Trusk'our

Lol, figured that was the case. Doesn't make the response less wise. Same!

Holy Harmony, there was actually a person who saw through the dodgy offer. You may need to update your tactics @CoderDrag0n8 Investiture mechanics are my favorite topic! Glad to have you here.

Personally, I think this is a little strong for a Twinborn Resonance, though if you dulled it down to enhanced muscle memory over regular people just within relatively peak human bounds I think it could work well.

We have some confirmation via WoB that Unsealed Metalminds utilize a similar mechanic to that of the Honorblades, using a type of bond to grant access to the stores of attributes within. So your line of reasoning should be correct. I believe this makes sense. I have my own thoughts on this area, which I'll post last. I think it's also possible that the Unsealed Metalminds having an Identity of their own wouldn't necessarily interfere with their Unsealed status for letting people tap them- if a Metalmind is heavily Invested and left to its own devices long enough, it will develop its own Identity. However, even consisting of the Investiture of the Feruchemist its Identity appears to be separate from the Investiture that makes it up. In other words, I think the Feruchemist could still tap that Investiture (which if it was initially blank means anyone with the relevant Feruchemical power could do so) even with that Investiture having a mind, autonomy, and new Identity of its own. My current thought on Medallions is that they probably require strong Connections forged during their creation so that the perception and Intent of their creator(s) can properly shape it. Some Stormlight Archive spoilers: I also think, after considering it some more, that the iterations of Unsealed Metalminds in Era 2 don't rely on their own ability to form a bond with the user, but rather the user's Connection is enough to hack the nicrosil portion along with the Metalmind's preset Intent. Unsealed Metalminds can only be used when the user in question thinks about it- possibly forming a Connection through their awareness and perception, which is just enough to sense what's within and give the Metalmind a path to empower them. The Metalmind's nicrosil may still need to be pre-programed to an extent, using the aforementioned duralumin hack, but I think this may be all that's needed. I do think later models may use a stronger bonding mechanism, perhaps utilizing their own internal functions to create a stronger bond.

It is, though it's horribly expensive. You'd really need a way to get loads of health saved up to make it practical. Though really, that's just part of the challenge, which is also fun to think through. Edit: sorry, I just realized you might have been referring to my mess up with Identity when I meant to say Investiture. In which case you would be right, that's not how gold Feruchemy works at all.

But that's part of why it's so fun to think of more ethical ways of fueling it, like using gold Feruchemy to repair donor's Spiritwebs or to only take like 1% of a willing donor's Investiture so that there's no effective reduction to their quality of life.

Yes. It's in the self-proclaimed title, after all.

Sure! I'm always happy when someone actually wants to listen to my rambling.

Ah, does this mean you're a Hemalurgy fan too?

It is my own theory that not all Investiture will grant Heightenings in the same fashion, even if held in abundance. While we do see Rysn possessing Heightenings-like abilities from holding the Dawnshard of Change, Sigzil doesn't show any such effects when holding the Dawnshard of Exist. However, as a Dawnsliver the residual Investiture does grant him other abilities, such as enhanced strength and healing. Basically, I suspect Hoid's Dawnshard doesn't contribute to his Heightenings, but other factors such as his healing abilities. Good catch on that by the way, I hadn't even thought of this before, but it's a good question.

I don't recall seeing any effects, though we don't have a point of view from him, nor do we stick around him for long. Basically, almost any effects could have shown up for him and we wouldn't have a good way of knowing what they were.

Rashek's incredible Allomantic strength most likely was primarily a result of him using the Well of Ascension to rebuild his Spiritweb into being a very potent Mistborn (think Lerasium, but on steroids) mixed in with centuries of practice and Savantism. Brandon has also hinted that some type of Compounding ability could further enhance one's Allomancy, but we don't know what it is yet (though quite a few Sharders, myself included, think it has to do with nicrosil Feruchemy). Good question btw.

Do you mean Ascension in the way of gathering so much Investiture that they transcend their physical body like a picking up a Shard would?

Cool! So, do you build planes, engineer their designs, fly them? Details, friend, that's too interesting to leave us hanging! Also, of the three Metallic Arts, which is your favorite and why? What's one cool thing from each you'd like to see in Ghostbloods?

