Hyperion703

The phenomenon of wandering shapers can seem odd, as many foreign cultural norms can be perceived by us. I see it this way: An institution (in this case, the Shaper Council) has a strict systematic method for in-group membership. Formal acceptance happens while children are young, generally elementary ages. Apprenticeship occurs during mid-late teenage years. Following apprenticeship, there exists a formal period whereby the Shaper Council effectively ousts the fledgling shaper into the world to prove their loyalty and test their fortitude. Oddly enough, I liken it to the Amish cultural tradition of Rumspringa, whereby a young Amish individual is cast out of the community to live amongst the "English" (mainstream American society) for a period of time, returning to their people only if they are not seduced by the vulgar conveniences of a sinful society. It's like that, but with a somewhat corporatist twist, as the goal of the abandonment is for the young shaper to settle roots and become independently powerful enough to be recognized by the Shaper Council for formal (and permanent, I assume) acceptance into their ranks. Many wandering shapers are never acknowledged and/or admitted by the Council despite a lifetime of attempts. The benefits of this are twofold: For one, it breeds innovation. When social cells are left to develop individually instead of collectively, they are much more unique and inventive. The Council can capitalize on constant, fresh innovation through widespread competition as a result. Second, it saves the Council a ton of resources. Remember, these freelance shapers are on their own. They pay for their own lodgings, buy/grow their own food, are responsible for the day-to-day obligations of their lives. The Council essentially says to bugger off until you become noteworthy enough for us to notice you. Working under official, higher-ranking shapers can be one way to accomplish this, but far from the only way. Once a shaper has something of value to contribute, they are admitted into the ruling class and only then will the Council spend precious resources maintaining them. But they have to make it worthwhile. Anyway, that's my take. Admittedly, I have not played the original five (it's five, right?) games, so I may be missing something. It seems like a sound enough theory otherwise. Hope I provided some insight or at least food for thought.

See, everyone? This is why you need to kill everyone after the deal is done. The benefits of going nuclear just keep adding up... Btw, you still get the "killed Sholai" ending if you hung out with the Sholai, traded with them, took them for all they were worth, helped that one lady at that one place do that one thing, and sold out your own Council by being a Sholai bootlicker... then promptly turned around and massacred everyone in both camps. No mention of helping the Sholai. ProTip.

I'm unsure if my addition to this conversation is still relevant some months later. But, here it is regardless... I understand how the OP feels. Initially, I thought it felt a little... kiddie. Like a bowling lane with bumpers up. I can't tell you why I felt that way. It was just a pervasive feeing in the background. A handful of times I thought it (QW1) might be the first SW game I put down. But I stuck with it. And I'm glad I did. The QW series ended up possibly being my favorite SW series to date. That's a tall order; these games blow big budget games like Diablo out of the water. Why? Because it's actual roleplaying. Most games hyped as "RPGs" these days are just hack-and-slash dungeon crawlers. You never really feel like your decisions matter or change anything. It's just "get quest, go kill, loot stuff, get quest reward." Everyone did the same stuff, had the same dialogues, never made a single real decision that mattered. Everyone's experiences were the same. Not so with SW games... I bring this up because it's the same argument one can make about the QW games because, among SW franchises, there exists tiers where some do "roleplaying" better than others. Queen's Wish is at the top of that list. A-tier RPGing. Because the game records multiple "reputations" in the background based on your dialogue choices, you literally have to pick a path based on what your character has been consistently expressing and stick with it. There's really no "best" path, either. Each path you choose has merits as well as pitfalls. I'll end my game with a character who had very different experiences as your character, and they have different equips and spells to prove it. "Whoa, where'd you get that shield?" I remember a friend saying as we compared QW endgame notes. Those conversations aren't happening with what passes for "RPGs" available today. That's what QW has in spades and that's why I love it. But you gotta stick with it over that initial distaste.

