Wasted crystals...

[Infiltrator]

Hi guys, this is my first time playing, and I've came to a realization I might have wasted a lot of crystals on stupid spells. I kept hoarding them and then, without looking at them, spent them on leveling up crappy restoration spells (heck, I even wasted them on some destruction spells I hardly use).

I'm in the Eastern Isles and to be honest there is quite a shortage of the little buggers now.. any suggestions? Get the crystal reduction talent (Alchemy) or something? Or am I about to run into a horde of them again?

[phoenixreborn]

Are you a mage? I think alchemy is only available to the mage.

I'm on my second playthrough so I knew to hoard my crystals. There are still some around pretty steadily in the late game stages but it's never enough to do those 25 crystal upgrades at least for my warrior on my first playthrough.

[Infiltrator]

Yeah I am a mage, I just pumped alchemy to max, 50% should allow me faster access..

[Enarr]

Since youre only up to Freedom, you'll come across A LOT more.

Also without revealing too much, your turtle friend can give you about 15 if you choose the right options.

You really should invest Alchemy as a mage and esp since you like to diversify your spellbook.
________
buy silversurfer vaporizer

[fld88]

I don’t think it is a case of stupid spells it is more like the game forces you to make choices about which spells you want to take to level 3 because you cannot have them all. I like having lots of strategic options and I only upgraded spells I actually use to level 3 but I’m having a big crystal shortage this time around. Are there less crystals on hard?

I maxed out alchemy right after I achieved all three magic schools but I'm still out of crystals. The 15 from the turtle is only enough to take one of several expensive spells from lvl 2 to lvl 3. I'm trying to be selective as possible but I really like all the strategic options of the various spells.

In Order I have only taken Bless, Resurrection and Life Light to lvl 3 and they are a must. I also did Healing which I now regret but that wasn’t much. Dragon Slayer and Demon Slayer want 13 crystals each. Forget about Gift, Pole Axe, Dragon Arrows, Summon Phoenix.

I did take a lot of Distortion spells to lvl 3 but I use them all. I have upgraded Haste, Slow, Ghost Blade, Phantom, Magic Spring, Target, Pain Mirror, Trap, Blind and Geyser. I don't know which ones I could have chosen not to upgrade but I should have curtailed some of them. I also upgraded Teleport and use rarely it so I could have lived without that one. Hypnotize wants 10 crystals for lvl 2 and 15 more for lvl 3 so I will likely forgo upgrading it.

In addition to the 26 crystals I’ll need for Dragon and Demon Slayer, I’ll need a bunch for level 3 Chaos soon but at least they are not as expensive.

[Saridu]

Originally Posted by fld88

I don’t think it is a case of stupid spells it is more like the game forces you to make choices about which spells you want to take to level 3 because you cannot have them all. I like having lots of strategic options and I only upgraded spells I actually use to level 3 but I’m having a big crystal shortage this time around. Are there less crystals on hard?

I maxed out alchemy right after I achieved all three magic schools but I'm still out of crystals. The 15 from the turtle is only enough to take one of several expensive spells from lvl 2 to lvl 3. I'm trying to be selective as possible but I really like all the strategic options of the various spells.

In Order I have only taken Bless, Resurrection and Life Light to lvl 3 and they are a must. I also did Healing which I now regret but that wasn’t much. Dragon Slayer and Demon Slayer want 13 crystals each. Forget about Gift, Pole Axe, Dragon Arrows, Summon Phoenix.

I did take a lot of Distortion spells to lvl 3 but I use them all. I have upgraded Haste, Slow, Ghost Blade, Phantom, Magic Spring, Target, Pain Mirror, Trap, Blind and Geyser. I don't know which ones I could have chosen not to upgrade but I should have curtailed some of them. I also upgraded Teleport and use rarely it so I could have lived without that one. Hypnotize wants 10 crystals for lvl 2 and 15 more for lvl 3 so I will likely forgo upgrading it.

In addition to the 26 crystals I’ll need for Dragon and Demon Slayer, I’ll need a bunch for level 3 Chaos soon but at least they are not as expensive.

I think the problem is you're too broad and not focused enough. I'm a control/burn mage myself so I don't have any order magic , who needs ressurrect when you have hypnotise+sacrifice

That said I just ran out of crystals myself (never went for Alchemy 3 way too busy blowing up stuff).

Chaos not too expensive? - heh try armageddon, fire rain and demon portal

Order magic is great for a paladin but imho wasted on a mage, all those unit buffs are great but a mage should be killing stuff with his spells, his units acting as meat shields, he generally lacks the att to make dmg buffs truly effective. Hey just my opinion it obviously works for you.

[alon]

I'm Level 7 Mage on Impossible. Second run at the game, after playing my Mage up to Level 18 on Normal and was about to finish the Dwarven Area's - that's when I found the game became way, WAY too easy: there was no real army that I felt "dread", I plowed through everything including all my Item's "Guardians" (Gremlin Tower fights) - even though I didn't have Phantom or Resurrection or Gate or Geyser - But I did have Sacrifice/Hypnosis and Inquisitors... Does a true Mage even needs more in this game? My "crowning achievement" - defeating on my first encounter a Level 26 Demonic Hero I found running around down at the Dwarven complex... didn't even break a sweat.

On this second run, the first thing I did was Max out the Alchemist skill. Sounds suicidal, right? I mean... no other skills to speak of for the first few Levels... But I made a tactical choice and I stood by it. So far? I am ecstatic by the results because I am "swamped" with Crystals and my Spell Book contains exactly all the spells I will ever need, want and most importantly: Use, at the best Levels I could get them. (that is, all the spells I could get my hands on up to this point!)

Believe me when I say it is 10 time more fun to flip just 2 pages in your book looking for your spell of choice than to flip through 6... because let me tell you right now - 4 of them are not worth a second glance!

[player1]

Originally Posted by Saridu

Order magic is great for a paladin but imho wasted on a mage, all those unit buffs are great but a mage should be killing stuff with his spells, his units acting as meat shields, he generally lacks the att to make dmg buffs truly effective. Hey just my opinion it obviously works for you.

Still, even for mage, you really want at least 2nd level of Order to be able to Ressurect 3rd tier units. Also, getting 2nd level is realativley cheap (4mind/4magic), and is good way to get strong single target damage spell (magic axe) early.

[laffwis]

i collected over 400 crystals on normal mode, so freedom islands is maybe 1/4.

[bman654]

stupid question: How can I summon the turtle and talk to it? I remember he told me I could call him when I needed but I never saw a way to do it.