darkSpyro

Okay on the last 1/2 off all companions I went crazy,. I bought all the ones my free gems let me. Here is what I do not have - Flynn, Arbo, Cherry, Avril, Rufus, Fiznik, Tesla, Ol' Mac (basically the ones all expensive or not availabe). Now they released light and dark but I have not bought a single shrine yet. I am a free player and I use Moleskin market daily, I collect from toy link towers about 3-4 times a day if the element is not light and dark, I get the free gem from the roaming guy, and I have one of each swap force maxed so I always get two gems from the bats. With all this going on I get about 50 gems a day on average. I am back up to almost 700 gems after hitting almost 0 during the sale. Which would you do save for a companion next or buy the shrines? I am leaning on saving for companions and wait for a half off sale and getting Ol' Mac first followed by Arbo followed by Flynn. Is there any flaw in my thinking?

No flaw . Wait for a 50 % discount .

I am saving up for either a dragon house or companion or perhapos a giant or alter ego house ?

It depends on where you are. Shrines give you a bonus on gold and crops, but only on the element of the day and if you're using, of course, that element of crops and characters. Since there aren't many Light/Dark characters (or none if you don't have the figures to link them), then the shrines are pretty pointless, right now. I bought one of each, but only because I had a lot of gems and didn't mind buying them just to have them (plus, I believe, there was a timed quest for them...not that the prize was worth the gems if you didn't have them to waste). It's always good to save up for gem producing items (giant/alter ego houses/huts, etc.) first. Legendary houses are the best (if you have the Legendaries to put in them) as they're only 200 wish stones. After that, it's hard to say. Getting giant houses that can take more than one (i.e. Tree Rex that has a regular, variant, and sidekick) is helpful, though not as much if you have your characters maxed and since giants aren't as valuable, now, as Swappers and Trap Masters. I would wait on Dragon Lairs and Dark Houses. They are great, but quite expensive. If you happen to get them on a 50% sale (and especially more than that), it might be worth it, but beyond that, it's better to get other houses. HQ's and bird houses aren't worth getting, either, as their payouts are low.

If you want to save up for a companion, Cherry and Avril are practically worthless. Depending on how often you play will make it depend on if Flynn or Arbo are worth it. The same goes for Rufus, though he only affects collection times of houses, so not really worth getting early on. The same goes for Fiznik. He is worth it to get double xp (definitely more than Rufus), but only after you have enough gem producing items/companions. Ol' Mac may be the only one worth having, especially if you have a problem with energy. I like having Flynn and Arbo, but they're only worth it if you play often enough to make the shorter times worth it. Tessa is only good if you're islands are getting maxed out, but you need mabu to get the higher community buildings. So, for the most part, Tessa and Fiznik are great companions, but mainly for higher level players.

All that may sound confusing as I'm just writing as it randomly pops in my head, but I hope that helps.

I would say Ol' Mac if he is on sale (or if he is even available). All of your energy problems would go away with him.

Otherwise my opinion would be to get Cherry (on sale preferably). I like having the extra wish stones to throw into the well, as I usually end up getting a few Fisheries and B&Bs even after winning the monthly alter ego. If you do have lots of shrines to generate wish stones (or all of the alter egos), I could see why people don't think she's that valuable.

Shrines are the better way to generate wish stones. Once you have enough shrines, your wish stone "problem" goes away and you will recognize those elemental totems for the time sinking plague that they are.

obidawsn tells it true and tells it well!

Cherry is nice early on, but really annoying later on( you just don't ever need 3000 wish stones) I don't even clear my totems anymore. I would make sure that you have all your shrines, 3each. You can win more, but you can't buy more. Then you are ensured gold and wish stones

I agree that ol Mac and Arbo are probably your best "priority"