darkSpyro

Hear me out for a sec: Unless you're using them specifically for that brief attack when you summon them, what's the advantage? You don't get the Wow Pow, its not a cool looking new variant, there aren't stat boosts (that I'm aware of) - the figure just lights up. Isn't it more advantageous to just go after the S2 version of the figure (if there is one)?

I mean, if there's only a Lightcore and a regular figure (like core Skylanders introduced in Giants or Swap Force getting Lightcore figures right away, or ones that have yet to be reposed getting a Lightcore instead of an S2) I guess there's an advantage there, but is there any real point otherwise?

Yes Lightcores are a waste of money, well some look cool!

LC AREN'T waste of money, its still playable and can defeat enemies without Wow Pow but if its a big deal to you to have Wow Pow then don't get LC. I collect LC's myself and i can finish a chapter level in the game just using a LC's Skylanders. It's waste of money if LC's aren't usable but they are usable so not waste of money. Some people here say waste of money right away without thinking because no Wow Pow, its not a big deal if it doesn't have Wow Pow, LC's still have skills, can attack and defeat enemies without Wow Pow that some people are crying about.

why not pow wow powers?..

Quote: kappapopm

why not pow wow powers?..

ask Activision but either way not all Skylanders that have Wow Pow are great, some are completely useless.

Get S2 over LC
But LC over newlanders

For example S2 Drobot is better than Lc Drobot, but LC Chill is better than Chill.

In answer to the OP: I'm going to say that Lightcore characters are not a "waste of money" any more than regular Skylanders characters; they're all technically a waste of money.

But perhaps you meant, "are Lightcore characters a gimmick?" And in that case, the answer is a resounding "yes".

Can make the argument that Lightcore Pop Fizz, Prism Break, and/or Jet-Vac are kinda cool, but Lightcore Drobot, Eruptor, and Shroomboom are L-A-M-E.

Quote: BahamutBreaker

In answer to the OP: I'm going to say that Lightcore characters are not a "waste of money" any more than regular Skylanders characters; they're all technically a waste of money.

But perhaps you meant, "are Lightcore characters a gimmick?" And in that case, the answer is a resounding "yes".

Can make the argument that Lightcore Pop Fizz, Prism Break, and/or Jet-Vac are kinda cool, but Lightcore Drobot, Eruptor, and Shroomboom are L-A-M-E.

Especially since they both unlock the same Heroics. There's no FUNCTIONAL reason to buy a character over again unless they issued only one and you want to try the other path without resetting them. Cosmetically it's cool and all that but for my money it doesn't ENHANCE the experience outside of "hey that's a neat lightcore effect" and "now I can try [insert skylander name]'s other path". Of course, there's the collector's aspect of needing them all.

In general though, lightcores are nerfed from a functionality perspective wihch makes the whole premise of having them totally for collecting / wow that's cool...ie gimmicky.

Quote: Hexblazer

LC AREN'T waste of money, its still playable and can defeat enemies without Wow Pow but if its a big deal to you to have Wow Pow then don't get LC. I collect LC's myself and i can finish a chapter level in the game just using a LC's Skylanders. It's waste of money if LC's aren't usable but they are usable so not waste of money. Some people here say waste of money right away without thinking because no Wow Pow, its not a big deal if it doesn't have Wow Pow, LC's still have skills, can attack and defeat enemies without Wow Pow that some people are crying about.

I think the major complaint is WHY WOULDN'T they have wow pows? Couple of things come to mind---with the "nuke" functionality that lightcores have perhaps they wanted to "equalize" gameplay a bit. However outside of that I'm also wondering if Activision didn't want to give away the farm functionality wise with these, otherwise folks may want to ONLY collect lightcores.

In my opinion, their strategy thus far has kinda backfired. It's become a side circus and an overall distraction to the main event (which causes discussions like this).

In my opinion, they SHOULD NOT RELEASE both lightcore and non lightcore version of the same character on a given release. Make them equal functionality wise (giving lightcores the nuke effect), and make it THE RELEASE of that character. I think they would be happier in terms of sales and those that don't collect duplicates and don't see the value.

On a side note, I'm a bit tired of these in-game variants as well--why not make characters that are returning the in-game variant and THAT'S IT? I don't need 3 flavors of a character on a release...they appear to be doing that with re-imagined characters with slightly different names...hopefully they are doing that to keeping the count manageable.

/two cents on

If you are a collector then no they are not a waste of money.... If you just want one version to unlock the HC then yes they are and you can get the same/better guy for cheaper..

/two cents off

Quote: Bazinga

/two cents on

If you are a collector then no they are not a waste of money.... If you just want one version to unlock the HC then yes they are and you can get the same/better guy for cheaper..

/two cents off

^ Pretty much this-

I'm a Collector so I have bought all the S2's as well as the LC's- Some LC's are lame like that of Drobot and Eruptor but others are pretty nice- Still worth it to me in the long run but not so much for those who aren't in it to get them all for collection purposes!

