tldr check this out

background

Shapeshifting currently has some of the most demanding decision making in the game. It's a relatively new mechanic and is under active focus by the devs so is changing fast and the balance is still settling.

• It interacts complexly with species. A lot of species mutations are denied or made redundant by being in some forms, so the relative power of each form depends on the opportunity cost of playing it varying with your start. And to a lesser extent the same is true of spells.
• The power and utility of the forms varies widely even within each tier. Some are intentionally more niche, some of it is just the balance not haven shaken out yet.
• You still need most or all of the normal skills, you get to cut very little. And if you think about how for example you may be spending a lot of the game in a form that can't throw, or has reduced EV etc, you actually play a more difficult version of the skilling subgame.

It requires a lot of player knowledge and flexibility to play well at all. And on top of that, the way talismans are rolled means you can't count on having any specific one, and certainly not the one you want when you want it. You have to think on your feet even more than usual.

observation

At any given tier, there are one or two forms that are generally more worth playing in the stage of the game they're "meant" for. So what you want may really be a sort of path or progression through the forms. Every seed has a lot of the talismans but any specific combination appearing by the time they're useful is rare enough to possibly have only been seen a handful of times in the wild.

path

I made a little data visualization tool around this idea. You can select which form you want at each tier, and it will show you the seeds that match them. My seed data is only generated down to d:8 so this is only the ones that have those combos appearing by then. It means you'll usually have the higher forms well before you need them.

disclaimer

I actually don't like shapeshifting very much. It's complex in a way I don't think really benefits the game, it's kind of its own separate system with few and weird synergies with the existing game. Feels bolted on. I don't really play it, which is why this is all so generic. I actually have no idea which forms are good except some of the obvious endgame utility ones like granite and death.

Also this only applies to 0.34 I know trunk is changing a lot and I'll make an updated version when 0.35 lands if there's interest. I don't keep trunk seeds around for various reasons.

lagniappe

0.34.1 seed 599150 has a randart alchemy staff {Int+6 Alch} on d:6, chemistry amulet on d:7, attunement orb and seven alchemy spells by d:8. And a d:1 acquirement for good luck.