I have put a ton of thought into how different powers work, what different powers can do that others can’t, what powers are simply more specialized to a specific task, etc. That bit about the Huna/Volitak just now is just the tip of the iceberg.
Regarding the Sanok for a Toa of Psionics:
I, personally, am ambivalent. I’m not big on accuracy as a power – it’s a good power to have, of course, but it’s not really flashy, like making yourself 60 feet tall, or fascinating, like manipulating the hand of fate. It’s just ‘you can throw stuff better’.
Regarding the look of the mask, I don’t really care much either. I actually don’t like viewing the ridges of the mask as a brain, because the imagery of a Bionicle character with an exposed brain is just downright creepy, so to me, there’s no particular draw to using it for Orde; but on the other hand, I don’t think it’s that ugly either.
But that’s not what we’re here to talk about, is it? We’re here to talk about whether a Toa of Psionics would wear a Sanok, and if it’s complimentary to their powers or redundant to their powers. Now that is where I have something to say.
So, is Psionics redundant? I’m going to go with no, for a few reasons:
- First off, the obvious: mask power and elemental power are seperate things. A Toa can run out of elemental power and still be able to use their mask, and though we’ve only seen overuse of a mask power one time in the story (Hewkii Mahri using the Garai to lift the whole freakin’ Coliseum), I personally believe the reverse is true too: if someone had revived Hewkii right after he passed out, he probably wouldn’t have been able to use his mask power, but he might have been able to use his elemental power just fine.
(side note: gravity is OP, and is likely way stronger than normal telekinesis, so I don’t think a Garai would be redundant either) - The mask is more accurate than even telekinesis would be. Let’s talk about that scene where Hewkii had to hit Hakann and Thok simultaneously with a Zamor. Could he have pulled that off with a Matatu? Maybe, but there’s several factors to consider: it would likely be a lot slower, giving them tome to dodge, harder to hit both of them at the same time, and there’s no indication if Zamor spheres work if you just hit them against someone manually. Oh, and it actually wouldn’t have worked anyway, because Hewkii got knocked out before the zamor hit.
- It doesn’t require concentration. In Orde-r (see what I did there) to hit someone with a rock with telekinesis, he has to focus on the rock until it hits its target. With the Sanok, he just has to throw.
- It can be used to aim elemental powers. Now this one’s dicey – obviously, this quote is refering to aiming a blast of your element, such as a Toa of Fire shooting a blast of Fire at someone/something (I can think of two instances where Vakama could have used this, and they’re both in Time Trap). Whether it would work for Telekinesis is different. It might also allow Orde to aim mental blasts at a foe, a la Hakann, but there’s no evidence for this.
So could Orde use the power with his telekinesis to throw something? I have to say… Well no but actually yes. I don’t think he would be able to, say, throw something at an enemy, then adjust the projectile to hit them if they move out of the way. It might still hit, but once telekinesis is applied to the projectile, it stops being under the affect of the Sanok, since the Sanok only affects how you throw it. Now, whether he could fling an item with telekinesis is another matter. The fact that telekinesis can aim elemental powers suggests that yes, he can.
So onto point 2: is it synergistic with Psionics?
I kinda already touched on this earlier: if it allows him to fling something telekinetically and hit a target, then yes, but is there anything else?
What about Ghid’s suggestion, that he fling his hammer and then Thor it back to him? I think this would be more difficult than you might assume. He can’t apply telekinesis to it until after it hits, or he loses the power of the Sanok. So he’d have to fling it, have it hit, and then grab it with telekinesis and pull it back. He could probably still pull it off, but not as easily as Thor. Granted, however, he has had years to practice.
Does it make up for Psionics’ lack of physical capability? Sorta, yeah. Like I said at the beginning, throwing a rock isn’t as flashy as shooting fire from your palms, but the Sanok makes it comparably effective. Considering he uses a mace – a blunt, handheld weapon – I think a Pakari would also be good.
Keks listed a Pakari as one of the masks that would be redundant with telekinesis, but I don’t think it is. I think this is one case where the Pakari is simply more efficient at what it does. Plus, it has the added benefit of increasing the user’s endurance.
speaking of Kek's post, would some of these masks actually be redundant?
- The Kakama: we’ve seen how fast a Matatu can lift a Toa, and we’ve seen how fast a Kakama can go. They’re not remotely comparable.
- The Rode: while a Psionics user can also detect lies, they can’t see through illusions like the Rode can.
- The Garai: gravity is way stronger than telekinesis, though also more limited in what it’s made for.
- The Mask of Charisma: sure, you can mind-control someone. Until you stop focusing on them, and they go back to how they were. The mask of Charisma can permanently change someone into an ally.
- The Kadin: flying under your own power is likely far more controllable than lifting yourself with Telekinesis, though it does have a steeper learning curve, as we saw with Nuparu Inika. Plus, with a Kadin, you can fly and use your elemental power for stuff at the same time.
Anyway, this has been my power talk.