The elf is a totes bad familiar

[12:39:22] [clan] gamma_RAy: so, elf. great familiar or best familiar?
[12:39:45] [clan] Hellno: below average familiar
[12:40:00] [clan] yojimboS_LAW: best.
[12:40:20] [clan] ungawa: suuuper good
[12:41:08] [clan] gamma_RAy: I mean, beyond being an insane stat familiar with very solid MP regen, does it have other things going for it?
[12:41:24] [clan] yojimboS_LAW: +100% item, gamma.
[12:41:31] [clan] ungawa: and 100% init
[12:41:43] [clan] gamma_RAy: well, right, yeah.


Edit: An excellent post from greycat in GD (copied here for linking in /newbie [suck it, mods!]) outlining the majority of its features in more detail than the above discussion:

I don't think a concise description is possible, because it's so strange and unique. Here's a partial list of incoherent ramblings about it:
-It has multiple random start-of-combat actions, and end-of-combat actions. Thus, it has no "base" functionality. You could compare it to a volleyball because one of the end-of-combat actions gives stats, but they are not really like the volleyball's.
-One of the start-of-combat actions is a huge MP restore. You want this one as often as possible, so you should start each combat healed (if feasible); that removes the HP restore from the list of possible start-of-combat actions, and makes the MP restore more likely.
-The most desirable end-of-combat action is when it drops an "abstraction", which is a size-1 spleen item. There is no daily cap on these (or if there is, it's beyond the limits of my testing). There are 6 different abstractions that it can drop. There are more than can be created -- more on that below.
-The 6 directly-droppable abstractions give buffs: +100% muscle, +100% myst, +100% moxie, +25% muscle gains, +25% myst gains, +25% moxie gains. You really want at least one of your +25% mainstat gain abstractions. Use that right before you power level (Chateau rests, scaling monsters) or even just regular fighting, and it gives you a LOT of stats.
-It gives access to a zone called the Deep Machine Tunnels (/go wrong). When the Elf is your active familiar, your first 5 victorious combats in this zone, per day, are free.
-There are three monsters in the DMT zone, with procedurally generated names. You will identify them by their images (shapes) -- squares (muscle), circles (myst) or triangles (moxie). These monsters can drop abstractions, above and beyond the ones the Elf generates, but their drop rates are quite low.
-Each of these three monsters can convert one of the directly-droppable (first tier) abstractions into a specific second-tier abstraction. The second-tier abstractions are also size-1 spleen items, and they give +100% item, +10 lbs., and +100 initiative buffs. The +100% item one ("abstraction: certainty") is really desirable, so it behooves you to try to get some "abstraction: thought" (solid circle) to convert into these. Thus, I prefer to delay the DMT zone combats as long as possible. (They are also scaling monsters, so delaying gets you more free stats.)
-There is a scheduled choice noncombat in the DMT zone after your 5th turn [and every 50 encounters after that]. This lets you get a bunch of random abstractions (including the second tier ones), or a picture frame to create art, or to duplicate some [not necessarily] crappy consumables that nobody's ever found a use for duplicating [i.e. any tradeable potion, food, booze, and spleen item with an autosell value, including booze made with perfect ice cubes and a number of other epic food/booze]. I always take the random abstractions and hope for the +item ones.
-It can also drop a globe thing. You can basically ignore this. It allows access to the Deep Machine Tunnels zone without having the Elf as your active familiar, but if you do that, all of the combats take a turn. You'd only want to do that if you're already planning to spend non-free combats there, and you wanted a +item familiar or a sombrero-type, or whatever.
-[At the start of a fight with a boss, it gives 1 turn of the effect 'Inner Elf' (+100% muscle, moxie, and mysticality and +100% weapon and spell damage) instead of its usual start of combat actions. This buff trivializes almost every boss fight one would encounter during the council's quests.]