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 |
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| Author | Recent posts |
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| Artifact fork for Guardians in Geneforge Series | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Thursday, May 12 2005 10:59
Profile
It's not a moot point at all. The first DFO is in Spharon's back room, and so either the Crystalline Shroud or the Creator's Belt should be the very first artifact you make. The question is which one, because whichever one you don't make first, you will have to make last. The comparison between the CS and the Emerald Chestguard is less important, because you have to choose between CS and CB about an island and a half before you can get Khyryk's Demon Claw and think about making the EC. And by that point what you're really going to be comparing is the EC and the Avenger's Ring. For the 'Hunter' Guardian build, I agree that the CS seems the best choice. I'm reluctant to accept that this is the only viable Guardian build, though, because it seems too much like an inferior Agent, who has to scrounge missiles instead of just regaining energy. At the moment my Guardian is on Harmony, and he and Alwan are having a very tough time, except when I splurge and dip into my stock of crystals. I'm only starting now to put points into Dexterity, but I've just made a couple of Thahds and they do seem to help. If a squad of creations makes a big enough difference I might end up trying the Creator's Belt. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Woah Crazy!! in General | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Thursday, May 12 2005 10:39
Profile
Okay, that's my information quota for the day. -------------------- 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 |
| Undead Topics Need Loving Too (aka "Give Me Your First-Born") in General | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Thursday, May 12 2005 09:24
Profile
How do you think this topic became undead in the first place? -------------------- 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 |
| Item Locations and Questions. in Geneforge Series | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Thursday, May 12 2005 09:20
Profile
Hmm, I didn't realize that about the spell damage being boosted too. I guess you're right about the Emerald Chestguard being better late in the game, even for an Agent. What I've now realized is the main advantage of the Crystalline Shroud, which made it seem so fantastic for my Agent, is just that it's available very early. You can manage it when you're just getting into Dhonal's Isle, and that's a lot of fighting that's much easier for an Agent, before you can make it into the back rooms of Mr. Khyryk. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Artifact fork for Guardians in Geneforge Series | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
|
written Thursday, May 12 2005 08:15
Profile
Would you believe it: one of the cupboards in Khyryk's Tower has a spoon that acts as a Puresteel Soulblade! Well, would you believe that it acts as a Steel Dagger? Would you believe that it's worth 1 coin? Sorry, this is not actually about an Easter egg utensil. The major artifact choice is between the Creator's Belt and the Crystalline Shroud, because pretty early in the game you get enough ingredients to make either one of these two, but you don't get the second Deep Focus Orb until you slay the Alpha Creator, at the far end of the Monastery Caves, which is probably the toughest fight in Geneforge 3. The relative payoffs: Creator's Belt gives +20% armor (enormous for a belt) and gives +2 to all four creation attributes. Crystalline Shroud gives only 16% armor (quite low for a breastplate), but +2AP, +3 to creation Strength, +30% stun resistance (decent), and +12% Hostile Effect resistance (way better than All-Protector's measly +5%). For a Shaper, the better creation buffing of the Belt looks like it wins, but the Shroud puts up some fight with its Hostile Effect and Strength buff. For an Agent, the Creator's Belt is practically useless, so the Shroud is a no-brainer. For a Guardian I'm thinking that the Shroud probably wins in the end, since choosing it amounts to picking offence over defence: much lower armor and creation defense, but much better attack. Plus the opportunity cost of the CB is fairly high, because there are other good belts available early in the game. My only concern is that the CS is terrible armor for a melee Guardian in the midgame. Any ideas? [ Thursday, May 12, 2005 08:20: Message edited by: Student of Trinity ] -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| What do YOU want to see in G4? in Geneforge Series | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Thursday, May 12 2005 04:34
Profile
In the Shaper world, the walls really do have ears. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| G2 - Gazer Lvl 3 in Geneforge Series | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Thursday, May 12 2005 04:33
Profile
Yeah, Eyebeasts are only bad if you don't have tons of AP or stun resistance, which I and my creations usually do by the time I meet any. (Having said that, the G3 Eyebeasts have wicked dazing ability, high magic resistance, and a stronger melee attack, so I think they're a bit tougher than in G2. On the other hand, G3 doesn't have anything like the pack of five Eyebeasts that you get in Inner Gazak-Uss. And G3 Gazers have similar upgrades, so they still seem a better bargain than Eyebeasts.) Gazers always pack a wallop. It's true that Rotghroths hit a bit harder, but they have to get to you first, so you can generally postpone their attacks by stepping around a bit. Gazers just have to see you, so as soon as you see them, you have to kill them. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| G2 - Gazer Lvl 3 in Geneforge 2 | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
