ImperatorV
The Laughing One
- Location
- The Voyaging Realm
Analysis post time! #737 Words.
So, there's something to be said for not wasting time here, especially if we go for the longer route to the tower itself! However, we should carefully consider what we stand to give up here. One thing that we will definitely give up if we take this is updates - both the other options will take one or more updates to resolve, generating Arete.
This gets us a short subplot (Arete generation) and +1 Arete. Modest gains for a modest investment.
Takes a few days, but will take a lot of updates. This is actually a potential upside, as it causes a lot of time to be spent generating Arete. However, personally I don't find government reforms very entertaining, although Gisena and the elementalists coming along may spice things up a little. Still, do we want to spend what could be a week or more of Real Life time on this? I don't want to, but it does give us the chance to stockpile Arete. I can't imagine anything would come up in this plotline that I'd actually want to spend Arete on.
...Unless maybe Lunar Coronet and Philosopher's Wreath might be options. I suppose it's possible, giving Letrizia Surgecraft generated some picks.
Costs us three days. However, I think the power of this option should not be underestimated - I think that it'd likely take at least three updates to investigate the Walls of Myth, which assuming average Arete generation gets us like 15-18 Arete? Even if we spend 7 Arete on a new thing unlocked by the Walls of Myth, we'd end up with net positive Arete for the trip, putting us closer to getting Once and Future before the tower.
See that "Somewhat riskier" line? No. We are already taking a risk by doing this, we shouldn't add onto it. The sole reason I can see to vote for this is if we take Be the Change and generate like 20+ Arete during the subplot (which is honestly really possible). Given that I find Be the Change not very entertaining though, I won't be voting for this.
I Am The Danger is nice, but +10% effectiveness does not make up for increased risk. This is Moon Temple 2 Tower Boogaloo we can't be doing dumb stuff.
Arete cost of 0, effective, prevents silliness with having bought the upgrade to get Stranglethorn and then not getting Stranglethorn. Possibly a bad idea if we go to Walls of Myth, since having Stranglethorn to eat picks at the walls would prevent us from spending Arete frivolously. Maybe. There's a chance, at least.
Finish this part of the Blood Advancement tree, and unlock new blood advancements. Here's the thing - we don't want new blood advancements right now. If they cost Arete, it gets in the way of Once and Future. If they don't cost Arete, they compete with Stranglethorn for Areteless picks. After we grab Stranglethorn we should get this, but not before.
No. We have healing from our Crimson Flare, very powerful healing at that. Also, optimizing ADS is nice, but we took the Trinity that synergizes more with Once and Future. Also we don't even have ADS yet, why would we want to upgrade it?
This puts us at Rank 7 with Hero-Defeating Stance up. With Once and Future, that's Rank 8, Combat rank 9, Blood rank 10. But we'd need to restart saving for OaF again from scratch.
However, this can only be taken with Be the Change, which as I've talked about has incredible Arete generation potential. It's not completely impossible that we could take this and then generate enough Arete for OaF before we even leave the Sovereignty. Something to consider, but I'm not a huge fan of that plan. If Be the Change takes shorter then we expect, or our Arete generation falls during the period of governmental reconstruction, we may be left holding the bag.
If it works out though, well, rank 9 spiking to 10 for battle purposes.
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Closing thoughts: Be the Change + Crown + Straight to the Tower is synergistic, but risky. Walls of Myth with Stranglethorn and Intervention or Laissez-faire gets us closer to Stranglethorn, we pick up the last few Stranglethorn picks on the way or at the Walls, and have enough time to probably generate enough Arete for OaF and a 7-Arete pick-up from the Walls of Myth.
[ ] Laissez-faire - Hunger is unconcerned about the internal politics of this remote Voyaging nation. They've given him plenty of free stuff and there's neither the time nor the inclination amongst most of his party to remain entangled here for long.
So, there's something to be said for not wasting time here, especially if we go for the longer route to the tower itself! However, we should carefully consider what we stand to give up here. One thing that we will definitely give up if we take this is updates - both the other options will take one or more updates to resolve, generating Arete.
[ ] Intervention Mk. I - Aeira's family has some experience ruling this nation, right? They should be in power. Two allied civilizations are better than one. [+1 Arete, Starts Elixir Sovereign sub-plot. Should be fairly brief]
This gets us a short subplot (Arete generation) and +1 Arete. Modest gains for a modest investment.
[ ] Be the Change - While the Decimation is a pressing concern, no less so is the governance of this nation on which turns the lives of millions. Given the power and versatility of these High Elementalists, the Elixir Sovereignty is sure to be relevant in greater Voyaging Realm affairs going forward. With Stenallon occupied in the Temple, it falls to Hunger to marshal the courage of his convictions and bring to these people what he failed to in his second world: a well-functioning society, with reasonable laws and free of excessive burdens on its populace. How hard could it be? [+1 pick to next experience point, unlocks a Defining Advancement if successful]
Takes a few days, but will take a lot of updates. This is actually a potential upside, as it causes a lot of time to be spent generating Arete. However, personally I don't find government reforms very entertaining, although Gisena and the elementalists coming along may spice things up a little. Still, do we want to spend what could be a week or more of Real Life time on this? I don't want to, but it does give us the chance to stockpile Arete. I can't imagine anything would come up in this plotline that I'd actually want to spend Arete on.
...Unless maybe Lunar Coronet and Philosopher's Wreath might be options. I suppose it's possible, giving Letrizia Surgecraft generated some picks.
