[Ranylyn]

Not sure I understand what you're getting at, Ran. Why does it matter if you hit the softcap with your APT? The max contracts is determined by base Faith, and it isn't a diminishing effect. 5 Base Faith = 1 Youkai slot, regardless of what your total is.

Not from my experience, it's not. I've had 42 faith (0 + 35 + aptitude) which should have been enough for 7 extra Youkai, and I only had 6 extras. To be fair, I haven't checked lately (Faith is generally my lowest priority as a GS, since I often find Judgment Blade + Soul Chains to be too much of an SP investment to take, and take too long to properly set up - and characters who actually need faith for things based on other classes generally have more than the softcap anyways) but this is what I saw last time. I could be wrong. My memory is good, but not perfect. But this is what I seem to remember.

This thread came up because of the fact that I was working on a Lupine summoner; between aptitude not counting towards any traits (Lupines have 1 base will, meaning 14 points (or 11 points and 3 traits) need to be spent to unlock Exceptional Will, regardless of Aptitude/Sanctity/Faith to contribute to FP) not having the stats to contract any Youkai because of pumping aptitude, and seeing, "Yeah, I have 30 faith and only have 4 extra slots from it instead of the 6 I'd have had if I had spent 10 more in faith instead of 43 in Aptitude" made me just go "This is actually kind of painful and unpleasant."

I get it. You don't want to make aptitude too good. You don't want people to be able to pump apt to easily get every worthwhile trait, and then have points left over to put more points elsewhere. I understand 100%. But as it stands right now, Aptitude can be the greatest suffering to trying to get a new build off the ground to test things. You need aptitude as early as you can get it for the bonus experience, but you also set up roadblocks in your own path by doing so, for a time, by being unable to have what you need to really get the ball rolling.

(Also, because someone will inevitably go "Ran, just slap summoner on at 60 like the rest of the summoners and stop trying to play them from the ground up," I will pre-emptively say "Roleplay. I refuse to be OOC for several LEs and then just come out of the woodwork as an amazing fighter. The training and struggles are part of the character.&quot


I think the trait revamp could be a good place to start, rather than changing Apt directly, if that's on your "to-do list' (and of course it is; the traits still use the old, Pre-GR menus; I think we all knew it was coming eventually) so I'm willing to wait to see how that goes before pushing for any real change. HOWEVER! Could the Youkai requests before joining (specifically the stat based ones, like how sturdy, faithful, assertive, etc, you are) be changed to be totals and not bases, at least? Because yeah, aptitude makes it hell to get youkai unless you're already a high level.