darkSpyro

New Companion named Rufus. Decreases collection times for houses and community buildings. Cost 3500 gems!

Pretty sure he's not worth that much, but what else am I going to do with the gems?

Also saw a new flash screen:
"Keep increasing your level to take part in monthly timed events and gain access to new items"
Not sure whether this is really something new, or just a reminder that you can get new items at higher levels.

I just wish he could reduce Quigley's waiting time so you could send him out every hour instead of 2 hours.

Yep, Quigley is the biggest limiting factor, I find myself at times not collecting due to him not being up and I don't have time to get everything - I'm not exactly wanting my masses of stone slab houses to pop up even faster. Heck, even when he is up it's a pain waiting for them all to be collected - definitely the most tedious part of the game that needs streamlining (collecting then sending Skylanders back on the same mission again would also be helpful). They need to sell a bike upgrade for him that eliminates his cooldown, like Beatress works now. I can't see myself blowing that many gems on that and people that have the gems to blow are probably already 45 and the reward is pretty much just more gems.

Pass until he is heavily discounted or I have nothing else to buy and gems to blow.

I'll have to pass on him for now. 3500 gems is too much for me and and I'm saving up my gems for when Fiznik comes back.

I'm at 3,350 and have Fiznik so I'll probably get him soon

I would not value Rufus much more then i would Willowbark . I have better uses for 3500 gems thank you.

trying to debate on getting this guy. could anyone tell me once you cap off at level 45. can you refill your max level to acquire gems/bonus, if so, whats the rate?

Yes you get a bunch of gems and wishstones when you refill your max level I believe .

15 Gems and 8 Wishstones beyond level 45 .

Quote: defpally

Yep, Quigley is the biggest limiting factor, I find myself at times not collecting due to him not being up and I don't have time to get everything - I'm not exactly wanting my masses of stone slab houses to pop up even faster. Heck, even when he is up it's a pain waiting for them all to be collected - definitely the most tedious part of the game that needs streamlining (collecting then sending Skylanders back on the same mission again would also be helpful). They need to sell a bike upgrade for him that eliminates his cooldown, like Beatress works now. I can't see myself blowing that many gems on that and people that have the gems to blow are probably already 45 and the reward is pretty much just more gems.

Pass until he is heavily discounted or I have nothing else to buy and gems to blow.

I think I agree with passing until he's discounted. It's off topic, but since you mention it to me the most tedious part of the game is manually reloading the houses, sanctum/sanctuaries and balloons. I can press quigley and let him go--that doesn't bother me too much. I usually press him and beatrees and then go about loading all of the other stuff up while they collect. By the time I'm done, usually so are they.

I'm waiting for a big discount as shortening collection times by a few minutes won't do much for me. I only check 2-4 times in an average day (maybe more on Super Tuesday), so most of the times wouldn't matter to me, especially not 3500 gems worth, maybe 350...

On the topic of tediousness, sending the balloons back out, loading houses, and filling sanctuaries drives me nuts. I start by sending Quigly and Beastrees to collect, then make a quick sweep for totems, chompy pods and sugar bats, then collect from houses, balloons and sanctuaries and resend if I feel up too it. Sometimes I beat Quigley and Beastrees and sometimes I still have to wait. It would be nice to have an automatic redo button or something to make the houses, balloons and sanctuaries faster.

What it should do is pop up a screen that says resend "x" on this mission? With yes and no buttons. If yes, then you're off. Otherwise you go to the selection screens. It would work for each balloon/house/sanctuary individually but it would be MUCH quicker than having to rescan through the skylanders of a particular element to find the one you want.

At least they could set it up so the selection screen defaulted to the last character sent, but it doesn't even do that...

I don't see Rufus as worth 3500, but as HappyGamer said, I have lots of gems with nothing else to buy. He really is for upper-level players. For those who are in the last few levels where leveling can be tedious. Most of us have lots of gems. I still have over 4000 after buying Rufus. About the only thing I thought about buying with them were B&Bs and Windmills, but I figured there would be another high priced companion. I'm glad I waited. There may not be another one for a while, so I'm pretty sure I'll save up quite a bit before then. I can't say for sure, but I would say sometime after Trap Team is released and they make updates relating to it.

Quote: dark52

There is a lovely quest reward from Rufus that might help completionists.

I haven't finished it, yet, but hopefully not just the picnic table.

Quote: obidawsn

Quote: dark52

There is a lovely quest reward from Rufus that might help completionists.

