[Dimmie Dunce]

On Chronicals of Esshar, I've been focusing on builds that aren't the best persay- yet still quite viable. However I try to follow a certain style of theme, and for me a three course meal is the best sort of theme! For example, on Melora I can make the Metaphysical Trifecta! Gravity, Illusion, Time. And the build ends at 180 RPL with every single bar filled.

However....

I've found that making a trifecta with advanced magics that is functional and has a full bar by 180 RPL is only possible with the following:

Armed, Unarmed, Metaphysical, Ether, Holy & Occult.

Unarmed and Armed have the most bang for their buck at 20 RPL for Openers (Albeit, you technically don't NEED an armed style).
Metaphysical, Ether, Holy, & Occult are 30 RPP flat to adapt into the trees.

Then there's elemental spells. Attunement is 20 RPP, Openers for most are 30 RPP, with one being 20 RPP: Riptide.

So you're usually spending 50 RPP just to buy into these advanced trees (The Attunement, and the Opener). 

Whereas Metaphysical, Either, Occult, Holy, Unarmed and Armed are standalone that require no such attunement. Attunements give a basic +5 stat boost to either POW or VIT which is nice but, that's one slot of your bar that is unfilled for 20 RPP. Whereas for 10 RPP more you can have a damaging attack that is rather useful in the other fields.

Below, I'll list a few Build Combinations which are thematic and possible with Ether, Meta, Holy, Occult, Armed, Unarmed, and will not exceed 185 RPL.

The Master of Reality: Gravity, Time, Illusion
Gravity: - Compression (30), Push (10) = 40
Illusion: - Distort (30), Mind Fray (10), Darkness (10)  = 50
Time: - Decay (30), Transcendence (10), Wither (10), Accelerate (10), Time Heal (15), Time Beam - 15 = 90
Total = 180 RPL

Bar Slotted Spells: 10

Time & Space: Gravity, Time, Cosmic
Gravity: - Compression (30), Push (10) = 40 
Time: - Decay (30), Transcendence (10), Wither (10), Time Heal (15) = 65
Cosmic: - Meteor Dash (30), Star Rain (10), Invigorate (10), Nova Ray (10), Meteor (20) = 80
Total = 185 RPL

Bar Slotted Spells: 10

The Dragonball Z Fan: Unarmed, Energy, Gravity
Gravity: - Compression (30) = 30 
Unarmed: - Iron Fist (20), Jab (5), Weighted Punch (10), Assault (15), Flying Kick (15) = 65
Energy: - Force Wave (30), Constriction (10), Blue Shroud (10), Energy Shield (10), Energy Beam (10), Energy Burst (10) = 80
Total: 175 RPL

Bar Slotted Spells: 10

The Chosen One: Cosmic, Holy, Armed
Cosmic: - Meteor Dash (30), Astral Ambiance (10)= 40
Holy: - Light Orb (30), Guardian (10), Mend (10), Shield (10) = 60
Armed: - Dash Strike (15), Blade Style (5), Sweeping Cleave (10), Fatal Strike (15), Phantom Strike (15), Power Smash (15) = 75
Total: 175 RPL

Bar Slotted Spells: 10

Four builds I managed to create via the Esshar Cost Sheet in the Guides section, all of them below 200 RPL with the lowest ones being 175 RPL, all of them use 3 trees, and two of the trees are advanced magic only (Time & Space, Master of Reality). Now let's try to do the same thing with 3 Advanced ELEMENTAL magic trees. This criteria being the ones that require Earth, Fire, Air, or Water attunements, they have to end at 185 RPL like the above thematic builds and use 3 advanced or 2 advanced 1 armed or unarmed tree or 2 advanced and Occult or Holy

The Doctor: Bone, Blood, Nature
Earth: - Attunement (20) = 20
Water: - Attunement (20) = 20
Blood: - Scarlet Darts (30), Miasma (15), Bonds of Blood (5), Blood Pall (10) = 60
Nature: - Spores (30), Ingrain (20) = 50
Bone: - Reform (30) = 30
Total = 180 RPL

