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Lord Backael

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About Lord Backael

  • Birthday 07/12/1995

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    blackviper188@hotmail.com

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    Canada
  • Favorite Games
    Geneforge series

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  1. Ahhh, that's the info I needed. The 250 health part is out of the picture for my character; at level 13, I had 6 Endurance (w/ Girdle of Endurance & Symbiotic Cloak making up literally half of that) and was sitting below 200HP. But Danette's Cloak, that one I totally forgot about, will add some mentions about it. Thanks ^^
  2. Thank you two very much for your input, I'll go ahead and edit some sections with the updated information. Some of the bits regarding luring jump-capable creations to friendlies I might only scantly mention though, if only because of the frustration involved with reloading so often. That said, the luring of Cryora in Ellhrah's Keep to access the Cure Affliction canister is definitely a big takeaway that I'll mention. The clearing of the Ascended Labs was also an enormous takeaway. Stupid me, I wrote the entire area off because I thought it was combat-locked & didn't bother trying it, even knowing there was that giant gated storage section that could be used to bypass patrols. Went back with my endgame Pacifist Agent on Torment, no problems sneaking past the patrols and using the charmed alphas to take down the cockatrice. Burned through a healing spore pouch every turn of the fight though, maybe like 4-8 total? But otherwise pretty easy. I reckon doing the Yu-La quests afterwards would grant a massive amount of XP to midgame/mid-lategame chars. Regarding the Barren's Bunker though... so I tried it with my Agent that cleared the entire game (stole True Shaper Gloves, convinced Trajkov to use the fake ones, etc.): 11 leadership, 14 mech, 14 stealth. I cleared the first minefield in the north of the bunker, but the second switch is blocked by two mines that don't shut off and seem impossible to pass (I tried many, many times, and got extremely angry from so many attempts). The path west through the guards requires an insane amount of movement (can still get caught due to LOS and buggy interactions with stealth), after reaching Oroboros the door east of her doesn't open under any circumstances for me, and leading her back through the rogue areas has her leave right as you reach the mine area again (despite all the ones to the machinery being disabled). Soooo... maybe there's something I'm missing with that part? I've given up trying on that bit... I reached the point of yelling loudly out of frustration after every death, to me the effort's not worth it (at least with my current knowledge of how that section works - again if I've missed something than please let me know). Thank you both again for the advice though. I'll be sure to update the guide with the new info when I get the chance ^^
  3. Ah oops, that part was meant to imply that the internals of the Sealed Lab were combat-locked & otherwise avoidable, but yeah you're right, the area itself clears automatically for Takers and is easily passable. Edited the article to clarify this, thanks for the heads up. And glad to be of some help ^^
  4. Playing Geneforge as a pacifist is like going to Jurassic Park/World, but staying on the boat the whole time. Yeah you won't get eaten by the T-Rex (which to me kinda feels like the whole point of going, since you're actively tempting fate at that point), but you also don't get to see a whole lot. That is to say, in a game where you can make fire-breathing velociraptors, shoot lightning out of your hands, and become a literal god of death, restricting yourself into pacifism feels like it's missing the point. It's like going to your own pizza party, only to eat the salad. With that said, playing as a pacifist also does do a fine job at testing the player's knowledge of the game, as resources, movement, and experience gains all need to come from non-violent sources, which isn't always as easy as it sounds. When everything does click however, it's a bit of a trip rapidly blowing through major areas, and completing what normally is a 10 - 20 hour experience in around 2 - 4. As of writing this, an extremely small number of people have the "Path of the Pacifist", "I Walk Alone", and Torment Difficulty Steam achievements unlocked (0.3%, 0.6%, and again 0.6% respectively, as of March 15th, 2021). This guide sets out to easily get all 3 (and more) in a single run. Be warned: total spoilers ahead. The Basics, and Changes from OG Geneforge: -Be prepared to save and reset. A lot. The changes to monster abilities and melee blocking mean that any charge-based creation is pretty much an instant reset (as you have no real way of running away from them once they're on top of you), and there's a LOT of them in this game. Some areas require pretty precise movements in order to traverse properly. Have a main save & backup save handy, save both often, and don't be afraid of loading a backup save if you end up getting stuck in a tricky area -Stealth is required, but unreliable. You can execute the exact same movements around enemies, sometimes you'll past, and sometimes they'll just decide they want you dead. See the point above: save often, have a backup -Scavenge and steal whenever possible. No combat loot will significantly lower your overall funds, and you will still need them for skill trainers and area bypasses. Mercifully, all vendors in Mutagen will now allow you to sell goods to them, regardless of faction alignment, so don't be afraid of choosing certain factions before the vendors of others have been cleaned out (like in the original game). As a very rough goal, save up to 3000 coins for an area bypass, buy living tools only if necessary & at good prices from faction vendors, and save the rest for skill tutors (roughly another 4000 - 6000, depending on faction choice) -All mental magic abilities, from Daze to Charm, count towards your attack count, making them unusable for this run and again reinforcing the previous points regarding stealth and saving often -Your reputation pretty well doesn't matter for the endings: a player with high rebel influence can still get the best Shaper ending, a loyalist can still get the Awakened ending, etc. All endings pivot on a single decision with how you interact with the Geneforge, and if you officially aligned with the Takers. Thus, this guide assumes faction membership based solely on opening up paths of least resistance (IE. the Takers), but realistically you can join whatever side you want and still complete the game as a pacifist -Minor point, but Mutagen now lets you check canister skills before you use them, and gives a small, but noticeable nod to low canister usage if you complete the game as a loyalist. The choice is ultimately up to you though: canisters give a small amount of extra XP, so those going for the Taker or Awakened paths may be more inclined to still mass-use them for extra experience, but I recommend against this as there's a questline later on that can be affected by mass-using canisters The Early Game (Vakkiri, Pentil, Northbridge): Choose whatever character you want. Agents are technically the most canonical and optimal for this run, as their increased health over Shapers and innate 6% spell haste from Spellcraft gives a very niche buff of sometimes being able to cheese chases, but this difference is minor and literally any character will do. Breeze through the first area, invest 4 levels into Leadership and the last into Mech; this will allow you to do all speech-based quests in Vakkiri to gain another level. Pick up the healing canister in Abandoned Vale, but leave the Fyora canister. I recommend not picking up any creation canisters throughout the game, just to avoid that very small amount of temptation and possibly ruining the "I Walk Alone" achievement. Tame the hostile Fyoras further in, walk around the Thahd in the servant mind building, get clearance to pass, move onto Vakkiri. With 4 Leadership, you can complete all speech-based quests in Vakkiri for an additional level (Servile Spy, Steel Knife, Servile Bandits, and War Blessing persuasion). When heading north into the Bandit Woods for the Servile Bandit quest, you can threaten their leader twice and gain experience for both instances. The next level up should be spent getting 4 mech and 2 stealth. Buy an iron shield from the shop, and steal a chainmail vest from the shop & steel gauntlets from the NW lab (both can be stolen in plain sight without turning the town hostile). Grab the living tool from underneath the Vakkiri shop, use it to open the shop locks for more living tools, and open Ham's box (can come back later if need be). For the path of least resistance later on, I recommend showering praise on the serviles, with the intention of joining the Awakened for XP & combat training, and then pivoting into the Takers to open up some bridges later on and gain a ton of free loot. Regardless of your faction choices, head east to Watchhill after you've completed everything. Watchhill is the first area you'll come across that you probably won't be able to clear, especially on Torment. Doing so requires recruiting a local servile and getting them to fight the map by themselves. I've been told this is theoretically possible with blessings & healing, and being able to do so does unlock around 3 quests which offer tantalizing XP, but from my tests they simply don't have the firepower to handle the endless mobs by themselves. My recommendation is hiring them to clear the perimeter after you've seen everything in Ellhrah's Keep, and leave the fort spawner alone, saving you a ton of time in the process (even considering having to backtrack through this area a few times). Your choice. Regardless, slip past the roaming thahds as best you can (again save often; melee blocking means being caught is an automatic death sentence), and head south into Ellhrah's Keep. Head east into the Keep's maze, travel to it's center, and talk to my Chris (never realized that adding him in as a "small but useful reward giver" would translate so well into a pacifist run, but I'm quite happy for it) for a bunch of XP. Then go west and to Ellhrah, convince him to give you a key to access the discipline wand in the southern supply area. Grab it and the mind nutrients from the SW storage areas (the latter requires 2 living tools for the lock, come back later if you don't have them). Additionally, you can lure a couple Cryora away from the SE corner of the map towards guards to mop them up, which will grant access to the Cure Affliction canister (Agents might not be able to use it right away - don't worry if you can't, you can get boosting items later, and it's best to save your skill points for infiltrator skills anyway). You can also come back later if you don't have the heath to tank the Cryora hits. Head back north to Watchhill, convince Seerula the servile in the SE to follow you, and use her to clear out some wandering Thahds around the perimeter for you. Again give yourself a good walking path for later travel, but don't worry about clearing the Watchhill fort itself, unless you have time to kill and/or a burning need to clear the area. Thus, when your satisfied, head north again to Crag Valley. Convince a patrolling servile in Crag Valley to give you their chainmail, then make your way to the north artila spawner. As an Agent and Guardian, you should have enough combat priority to evade and lure the two thahds blocking the western path down towards the patrolling serviles that'll mop them up. If you're a shaper and still have enough combat priority for this, then great. If not, you may have to go through the significantly more painful eastern path, luring the roaming artila back to the guards and then looping around to the western path connection (which takes significantly longer than going the western path, but is still doable). Regardless of your path choice, sneak past the two roaming artila to the north, sabotage the power pylon to blow up the artila spawner, then backtrack and leave through the eastern path towards the Hill of Jars. Around this time you should have another level up: put it into getting 6 leadership and the rest into stealth (if able), which will let your persuade Swan in Ellhrah's Keep to open up the Inutile Village to the east of the keep and do the quest there. You won't have enough mech to bypass the village mines just yet though, so head back to the Hill of Jars. This area is mech heaven: you'll gain a ton of XP, and around a dozen living tools if you're through with your looting (don't forget to check all the pots around the 3 entrances). Disable the turrets with spore boxes, reach the servant mind for some juicy XP (don't forget to ask about getting the Sholai leader's name, Trajkov), grab the storage keys beside the mind, and loot to your heart's content. Make sure to use the mech canister in one of the storage areas east of the mind, this should give you 5 mech total (I don't remember if the Inutile Village requires 5 or 6 mech to disable it's mines - if 5 than go there and do it's quest, if 6 than wait a little bit longer). Head east towards the Pentil Plains. The serviles here are more than capable of cleaning up the gate siege creations to the NE on their own: you can join them to heal them up when required, or wait out of combat LOS until they're done on their own (you'll still get XP for their kills, even if you never witnessed them). Theoretically, you could try sneaking past two areas of rogues to the south of the Hill of Jars first, head