Ironworks Gaming Forum - View Single Post - new character building approach...feedback desired

mortification · 05-14-2001, 02:08 AM

I'm trying out a new character development program...let me know if you have suggestions.

The basic idea is to play each of the 6 characters solo in the early going, to develop them to a high enough level quickly to "guild-hop" and get the stats high enough to be eligible for each role. Then, once the character is ready (around level 5, with 10 in each stat, and in all guilds) reset the game and use the next character, and so forth.

Once all characters are "prepped", reset the game, assemble the party, and go at it. An option is to go ahead with role changing prior to the reset. I've noticed that reset seems to retain the skills, and the experience, but only the most current role and level will be displayed in the journal window. It's kind of wierd to have a Paladin with pick locks ability (or even to start the game with a level 1 Paladin!)

The optional role-switching involes reseting every time you start in the level one of the new role. This makes the levelling process super-fast and not boring (see below).

I've discovered that you can easily get a solo warrior to Level 5 by the following:

1. Roll good stats. I shoot for a total of at least 70 points, which is not too hard to get (that's sum of all stats plus bonus points). One guy had 80 points to start, another 59, so there is wide variation.

2. Work to get all stats to 10 for role switching ASAP, so that you can train in all 3 guilds. Also go for the all-important 16 INT for skill points. Note that you need some 12's if you want to be a Barbarian (and I'm tired of the lowly thief, so Barb's are a must).

3. Remember that you can train INT, STR, and SPI, so bump the other stats with your levelling points.

4. Quests/experience: do the following easy quests to get level 5 super-fast:
a. Skeleton Bounty quest (once is enough)
b. kill the big skeleton that guards the crypt entrance
c. kill the bandits by the horse. Smash the chest in and loot.
d. Give the poition to toad-face quest.
e. Kill the Armory thief quest.
f. Donate to the temples.
g. About 2-3 random encounters. That's it! Level 5 (usually)!
These take about 15 minutes.

5. Choose the new role and reset the game. Rinse. Repeat.

Right now I am about halfway to construction of the following (starting!) party:

Completed:
Warrior 5 - Barbarian 5 - Ranger 5 - Paladin 5 (thiefly skills specialist)
Warrior 5 - Barbarian 5 - Ranger 5 - Paladin 5 (spirit specialist)
Warrior 5 - Barbarian 5 - Paladin 5 - Ranger 5 (vine specialist)

Pending:
Wizard - Warlock (plus some fighter classes mixed in) (sun/moon specialist)
Wizard - Warlock (plus some fighter classes mixed in) (stone/fiend specialist)
Priest - Warlock (plus some fighting stuff mixed in) (vine/spirit specialist)

I want to end up with 3 Paladins/Ranger with super-skills, plus two offensive Warlocks and a defensive Warlock. The end point of the Paladins/Ranger is so that they can study some magic at no penalty until other classes are available.

The main question to answer is what is the best cutoff for leveling purposes, especially for the spellcasters? They need to max their spells before switching to any fighting class (unless the Warlock penalty relief is retroactive, meaning that as long as they end up a Warlock the early going doesn't matter).

Also level 5 is an arbitrary cutoff since it is easy to get (see above). Does any body have the chart of XP verus level? My suspicion is that when soloing, you could get to level 7/8 pretty quickly as well, just by doing some stuff in the Crypt. Heck, Rumpy alone probably levels you.

The other point is that for the fighters, soloing is easy, but for the magic guys, it is really tough when you run out of mana.

Finally I am shooting to do all of this prior to finishing the Crypt for conveninece, and so as not to spoil the story too much with mindless repitition.

BTW my original party plan (first time) was:
Anxiety - Gourk Fighter - Barbarian
Mortification - Whiskah fighter - Ranger
Nonplussed - Dwarf Priest - Paladin - Valkyre
Disingenuous - Oomphaz Wizard - Warlock
Supercilious - Ratling Thief - Ninja - Assasin
Superfluous - Elf Wizard - Warlock

Thoughts? Comments? Sorry again for the longish post....

