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It is also worth noting it can be difficult to aim a single shard in a nice position, while triple shard summoning mitigates some of those pesky placements. I found myself struggling to even to justify summoning single shards under the Prismancer path because I could get a free shard for killing a single enemy with the soul gem ability without having to "stun" myself to summon it.
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Additionally, having more shards on screen from the Crystaleer path distracts enemies towards and even in between shards for some satisfying screen wipes especially when combined with his S2 Wow Pow. The Crystaleer Path (Triple Shards Path) is the better and more fun path because it can provide just as much refractions as the Prismancer path (Golden Shard Path) in a wider area making the extra range upgrade obsolete and more refractions upgrade worthless in comparison.
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Just going to answer the first question: I personally think it depends on which path people have picked if they have even upgraded him at all.
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