Suspicious Vlish

The vanilla vlish is perhaps my favourite creation throughout the game, due to its low cost, yet high effectivity against enemies. Three or four vlish's can incapacitate a battle alpha or glaahk.

Quote: every time it makes a creation, Dominate it. Why fight fair when you can fight dirty? A good way to take out spawners is to Dominate them. The spawner will make a creation which will still be hostile. But since the spawner is on your side... well, the spawner has just sealed its own doom.

Quote: Once more; Buy up Mech to clear the valley, the sprayers are worth equal XP after cleared as the two Mech points you bought. No, they are not, for two major reasons. 1. There is plenty of experience to be had in the game. By the end, killing Ur-Drakons might earn you about 10 exp points. 2. You can increase Mech with items. If he hastes through the Experimental Valley, he can got to the Clockwork Factory. He can then get the Tinkers Gloves, as well as the +1 from the book. Along with the Infiltrator's Shield, Cloak and Tunic, that's 6 mech points. Why waste good skill points on BS mech? I sink about 4 into it, and I survive.

If you don't want to waste points on mechanics, Haste + Combat Mode gets me through the Experimental Valley every time.

Quote: Augmentation is serious: at high levels, it can add 70+ Health, Combine that with Essence Armour.

Quote: The insturctions says bluntly what will boost ALL magic, what all magic is base don, I know that, Contra. However, it doesn't specifically mention spell duration, especially relating to Dominate. So I'm not 100% sure. I know that with Spellcraft+Mental Magic increases likelihood to hit enemy with Dominate, likelihood to charm (it specifically mentions this in the instructions). But not the duration of the domination. Spiderweb has never been great at giving in detail descriptions, but then what average gamer wants to know abou the mechanics of the game?

Quote: Just consider how you react when you encounter a bunch of different rogues together. If one of them is a Gazer, you do everything you can to take it out first, because you know that if you don't, something on your side is probably going to die. I think this reasoning is flawed, for several reasons... 1. Rotgroths do the most damage to a single person. I take them out first. You can feel free to kill my creations and hurt me a bit, but if you wipe me out, game over... 2. Eyebeasts on Torment do a lot of damage, but eyebeasts which you make don't do that much damage to a particular target. 3. Eyebeasts cost a hell of a lot of essence. This isn't a problem for your opponent.

Quote: Because i have read the Instructions? I have too. It doesn't mention anything about Dominate's duration being increased via Spellcraft/Mental Magic. Perhaps I interpreted it differently to you...

You can't. You have to open it from the other side.

Discipline Wands have always been very powerful, ever since GF 1. I actually tried a missile Guardian in GF 2, and sided with the Takers (so that I could make wands). It wasn't bad, although I think melee guardian is more powerful, and dies less often.

Quote: Spellcraft increases chance of a succesfull spell, increases chance of any spell to be succesfull (read the instructions) I knew that bit... Quote: Increaseing Mental Magic and Spellcraft will increase efficency, i.e duration of spell. Increaseing Intelligence will not. How do you know this?

Geneforge v1.0 would be a good collector's item.

I'm curious about the spell 'Dominate'. Does spellcraft increase your chances of defeating an enemies mental resistance? And does increasing mental magic/spellcraft/intelligence increase the length of time you can control an opponent for?

Quote: and enjoy making Eyebeasts. Highly overrated. I would rather use my essence on Drayks. 4 drayks + Energize All/Battle Roar = Dead opponent. Ur-Glaahks are good, too.

Quote: I could see being an outsider human, but they have said they are unable to create life the way the Shapers can. Really? I know that the Sholai can use magic, and it is actually very similiar to shaper magic. I'm not sure about Shaping, though... I don't see why they couldn't. They are humans, and hence have no restrictions placed on them (like the Serviles have, who have been purposely created so that they couldn't shape/use magic. But even that failed).

Quote: Now, what exactly do I do to run Geneforge 3? I assume I have to tweak these to my "needs". The problem is, I don't know exactly what my "needs" are: You need a ROM file. If you have a Mac, just get it off that. If you don't, good luck on finding one...

I thought that only two factions was a huge improvement. I think that the Awakened in the the two past Geneforge's were placed there by Jeff to give the player a morally correct choice (not that I ever joined them. LOL!) GF3 is far more realistic in its portrayal of an all out war, with no holds barred, no prisoners taken. When fighting against a superior force such as the Shapers, it comes as no surprise that the rebels would use underhanded tactics. The killing of innocents, while immoral, is good military tactic during war (eg. Vietnam War). To be honest, I felt more sympathetic for the Shapers. Despite their glaring flaws, they are more morally redeemable than the rebels. They resist canister abuse, they create new environments out of swamps and deserts and repopulate it with life. And they constructed a great civilization. The only thing which disappointed me was the plain incompetence of many loyalists. I guess when you are faced with 50 foot drakkons, you are going to be a bit rattled, but you'd expect them to have a little more discipline.

Quote: If you liked GF2 and wanted to play more of it without much alteration, then you'll probably like GF3. If you liked GF2 because it had new creations and new factions, you may be disappointed by GF3. If you didn't like GF2 but liked GF1 for the discovery and exploration, you may like GF3. I didn't really take much of a shine to the new creations in GF 2, and wished they had stuck with the originals. To be honest, I have fonder memories of GF 1. The plot was more... intriguing, and the atmosphere was more 'tense'. You were totally alone, had a hell of a lot to explore, and could use the Geneforge. I can't wait for GF 3. At least they haven't added more uncreative creations (Drakkon? Eyebeast? Give me a break!)

