Slartanalysis: Creations I

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AuthorTopic: Slartanalysis: Creations I
Slarty
Raven v. Writing Desk
Member # 261
 written Wednesday, November 22 2006 09:39 Profile Homepage #0
Here's some useful data on all the creation types. This first table is arranged by shaping type:
Cost +2 LV HP SP Melee (x4) Missile Spcl
Skill FX Mult. Skill Base Acc. Type FX
Fyora 8 11 2 25 20 sed2 3 4 4 75 Fire
Cryoa 25 32 7 25 400 2 6 0 15 80 Ice Stun
Roamer 28 35 10 25 250 2 4 2 8 70 Mag Acid
Pyroroamer 15 20 4 2 250 2 -- --
Drayk 60 75 24 60 0 8 9 2 25 75 Phys
Cryodrayk 90 111 28 60 0 8 6 8 15 80 Ice Stun
Kyshakk 125 152 25 400 500 2 10 2 20 70 Mag Elec
Burning K. 160 195 28 100 500 2 10 10 20 70 Mag Elec
Drakon 183 222 32 300 500 13 9 13 25 75 Phys
Ur-Drakon 220 267 35 300 500 20 10 20 40 75 Phys Slow Str

Thahd 12 17 4 60 0 3 -- --
Unstable T. 25 37 12 0 0 -- --
Clawbug 30 39 10 35 0 4 Pois -- --
Plated C. 50 63 16 10 0 0 -- -- AP
B. Alpha 55 68 20 60 0 9 -- -- Str
B. Beta 80 99 26 60 0 9 -- -- Str
Rotghroth 125 152 28 250 0 19 Acid -- -- q,P
Corrupted R. 160 181 37 100 0 23 Acid -- -- q,P
War Trall 175 212 32 300 0 2 8 2 15 70 Phys
Shock Trall 230 279 33 50 0 2 8 2 15 70 Phys AP

Artila 12 17 4 10 100 2 4 4 8 70 Mag Acid
Plated A. 40 51 12 40 100 2 4 0 8 70 Mag Acid
Vlish 32 41 12 25 100 4 Pois 5 3 8 70 Mag Conf
Charged V. 75 92 12 0 100 4 Pois 5 3 8 70 Mag Slow
Glaahk 60 75 20 40 0 10 Stun -- --
Ur-Glaahk 80 99 30 40 0 10 Stun -- --
Wingbolt 125 152 28 75 600 2 Pois 10 8 40 100 Mag
Unstable W. 140 171 28 75 600 2 Pois 3 20 4 75 Fire AP
Gazer 180 219 32 180 500 10 Stu+ 10 10 40 100 Mag P,L
Eyebeast 240 291 38 300 500 10 Fea+ 10 1 20 Auto Fire P,L
Again, some conclusions may be off, especially regarding the unstable varieties I haven't played with, but the data is solid.

HP and SP refer to Health and Energy bonuses. All creations get a lot of points in both based on their ability scores and levels.

I decided to go through and calculate out average damage as I did for G3. The following table calculates it at three levels. One, at +1 for a fresh creation with minimal shaping skill. One, at +13 for a fresh creation at high skill (the 10-cap makes 13 a likely place to end up at). Finally, one at +33 levels to represent a creation that tags along with you for some time. Presumably, the top tier creations won't be around that long and a Fyora could easily gain 30 levels for a total of +43, but this should make a useful approximation. I did out averages for both melee and missile attacks. Also, it assumes resistance of 0%, which may not accurately reflect prevalent creation resistances for different attack types.

Cost +2 LV Melee Missile Spcl
Lv +1 Lv +13 Lv+33 Lv +1 Lv +13 Lv +33

Fyora 8 11 2 13 28 53 14 26 46 (Fire)
Artila 12 17 4 15 30 55 22 37 62 (Acid)
Plated A. 40 51 12 25 40 65 22 37 62 (Acid)
Roamer 28 35 10 23 38 63 24 39 64 (Acid)
Cryoa 25 32 7 18 33 58 22 43 78 (Ice) (Stun)
Vlish 32 41 12 30 45 70 34 52 82 (Mag) (Conf) (Pois Touch)
Charged V. 75 92 12 30 45 70 34 52 82 (Mag) (Slow) (Pois Touch)