I only like them for the lightup effects. For the sake of having complete collections, they aren't a waste of my money. However, to those who think differently, I could see why certain people would think they are a waste of money.

I think it would have been cool if each Lightcore had their own Wow Pow, outside of their Series 1 or 2 counterparts. I say that, because apparently Series 3 Skylanders that had a Series 2 version, are getting their old Wow Pows ditched for new ones. That makes each variation of the same Skylander unique. I say why not go for Lightcores having their own move as well, that way people can choose when playing PVP, and it mixes things up a bit?

I think it would be cooler than just having a flashbomb effect.

^I tend to agree, but the "uniqueness" you are referring to is only referring to the specific game with a specific character. I hate the company line about "bringing value of the character forward" because these capabilities (wow pows) in fact DON'T move forward.

In other words, will the wow pows in series 2 characters had in Gants work in Swap Force? It's a good question since they ditched the S2 wow pow on S3 characters...would be nice to know if S2 character wow pows are intact in Swap Force. I'm thinking much like S1 characters didn't unlock Heroics in Giants I'm betting S2 characters will lose functionality in the latest game.

If they in fact programmed series 2 character wow pows to be in this game, then they are truly living up to their claim.

I collected both, but if I was saving money. I would have skipped any lc that had a series 1 (drobot, prism etc), I would have skiped any newlander series 1 and gotten them as LC(shroomboom and LC chill por Legendary if you like the look better).

That was my original plan but I got the triple lightcore at target of the older ones as a gift, I bought the battle pack for 14.99 which gave me shroomboom regular. I bought chill because I joined skylanders hunt 12/26/12 and thought chill and ignitor were cool so I got the triple (as i couldn't find a single of ignitor at the time).

I m hoping that this time they dont double on things, there is no reason to have a lightcore and a regular release each time, however I think having a variant with lc or the regular having lc and the variant not, is fine just not both. Are the swapable ones getting lightcore effects or just the non ones?

Quote: GhostRoaster

^I tend to agree, but the "uniqueness" you are referring to is only referring to the specific game with a specific character. I hate the company line about "bringing value of the character forward" because these capabilities (wow pows) in fact DON'T move forward.

In other words, will the wow pows in series 2 characters had in Gants work in Swap Force? It's a good question since they ditched the S2 wow pow on S3 characters...would be nice to know if S2 character wow pows are intact in Swap Force. I'm thinking much like S1 characters didn't unlock Heroics in Giants I'm betting S2 characters will lose functionality in the latest game.

If they in fact programmed series 2 character wow pows to be in this game, then they are truly living up to their claim.

S2 Wow Pows will probably work for the S2 figure in Swap Force, but not the S1 or S3. I think it's a novel idea, for one reason alone.

It makes S2 figures that have S3 counterparts, unique. I mean, let's say this game gets so big, they add online tournaments or people host tournaments. That means player 1, who wants to use a Spyro that's different than player 2's Spyro, can battle using a totally unique Spyro. At first the idea seemed kind of meh. However, when you think about it, it means there's a reason to own a S2 and S3 Spyro.

This also means that when two players play as Spyro in Swap Force, one can use one Wow Pow, while the other uses their Wow Pow, making both characters slightly different during gameplay.

I do think, though, that S2 characters will get their Wow Pows in Swap Force. If they didn't, that would be crappy, and it means battles and COOP would suck, if one was using a S2 Spyro, while another was using a S3 Spyro.

I think it's worth pointing out that lightcores are variants within the game and look different to the 'normal' versions. Whatever is glowing on the toy also glows in the game.
Sometimes it's subtle (Drobot LC and S1 look the same) and other times it's bleeding obvious (lightcore Air Vac's glowing gun and chest-plate, Pop-fizz's glowing potions, etc).

So, for normal players S2 > LC > S1. But if you have a thing for variants that look different in-game, LC do look different.

YES,they are but i still buy them, the lights are cool.

Quote: minecrafter

YES,they are but i still buy them, the lights are cool.

Pretty much this.

Quote: GameMaster78

Quote: GhostRoaster

^I tend to agree, but the "uniqueness" you are referring to is only referring to the specific game with a specific character. I hate the company line about "bringing value of the character forward" because these capabilities (wow pows) in fact DON'T move forward.

In other words, will the wow pows in series 2 characters had in Gants work in Swap Force? It's a good question since they ditched the S2 wow pow on S3 characters...would be nice to know if S2 character wow pows are intact in Swap Force. I'm thinking much like S1 characters didn't unlock Heroics in Giants I'm betting S2 characters will lose functionality in the latest game.

If they in fact programmed series 2 character wow pows to be in this game, then they are truly living up to their claim.

S2 Wow Pows will probably work for the S2 figure in Swap Force, but not the S1 or S3. I think it's a novel idea, for one reason alone.