|
written Thursday, May 12 2005 04:33
Profile
Yeah, Eyebeasts are only bad if you don't have tons of AP or stun resistance, which I and my creations usually do by the time I meet any. (Having said that, the G3 Eyebeasts have wicked dazing ability, high magic resistance, and a stronger melee attack, so I think they're a bit tougher than in G2. On the other hand, G3 doesn't have anything like the pack of five Eyebeasts that you get in Inner Gazak-Uss. And G3 Gazers have similar upgrades, so they still seem a better bargain than Eyebeasts.) Gazers always pack a wallop. It's true that Rotghroths hit a bit harder, but they have to get to you first, so you can generally postpone their attacks by stepping around a bit. Gazers just have to see you, so as soon as you see them, you have to kill them. -------------------- 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 |
| Parry nerfed in Geneforge Series | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Wednesday, May 11 2005 18:53
Profile
It wasn't really worthwhile for anyone but Guardians even in G2; the point is that even for Guardians, who can easily get really high Parry, it now seems a poor investment. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Most "Powerful" Class? in Geneforge Series | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
|
written Wednesday, May 11 2005 18:51
Profile
I still think that the Guardian needs to be good in melee in order to be different enough from an Agent. High damage from missiles is still too much like high damage from spells, except that when Agents run out of spells they can just ... wait. The difference of having to scrounge or make missiles is a difference of tedium as much as in anything else. Higher difficulties do not raise experience awards. They just make the game more difficult. Geneforge games on Torment are really quite different from Normal in a lot of ways. You really have to think about a lot of battles, and you often have to explore in combat mode because you have to make contact on your own terms every time. There's a lot more suspense when you're creeping up on something that can kill you with one hit. You get to see the same story on lower difficulties, of course, and if you aren't quite familiar with how the games work then Torment really is unfair on yourself. But if you can handle Normal easily, give Torment a try. It's more fun once you get used to it. [ Thursday, May 12, 2005 12:42: Message edited by: Student of Trinity ] -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Item Locations and Questions. in Geneforge Series | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Wednesday, May 11 2005 18:44
Profile
Thanks for the stats. You should include the weights, though: that's what makes the Crystalline Shroud better for Agents. (Protection doesn't matter because you never get attacked, but you can't afford to be encumbered.) Does the Creator's Belt really give armor 20%? -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Item Locations and Questions. in Geneforge Series | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
|
written Wednesday, May 11 2005 18:42
Profile
The Creator's Belt takes Blood Poison and a Deep Focus Orb, no purified essence. So are you sure you found a third Purified Essence? -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Item Locations and Questions. in Geneforge Series | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
|
written Wednesday, May 11 2005 08:10
Profile
The major objects (first draft, needs correction): On Greenwood: Blood Poison: dropped by the venemous artila in the caves under Kentia South Gate on Greenwood. On Harmony: Crystalline Fibers (1): crypt under West Dock. Solidified Flame (1): storeroom under San Ru. On Dhonal's: Deep Crystal: in the Inner Purification Plant. Deep Focus Orb (1): in Spharon's back room Unmelting Ice: Darkstone Core, SW corner. Crystalline Fibers (2): somewhere?? On Gull: Purified Essence (1): bedroom in Khor's Deep (?) Solidified Flame (2): in Maker's End somewhere (?) Demon Claws (1): Khyryk's Tower, in a back room. 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. Pure Crystal Shard: Benerii-Eo, Litalia's bedroom In Monastery Caves: Purified Essence (2): Ratlord Eye drops it Crystalline Fibers (3): somewhere Deep Focus Orb (2): Alpha Creator drops it Drakon Skin (3): boss Drakon in NE corner What objects you can make when (assuming you find enough Demon's Bile for the elixirs!) You can't make any artifact until Dhonal's Isle, where you can make the Creator's Belt (if you give up the chance of making the Crystalline Shroud before the end of the game), or the All-Protector. On Gull you can make: the Emerald Chestguard (if you postpone making the Avenger's Ring from near the end of the game to very near the end); the Crystalline Shroud (if you give up making the Creator's Belt until the end of the game); the Essence Aegis (if you give up making the Infiltrator's Ring until the end of the game); On Spears you can make: the Lightning Girdle; the Infiltrator's Ring (if you haven't made the Essence Aegis); the Avenger's Ring. Practically speaking, the All-Protector is always worth making since even if you don't use it you can sell it for a lot. It's probably not worth pushing hard to get it early, because it's very tough to get the Unmelting Ice if