darkSpyro

So some of the variants like Blue Bash seem to come with a higher starting level and some money already given to the figure. What I've been wondering though, are those experience points and $ values lost if you reset the figure? Is it just a 1-time offer per toy?

Yeah.

The translucent bash and drill sergeant are preset to be buffed up a tad. Idk why, honestly. Probably a slight incentive for buying the figure.
But once you reset it, it'll be completelt reset. Level 1, no money etc etc.

That is bizarre. Thanks for the info, folks. I didn't really want to test it out on my own figure.

It's actually not bizarre if you think about it. Neither the figure nor the game know whether or not it's a variant. They are just programmed to have some experiance and money... from the point of view of the code it will just look exactly the same as a character that has levelled-up that far and has earnt that much money. When you reset it the game doesn't know not to treat the figure the same way it treats all of them.

If TfB had really thought about it at the start they could have added a read only variable that would show whether or not a figure is a variant but I imagine the reason they didn't was because they decided to make variants after the game was already "gold" and therefore unchangable (well there's always patching but it's aparently very complex to patch for the Wii... though not actually impossible) so letting the figure know whether or not it is a variable would be relatively pointless. I'm hoping that variants in Giants will be flagged as such within the RFID chip. If the game can recognise whether a Skylander is a variant or not it should reduce the market in fraudulent variants. They wouldn't need to skin for them but it would be nice if there was a mark in the Skylander's stats that told you whether or not the character on the portal was a variant.

Should Giants variants look different in-game? You betcha...

The trouble is that by the time you find out it is most likely too late as the seller has your money.

I advocate that all variants also have special packaging.

Yeah, I'd rather see the variant colour difference show up in-game than get some money/level boost.
Really, what's the point if you'll be able to All-Attacks/Level 10 your Skylander sooner? Doesn't that just reduce the length of time you'll use that figure?
Whatever. I guess it's just a kid's game in the long run.

I'd love visible variations in-game, but they need to shore up holes in distribution first. Only if they were more readily available would there be any point to coding special aesthetics.

Personally, I find that the best thing about a variant is how hard they are to find. I've got both the Blue Bash and the Red Drill, but I have trouble justifying the purchase. When they become common, there's little reason to want them. The regular (fully painted) figures are better.

Quote: Capoeira

Personally, I find that the best thing about a variant is how hard they are to find. I've got both the Blue Bash and the Red Drill, but I have trouble justifying the purchase. When they become common, there's little reason to want them. The regular (fully painted) figures are better.

Wait in ten years. Theyll have their mark-up. Just like the pokemon games. $220 for an unopened blue version.