[ ] The Walls of Myth - It's a long trip to get there, so why not take a slight detour to examine the fabled walls themselves? There is sure to be high magic in plentiful supply here by the lidless cloud-piercing battlements that have successfully severed all they enclose from a domain as formidable as the Voyaging Realm. Do they wield Foremost magics themselves, or arts of a school of comparable power? Or are the Walls themselves merely some form of trick or exploit, failing to match the Foremost in puissance but superior to their unattended works in treachery? Either way, there is much to learn.
*Detour means your journey will tend towards the longer side of the estimate (closer to 10 days than 7 for the entire trip)
*Magics, artifice, ancient lore - who knows what awaits buried within the Walls of Myth?
Costs us three days. However, I think the power of this option should not be underestimated - I think that it'd likely take at least three updates to investigate the Walls of Myth, which assuming average Arete generation gets us like 15-18 Arete? Even if we spend 7 Arete on a new thing unlocked by the Walls of Myth, we'd end up with net positive Arete for the trip, putting us closer to getting Once and Future before the tower.
[ ] The Tower Itself - Straight to the Tower, all else can wait. Perhaps it's reckless to charge in without an overview of the lands' magics but Hunger wields both the Praxis and the power of Ruin and is assisted by the wielders of Nullity and True Vigorflame. There are very few supernatural threats he would lack an adequate answer for.
*Somewhat riskier, but swifter.
*May generate more picks
*Gain beneficial condition, I Am The Danger for the duration of the Tower hunt.
See that "Somewhat riskier" line? No. We are already taking a risk by doing this, we shouldn't add onto it. The sole reason I can see to vote for this is if we take Be the Change and generate like 20+ Arete during the subplot (which is honestly really possible). Given that I find Be the Change not very entertaining though, I won't be voting for this.
I Am The Danger is nice, but +10% effectiveness does not make up for increased risk. This is Moon Temple 2 Tower Boogaloo we can't be doing dumb stuff.
[ ] Towards Stranglethorn - Commits you to Stranglethorn, but also gets you halfway there! It's a potent Defining Advancement that suits Hunger well and scales greatly with All-Defeating Stance, while the power of Establishment gives Hunger a source of passive power in most timeskips. Doubled Willpower +s are also tremendously valuable given Cut Through's Willpower modifier to physical stats.
*If you don't commit to Stranglethorn now you may be distracted by other options in the future
*Stranglethorn's good, no need to overcomplicate things!
Arete cost of 0, effective, prevents silliness with having bought the upgrade to get Stranglethorn and then not getting Stranglethorn. Possibly a bad idea if we go to Walls of Myth, since having Stranglethorn to eat picks at the walls would prevent us from spending Arete frivolously. Maybe. There's a chance, at least.
[ ] Honing (2 Arete) - Take Honing and unlock the Blood Advancements beyond it! Combat intelligence and more Agility are rarely bad. It's good value for your Arete and substantially improves Hunger's tactical acumen for most fights.
*Cheap and good, what's not to love?
*Efficient and unlocks future efficient picks.
Finish this part of the Blood Advancement tree, and unlock new blood advancements. Here's the thing - we don't want new blood advancements right now. If they cost Arete, it gets in the way of Once and Future. If they don't cost Arete, they compete with Stranglethorn for Areteless picks. After we grab Stranglethorn we should get this, but not before.
[ ] The Ring of Power - Pitiless Maw (7 Arete) - A Conjunctional Advancement that requires the Forebear's Blade. How can hunger perish from this world? So long as there is one hungering thing, it will emerge again and again to feast upon this realm of mere phenomena. Passively restore health equal to 100% of the damage you deal in melee combat, and triples the Power of Ruin associated with melee strikes.
*Stacks additively with All-Defeating Stance
*Grants a fairly major combat upgrade, as you already have high Strength and Strength-scaling Ruin
*Increasing your rate of healing works well with your high Health pool from Inherit the World
*You can also take one Echo alongside this ability, increasing your Strength even further!
No. We have healing from our Crimson Flare, very powerful healing at that. Also, optimizing ADS is nice, but we took the Trinity that synergizes more with Once and Future. Also we don't even have ADS yet, why would we want to upgrade it?
[ ] Feat: Crown (12 Arete) - Requires Be the Change. Unlocks the potential for Feat: Scepter and Feat: Orb. You may find an opportunity to acquire this Feat again, but it is rare and dependent on circumstance...
This puts us at Rank 7 with Hero-Defeating Stance up. With Once and Future, that's Rank 8, Combat rank 9, Blood rank 10. But we'd need to restart saving for OaF again from scratch.
However, this can only be taken with Be the Change, which as I've talked about has incredible Arete generation potential. It's not completely impossible that we could take this and then generate enough Arete for OaF before we even leave the Sovereignty. Something to consider, but I'm not a huge fan of that plan. If Be the Change takes shorter then we expect, or our Arete generation falls during the period of governmental reconstruction, we may be left holding the bag.
If it works out though, well, rank 9 spiking to 10 for battle purposes.
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Closing thoughts: Be the Change + Crown + Straight to the Tower is synergistic, but risky. Walls of Myth with Stranglethorn and Intervention or Laissez-faire gets us closer to Stranglethorn, we pick up the last few Stranglethorn picks on the way or at the Walls, and have enough time to probably generate enough Arete for OaF and a 7-Arete pick-up from the Walls of Myth.