Does the blood used for the talisman matter much? I used blood from a fetish master, was that of any particular benefit or do I get the same beasts if I had used a creature of say 50 trains?

I'm starting to think my Uncommon is broken or something... In the vast majority of cases, it doesn't seem to do nearly the damage that I'd expect it to, given its relative Power. It appears to be designed to be a glass cannon (monumental Power, low Defense), which sounds like fun and I could be fine with, but -- while the "glass" part certainly seems to hold up -- the "cannon" part doesn't really seem to.

Example -- 200+ Power versus an opponent that it should be strong against [Spirit vs Air]:

Your black-winged vesperti snaps with its curved fangs at Yurag's aelotoi revolutionary! A hard blow!

...28 damage!

Bat-like wings unfolding, your black-winged vesperti flies at Yurag's aelotoi revolutionary! A good, solid attack!

...19 damage!

You command a famished black-winged vesperti to execute its special attack! A famished black-winged vesperti falls upon a battered aelotoi revolutionary, fangs flashing. Shadows swirl around the combatants as a famished black-winged vesperti siphons life and magic from its opponent!

...28 damage!

>>(This, I would guess, does low damage because it compensates for life-drain. I'm not sure if it does a fixed amount or if it's based on Accuracy or whatever, but it seldom seems to do more than 30, and normally does around 20-30 at best.)

Bat-like wings unfolding, your black-winged vesperti flies at Yurag's aelotoi revolutionary! A good, solid attack!

...24 damage!

>>More examples, no advantage/disadvantage -- and this is some of the best damage it's ever done:

Bat-like wings unfolding, your black-winged vesperti attacks Yurag's dark-clad smuggler! A hard blow!

...23 damage!

Your black-winged vesperti attacks Yurag's dark-clad smuggler! A brutal assault! [Crit?]

...39 damage!

Bat-like wings unfolding, your black-winged vesperti flies at Yurag's dark-clad smuggler! A good, solid attack!

...20 damage!

Bat-like wings unfolding, your black-winged vesperti flies at Yurag's dark-clad smuggler! A hard blow!

...22 damage!

Example -- 160 Power versus Same Types [Beast versus Beast, no advantage/disadvantage]:

Releasing a chaotic, chittering howl toward the skies, your shadow black hyena attacks Geuspera's black wolf! An incredible strike!

...45 damage!

You command a ravenous shadow black hyena to execute its special attack! A ravenous shadow black hyena raises a cry to the skies. Dozens of its kind join it in a vicious assault against a sinewy black wolf, becoming an undulating mass of claws and teeth before dispersing.

...13 damage!

A sinewy black wolf was prepared for the attack, and manages to block most of the damage!

Your shadow black hyena seems to blur into featureless shadow as it springs at Geuspera's black wolf! An impressive attack!

...26 damage!

Your shadow black hyena seems to blur into featureless shadow as it springs at Geuspera's black wolf! A weak strike!

...11 damage!

Releasing a chaotic, chittering howl toward the skies, your shadow black hyena seems to blur into featureless shadow as it springs at Geuspera's black wolf! An incredible strike! [Crit?]

...42 damage!

>>More examples:

Releasing a chaotic, chittering howl toward the skies, your shadow black hyena seems to blur into featureless shadow as it springs at Alisar's snapping turtle! An incredible strike!

...41 damage!

A ravenous shadow black hyena has accumulated enough energy from fighting to use a special attack!

Releasing a chaotic, chittering howl toward the skies, your shadow black hyena seems to blur into featureless shadow as it springs at Alisar's snapping turtle! An incredible strike!

...41 damage!

You command a ravenous shadow black hyena to execute its special attack! A ravenous shadow black hyena raises a cry to the skies. Dozens of its kind join it in a vicious assault against a red-striped snapping turtle, becoming an undulating mass of claws and teeth before dispersing.

...50 damage!

A red-striped snapping turtle is caught entirely unaware by the devastating assault!

>>(I've seen this special do as much as 60 damage on a good, stanced hit, which is twice what the Uncommon's special does, life-drain or no. It has 115 accuracy versus 150 as well. Hmmmm...)

Your shadow black hyena seems to blur into featureless shadow as it springs at Alisar's snapping turtle! An incredible strike!

...43 damage!

These are only a few examples, but I can't really figure out why a beast with 203 Power (which is a craaaazy amount) seems to be out-performed, damage-wise, by a beast with 160 Power... a difference of over 40 points. I'd expect some kind of very noticeable or even exaggerated difference, but I can't seem to find one. I've done a wide variety of matches accounting for a wide berth of circumstances with both, and can't -- for the life of me -- figure out a solid answer for this discrepancy. My only theory is that there's some kind of hidden "cap" in place, but that doesn't explain why the Common seems to do more damage overall, and against this fact is the argument that I routinely get pounded in the Arena with both by a wide margin of beasts that seem to do 40-50 damage on a normal hit. Even if one assumes most of those hits are crits, the Common still does more damage on a crit against the same creature type versus the Uncommon against the same creature type.

I realize that defense may play a relative factor here, but that would mean that the Defense difference between the two creatures would have to be over 40 points, and that doesn't seem consistent with my experience. Also, the Uncommon is 17 and the Common is 20, and if the Power gauges on the talismans are accurate, I would assume that shouldn't make a difference; if anything, I would think that the opposing creatures "scaling" down to 17 would have even less defense overall (since the Uncommon's growth rate of Power is Rapid versus Measured), and thus, they would take even more damage against the Uncommon than the Common when scaled back.

I've wracked my brain and I still have no clue, any ideas...?

---

"Bring me your suffering. The rattle roar of broken bones. Bring me the riot in your heart. Angry, wild and raw. Bring it all. I am not afraid of the dark."
- mia hollow

Just a thought, but it appears at a glance that you might be in an inferior stance, since I'm not seeing energy gains

Just a thought from me, but I'm thinking accuracy may play a part in that, more so than power. I could be wrong, though, and I haven't tested this theory, as mine has relatively low both power and accuracy. My beast is a nicker. She knicks them to death.

At the risk of giving too much away, you really can't compare a sub-20 Spirit Beast to a 20th level one. Level is important.

Auchand

“There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.”

Aaaaand, another thought!

To my knowledge, I don't think there's a way to remove a beast from a talisman once it's been caught, although a friend of mine swears there is. I know that there are special flasks that will swap one common for another predetermined one, but I think it'd be pretty nice to have some way to "clear" a talisman -- especially for Uncommons or Legendaries -- so that you could catch a new beast, in case you ultimately decide that you'd like something else.

I would understand this having some cost, of course; perhaps some method using a radiant bestial soulstone, maybe via alchemy (like the enhancive potions)? I'd certainly be willing to part with one of those, just to have the peace of mind that if I end up catching a Legendary not overly in sync with my playstyle, or decide that I'd like a different one, I wouldn't be looking at the daunting task of another 40 levels of training before that could happen. I'd be really nice to be able to try out a beast for a bit -- again, even for a cost -- before deciding which one to invest in, enhance, and train further. This would only really apply to Uncommons and Legendaries, of course, where it takes 20 and 40 levels (respectively) of training to "unlock".

Thoughts?

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"Bring me your suffering. The rattle roar of broken bones. Bring me the riot in your heart. Angry, wild and raw. Bring it all. I am not afraid of the dark."
- mia hollow