It makes S2 figures that have S3 counterparts, unique. I mean, let's say this game gets so big, they add online tournaments or people host tournaments. That means player 1, who wants to use a Spyro that's different than player 2's Spyro, can battle using a totally unique Spyro. At first the idea seemed kind of meh. However, when you think about it, it means there's a reason to own a S2 and S3 Spyro.

This also means that when two players play as Spyro in Swap Force, one can use one Wow Pow, while the other uses their Wow Pow, making both characters slightly different during gameplay.

I do think, though, that S2 characters will get their Wow Pows in Swap Force. If they didn't, that would be crappy, and it means battles and COOP would suck, if one was using a S2 Spyro, while another was using a S3 Spyro.

I agree. Your comment sparked something I had not previously considered when they showed a new (but replaced) wow pow...so I do in fact hope they do as you suggest...

Total waste, IMO. The only lightcores we have are the Giants. And even most of those are pretty lame. I mean, if they are going to light up, then light the heck out of them to make them REALLY stand out.

Most of the Giants are great... other than Hothead, Thumpback and Eyebrawl.

My kids were not interested in getting any of the LCs. The only LC that we have is the Legendary Lightcore Chill, but I got that one because she's a legendary vs being a lightcore. TFB should have did more work to make the LCs more compelling to purchase.

I like having the lightcores. I didn't know about losing the pow wows since I haven't studied the differences between all types of characters enough. But those lightcores can come in handy, sometimes, especially in nightmare mode. There have been many times that I've been surrounded and the only way out was to use the lightcore. Even if you die, the game would usually put your new Skylander right in the middle, again. I've lost a many Skylanders in battles such as that. We only had one lightcore for the longest time, and we would always save him for the end of the level, or what we thought was the toughest battle of the level. We now have a couple more. We have a LC Shroomboom and we ended up getting a S2 Shroomboom when we bought the dragonfire cannon. I was tempted to just sell the S2 Shroomboom, and my son agreed.

One funny story about LCs, my son and I had made it to the end of the last level on Nightmare mode and we had lost all of our Skylanders. It was past his bedtime, so I put him to bed. I, being so frustrated that we made it so close to the end, decided to dig out a LC Shroomboom that I had put away for his birthday. I knew it wouldn't last long, since he hadn't been leveled up, but I thought it was worth a shot. So I put him on the portal and the LC power was enough to defeat Kaos, so I ended up beating the game by just putting the LC on the portal Of course, even at 4 years old, he realized that someone had used Shroomboom on the game and wondered how he got there. My wife kept having to play it off that the game must have somehow listed him as one of his Skylanders because he got the soul gem. I don't think he ever bought it

^Smart kid.

I think that the in-game appearance is interesting. Shroomboom and his glowing eye are fairly annoying, but Jet-Vac's glowing chest-plate is pretty neat.

I bought a few just to see what they would do. Pick up Drobot L/C to open the HC. We're still waiting for Series 2 in Canada.

Is it true that the LC drains the batteries alot? A mother said that they do. They go thru alot using them.

If you haven't bought one now then you're in luck because they usually are on sale and can be had for less than their 11.99 retail. Not sure if they were a success for Acti/TFB because their S2 counter parts are cheaper and have the sought after wow pow. Non-collectors just purchase the S2 version if given the choice.

(Off topic) I just wish Acti/TFB released more games to play with the current collection. We are excited for SF but would not hesitate to purchase other games for Giants and SA if they were available. It's a question we will ask TFB when we visit their HQ in July.

(back on topic) yeah we purchased all the current LCs...including HEX on preorder.

Quote: stitchmaker

I bought a few just to see what they would do. Pick up Drobot L/C to open the HC. We're still waiting for Series 2 in Canada.

Is it true that the LC drains the batteries alot? A mother said that they do. They go thru alot using them.

I have never used lightcores on a wireless portal but I have heard that they do drain batteries from multiple sources. Right now I would just hold out on getting a new portal as you will need the new one for Swap Force.

Quote: CTFdad

(Off topic) I just wish Acti/TFB released more games to play with the current collection. We are excited for SF but would not hesitate to purchase other games for Giants and SA if they were available. It's a question we will ask TFB when we visit their HQ in July.

Thanks! I've always said they got TOO MANY toys and NOT ENOUGH content. Glad to hear someone else feels the same way I do. Given their propensity to REDUCE chapters on each game...I feel they really do need two major releases for each set of characters they release. They can even call it part 1 and part of a saga as far as I'm concerned--or a separate adventure with the same guys.

I think it all depends on the character. Re-posed LightCores have all the limitations people keep discussing, and the loss of a Wow Pow is huge from an in-game perspective. On the other hand, obviously LightCore Chill is superior to plain Chill; you get the same exact character with a LightCore explosion, and Wow Pows are never an issue. Re-posed LightCores are kind of pointless, I agree, but LightCores of various Newlanders are technically their best versions, so it's not like there's no gameplay upside to having them.

^I keep forgetting first time release characters don't have wow pows...excellent point.