -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| I'm stuck - how can I get southwest? in Geneforge Series | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Tuesday, May 17 2005 13:14
Profile
The XP for shutting off all the sprayers is well worth it, but you don't have to put any skill points into Mechanics to get it. Just use the items Contra mentioned, or if they're not enough, come back after you've pumped your Mech with the items from the Clockwork Maze. Then put the skill points you earn for your antacid activity to good use in some other skill. [ Tuesday, May 17, 2005 13:17: Message edited by: Student of Trinity ] -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| I'm stuck - how can I get southwest? in Geneforge 2 | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
|
written Tuesday, May 17 2005 13:14
Profile
The XP for shutting off all the sprayers is well worth it, but you don't have to put any skill points into Mechanics to get it. Just use the items Contra mentioned, or if they're not enough, come back after you've pumped your Mech with the items from the Clockwork Maze. Then put the skill points you earn for your antacid activity to good use in some other skill. [ Tuesday, May 17, 2005 13:17: Message edited by: Student of Trinity ] -------------------- It is not enough to discover how things seem to seem. We must discover how things really seem. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Box of odds and ends in army camp in Geneforge Series | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
|
written Tuesday, May 17 2005 13:12
Profile
In the main army camp, in the locked room full of contraband in the NE corner, there is a blue shaper box containing junk that seems useless. If you open it all you get is a text box that tells you that. Is there a quest involving that box? If so, how do you get it? -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Things you never expected a Shaper to say. in Geneforge Series | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Tuesday, May 17 2005 13:06
Profile
I like the 'I cleaned out your basement' line better. This nutrient fluid thing, regardless of its propriety, is just kind of a stretch as a funny line. Are there any more like the basement one? -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Hunter Guardian Endgame. in Geneforge Series | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
|
written Tuesday, May 17 2005 13:01
Profile
It's the 'Reviving Crystal', the dark sphere-in-a-claw one that's worth 750. I've just added one to my Claymore, and now that I've got the Crystalline Shroud, we'll see how the rogues like the combination. I'm looking forward to some steel spines. I only just realized that those ivory skulls are enhancers, giving you curse power. Sounds cool, but not terribly effective. I mostly cleaned out Spharon solo. Alwan got blown away very early both above and below ground, but with the Claymore and Puresteel Plate, an Armor Potion and Augmentation, constant Bless and Protection, and a fair number of crystals, one melee Guardian could take all those Runed Serviles and their master. The trick was not to be ashamed to run away around a corner to heal up, which high Quick Action lets you do. High stun resistance was also very important, so that after getting hit hard several times I still had enough AP to make it around that corner. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Coffe or Tea? in General | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Tuesday, May 17 2005 06:33
Profile
Look on the bright side. Somebody finally found a use for excess Tupperware. -------------------- It is not enough to discover how things seem to seem. We must discover how things really seem. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| The artifacts (SPOILERS) in Geneforge Series | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Tuesday, May 17 2005 06:14
Profile
EDIT: Final (?) draft The eight artifacts are great things, but several of them compete for scarce ingredients, so you have a few choices to make about which ones to forge first. To choose you need to consider not only what the various artifacts do, but also how hard it is to get their ingredients. One artifact may be better than another in itself, for your particular character, but have a prohibitive opportunity cost, in that making it will prevent you from making an even more important artifact. The major ingredients and their locations (third draft, needs a bit more correction): On Greenwood: Blood Poison: dropped by the venemous artila in the caves under Kentia South Gate on Greenwood. On Harmony: Crystalline Fibers (1): Krya's Refuge (crypt under West Dock) Solidified Flame (1): storeroom in San Ru Tunnels. On Dhonal's: Crystalline Fibers (2): lying unguarded just inside