Bar Slotted Spells: 6

Explosive Finale: Explosion, Magma, Plasma
Fire: - Attunement (20) = 20
Plasma: - Strike (30), Tesla (15), Overcharge (15) = 60
Explosion: - Bang (30), Inferno (15), Pyroclasm (15) = 60 
Magma: - Slide (30), Aura (10) = 40
Total = 180 RPL

Bar Slotted Spells: 7


The Commando: Armed, Metal, Explosion
Fire: - Attunement (20), Flame Shroud (5) = 25
Explosion: - Bang (30), Inferno (15), Pyroclasm (15) = 60
Earth: - Attunement (10) = 20
Metal: - Lance (30), Binding Chains (10) = 40
Armed: - Dash Strike (15), Blade Style (5), Double Slash (5), Sweeping Cleave (10) = 35
Total = 180 RPL

Bar Slotted Spells: 8

Incandescent Shards: Ice, Crystal, Holy
Water: - Attunement (20) = 20
Ice: - Field of Ice (30), Winters Talons (10), Blizzard (15) = 60
Earth: - Attunement (20) = 20
Crystal: - Shardshot (30), Shimmering Javelin (15), Shardform (10) = 55
Holy: - Light Orb (30) = 30
Total = 180 RPL

Bar Slotted Spells: 6

These are only some theme ideas that I can come up with.

The game focuses on a Duo Theme for Elementals and Advanced Elements

Whereas for Ether, Metaphysical, Holy and Occult are supported for Trifecta themes.

Tbh, I really wanted to run an Occult/Ice/Nature build to really get the vibe of a dark, destructive and lonely sort of winter.
The sort of feel where the skies are pitched black, the cold is unrelenting, and you're lost in this maze-like forest.
But that isn't really possible.

There's still some nice duo themes you can do that are fun. But I prefer things coming in threes. 

My suggestion? Lower all openers for Advanced Elemental spells to either 10 or 20 RPP. That way it'll be 30-40 RPP to get into an advanced elemental trees including the 20 RPP Attunement. While keeping Metaphysical, Ether, Holy, and Occult trees at a flat 30 cost entry.

I'm not good at balance though. This is just an idea. /shrug. Someone more skilled with this can likely figure out a better idea.
Or maybe people prefer duos and I'm the exception!

[Peep 'Puff' Topia]

This is a bit facetious. Remove armed and unarmed and holy/cosmic/occult/illusion are all just as bad off.

In fact, elemental magic is actually vastly better to 'specialize'. Because, for Earth?

You can go Earth (20)

And go around 6 different specializations. Just in earth alone. Fire? Plasma/Explosion isn't hard to get into!

Holy/Occult? If you dare go shadow/light, you're trapped behind a wall of 'starter' costs that grant nothing. You really struggle to escape these trees once you're in them.

Armed/Unarmed are just overly cheap for their values in what they give, which is why they're used. If you don't want them? You're super out of luck.

[Dimmie Dunce]

This is a bit facetious. Remove armed and unarmed and holy/cosmic/occult/illusion are all just as bad off.

In fact, elemental magic is actually vastly better to 'specialize'. Because, for Earth?

You can go Earth (20)

And go around 6 different specializations. Just in earth alone. Fire? Plasma/Explosion isn't hard to get into!

Holy/Occult? If you dare go shadow/light, you're trapped behind a wall of 'starter' costs that grant nothing. You really struggle to escape these trees once you're in them.

Armed/Unarmed are just overly cheap for their values in what they give, which is why they're used. If you don't want them? You're super out of luck.

Give me an example. Because you've lost me.

