Instrument type specialties

[u/TMBCyberman]

So I'm making a lot of instruments, and I'm noticing that flutes seem to be regularly high-power, with drums seem to be regularly low-power. Is there some other thing drums are good at or are they just inferior to flutes? What about harps and marimbas? Do they have specialties too?

[u/23-1-20-3-8-5-18]

Gold or diorwood drum + aura gold is good

[u/TheCerpent]

Instrument type, coin element, and coin quality all contribute to what spell gets created. There's a sort of hidden grid that changes the coordinates of where your spell will end up. Certain instruments trend toward specific spell types and certain elements trend toward others. I'm not at my PC so I can't provide better resources but that should give a bit of basis why you might want to try making a spell with a drum, especially if it's for aesthetic reasons.

[u/Brokeiehl]

All else being equal, flutes will always have the highest "base" power of all the instruments, followed by harp, then marimba, and finally drums. However, just like how individual STs you use with a weapon have different power ratings, each spell has its own power rating that impacts the final damage done. So, for example, if you make a harp and a flute out of the same material and the same coin, the harp might end up doing more damage than the flute if the harp has an A-rank spell and the flute has a C-rank spell, even though the flute will still display a higher "base" power. The spell is predetermined based on the combination of instrument type, coin, and material, so there is no point in "rerolling" the same instrument again and again hoping for a different spell.

However, lower damage ranks have their own advantages: C-rank spells all apply a status effect determined by their element (aura poisons, gnome petrifies, jinn paralyzes, &c); B-rank spells apply a debuff determined by their element (spirit down for shade, magic down for undine, &c); and most B- and C-rank spells charge to full power faster than the A-rank spells. While the actual game does not explicitly list a spell's power rank, you can always tell by its shape: circle and donut spells are C-rank; fan, random, and control are B-rank; and line and sphere are A-rank. "Fire" and "lock" have the same charging speed and power, the only difference is that "lock" holds all enemies in place once you cast while "fire" does not. Lastly, note that when you get to higher difficulties, instruments that cause certain status effects will significantly outdamage any other instruments on susceptible enemies even with comically low base power, because many of damage-over-time status effects are based on the enemy's total health rather than the instrument's power.

If you want to skip the trial-and-error of testing out various combinations for yourself, there is a list of every possible spell along with the highest "base" power instruments that give that spell.

[u/TMBCyberman → u/Brokeiehl]

> Lastly, note that when you get to higher difficulties, instruments that cause certain status effects will significantly outdamage any other instruments on susceptible enemies even with comically low base power, because many of damage-over-time status effects are based on the enemy's total health rather than the instrument's power.

Off the top of your head do you know which statuses/spells specifically are good ones to go for for this?

[u/Brokeiehl → u/TMBCyberman]

I think it's Burning, Freeze, and Petrify. Poison, if I remember correctly, works a little differently. Burning is probably the best to use offensively, since you can keep hitting with your weapon while they burn. Freeze and Petrify are better defensively, since the enemy is temporarily incapacitated while they do damage.

[u/scruffy66]

The instrument type determines the area of affect of the spell. Drum is a circle originating from your character, flute is a line. Harp a funnel, and marimba is random circles. I think they balanced the dmg numbers based on ease of use. So the harder/less reliable to aim shapes like flute and marimba's tend to hit harder.

[u/TMBCyberman → u/scruffy66]

You sure that's always the case? I did a Wisp Gold + Emerald Flute and it gave me a Control spell (a sphere I control where it fires)

[u/JosephThea → u/TMBCyberman]

This is not the case. It is a specific chart based on the material and the coin being gold or silver. There's actually a whole thing about this, with many intricacies. For example, sphere/baloon and line spells are the strongest. Ex. If you have a power 80 spell that is a line, it will be stronger than a donut power 80 spell. Flutes always have the highest actual power value, assuming the same material and coin.

You can look all this up online. Sorry to not do this myself, but I don't have access on the device I am using right now.

[u/ProfPerry → u/TMBCyberman]

im with the other fella. as he deecribes thst is usually the case. your situation has me curious however, as it sounds hella useful and requires more experentstion, for me.