Arkeus
Crazy cat guy
- Location
- France
Honestly, while I like all the theorizing about what combat arts Heaven/Earth could be, it seems almost certain to me it's going to be Argent Genesis. I mean, the name just fits, you know.
Forge of Destiny(Xianxia Quest)
- Thread starter yrsillar
- Start date
- Original Fantasy
Perhaps instead of speculating on what the arts are, we could instead speculate on how we might get them.
For example, AMA was found in a pool in a mountain cave, as is appropriate for lake/mountain. If others are hidden in similar ways, it would suggest that we should look for hot springs/volcanic activity for fire/water. For thunder/wind, probably somewhere higher up on the peak? Likely somewhere very exposed to the elements?
For example, AMA was found in a pool in a mountain cave, as is appropriate for lake/mountain. If others are hidden in similar ways, it would suggest that we should look for hot springs/volcanic activity for fire/water. For thunder/wind, probably somewhere higher up on the peak? Likely somewhere very exposed to the elements?
Arkeus
Crazy cat guy
- Location
- France
Other detail: AMA was also found in a location that was protected by illusions. While maybe all locations are, it might be because of AMA that it was such a location.
However, we haven't yet gotten the 'true' treasure of the test. If AMA is just the first serpent's test treasure, I am wondering what the last one would be. Maybe a non Argent art? maybe the the yellow follow up to AMA, with AMA being the red soul part? Something else?
Well, if we're speculating on that... Does the arc name "Serpent's Treasure" refer to Meizhen? Or is it something in the test that we have yet to encounter? (it's probably Meizhen, but...)
Personally, I'm not particularly interested in trying to bind a spirit that eats people -- if we find it, I think I'd rather try to kill it.
[X] Suggest that you go ahead and scout alone attempting to search the cavern without alerting the bats.
Yeah I'll just stick to the default option then. I still believe that these are meant to be different types of tests, and we've already had a couple combat ones, so I'd much prefer using the opportunity presented to take a non confrontational approach where possible.
Yeah I'll just stick to the default option then. I still believe that these are meant to be different types of tests, and we've already had a couple combat ones, so I'd much prefer using the opportunity presented to take a non confrontational approach where possible.
Grosstoad
Birdbrain - Dick - Rules-Lawyer - Creeper
Well, there was the Basalt Door... And we don't know what reward that Meizhen won.
. . . Is it entirely possible to get Argent basic set in here?
EDIT: Or the Basalt Door is a more Mountain-oriented Mountain/Lake Art to partner Argent Mirror?
. . . Is it entirely possible to get Argent basic set in here?
EDIT: Or the Basalt Door is a more Mountain-oriented Mountain/Lake Art to partner Argent Mirror?
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- Location
- UK
- Pronouns
- They/Them
I really want to share more with Meizhen, not sure if the recent opening up regarding feelings and subsequent drama would make it a better or worse time to do so though.
I think it was more suggested that Su Ling has an innate affinity for/immunity to illusions. She is good at wilderness survival skills but there's nothing to suggest Meizhen isn't also adequately skilled, throwing her in the jungle as a child for training seems like something her family would do.
To me, the yellow suggests that foxes and their kin are known for their ability with illusions; Meizhen had an idea of where the vent was but was kept out, specifically by the illusion; and that Su Ling pretty much didn't even know it was there. So I'm thinking it was innate immunity rather than superior survival skills. Wonder if we'd be able to be so casual about illusion penetration after we master the Argent Mirror.
- Location
- United States
I was thinking of the typical 'cultivation art' i.e AS EPC equivalent except it's a body refining method. I haven't seen very many Xianxia's that don't have both a spiritual arts and body arts as separate methods. Wherein the truly OP stuff can do both. Although they could just be merged under 'cultivation arts' in this one it'd make sense given the AS bonuses.
Grosstoad
Birdbrain - Dick - Rules-Lawyer - Creeper
Hmm, it is entirely possible that there is such physical-only or physical-focused cultivation art. We only have AS as a sample and, Argent Soul is stated to be simply... Very neutral.