you can't take the golem monstrosity, and it isn't such a revolutionary item to have anyway. The Creator's Belt is well worth making for a Shaper, but an Agent should skip it in favor of making the Crystalline Shroud sooner. For a Guardian the issues are how much you use creations, whether you're willing to postpone the Avenger's Ring a bit in order to use the Emerald Chestguard instead of the Crystalline Shroud, and whether you'd rather have some other attribute-buffing Girdle instead anyway. The Crystalline Shroud is a must-do for the Agent: get it as soon as you can because it's fantastic. A Shaper is going to have the Creator's Belt instead. A Guardian who forewent the Belt, and is willing to sacrifice some of the Emerald Chestguard's protection in order to get the Avenger's Ring early on the Isle of Spears, will definitely want the Crystalline Shroud for its +2AP. The Essence Aegis is a fine item for anyone, unless you are planning to use ultra-high Leadership and Mechanics to good effect in the final major missions, in which case you'll want to hold off so you can make the Infiltrator's Ring soon after getting into Benerii-Eo. The Lightning Girdle is great for Agents and Guardians, and you can make it early on the Isle of Spears. The Rings can only be made quite late in the game, after penetrating Benerii-Eo. In my opinion the only really amazing artifacts are the Shroud and the Chestguard. The Creator's Belt is a bit hard to notice, but probably makes quite a difference, so it's the most important one for a Shaper. The two shields are nice but not game-changing, and the Rings are both excellent but come so late in the game that they don't end up making that much difference. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Item Locations and Questions. in Geneforge Series | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
|
written Wednesday, May 11 2005 06:16
Profile
The Talisman of Might is next best thing to an artifact. It needs a gold necklace, a purifying elixir, and a Rotghroth fang. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| Most "Powerful" Class? in Geneforge Series | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
|
written Wednesday, May 11 2005 03:44
Profile
You're saying that it's good that crystals are now valuable at least to somebody? I guess I'd agree. I always used to love Icy Crystals in the early game, then get some use out of Spray and Swarm Crystals a bit later, but soon forget all about them because they'd start to just miss all the time, or do negligible damage if they hit. With my Agent and Shaper in G3 I did the same, but it's beginning to look as though with my Guardian I'll need to keep using them. Which is fine, since there are a lot of them in the game and it's a shame for them to go to waste. So far Guardians really do seem a fair bit tougher to play in G3 on Torment. Partly this is because I munchkined out initially by pumping Parry to 10, and in retrospect this was a waste of points I now wish had gone into Endurance, Dexterity and Missile Weapons. Anyway, even with my buddy Alwan along, the Vlish Woods on Harmony was extremely tough for my Guardian, where it was mostly a pleasant stroll in the park viewing Vlish-stains for my previous two characters. So far I am still finding that my melee attack is very solid. It seems to be roughly comparable to an Icy Crystal, but I don't throw away my Steel Dagger with each strike. Maybe once I live down my ill-conceived Parry obsession, and get some points into better skills, things will ease up. I actually found it quite helpful to create a Thahd recently. So it may be that Guardians in G3 will turn out to be heavy users of equipment, including missile weapons, who also keep a few creations around. As long as my melee attack never becomes pointless, I'd agree with Delicious Vlish that the new Guardian is much better. The G2 'Colonel Matrix' singleton Guardian was fun, but a bit too easy with high Parry, and too much like an Agent in playing style (just substitute 'charge' for 'Firebolt'). -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| What do YOU want to see in G4? in Geneforge Series | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Tuesday, May 10 2005 16:46
Profile
No, I'm afraid not. Sorry. Minotaurs just don't really make sense for the Geneforge universe. Sholai, sure. Maybe even a lost race of independent Drayk ancestors, who once learned to shape humans, but banned them into extinction because they were too willful and intelligent (*slaps self*). But minotaurs ... I mean, why minotaurs? Why not at least Ornk-lords? -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| From AOL News 2 in General | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Tuesday, May 10 2005 13:36
Profile
Are they really illegal in North America? I thought they just didn't sell, because they would fit in the glove compartment of most SUVs. Probably you're right, though, because if it were possible to drive a Smart car here, I would surely have seen at least one by now: there are enough rich tree-huggers that do stranger things than that. For normal folks, Smarts are very expensive for what you get. They cost about as much as a normal car, I think, but they only fit two people, barely. So they're a pain to drive, but a pleasure to park. Where I'm living now, that doesn't actually sound like such a bad bargain. But the cost would still be a real turn-off. -------------------- 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 |
| From AOL News 2 in General | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
|
written Tuesday, May 10 2005 09:32
Profile
