I don't really mind it.
I remember someone complaining about not going for Knock personal. And personally I argued for Velvet's personal Grail, since I don't have much moral issues with mind control, and moreover it explained vague enough that not allowing other ponies to leave Velvet may refer to not allowing them to die. So I would not be terribly heartbroken if it is just mind control (of minions who are already mind controlled by us, lol) with possible bonus if it makes our ponies harder to kill.
Keep in mind that OurLadyOfWires chose sacraments probably sometime before turn 11, which is when we were first introduced to sacraments. The reason we need to befriend Names to beat the game now is because questers deliberately chose actions that left us on unsteady ground without sources to pull from (ignore and leave the cult, joining the bureau* which has directly lead to AP hell) while we understand where our strengths are (high in all lore levels, the furthest in the mansus).
Large number of confidants perhaps, but large number of minions is more questionable. Even if we stayed in cult I would give it good odds that we would not have been able to take many ponies with us into final expedition, since all cult ponies supposed to be obsessed with Glory. And we were reluctant to gather minions to begin with. And in many cases it would be harder to turn cultist into proper minion (leash does not work and so on). So while I can consider a way were we don't need Names, it is still very specific approach primarily suited for more villain Velvet.
I don't think that searching for books is optimal way to increase Heart. Just find time to scry for Heart 5 book and we should be set. We have Lantern AoTL this turn so if we have actions after DoA we may still consider study of Lantern artifact this turn .
Frankly, it really goes back to Luna's natural 100. I can't even imagine what the quest would have looked like if this didn't happen.
Were was it said that Forge of Days was the one to resurrect Sun in Splendor?
Better yet, scry a Heart 6 artifact so we can get both Heart scraps and a Level 6 Heart source for All In (and the Ruined Church).
I was going to recommend learning from Mareinette over Heart books, but a Heart 6+ Artifact is actually a very good choice. The Heart scraps will also help in Sacraments.
I don't see it as quite that extreme, but it's definitely a possibility.
exactly!
and even so, we can do nothing about what was done in the past, but CURRENT Baldomare is unlikely to commit atrocities the way Mareinette would.
There was also this post that Bird seemed to like and find pretty accurate:
You know, this bit makes me realize something.
It makes SENSE that Mareinette would deign herself to be bound to Velvet.
She IS a monster. We shouldn't forget that.
But even monsters have feelings and emotions, and maybe their own code of honor.
And Velvet is, after all, the one who "saved her" from an eternity thirsting in the Ruined Church.
What are a few months of service to an admittedly interesting (and nice-smelling) Mare, that in some ways reminds her of herself oh so long ago, as a way to express her gratitude?
And of course, as the last of the Ligeians, she might have an interest in recruiting anew... maybe to find a kindred spirit to keep her company. To initiate to her delights, because isn't a Feast more fun when there's more people like you in it?
So, from her point of view, it makes complete sense what she's doing.
She's investing the one thing she has in abundance, time, both as a way to repay a debt she might or might not feel honor-bound to repay, AND at the same time she's making an investment in an interesting mortal who might, one day, become a peer or even just a... well... friend.
Even monsters want friends sometimes, and she's been alone for so long... why, introducing all her pleasures to a new soul would be a pleasure in and of itself, wouldn't it? and to an Old Monster like Mareinette, Velvet must look like a cute, precocious child who might one day actually become someone worth knowing, maybe even befriending....
I wonder if it's a doomed story. Is there a middle ground, somewhere? Is it possible to "reform" Mareinette? For all of her crimes, she basically imprisoned herself for an era. There's an argument to be made that she payed any old debt that way, just like in canon it's probably assumed that Discord's crimes were repaid in his long, LONG imprisonment as a statue...
@OurLadyOfWires just a couple thoughts about Mareinette, thought you might enjoy them
She's kinda into EVERYTHING I think.Hey, we don't know what Mareinette is into
But really, I think when an action says it'll befriend the Name… that's what it'll do. Not with added strings or limits.
TECHNICALLY there's a chance it might not be the ONLY way. But the best alternatives I can think of are
Velvet could visit DoA's other world as a favor to her OR eat someone with Mareinette without getting the Sacrament powers, if she had already done her personal sacraments.
Scrying + studying artifacts over lessons (or books) also has the benefit of artifacts providing long-term benefits (the specific artifact effect, virtual Lore levels for expeditions and rituals) vs. lessons and books, which are just the scrap. Especially since we've pretty much moved into the phase where we basically need to get our Lore sources from expeditions for the most part anyway, so books don't even necessarily have the advantage of being cheaper like they were in the early game.
We should also try and put in some effort to explore the rest of the Mansus, to hopefully open up the option for other summons to bring along besides MitLs and Windigos. I'm still fairly certain the Grail summon is going to be in the Ruined Church, though I'm not entirely sure where the theoretical Forge and Knock summons would be, unless the Forge Name and Forge spirits are both in the Malleary somewhere. Moth and Heart summons are unfortunately not an option unless there are new Moth and/or Heart summons to be found in the Wastes.
I KNEW I was forgetting something!
All we need is a single scrap of Moth, and we can easily push the deadline back 2-3 turns.
I don't think that putting Jade & Velvet on the task if Baldomare's already tackling it would be very productive? It's not like assist rolls (from the ye olden days before Follower/Velvet phase changes) could ever apply to rituals.
...uh.
Sadly we know where one such Moth artifacts was... the changeling hive, before Baldomare destroyed it through subversion...
I doubt Celestia getting to Lantern 5 would be something as simple as just a DC roll. That's your Sacrament level! Sacraments, as far as we've seen, are big deals that take effort! Also there's the question of where Celestia would be getting all these Lantern scraps from, considering her one point of reference is the Watchman's Glass and as far as we've seen, Velvet is pretty unique in being able to wring out occult knowledge from books.
The thing is, no matter what the situation with Celestia's learning curve ends up being, more time on the doomclock is objectively better for us, because it translates pretty much straight into more power, more artifacts, more Names, more Sacraments, more summons, etc. Finding a Level 6 or 7 Moth artifact shouldn't be something we scramble to do at the last minute because we need more time, it's something we should be doing preemptively. Because, no matter what, more time means more resources and power, which in turn means better chances at victory.