If we have two or three more samples, we might know better... Or we can just ask others.
Arkeus
Crazy cat guy
- Location
- France
Yes, it's been talked about a bit before inthread that EPC might very well be spiritual-only. In such a case one of our priorities would be to get to 3rd archive level and grab a physical-only cultivation art. So we'd have Argent Soul=> Genesis=> etc as balanced cultivation art, EPC as spiritual, and ??? as physical. We have seen that combat arts, at least, can be either physical (Zephyr's breath), spiritual (FVM), or spiritual/physical (SCS).
OTOH, given how EPC was given to us by the grinning moon, that we got a pill that enhance both Qi and Meridian with it, and that at least part of the arts given seems to be physical, there are still decent odds it's also a physical/spiritual cultivation art.
1. Yes, at any time.
2. You lose all bonuses granted by the spirit, but otherwise no
3. They can't deliberately harm you, and can't go more than a kilometer or so from your location. Otherwise no. If you think that makes ir sound like a recalcitrant spirit can make itself a pain in the ass, then yes.
Arkeus
Crazy cat guy
- Location
- France
So, looking at the Serpent's Treasure trial from a sect test perspective, I think it's probably a trial calibrated for 2 early yellow/silver cultivator. Either that or it scales depending on who comes there (so Meizhen's own earlier tests were much harder), but this sounds counter-productive. I don't think the sect wants to punish you for being better, after all.
When you look at what Ling Qi has done previously, I suspect a 'average' Yellow/Silver cultivator would have done worse on corpse-plucking (We are optimised for those kind of cheap AoE stuff) but significantly better on the worm (we are not optimised on 1vs1, and while FVM/SCS are most probably higher quality than the familial arts of the average sect disciple, we only learned them till peak red/gold).
For the current test, though, we are optimised for group fights, and Meizhen is probably much stronger than the targeted disciples for this test. Not only is she close to peak Yellow/Silver with an appropriate spirit beast, but her art quality is almost certainly an order of magnitude better than what one would expect from a disciple. The main issue is Ling Qi's lack of a spirit beast, when it's likely assumed we would have one.
Anyway, all of that to say I don't need to be so stressed and it should go allright, especially as after checking the Thunderdome 5 fight @yrsillar had the +3 dot activation bonus of Crescent Grace lasting for the full defensive turn it was activated on against all her attackers.
Also, I am kind of hoping that, if we use Elegy, we are going to see Bats falling from the skies :3
When you look at what Ling Qi has done previously, I suspect a 'average' Yellow/Silver cultivator would have done worse on corpse-plucking (We are optimised for those kind of cheap AoE stuff) but significantly better on the worm (we are not optimised on 1vs1, and while FVM/SCS are most probably higher quality than the familial arts of the average sect disciple, we only learned them till peak red/gold).
For the current test, though, we are optimised for group fights, and Meizhen is probably much stronger than the targeted disciples for this test. Not only is she close to peak Yellow/Silver with an appropriate spirit beast, but her art quality is almost certainly an order of magnitude better than what one would expect from a disciple. The main issue is Ling Qi's lack of a spirit beast, when it's likely assumed we would have one.
Anyway, all of that to say I don't need to be so stressed and it should go allright, especially as after checking the Thunderdome 5 fight @yrsillar had the +3 dot activation bonus of Crescent Grace lasting for the full defensive turn it was activated on against all her attackers.
Also, I am kind of hoping that, if we use Elegy, we are going to see Bats falling from the skies :3
Really? We spent a net 13 Qi on that, without taking damage; do you really think an average second-stage cultivator would have done better? If so, how?
I think that depends on the kind of qi costs the average second stage cultivator is looking at. We have no idea how much Xiulan's fire arts cost her, so we can't rightly say how she would have done. I certainly think she could have won the fight faster, and thus perhaps met up with her partner before one of her noble coterie had too long to stew over her potential death. In that way I certainly think she would have done better.
