Remove ads

The Path Unending (A Cultivation Quest)

Voting is open
Reader mode
[x] There are several volumes of primers meant for neophyte Servants. They are supposed to help ground new walkers of the Path, but you can use their insights to further refine your breathing technique. (Cost: 2 Bronze Talents. Benefit: +1 Knowledge (Cultivation). Procs a follow-up vote to select Breathing Technique Refinements.)

Hard call, but in the end we're pretty anam limited. I'm not sure adding a tech is the direction to go just now.
 
I'll also point out that there are likely techs with non-combat applications among the basic lot. Utility techs are a thing, and we could probably use a few of those.
 
[x] There are several volumes of primers meant for neophyte Servants. They are supposed to help ground new walkers of the Path, but you can use their insights to further refine your breathing technique. (Cost: 2 Bronze Talents. Benefit: +1 Knowledge (Cultivation). Procs a follow-up vote to select Breathing Technique Refinements.)
 
Current tally.

Adhoc vote count started by Enjou on Mar 18, 2022 at 10:07 PM, finished with 96 posts and 56 votes.
Click to expand...
 
Our dude has invented a few new techniques from the ground up. I want to have a record of them made somewhere, and away from the people who know and can use the knowledge against us at delving heart seems best.

[x] Of course, you do not have to spend time discovering the hidden knowledge of Mockingjay yourself! They have several Archivists on staff who are here just to help people seek what they need. But they don't work for money. No, they only take other knowledge in trade. (Cost: A record of Blooming Spear of the Auroch. Benefit: Gain a Grade Two technique of a randomly chosen uncommon aspect.)
 
[X] The Archivists keep the truly rare gems to themselves. For one of those to fall into your hands you will have to show them something that will rock their foundations. (Cost: A record of Shatter the Mirror. Benefit: Gain randomly aspected Grade Four technique.)
 
[X] You will stick with the general stacks. They may not contain the most earth-shaking information, but great value can still be found in the mundane. (Cost: Free. Benefit: +1 to two different random knowledge skills. Roll 1d20: nat 20 discovers a misfiled technique.)

We gotta have faith in the Heart of the Cards Dice!
 
[x] There are several volumes of primers meant for neophyte Servants. They are supposed to help ground new walkers of the Path, but you can use their insights to further refine your breathing technique. (Cost: 2 Bronze Talents. Benefit: +1 Knowledge (Cultivation). Procs a follow-up vote to select Breathing Technique Refinements.)

Refinement ahoy! We have a lot of work to do with our techniques and cycling and being able to further refine our breathing technique would be a huge deal. We do not really need another technique right now, specially a random one, and anything that improves our cycling rate is worth it's weight in gold talents.
 
[x] The Archivists keep the truly rare gems to themselves. For one of those to fall into your hands you will have to show them something that will rock their foundations. (Cost: A record of Shatter the Mirror. Benefit: Gain randomly aspected Grade Four technique.)
 
[X] Mockingjay's Archives have no shortage of minor techniques that are tested and true. You will use this opportunity to fill a void in your arsenal. (Cost: 5 Bronze Talents. Benefit: Gain a Grade Two technique. Procs a follow-up vote to select Type and Aspect (Limited to the Basic Eight).)
 
[X] There are several volumes of primers meant for neophyte Servants. They are supposed to help ground new walkers of the Path, but you can use their insights to further refine your breathing technique. (Cost: 2 Bronze Talents. Benefit: +1 Knowledge (Cultivation). Procs a follow-up vote to select Breathing Technique Refinements.)

Damn do I want that grade 4 technique but I like to live to and not keeping that under wraps probably counterproductive.
 
[x] There are several volumes of primers meant for neophyte Servants. They are supposed to help ground new walkers of the Path, but you can use their insights to further refine your breathing technique. (Cost: 2 Bronze Talents. Benefit: +1 Knowledge (Cultivation). Procs a follow-up vote to select Breathing Technique Refinements.)
 
we haven't yet seen a grade 4 tech.

Zhuan Kun had one which defeated Zhi, (Ruler of the World)

Don't you want something like that? Vote for exchanging Shatter the mirror. (It's a time tech and people won't be able to use it anyway.)
 
[ ] There are several volumes of primers meant for neophyte Servants. They are supposed to help ground new walkers of the Path, but you can use their insights to further refine your breathing technique. (Cost: 2 Bronze Talents. Benefit: +1 Knowledge (Cultivation). Procs a follow-up vote to select Breathing Technique Refinements.)
[X] Mockingjay's Archives have no shortage of minor techniques that are tested and true. You will use this opportunity to fill a void in your arsenal. (Cost: 5 Bronze Talents. Benefit: Gain a Grade Two technique. Procs a follow-up vote to select Type and Aspect (Limited to the Basic Eight).)

I'd be happy enough with either of these, honestly. They're both things we need eventually. The latter is an absolute bargain; the former I'm not sure how it compares, since I'm not sure what other sources we have or could seek for such insights.

I think, on the whole, I'm gonna vote for the technique.
 
