The Story Ends...

[leptomeninges]

Well, I'd initially intended to make a series of posts documenting my four man Ironman/Expert game. Unfortunately, my wife has been running out of patience with this little diversion of mine, so I've spent any avaliable "gaming time" on the game itself.

I did however, finish the game for the first time tonight. I was pleased with the plot twists at the end. If more games could promise me a suprise ending, I'd probably finish more of the games that I start.

I'm happy to report that I was thoroughly pleased with my party. It had a high "cool" value and was never too excessively overpowered relative to the mobs I encountered. I almost died a few times on ascension peak -- most memorably to a souleater who turned two of my characters and drove the other two insane in one fell swoop.

A few words on the performance of each character. At the time I finished they were all around level 27.

Lizardman Samurai
(Dualwield/Sword/Critical/Bow/Ranged/CloseCombat/Wizardry/All Realms)
I unlocked Powerstrike, Ironskin, and Reflextion for him as my major meatshield. With his Ironskin and Body of Stone he had around 85% damage absorption. He used an enchanted broadsword all the way up to Rapax Castle (since I'd sworn off Fang, Bloodlust, etc.) Once I hit Ferro, I equipped him with the Ivory Blade and was happy with the results. But when Muramasa dropped (and my wife was breathing down my neck to finish the game) I couldn't resist. He was very cool. One thing which surprised me was how weak high level mage spells are relative to alchemy or psionics. He finished with approximately 700 kills and 23 deaths.

Human Monk
(Martial Arts/Staff/CloseCombat/Critical/Stealth/Psionics/All Realms)
He was the powerhouse for most of the game. It was only at the end when the other characters were weilding Muramasa and the Bushido blade that they caught up in damage output. I do think that he had a higher damage output with his martial arts (skill maxed at 125) than his Zatoichi Bo (skill in the 90s). He finished with approximately 1000 kills and 8 deaths.

Felpurr Ninja
(Sword/Dagger/CloseCombat/Throwing/RangedCombat/Critical/Stealth/Alchemy/All Realms)
She had a high "cool" value weilding the bushido/ninjato with throwing shurikens as a secondary. I was bummed that I never found a sai. Realistically, throwing sucks. This was especially clear near the endgame when my samurai had the Strong Bow. His ranged critical chance with mystic arrows was at least as high as hers if not higher. Still, she was very cool as my idea of a "real" ninja. Plus, she delivered the deathblow to the Dark Savant. Finished with approximately 700 kills and 15 deaths.

Elf Bishop
(Shield/Mace/Sling/CloseCombat/RangedCombat in addition to the standard six realms)
What can you say about the classic power bishop? She finished with all spell skills in the 90s or maxed at 100. Her melee and throwing skills were in the 70s. The bucaneer's ghosts dropped the light shield, and that effectively ended my problems keeping her alive. With powercast maxed she did a ton of damage even on ascension peak. However, I used her primarily as a buffer and healer. Finished with approx 500 kills and 27 deaths.

If I had time to play more I think I'd do a two man party -- lord and ranger. As it is I'm probably done for now. Good luck everyone and enjoy the game.

[ 12-01-2003, 09:49 PM: Message edited by: leptomeninges ]

[Scatter]

Nice, Lepto! Lord and Ranger was my first game without PP. A very solid Duo, the hardest part is getting your L&T up from 8 on the Rogue level.

very cool, lepto! i'm fortunate that my wife plays as well - had to buy a second computer, tho [img]graemlins/hehe.gif[/img]

i've had similar experiences with bishops in four-man parties - by the end game, they a relegated to support status. i'm considering dualling the bishop over to priest, sam, or lord/valk after level 11 next time...