I dropped a Plasma/Explosion/Magma build on there:

Fire: - Attunement (20) = 20

Plasma: - Strike (30), Tesla (15), Overcharge (15) = 60
Explosion: - Bang (30), Inferno (15), Pyroclasm (15) = 60 
Magma: - Slide (30), Aura (10) = 40
Total = 180 RPL

Bar Slotted Spells: 7

I'm talking about how thematic builds involving Advanced Magic outside of The Metaphysical, Holy, Occult, and Ether are stuck at 2 Trees to obtain a 10 bar ability.

Whereas just about any combination of the aforementioned trees can be fully built at 185 RPL with 3 trees involved.

Holy Light Cosmic? Sure I got you.

Holy: Light Orb (30), Guardian (10), Mend (10), Shield (10) = 60
Light: Lightspeed (20), Scattered Lights (15), Prisim Beam (15) = 50
Cosmic: Meteor Dash (30), Astral Ambience (10), Star Rain (10), Invigorate (10) = 60
Total Cost: 170 RPL

Abilities you can slot and use on your bar in combat: 10

I like to think everything feels rather viable as a playstyle in 3ternia. I'm not speaking about the 'meta'. I'm speaking about themes that can be built from 3 spell trees being combined. That above one could be called "Grossly Incandescent" etc. As a theme around a certain concept.

Give me a combination of three out of the following: Occult, Holy, Light, Shadow, Ether Magic or Metaphysical magic, and I honestly believe I can make a thematic build revolving around it, that fills up all 10 bar slots by 180-185 RPL.

Whereas if you try to do a Trifecta with Advanced Elements, you'll be 3-4 slots with basic essence abilities. By 180 rpl.

[Milly]

Holy, Illusion, Shadow....

[Dimmie Dunce]

Holy, Illusion, Shadow....

If you can have shadow with holy, lessee...
I dont see an aura on the guide for holy.. So Agony but here.

Holy: Light Orb (30), Guardian (10), Mend (10), Shield (10) = 60
Illusion: Distort (30), Darkness (10), Mind Flay (10), Clone (10) = 60
Shadow: Shadow Walk (20), Shadow Claw (15) = 35
Total = 155 RPL

Filled Slots: 10

Can cycle things out for intermediates in holy or illusion as well.
Though this implies that Holy and Shadow can be used together.
The theme?

"Of Light & Shadow" Or something Yin and Yang oriented, balance in all things, etc etc.
Although I don't approve of Holy and Occult combo

I like Cosmic + Light and Illusion + Shadow (Though that may be too costly would needa math it out) theme...

[The Friggen Sawbones]

I think reducing the entry spell cost for Elemental Branches (Bone, Riptide, blahblah) by 10rpp would help a bit. From 30 to 20 would allow for a lot more room.

Maybe making 15 the max a basic spell can cost. There's weird jumps in the trees, some cost 10 others cost 20. Albeit some of the 20rpp spells tend to be a lot stronger so this isn't as big of a deal.

[Peep 'Puff' Topia]

The moment you make openers easy to dip into you allow 'dipping' which is a greater cancer then anything else.

[Magik]

Dipping is already discouraged by way of applications and mentorship. And, besides, dipping does allow for more variety in characters.

It's not the best example, but team druid/witch have already faceplanted hard on their would-be builds due to semi-mandatory buy-ins and then it being too expensive to also tag into other things, for instance.

[Dimmie Dunce]

The moment you make openers easy to dip into you allow 'dipping' which is a greater cancer then anything else.

So we should only allow some trees to do dipping, essentially.

Are you telling me you can't make a cancerous and viable build out of these trees?:
Occult, Holy, Shadow, Light, Metaphysical (Gravity, Time, Illusion), Ether (Energy Cosmic).

Dipping is already possible my friend. Just not for the Elemental trees.

[Method T]

Tl;dr All elemental tree specializations require a minimum of 50 rpp to invest. (20 for atonement, 30 for opener). All meta/ether/alignment type trees require 30 to open, nothing else.

Therefore, dipping with elemental trees is not possible, but with non-elemental trees, it is viable.