Poll: Expendable/Limited Use Items

[Saelune]

Expendable items, or ones with limited use. Things like potions, or items that after being used however many times breaks or becomes worthless.

Do you use them? Why? Why not? What compels you to use or not use them, and what makes one different than another for you?

I ask because I am the type to almost never use them unless they are clearly abundant, and even then I may have some reservations. Even using Pokeballs in early Pok?mon games I worry about running out, Later games its not so bad cause I know I can easily get more money forever, but I always fear in old ones I will run out of money sources.

I rarely use healing potions, or utility potions like increased strength or some such. A lot of games are probably harder than they should be for me because of this though.

And limited use items, well...I'm stuck in the "I might need it more later" mentality. That Ring of Sacrifice in Dark Souls? Well, sure I could use it to avoid losing my 100,000 souls...but what if later I might lose 200,000 or 500,000?

(I am preparing for DnD tomorrow and rolling magic items, and avoiding potions cause I know my party wont use them, nor would I if I was a player, but that's what compelled me to make this topic)

 

[Asita]

Spoiler: Me in a Nutshell

Ever play Final Fantasy VIII? I hoarded my Phoenix Pinions. You know, those very rare items that you could use to revive your party...and that you WANTED to use because then there would always be a 1/4 chance that your party would automatically revive when you had a total party kill?

 

[Pirate Of PC Master race]

No.
I am better than this.
The game - BY DESIGN - must be beatable without the use of said item. It I can't, then it must be because I lack skills.
And I refuse to believe that I suck that much.
> Load save until me or game breaks.

It it by those principles that I don't use them.

2nd play-though? I know I am good enough. Time to use all of those items at right moments for conveniences.

 

[FalloutJack]

Final Fantasy VIII?

I am very much aware of all the problems in that game (including items), yes.

But to continue more onto topic...

I tend to use items as needed, or just because they're quicker, or because I want to save MP/SP because magic doesn't grow on tress (usually). There are some amusing moments of item usage that I can recall, though.

Final Fantasy 5 - This game had a thing where you could gain a number of summon items that did not use SP, stuff that anybody could use. So, I don't remember the means by which it happened, but I got a bunch of Bahamut summon items, saved them for the end-boss, and just kept casting them at him. Bahamut is non-elemental damage, so there is pretty much no resisting him.

Persona Games - Actually, this could be any RPG game, but I remember it more specifically here. Anytime a character didn't have the right kind of damage I needed, especially in a boss fight or in the case of a weird immunity in the enemy, I'd have them dip into my cache of one-use damage items so they wouldn't be basically useless in battle and drag it out.

Final Fantasy 5, 6, 7 - All the occasion where there is a Throw command available, I sacrifice the useless equipment that I might have excess of because I already have money from many successful battles. I don't always use Throw-only items, strangely enough.

Final Fanyasy X - Phoenix Downs on the undead. Cure kills zombie and this has been down before, and sometimes I do that, but FFX is oddly the game where they put a damage code on the Phoenix Down use, and not a hit or miss. So, you know that dragon you fight in the airship and then later encounter while underwater? I assume that there must've been a more drawn-out action to go on in that area, but I murdered it quickly and went on my merry way. It was so easy.

 

[WhiteFangofWhoa]

Sure, if I know I can buy more later.

Rare unbuyable things like Megalixirs in Final Fantasy or Beads of Life in SMT I will usually hoard because, say it with me now, 'I Might Need It Later' (tm). On repeat playthroughs this isn't a problem, since I know exactly which bosses I will need them for.

 

[Silverbeard]

I think games likes Witcher 3 or XCOM 2 managed to strike the right balance between expendable and limited use equipment. In the case of the former, all potions are limited use but can be replenished easily and virtually anywhere. In the case of the latter, all items in combat are limited use (usually only one or two charges apiece) but get replenished at the end of the mission. A good balance!
For my part, I usually ascribe to the 'Use from the ground up' approach in RPGs. I'll always use the least powerful item or spell I can for the situation. If that means using a dozen early tier healing items when I could do the job with one high level healing item... so be it!

 

[jklinders]

Mimic beacons in XCOM 2. I have on solid authority that they are amazing, but I cannot bring myself to use them because of the relative scarcity of resources in the game. If I develop a playstyle that is too dependent on their use and I run out of faceless corpses to make them from then I'm screwed.

now flashbangs I can be talked into using as they are renewable. medkits, hell yeah, but not mimic beacons.

 

[Lightspeaker]

Yeah, I'm a hoarder. If I can't easily replace something then I'm likely to never use it.

Last time I played Skyrim I had to start forcing myself to use potions that were relevant to the situation otherwise I would literally never use potions outside of healing/mana potions.

And Final Fantasy games are the worst. I always end up with big stocks of stuff like Elixirs because I'll never use them. The sole exception being in one-off super-boss fights. Like in Final Fantasy VIII I remember refining a card into a pile of Holy Wars and then blowing through most of them on Ultima Weapon.

Other than that, though, never.

 

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

Yeah, I use 'em, but only when absolutely necessary. I wouldn't, for example, drop a Mantis (an Ultra Rare card) into a Halo Warzone game just to put the hurt on an enemy team that was already 50 points behind, but if we were playing through a Firefight and my team were on the final push and facing three Swarmlord Hunters for the match then yeah, sure.