Last edited:
Horium said:
And were it not for Zhi's knack for melee combat, Auroch's would be filler too.



Sure, but techs are slow and difficult to grow. So at what point would it actually become practical?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I think you are way too dismissive of grade 2 techs. Fa's entire cultivation foundation is built up by Grade 2 techs.

Vesvius said:
"It must have a grand name. It is part of the foundation upon which my entire style is crafted. Dozens of artists have learned the Tyrant's Blade but only four have truly mastered it. It has endured through the ages for its power and elegance- unlike your charm."
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Vesvius said:
Fa rolls 10d10s8 (Guardian's Bulwark).
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Vesvius said:
Fa rolls 12d10s8 (Tyrant's Blade).
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Let's say an Archer tech reached 30d10s8(same as Auroch's) and cost 2 anam to use, due to tech advantage it would do about 5-6 dmg per anam.
Shadow of the Prince (extrapolated to be 67d10s7) would be 6-7 dmg per anam, and it wouldn't have the range an Archer tech does.
So yeah Grade 2 techs used correctly can pack a punch and since it's easier to get insights for Grade 2 techs it will catch up to the Grade 3s.

Sure a Grade 3 tech would be better, but a tech that he need and of an aspect that we want is unlikely to fall into his lap.

KreenWarrior said:
I feel like Grade 2 is the worst of all worlds. It's likely to be too weak to use seriously in combat, and it won't be something we have a Treasure for, meaning it's going to be a time sink for modest benefits. 5 talents is not a small cost either.

I don't think this will be our last or best opportunity to pick up a technique on the trip, either. There will be bosses to fight, and inspiration is a source of techs
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
This is literally the cheapest we've seen a technique go for considering that a grade 1 tech at DH costs more than this, so yeah it is a small cost.
Getting inspiration from bosses is random. Random boss, Random type of tech and random type of aspect.
 
Not a fan of randomly chosen things. In most cases they will not be especially helpful, and in some cases trying to integrate whatever we got takes more time than to learn something that's useful from the get go.

So...
[X] There are several volumes of primers meant for neophyte Servants. They are supposed to help ground new walkers of the Path, but you can use their insights to further refine your breathing technique. (Cost: 2 Bronze Talents. Benefit: +1 Knowledge (Cultivation). Procs a follow-up vote to select Breathing Technique Refinements.)
 
Ugh stop trying to minmax AP and just take advantage of the opportunity will ya?

We have the option to buy a tech for less than 1/4th then it'd cost back home. Plus the ability to specify exactly the type and aspect. How long have people been wanting to buy an archer tech.l? Even if we don't interstate it right away we'll finally have it and be able to work on it at out leisure.

Yes, I get it. Techs take longer to integrate, but the Stats they provide will help us more in the long term than any minor buff to our cycling tech

Like... a stat point can increase our hp/core, lower the success threshold for skills, and raise our skill caps, among other things.

Whereas the minor buff we've gotten so far... let us get 3 anam back instead of two.

Wow... so useful

Focusing so much on the time a thing will take is blinding you the the real benefits. Going for the small short term gains isnt3ad of working dor the big long term gains is a losing play
 
Last edited:
Knight-Radiant said:
Ugh stop trying to minmax AP and just take advantage of the opportunity will ya?

We have the option to buy a tech for less than 1/4th then it'd cost back home. Plus the ability to specify exactly the type and aspect. How long have people been wanting to buy an archer tech.l? Even if we don't interstate it right away we'll finally have it and be able to work on it at out leisure.

Yes, I get it. Techs take longer to integrate, but the Stats they provide will help us more in the long term than any minor buff to our cycling tech

Like... a stat point can increase our hp/core, lower the success threshold for skills, and raise our skill caps, among other things.

Whereas the minor buff we've gotten so far... let us get 3 anam back instead of two.

Wow... so useful

Focusing so much on the time a thing will take is blinding you the the real benefits. Going for the small short term gains isnt3ad of working dor the big long term gains is a losing play
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
That minor buff is a bit better than just getting 3 anam recovery instead of 2. It doubles EMP for the purpose of anam recovery, so it also scales with growth of EMP. Getting to 3 anam recovery naturally would require 7 EMP, with the buff 6 EMP gets KZ to 4 anam recovery and 7 EMP would get him to 5.
 
Expecting Me said:
That minor buff is a bit better than just getting 3 anam recovery instead of 2. It doubles EMP for the purpose of anam recovery, so it also scales with growth of EMP. Getting to 3 anam recovery naturally would require 7 EMP, with the buff 6 EMP gets KZ to 4 anam recovery and 7 EMP would get him to 5.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I know what the buff does.

But all the scaling buffs in the world won't matter if we don't raise our stats.

I get it, we have other techs to integrate but that doesn't change the fact that getting one for an aspect we have in plenty, that we can integrate quickly and who will provide both a permanent stat buff and several skill ups will be more useful in the long run. Especially since it's so cheap compared to the techs at the Delving Heart.