into Pentil to grab the official gate clearing quest, and backtrack before initiating the charge, but this will likely use lots of time and I personally didn't do it. Anyway, once the gate is cleared, head into Pentil; most quests here are combat-locked, but you can use the door just north of Leader Rydell to steal a belt upstairs, and use a bunch of living tools on the nearby lock, opening up his private quarters containing decent loot, and most importantly a book containing a mech lesson, which should bring you up to 6 at this point. Praise the librarian for their efforts in preserving the shaper records, which will let you sell shaper research for gold and XP. Talk to Pixley near the south entrance for Coale's merchant quest back in Vakkiri, and a bridge clearing quest. Quickly detour back to Ellhrah's Keep, convince Swan to unlock the Inutile Village gates to the east, then head in. Disable the minefield, talk to the head servile, intimidate the group of bandits to stop harassing the local serviles, then complete the quest for some XP. This will unlock the Ascended Labs to the east; go there only to unlock the area, but immediately head out, as it's way too high level for you at the moment. Head east to Pentil East; this area is another travel-locked one, as the guards really aren't able to properly tackle spawners (even with haste & blessings, the Cryora spawns here are just too tanky & evasive). Grab the Sholai speech lesson from the NW servile if you're allied with the Awakened. Make your way east along the side paths (not the main road, as you'll get ambushed), and combat-rush the last part out of the forest to avoid the final ambush. This'll unlock Northbridge for you; head to the northern hut there, convince the servile to lower their store prices, fix the spore baton in his cupboard, use it to clear the bridge mines, then drop Trajkov's name you got from the servant mind in the Hill of Jars to pass the Sholai scouts at the east end. Backtrack west to complete the bridge clearing quest in Pentil. A final note on this section: somewhere between the bridge sections and the early sections of the next stage, you should get another level up, letting you get 8 leadership. This will let you bypass both the Awakened and Loyalist faction quests (which you otherwise have no chance of completing, as they rely on going into combat-heavy areas you realistically can't sneak into), for a big XP and loot gain. I again recommend choosing the Awakened, as the combat training from Swan gives you Quick Action training and thus combat priority to cheese/avoid fights. The Early-Midgame (Freeplace, Taker Lands, Southeast Docks, Northern Mines): As a quick aside before starting this section, I count Freeplace, located 3 zones north of Pentil, to be lumped in with this section. With 8 leadership, you can convince the guard Battle Alpha out front of the alpha refuge to let you through, and their leader in the back NW corner to give you the freest loot of your life if you give him tips on how to survive on his own. Stupidly, this area doesn't clear by walking down the perfectly open path to the NE, instead you have to go through the minefield forest in the SE to unlock the area, requiring 8 mech if I remember correct. Do this section at your leisure, it's basically just a chunk of free XP and loot. You'll enter the Buried Cells coming from Northbridge. Head to the southernmost entrance, and use the servant nutrients to wake up the mind here, who'll unlock the doors and let you loot the place. It's more worth doing this for the canisters on combat runs, but you won't be needing many nutrient mind containers on this run anyway, so you might as well get some use out of one here. Anyway, use the spore boxes to bypass the mines. One of the SE cells contains a vlish shade and a spray baton on a body; I've found that you can pretty handily tank the damage from the vlish, yoink the baton, and leave with minimal fuss (as the vlish doesn't seem to chase much beyond the cell, due to the closing doors). The cells to the north contain some minor items, and you should be able to easily sneak past the reaper turret in the NW cell with enough stealth skill. Be sure to exit the facility and take the NW path to the servile hut in the corner of the map, and give the spray baton to them for XP and the ability to loot their hut freely (take their back room key from a plant pot north of them, use TAB if you need to highlight which one it is). Then sneak past the artila patrols to the east, and exit to the Quiet Marshes. Entering the marshes will either give you a message indicating you've used too many canisters to get the 100% good Shaper ending, or nothing if you've been frugal with them. Head east, easily bypassing the patrols. Swing north quickly to unlock the northern path and loot the abandoned camp beside it, then back east towards the Kazg Plains. Convince the gate guard there to let you into Kazg proper, and turn in the Obeyer spy in the NE of this map for XP and the girdle of endurance (this or the girdle of nimbleness will become your endgame belt, as the otherwise fantastic girdle of leadership is essentially combat locked & inaccessible). Kazg mostly features combat-locked quests, but there's still a decent amount to do. Loot what you can, the library by the south entrance gives you some XP and shaper records, while the SW tower gives you a Sholai language lesson, loot and clues to getting the entry baton & control rod. Gnorrel requires 10 leadership to bypass her loyalty quest; getting this should be your first goal in this zone, followed by roughly 10 mechanics and around 6-9 stealth. One of the cells in the main Kazg hall contains a captured Obeyer spy, who'll task you with informing Rydell in Pentil about his sacrifice for a generous amount of XP. The Kazg Ruins to the south gives the last merchant quest objective from Vakkiri, though this involves some backtracking. This area contains some surprisingly decent loot that I completely skipped my first time through. Battle Alphas are in the NW corner and the middle south of the map, they can stunlock you, but their charges can knock you away from their melee-block range and can be lured towards guards if you so desire. There's an Essence Shield canister guarded by a single Alpha in the center middle that may be worth your time to pick up - interestingly this Alpha doesn't seem to be lurable past the building it's in, so I ended up just nabbing the canister in combat, tanking a few hits, and walking out of the building. The Servile Warrens east of the Kazg Ruins are very combat heavy. I didn't even bother going here on my run, but there's loot and canisters here (Endurance, Essence Shield, and Mass Energize I'm told) if you want to dedicate the time to stealthing past the patrolling roamers. East Kazg's southern mixing hall can be looted safely if you know how which control panel options are traps (control panel options 1, 4 & 5 spawn rogues, the rest unlock doors). Be sure to talk to the servile just outside the hall, convince him you're an ally for some free XP. Check in with Eko Blade in Kazg before trying to pass east, be sure to tell the guard here he sent you. The Tribal Woods NE of Kazg can be cleared by convincing the feral serviles here that you aren't a threat & would like to trade for a good chunk of XP, and a couple shaper records looted from the western edge of their village. Your two next main areas of interest in this region will be the docks to the south/southeast, and the mines to the northeast. Sholai Refuge and Docks (East/Southeast): The Sholai's Refugee Cave 2 zones east of Kazg is guarded by Battle Alphas, requiring a decent amount of stealth and patience to pass. You'll likely be entering through the Kazg entrance, spawning you west in this area, as the northern route through the Tribal Woods & storage areas are significantly harder to pass through (if not impossible, I tried multiple times to pass the woods patrols, but to no avail). Past the alphas, the rows of turrets at all entrances will require some finesse to get through. In general, you're going to have to tank a few shots from the turrets, and ideally you want only one firing at you per turn to make this bit manageable. Your reward for doing this will be access Sholai questline, which will give a bunch of XP, loot, lore, and a language lesson. Face-tank the mines at the north & eastern exits out of the caves, and take the eastern route out (it's the one past the mines, not the south exit past the alphas). The Eastern Docks (not the Dock Ruins, which are a combat area) require a couple simple skill checks to pass. If you have enough stealth to pass a few key pylon chokepoints, it's easy. I believe 8 mech is required to turn off the power conduits in the middle of the building and loot the place. After leaving the pylon building, you'll find a gate and a south building. The office is useless, but the staircase leads to a group of stranded Shapers that will give you quests. Two are largely combat-locked, but Thrackerzod will give you the Yu-La quest series, which is actually completable, despite my initial write-off of it being combat-locked. More on this later, for now just pick up the quest and move on. Head to the immediate west gate, and grab the key off the body immediately beside it. The glaahk patrols are generally more forgiving to bypass than most roaming mobs, so you can dedicate a bit of time looting the buildings along their patrol route if you wish. Head back to the Refugee Caves, talk to Masha for a big XP drop & language lesson, then do her follow-up quest where you contact Astrov, located in the Wooded Valley just north of Pentil. If you haven't done so already, this is a good time to backtrack to Pentil & Vakkiri and complete the bridge, trader, and captured spy quests. Find Astrov, ask about the paths to Trajkov (requires multiple inquiries into the layout of the northern areas), get the free spellcraft lesson from the mage at the eastern part of the cave, loot everything (multiple free shields & armour sets near the cave's trader), go to Rydell and then back to Astrov to complete his mini quest, then back to Masha to complete the rebel Sholai quest series. This entire endeavour should reward you with lots of loot, and likely a level or two. The Mines (Northeast): What was a bit of a timewaster in the OG Geneforge is pretty well trivialized in Mutagen, the mines offer very useful loot, an entry baton, and the "Clear the Mines" achievement, unlocked by crossing one end of the mines and exiting out the other. Exit Kazg from the north, go east through the tribal forest, than northeast through the Icy Tunnels into the Underground River. Having 6-8 stealth is required to bypass the turrets (the last cluster of them requires very precise movements to pass safely, be warned) as well as at least 8 mech (10 is better - there will still by power conduits that you can't disable at this range, but you can tank their explosions at full health). Disable the power conduit to the immediate west of the Underground River's southern entrance (which will disable some heat vents to the east), then head east past a few turret rows. The northern-most turret cluster is the hardest to pass and requires a high evasion to clear... if you're caught, you won't be able to tank all 3 firing on you at once, at least not without a very lucky round of low damage rolls and/or dexterity evades. Past this are power conduits that you won't be able to disable even at 10 mech, they'll instead explode on you for a similar result, but you can tank the damage at full health. Don't disable the two conduits next to the bridge control panel in the building to the far west of the map, as it'll likely travel lock this zone by not allowing you to raise the bridge anymore, like it did in the original game. Head north to the mines proper... don't bother with the servant kiosk in the NE corner, you can't afford anything from it anyway. The mines in OG Geneforge required the strategic dismantling of the defense pylons to proceed, which chewed up time but was the motherload of all loot areas. In Mutagen, you can sneak past them pretty easily with stealth, and there's still plenty of loot to go around. Rush the NW exit of the eastern mines, don't try looting yet. Head to the mine core, then immediately down the south path when entering from the east end... you've gone down the right direction if you hit a locked door. Open it, head into the south building, and wake up the servant mind with a speech check to avoid using a nutrient container. He will disable the local pylons around the core, and can additionally disable the pylons in one of the other sections (you can switch between areas by going back to him). Your looting goals in this area are: Eastern Mines - Scattered crystals & loot, and a Reflecting Shield in the NW corner (protects against poisoned areas, becomes your endgame shield) Mine Core - Scattered crystals & loot, and a pair of Tinkers' Gloves from the Glaahk nest in the SW corner of the map (the patrols here are somewhat unforgiving, and follow a pathing pattern that sometimes deviates without reason - be prepared for a bunch of resets) Northern Mines - Scattered crystals & loot, Danette's Cloak in the NE corner (saves you from taking one fatal hit - niche use, and a personal tossup between this and the Symbiotic Cloak if you're a Taker ally - don't get rid of it though, save it for later if you don't plan on making it your main cloak), and an Entry Baton at the very north end (past two persuadable Battle Alphas) Western Mines - Scattered loot... this section is filled with wandering rogues and is a headache, so I'd suggest just clearing a couple buildings that don't have rogues in them, and