The title says it all; I'm not sure what gives but I find the Gnosis to be a dull and boring part of the plot. I never cared much for their design (couldn't they have been made more... like, scary?) and in Episode 1 I really found them to be overused. On the Woglinde it worked, but in later parts of the game they were just... there.

And having some interesting characters with an actual persona as boss fights is much more fun than "just" another Gnosis. Like when Cherenkov was taken over by the Gnosis-effect I expected a nice boss fight where he'd be rambling some quotes from his past (or something like that), but nooo! He just had to turn into a speechless Gnosis that looked just like any other one (not even a cool half-Gnosified human design... tsk). And the final boss; yay! Albedo merged the reactor with... another Gnosis. -.-

Imo too many Gnosis in Episode 1, which became rather boring opponents early on for me. Episode 2 did better in that regard. I hope they'll keep it balanced in Episode 3 as well. Anyone else got tired of these alien fellows? =p

I didnt really find them to be a problem in episode I, but only because I was under the impression that the gnosis were a major part of the story (the back of the box talks about how humanity is threatened by the gnosis and such), but in episode II, their role was greatly reduced and their major part in the story just kind of disappeard. Also, I kind of did find Sophie Peithos to be a strange final boss seeing as it was somewhat random, but I think the whole Proto Merkabah thing had a huge part in the gnosis, while the Omega system and Old Miltia did not and thats why there was a bigger focus on them in episode I. But you kind of saw a gnosis final boss coming when you saw all the gnosis lined up seeming like they are waiting at the core of Proto Merkabah.

My only complaint about the Gnosis is how retarded their design is. I don't see how a giant whale ship, bugbears, kobolds and what other nonsense they have in the game are supposed to be cool. If anything some of the enemies seem to be throwbacks to old D&D enemies ( Bugbears, kobolds... ) and some of the other designs are just silly.

I've only played episode one, and I'm about to go after Albedo which I imagine is the end of the game. I'm hoping that the Gnosis are either cooler or aren't like... D&D enemies when I play ep2.

For me, it was kinda just the opposite. The Gnosis play a key role in the games. And in the second, they were virtually non-existent, which I thought was a serious downfall. And with Cherenkov, well, when people turn into Gnosis, they lose their conciousness, the element that makes them human. chaos states that at the beginning of Episode 2, and JR. hints to the same thing in Episode 1. And the other instances where you had to fight Gnosis bosses, like in the KOS-MOS Encephalan, those were direct results of the characters memories of Gnosis, and memories play a vital role in the plot as well. So in general, they may seem over-used on the surface, but if you look deeper and see the entire picture, it all works.

Their designs for the most part were ok. But some could have been better.

I think it would have been more interesting if he had turned into a half-Gnosified being like "Betty" aboard the Durandal (that's the one Rubedo shows to the others). He did say that's what happened to those who survived after having come in contact with a Gnosis (no exceptions). But instead, they just went with a complete Gnosis transformation... too bad. =p

Or like Minitia and Great Joe, those hidden bosses. Yeah, I suppose that would have been possible.