Generators are weapons that can create other weapons. At first, they seem to be a miracle, because you are capable of getting an infinite number of weapons. However, upon further inspection, it turns out that most of the generators available are pretty bad.
Why are generators usually bad?
A generator is only good if the weapons that it produces deal a lot of icons. Nowadays, a good standard for the minimum number of icons a weapon should deal is around 7. This means that, at worst, a generator should average 7 icons per turn. Most generators do not average more than 7 because it takes one turn to use the generator, and another turn to use the weapon that was generated. It takes two turns just to use a weapon that actually deals icons! There are countless awful generators out there, so I will list only the ones worth mentioning and possibly worth buying.
Hubrids Odial Sphere
This item will generate one random Hidden Tower item, but at the cost of half your current hit points every time you use it. Half your hit points? Even if you generated Jhudora The Dark Faerie Doll, it wouldn't be worth it. Stay away from this.
Aisha Myriad
This is just like Hubrids Odial Sphere, except that it does not takes away your hit points, and it is only available once per battle. For its cost, it is very bad, but for the ones who can afford it, it makes for some interesting battles.
Bag of Sand
Mathematically, this weapon is very bad. It either deals 6 icons, deals 7 icons, or generates a Super Sand Grain (11 icons). Since it took two turns to generate the 11-icon weapon, we are actually averaging 5.5 icons per turn. On average, this weapon will deal 6.166 icons per turn. What a horrible weapon for its price! You are much better off buying an Ice Club or Stone Club.
Jar of Spiders
This magical jar generates 1 to 3 Scary Spiders per turn, each of which deals 11 icons. When this weapon was tested, it was found to generate an average of 1.5 Scary Spiders per turn. That means that you would deal 16.5 icons on two turns, or 8.25 icons per turn. Buying a weapon that deals 9 constant icons is cheaper and more reliable.
Hat of the Muffin Man
Do you know the Muffin Man? With his hat, you can generate 1 to 4 Muffins per turn. About half the Muffins that you generate will deal 15 icons each, which is excellent. The average icons dealt if all muffins are used is around 10.8. There are two bad things that can happen, though: 1) Jelly Muffin can attack you instead of your opponent, and 2) Poison Muffin can make your pet sick. However, since these are nearly extinct and any remaining ones will be incredibly expensive, I do not recommend going out of your way to get one of these.
Box of Clockwork Grundos
This is the best generator available, despite its extremely high price. It generates 1 to 4 Clockwork Grundos per turn (excluding Rainbow Clockwork Grundo). Each Clockwork Grundo deals 15 icons. On average, 2.46 Grundos are generated per turn. How many icons this deals on average is hard to calculate because it generates more Grundos than can be selected per turn. If I had to choose a generator to get, I'd get this one, since it's the most powerful, and the icon types of the Grundos are very different and hard to block.
Final Observation
Most of the time, generators are very bad. It's usually better to stick with weapons that deal constant icons, like Stone Club and Ice Club, two excellent weapons for their prices. If you really do want a generator, try to get a Box of Clockwork Grundos, but watch out for its heavy pricetag.
Edited by shin, 28 October 2006 - 07:43 PM.
