Tip: Template for reducing late game MM hell

[Illuminated One]

Originally Posted by P3D

Say a Clam would cost say 15W10N (not 14 total with hammer), so it'd take 50 turns to pay for itself.

The problem with that is it doesn't fix the unlimited exponential increase.
Either you make them so costly that they don't pay off - supposing I expect the game to last 70 turns, I would hardly forge anything that pays of after 50 (*) turns after turn 20. And I will hardly forge any before that because I can't afford them. If I'm in an extremely large game that's unrealistic to be decided before turn 150 than clams ftw again. Unless you make their price dependent on the size or time of the game.

(*) but 15W10N pays of before 50 turns, because in late game each pearl is worth 2 gems. If you can wish quite literally because wishing for gems gives you 150 gems for 75 pearls.
If you can't, there's just 1000s of things to spend pearls on every turn, water gems are much less useful.