bypassing the rest. Walking out the western exit clears all the mines areas (north has to be entered and exited to register for some reason), and gives the "Claim the Mines" achievement The Mid-Lategame (Ascended Labs + Yu-La Quests, Sholai Bridges, Western Pass to Goettsch Temple, Northern Pass): Ascended Lab + Yu-La Quests: Something I completely ignored on my initial playthrough, due to my thinking that the entire questline was combat-locked. The Ascended Labs and Yu-La quests can actually be completed easily for Pacifists, grating the "Promising Research" achievement in the end. Head back to the Ascended Labs you unlocked earlier. Evade the patrols by using the treeline to their south, then talk to Sessina to learn about the cockatrice research and have them pacify to rogues outside. Accept the quest to kill the one held in the area, then head north, using the small alcoves and large storage building to evade patrols. Upon reaching the cockatrice chamber, sneak along the perimeter, headed south towards the pen of charmed alphas. Convince them to fight with you, then lead them to the cockatrice. It uses AOE attacks, which can cause random status effects that might lead to a few resets. Your job is to bless and heal the alpha group; in my test I used somewhere between 4-8 healing spores. Even on Torment, this fight isn't very hard if all the alphas stay up. Finishing the fight gives you a cockatrice feather, head back to Sessina to complete the initial quest, and accept the follow-up quest. North of the Pentil Plains lies the Junkyard; this area has advanced patrolling Vlish, but you can sneak past them easily, and you can head west to automatically clear the area. Do so, reaching the Barrens Research zone. Sneak past the vlish nest right by the entrance, then head to the main inutile complex. The guards here will only let you in after seeing the cockatrice feather. Talk to Alonzo & Swanwick to unlock the Barrens Bunker to the north. Save that bit area for later, and instead head west of Alonzo's building to Yu-La's trading post. Tell Yu-La that Thrackerzod sent you, and get a vial of red fluid (likely a plot device that'll be used in future games). Head back to Thrackerzod in the Eastern Docks, give him the vial, and ask him if he'd like more help from Yu-La (of which he says yes). Go back to Yu-La, ask her about trading again, and receive a sword from her. This sword absorbs the power of canisters (or rather, it destroys them and gains minor buffs to power), so you'll need to find 3 canisters to destroy. Assuming you haven't used every one you've found (if so, than good luck locating fresh ones on your own), than locate 3 of them and use the sword on them (I ended up going with the Fyora canister way back at the Abandoned Vale, and the two Taker reward canisters in Kazg). Once you've done this, head back to Thrackerzod and give him the sword, likely netting you a good chunk of XP. Bridges and Sholai Zones: If you aren't allied with the Takers by this point, than good luck; your only route to the Geneforge is through the northern pass, consisting of multiple combat-focused areas that won't clear through stealth, and a tremendous loss of loot and time. I'll include a brief summary of the northern pass later on (ignore the entire Taker zone section and proceed straight to the Temple section if this is the case), but this guide assumes a Taker alliance, especially considering that you can still get the loyalist ending from this route anyway. Quick and dirty: -The western Patrol Bridge gives minor loot, and a purchasable stealth lesson from Dig for 2k (make sure you don't fall below 3k coins when doing this though, you'll need them to clear an area later on) -The eastern Guarded Bridge contains very good loot via a speech check with the Sholai captain, and a pair of Soft Shoes (+2 stealth) in a nest in the NW, guarded by multiple roamers and vlish. I tell you this now, getting these is as painful as pulling hair out; you will die many, many times trying to lure the rogues out to the bridge (you need the perfect combo of not getting lit up by multiple attacks at once, and having none of the roamers jump and melee-block you - be prepared to reset several dozen times), but it'll essentially save you a level's worth of grind if/when you get them. -Patrolled Dell, north of Guarded Bridge, contains a Sholai lesson from a book in the NW, loot in the NW and SE corners (the former via a speech check) -The Arena, east of Patrolled Dell, is a combat zone and should be ignored -Winding Road, west of Patrolled Dell, contains the easily-stolen Symbiotic Cloak in the central building (my personally recommendation for your endgame cloak), loot in the SW building (accept the beta-slaying quest, then immediately intimidate the quest giver for loot), and a purchasable mech lesson for 2k coins -Crossroads, north of Winding Road, contains no real loot and is forgettable. Taking the mined route east of the southern entrance saves you some time, as it skips a sequence of having your Taker protection amulet stolen, and having to reclaim it via a trivial stealth sequence -The Front Gate, east of the Crossroads, contains little in the way of loot or meaningful dialogue, and only serves as an access point to the late-game Geneforge areas. It's only real value is to make you appreciate how much time & effort you're saving by not having to slog your way through this part via combat -The Southern Workshop, west of the Winding Road, contains very good loot, a decent XP drop from a quest to kill the area's boss (IE. watch some pylons do it for you... also you get some stat level ups at the end of this quest, which are nice for a combat run, but pretty much worthless here) and the exceptionally useful Control Rod, which helps unlock some key endgame doors/levers, and is used during some endgame decisions. You need 12 mech to activate all the pylons that deal with the ghost spawns and final boss (basically, you hide while the pylons take aggro, and/or watch as an otherwise hard boss gets absolutely annihilated with no counterplay). I again recommend getting the Reflecting Shield from the Eastern Mines, and buying am Ivory Band from a merchant in Kazg to help mitigate the ambient poison damage (I couldn't find an accessible Cure Affliction canister when I went through on my run, making this problem a bit more of a pain to deal with). You can do this section either before or after the temple section, the control rod only really comes into play for the very endgame -The Sealed Lab, west of the Southern Workshop & east of the Patrol Bridge, is a combat dungeon that is easily bypassed for Takers, due to it auto-clearing upon arrival, and the lack of hostiles along it's entire outer perimeter -Ice Walls (and it's western storage area), north of the Sealed Lab, are also combat-locked, only clearing after taking out multiple spawners, which you have no hope of doing on this run. This is the combat alternative for getting an entry baton, but since you picked one up from the mines, this section is worthless and avoidable Western Pass & Goettsch Temple: These sections are the real test for your mech, leadership and stealth skills. Head to the Ancient Crypt west of Freeplace, the start of an infiltrator-focused gauntlet. Some average loot can be found in the side coffins, but otherwise follow the path west & then NW, disabling the mine & reaper turret crystal triggers along the way (you don't have to get them all, just enough to sneak past them). Keep a backup save outside at the entrance at all times, as it's surprisingly easy to get trapped here (either by a crystal triggering accidentally, sometimes through walls, or during the upcoming stealth section). Hug the east side of the final access wall to avoid the only always-hostile reaper turret past the mine section (it's likely to out-speed and one-shot you otherwise). The proceeding open section with ghost patrols is extremely annoying, as they seem to bypass stealth checks and always rush you. Keep an eye out on their patrols, be patient, have saves & backups ready. There's a ruby in one of the middle skull piles, and reaper thorns at the end of the only side alcove. The next crypt guardian section is equally annoying for the same reasons. Additionally, the otherwise fantastic Girdle of Leadership is combat-locked in this part. With something like 8 or 9 stealth, I tried many, many times to grab it from the southern coffin, but the best you can do is walk up, grab it, and then immediately get instagibbed by the ghost guarding it. So just ignore it and stealth past the crypt guardians (likely will need a few resets here), and the final mine area beyond it. Exit to the west to proceed to Drayk's Vale. Easy area: you either have the 3k coins to pay off the master cryodrayk here, or you don't and have to go get some. I've not tried refusing payment and attempting to sneak through this part... frankly I figure the area just won't clear if you don't pay up, and by this point you should certainly have the funds if you have been looting properly. Take a small detour to the SE cave to ponder why there's been a consolidated effort to put that particular cave layout in every single Geneforge game published (and also get rebuffed out of a leadership lesson from a servile at the end if you're a Taker ally), then head west to The Sentinels. Another quick area: ignore going south (there's lots of hostile uber-ornks there that jump you), instead go NW through the ruined buildings. The sentinels are all easily bypassed by speech checks. Loot the buildings that don't have acid pools in them (which likely two-shot you at this stage), accept the mark of hatred from Heustess at the end of the Sentinel string, then head into The Great Temple. Side note that you can alternatively bypass both the sentinels and Heustess by going along the mech-focused path around the area's south & western perimeter instead (the entrance of which is immediately south of the Drayk's Vale entrance, right before the ornk combat area). The Great Temple offers the highest two skill checks in the game: you need 11 leadership to bypass the mark of hatred given by Heustess when talking to Goettsch (otherwise you're forced to fight him), and 14 mech to steal the pair of genuine shaper gloves from the NW corner of the map & disable the minefield before it (it might be 13 mech to get the gloves; the mines in front require 13 mech to disable, and the mech check to disable the gloves alarm may or may not be 14 - I assume 14 just to be safe, it's not that much harder to get). Doing the latter doesn't have to be completed immediately, but should at some point to unlock all ending paths. Do both of Goettsch's quests: the first quest is located in the Dry Wastes north of the Vakkiri Bandit Woods can be completed with stealth & leadership (you'll need a bit of patience to navigate the random clawbug patrols), the second quest can be bypassed with a speech check telling Goettsch to stop wasting your time. Your reward is a decent chunk of XP, and the fake shaper gauntlets (a second pair can be found in the Geneforge Research Quarters, but are effectively combat-locked). Again be sure to get the true shaper gloves once you've reached 14 mechanics. With this section done, you should have the entry baton, control rod, Taker amulet, fake shaping gloves, and true shaping gloves, unlocking every possible ending path to you (technically you can leave the true shaper gloves with Goettsch for his ending, but it's bad and only worth it for curiosities sake). The Northern Pass: Again, don't do this unless you're a diehard loyalist or are doing it for the memes. Complete the temple section before this, as you do NOT want to be backtracking. Head north of Freeplace to the Power Station, and bypass this area by going east (this section requires combat to clear, the first of many). The Hill, admittedly, has some very good loot, but you'll likely chew through 15-25 living tools going through all the locked doors, which is the biggest resource drain of pretty much any area. Kantre's Realm offers very good loot, and can by bypassed with a speech check by telling the servant mind in the middle north section that they're doing a good job and you need to pass through safely. The southern exit leads to the Icewalls which you want to avoid - head east towards The West Gate instead. The West Gate is full of hostile Stealth Sholai (if you aren't allied with the Takers) & ghosts, offering little in the way of accessible loot, and being unclearable with stealth alone. The NE gate requires the entry baton to open and access The Vats. The Vats are bypassed easily via the mech path to the south. Get the servant mind in the SE corner to clear the area of poison debuffs, then exit east into the main Geneforge Central Labs. The Lategame (Research Halls, Geneforge Complex, Barrens Bunker Notes): If for whatever reason, you've made it this far and still don't have 11 Leadership and 14 Mech, you can loot these areas to get gold for the trainers, if you're a Taker that is. Surprisingly, the Central Labs is pretty straightforward for all paths. Takers can loot the place for free (again if you don't have 14 mech and 11 leadership... it you do than don't bother with anything here and just leave the area) and persuade the servant mind in the Vats to the west to shut down for some quest XP, then decide if you want to go the north through the Holding Cells, or east through the Research Quarters/barracks. Non-Takers will be entering the complex from the NW, taking the northern pass through a (somewhat tricky) pylon maze, leading out to the northern exit towards the Holding Cells. The northern Holding Cells are easy to clear; take the northern door through the pylon