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05-14-2001, 02:08 AM	#1
mortification Elite Waterdeep Guard Join Date: May 13, 2001 Location: West Lafayette, IN, USA Posts: 35	I'm trying out a new character development program...let me know if you have suggestions. The basic idea is to play each of the 6 characters solo in the early going, to develop them to a high enough level quickly to "guild-hop" and get the stats high enough to be eligible for each role. Then, once the character is ready (around level 5, with 10 in each stat, and in all guilds) reset the game and use the next character, and so forth. Once all characters are "prepped", reset the game, assemble the party, and go at it. An option is to go ahead with role changing prior to the reset. I've noticed that reset seems to retain the skills, and the experience, but only the most current role and level will be displayed in the journal window. It's kind of wierd to have a Paladin with pick locks ability (or even to start the game with a level 1 Paladin!) The optional role-switching involes reseting every time you start in the level one of the new role. This makes the levelling process super-fast and not boring (see below). I've discovered that you can easily get a solo warrior to Level 5 by the following: 1. Roll good stats. I shoot for a total of at least 70 points, which is not too hard to get (that's sum of all stats plus bonus points). One guy had 80 points to start, another 59, so there is wide variation. 2. Work to get all stats to 10 for role switching ASAP, so that you can train in all 3 guilds. Also go for the all-important 16 INT for skill points. Note that you need some 12's if you want to be a Barbarian (and I'm tired of the lowly thief, so Barb's are a must). 3. Remember that you can train INT, STR, and SPI, so bump the other stats with your levelling points. 4. Quests/experience: do the following easy quests to get level 5 super-fast: a. Skeleton Bounty quest (once is enough) b. kill the big skeleton that guards the crypt entrance c. kill the bandits by the horse. Smash the chest in and loot. d. Give the poition to toad-face quest. e. Kill the Armory thief quest. f. Donate to the temples. g. About 2-3 random encounters. That's it! Level 5 (usually)! These take about 15 minutes. 5. Choose the new role and reset the game. Rinse. Repeat. Right now I am about halfway to construction of the following (starting!) party: Completed: Warrior 5 - Barbarian 5 - Ranger 5 - Paladin 5 (thiefly skills specialist) Warrior 5 - Barbarian 5 - Ranger 5 - Paladin 5 (spirit specialist) Warrior 5 - Barbarian 5 - Paladin 5 - Ranger 5 (vine specialist) Pending: Wizard - Warlock (plus some fighter classes mixed in) (sun/moon specialist) Wizard - Warlock (plus some fighter classes mixed in) (stone/fiend specialist) Priest - Warlock (plus some fighting stuff mixed in) (vine/spirit specialist) I want to end up with 3 Paladins/Ranger with super-skills, plus two offensive Warlocks and a defensive Warlock. The end point of the Paladins/Ranger is so that they can study some magic at no penalty until other classes are available. The main question to answer is what is the best cutoff for leveling purposes, especially for the spellcasters? They need to max their spells before switching to any fighting class (unless the Warlock penalty relief is retroactive, meaning that as long as they end up a Warlock the early going doesn't matter). Also level 5 is an arbitrary cutoff since it is easy to get (see above). Does any body have the chart of XP verus level? My suspicion is that when soloing, you could get to level 7/8 pretty quickly as well, just by doing some stuff in the Crypt. Heck, Rumpy alone probably levels you. The other point is that for the fighters, soloing is easy, but for the magic guys, it is really tough when you run out of mana. Finally I am shooting to do all of this prior to finishing the Crypt for conveninece, and so as not to spoil the story too much with mindless repitition. BTW my original party plan (first time) was: Anxiety - Gourk Fighter - Barbarian Mortification - Whiskah fighter - Ranger Nonplussed - Dwarf Priest - Paladin - Valkyre Disingenuous - Oomphaz Wizard - Warlock Supercilious - Ratling Thief - Ninja - Assasin Superfluous - Elf Wizard - Warlock Thoughts? Comments? Sorry again for the longish post.... ------------------ (This space intentionally left blank)