Connecting with Anima Trees not worth it?

[-HoK- Cian]

I don't really complain much about this game. However, I feel like the Anima Tree functionality from the Royalty DLC just isn't worth it. Spending 4-5 hours a day "pruning" to maintain the tree is kind of broken. There are 100 other things more important that need to be done in those 4-5 hours per in-game day.

[Quill]

It's free Psylinks

You just Meditate at a tree and it grows grass

[Khan Boyzitbig of Mercia]

Anima trees give psylink abilities far faster than any other method and any tribal colonist can contribute to the growing of the grass which is faster the more people are meditating there. Having your entire colony use psy powers is really strong.

[Garatgh Deloi]

Originally posted by -HoK- Cian:

I don't really complain much about this game. However, I feel like the Anima Tree functionality from the Royalty DLC just isn't worth it. Spending 4-5 hours a day "pruning" to maintain the tree is kind of broken. There are 100 other things more important that need to be done in those 4-5 hours per in-game day.

You don't prune the anima tree (its not a dryad tree). You meditate (also recharging your psyfocus and counts as a form of recreation).

Also, i was honestly not aware that it needed to be "maintained" in anyway? As far as i know mediating just makes more anima grass grow (grow enough of it and you can improve someone's psy level), but the grass doesn't go away if you stop, does it?

[Khan Boyzitbig of Mercia]

The grass does have a lifespan and will die eventually, not that it matters much as it is consumed when making a psylink.

[Ranix]

sounds like you're mistaking it for the Gauranlen tree which needs several hours of pruning a day but makes sick dryads

the woodmaker dryads make a TON of wood. The berrymaker dryads make a TON of food. Same with the herbal medicine dryads. The carrier dryads are good to switch to when you have an over surplus of the material you're using that tree for, just switch it to carrier until you need more wood or whatever.

I have a baseliner with a circadian implant that makes her never need to sleep and two harvest hand bionics. A bionic heart helped offset the consciousness penalty. She shot straight to Plants 20 and is the best planter in my colony now.

I'm serious those wood dryads make a lot of wood, for awhile I was using them to run my base on chemfuel biofuel from wood.

I could probably sustain an entire colony on only those trees. With enough wood you could make wood armor and statues for export and just buy cloth and leather.

[MadArtillery]

Are you thinking gaurlen tree from ideology? They are pretty good and you can get that prune time wayyyy down. Effected by global work speed so just shove a very neurotic or industrious on there with a tree connection ideology and you can seriously get some spam going. 180%+ pruning speed even without maxed plant skill pretty easy and manipulation and consciousness don't matter so halfcyclers ftw! Dryads are temp agnostic, ignores toxic fallout and only have $1 value each so wealth free defense. Multiple trees per pawn of course, got dudes running three each that still have time to research after. Neurosis pulse from anomaly also boost it!

The actual anima tree, mediation for psylinks are pretty good, generally just have the whole colony meditate one hour a day with it centralized in my base. Ez way to max out the later half of psicaster level.

[-HoK- Cian]

Yeah maybe im thinking of the Gaurlen Tree. Either way, pruning takes quite a bit of time it seems like.

[Choosechee]

I think the best use for a gaurenlen tree is for pawns that aren't that useful. Sometimes you end up getting a couple pawns that don't do much, and you can have them prune a gaurenlen tree so they can provide some benefit.

[MadArtillery]

Originally posted by -HoK- Cian:

Yeah maybe im thinking of the Gaurlen Tree. Either way, pruning takes quite a bit of time it seems like.

Possible to get it down to about 2 hours a day per tree. Not too much time really. A good rest effectiveness bed, maybe less sleep or no sleep genes/half cycler, you can get a lot of hours out of day. Not sure what the absolute minimum prune time can get to with all the new anomaly ways of boosting global workspeed and/or with something like wakeup. Wouldn't be surprised if it was 1 hour or less a day. Usually I'm pretty happy by 2.5-2.7 hours and don't minmax it that hard.

[AldouzTek]

Btw does a pawn with field hand affect pruning speed?

[MadArtillery]

Originally posted by AldouzTek:

Btw does a pawn with field hand affect pruning speed?

I haven't tested it and pretty sure it doesn't effect pruning as it's a seperate work type.

[Hoki]

it does. pruning relies on plant working speed. field hand increases that specific stat.

workspeed in general works just as well. you can give the linked pawn drugs that increase manipulation and itll speed up pruning as well.

[MrRober95]

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3334448055

[MadArtillery]

Originally posted by Hoki:

it does. pruning relies on plant working speed. field hand increases that specific stat.

workspeed in general works just as well. you can give the linked pawn drugs that increase manipulation and itll speed up pruning as well.

Plant work speed isn't what pruning uses though, it uses the pruning speed stat. If you check any colonists stat sheet they have a unique variable for pruning.

Anyway there isnt really a physical component to the pruning, that's why a brain damaged pawn without arms prunes the same speed as an archeotech. Plant work speed is affected by manipulation so def not using that.

[Drazhya]

My issue with gauranlen trees is that an optimized gauranlen pawn doesn't feel like a pawn anymore. A crafter at least has production targets and resource requirements - a good gauranlen pawn with a half-cycler and everything is so disconnected from everything, just tending the grove all day every day.

The new rework mod has a different problem of the trees being so disconnected from your pawns. You link to them, put up a few shrines and then you can basically forget about them (except for using combat dryads) and they'll keep throwing up big piles of resources.