No rambling discussion of poultry-related issues can be complete without mention of parthenogenetic turkeys. Are they cool, or what? -------------------- 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 |
| G2 - Gazer Lvl 3 in Geneforge Series | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Tuesday, May 10 2005 09:14
Profile
Eyebeasts are the SUVs of G2. You get them just to show off the fact that you have more essence than you know what to do with. Gazers, however, are death with a smirk. Just consider how you react when you encounter a bunch of different rogues together. If one of them is a Gazer, you do everything you can to take it out first, because you know that if you don't, something on your side is probably going to die. No other enemy has that pucker factor. Drayks are great if you're on an essence budget, but they're so Sucia Island. This year, everyone who can afford them is making Gazers. -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| G2 - Gazer Lvl 3 in Geneforge 2 | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
|
written Tuesday, May 10 2005 09:14
Profile
Eyebeasts are the SUVs of G2. You get them just to show off the fact that you have more essence than you know what to do with. Gazers, however, are death with a smirk. Just consider how you react when you encounter a bunch of different rogues together. If one of them is a Gazer, you do everything you can to take it out first, because you know that if you don't, something on your side is probably going to die. No other enemy has that pucker factor. Drayks are great if you're on an essence budget, but they're so Sucia Island. This year, everyone who can afford them is making Gazers. -------------------- 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 |
| Riches are to be had! in General | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Tuesday, May 10 2005 08:48
Profile
Maxmillion is H. Ross Perot. The reason you haven't heard from him lately is that he has 'brain cloud'. When he found out Anna Nicole Smith wasn't interested, he launched this topic as an alternative way to throw away his billions. 'Brain cloud' makes you do things like that, shortly before the end. -------------------- 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 |
| From AOL News 2 in General | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Monday, May 9 2005 16:16
Profile
I had lunch after the guy dropped me off. Unfortunately the only option I had for cooking the bird was boiling it, which produced a disappointingly tasteless end to an otherwise memorable little episode. -------------------- 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 |
| From AOL News 2 in General | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Monday, May 9 2005 15:34
Profile
One time a guy was giving me a lift in a pick-up, on a dirt road, when we saw a partridge cross ahead of us. He asked me if I wanted partridge for lunch. Playing along, I said, 'Sure.' To my surprise he actually gunned the engine, rammed the bird, stopped and got out and cleaned it (which takes half a second with a partridge) and handed me the meat. Turned out he did that all the time. We drove on. I ate the partridge for lunch. -------------------- 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 |
| Parry nerfed in Geneforge Series | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Monday, May 9 2005 07:06
Profile
So it seems Parry has been weakened a lot in G3: with Parry of 10, my early game Guardian is getting a parry chance of around 20%. What it looks like is that the cheap cost of Parry as a skill is sort of misleading, because to get anything worthwhile you really need a lot of points in it: 10 is the new 4. But, if you put it like that, I guess it's okay. Or? -------------------- We're not doing cool. We're doing pretty. Posts: 3335 | Registered: Thursday, September 4 2003 07:00 |
| The Reanimation in General | |
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Electric Sheep One
Member # 3431
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written Monday, May 9 2005 06:51
Profile
You can't get to -273.15 Celsius. It's not just a good idea, it's the law: by no finite sequence of processes may the absolute zero be attained. Third Law of thermodynamics. But you can probably get to -270 or so, and people might conceivably survive in some kind of shape. It's a business now; quite a few folks have had themselves frozen. Baseball legend Ted Williams is frozen in Scottsdale -- Googling the story turns up major newspaper articles, so I think this is actually true. If you can't afford the whole deal, I understand that you can pay less to have only your head frozen, in the hope that by the time they can revive you they can also give you a new body. There was an interesting New Yorker article a while back that mentioned the architectural problems of the cryonics industry. They need to build freezer-vaults that can be warranted to endure and function for centuries, and no-one knows just what it takes to make a building that will do that. There are ancient buildings in the world, but it isn't clear (a) whether they were just lucky, or (b) whether they have survived well enough to have preserved the high-tech infrastructure needed for cryogenic suspension. Larry Niven had a whole series of books set in a world where there were a fair number of such revivees. They had essentially no legal rights, and I think they ended up as slaves of the state in order to repay their medical bills, or something like that. Everyone called them 'corpsicles'. -------------------- 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 |