 

[Wrex Brogan]

I tend to use potions, pp/mp/sp restore items, even a few limited-turn battle items in some RPGs. For the rarer stuff like Mega-Elixirs or single-use spell casting items or what-have-you I... honestly often sell them. Outside of some very limited scenarios, I never end up using them anyway so it's better to just hock 'em for some cash than having them sit around in my bank all the time.

Honestly always annoyed me in the Pokemon series how the Ethers/Elixirs never sold for much. Then again given how hard it is to run out of PP in those games I can understand why - who'd want an item that only restores 10 PP when Pokemon Centres/healing NPCs are literally everywhere?

 

[happyninja42]

Depends on the item in question really. Things like healing/mana potions, yeah I use them as needed. Things like grenades however, I tend to shy away from in most games. Using a grenade means you are "going loud", and I usually avoid going loud if the game has a stealth element. And since going stealth (my preferred style), usually means you avoid damage, the need to consume items is minimized. Plus I usually go for gear/perks that let me regenerate over time, or replenish my resources from game resources. For example, the ability with Bone Charms in Dishonored, to replenish your health/mana by drinking water. If I can build my character to be totally self-sufficient, I tend to go that way.

I will usually sell off the excess items in that case, and keep a minimal amount needed for emergencies.

 

[Borty The Bort]

My game of XCOM in a nutshell. I have 1 medkit left. My best Assault,Major Groceries needs to be stabilised,otherwise he`s gone forever...but maybe someone else needs it if something happens later...

 

[zidine100]

Depends on the item, if we are talking about the basic healing pots then yeah I abuse the hell out of them, infact i go out of my way to get the max amount of them so I dont have to waste sp/mana healing my party. I also like to play using what i call the cockroach strategy and buy all the revive items I can, if you cant kill a party and they can still damage you i'ts all a matter of time after all.

If were talking about the rare potions, I tend to avoid them unless its absolutely necessary, for those moments when I cant beat a boss after numerous attempts necessary. As you can probably tell I usually dont use all of them and I hate myself when I do use them, as it just feels cheap.

In most games I usually just forgo the stat buff potions, there never usually needed and theres usually spells which have the same effect. I know theres healing spells/skills too in most games but you dont usually have to buff at every single encounter so they just feel a bit too situational to be worth the expense.

 

[busterkeatonrules]

I tend to do the VG Cats thing that Asita posted above, just hoarding the good stuff in case the next fight is even tougher - though I will, on occasion, throw one out there if it looks like the whole party is doomed anyway.

That said, reaching the final boss (and knowing that it IS the final boss) tends to be fun because I'll just spam the bugger with my entire, massive stockpile of awesome items I never dared to use before!

 

[Aerosteam]

Yes, I would use items but I might need them later.

But the thing is, I'm always like this, and end up completing the game without ever using an item.

 

[jklinders]

Mimic beacons in XCOM 2. I have on solid authority that they are amazing, but I cannot bring myself to use them because of the relative scarcity of resources in the game. If I develop a playstyle that is too dependent on their use and I run out of faceless corpses to make them from then I'm screwed.

now flashbangs I can be talked into using as they are renewable. medkits, hell yeah, but not mimic beacons.

Wait, but mimic beacons ARE renewable, right?

Not sure first hand. I know combat adrenals are not and mimic beacons are way stronger. If I'm wrong, I'll find out in my fresh new playthrough. Community guides strongly imply they are NOT renewable. They say to NEVER sell faceless corpses.

 

[The_Great_Galendo]

Like so many others, I'll almost certainly end the game with ever rare/unique item I ever get still in my inventory. On the other hand, provided I can Always Get More (i.e., they're sold in shops and money is effectively infinite if necessary), then I'll use items if necessary.

I still don't tend to use many one-shot, high-damage items, even if I can buy them. They're usually not enough bang for the buck. If I need to use one of these on a boss, I generally take it as evidence that I'm not strong enough to take down the boss yet.

I formed this theory on or around the time that my friend's much younger brother played through Lufia II and couldn't get past one boss no matter what he tried because he'd spent all his money on one-use items rather than buying the reuseable (and generally more powerful) magic spells. I forget if he had to restart the game entirely or just had to rack money for a long time to be able to buy the healing spells he needed to get past said boss, but either way it seemed like a valuable lesson. On the other hand, I'm kind of surprised he got as far as he did using nothing but consumable effects. I...wouldn't have thought he'd be able to get as far as he did without magic.

 

[baconsarnie]

I'll use them if i'm at max stock and i know i'll get more later.

Otherwise no.

Couldn't even bring myself to use enchanted weapons i found in skyrim (but what if i waste 1 of 100 charges on a bear or something, horror of horrors)

 

[Raddra]

I never use limited use items if theres no [controllable] way to get more.

Things you can buy like potions? Use em all the time. *I CAN GET MORE*.

Elixirs.. I might need them later...

And I can understand elixirs, they're amazingly powerful: they basically reset the fight in your favour.

But basic +x hp/mp? No way.

I'm currently playing through final fantasy tactics a2 and they made ethers unbuyable for some absurd reason (despite many classes getting infinitely spammable +mp abilities later). So I haven't used a single one.