SpellBooks?

I pick all the element books because they are not readily available in the game.  The Enchantment book is available in the tech tree.

Edit:  I should add, it's pretty much a no-brainer to take them all, which means it's not an "interesting choice", thus detracting from the game experience.  The magic system needs more work to differentiate between the elements and add resistances to the various types of magic.

I don't. With magic being as basic as it is, I haven't wanted to completely trivialize experiencing it by taking all the books and seeing it all in one game.

another useless hate post.  It sucks when someone asks a legitimate question, and someone replies with "I don't even bother with that 'coz the game sux! LOL!"

Weak.

Offense is best in the Air and Fire Trees while earth has a very useful lower land spell that removes mountains as barriers to city placement or exploration, but not much else frankly. Water just plain blows.

Enchantment costs 5 points but you get that book on your second or third magic level up, so skip it. Enchantment provides great defense spells (confusion ftw).

I don't think that's what he said; it sounds like he enjoys the game enough to play it multiple times, and simply wants a more unique experience per game.

The Gnilbert Mod allows you to research elemental books in the game and also fixes shards (as they don't currently work in 1.06) as well as several other interesting changes. Functional shards really are very helpful when playing as a magic based empire.

I find it strange that all the standard sovereigns have all the elemental books. They should cost more points, and you should be forced to pick 1 or 2 instead of getting them all. This would add some diversity to the game, something that it needs desperately.

Ever stop to think there might be some very good reasons for Elemental to get a sizable hatedom going?

Like....

Rushed launch

Broken mechanics

Total lack of balance

Crashes galore

Devolper Huburis

Inability to mail box copies on times (YES I'M STILL BITTER)

And so on and so forth.

I'd like to see the game limited to give one elemental spellbook to start with free 'well subtract 3 from starting points free' but each time you kill an enemy soverign you take his elemental book. Something more to mark the demise of the enemy faction.

Perhaps even the faction determines the book started with.  

Thanks for most of the replies, most were very helpful.

I take Fire for direct damage & the Level 3 Fire Giant Summon and Earth for the terraforming, Hurl Boulder & Level 4 Earth Giant, Enchantment (Damn you bioware, every time i read that word its in HIS voice )

The water/air spells have some nice additonal effects (Lose a turn/push back) but the fire ones do 2x the damage or cost less.

As far as the summons go, the Air & water ones are rubbish compared to the fire/earth imho, for example the Ice giant is a level 5 summons with approx the same stats as the fire/earth but has no spells, he does re-gen mana though. 

Exactly my feeling.  Why even bother have different books if everybody has them all?

I for one would LOVE if they made each school of magic more robust, and made choosing books a more tactical decision. As it currently stands, picking all the books 'because they are cheap' and due to low number of spells that mostly suck or are copies of each other really sucks a lot of fun out of the magic portion of the game.

Would also love to see champions come with a spell or ability unique to them and them only. Perhaps a nice 'pool' of skills, sort of like in MOM where every game heroes would spawn with some set skills, but had random 'picks' to add additional skills which were drawn from pools and based on their class.

The more legendary heroes (aka the best in the game) came with a stunning array of skills even at the starting levels!

Uniqueness = win!

Approx the same stats? Man, check again! The fire/earth golems have 17 attack, the ice lord 61!

Ah, delicious irony.

Anyways, yeah, I like to break it up and leave a little to chance. I've played with Fire and Earth but not Water and Air. All the books that contain the super useful and not OP stuff, like combat and healing, all have to be earned in game. So I prefer to invest in a lot of Wisdom and starting Essence.

what he said here is perfect.