Nakisisa

Is the familiar worth summoning?

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Is the familiar worth summoning?

from Elemental Forums

So for 30 mana and 1 permanent hp loss you get a unit with no armour, no dodge, no resistances, low hp's, unable to use equipment, and unaffected champion enhancing spells that can cast any spell that sovereign can.

 

My main problems with this.

  • When first summoned any ranged units attack will kill it.
  • There is very little you can do to increase its survivability ; level it +2 hp, evade , nature's cloak.
  • The spells costs are the base costs with no way to decrease them.
  • Its spell mastery is only the base 70+level for a unit whose only real purpose is to cast spells. With no way to increase it.

 

I am finding that taking it into battle means I have to focus on keeping it alive for little worthwhile return.  When I do use it to cast spells it eats through my mana quickly.  Mainly I am using it for low cost buff spells.

 

Does anyone find them useful or have suggestions on how I can get better use out of one.

 

Nakisisa

 

24,393 views 43 replies
Reply #26 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting seanw3, reply 26
If you have Pariden, this gives you an extra 4 summons. That alone is powerful. Especially if anyone else had figured out how to build an uber army of elementals. It's kind of crazy, you have to have a plan for it on turn 1 and it pays off on turn 300 or so. God I love this game.

How do you get an extra 4 summons as Pariden?

Reply #27 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting seanw3, reply 26
If you have Pariden, this gives you an extra 4 summons. That alone is powerful. Especially if anyone else had figured out how to build an uber army of elementals. It's kind of crazy, you have to have a plan for it on turn 1 and it pays off on turn 300 or so. God I love this game.

Interesting concept. I wonder if this strategy could work.....Resolin seems to be able to do it with the shards.....Pariden with the summons....hmmm...

 

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Reply #28 from Elemental Forums Top

Fire Elemental, Earth Elemental, Water Elemental, Shadow Warg. Once you start power leveling your Sov, you can get some nice bonuses to the spawn rating of your summons. Each Mage you level adds +3 levels to the milestone. Once you get that number to 20, you really start to dominate. The trick is to level very efficiently and get all the magic books for each hero you find. The familiar adds a nice doubling and early on that extra shadow warg can be very useful.

Reply #29 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting seanw3, reply 28
Fire Elemental, Earth Elemental, Water Elemental, Shadow Warg. Once you start power leveling your Sov, you can get some nice bonuses to the spawn rating of your summons. Each Mage you level adds +3 levels to the milestone. Once you get that number to 20, you really start to dominate. The trick is to level very efficiently and get all the magic books for each hero you find. The familiar adds a nice doubling and early on that extra shadow warg can be very useful.

Thanks I think I see now! Is this because Pariden has the tomes and can get all magic paths but death to get all summons? Is there no Air Elemental? Is there a death summon?

Reply #30 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting auboy105, reply 30

Thanks I think I see now! Is this because Pariden has the tomes and can get all magic paths but death to get all summons? Is there no Air Elemental? Is there a death summon?

 

Yes, Pariden can research the tomes, but with Pariden or a customized sovereign you still can't buy Life or Death books.  You can only buy Air,  Fire, Water, and Earth.  I remember Brad writing something months' back about cutting deals with Proserpine to buy a book or two, but I've never seen this available, and I don't know that it is.

 

No Air Elemental at this time.  I hope it, and other summons, get thrown into the mix, but it may be a case of player mods.

 

 

Reply #31 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Glazunov1, reply 31

Quoting auboy105, reply 30
Thanks I think I see now! Is this because Pariden has the tomes and can get all magic paths but death to get all summons? Is there no Air Elemental? Is there a death summon?

 

Yes, Pariden can research the tomes, but with Pariden or a customized sovereign you still can't buy Life or Death books.  You can only buy Air,  Fire, Water, and Earth.  I remember Brad writing something months' back about cutting deals with Proserpine to buy a book or two, but I've never seen this available, and I don't know that it is.

 

No Air Elemental at this time.  I hope it, and other summons, get thrown into the mix, but it may be a case of player mods.

 

 

 

All you have to do is be on decent terms with her and have a champ/sov enter her domain and you can shop in her stores, and if she's researched the books, you can buy them

Reply #32 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Lord, reply 32

All you have to do is be on decent terms with her and have a champ/sov enter her domain and you can shop in her stores, and if she's researched the books, you can buy them

 

Nice.  Thanks for pointing that out.

Reply #33 from Elemental Forums Top

Yea, you can do it with others too that have special goods, like Athica longswords, trog axes, Gilden's glitter dildo, Kraxis one handed spears, etc.

Reply #34 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting seanw3, reply 6
It doubles the number of sov summons. But other than that, I had to mod it extensively to play the way I think is appropriate. 

So what did you add to it?

 

Reply #35 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Lord, reply 34
Yea, you can do it with others too that have special goods, like Athica longswords, trog axes, Gilden's glitter dildo, Kraxis one handed spears, etc.

 

Makes me rather wish there was a special treaty for this, a step above "move through my territories," and a step below "move through my territories and settle in the middle of them, you annoying bugger."

Reply #36 from Elemental Forums Top

May be they should not be battle creatures at all, but instead strategic map creatures? Would it be nice if they could stay in the city instead of hero and give it all hero bonuses to city (if hero has them).

Reply #38 from Elemental Forums Top

Not a good idea Dundoon but my current sovereign a pure mage has 57hp at 18th level that would be 1/6 of her hp's for some thing of little value.

 

Nakisisa

Reply #39 from Elemental Forums Top

why is an extra turn being able to buff little value?

On second thought I dont realy like my own idea either, I guess the current system is better.

Reply #40 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Bellack, reply 35
So what did you add to it?

 

Keeping in mind that my version has higher overall numbers:

 

Familiar:

100Hp

50 Air Dodge

+3 Spell Mastery per level, starts at 55 Spell Mastery instead of 65

+2 Moves

12 Cutting attack

12 Defense

 

Cost: 120 Mana, -5Hp

Reply #41 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting seanw3, reply 41

Quoting Bellack, reply 35So what did you add to it?

 

Keeping in mind that my version has higher overall numbers:

 

Familiar:

100Hp

50 Air Dodge

+3 Spell Mastery per level, starts at 55 Spell Mastery instead of 65

+2 Moves

12 Cutting attack

12 Defense

 

Cost: 120 Mana, -5Hp

 

A hefty but reasonable cost, considering the endurance (as a combination of factors expressing survival) of the unit.

Reply #42 from Elemental Forums Top

It's such an interesting game concept. I have plans to encourage mages to bring along their familiars on quests for special choices to solve problems.

Reply #43 from Elemental Forums Top

Just my two cents.  I use familiars much as many of you: extra freeze/wither caster, and extra summons.  A long time ago (forget which beta) I did have a somewhat formidable familiar, but haven't pulled it off in a while.

Point in case: wasn't until around turn 200 in my current game that I bothered to summon one, and that was only for the extra freeze (was being invaded by metal armor-clad Yithrili Oppressors)