[calmon]

i like fire gem hoarding

I know thats just a joke.

Fever fetish or blood stones are both at a normal cost/benefit rate. There are 3 major advantages for the clams:

1. It cost only (2) water. Its easier to find mages with water magic path then the 2 different pathes of the fetish/stone. With robe/bracelet water 2 is easy.

2. clam is without disadvantage. Fever fetish diseases and blood stones costs are to high for hording.

3. clams produce astral pearls and this are the universal gems in the game. They can be exchanged in each other gem for a 2:1 rate. Later the pearls are used direct for wish/disentchant/arcane nexus. Last one is really hard when cast with 1500-2000 pearls. Non-horders have no chance to dispell and the horder can easily disentchant each other non-horder global entchantment and take the slot for his own spells. With an 200-300 astral income (clams+arcane nexus) there are enough pearls to wish for doom horrors, armageddon or just more gems.

The problem with the clams occurs mainly in the longer medium/big map games. In smaller maps the clam tactic may be to slow. Anyway with a cost of only 10 and without any disadvantages the clams are overpowered and clam hording is a "performance of duty" for every MP player in an endgame. Its really boring because its always the same mechanism...

[ April 16, 2004, 11:27: Message edited by: calmon ]