Why do you like Acashic Record so much?
 

With this question I am implying both that I don't get it and a second question:
Under "normal" site frequency conditions, what are the chances of a site being in any given province?

Back to the main question: AR costs 25 pearls; that means if you find 1 1-pearl site, it will pay for itself in 25 turns. It is hard to quantify what "payoff" means in other terms (how badly do you want earth gems vs. pearls, or other types of gems...?), but let's try. If you find 2 sites, say an 1-earth and a 1-pearl site, it pays for itself in 12 turns.
But I usually play "normal" site frequency maps and even with very decent searchers, I often turn up zero-site provinces. But how often do these occur? Does the "40" in "site frequency setting" mean that there will be a 40% that at least one site will occur? Or is some d6oe going on here?

Re: Why do you like Acashic Record so much?
 

I think that 40% sites means a 40% chance a site will be in each of the 4 site slots, so that there's an 87% chance that at least one site shows up. I'm not certain, but I seem to find more sites than seem right if its a 40% chance to find one site, a 16% chance to find 2, and so on.

Re: Why do you like Acashic Record so much?
 

I think the chances are much better at not getting a zero result if you limit your acashic records to mountain, forest, swamp, and wasteland provinces...no farmland or plains...until you have pretty much won the game.

At lest that's my strategy, though I'm no expert.

25 pearls is a lot, though. I always make sure I have a significant reserve before burning pearls in this spell. I don't want my having used acashic record to cost me the ability to dispel a nasty global.

Re: Why do you like Acashic Record so much?
 

AR is seldom if ever cast in MP- too costly... Players usually mostly make mage searches and some path-specific spells, not AR.
In SP you need to have a steady gem income and stock already . It speeds up searches a lot, but is usable only relatively late in the game.

Re: Why do you like Acashic Record so much?
 

By the time i start using AR most of my researchers have 2 clams each and i have at least one gem generating enchantment up.

Re: Why do you like Acashic Record so much?
 

I'll let my AAR speak for me regarding using Acashic ...

Re: Why do you like Acashic Record so much?
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">I thought only 1 item of identical type can ever stack with another? Are you sure you are actually receiving 2 pearls on your dual-clam-wielders? (I *thought* I tested this out once and came up negative (only 1 pearl/turn)).

Re: Why do you like Acashic Record so much?
 

I started using it a lot after reading many of the Posts and AARs on the board. In fact, it is one of the main things I look for in a nation when I start (how I would use the nation to get up to cast Acashic as fast as possible) and one of my first priorities I have in a game along with acquiring provinces as fast as possible.

Since I don't use a rainbow pretender and like to keep my mages doing research instead of running around searching, I use the spell almost exlusively to get my gem income going. Once in a while I will have my pretender and/or the priest/mage travelling with him to search while resting and waiting for more troops, but for the most part I rely solely on Acashic Record.

I like to have mages of all types, either through choosing a nation that allows random choices, or finding wizard or other random choice site provinces. I like to be able to forge items of all types, depending on the situation, and summoning of many types. I don't see any way I could research fast and find sites as fast as with casting Acashic Record the way I like to play. Plus, it even finds the hard to find sites that require a higher mage skill to find. I even got an extra fortress and temple in my most recent game this way through finding a site that gives you one. That was a first for me and a nice surprise http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif .

Re: Why do you like Acashic Record so much?
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">This is precisely why and how I use it.

Re: Why do you like Acashic Record so much?
 

It's too simply too costly. I usually figure out which three gems I can make the best use of, then start casting the specific sitefinding spells like Augury and Haruspex with several mages.

I use Acashic Record mostly because I like finding cool sites I've never seen before. I never looked at the various magic-sites-lists, because I want to find out myself, and don't want to deprave myself from this "Wow, that's something cool!"-feeling. So, it's 25 pearls for a sort of adrenaline kick for me. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

Re: Why do you like Acashic Record so much?
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">I thought only 1 item of identical type can ever stack with another? Are you sure you are actually receiving 2 pearls on your dual-clam-wielders? (I *thought* I tested this out once and came up negative (only 1 pearl/turn)). </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Counting to two gives me no problems yet. So the answer is yes.

Re: Why do you like Acashic Record so much?
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Stat-effects are not duplicated for identical items, generating is.

I once had an oracle with four clams of pearls, and believe me, it did give 4 astral gems/round

Likewise, I often have mound kings with dual fever fetishes around in some safely hidden place.

Re: Why do you like Acashic Record so much?
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Hmm, something should be done about this http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

Re: Why do you like Acashic Record so much?
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Hmm, something should be done about this http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Yes, somebody ( http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif ) really ought to prevent that. It can even be justified rather painlessly by arguing that the undead do not generate the heat from being wracked by the fever - or something like that. I.e. Fever fetishes only working on living commanders.