Cryodrayk 90 111 28 60 75 100 78 99 134 (Ice) (Stun)
War Trall 175 212 32 50 65 90 73 100 145 (Phys)
Drayk 60 75 24 55 70 95 88 118 168 (Phys)
Kyshakk 125 152 25 40 55 80 93 126 181 (Mag) (Elec)
Unstable W. 140 171 28 45 60 85 72 84 104 (Fire) (12 AP)
Wingbolt 125 152 28 45 60 85 147 180 235 (Mag) (Pois Touch)
Burning K. 160 195 28 45 60 85 148 181 236 (Mag) (Elec)
Drakon 183 222 32 78 93 118 163 193 243 (Phys)
Gazer 180 219 32 107 128 163 169 202 257 (Mag) (Stun Touch)
Shock Trall 230 279 33 50 65 90 73 100 145 (Phys) (12 AP)
Ur-Drakon 220 267 35 98 113 138 229 262 317 (Phys) (Slow)

Eyebeast 240 291 38 93 111 141 126 161 216 (Fire - All) (Fear Touch)

Pyroroamer 15 20 4 15 30 55 -- -- --
Thahd 12 17 4 18 33 58 -- -- --
Plated C. 50 63 16 25 40 65 -- -- -- (Pois Touch) (10 AP)
Unstable T. 25 37 12 28 43 68 -- -- --
Clawbug 30 39 10 28 43 68 -- -- -- (Pois Touch)
B. Alpha 55 68 20 53 68 93 -- -- --
Glaahk 60 75 20 55 70 95 -- -- -- (Stun Touch)
B. Beta 80 99 26 60 55 100 -- -- --
Ur-Glaahk 80 99 30 67 82 107 -- -- -- (Stun Touch)
Rotghroth 125 152 28 88 103 128 -- -- -- (Acid Touch) (QA)
Corrupted R. 160 181 37 108 123 148 -- -- -- (Acid Touch) (QA)
Battle creations may not be as bad as they were before, but they still suck. Horribly. The most egregious example of this is the War Trall -- the fifth-tier creation! -- which is basically a Drayk with extra HP for three times the essence cost. Ghastly. The Shock Trall is better, but still worse than the Ur-Drakon. Battle Alphas and Betas are still almost categorically worse than Glaahks and Ur-Glaahks, who in turn pale compared to Drayks. Rotghroths have about a 1 in 3 chance of getting a second strike in, making them interesting but a lot worse than Wingbolts.

Drayks, Wingbolts, Ur-Drakons, and Eyebeasts look like by FAR the best values. Of the earlier creations, Cryoas and Artilas look like the best bet. Artila and Drayks are more economical and probably available earlier than Cryoas and Wingbolts. So Fire Shaping and Magic Shaping both look like viable paths.

However, ramping up creation damage and multipliers also means that the level bonus for high shaping skill is a lot less critical. It'll get freshly made Drayks an extra 25% or so of damage and a bunch of HP, but a +1 Drayk will still do more damage than a +13 Glaahk, for the same cost in essence. So there's less need to specialize in one shaping skill. That plus the superiority of late game creations means that unlike in G3, the most powerful creations are not going to be the Vlish you take through the whole game. (Augh, my poor Vlish... so nerfed!)

That actually changes a whole lot. Suddenly, it may be more useful for shaping types to spend skill points on magic and combat abilities. And Infiltrators can utilize creations nearly as well as Lifecrafters. Alternately, a Lifecrafter might plug all their skill points into Intelligence and end up with much better armies through 100% of the game than if they had pumped shaping skills. Finally, the "disposable creations" strategy now looks much better than the "drag them along" strategy, possibly always and definitely before you get Drayks.

I think my Lifecrafter plan is now: pump Int and make Artilas, then boost Fire Shaping a little and make Drayks, throwing in a few Kyshakks for damage type variety and HP, and then Ur-Drakons for power.

[ Wednesday, November 22, 2006 09:45: Message edited by: Charged Slartile ]

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Slarty vs. Desk • Desk vs. Slarty • Timeline of Ermarian • G4 Strategy Central
Posts: 3560 | Registered: Wednesday, November 7 2001 08:00
Slarty
Raven v. Writing Desk
Member # 261
 written Wednesday, November 22 2006 09:42 Profile Homepage #1
Whoops. Can somebody move this to the G4 forum?

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Slarty vs. Desk • Desk vs. Slarty • Timeline of Ermarian • G4 Strategy Central
Posts: 3560 | Registered: Wednesday, November 7 2001 08:00
pinski_88
Apprentice
Member # 7661
 written Wednesday, November 22 2006 09:42 Profile Homepage #2
Wrong forum, heh? :D Intresting data however. I currently wish my family just had a mac in addition to this PC. :(
Posts: 25 | Registered: Monday, November 13 2006 08:00
Arancaytar
Law Bringer
Member # 2984
 written Wednesday, November 22 2006 09:55 Profile Homepage #3
*waves staff*

Teleport!

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