While I agree that there's probably some limit on how much a Feruchemist can store when they have access to a large pool of attribute to pull from, I somewhat doubt it would be that weak. Compounding gets much of its benefit from storing the extra attributes into a Metalmind, which can then be drawn from at whatever pace the Feruchemist wants. That should be significantly higher than what a human normally possesses for Feruchemcial storage, though we haven't heard of this being an issue before. Another way to look at the Connector problem would be to take a Brute with a great deal of innate strength. A genetically gifted Koloss-blooded gym nut with the muscle power of ten people (okay, probably a stretch, but let's just say they have that much strength) should have the ability to store much of that in their Pewtermind. Connections, I believe, would be the same, where a larger pool to store from is generally just a better deal, albeit with some decay attached when trying to store truly huge amounts (that last part is conjecture on my part). Admittedly, we haven't seen enough of this sort of thing on screen for me to make anything more than hunches, so disregard this if you want. Feruchemists can become Savants. It seems to typically require a net positive system because storing up enough Investiture to sustain the effects of Feruchemy long enough or intense enough to become a Savant is really, really hard. I don't believe that's strictly the right definition for Savantism. A Savant is someone who is warped by the Investiture they use, but it seems to be more because you're using it so extensively that it reshapes and suffuses your Spiritweb structure in an unnatural way- which I think would Invest you a some more, but not as its primary function. Being more Invested is a more general term that can just mean their baseline power is stronger, like where Elend's Lerasium-gifted Allomancy is stronger than Vin's. A Feruchemist becomes Invested every time they tap their Metalminds, as it is a form of Investiture being pulled into them to produce an effect. Stormlight spoilers:

Fair point, though I believe we've seen other examples of Connections being formed by thoughts and feelings, which lines up with your reasoning that this is mostly a skill issue regarding Connectors (and that they should get gud). WaT spoilers: I mean, yeah, as long as it's in a spoiler box since this is the Mistborn forum.

Yeah, admittedly a lot of my hypotheses are somewhat flimsy, relying on incomplete information, so that's pretty understandable. I just like to consider what could happen if they do happen to flow in that direction. I think it could be effective, as the finite Investiture available in the Pits and the Trustwarren were enough to guarantee an immediate victory for Ruin. The power of the two Shards is nearly infinite, yes, but small differences in their balance did make a real difference in the long run. Now, it would certainly be most effective while Ruin was still trapped in the Well and couldn't affect the world as much, especially preventing it from retrieving its severed power, like the Atium. Ruin still would have ended the world in this state if nothing changed, it just would have taken a long time- unless, I think, if Preservation was made slightly stronger instead, which would keep the volatile power in check. If Ruin gets out of the Well. . . I don't actually think my proposed tactic would be too effective, especially if it doesn't count as being Splintered like the Atium, hiding it from Ruin's direct Connection senses. Even if Ruin couldn't find it after escaping the Well, it seems the balance between the two Shards favored Ruin after it escaping despite the Atium loss. It just isn't feasible to siphon off enough Investiture to make a difference with this strategy if the Shard gets out. I'm not sure this would be an issue. If Investiture, in any form, were pulled off and sequestered from Ruin as whole, would that not reduce the total power it had to throw around? Yeah, it would be hard to keep it from Ruin's knowledge, I believe. The biggest hope is really to keep Ruin in the Well, which lets the collected Investiture make a difference. It wouldn't matter if Ruin knew where the Metalminds were if it lacked the ability to overpower Preservation and metabolize them back into itself.

Lol, we've got a real list going now. Which I find funny since, if I'm being honest, I don't really hate Moash all that much. I don't really like him, but I tend to find him either forgettable or annoying rather than truly detestable. I do find it annoying and somewhat unbelievable that he managed to get to his current rank, skill, and power though. I can't help but feel that he's a deadly threat to characters while most millenia old Fused aren't not because he's actually endowed with such abilities, but because the author is pushing a bit too hard for Kaladin to have a foil. But that's just my two rusty Clips.

So, simple scenario here. Let's say a Connector Ferring in Era 3 gets defamed on television, which is broadcast across both the Northern and Southern hemispheres of Scadrial. Everyone who sees them- millions, possibly billions- hate them. Forming a Connection via their thoughts and emotions. The Ferring is terrified, and naturally tries to use their Feruchemy to hide by siphoning off those Connections. Could they just dump it into a huge Duraluminmind? Furthermore, if they can access such quantities of Connection, would the transition of it directly into Investiture (i.e. storing or tapping it) turn them into a Savant or otherwise warp them? I imagine dealing with such huge amounts would be like blasting your Spiritweb with a duralumin burst, but one that can be sustained as long as the Connections persist and you have a valid Duraluminmind. I suppose the boring answer would just be that their very finite Feruchemical Investiture simply cannot realistically affect that much Connection at once, but I do wonder what could be done there.

