Tikki Tooki, let's make him better!
Posted: Sun Aug 07, 2011 12:48 am
I have seen a lot of folks talk about how Tikki Tooki is weak. I'm pretty sure I agree, as I've used him by far the least in the beta (out of the four base gods, I haven't found Dracul, JJ, Pactmaker, Binlor, Earthmother, etc).
Rather than just talk about him being weak, let's see if we can figure out a way to make him more competitive with his divine colleagues.
Piety:
I have a really rough time gaining piety from this god. I don't seem to always get the piety for fighting dirty (is this still killing without being hit?). Or is it only lower level monsters? I have first strike, and one-hit monsters my own level and got no piety. Similarly a fireball then hit monster. I was sure using the first strike glyph to take a monster would count as dirty, but no. I end up with boatloads of piety from the other 3 gods, but not as much as I'd like from TT. I just went through a dungeon with TT, and while I didn't donate gold, I ended up earning a total of 74 piety (with 33 gold at the end that I could have converted). This meant that had I bought Poison, I couldn't have gotten any other boon without donating the gold! (This was an easy dungeon run just to remind myself of TT's specifics for this post, so I didn't need to donate the gold, so why not take it home?)
The Boons:
- Tribute - I guess this is nice, being able to get some piety for cash, but so far, even with the bank preparation, I rarely seem to have enough cash that this option is really viable. I'd almost always rather buy something from shops. A one time boon with a better conversion rate may be more tempting?
- Quicksilver - You know what might make this seem more worth it? If the supplied potion was one guaranteed dodge, rather than an increase in dodge chance.
- Reflexes - This one seems more worth it than Quicksilver to me, as I'm imagining myself using it before a boss fight, when I've already got the first strike boon, and getting free hits on the boss. I haven't actually made this happen yet, but that's what I imagine I'm doing. That requires 75 Piety though, and aside from the plant exploit, I have a rough time earning that much piety from TT
- Dodging - Easily the biggest reason that I dislike TT. I dislike the dodge mechanic in general. Pretty much everything else in the game is built on certainty, and then dodging comes in and throws in a die roll. Sure, in Alpha, I threw myself at a boss here or there when all my resources were exhausted, hoping I'd dodge and get the win. I didn't like it, even when it worked. Dodge to me is just the random free piety boosts in combats that I was going to win without it. I want some sort of control over dodge. I want a glyph/item that I can use to avoid the next attack (big mana cost, or consumable item). I guess then it turns into a more powerful version of CYDSTEPP. Maybe the dodge lowers my attack damage for the current or following attack? Maybe it leaves me more vulnerable to the next attack (temporary lowered resistances). I just really, really, really want dodging to turn into another cool tactical/strategic choice for the player rather than a throw of the dice.
- Poison - Amazing boon, particularly with the right class combo. Expensive though. Am I the only one having trouble earning piety from TT?
- First Strike - This one sounds awesome, but works out to be less useful than poison, in my mind. I look at both as ways to get xp bonuses from higher level monsters, and poison is more effective for this (as it works on monsters that have first strike). Poison is also useful on the boss, while first strike may save you, if you were one hit from success, but likely isn't the deciding factor. Not necessarily arguing for a removal of this boon, just maybe a cheapening of it relative to poison.
General Thoughts:
- I haven't found the Witch in the east yet (seriously, where is she?), but I wonder if those potion boons will get even less appealing once I get her.
- Based upon the unlocking quest, Tikki Tooki likes to trick people. I wonder if that can be worked into a boon somehow? Fool the enemy into some sort of debuffed state? Switch an (or all?) enemy's physical/magic resists (or damage types)?
Sorry if I babbled on too long, hope something in here was interesting to someone!
Rather than just talk about him being weak, let's see if we can figure out a way to make him more competitive with his divine colleagues.
Piety:
I have a really rough time gaining piety from this god. I don't seem to always get the piety for fighting dirty (is this still killing without being hit?). Or is it only lower level monsters? I have first strike, and one-hit monsters my own level and got no piety. Similarly a fireball then hit monster. I was sure using the first strike glyph to take a monster would count as dirty, but no. I end up with boatloads of piety from the other 3 gods, but not as much as I'd like from TT. I just went through a dungeon with TT, and while I didn't donate gold, I ended up earning a total of 74 piety (with 33 gold at the end that I could have converted). This meant that had I bought Poison, I couldn't have gotten any other boon without donating the gold! (This was an easy dungeon run just to remind myself of TT's specifics for this post, so I didn't need to donate the gold, so why not take it home?)
The Boons:
- Tribute - I guess this is nice, being able to get some piety for cash, but so far, even with the bank preparation, I rarely seem to have enough cash that this option is really viable. I'd almost always rather buy something from shops. A one time boon with a better conversion rate may be more tempting?
- Quicksilver - You know what might make this seem more worth it? If the supplied potion was one guaranteed dodge, rather than an increase in dodge chance.
- Reflexes - This one seems more worth it than Quicksilver to me, as I'm imagining myself using it before a boss fight, when I've already got the first strike boon, and getting free hits on the boss. I haven't actually made this happen yet, but that's what I imagine I'm doing. That requires 75 Piety though, and aside from the plant exploit, I have a rough time earning that much piety from TT
- Dodging - Easily the biggest reason that I dislike TT. I dislike the dodge mechanic in general. Pretty much everything else in the game is built on certainty, and then dodging comes in and throws in a die roll. Sure, in Alpha, I threw myself at a boss here or there when all my resources were exhausted, hoping I'd dodge and get the win. I didn't like it, even when it worked. Dodge to me is just the random free piety boosts in combats that I was going to win without it. I want some sort of control over dodge. I want a glyph/item that I can use to avoid the next attack (big mana cost, or consumable item). I guess then it turns into a more powerful version of CYDSTEPP. Maybe the dodge lowers my attack damage for the current or following attack? Maybe it leaves me more vulnerable to the next attack (temporary lowered resistances). I just really, really, really want dodging to turn into another cool tactical/strategic choice for the player rather than a throw of the dice.
- Poison - Amazing boon, particularly with the right class combo. Expensive though. Am I the only one having trouble earning piety from TT?
- First Strike - This one sounds awesome, but works out to be less useful than poison, in my mind. I look at both as ways to get xp bonuses from higher level monsters, and poison is more effective for this (as it works on monsters that have first strike). Poison is also useful on the boss, while first strike may save you, if you were one hit from success, but likely isn't the deciding factor. Not necessarily arguing for a removal of this boon, just maybe a cheapening of it relative to poison.
General Thoughts:
- I haven't found the Witch in the east yet (seriously, where is she?), but I wonder if those potion boons will get even less appealing once I get her.
- Based upon the unlocking quest, Tikki Tooki likes to trick people. I wonder if that can be worked into a boon somehow? Fool the enemy into some sort of debuffed state? Switch an (or all?) enemy's physical/magic resists (or damage types)?
Sorry if I babbled on too long, hope something in here was interesting to someone!