and heat vent maze (they should be trivial with the skills you've gained thus far), heading to the NW corner, then east towards the NE exit and the Geneforge. The eastern Research Quarters for Takers is another loot area (again only if you really need it - the northern route saves some time if you already have everything). Loot if you need to, I believe the final step of Toivo's questline in Kazg is found in this area if you care to do it. The eastern rooms contain good loot, and another pair of fake (damaged) shaping gloves, which you won't be able to access because the room it's in contains 4 reaper turrets that will pretty well instantly spot you, regardless of stealth. The mage guarding the northern exit to the Geneforge demands you kill the drayk in the NW corner as a test. You can't bypass this part, but you can convince the drayk to kill the mage instead. Just stay out of their engagement range, and heal the drayk every turn. Then head into the Geneforge proper. Head to the middle of the Geneforge complex. Regardless of your alignment or past deeds, Trajkov will deal with you (provided you have at least 3 Sholai language lessons, which you long should at this point). Don't outwardly refuse to help him, hear him out, agree to help him, and be truthful when relaying the information from the book behind him. If you plan on tricking him, you can convince him to send his guards away with a speech check afterwards. You now have total control over which ending you want to proceed with, with your options as follows: -To follow the Taker route, simply give Trajkov the real shaper gloves, and let him use the Geneforge. Make sure you've officially allied with the Takers before doing this, as not doing so results in a bad end for your character -To follow the Loyalist route, give Trajkov the fake shaper gloves (via skill check), let the Geneforge consume him, then use the control rod to disable the Geneforge's 4 surrounding power conduits, and destroy the Geneforge without using it yourself. Doing so gives the Loyalist ending, regardless of your reputation or faction affiliation. Slight ending dialogue change if you didn't use many canisters (IIRC 5 or more... it's only a small text difference of "The shapers realize you aren't warped and fully accept you", vs "You gain great power, but the upper ranks of Shaper society are closed to you due to your augmentations", so don't worry too much about it) -To follow the Awakened route, give Trajkov the fake shaper gloves (vis skill check), let the Geneforge consume him, put on the real shaper gloves to use the Geneforge proper, then use the control rod to disable the Geneforge's 4 surrounding power conduits, and destroy the Geneforge. Using the Geneforge, but not destroying it afterwards, gives a slightly different ending text where others find a way to use the Geneforge, and a power struggle ensues, but you still manage to come out on top -And for the memes, you can follow the Goettsch route, where you leave the true shaper gloves alone in The Great Temple, trick Trajkov with the fake shaper gloves, and leave the island with the Geneforge & it's power conduits still intact. Doing do gives a very "well, what were you expecting?" kind of bad end, and should only be taken as a side curiosity path If you chose to help Trajokv, go back to the Icy Caves and use it's SE exit towards the Guarded Docks. Use gray & green spore batons to clear the minefields, go east past the Sholai encampment, and board the small boat to escape Sucia Island. If you chose to betray Trajkov, pick up the red spore baton to the north end of the Geneforge chamber, then go back to the Icy Caves and use it's SE exit towards the Guarded Docks (there'll be a hostile Sholai outpost there that you can bypass with a speech check). Use gray & green spore batons to clear the minefields, head along the south path into the forest, clear the southern minefield with the red spore baton, then sneak along the coast to the small boat at the eastern pier, and board it to escape Sucia Island. Congratulations, you've now completed Geneforge: Mutagen on Torment difficulty without ever attacking or making a creation, clearing multiple of the game's rarest achievements all in a single run. Barrens Bunker: Call this a victory lap after completing the main game (though you can technically do it before tackling the Geneforge core sections), which should net you the "A Sad Tale Ends" achievement. I... will admit that I didn't end up completing this section on my initial run & follow-up trips, as I'd gotten rid of Danette's Cloak which is generally required to pass through this area. I have, however, completed this route's non-combat ending as a previous combat character, so you should be able to do the same as a Pacifist if you follow the proceeding advice. Head into the Barrens Bunker from the Barrens Research zone. Your goal here is to lure Oroboros, a mad augmented servile in the NW corner of the map, towards some machinery in the center north of the complex, which will unmake her. There are two paths: one through creations on the left, one through mines to the north. The mines to the north are unfairly deceptive: an initial spore box can be activated to disable the initial set of mines, but ones to it's immediate west don't deactivate on their own. I spent many, many, many attempts trying to sneak past a pair of two mines to reach this secondary box, leading to repeated deaths and more than a few verbal fits of anger. The mines simply can't be snuck past, and their damage is so high that most characters simply won't have the health to tank even one, even with defensive buffs. The only way to get through is to equip Danette's Cloak, which will leave you with 1HP and consume your essence, which should let you reach the secondary box (and subsequent ones later on). For those curious, yes I did try sneaking past the guards to the west, hoping to lure Oroboros through them and reach the spore box through the north path. The result was thus; the rogues require insane amounts of precise movements and luck to pass (12-14 stealth doesn't really matter, they can just spot you whenever they feel like it). Reaching Oroboros' chambers, you can tell her to follow you to the machinery, but a door to the east of her that's supposed to lead you there doesn't open (it only unlocks by going through the mine path), and even if you get her through the rogues, she'll suddenly ragequit right before reaching the device (stating that the mines are still active, even if the ones directly to the machinery are deactivated) and leave. Why this interaction occurs is frankly mindboggling to me. But, the takeaway is that the mech path is your only option. Once you've cleared this path, Oroboros can be lead to the northern machine, which will unmake her after several turns of combat. Your goal here is simply to survive for a few turns while the massive passive damage wears away at her, all while booking it to the exit (as her two creations will immediately start chasing you once combat is first activated, and will only take a few turns to reach you). On an earlier alpha run, where I went through this section as a combat Guardian that still took this particular mech path, I distinctly recall Oroboros casting a charm spell on my PC, which succeeded in charming me (a very jarring experience, considering all subsequent games introduce PC immunity to mental effects), but made her incapable of attacking me. So we sat there awkwardly for a few turns before the passive damage took her down, it was a hilarious experience, but I'm not sure if it's still there in the official release. If not, than do your best to run 7 tiles towards the exit, and pop a restoration pod or something before ending the turn. Your reward will be the "A Sad Tale Ends" achievement, if playing on Veteran or above, another rare achievement. Thank you very much for reading this guide, I hope it was helpful. I'm open to comments if certain sections are incorrect, or if alternative/more efficient paths are mentioned.
  5. With respect, my only goal was to make a build that could comfortably handle both endings & the final dungeon on Torment. I apologize if my apparent lack of hyper-optimization is offensive to you.
  6. Oooh boy, here we go slayin' again. ***This guide assumes playing on Torment difficulty*** Who Is The Warrior?: Warriors are physical damage dealers and medium durability tanks, backed up by a heavy complement of creations. Warriors have evolved from their Guardian brethren from G3, in that they slowly turn from warriors into support commanders, as opposed to Guardians who did the opposite. With the updated combat mechanics to G4, Warriors start out as deadly physical damage dealers, but later on have to adopt heavy support-based tactics with heavy commitments to Blessing Magic and Healing Craft. As a result, Warriors end up as a jack-of-all-trades, master of none, capable of healing & supporting creations, while also dealing respectable physical damage and being a side tank, but never doing any one thing better than more specialized classes. Why Choose Warrior/Is He Viable?: Same as the G3 Guardian: Viable, but technically not optimal. Being a jack-of-all-trades means that you'll have the tools to handle all situations, but won't be optimal enough to excel at any given task. Warriors are put into a weird spot where they slowly become less viable the longer the game gets, and with each area, more and more flaws in your build will become prevalent over time. G4's combat system is hard to fully sum up, because there's so many paradoxes when it comes to combat calculations. In short though, your own creations feel squishier than in previous titles, as natural uber-resistances are largely gone outside of energy resistance and some niche elemental types. Like for example, Rots can no longer super tank other Rots, and a lot of turns will end up with some or all of your creations at 50% - 10% health from sheer volume of fire. Again, there's some exceptions, but few of them. As a result, high levels of Blessing Magic and Healing Craft are 100% required for all characters, which puts Warriors in an awkward spot where increased magic costs end up draining skill points that'd otherwise be spent into making the Warrior himself tankier or better at melee combat. The following fully emphasizes my point: I started the beginning of Chapter 4 with 3 Endurance (after Gruesome Charm debuffs, mind you), because I was constantly having to spend points on support skills. With those gripes aside, let me again mention that Warriors are still fine to play as. They can handle both endings, and the final dungeon, quite well. They just don't excel at any one area. Brief Changes from G3: -All attacks can be executed from 1AP, meaning that melee is much more reliable and preferable to ranged. They still cost 5AP though -AP-boosting artifacts no longer exist, meaning that blessings are the only way to guarantee double hits, outside of using niche items at the very end of the game -Characters now have unlimited carry weight in terms of consumables and "junk" items, with strength now increasing armour carrying capacity. This again makes melee much more effective, as increasing strength now increases your offensive and defensive capabilities simultaneously -HP and omni-resistances have largely been increased for major characters, meaning bosses can have several thousand points of effective health. This applies to a certain extent to your character in the late game -Energy damage via Kyshakks and Wingbolt dominate the lategame, with multi-hit fire & ice attacks taking up a close second, depending on faction/choices. The Elemental Cloak spell via Blessing Magic is 100% required for all characters. You will not survive lategame Torment fights without it New Creation Overview: There's a few changes from G3 that mix up the creation pool: fire shaping is a bit stronger, battle shaping is a bit weaker, and energy-based enemies are everywhere. G4 added in a whole tier of creation to the mix, two of which are high-damage energy users: -Kyshakk are high HP tanks with an energy-based ranged attack that inflicts the new lightning DOT, which is just a stronger energy-based form of poison/acid. They're good against energy damage, decent against physical damage, and bad against fire/ice damage, though again high HP helps with all 3. They're built for long engagements, with the sole exception that they tend to run out of energy quickly. With that said, I love Kyshakk, and the Burning Kyshakk is my favourite creation in the game -Wingbolts are high DPS energy-based ranged attackers, who contrast Kyshakk by having low HP, but high burst damage. They can tank magic hits for days, but melee and fire/ice hurt them significantly. Wingbolts are weird in that they can tank energy attacks better than Kyshakk, but not much else, so they can preform well in long fights if you can aggro other Wingbolts or Kyshakk with them, and let everything else hit your primary tanks. An interesting adaptation to Wingbolts is the Unstable Firebolt, which turns it's high DPS energy attack into a double AP fire-based one, while keeping it's insane energy resistances. Wingbolts in general are fine, I just prefer the tankiness of Kyshakk. Your preferences may vary, and both are good options for your party. -War Tralls, the third addition to the game, are awful in every aspect. They cost an insane amount of essence for lackluster returns. Their only advantage is a costless physical-based ranged attack, but that's it. G5 buffed them to a point of relevance, but in this game they're trash. Get a Rot instead Brief Creation Guide: Warriors tend to favor keeping their creations alive for a long time, instead of constantly rebuilding