Will a minor buff help is in.the short run? Sure. But plugging the whole in our build so we don't have to rely on a charm we've outgrown, and getting another stat up that doesnt force us to hunt down another wonder like WC will give us much more.

Just jumping on the minor buff because it can give us a small boost now is short-sighted.
 
Last edited:
KR its a small boost but its a permanent advantage that will be with us for the rest of the quest. There is literally nothing wrong with it. The only issue people are having with it is the opportunity cost of a basic 8 tech that not everyone even wants. That doesn't reflect on how good or bad each is, only peoples preferences.

Personally though, i'm team extremes. Take the small permanent buff that we get to act choose or get a mystery grade 4 tech in exchange for singing the praise of time chan. Super powerful tech and an interesting possible plot point or plot line. Not really interested in the middle ground tbh

I'd rather fill out the technique triangles with techs that act fit our core and unfortunately none of our aspects are basic and the exchange options that could get us techs of our anam types are random and thus not guaranteed to do so.

I didn't want this library trip to begin with, but i'd rather take the ez passive bonus or the narratively interesting move over techs i don't want or care about just cus we can add more shit onto our already full technique plate.
 
Last edited:
Knight-Radiant said:
I know what the buff does.

But all the scaling buffs in the world won't matter if we don't raise our stats.

I get it, we have other techs to integrate but that doesn't change the fact that getting one for an aspect we have in plenty, that we can integrate quickly and who will provide both a permanent stat buff and several skill ups will be more useful in the long run. Especially since it's so cheap compared to the techs at the Delving Heart.

Will a minor buff help is in.the short run? Sure. But plugging the whole in our build so we don't have to rely on a charm we've outgrown, and getting another stat up that doesnt force us to hunt down another wonder like WC will give us much more.

Just jumping on the minor buff because it can give us a small boost now is short-sighted.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
See I think the point you're missing with what I said is that yes the buff's short term gain is small, but it also grows with the user. So to call another buff with potentially similar properties only a short term benefit is somewhat incorrect.
 
Expecting Me said:
See I think the point you're missing with what I said is that yes the buff's short term gain is small, but it also grows with the user. So to call another buff with potentially similar properties only a short term benefit is somewhat incorrect.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
The argument I'm hearing alot is that a tech isn't worth it because we won't get any benefit till we integrate it which we can't do right away

Thing is, that applies to the buff, unless it scales off of a stat we can improve while on this journey like Dex via Plume it's not going to scale until we get back home and integrate other techs.

So the buff will remain small and minor until we put in the work to integrate stuff.

So, it's a tradeoff of a minor buff now that could get better later if we happen to have a tech that buffs the stat it's reliant on. VS a tech that WILL increase one of our stats and give us other benefits besides. Like say weren't want an archer. We could always ask for a heal or something that helps with mental stress instead

Plus the buff we get may not even scale. Remember, the Empathy buff that's scales off of stats was one of three options, there were other buffs that didn't scale off stats that we could have gotten instead.

-Edit-

Also... I have to say, and this isn't against you in particular , but I find it very frustrating that people are using the "we have too much on our plate" thing as an excuse given how many time people have voted to go in side quests and socials when we've had an equally packed schedule.

Kong Zhi is always going to have alot on his plate, and it never stopped people before
 
Last edited:
Knight-Radiant said:
The argument I'm hearing alot is that a tech isn't worth it because we won't get any benefit till we integrate it which we can't do right away

Thing is, that applies to the buff, unless it scales off of a stat we can improve while on this journey like Dex via Plume it's not going to scale until we get back home and integrate other techs.

So the buff will remain small and minor until we put in the work to integrate stuff.

So, it's a tradeoff of a minor buff now that could get better later if we happen to have a tech that buffs the stat it's reliant on. VS a tech that WILL increase one of our stats and give us other benefits besides. Like say weren't want an archer. We could always ask for a heal or something that helps with mental stress instead

Also the buff we get may not even scale. Remember, the Empathy buff that's scales off of stats was one of three options, there were other buffs that didn't scale off stats that we could have gotten instead.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
The only one that didn't scale off a stat was the one that removed our combat penalty. You are also working off the assumption that techs are the only way to increase attributes, when it is more accurate to say it is the only way we know of.

As for the merits of the potential technique itself, I would also argue you're overstating the benefit. First of all it we couldn't ask for specific effects as the vote specifically mentions that we would be asked to vote for an Aspect and Type, the effect is not something we have a say on. Nor do we have a say in what Attribute is associated with the technique. And the system being what it is Attributes are far from equal, WITS for would be great but APP or INT would be practically useless.
 
A technique would take a lot of investment to be useful, rather than a time sink. Sure, its cheap, but do we need it?

An improvement to breathing will make training what we allready have easier.

[X] There are several volumes of primers meant for neophyte Servants. They are supposed to help ground new walkers of the Path, but you can use their insights to further refine your breathing technique. (Cost: 2 Bronze Talents. Benefit: +1 Knowledge (Cultivation). Procs a follow-up vote to select Breathing Technique Refinements.)
 
Reader mode
You must login or register to reply here.
Voting is open
Remove ads
Back
Top