Am I a total idiot?

[Variol (Farseer) Elmwood]

Well, I started about 4-5 times before I bothered to finish the game.
I don't think I'm an idiot (in fact I know I'm not) but I either wasn't
comfortable with the game or the party or I don't know what. It took me a
long time to learn the tricks and I'm still learning.
In fact I just noticed at level 6, that my fighter wasn't set on berserk
mode for combat. I wondered why he wasn't doing much damage. (ok, maybe I'm
a little forgetful). But there's so much to think about that it can happen.
I was so focused on getting my spell casters casting every round I forgot
about the fighter.
So just play and if it doesn't "feel" right, start again! The big bad guy
isn't going anywhere and you'll find a party you'll take all the way.
Happy gaming bro'.

[bowman_is_god]

My party consisted of 2 fighters, a samuri, a mage, and a cleric. I have breezed through this game on normal setting since the start. It seems to be a good mix of everything.

[ChaosTheorist]

Hybrid characters are more difficult to develop. Which characters are hybrids? Lords, Samurais, Ninjas, Valkyries, Monks, Bishops. They level up more slowly and as such, get hit points more slowly.

Minor correction: the Bishop is not a hybrid caster; it's a specialist caster like the Priest, Mage, et. al. (gets spells from Level 1), but is on the slowest level-up schedule, along with the Ninja. Conversely, the Ranger *is* a hybrid caster (gets spells at Level 5). Specialist casters, except the Bishop, are on the 1.2x XP scale; hybrid casters, except the Ninja, are on the 1.4x XP scale; the Bishop and Ninja are on the 1.6x scale.

[Ragash]

You're right, tuckyboy... I'm not exactly an avid manual reader [img]tongue.gif[/img] I didn't even read the race bonus table the first time I made a party, only the second time around and it made things a bit easier. Everyone's been stressing the point that I should read the manual at least twice to understand it completely, but it's not until now that you bring it up that I understand the importance of it. I guess I'll give it a go, even the lvl 10 chars I have now may be good enough after a read-through of the good book. Unless I've totally messed up with the character development.

[Ragash]

Great posts, by the way, by all of you [img]smile.gif[/img] Things are getting a bit more clear.

I've also noticed that I think the whole monastery-road to arnika-arnika part is the most fun to play because the characters develop fast in the beginning of the game. Another reason may be that I never played further except with my current party [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[Ziggurat]

Yes, it's great fun to start over with a new party. That's why this game endures. Or, I should say, a big part of it. The balance and options and strategy have to be there, too!

[ 06-14-2003, 11:58 AM: Message edited by: Ziggurat ]

[Ragash]

The problem I have, I think, is that you can't really relax. Ever. There are always monsters around the corner, Dominus must be completely saturated with them. If you rest, you're ambushed by zillions of Rapax or whatever, and get killed. Mostly because you're already damaged when you rest, why else would you camp? Playing a game, for me, is recreation. I get enough stress at work... normally I wouldn't even play a game like this, but the story and the world is so compelling I can't stop. That's probably why I'm looking for short-cuts and so called "ultimate parties" to get me through it. Maybe I'm not using magic enough, I hardly ever buff and I never use offensive magic (because it doesn't do a percent of the damage my berserking fighters do). I'll still keep trying though, with the parties you tell me to try [img]tongue.gif[/img]

I really admire the people who get a party to ascension on iron man. To me it seems impossible

[Ziggurat]

I tend to take the game slow, savoring it. Yes, there is some stress. But not like a first person shooter in real-time. Those are too stressful for me. I build up my healing abilities to avoid resting too much. AS you mentioned, resting spawns more enemies. In certain areas, especially with the Rapax, you have to grit your teeth and fight it out. Getting Templar status certainly helps there, but after you clean out the Away Camp you have to fight again. But you can always transport to a place of rest (if you can) and try again. Or at least find a defensible spot and rest in tiny microsleeps, saving as you go, to avoid the big surprise attack.

I find looking at my stats and seeing who is going up next and what they need to improve is a nice contrast to the fighting, restful in a way.

Using protection spells is absolutely required for me. I have at least four at max at all times: Missile Shield, Magic Screen, Armorplate and Enchanted Blade. I also include X-ray when I have it. If I know an attack is coming I put on Chameleon (short lived) to get the first move. Before resting, the Shadow of the Wolf (or whatever) prevents them from sneaking up on you. These spells do help.

[ 06-14-2003, 12:53 PM: Message edited by: Ziggurat ]

[Nightowl2]

Absolutely right. Buffs are critical to success in this game. Never go anywhere without them. Some of the high-level damage spells are good, too. For that matter, so are a couple of the lower-level ones, like insanity. That was always one of my favorites, along with the high-level one, whose name escapes me at the moment. Nothing like having the critters beat on each other istead of you

Nightowl2

[tuckyboy]

Ragash,

I'm with Ziggurat and Nightowl2. Keeping buffing spells up at all times is crucial. Without them, you will suffer tremendously. Later on in the game, you'll pick up the Element Shield and Soul Shield spells. These are only good during combat, but you'll find them indispensible if you want to stay alive and not spend all of your time resting/healing/using potions.

The side benefit of keping spells going constantly (including Chameleon, X-Ray, Identify Secrets, etc) is that you'll continue to improve your magic ability. The easiest example is the Identify Item spell. By the time you get the spell, you might be lugging around 30-40 items that are unidentified. If you identify all that you can, rest, and repeat as much as needed, you'll pick up substantial gains in your mental realm. This beats levelling up repeatedly and dumping precious points into a realm.

If you haven't noticed this yet, monsters can't open doors. This means that in places like Arnika, if you close yourself into a room or building (i.e. go inside and close the door behind you), that you can rest over and over without being attacked.

My thanks to ChaosTheorist for the comments on hybrids. Silly misstatements on my part.

Enjoy,
tuck