their forced or using unstable creations. Your mileage may vary depending on what you like, and how much you're willing to take away from other skills to pump up your shaping craft. I wound up focusing on fire shaping primarily, and battle shaping secondarily, with my endgame consisting of a Rotghroth, Kyshakk, Cryodrayk, and Drakon. With the Drakon though, it replaced an already high level Drayk, for some more HP and a bit more DPS, at the cost of super essence capping myself for most of the lategame (IIRC I was at around 20 essence or so for most of the Monarch Caves and Titan dungeon, during which a level gain and Intelligence canister solved my problems), so you might find the Drayk to be more economical. Chapter 1: A natural level up and immediate trainer means that Cryoras become available before you even leave Southforge. Get one ASAP; Cryoras obliterate everything in the first chapter and invalidate everything else. Get a second before the chapter's done. Greenfang, a costless companion, is also available, and adds some nice, free DPS to the group, at the lost of low accuracy and being one-shot by everything for the first few areas. However, it leaves or turns against you before the chapter ends. Chapter 2: Some different choices in this one, but again your mileage may vary. Clawbugs become available upon reaching Dillame, as well as Plated Bugs if you wish to skip out on some Trakovite lore. Neither of which I used though. Plated Artila become available roughly halfway through the chapter, via a mechanics-locked energy field. However Plated Artila pale in comparison to their Searing Artila brethren of the previous title, and generally aren't worth getting. Followers of the Cult of Vlish will probably like this area the most though. I personally haven't bought into it yet, so I only got one and replaced it in the next chapter. It's interesting to note that, with 4-5 party members, you can box-cheese the roaming guards at the Turabi Gate and kill them risk-free for their high value drops & easier exploration. Chapter 3: The most interesting chapter creation-wise, as a bunch of options become available to you if you're a double agent. Kyshakk, Battle Alpha, Glaahk, Wingbolt and Drayks all become available at once, with Cryodrayks being unlocked at the end of the chapter. Being primarily fire-shaping-based, I went with Kyshakk and Drayks. Replacing my Vlish netted me an early Kyshakk that lasted me the whole game, followed by a Drayk and later Cryodrayk, the latter also lasting the whole game and the former probably could have if I wanted him to. Chapter 4: The most interesting addition to this area is getting Rotghroths. Rots are no longer the ultra tanks of previous titles, as other Rots are no longer walled by them and energy damage is everywhere (on top of multi-hitting fire/ice users). With that said, they're still good enough to take into the lategame. Burning Kyshakk and Unstable Firebolt also become available via canisters. If you're spreading out shaping skill points like I did, then these might be less valuable to you. For more specialized users, however, they could be worth considering. Chapter 5: Lategame creations now come into effect, but your mileage with them may vary. The Kyshakk & Cryodrayk I had from Chapter 3 were still holding their weight, as well as the Rot from Chapter 4, so the only thing that interested me was upgrading my Drayk to a Drakon, which took more time and essence than I'd have liked. Essence will very likely be your limiting factor in choosing max tier creations, so sticking with highly leveled tier 3s & 4s is perfectly acceptable. The Artifact Trios: G4 doesn't have the same artifact weight as G3; while there's technically two trios of artifacts to choose from, there's also a lot of particularly weak ones that get outclassed by others. The second trio is a significantly more impactful choice than the first though, which has one clear winner. Trio 1, Chapters 2-3: Gloves of Savagery vs Legs of the Tyrant vs Impervious Cape For the sake of fairness, I'll entertain the benefits of all 3. But frankly, there's really only one clear winner here. Legs of the Tyrant give +14% armour, +5 melee weapons, and a life-steal aspect so minor that it rarely makes a difference. Good armour & offensive stats with no to-hit penalties of steel/shaped greaves, but no stun resist either. For Shapers & double agents, the Blasted Greaves in Chapter 4 have significantly stronger defensive stats (in the form of +2 endurance & +1 strength) and are arguably superior. As a Rebel these greaves are fine, but not as a first artifact; get these as a second artifact in Chapter 4. The Impervious Cape gives +12% armour, +5% chance to hit, and +10% hostile effect resistance of creations. The creation HER is nice, but that's about it; all the other stats are lackluster. Furthermore, the Agent's Cloak at the end of Chapter 2 gives significantly better stat value to Warriors overall, as well as being available to everyone. Honestly, this one needed better stats to be competitive with everything else. If it combined say, the +2 Endurance of the old Symbiotic Cloaks, or had a stronger creation aura, I'd could maybe see it becoming a choice. As is though, it's not even worth picking up later on. The Gloves of Savagery are just too good compared to everything else. +2 strength for better melee and defensive potential via armour, +2 melee weapons, +4 quick action that also increases combat priority, and +2 creation strength bonus. These are the best gloves in the game, with the Lodestone Gloves at the very end of Chapter 5 being the only reasonable competition... if they came into play earlier. All characters should get these as their first artifact. At the end of the day, the argument comes down to this: -The Impervious Cape gives lackluster stats compared to everything else, and the Agent's Cloak in the same chapter gives better stat value to players of all factions -The Legs of the Tyrant are decent, but not as a first artifact. For Rebels, these will be the best greaves in Chapter 4, but for Shapers and double agents, the Blasted Greaves will probably be more tempting for their +2 endurance and +1 strength values -The Gloves of Savagery are amazing in every aspect, even more so compared to the other two choices. Every single character in the game should get these as their first artifact Trio 2, Chapters 3-4: Sunstone Belt vs Girdle of Succor vs Shapemaster Boots: This is the only real choice in the game, depending largely on playstyle and how long you feel like waiting for ingredients. All of these ingredients overlap though, so unlike the previous trio, you can only get one of these. The Sunstone Belt gives +14% armour, +20% energy resistance, +20% fire resistance, and +10 energy preservation (spells cost 10% less essence & energy). This one's a purely self-defensive item, designed to help against mid-late Kyshakk & Wingbolts, and later Drakon/Unbound. Interestingly, the lack of ice resistance can actually have a huge or non-existent impact on your game, depending on faction/choices, and may influence you to get the Flameweaver Greaves later on. The major benefit of this is that this artifact can be created roughly halfway through Chapter 3, as opposed to the GoS and SMB which take until the end of Chapter 4 to complete. Your mileage may vary; I personally was fine waiting for the GoS and using the Girdle of Might in the meantime. The Girdle of Succor gives +2 blessing magic, +2 healing magic, +8 creation armour, and +4% creation effect resistance. The creation bonuses are minor, but helpful. The real pull is the blessing and healing magic increase, which helps in getting Elemental Cloak and Major Heal, two wholly required support spells. As stated before, Warrior transitions into more of a support class in the lategame, so the boosts from this belt feel like a no brainer. They also allow the player to potentially swap their Captain's Boots with the Stability Boots if the dexterity & 20% stun resist buffs are more appealing. The Shapemaster Boots give +16% armour, +2 fire/battle/magic shaping, and +10% hostile effect resistance to creations. For those using unstable creations, or are constantly swapping them out, these will probably be a more appealing choice. The good armour value and creation HER also make them usable in battle. With that said, if you're keeping your shaping skills at the bare minimum, and value keeping the same ones alive, the GoS might be more tempting. Furthermore, they also come late into Chapter 4, near the end of the game, which might be too late to make a difference for some players. At the end of the day, the argument comes down to this: -The Sunstone Belt gives great self-survivability vs Wingbolts, Kyshakk, Drayks, Drakon, and Unbound. It doesn't, however, protect you from the swarms of double-hitting Cryodrayks in the later parts of the game, so an argument for choosing the FWG starts becoming more compelling. It also could have limited effectiveness, depending on how often your PC gets focused, how well you can draw aggro, and what your creation comp is like. With that said, it's still a very good, earlier-obtained artifact choice -The Girdle of Succor gives excellent supporting stats, and is highly skill-point-efficient for Warriors. The extra levels of blessing and healing magic can help in obtaining the Elemental Cloak and Major Heal spells respectively, as well as generally making each skill class stronger. This is my personal pick for the second artifact trio -The Shapemaster Boots give better shaping skills, as well as usable in-combat stats. For players constantly swapping their creations, or using unstable ones, these will probably be more appealing. Those preferring to keep the same creations alive will likely pass this one over The Forgotten - Flameweaver Greaves & Cloak of the Shadows: Flameweaver Greaves give +16% armour, +2 battle magic, +2 fire shaping, and +20% cold resistance. While the battle magic boost is wholly wasted on Warriors, Flameweavers offer an interesting niche for fire-shaping users who also chose SMBs, as the +2 boost from this, the +2 from SMBs, the +1 from a Volcanic Fetish, and +1 from Shaper's Robe can give a passive +6 to fire shaping. This might make a fun combination of Drayk/Cryodrayk & Unstable Kyshakk for those valuing temporary creation parties, but for everyone else these are a pass. Additionally, those who instead chose the SSB could pair that with this item for 20% omni-resistances, creating a very interesting defensive combo. With that said, the Legs of the Tyrant and Blasted Greaves might still be better, again depending on previous artifact choices and playstyle. [Editing note: this section previously, and erroneously, stated that the SSB and FWG couldn't be combined due to overlapping ingredients. This has since been corrected] The Cloak of Shadows gives +10% armour, +2 mech/leadership/stealth (detection range for wandering hostiles), and +1 action points. The +1AP is the only reason it's locked to the very end of Chapter 5; G4 only has a few naturally increasing AP items, one in Chapter 4 and the rest in Chapter 5, meaning that getting a natural +10AP is impossible for the majority of the game. Which is a shame, because trying to obtain it means having to use the Quicksilver Chitin, which makes you comparatively squishy vs the super defensive plates of the lategame. Honestly, if the Cloak of Shadows had some sort of defensive downside, like -1/-2 endurance or something, I could see it being a worthy tradeoff for guaranteed double actions. As it stands though, it comes far too late into the game to be useful. Items to Use Golden Crystals on + In-Slot Recommendations: Armour (Golden Crystal/Steel Spine): Puresteel Plate, Drakonian Plate, Shaper Trueweave Legs (Golden Crystal): Blasted Greaves (Loyalist), Legs of the Tyrant Boots (Golden Crystal): Captain's Boots, Stability Boots, Shapemaster Boots Belt (Golden Crystal): Girdle of Succor, Sunstone Belt, Girdle of Might/Genius Ring (Golden Crystal): Shaper's Boon, Forbidden Band (Loyalist), Impervious Band Cape (Golden Crystal): Agent's Cloak Gloves (Golden Crystal): Gloves of Savagery Weapon (Golden Crystal?, Steel Spine*): Guardian Claymore Shield (NA): Polychromous Shield (Loyalist), Agent's Shelter Necklace (NA): Demon Fang Talisman, Talisman of Might *Note: after testing Ivory Skull, Runed Onyx, and Ethereal Bindings, all three seem to apply their effects sporadically, and are thus generally unreliable. Hence, I recommend extra damage via a Steel Spine or Golden Crystal, if you can spare one Brief Faction/Ending Guide + Canister Usage: G4's endings are significantly less straightforward than G3, and require more explanation for each path than I'm comfortable with putting into a single character guide. TLDR, there's 3 main paths one can strive for: Loyalist: The best path in terms of rewards, quests, and training, but the most restricting and the easiest to mess up/lose on. Canisters must be monitored closely, going over 5-6(?) will result in exile or execution, so save before each canister, choose your selections extremely carefully, and check in with the Chapter 2 or Chapter 3 canister evaluation NPCs before saving. Furthermore, you can still be exiled if either Alwan or Miranda die in the final three assaults (which is absolutely plausible; I had to reset a 99% completed second area assault on a Servile run, but had to reset because my Alwan decided to rush down 4 of the completely unnecessary side Drakons while everyone else had left, and I was still recovering from an Ur-Drakon slow... needless to say, he got shredded). This ending is the most convoluted, annoying, and restrictive of the bunch, IMO. The Shapers themselves also tend