Quote: so my final answer is five, with Litalia as the fifth. I am guessing that Litalia represents either the Barzites, or the Sholai. Think about it carefully... Why would the Awakened or Takers want to recruit you? Sure, they wanted to recruit you in GF 1 and GF 2, but that was only when they were SURE that you were pro-servile. In GF 3, you start off as an anti-servile student loyal to the shapers, so I seriously doubt that the Awakened would trust you enough to recruit you. The Sholai are a 'phantom presence'. They weren't in GF 2, which makes me wonder what they have been doing during that time. We have a warrior people who have discovered new land, and new magic. Like the Shapers, they will be arrogant, and seek to conquer it. What would be interesting is that the Shaper Council is faced with a dilemma. The only way to fight the Takers is to use the canisters to empower themselves. This could cause a split in the Shaper Coucil.

Quote: I don't understand your reference to Parry, since in my experience you have to have very high levels of Parry before you can rely on it to prevent opponents hitting you. Well, I only sunk about 4 points into it, the rest I got from canisters. And I have a 50% to block. I think that a higher character level also increases your chance to parry/riposte. Quote: Two other questions: Do you get much use out of Mass Madness? Yes. Quote: And, do you think that Terror and Dominate could be effectively used without going whole-hog into Mental Magic? No. Definitely not. Your shaper should specialize wholly in Shaping, sacrificing almost everything for his creations.

Quote: most of the fights in the game, you can breeze. It kind of ruins the fun, if you've left any, by that time. Utterly crushing your enemies is fun. To me, it is still a bit of a challenge (I play on torment). Quote: One thing I don't get, however, is why do people have more than just a couple of pets? Power, and the feeling of being a mighty shaper. Nothing like having 8 cyrodrayks at your back. You've got the power, you might as well use it. By the time you have 8 cyrodrayks, you don't need any more leveling up, methinks.

Hmm, we must play our games differently. I usually have a lot of people to toast after using the Geneforge (and I owned the Inner Crypts, using a Guardian with about 6 cyrodrayks).

Quote: darn i was hoping for something better Better? The 'Use Geneforge, then destroy it." is in my humble opinion, the best ending. Also, using the Geneforge makes you INSANELY powerful. One of the few games where you feel equal (if not even more powerful) than your strongest opponents!

Quote: What sort of levels do you need to make these spells work in the various stages of the game? Hmmm, I can dominate/terrorize pretty effectively with about 7-8 mental magic, and 8 spellcraft (remember that I have spellcraft enhancing equipment, and used canisters/Sharon. That's a great thing about being an Agent, all of your primary skill can be enhanced by canisters/quests). On very strong foes, Dominate only last a round or two. But when you think about it, it's worth it (eg. My Eass example). 800 damage in one round is nothing to sneer at. Some here might say "Yeah, but I could do the same with 8 searers." True, but we don't care about the Essence/Spell energy cost, but about the time. Because in Torment, the speed of the kill is crucial. When it comes to the crunch, if the enemy hits you, you are dead (unless your are guardian. Agents never have enough constitution to take hits). I've tried the 'inverse' combo with Shaper, heavy shaping, and some battle magic/mental magic. Not nearly as effective, as you need lots of spellcraft and mental magic to hit, something which the Shaper can't afford. The high cost of parry really hurts, too. As an agent, you only need a couple of fire shaping to make a Drayk, which has a, ummm, 100% chance of hitting. Since you have battle magic and spellcraft, that is a great bonus for your creations. Quite simply, my Agent build is good in theory, and is good in practice.

Quote: Interesting. What creations do you have? Vlish, Glaahk and Drayks are my pets. Having even one Glaahk or Drayk by your side is a huge advantage. I also use eyebeasts, and occasionally a Drakkon (since I didn't invest in Battle Creations, so Drakkon is my heavy melee). While you may be weak in essence, remember that you are going to invest in intelligence anyway (since you're casting spells), so it will even out. Quote: Does specializing in mental magic mean using Strong Daze a lot? Well, actually, I don't use Strong Daze that much. Don't get me wrong, it's a wonderful, useful spell, but I usually can kill mobs pretty quick without it (and I'm playing on torment.) Quote: But if you're actually getting good mileage out of Terror and Dominate, I'd like to hear more. I've never found any use for those spells. EXCELLENT SPELLS. They are the bones of my Agent. Until she buys these spells she is weak Terror will make the strongest of opponents wet their pants. Especially useful against eyebeasts. Scare them, then kill them. Dominate is also wonderful. Remember that in torment, enemies can hit pretty hard. Turn them to your side, and you have a 'battle spell'. I have an amusing story regarding just how powerful and useful Dominate is. I was fighting the third Taker leader.. Eass, I think (the strongest Drakkon, who uses the Geneforge). Remember how next to him is a mega-Rotgroth? I dominated it. It hit Eass. Double Strike. Roughly 430 damage for each strike (over 800 damage). Easss drops to the ground like a sack of ****. Game over, Geneforge destroyed, I become an uber-God. I think I set a record for how much damage can be 'dealt' by an agent (not even guardians can deal damage in the 800's), and how quickly I killed that pain in the ass Drakkon. A bonus of staying out of melee is being able to wear lighter armour (I wear armour which enhances spellcraft). In a way, you don't lose out on too many skill points, since you aren't spending them on quick action/strength/melee.