@BenS I was referring to the Spectral Cleaver. I never used it to attack. It just hung in it's scabbard so I could soak up those magic bonuses. It's good. But I was hoping for more by endgame. @Randomizer Tek's Spectral Dagger is nice, too. But I finished the game with a Melee Weapon score of 3, and those were from the Phariton cannister you mentioned + a certain charm. I guess I could have spared one point from somewhere else, because those defensive bonuses are tasty. I generally went for a "good offense is the best defense" approach. So up until the Gaza-Uss bosses or maybe some infernals, I didn't really need much defense as the fights rarely lasted more than a few turns. For the bigger nasties, I found that, if I put great emphasis on my blessing magic, my Essence Shield was a consistent 380-400 points. That generally stopped at least one round of attacks (sometimes more) before I used one of my 2-3 actions the following turn to cast another and re-up my shield. It was tedious, but no more tedious than hit-and-runs or attacking more indirectly.

Imo, there's really only one. And it's not acquired until at least midway through the game, generally later iirc. Every other blade that might be helpful (at best, none blew me away) had martial weapon minimums of like 3 or 4. Agents can't afford to spend points on weapon skills when there are such yummy magic skills to get on the cheap. And I'm not about to blow six or seven skill points for just +10% evasion or +10% armor or whatevs. If I would be critical of the game, there just aren't enough accessory/item options. At least for agents. Come to think of it, I might make a separate thread about it.

If only I had learned my lesson... In fact, I dare imagine an alternate ending. One where miss thang continues her wantonly destructive, all-consuming rampage as she glides (level 23 agents hover/glide instead of walk) down into shaper lands and, in her blind fury, gets promptly swarmed and massacred by hundreds of council-loyal zealots. But not before delivering thousands of combatants and civilians alike to the endless depths of death's cold embrace. Glorious.

@alhoon Nah, I rather like it this way. Adds character. I love little inaccuracies or oddball additions in games, even if they are unintentional. But, after playing enough SW games, I'm half inclined to believe this was intentional. The dev adds fun, quirky elements whenever possible, something I certainly appreciate. I just thought it was funny/interesting enough to tell y'all.

She's got much more than that. She's got the wrath of god. It can be yours. Help her out to find out...

Let's talk about Learned Thani for a moment. You know, the self-imposed recluse and presumable namesake of the Hermit Crossroads. Have you ever gotten on his bad side? I have, and what I found out was interesting to say the least... So, recently I completed my first run of GF2-I. A normal solo-ish agent run of immense satisfaction. After defeating the final foe in Gaza-Uss, my barely-level-23 agent went on a merciless homicidal bender spanning the Drypeaks (like I do). The result of an acute psychotic break exacerbated by excessive cannister use (abuse?). But I digress... So an agent went berserk and went on killing everything, including allies and even the ornks. No zone was spared. When she got to Thani, she tossed a massive 350+ damage firebolt and turned to leave, assuming Learned Thani had simply evaporated like all the other roadside merchants, another smoldering crater left behind. When the dust settled and Thani remained, not a scratch on him, the agent became furious. Bolt after bolt. Purge after purge. Nothing was connecting. She seethed with anger and frustration. "How am I not hitting this guy?" I wondered. When I saw Thani's stats, I had my answer. LEVEL 45?! WTF...?! I sh*t you not: Level 45. It took a good two to three minutes before anything I cast hit the bastard (5% hit chance.) Then another two minutes after that. And another minute after that. Thankfully, his attacks had nowhere near the strength to pierce my E Shield. So we danced for a few minutes before Thani succumbed to the flesh-melting acid I had insisted on imparting. Still, why is this servile level 45? And how can I get whatever he was smoking?

No.

JDubkins, so the ol' Hegemonic Stability Theory. Amiright?

According to some dialogue texts they are attracted to the chaos of the time and place. They love chaos, and delight in spreading it. Like my ex wife.

Actually, I spoke too soon. There are actually six infernals total. That sixth one is certainly in good company. Got wedged in there good. No wonder the Emissary couldn't detect him. 😉

As an aside, I have to wonder if infernals are any worse than shapers. As far as we know none of them walked many dozens of mi/km just to barge into every structure they encountered to murder and steal for personal gain and pleasure. I mean, I'm nearing end game and I can say beyond certainty that my body count in the Drypeaks alone likely dwarfs all five of theirs combined, including dozens of otherwise "innocents." Hell, I've cleared out a half dozen whole towns worth of civilian townsfolk just because they understandably got upset that I've murdered an upstanding civic leader. What do they get for their troubles? Effectively an unapologetic attempt at genocide and their most valued possessions going into a "junk bag" to be pawned for a fraction of their worth. Not to mention, infernals keep their ends of bargains (unlike me, a conniving backstabber who cannot be trusted... some of you know what I mean...). I know this is slightly off topic, but who are the real devils here? Not the infernals.