to abuse you severely. Rebel/Trakovite: Going pure rebel from the beginning is 100% a mistake, as it leads to a severe lack of training & quests, as well as permanent stat losses at the end of Chapter 2 (which should never be used to punish a player's decisions... ever). The best as I can tell, rebels should go full Shaper choices in Chapter 1, then just enough in Chapter 2 to get the Passage Bracelet + Chapter 3 unlock, then start going full rebel choices. I'm still in the process of trying this on another run at time of writing, so this section might change later on. It's also worth noting that high rebel influence is needed for a successful Trakovite ending, which can be triggered at the end of a normal Rebel run with literally a few switch flips. The difference ending-wise is either you being executed, or exiled if you have enough rebel influence. Double Agent: The best path, IMO. No restrictions, no bad ends, no commitments. A double agent is the best of both worlds: you get the training, quests and rewards from Shapers, while being able to freely use canisters and collect side rewards from Rebels. Double Agents should go full Shaper dialogue, and should choose largely Shaper quest options, with the two exceptions of turning in the Chapter 3 Monarch papers over to the rebels for a better reward, and NOT giving the Shapers the Unbound papers in Chapter 4. You can still do Rebel quests, and turn over spies on both sides, but your choices should be largely Shaper oriented. With that said, right before the final Shaper raid in Chapter 5, betray them and wipe them out, then finish the game as a Rebel. You still get largely the same ending, with no exiling/executions, and only a minor slap on the wrist in that the people now placed under your command aren't thrilled that you played both sides. This ending feels reminiscent of playing as a Loyalist in G3 that also used containers heavily; a fun min-max experience with barely a speeding ticket at the end. This path is the most fun & most risk-free, and I highly recommend it to players new and old. The Barrier Zone Assassinations: A small side note: the rebel quest to kill both Barrier Zone Shapers should be completed by both Loyalists and Rebels, as the Agent's Cloak and Guardian Claymore, two key, end-game items for Warriors, are too good to pass up regardless of faction. There's also 0 downsides to wiping them both out for Loyalists, so go nuts. The Build, Chapter by Chapter: As in the previous guide, please excuse any vagueness or unintentionally false information. I've done 1 and 1/2 runs since starting this walkthrough, so some bits might be a bit over-generalized. Chapter 1: Give yourself 4-4 mech/leadership. and your choice of Intelligence, Shaping skills, and Blessing Magic. I personally recommend 2 luck in the beginning (despite it's impact on armour & HER not being clear in this game) and leaving it like that for the whole game. Don't touch Missile Weapons or Spellcraft at all, as there's a trainer for the latter in this chapter, and a trainer for the former in Chapter 3. Quick Action might also fall into the same boat, but low costs & questionable speed priority impacts might be too tempting to pass up. The difference between G3 and G4 is that your melee is actually really, really good at the start, and Strength now also boosts defense via allowing heavier/bulkier armour to be equipped with encumbrance penalties. So don't be scared about spending a few points into Strength, melee, and Endurance, just don't go overboard with any combination of them... you'll still need to support your creations via Intelligence and Blessing Magic. Funny enough, a completely non-invested Daze is still extremely reliable all the way through Chapter 2, so don't be afraid of using it... just don't come to rely on it past then. As stated before, get a Cryora before leaving Southforge Citadel, and plan on getting more throughout the chapter. Your end goal for this one is to get 8 mech and 6 leadership before reaching the chapter boss (yes, the "two island" tax is back, now called the "two chapter" tax). Mech isn't 100% required, but being able to get 20+ XP per mine defusal feels real good when kills are only netting you around +3 XP otherwise. Influence-wise, it's probably good to go all Shaper options in this chapter, regardless of planned loyalties. Just don't betray the Spellcraft trainer until you've gotten enough money to buy two levels off him. Chapter 2: Probably the most impactful chapter of your run. If you're a pure rebel, you'll notice very quickly how much trainers will turn you away, especially shaping-based ones. So don't go full rebel; get enough influence for the Passage Bracelet + Chapter 3 unlock from the Shapers, then do your rebelling. Getting 7 leadership immediately lets you loot the first area fully, and lets you pass through one of the next caves unharmed. 10-10 mech & leadership is your end goal to this area; 10 mech you should get first, and while not 100% required, it hurts not getting the loot and XP drops from mech-oriented areas. Leadership, however, is 100% required to get to 10, as the chapter boss will super drain your base stats if you don't have it (for reasons I legitimately can't fathom balance-wise). Creations have already been mentioned: Clawbug, Vlish, etc. Cryora are still good, and don't need to be replaced yet. The Turabi Gates will be the most interesting area for you, as having 4-5 party members mean that you can box them in via AP cheesing, and kill them risk-free after choosing the high leadership dialogue option. Furthermore, you can speed boost/AP cheese your way past the massive Shaper force there by taking the south approach, and ending your turn out of LOS of everything. Take a good supply of living tools here, and you'll be rewarded with your lategame Captain's Boots, and the last component for your Gloves of Savagery, another lategame item. Once the chapter's done, kill the two Barrier Zone Shapers for your Guardian Claymore and Agent's Cloak, adding two more endgame items to your collection. Killing Shaftoe first is recommend, as he'll create ads while you're preparing yourself (if you enter the area already hostile), while Eliza does not. Chapter 3: A bunch of new, spiffy creations become available here, most of which will likely last you until the endgame, if you so choose. 3 Drayk canisters also allow creation of the Cryodrayk at the end of the chapter. Since the two chapter tax has been paid, you can continue focusing on personal stats (Intelligence, Strength, Endurance, Blessing Magic, etc). 10 mech won't be enough for some mines here, even with triple technician boosts and Tinker's Gloves, but these special mines are few & far between, and can be solo tanked easily. Also, here is where you'll spend your money on getting missile weapons and possibly quick action from a trainer. He's a double agent too, so make sure to buy all his training before turning him in (if you so choose). For Loyalists and Double Agents, supply tokens are given out for doing suitable quests, which can net some interesting items. If for some reason you don't like the Agent's Cloak, you can buy a Guardian's Cloak instead for better melee & defensive stats. Otherwise, use them all up on shaped chestplates for pure monetary gains (high leadership discounts them to 1 token each, you just need to have the two tokens first in order to succeed with the dialogue option), and then get a steel spine with your final token. The Legs of the Tyrant become available at the start of this chapter... if for some reason you don't like the Gloves of Savagery. The Sunstone Belt also becomes available in the same area, provided you're strong enough to kill the Rot guarding it (which isn't nearly as hard as it sounds, despite the entire dungeon being designed for an elaborate chase sequence that usually never happens). Hold off on it though if the GoS or SMB is more appealing to you. Chapter 4: Less developments here in terms of creations, but helpful depending on playstyle; Rots, Burning Kyshakk, and Unstable Firebolt all become available via canisters. If you neglected your endurance skills (I had 3 after taking the Gruesome Charm), pump that up immediately. Wingbolt and Kyshakk roam freely here, and can easily instagib, even with Elemental Cloak up. It's worth noting that both Derenton Freehold and Quessa-Uss can be rushed pretty reliably via mech/leadership routes if you want the GoS or SMB early, though Loyalists and double agents might want to stop rush the Polyphra Ruins first for orders & rewards, which is generally less convenient. With that said, once Quessa-Uss has been cleared, do not exit via the north, and instead enter the northern area from another side, so that you may challenge the Drakon there and claim a Drakon scale from her, used in creating the ever helpful Golden Crystal. Chapter 5: Hoooo boy. I hope you have enough investment for Elemental Cloak and Major Heal by this point, because all sides are gonna need them. This area focuses around the Shaper's raiding of Northforge Citadel, two of the longest and toughest fights of the game. After getting your tier 5 creations via canisters, testing the prototype Unbound, and optionally clearing the Breeding Pits (which I highly recommend for rewards + a fun, optional boss), you'll either be instructed to attack the citadel, or defend it. Loyalists attacking the citadel have it hard, because both Alwan and Miranda have to survive 3 long fight sequences in order to get the non-trash ending. The hardest area will be area 2, where a large force of Drakons and their creations will block the way, and your group will charge ahead before you can fully buff them (and yourself). On Torment, neither Alway nor Miranda can survive the full onslaught of the entire field focusing them, which happens surprisingly often, so you'll likely be resetting at least once. The final area is surprisingly easy, as there's less enemies, less derping, and more chances to distract enemies via neutral golems. Again, keep your Elemental Cloaks & group buffs up, use Major Heal to keep Alwan & Miranda up, and try not to let any NPC rush ahead to far. That last part is much easier said than done. Good luck Warrior, you'll need it. Rebels have a significantly easier time, as they can choose to flee, get help, and only have to fight 3 disorganized waves of enemies (again next to neutral golems), followed by one final fight with comparatively stronger allies. With that said, I find it more fun, and safer, to stop the raid before it begins. When you first meet the Shaper raiding party, they'll be surrounded by high-damage energy pylons, and a bunch of creations, with the game very clearly hinting that you should run. This area, however, is not as bad as one might think. Rush yourself and all your creations to the little alcove where Alwan is, and dig in for the long haul. Most of the energy discharges will be nullified via LOS breaks, and you can pick and choose which of your creations gets focused by which enemies. This is the ultimate test of endurance here, and you'll likely burn through a lot of essence pods. It is, again, entirely doable though, and highly satisfying when pulled off successfully. Ending wise, they're pretty straightforward. Shapers go with the Shaper ending (and pray they didn't use too many canisters), while Rebels and double agents should go with the rebel ending. Trakovites can flip a series of switches to the NW and SE to achieve their respective ending, though again high rebel influence is needed to simply be exiled, and not executed. Monarch Caves & The Titan: G4`s endgame, optional dungeon is kind of a joke compared to the previous titles... as long as you're not a solo player. Instead of Ur-Drakon, Eyebeast and Rotdhizon, this dungeon has... Betas, Stinging Clawbugs, and Wingbolt. There are some regular Rots too, and a trio of buffed Tralls in the NE corner, but both are either easy or optional. There`s also an unlimited spawner here, but it`s forced to pump out a Beta first, wait, then switch to Rots. Killing the spawned Beta forces it to get a new one, plus the final boss is in it`s own separate dungeon layer, so this one`s wholly nonthreatening. The biggest pain will be the mental magic Eyebeast guarding the boss`s dungeon door, however box strating it and forcing it to melee you through Spine Shield absolutely obliterates it, so do that. Be sure to grab the two primary skill canisters before leaving this level. The Titan itself is simply a multi-phase Golem that summons minions if you don`t kill them beforehand. There`s no unlimited spawner here, so take your time. Use speed to rush to one of the side corridors (out of LOS range of The Titan, otherwise it`ll attack), clear the side bosses out one by one, and then prepare for The Titan itself. There`s some good loot here, plus 2 primary skill canisters (complimenting the other two on the previous floor), so be sure to grab it all first. The boss itself is pretty straightforward; The Titan itself is a little bit underwhelming, and the high-mechanics energy pylons do barely enough damage to notice. The biggest pain will be in phase 3, where it spawns 2 Rotdhizons and 2 Ur-Glaahk, the former of which can wipe any creation they want in a guaranteed alpha strike attack that will likely land 8 blows on a single party member. If you survive this though, the fight`s pretty much over. Take your well earned omni-charm, and count your lucky stars that you weren`t a Servile trying to solo this thing. And that`s it! I`m always open to suggestions & feedback, just... be sure to be civil about it. This took me WAY longer to write than I hoped, so please don't rip on me too hard for still not properly utilizing Vlish to their fullest.
