Rules:
-Challenge code ZMUWMVU
-Hero is Sauda
-Must use Camo Paths for Dart and Ace, AND Smart Spikes for Spike Factory
Item restrictions:
-Shooty Turret, See Invisibility Potion, Blade Trap, Rejuv Potion, and Genie Bottle are all banned
Item expenditures on/by R64:
-Jar of Pickles x 3 ($300)
-Tube of Amaz-o-Glue x 1 ($100)
-Sharpening Stone x 2 ($400)
-Gerry’s Fire x 4 ($2000)
-Pet Rabbit x 4 ($6000)
Geraldo’s balance may need to be looked at, but I think neither of his nerfs in Version 34 were a good idea. Increasing his base price does keep him from being immediately affordable on CHIMPS, but as he doesn’t do well against spaced Greens which are the very first threat there, okay, what’s the point? To stop him from banking as easily on non-CHIMPS as a potentially better Benjamin for lower cost? I can guess that Fertilizer should be looked at if that’s the case. CHIMPS already has people deploy him where the extra $100 matters less, and if the EXP is even a thing, there’s a point that players wouldn’t necessarily want to reach L20 too early to have the restock to work with on key Rounds. My only guess is stopping the Scrapyard 1TC for good, but honestly, checking Geraldo’s items in general is showing signs that this would manage to succeed at that anyway.
Meanwhile, I get hurt by this beyond the obvious points even if Round 4 is still changed little enough, because inconveniently, I can BARELY afford the SMFC in time for the Round 40 MOAB. If Geraldo’s price was increased even further, I don’t even know how this would have looked. At least the price increase stops playing a role after that, thankfully, but good heavens is there reason I don’t like the price increase as the idea to nerf Geraldo.
Sharpening Stone having reduced duration is also something that bugs me. Although it doesn’t hurt me as much, I call out the point that it is supposed to promote creativity by bolstering Sharp Type attacks specifically. If the problem is things like upgraded Shooty Turrets and Tack Zone, changing their Damage Type to Shatter would work with the point that those are only available well after Leads have to be convincingly survived to begin with. Again, NinjaKiwi, look at the other suspects just as much before gutting your own creativity promotion as a whole.
That aside, I will get to the positive stuff, beyond my finding a new build order in the early Rounds because something about necessity being the mother of invention, I believe? I have a new appreciation for the way Gerry’s Fire is balanced with the 10 Round duration for 2 Round restock rate ratio in mind. The maximum stock capacity of 3 prevents putting GF onto more than 3 towers right away, and the Round when the first GF is applied doesn’t get counted for the restock timer, making sure that a 4th tower has to wait THREE Rounds before it can be granted the GF. The implications is that this thing has to set up to manage much needed stronger effectiveness, keeping in mind that it already costs $500 for each application and therefore can add up shockingly easily. Money by itself is a questionable balancing factor, but GF does start falling off, though not as badly as the Pet Rabbit, which I would not object to a price decrease with him for all the setup he already requires for his already cost-effectiveness reliant payoff.
You can see how my GFs were planned. I needed the later ones starting right where they’d have their durations cover key Rounds right at the tail ends and I could set up the new ones on breather Rounds while mitigating issues with the restock delay quirk, particularly when Round 76 becomes a Regrow farm without all 4 GFs up and running. I also needed the PMFC out on Round 81 so that he could obliterate blimps then, because I still lacked the firepower to manage that otherwise, so I had set up 3 of the GFs on Round 73 with that in mind to have the ability to set them back up happen on the believe me relative breather that was Round 83. This took a lot, but ultimately, the price was right and the PMFC persevered.
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