Teresa in Zhass-Uss sells a Slowing Shiv for 750c.

As I'm nearing level 18, I've changed my mind about agents - they are actually very strong! I haven't needed to cast a creation in about six levels (took TriRodent's advice). I'm soloing and just walking through fights, even bosses. I think most of my struggle came in down to the fact that a) I am extremely pro-Shaper (198 Rep!), so Awakened immediately hated on me, wouldn't let me cross bridges, never traded with me, etc.; and b) I progressed through the Awakened lands straight into Taker lands. No wonder I was struggling - I was trying to fight enemies a handful of levels above me. When I went back through Barzite lands, I rarely got any experience from anything because I was already too high a level. Drypeak, Awakened, Barzite, then Takers. Got it. Some notes (spoilers): She's a glass cannon right now. I'm going back to Taker lands now to show em what's up. Infernals also on my list.

Here's a minor miss: Lem at the Rising North Gate sells Samaritan Sandals for 1260c. +1% phys armor, +1% mag armor, +2 to Healing Craft; and a Shielding Band (ring) for 420c. +3% phys armor, +5% mag armor. FYI.

This helped immensely. Thank you!

This is HUGE. Thank you, mikeprichard!

I went through Mutagen with a solo agent. I loved it, though iirc it was challenging in the beginning. By mid game, the DPS was fire. Literally. I'm not getting the same bang-for-buck in Infestation. And enemies are living long enough to rush me and get in close. Which is never good. I'll continue using daze as you and others suggested. I'm hoping to get to a level soon where my power and essence capacity start to really ramp up, kinda like in Mutagen. Thanks for the response.

I like this suggestion. I already blew my achievements by reallocating skill points with 'retrain.' So there's nothing to lose. I was just hoping I'd get to a point soon where I had enough essence and didn't have to. Thanks for the tips.

Two creations? Hmm... I just made two Fyoras with the following upgrades: 1 Magical Skill, 2 Endurance, Cone of Fire, and Innate Haste. I have 27/59 essence left to play with. After -7 from buffing my party before combat, I'm at 20 essence. It goes quick. Is that normal? I think there are some curing pods around somewhere I can buy. I'll go look. Ah, it's one of those. I kinda wondered. I guess adding monsters of differing levels in lower level areas adds to the 'open world' feel. But, it can be confusing, too. I'll return in a few levels. Thanks.

I was attempting to play on veteran, but turned it back down to normal. Not really. I've used a couple before, but they were really wimpy. I felt cutting them loose before going into a real fight and getting them killed was good discretion. I read that Nora is pretty good. I'll go see f she's still around... Thanks for the pointers.

How has nobody mentioned Pokemon? Not really my jam, but the idea of a "master" summoning monsters to fight in their stead is spot on. Every time I conjure up a creation I feel like I'm tossing out a poke ball. Occasionally, I'll even loudly proclaim, "Fyora! I choose you!" much to the surprise and confusion of everyone else at Starbucks.

Maybe it's me (likely), but are any other agents struggling around levels 7-10? Progress has slowed to a crawl ultimately as a result of not having more than one creation at any given time. Any more than that, and I find myself having to return to town after every fight to re-up on my meager essence. And that's usually a single Fyora since it's difficult to justify spending the high costs on shaping skills when I have more efficient alternatives in magic. Then there's the related issue of Wyk. He likes to nullify me. Since agents are heavily magic-based, it essentially forces me to retreat for a few turns to let it wear off, then return. Repeat ad nauseum (or until I run out of healing potions.) Tedious is an understatement. Basically, In a game where it seems success is largely dependent on the quality and quantity of shaped creations, agents kind of get the short end of the stick. I read somewhere that the developer wanted to to further encourage Shapers and spawned monster allies in this installment. But it feels increasingly like choosing the Shaper class (or, at least, not the Agent) is not just encouraged, but required. Any agents having luck and can give some pointers? I'd appreciate it.