  7. Greetings from 12 years into the future. The Sunstone Belt gives +10% energy preservation instead of +40 radiance/undead bane ( https://puu.sh/BD5Rn/e4f394e6bb.jpg ). Would a mod be able to correct this in the OP?
  8. Sure, here's the end-screen stats with full items & trinkets: https://puu.sh/BAT2N/95b54e46da.jpg And here's the end-screen stats without items & trinkets: https://puu.sh/BAT81/ceff0f7cef.jpg
  9. I've seen a lot of people talking about the different possible Guardian builds for G3, but a lot of them seemed to talk about super lategame aspects and not a lot about what actually makes him work/not work. I wanted to try my hand at a guide because, frankly, I'm quite proud that I made a Torment Guardian work in G3, and wanted to share my experiences. For reference, this guide assumes playing on Torment difficulty. Who Is The Guardian?: If you want to get down to brass tax, Guardian is a tankier Shaper with a different damage profile. While Shapers start and end as a support class with a secondary offensive magic complement, Guardians evolve from a purely supporting class, to an actual physical threat in the lategame, capable of obliterating physical-weak enemies and tanking for allies. They work well with DPS-based creations, usually with magical damage, that help offset Guardian's limited damage spectrum. Late-game Guardians are juggernauts and perfectly suited for front line fighting, using AP boosting items to heal teammates, close distances, and alpha strike threats. Why Choose Guardian/Is He Viable?: Is a Torment Guardian viable? Yes, with a smart build. Is he optimal? No. The days of the old, god-like solo Guardian from G2 are over. An entire re-balance of the damage system (lower physical damage, parry nerfs down to a 20% cap from 50% in G2, and the addition of elemental resistances) means that Guardians take almost 3 whole islands to power up to a point of relevance. On the first two islands, where they have to ramp up their leadership, mech, and intelligence heavily, they'll be doing almost no damage by themselves and have a highly limited access to buffs. It's only halfway through island 3 that they can begin pumping up your melee & health stats, which become deadly somewhere around island 4. In the lategame he feels exactly like he should; a super tank that can output great physical DPS, accompanied by a powerful group of creations. But the first few islands will be super painful for him; every character has to pay the two island tax in terms of mech & leadership, but Guardian suffers the most from not being able to output damage reliably while doing so. With that said... "Not being optimal" can easily be spun into "a game with more challenge". Guardians require a higher skill cap than Shapers & Agents, because they have no unlimited use "forget this I'm out" panic button in the form of mental magic dazing. Guardian teams are in a constant state of re-positioning, risk-reward calculating, creation-based elemental tanking, and occasional ass hauling if things go badly. The result is a more tactical-based game, where the player has calculate the potential damage from a dozen different enemy types in a single turn, create plans within plans, and occasionally lay bait-and-switch traps to lure priority enemies into more favorable kill zones. Guardians feel like true generals, tactically commanding forces and having to actually work for their victories. They take the longest to ramp up out of the 3 character classes, but when they finally get there, they're amazing. Compared to Agent and Shaper, they're technically weaker due to the lack of disruptive tools via Mental Magic, and limited damage spectrum in the form of physical damage. But I consider them more skill intensive, and thus more fun to successfully pull off. Brief Creation Guide: In short, Guardians seem to benefit the most from 1 tank creation (Thahds -> Thahd Shades -> Rotghroths) and multiple DPS-based ranged creations (Fyora/Artila -> Drayk/Searing Artila -> Gazers). Island 1: Get 1 Thahd; he's durable, but tank with him wisely. 2 Fyora to round out your DPS, possibly an Artila if you want, just don't expect it to be relevant for long. The two island tax will be in full effect, though raising Intelligence once you hit 8 mech & 6 leadership comes around 2/3 the way through the island, from what I remember. Island 2: A trainer will give you immediate access to all the improved versions of the tier 1 list, though you'll be constantly essence capped from trying to juggle intelligence and mech/leadership increases. Replace either your Thahd with the Thahd Shade, or a Fyora with a Searing Artila, then get the other one later on when you have more essence. Both will last you at least until the beginning of Island 4, where they start falling off in terms of power and accuracy. Replacing your last Fyora is a toss up between a second Searing Artila or a Cryora. The latter is more economical as the Searing Artila's base level is twice that of a Cryora, and what I went with on my run, just be aware that the energy-immune Glaahks and Submission Turrets on Island 3 will be harder to take out. With that said, you still might not have the essence and thus the decision might not matter. Island 3: The two island tax is finally paid, though your Guardian will still take half the island to start finally powering up. A singular Drayk canister can be rushed as soon as you get to Dhonal's Keep, and gives you a good way to deal with the energy-immune enemies listed above. With that said, a much higher essence cost and the need for a full level up commitment to Fire Shaping might make it less appealing. I still recommend it though; I went with a second Searing Artila and had some troubles with energy-immune enemies, and by the time I had the essence for a new Drayk on top of my existing party, he was under-leveled and now irrelevant as I traveled to Island 4. So if you can spare the essence, try to get a Drayk ASAP. Island 4: Searing Artila and Thahd Shades start losing accuracy and relevance here. Luckily this island focuses heavily on Rotghroths via canisters, and trainers if you're a Loyalist. Replace your Thahd Shade with a Rot, and breathe easy; you've just unlocked the lategame tank that'll carry you to the end of the game. Use him to tank Golems & other Rots, and watch out for Gazers, or rarer Drakons. Your Searing Artila will start becoming less reliant here, but you can't really do anything about it until Island 5. Luckily, your Guardian himself will start really becoming a threat now, which will help compensate a bit. Island 5: Gazers are now your endgame. Sacrifice both your Searing Artila to get one as soon as you can. You can get a second one right before you do the Monastery Caves, or the Geneforge finale/Dhonal's Keep assault areas depending on faction. As a side note, because I know people are going to ask: why not get Vlish? In truth... I never really tried them out. My logic was that Vlish started at a lower level than Searing Artila, and thus had a shorter relevance lifespan. They also say that the best form of crowd control is death, so the acidic properties of the Searing Artila's attack seemed more meaningful than the slowing properties of Vlish, which took 1 turn to kick in anyway. Searing Artila are also surprisingly durable, and have stupidly high resistances to energy-based attacks & thus make great pocket tanks against mages. Vlish don't have the same durability, and Terror Vlish are just bad, with an even worse essence cost. With that said, maybe there's some secret meta of mass spamming Vlish. To me though, I don't see how they'd stay relevant into Island 4; my super leveled Searing Artila were barely keeping up as is, I can't see how an even lowered leveled Vlish army could do any better. The Artifacts - Team Boosts vs Self Durability: There are two separate arguments when it comes to the artifacts: Crystalline Shroud vs Creator's Belt, and Essence Aegis vs Infiltrator's Ring. Crystalline Shroud vs Creator's Belt The Shroud vs Belt argument will be the biggest decision of the game, and whether you value team stats vs self durability. In a vacuum, the Creator's Belt seems like the most sensible choice; you get full stat boosts for your creations, the +20 armour gives you better tankiness, and getting the Emerald Chestguard on Island 4 becomes a natural transition (giving you a very helpful +2AP, but more importantly +50 armour, for +70 total from those two items alone). With that said, let me make a counter-argument for the route I went: Strength is the singular most important creation stat, because it effects hit % as well as damage, and as stated before, Guardian relies heavily on creation support, especially for the first 3 islands. Having +2 for each creation stat from the Creator's Belt might seem nice, but the boosts themselves are rather small; on an old 100% Loyalist Shaper run, my creations lost maybe 7% health from removing the belt (as an example, a 620 health Gazer only went down to 580, and an Eyebeast went from 828 to 784). The other boosts are even more negligible. Getting the Crystalline Shroud, on top of giving you and immensely useful +2 AP a whole island earlier, also gives you +3 creation strength (roughly 15% higher accuracy and +3 damage dice rolls, IIRC). The +2 creation strength from the Creator's Belt can furthermore be replicated with the Girdle of Strength, also available on Island 3, for a grand total of +5 from those two items alone. This is a huge boost and should not be taken for granted. With that said, this route also means giving up the Emerald Chestguard, and the loss of armour will make you noticeably squishier. At the end of the day, the argument comes down to this: -Creator's Belt gives you better self-tankiness and naturally transitions into the Emerald Chestguard for an even bigger tankiness boost, at the cost of lower creation strength and delaying guaranteed double actions until Island 4 -Crystalline Shroud gives you a much earlier +2AP boost, and a huge +3 creation strength boost. A Girdle of Strength replicates the +2 creation strength boost from the Creator's Belt and thus ends up giving you +5 creation strength overall, which can't be ignored. This build makes your Guardian significantly less tanky, however Essence Aegis vs Infiltrator's Ring This one's truly a matter of preference, and how much you value going into the Monastery Caves will probably affect your decision. I, personally, am biased towards the Infiltrator's ring, but I'll list the benefits of both. The Essence Aegis gives some critically helpful stats, giving very useful spell-craft and healing perks for significantly better team support, and an always helpful Intelligence boost for more essence. If you have no intention of going to the Monastery Caves, than this one becomes a more appealing option. With that said, the Infiltrator's Ring is easily the best in-slot ring, and one that can be worn at all times, as the other rings in the game either don't match it's power, or come far too late to be truly useful. The boost to dexterity helps out with combat priority and the occasional gem throw (if you're still using them by the endgame), and the luck boost also provides priority and some nice elemental tanking. With the ring though, you'll never have to worry about mech or leadership for the main part of the game. The biggest consideration, however, is it's usefulness in reaching the 20 mech goal for shutting down the otherwise permanent spawner in the Monastery Caves, something which you really need to neutralize if you want to take out the Alpha Creator. Further arguments for the ring are that the All-Protector or even Infiltrator's Shield are perfectly usable on their own, with the All-Protector being completely free regardless of what other artifacts you choose. The Infiltrator's Ring also gives you a safe item to put a golden crystal on, something which the shield can't do. At the end of the day, the argument comes down to this: -The Essence Aegis gives you some very appealing boosts, and will make you much better at supporting your team. If you don't care for the Monastery Caves, this option becomes a lot more convincing -The Infiltrator's Ring is the best ring in the game, giving you higher combat priority, decent elemental resistance, and the ability to ignore mech and speech checks for the rest of the main storyline. If you plan on taking down the Alpha Creator, this ring also helps a lot in reaching the 20 mechanics requirement. And finally, choosing the ring gives you a safe item to use a golden crystal on, as well as freeing up space for the perfectly usable All-Protector or Infiltrator's Shield. This one's my personal recommendation of the two Items to Use Golden Crystals On + In-Slot Recommendations: Armour (Golden Crystal): Crystalline Shroud, Emerald Chestguard Legs (Golden Crystal): Gazerskin Vambraces, Puresteel