Really good questions, honestly better than the current answer we got since it is basically composed of "it has air because". I'd assume the air quality would be filtered by those nearby in the PR perceiving the world around them. Got Ashmounts? Probably also have pollution. Though, it may be adjustable in some ways, so since Rosharans aren't actively thinking about having higher oxygenated air than Scadrial, Scadrian worldhoppers in the CR might not feel a difference.

Returned, such as Vasher or the Godking can have a significant surplus of BioChromatic Breath, ranging at minimum in the tens of thousands. Returned in general would be Invested enough with their Divine Breath to make notably harder to form a Nahel Bond with a Radiant Spren, but it is still achievable under the right circumstances. We know from Nale that Heralds can form Nahel Bonds, possibly because they're generally counted as being less Invested than Returned (though I assume this discounts their consumption of Stormlight and some of their innate Heraldic abilities). Hope this is enough to satisfy your question!

Ah! I'd forgotten about that, thanks for the reminder. Hmm, good point. Rosharan Investiture may just respond to gemstones like how Scadrial's responds to metal: there's a fairly universal set of effects that the materals can generate when dealing with most Investitures, but it's particularly strong with that specific one. The Dor is still weird though. I'm not entirely satisfied with this answer, but stranger stuff happens in the Cosmere so I guess it's a moot point until further evidence can be brought about. True. Stormlight leaks like it does in no small part to the ecosystem it's bound to, which isn't related to its Shard's Intent. And, yeah, Autonomy's Light not sinking into trapped spaces does sound like it could line up with its Intent. Currently I think it could be like how Stormlight is bound to Roshar's ecosystem and so flows back quickly, but maybe it's just stronger with the Sibling since they have a much more finite space that they occupy. Roshar is all around the Radiants who breath in it's Light, but the Tower is in one specific location. Also, while on the topic of Stormlight leaking quickly because of its ties to the Roshar's environment. . . would it still leak quickly? Like, the Highstorm is no more. Stormlight, as far as I can tell, no longer supports the ecology of the planet, maybe severing that Connection. So, if a Radiant swears and Ideal and becomes Invested post Retribution, would their Light stick around for much longer, maybe even letting them maintain a low amount more or less indefinitely until used up?

I didn't know that, actually. That's pretty neat! You know, I think that analogy makes sense. I suppose there's also that WoB on Dalinar's Perpendicularity not being enough to fuel Soulcasing of Tanavastium (which I think you're referencing if I'm correct), so maybe Highstorms Infusing gemstones is a bit like how Aons can't give all of the Dor's power to Nightblood despite being a passageway to it? Anyway, combining all that with what @DracoAdamantus has said, I'd say this pretty solidly backs up @Nitpicking's thoughts on the more limited Investiture that can make it into a gemstone normally. Thank you for the feedback friends, I appreciate it. So, perhaps the reason normal gemstones hold less than perfect gemstones is because they lose most if not all their stored Investiture before the next Highstorm comes, so they just never reach their upper ceiling. . . though, what about Dalinar's Perpendicularity? If gemstones nearby are constantly exposed to the stream instead of it being just an instant, wouldn't they reach that ceiling? Is it just a purely physical thing, where flawed gems not only leak faster but also just have a smaller overall storage capacity? I'm still thinking that Metalminds could undergo a form of Savantism if overused though, what with Elantris's stone essentially doing that. I don't know that it would act like a perfect gemstone afterwards, but I'm sure it would be different in some way.

Oh yeah, I already knew that part. I honestly don't mind reading from the Stonewalkers forum. Thanks for sharing anyway, I appreciate that you took the time!

Gemstones are interesting, as they seem to be capable of naturally holding Investiture, even Investiture that isn't native to Roshar, such as the Dor or Autonomy's Light. This makes me think, if Autonomy's Light, while technically capable of naturally Investing gemstones has trouble in practice, but the Dor has no issue- is it a simple matter of pressure? Like, Stormlight infuses gemstones on Roshar when the SR is aligned with the physical. Probably a high concentration there flowing into hte low-concentration gemstones available. The Dor is confirmed to be super dense, as it is a compressed storm in the CR. Taldain's Dayside Light, I believe, is more light Canticle's reflected light- more of a steady trickle of power that lacks the force to push into gemstones (perhaps this is why Mists don't Invest gemstones? Maybe they're too dispersed?) In any case, if this is true, perhaps any gemstone brought into a Perpendicularity would become Invested due to the huge amount available? Also, moving Stormlight via the Arnist method normally requires a larger gemstone, which I think backs up my initial hypothesis of relying on pressure differentials. So, perhaps if you have a tuning fork, you could use the Tones to override the limits of assumed low-pressure Investiture such as Mist or Taldain's Light to really Invest a gemstone just like you can move Stormlight around as you wish regardless of container size?