Some beginner gameplay and strategies questions

[Shangrila00]

Heh, Ancestor Smiths are fun, though honestly they don't really work because their hp is too low. But ones with nature randoms have very high stats once they turn young, have magic fear inducing swords, and have potential access to some really powerful buffs.

Purely for fun, take 2 Smiths with nature randoms with slave crystals, and one with a master crystal, crystal shield and cheap weapon. The master casts earthpower, invulnerability, strength of gaia, elemental fortitude, and soul vortex, the slaves cast between them: bless, weapons of sharpness, strength of giants, legions of steel, and iron will, then all 3 attack. They are a lot harder to kill than you might expect thanks to 5 hp regen and soul vortex, mainly vulnerable to a critical early before they suck enough souls to deal with the fatigue from buffing, less so if you have a high earth bless as you really should with all sacred mages. Have a master of the way cast quickness, luck, and body ethereal on them for even more thematic fun. Sure, for 40+ gems, you could probably get and equip a low end SC, but is that as cool as 3 old guys hacking through everything in their path?