Purification Plant south door! Deep Crystal: in the Inner Purification Plant, golem-guarded storeroom Deep Focus Orb (1): in Spharon's back room Purified Essence (1): Darkstone Core, SW corner. Unmelting Ice: NE entry area of Creator's Hall, unguarded On Gull: Demon Claws (1): Khyryk's Tower, in a back room. Pure Crystal Shard: Khor's Deep, Hoge's bedroom On Spears: Drakon Skin (1): Orois Blaze, Breeding Valley Drakon Skin (2): vatbrood Drakon, Forest of Spires Demon claw (2): Benerii-Eo, demon-golem NE corner. In Monastery of Tears: Solidified Flame (2): Firewind Wyrm drops it, NE corner In Monastery Caves: Purified Essence (2): Ratlord Eye drops it Crystalline Fibers (3): In Ratlord Eye's cabinet Deep Focus Orb (2): Alpha Creator drops it Drakon Skin (3): Radiant Ur-Drakon in NE corner What objects you can make when (assuming you find enough Demon's Bile for the elixirs!) On Dhonal's Isle you can make: Creator's Belt OR Crystalline Shroud as soon as you finish off Spharon; Essence Aegis as soon as you finish Darkstone Core (if you are willing to postpone the Infiltrator's Ring to near the end of the game); All-Protector, when you have gotten to the Creator's Hall through the Searing Chamber. On Gull you can make: the Emerald Chestguard (if you postpone Avenger's Ring from near end of game to very near end); the Infiltrator's Ring (if you held off making the Essence Aegis); On Spears you can make: the Lightning Girdle; the Avenger's Ring. After pulling stuff out of the Monastery Caves you can make anything. You can also make a second Essence Aegis, which you should wrap up carefully and leave in town, so that it doesn't get all scratched up the way your first one surely will have by that point. Then you can polish it nicely and carry it in your victory parade, looking very sharp for the cameras. In what order should you make the artifacts? The game's biggest artifact choice is between the Creator's Belt and the Crystalline Shroud, because the second Deep Focus Orb is guarded by the worst monster in the whole game, deep in the Monastery Caves. So either one of the Creator's Belt and the Crystalline Shroud can be your very first artifact, and will make a big difference in your game; but then the other will pretty much have to be your very last, and won't really make any difference at all. Choose carefully! Agents and offensive Guardians should take the Shroud, Shapers and defensive/creation-making Guardians the Belt. Making the Essence Aegis uses up your Purified Essence, which will force you to postpone making the Infiltrator's Ring from Gull Island until very late in the game, after you get into the Monastery Caves and beat Ratlord Eye. There are enough Tinker and Infiltrator items in the game that this is probably just a matter of personal taste. Even a melee Guardian may want to have an Essence Aegis in the wardrobe, so they can equip it at the start of a tough zone to get better Augmentation, Essence Shield, etc., or to raise Energy high enough to cast Speed. On the other hand the Infiltrator's Ring is a lot easier to carry around all the time, for a convenient Mech boost whenever you need it in the game. There is probably no reason not to make the All-Protector as soon as you can on Dhonal. The only case I can see is if you really want the Lightning Girdle as soon as possible, and feel able to take out Orois Blaze or the Forest of Spires vat-drayks before you think you can make it in the Monastery of Tears. I generally try to clear the Monastery before the Isle of Spears, so I make the All-Protector on Dhonal, knowing I'll get my second Solidified Flame before I get my first Drakon Skin anyway. It seems likely that everyone should go ahead and build the Emerald Chestguard as soon as they get the Demon Claw. The Avenger's Ring is great, but the characters who will benefit most from it will benefit even more from the Emerald Chestguard -- even if they already have the Crystalline Shroud for its +2AP -- and they will enjoy this benefit nearly a whole island sooner. The only uncertainty I have about this is that +4 QA might make a surprisingly big difference to some characters. My characters always have high Quick Action throughout the game anyway, so it is never that big a deal for me to get a bunch more. The only other real conflict is over the Drakon Skin for the Lightning Girdle or the Avenger's Ring. A loyalist has no problem because two Drakon Skins are available near the beginning of the Isle of Spears, but a rebel can only get one of these without angering Icy End. The Lightning Girdle is probably a better item, though again +4QA might possibly make a surprisingly big difference, depending on what your Quick Action already was. [ Sunday, June 05, 2005 08:55: Message edited by: Student of Trinity ] -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |