Topic pretty much says it all, although it's been discussed in other threads, I kind of thought it deserved it's own. So, to summarize:
Wanda has "Decrypted" Ansom, he retains his status as a level 10 warlord. He no longer has an upkeep, and seems to be completely loyal to parson's side.
Possible downsides noted so far:
He might no longer be able to get experience/gain levels.
Wanda might be exagerating the never decay part.
This is more than likely his "Last life", she won't be able to decrypt him if he falls again.
1. Uncroaked warlords can gain levels. You really think a more intelligent warlord wouldn't?
2. Wanda is certain he won't decay.
3. Enemy uncroaked are not known to be uncroaked more than once, so that's not different.
Any suspicions of loyalty are just that.
There is one, and only one, weakness of this unit in comparison to other units. They can't be popped. TO get a Level 10 Warlord, you must kill a Level 10 Warlord.
1. Uncroaked warlords can gain levels. You really think a more intelligent warlord wouldn't?
2. Wanda is certain he won't decay.
3. Enemy uncroaked are not known to be uncroaked more than once, so that's not different.
Any suspicions of loyalty are just that.
There is one, and only one, weakness of this unit in comparison to other units. They can't be popped. TO get a Level 10 Warlord, you must kill a Level 10 Warlord.
Ansom could possibly be one of the highest level Warlords as well given his impulse to always be fighting alongside his troops to preserve them.
It may not be that he's loyal to Parson, as much as the Loyalty spells that applied to him before are no longer present.
i.e. it might turn out that he has free will.
Then again, Wanda might hold some sway over him.
If he costs 0 upkeep, it does imply that there must be some disadvantage. Upkeep seems to also imply that food pops for you in the morning. So maybe they have to start farming the land and gathering their own food to feed the masses.
This all makes me wonder if there are far more powers to be discovered in the Arkenhammer than simply taming Dwagons, throwing bolts of lightning and turning birds into walnuts.
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Wanda was also certain that Jillian wouldn't break the suggestion spell. She may be less "certain" than she appears to be, as we do know that she is very proud of her work. I wouldn't be surprised if she made her creation look a little better than it is, much like the spell she had on Jillian.
Wanda was also certain that Jillian wouldn't break the suggestion spell. She may be less "certain" than she appears to be, as we do know that she is very proud of her work. I wouldn't be surprised if she made her creation look a little better than it is, much like the spell she had on Jillian.
No. That wasn't a sales pitch, she was CERTAIN Jillian wouldn't be able to break the spell - part of the reason she went BlueScreen.
This is her stating, categorically, a trait possessed by a decrypted Warlord.
Alright. Just for that, if we both make it into the game, the first test target for Total Annihilation whenever I get Solar sorcery is going to be you.
It may not be that he's loyal to Parson, as much as the Loyalty spells that applied to him before are no longer present.
i.e. it might turn out that he has free will.
Then again, Wanda might hold some sway over him.
If he costs 0 upkeep, it does imply that there must be some disadvantage. Upkeep seems to also imply that food pops for you in the morning. So maybe they have to start farming the land and gathering their own food to feed the masses.
This all makes me wonder if there are far more powers to be discovered in the Arkenhammer than simply taming Dwagons, throwing bolts of lightning and turning birds into walnuts.
So totally overturning conservation of matter (and creating life), taming some of the best units in the game and allowing you to one hit a chief warlord who has to be around level ten (He wiped the floor with Jillian, who's a nine), and about fourty heavies is bad now? And it lets him fly, don't forget that.
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I mentioned this in the main strip thread, but it seems relevant here too...
Notice that the royal radishes on Decrypt!Ansom's vest didn't change into hampsters, they changed into *skulls*. If anything symbolises Wanda, it's that.
So... to whom are these new units loyal? It might be a moot point if Wanda is still loyal to Hampster or Stanley, but if not..?
Notice that the royal radishes on Decrypt!Ansom's vest didn't change into hampsters, they changed into *skulls*. If anything symbolises Wanda, it's that.
It could also mean that he was decrypted. Also, it could be the symbol of the pliers.
No. That wasn't a sales pitch, she was CERTAIN Jillian wouldn't be able to break the spell - part of the reason she went BlueScreen.
This is her stating, categorically, a trait possessed by a decrypted Warlord.
She was certain, and she was wrong. Jillian broke the spell, and then Wanda broke down. The new Ansom is not unquestionably the way she says he is. He probably is, as we don't have a major reason to distrust what she's saying now. Just remember that she is a person with an overwhelming need to be in control. She may overestimate the capabilities of her control to pacify herself, to assure herself that she does indeed have the control she desires. We can't trust what she says entirely. I'm sure Wanda has motives we don't know about - after all, the Arkenpliers were one thing already. She implies that she has been seeking them for a very long time, something she did not tell anybody else (that we know of).
Well, aside from the intelligence and no decay, i'm guessing Ansom has all the general traits of an uncroaked... one possibility is that uncroaked can not be healed by magic and could even be harmed as it is with some RPG's...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alteran
Wanda was also certain that Jillian wouldn't break the suggestion spell. She may be less "certain" than she appears to be, as we do know that she is very proud of her work. I wouldn't be surprised if she made her creation look a little better than it is, much like the spell she had on Jillian.
No there is a sharp difference between Wanda's certainty over Jillian and wanda's certainty over the decrypted...
Wanda's certainty over Jillian was based on what she THOUGHT she knew about Jillian... she THOUGHT Jillian loved her enough that she would not be able to pick ansom over her... she was not wrong about the suggestion spell, but wrong about Jillian's character, which all in all was nothing more than an opinion... Jillian's opinion of wanda and Ansom was an unknowable quality and thus wanda truly could have never been uncertain; this is more then likely, unlike "decay"
When it comes to the Decrypted, remember Wanda does not know what they are... she is seeing this for the first time... She would not carelessly toss out info like saying it has "no decay". If she only THOUGHT their was no decay, then she would say it in a questioning fashion "it might not decay"... no her statement that it has "no Decay" more then likely comes from looking at Ansom stats... such as that uncroaked normally have "decay" in their stats where Ansom has none.
Quote:
Originally Posted by charles
If he costs 0 upkeep, it does imply that there must be some disadvantage. Upkeep seems to also imply that food pops for you in the morning. So maybe they have to start farming the land and gathering their own food to feed the masses.
I find that unlikely... 0 upkeep more than likely means that the unit does not require food. More than likely, uncroaked probably have 0 upkeep as well... Waht Parson and Wanda are observing from Ansom is that he is some kind of cross between a living unit and an uncroaked... he does not need to eat like the uncroak, but he does not Decay either
I like to think the reason there is no upkeep is because the uncrypted units draw sustenance from the pliers itself. This should mean there’s a hard limit on how many units can be uncryted at once.
Don't forget that she has the arkenpliers now.
Maggie stated that the arkendish gave charlie a control of thinkamancy she couldn't match.
And we already know that Wanda was a powerful croakamancer, so being attuned to pliers, she's far more capable at even normal croakamancy than she ever was before.
What worries me: It strikes me that Wanda caused the downfall of FAQ at some point, because she had heard (from a fortune cookie?) that she'd be able to gain the pliers, and that everything she has done was towards that goal.
In addition, she was under no loyalty spells to the Tool, which means that she chose to join him. So if she chose him as her path to the pliers, what will she do now that she has it? (probably already said on the regular thread, but I don't usually get to that fast enough, and have no desire to go digging through 5 pages before I have my say)
What worries me: It strikes me that Wanda caused the downfall of FAQ at some point, because she had heard (from a fortune cookie?) that she'd be able to gain the pliers, and that everything she has done was towards that goal.
That would be so funny if predictamancers were fortune cookie dispensers.
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Maybe he is a unit with no weakness. A unit that costs nothing, has free will, no Loyalty issues (and is smart enough to understand what happens around). Maybe the same applies to every other Decrypted.
Maybe they become a lot less "units" and a lot more "humans". A game cannot continue with such "units" - and then Janis said - the war will end !
The Game World will became an actual world. Something glorious indeed!
Last edited by Earendill : 05-02-2009 at 09:16 PM.
1.) He counts as Uncroaked (probably) so any weapon that deals extra damage to uncroaked will be important
2.) Wanda still most likely has a limit to the number of units she can decrypt
3.) He might not heal, even if he dosent decay
I believe that a decrypted unit counts as exactly the same unit it was before. It might not gain levels, but were maggie still a corpse she would probably still be able to cast as a decrypted unit.
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The fact that Ansom remembers his past makes Loyalty a problem. Even normal units can be turned; Ansom is not a normal unit, what with his close ties to Jillian and Vinny and his previous care for Jetstone's ideals and such. It's likely he can be turned back. Whether or not he will return to Jetstone is a different matter; Wanda and Parson can be quite persuasive, and Stanley, despite his faults, seems to instill a pretty strong sense of Duty in his units, so if that carries through Wanda to Ansom I don't see much chance of him switching back any time soon unless Jillian pulls a BY THE POWER OF HEART! or the like. However, other units might be problematic. If Wanda just re-rezzed any old Uncroaked, Webinar and Dora will be issues.
It could also mean that he was decrypted. Also, it could be the symbol of the pliers.
True on both counts. But... when Wanda uncroaked the legions of Coalition warriors (the Trioxin spell), the grunts all changed from having a radish motif to a hamster motif.
Ya, i wouldn't mind getting a Klog to detail the strengths and limitations of the known arkentools...
Without limitations, the arkentools can be serious game breakers...
i mean, Wanda seems to be raising an entire army; and if they are decrypted just like Ansom is, then it means she pretty much captured every unit they croaked last battle and converted them to their side, but with the added benefit of no upkeep costs... all of this came at little cost... seriously, while the RCC has suffered a major blow, gobwinknob is as strong as ever... that massive battle resulted in pretty much no real losses for them as the pliers were able to pick them right back up... only loss would be the city (which will be rebuilt thanks to the money they just found, but that was no thanks to the pliers)... the dwagons are a bit more questionable as the sheer number of units wanda brought back might make up for the loss of dwagons... it sounds pretty game breaking to me
granted, that's all if what wanda is doing is Decypting... what i'm kinda hoping is that she is just pulling an enhance form of her rasie... creating an army of uncroaked as she did before, but thanks to the pliers they will have higher strength and last many more turns... they have no cost(i presume), but they will still decay eventually and need to be replaced... this would make the pliers powerful, but not horribly game breaking
with the uncroaked, the limitations are clear... uncroaked strength, and how long they "live" depends on how much time you spend raising it... you try to raise an entire army, and you end up with an army of very weak units that will be finished for good in a few turns... raise only a few units and you will get strong units at no cost, but they will die eventually...
Quote:
Originally Posted by azukar8
True on both counts. But... when Wanda uncroaked the legions of Coalition warriors (the Trioxin spell), the grunts all changed from having a radish motif to a hamster motif.
We'll have to wait and see, anyway.
Yes but that could have been a choice on Parson's part... as we saw the jetstones rising up they were still in their yellow colors... just as the Knights were able to dawn KISS gear on command, Parson may have done the same with the uncroaked... but instead made them to wear his colors... the armor itself could just pop as ordered in this case
The various tools seem pretty well balanced against each other.
The whole "decrypted" effect once in use seems slightly more powerful than the arkenhammers ability to summon dwagons. However, the only reason that the Arkenpliers are so powerful right now is that before they could use it they had to defeat a level 10 warlord and his entire army.
That is.
Arkenhammer&Arkendish makes you powerful, even if you had nothing before.
With the arkenpliers you have to be powerful to become even more powerful.
It's a classic case of "powerful artifact that makes its merry way around the factions as you need to risk it to use it, it's potentially really powerful and before you achieve an unstoppable horde you have to achieve a critical mass"
And of course possessing it will make EVERYONE turn against you, both because they desire its power and because they know that leaving you alone is certain defeat.
I think we should keep in mind that Wanda did NOT just res the entire coalition army. Just the units in the same hex. The "dirtamancy trap" affected multiple hexes and Ansom's army was spread out over at least 3 different hexs.
Considering that most games don't allow movement after the use of a special power and I think ERF does not either, then we are only dealing with the forces that breached the walls.
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Re: the Arkenhammer-is-underpowered-vs-Arkenpliers debate, "Clarity of purpose" is the Arkenhammer's stated weakness. It might have additional powers.
If the Arkenhammer could tame (summon, recruit, command) dwagons, and had a bonus when fighting dwagons high enough to croak them in one hit, then it would be a close analogue of the Arkenpliers, for example.
And IMHO the Arkenhammer is pretty much pwn as it is.
It summons/tames/commands dwagons (the only units we've seen being able to stand up to a dwagon one on one are Archons and high level warlords) and freaking shoots lightning.
IMHO the Arkenhammer is different from the Arkenpliers/Arkendish, but pretty much on the same level of power.
I'm willing to bet that those dwagons have WAY lower upkeep costs than they would have in any other army (if dwagons are even available without the arkenhammer).
Like the pliers, the hammer can be used as a weapon in combat but it evidently has a further purpose than that.
We've seen the hammer change walnuts into birds and birds into walnuts (although if Bogrol's pie is any indication, it might be only temporary). While Stanley is attuned to his pliers he doesn't seem to be fully aware of it's powers yet (he could only do it now-and-then). Just as Wanda can use her pliers to resurrect the dead into some new kind of unit, maybe the pliers are capable of changing units in some other, unknown way.
It seems to suggest that the Titans tools give them the ability to break the rules and possibly reshape Erfworld so something better.
Parson now has a vast treasury and a large army of nearly every known unit type, that doesn't require upkeep to be paid.
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I like to think the reason there is no upkeep is because the uncrypted units draw sustenance from the pliers itself. This should mean there’s a hard limit on how many units can be uncryted at once.
Not necessarily. We don't know there is any limit to the power the Pliers can draw on.
I have a slightly different idea. Uncroaked units either have no upkeep or little upkeep (Stanley joked 'it does make em cheap to feed'), thus decay. Decrypted units have no upkeep but don't decay, so the units must be sustained through the Pliers.
But this links Decrypyed units to the pliers and Wanda in a manner that standard uncroaked aren't. I'd presume that if a croakmancer was killed in battle then it would have no effect on units they'd uncroaked. But if Wanda was Croaked/incapacitated/lost the pliers, what would happen then?
It would be a pritty damm big weakness if your entire Decrypted army could be destroyed by croaking one unit.
No there is a sharp difference between Wanda's certainty over Jillian and wanda's certainty over the decrypted...
Wanda's certainty over Jillian was based on what she THOUGHT she knew about Jillian
Also, she was commenting on a Thinkamancy spell. Decrypting is a Croakamancy spell and thus in her field of expertise.
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I find that unlikely... 0 upkeep more than likely means that the unit does not require food. More than likely, uncroaked probably have 0 upkeep as well... Waht Parson and Wanda are observing from Ansom is that he is some kind of cross between a living unit and an uncroaked... he does not need to eat like the uncroak, but he does not Decay either
I wonder if Ansom will get weaker without food, even if he doesn't technically decay. Maybe he can eat, but won't die if he doesn't.
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Wanda's new Unit/Ansom Weaknesses