I haven't finished it, yet, but hopefully not just the picnic table.

Nope, won't spoil the surprise, but it's something we've all been wanting.

Tell me it's that Valentine's Building that came once long ago and never returned, and I'll buy him. Don't quite have enough gems yet, but I should before the week is out.

Quote: dark52

There is a lovely quest reward from Rufus that might help completionists.

Can you PM me with this reward? I don't care if I'm spoiled!

Yeah, could someone PM and tell me too? I'm on the fence about Rufus and that might push me over. I have like 3,460 gems thanks to Diggs and the gem mine.

Sorry if I am a spoilsport but I don't consider these things to be a spoiler...the prize is Valentine's House.

Awwww! Now you've gone and ruined it! Just kidding!
I was tempted to say, but didn't want to give away someone else's secret. Nice clue Dark52 "LOVELY " reward indeed!

Edit: As an afterthought: I wonder whether this means they'll be offering the Valentine's House in store sometime soon?

That's what I'm going to hope for...

I have almost 17,000 gems and even I don't know if it's worth it.

With 17,000 gems, does it matter if it's worth it? What are you going to save them for?

Wow Portal Master jmarquis is like the Bill Gates of Lost Islands .

I just reached the 3500 mark, so can now buy Rufus, but with nothing left over, so I haven't pulled the trigger yet. Even at that, I'm wondering what else I'm saving them for!

Ok - I bought Rufus! I'm now gem-poor. A more serious player would have waited for a sale or timed quest or something, but it's a game, and I'm having fun.

Quote: HappyGamer

With 17,000 gems, does it matter if it's worth it? What are you going to save them for?

Well, I guess kinda for emergencies. I missed the first sanctuary upgrade due to a glitch and had to shell out 1,200 gems for it.

Quote: jmarquis

Quote: HappyGamer

With 17,000 gems, does it matter if it's worth it? What are you going to save them for?

Well, I guess kinda for emergencies. I missed the first sanctuary upgrade due to a glitch and had to shell out 1,200 gems for it.

OK, I get that, but if you're like me, you can easily earn over 100 gems per day, so you can afford to upgrade your sanctuary each month anyway. Unless there are other things you're waiting to buy with gems, I'd say just go for it. I had about 9000 gems and didn't think twice because I already have all the other companions, characters, houses, etc. I don't even bother activating sanctuaries any more unless I need to for a quest. I figure I can still buy another couple big ticket items before I have to start ramping up production again.

The Valentine's House isn't really that great of a prize, but I'm glad they made a way to get it, even if it is through an expensive companion. Maybe they heard all our complaints about it not being available, and since they missed the opportunity to offer it for Valentine's Day, they found another way. It just doesn't seem to fit, though. Will this be the only way they will offer it? Even though it's not that great of a house, for those of us who are completionists, it's a very sought out item. By only offering it through Rufus, it still holds its value, somewhat.

Got Rufus on day-one and didn't even realize one of his first quest rewards was a Valentine's House until got it. It was a nice surprise, since it was the only item I didn't already have. Looks good next to Cupid Flameslinger's Hut.

What does a Valentines House do ?

It's just a pretty building. Gives experience and gold.

Oh i like pretty things that give gold and xp .

How does the payout compare to other houses? And does it pay out gems too?

It's just a regular house, not a character house or anything. It really isn't that great of one, either. It pays out 321 xp and 60 gold every hour, so not much. It might have been something great when it first came out (which was early in the game), but not anymore. I'm not sure what price it was originally (or even if you could buy it from the store), but it's definitely not worth the 3500 gems it takes to buy Rufus. However, for those higher level people who like collecting everything, it has become a prized possession, and they are the ones more than likely that have 3500 gems lying around. It's just not like paying high gems for a companion and getting a high-priced building or like when we got 2 Earth Shrines from Birthday Bash.

Quote: obidawsn

It's just a regular house, not a character house or anything. It really isn't that great of one, either. It pays out 321 xp and 60 gold every hour, so not much. It might have been something great when it first came out (which was early in the game), but not anymore. I'm not sure what price it was originally (or even if you could buy it from the store), but it's definitely not worth the 3500 gems it takes to buy Rufus. However, for those higher level people who like collecting everything, it has become a prized possession, and they are the ones more than likely that have 3500 gems lying around. It's just not like paying high gems for a companion and getting a high-priced building or like when we got 2 Earth Shrines from Birthday Bash.

Thanks. I guess I'll pass then.