by choongmyoung on Mon Nov 20, 2017 7:07 pm
Okay, hmmm... I understand your point. Let me explain your opinion again:
----------
Virtually no race is "lasting" or "spikey". Potion races can use their potion to get bonuses which will last forever (such as specific boons or bonus exp), and in that case they are getting "lasting" bonus. Orc is certainly early game focused (everyone agree on this point, right?) but he is largely same as human: they convert things at "right moment" to get bonus exp. This "right moment" is a kind of "spike", just like some potion race runs.
----------
Okay- I agree to your point, because there are always some edge cases. Still I have some opinions on there.
First, when we are talking about the optimal plays, all races will convert things at the right exact moment. But the right exact point tends to come early on for some races (human, dwarf, etc) and tends to come later on (because spiking phase kinda always is boss hunting) for some other races (goatperson, gnome, etc). For example, a gnome can use his couple of mana potions early to score a big kill, that's a good move, but if the boss is Tormented One then the optimal play would prababily be not doing it. They lose their ability to mana-spike. However, a human isn't the case. If you convert two glyphs early to score a big kill, the conversion bonus would still apply pretty much the same at the latter part of the game.
That's the part where elves and gnomes are distinguished. An elf can gain one extra max mana to kill a thing; that can be considered as a spike. An gnome can use on extra mana potion to kill a thing; that's equally a spike. But elf's power is not lowered afterward, while gnome's power is lost, leaving only some exp bonus there. Let's say, you're elf and in an early game stage, and an early conversion gives you a small spike right now. But the mana-enlarged elf will get a small spike quite a lot afterwards. You don't get anything from hesitating in this case, you just lose your early little spike. That's why I consider an elf as "lasting" race. The same goes for other "lasting" races.
I think seperating "lasting" and "spikey" races is a good way to approach in general cases. You said a halfling sacrificing a health potion to take boost health boon is quite like a... let's say, a dwarf. A degrading dwarf, like the orc version of dwarf. Okay, that makes perfect sense. But it's an special case and I don't think there are many situations for potion races that gives you a permanent bonus outside of exp. (Pleasing Dracul to take some boons / alchemist's scroll comes in mind here) You need some specific thing for them to get a "lasting" bonus, and I personally think that is some kind of different halfling, namely a "Dracul-Halfling" race, which is similar to human. Outside of that usage, for cases which uses potions to refill health and mana, the only lasting bonus is exp. (Speaking of halfling, halflings have kinda high chance to find something that interacts with health potions, so if your viewpoint about haflings are like they usually interact with them - then they are more a "lasting" race for your playstyle.)
I'd like to say exp works differently from other permanent bonuses, because you will get less exp when you have a bigger start, or gaining a level is very strong compared to others, you are primarily using your resources to gain levels (and then resources' efficiency level up altogether) before a certain choking point, etc.
To sum up, you are right and I agree, all races will convert things at the right moment. But because their abilities are different their "right moment" will come up differently. In general cases humans get everlasting bonus, orcs get degrading bonus, halflings get nothing other than exp. Thus, orcs will "desperately" convert things, because it is super likely that one full conversion being super powerful right now, and the chance that the conversion will help you later is also very high. One full conversion of Gorgon, however, have less chance. That makes all the difference for when to convert and when not to.