Change the alchemist escort

[Nimmy]

Right now the alchemist escort can provide you with staff combat with 0.8 mastery.
However, you can buy it for 100 gold at Angolwen. This means that people like my necromancer who were not careful enough might choose the reward for the alchemist escort, and then realize later on, that they could have obtained it with mastery 1.0 for 100 gold, and even unlocked for a bit more gold.

Is there some example of valid build that might want to obtain staff combat (locked) with 0.8 mastery instead of buying it in Angolwen ?

[AlexanderR]

However, you can buy it for 100 gold at Angolwen.

You can buy it locked for ~100 gold, which is just backup, if you haven't met the alchemist escort. Last time I checked, the cost for unlocking it was 750.. which is way too much for any class, which really needs it - most of my experimental staff shadowblades dyed before collecting necessary amount. Getting category from escort would help someone, intending to give the Staff of Absorption to apprentice, not bothered enough to visit Angolwen or just not knowing about it: don't forget, that existence of Town of Mages is supposed to be spoiler in ToME

I think, that already having locked category in question should be considered by trainer: summoners (have locked mindstar mastery from birth) as well as everyone, who learned locked mindstar/staff mastery from escort should get discount (e.g. pay only 350 coins instead of 750). And price for learning locked categories should be raised - buying for 100 gold is the same as getting for free in gameplay terms. It should cost at least around 200 gold to actually make difference for anyone, who already found their first arcane artifact or ventured far enough to discover Zigur.

[PureQuestion]

Escorts come locked too, so it's still superior.

[SageAcrin]

The main thing about Alchemist escorts is that they give the skills for Staff Mastery, though.

Even though you might not want to unlock a category through them much, it would break the pattern of all the other escorts to have skills and not the category of a given ability.

(I admit Loremaster has wandered a little from why it was an exception to that, but it's an exception in many ways anyways.)

[Nimmy]

Well, alchemist is also an exception because:
- it's the only one to provide you 2 talent categories (Staff Combat/Stone Alchemy)
- one of them can be bought in a town

And actually, alchemist is also a problem when you betray him: you will get mindstar mastery at 0.8 instead of 1.0

I actually have no solution to the problem, but I am of the opinion that something needs to be changed.

EDIT: I understand the idea that an escort cannot teach you all there is to know about staff combat, and that if you take some time in a town, you may get a better mastery. But in that case, maybe you should be able to upgrade it to 1.0 mastery, (or even to unlock it) for some gold.