Speaking of Xiulan, I want to float the idea of telling her about the medicine in the token rewards rather than telling Han. Let her bring this back to her group. It gives her a chance to contribute more to the lot of them, and proves that we are still invested in her personally rather than devoting our actions for the Han group to Han over her.
Arkeus
Crazy cat guy
- Location
- France
I think the big danger was getting caught by the trap. Afterwards, an average early Yellow/Silver cultivator probably has 1movement/1self-buff/1direct damage arts, instead of 1support-damage/1-support-control/1movement, and have their arts at the Yellow/Silver level, instead of us who only have arts at the peak red/gold level.
So I'd say they probably spend 3Qi on arts and 4Qi if they take some minor damage they must block. OTOH they probably have much less Qi than us, so you can argue we still have more Qi than them after that fight than them (though we just spent 3Qi to prove ourself to Meizhen).
While our fighting style is really efficient for what it does, it's also designed to combat groups (as well as work better if we are in a group too), so I think an average early yellow/silver wouldn't need to use quite so many arts as we did. Also, our Qi reduction items are fairly low effectiveness compared to what Hong Lin/Zhu twins possessed.
That's a bit of a gamble, if an interesting one. We know Gu Xiulan considers Han Jian the leader of the group, and Han Jian might feel even more annoyed at us for doing that.
OTOH, if our plan is to have a strictly professional relationship to Han Jian, this might be really good.
I certainly think at the absolute bare minimum it would nip the worries about Han forbidding us from interacting with Xiulan in the bud. We would have shown we were still contributing to Xiulan, and she can forward that on to her team. Having contacts like that can pay off. I really don't think Han Jian seems like the type to see his subordinate receiving outside aid, passing that aid along to the group, and decide that it is disrespect to his position.
What kind of arts are you imagining that would come nearly that cheaply?
Hell, even if everything they use is discounted to 1 (a big if), that still comes to only three arts used for the entire combat. I don't believe it.
Sounds like a good reason to pick up a direct damage art so we can judge the costs.
Arkeus
Crazy cat guy
- Location
- France
We used 5 arts ourself though (Well, 6 as the first Diapason didn't take). It makes perfect sense for a build that's not specced to support would need less to win the fight.
Amusingly, with our fighting style the Qi-recharge pin would have been perfect. Even for the corpse we would have regained all our Qi, and the same would have applied to the Worm. We would now be at 36/38 (assuming we only get 1 back from our demonstration to Meizhen) without using a Wellspring pill.
Not really? We can't judge the cost at all unless you are planning to pick 3 different arts and max them to peak yellow so you can see "what a normal cultivator has", but in this case it's turning Ling Qi into that normal cultivator.Sounds like a good reason to pick up a direct damage art so we can judge the costs.
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Han Jian forbidding us from interacting with Xiulan is ridiculiously unlikely in the first place and I find the idea Xiulan would obey any such injunction even more so.
At absolute worst they might try and gently prise us away from Meizhen given how politically poisonous the Bai's are and pull themselves back slightly if that doesn't work.
- Location
- Fabulously Rainbow Ireland
Or we can just tell him directly and get that as well as points with him.
Then we have to keep stretching actions out between Han AND Giulan to keep them both happy with us. That leaves us with 4 social links, and probably a fifth for the inevitable spirit beast we want to keep happy and low cost. Let Han stay at one dot as a friend, or decay a bit into acquaintance and focus on the one we have actually been spending time with personally.
So since I see folks are discussing social constraints again, I'm going to weigh in here. Frankly, I feel like I need to alter the action economy a bit, to give a little more breathing room for social actions. I won't go into detail here, since I'll do full info at the end of the event, but I'm thinking I'm going to split actions into major and minor. major actions will be cultivation/training/quests and the like, while minor will be less time consuming things like chatting with your friends or sending letters to mom. At the moment I'm thinking you'll have four major and three minor, with some ability to trade between.
- Location
- scrabbling
To a certain extent, basalt is an oceanic/volcanic rock formed directly from magma cooling quickly (such as contacting water). I wouldn't read into it too hard since it's also just a generally 'intimidating' rock, but if you want you could read it as a Fire/Water relation.