Brainstorm - Creature Mechanic - Creature production - Ideas needed!

[Sebt]

A little similar shard like mechanism I experienced playing Dungeon Hunter 4 on Android, it looked like this below, however in this way it is a hierarchic mechanism (as better stones as better equipment, one next Stone cost 3 previous when transmutting them):


Maybe we could make more advanced weapons more valuable, convertable to higher leveled stones/shards, however to avoid creature cost dependence on as higher leveled stones, their amount - as better creature you could get. If we're not planning to make creatures that later player will be able to makw their stronger equivalents that will replace weaker we need to combine how we could use shards then to make creatures to balance all creatures cost. I think what shards you need could depend on resource rarity and specialized in different kind of use of these creatures, maybe special abilities, but not base stats, otherwise we finished with old, genetic hierarchy - like in DK 1 from Flies, Bugs, Demon Spawns to Dragons, Bile Demons, Horned Reapers.... but then I think we would have to exclude hierarchic character of stones and equipment, so no wooden stick, then metal, ending with big crook of insane anihilation, this would be the biggest waste of resources ever.