Re: Why do you like Acashic Record so much?
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Hmm, something should be done about this http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Yes, somebody ( http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif ) really ought to prevent that. It can even be justified rather painlessly by arguing that the undead do not generate the heat from being wracked by the fever - or something like that. I.e. Fever fetishes only working on living commanders. </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Uh-oh. Here comes another Machaka nerf.

(duck!)


Rabe the Zulu Sympathizer

Re: Why do you like Acashic Record so much?
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Hmm, something should be done about this http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">It still will be abusable. A 20 gp scout will gladly (?) take care of 2 fetishes for 9 turns, thus generating 18x15 = 270 gp worth of fire gems. Net gain: 238 gp. Quite a bargain in my book.

Re: Why do you like Acashic Record so much?
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">True. Requires a bit more effort to misuse, though. The truly nasty solution would be to make the Fever Fetish living only and cursed - but then it would cost 10 gems to create an item that generated 9 gems in its lifetime (unless placed on recuperating commander or within range of Gift of Health)

On the other hand, not everything that can be abused should be changed - but the more blatant aspects are fair targets http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: Why do you like Acashic Record so much?
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Hmm, something should be done about this http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">It still will be abusable. A 20 gp scout will gladly (?) take care of 2 fetishes for 9 turns, thus generating 18x15 = 270 gp worth of fire gems. Net gain: 238 gp. Quite a bargain in my book. </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">You need 10 Fire and 10 Nature to forge the fetishes? That should make it a zero gain, if not a loss. I haven't tested it in Dom 2 yet. The fetishes should be gone when the scout dies, right?

Nevermind - silly me. I never thought of taking them out before the scouts die. But the whole process will become quite an hassle.

[ March 11, 2004, 18:03: Message edited by: ywl ]

Re: Why do you like Acashic Record so much?
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Hmm, something should be done about this http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">It still will be abusable. A 20 gp scout will gladly (?) take care of 2 fetishes for 9 turns, thus generating 18x15 = 270 gp worth of fire gems. Net gain: 238 gp. Quite a bargain in my book. </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Quite a bargain, but not a micromanagement bargain . Unless you've got something to remind you to move them away at regular intervals...

Re: Why do you like Acashic Record so much?
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Hmm, something should be done about this http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Bleh http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif

Leave the nerf stick locked away.

Re: Why do you like Acashic Record so much?
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Machaka at least shouldn't have problems forging hammers. Usually I forge Fetishes when my hammers are idling in the lab.

Re: Why do you like Acashic Record so much?
 

IMHO Achasic Record was sometimes usefull in Dom-1, when you could know for sure that hidden sites were present, so that the only risk was that you'd find the rare worthless sites.

In Dom 2, Acashic Record is way too expensive for me to use in a competitive situation. The odds of you finding nothing are very good, and it compares very poorly to the various gem producing global enchantments. In general I just search, with an occasional burst of Augries (most commonly for Astral as it can be done with a cheap Astral 1 mage).

Re: Why do you like Acashic Record so much?
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">No, five of each http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: Why do you like Acashic Record so much?
 

3 and 3 with a dwarven hammer.

Less for other combinations of forge reduction.

PvK

Re: Why do you like Acashic Record so much?
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">If you make it living only and not-cursed, then it would be almost as effective as today since you can use cheap scouts for the job. The only real effect would be a huge increase in micromanagement, which could be very annoying in single play.

Living only and cursed is a better solution imo since it lessens the micromanagement, even though it is a harder nerf.

Would recuperation on the unit help? Regeneration? healing spells in combat? Pangea with a fire/nature god might be nice candidate. Magic non-healing units gets hp restored in a lab but those are all lifeless and you could probably not put the fewer fetish on them.

I dont have a problem with it remaining unchanged though... since some other nations have access to the clam of pearls.

Re: Why do you like Acashic Record so much?
 

--Originally posted by Kristoffer O:

-quote:
-Originally posted by Peter Ebbesen:

-Likewise, I often have mound kings with dual
- fever fetishes around in some safely hidden
- place.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hmm, something should be done about this
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-Yes, somebody ( ) really ought to prevent
-that. It can even be justified rather
-painlessly by arguing that the undead do not
- generate the heat from being wracked by the
-fever - or something like that. I.e. Fever
-fetishes only working on living commanders.

In a Dom 1 MP game as Pangaea, I used the Amon Hotep unique item to generate a free Mummy commander each turn, who would be assigned 2 freshly dwarven hammer forged fever fetishes.
The same game I had found an alchemist site, and forged the alchemist's stone, leading to some profitable gem forging possiblities...
I think that I never bothered turning the fire gems into money, I instead spent them on the eternal pyre, and numerous kings of elemental fire.

Happy days.. :-)