Vambraces Boots (Golden Crystal): Gazer Skin Sandales, Clover Boots Belt (Golden Crystal): Creator's Belt, Girdle of Strength Ring (Golden Crystal): Infiltrator's Ring, Avenger's Ring, Forbidden Band, Shaper's Boon Cape (Golden Crystal): Symbiotic Cloak, Infiltrator's Cloak Weapon (Reviving Crystal or Ivory Skull): Guardian Claymore, Oozing Blade Shield (NA): All-Protector, Essence Aegis, Infiltrator's Shield Gloves: (NA): Ornkskin Gauntlets Necklace (NA): Talisman of Might Faction/Ending Guide + Canister Usage: In terms of endings themselves, both are good enough to play through and don't require any special hoops to jump through, though Rebels require a little bit more finesse when it comes to min-maxing. Your decision will likely be based on companions. Loyalists are the easiest to play as, since you can go 100% on Shaper comments from the get-go and never look back. The Loyalist ending is perfectly fine and treats you respectfully, though this ending is technically non-canon as it prevents the events of G4 and G5 from occurring. Alwan, however, is a sub-optimal companion for Guardians as he overlaps damage wise, can cause mobility/body-blocking issues, and falls off heavily compared to Greta. Alwan is decent in his own right, and hits his stride on Island 3 when he reaches the critical threshold of strength & health vs an otherwise un-boosted enemy lineup. He begins to fall off on Island 4 though, when Rots start being coming into play and you realize that max stats don't mean squat when you have 0 parry and no resistances (especially to acid). In the end he becomes too squishy for what he's worth, and his usability falls off greatly. Rebels are still fine to play as but require a bit of finesse influence-wise. To get access to the Island 2 trainers you need at least a decent Shaper reputation, thus it becomes worthwhile to choose 2 Shaper-based conversation choices for every 1 Rebel-based on you make. This will be enough to get your upgrades for tier 1 creations, and lets you spend money on training quick action and parry from the combat trainer. On Island 3, still being on the loyalty fence is no longer acceptable for the Loyalist Faction, but by this point you can give Scintle his book on Island 1 and Lankan his uber-canister on Island 2 to give yourself full Rebel influence. By this point you can go full Rebel dialogue options without repercussion. Greta perfectly compliments the Guardian build by adding in a magic damage option to the party, and later on an AOE magic ability which the team will otherwise be missing. It's interesting to note that, if you don't/can't get a Drayk on Island 3, it's worthwhile to not immediately upgrade her fire bolt attack to searer via the magic trainer until the end of the island, as her damage profile gets changed to a magic-based one and thus magic-immune Glaahks & Submission Turrets will cause you more headaches. In terms of canisters, how many is too many? None. Go crazy. G3, while technically having changed dialogue if you use too many canisters, doesn't give you a "bad end" if you're a canister junkie while playing as a Loyalist. As a wise man once said "Is it better to be feared, or respected? I say... is it too much to ask for both?"; the Loyalist ending still gives you full rights and freedoms, with none of the exile/execution garbage from G4. They'll fear, but respect, your heavily modified appearance and abilities in the end. The "backlash" is barely a speeding ticket, so go nuts. The Build, Island by Island: So hopefully I don't mess this part up too badly: I didn't write any of this down when I was playing through it, so now my Guardian's standing on the final docks, trying to remember how the hell he got here. If any of my numbers end up being obscenely incorrect, someone please let me know. Island 1: Give yourself at least 4-4 mech & leadership, +1 intelligence, +1 blessing magic, +2 missile weapons, and either +2 luck or another mech level depending on preference. Outside of getting up to 6 missile weapons, you'll be completely forsaking your warrior heritage until Island 3. Channel your inner Shaper here, because you'll be cosplaying as one until halfway through the game. Some things to note: do not touch any other combat skill except for missile weapons, as we'll be trainer boosting them later (even though the 1-point costs are super tempting), don't touch any of the other magic skills (except for the initial +1 blessing magic) for the same reason. On this island, your goal is to get 8 mech and 6 leadership, then get 6 missile weapons and pump Intelligence for the rest of it. Again, ignore the low-cost combat skills, as we'll be training them later. You can do maybe 1 or 2 levels of strength if you need carry weight for armour, just don't try to over pump it for the Essence Vambraces; leave them for later and stick to Leather Pants. Creation wise, get 1 Fyora, 1 Thahd, and another Fyora after that. Just stick with base-level double intelligence for them, no need to get fancy. Influence-wise, follow the previously mentioned points: loyalists just go full Shaper conversations from the get-go and never stop, while Rebels should choose 2 Shaper-based options for every Rebel option they choose, so that they end up with probably 60% or 70% Loyalist approval, enough for the trainer on Island 2, but not enough for Island 3 influence checks, which won't matter anyway. Also, keep the Shaper tome from the Scintle questline for now, as it'll be used later to help win Rebel support. Island 2: Rush straight to town to the south, so purchase all your upgraded Tier 1 creations. As stated before, replace your Thahd with a Thahd Shade, or a Fyora with a Searing Artila, then get the other one later. Raise your shaping skills to the minimum levels when required. From there, you'll be clearing out objectives, gaining experience, and juggling your level ups. 10-10 mech & leadership is my goal, though you could maybe get away with 8 leadership. Money-wise, you should be looting everything of value to get enough for the combat trainer; get 2 parry points, then focus on quick action. I don't remember if there was enough money for both quick action levels, but it won't matter beyond that. Just be sure to keep up with the 2 to 1 Loyalist-Rebel conversation thing to maintain enough goodwill to keep the trainers open. By this point, your own damage will be so negligible that you'll have almost forgotten you were a Guardian. This is totally fine; your creations will continue to carry you, so continue dedicating yourself to supporting them, keep up with paying that two island tax, and pump Intelligence whenever you can. Killing the two servant minds lets you leave the island, though be sure to get and keep Lankan's uber-canister, regardless of your loyalty. Don't try to visit him again once you have it, otherwise you'll be forced to either destroy or let him use the canister, neither of which you'll want. Both factions will result in Litalia being displeased with you; Rebels shouldn't worry, as there's plenty of time to win her back. Island 3: The biggest of the 3 islands, and the most important in terms of what path you choose to walk. Here you'll choose between the Creator's Belt and Crystalline Shroud artifact paths, and confirm what faction you're in. Loyalists will have the most acceptance here, while on-the-fence Rebels will have troubles winning over both sides, however the Island 2 loyalty-based trainer no longer matters now, so now that you've gotten all you can from him, turn in your Island 1 tome and Island 2 uber-canister to instantly gain full rebel approval. Loyalists will instead want to turn in both items to the Shaper purifier in Dhonal's Keep for nice rewards. As soon as you land, you'll want to rush towards Dhonal's Keep to the north. From there, you'll gain a ton of quests, some XP, some money, and gain access to magic & shaping tutors. This is the second stage of the game where money matters, as every gold piece will be going towards buying improvements for your magic skills (after getting all relevant spells, of course). Your goal is first to get the last level for your blessing magic, then spellcraft for better overall spells, and finally mental magic solely for the Unlock spell. That last part isn't 100% required, because there's far more living tool pickups from shops and such that you'll never be running out, but you're really not going to be spending your money on anything else, so you might as well. Anyway, once inside the keep, sneak into Rahul's private shaping area and sleeping quarters, for a create Drayk canister and Guardian Claymore respectively. The Claymore in particular is important, as it becomes your endgame weapon due to the +2 personal strength and +2 creation strength; no other sword in the game can match these stats. The Drayk point has been discussed already; replace the last Fyora with it ASAP, if you can, otherwise get a 2nd Searing Artila and forgo Greta's magic improvement until the end of the island, if you're a Rebel. Halfway through the island, you'll suddenly stop in your tracks, and remember something... a detail lost to time, something you had at the start of your journey, then lost... and now regained. With renewed strength, you'll cast aside your flimsy baton, raise your sword towards the sky, and let out a warrior's battle cry. Congratulations Guardian, you've survived the early game, and can now start down your journey as a warrior in earnest. Start pumping up your combat skills, and let the enemy taste the fury of your blade. Island 4: By this point, your team will be slowly becoming less and less reliable, as newly buffed creations start making your creation strength bonuses moot. Your casters will have to suffer though the whole island, however your Thahd Shade can now be upgraded into a Rotghroth, the best endgame melee creation and 100% crucial for tanking enemy Rots and Golems. Rebels will likely want to make one as soon as they get the canister from town, however Loyalists may want to rush through the mech areas towards Khyryk's Tower, as he gives training for them, and the +2 level boost (and thus +2 to all stats upon creation) will make your acid zombie that much more powerful. Both Loyalists and Rebels should mech rush to the tower anyway though, as valuable loot and the Emerald Chestguard's Demon Claw (for those who went the Creator's Belt route) make it a valuable target. The next target should be Khor's Deeps, where the last ingredient for the Infiltrator's Ring lies. If you're under-leveled, you can AP cheese your way past the Shaper there and snatch it without anyone noticing. After that, just do quests, loot everything, and get stronk. Loyalist's storyline is pretty straightforward, while Rebels have more additional side quests, and can optionally go to Maker's End and kill the trapped Shapers there for extra XP (once they've gotten all their training from Khyryk... don't do it before that though, as you'll miss out on Greta's final magic upgrade). It's interesting to note that you have a decent chance of being able to clear the first Monastery level, albeit with more pronounced damage & accuracy difficulties. Waiting until the beginning of Island 5 before trying it is completely acceptable too. Island 5: Here, Rebels have their first (slight) advantage in that they can rush toward town and pick up a Create Gazer canister immediately, then get another Gazer level from Orois Blaze's modifications, while Loyalists will have to fight the whole of Icy End to get the canister. Regardless of your path, as soon as you reasonably can, sacrifice both your ranged DPS creations to the alter of science, and create your first Gazer. Congratulations, you now have your second endgame creation. Your next goal will be getting enough essence for a second one, by which point your party will be complete. A couple interesting things here: money becomes valuable again, as two trainers become available who are able to raise your base stats & creation abilities respectively. The biggest sell for Monastery explorers is that both sell Mech level boosts to help reach the 20 cap, though the improved base stats are awesome in their own right. For Loyalists, this is your endgame, as reaching the Geneforge is your final goal. Rebels have a longer & harder journey, as they have to clear the only faction-exclusive area of the game, plus wipe the entirety of Dhonal's Keep on their own (have fun with the patrolling Golems), before they get to retire. Both endings are satisfying on their own, and each warrant a playthrough. Again, canister usage doesn't affect either in any meaningful way, so go nuts. Monastery Caves: This part gets it's own section, as it requires the most preparation and is easily harder than anything else you'll face in the main storyline. If you made the Infiltrator's Ring on Island 4, than you've got a huge advantage here. Bring enough mech-boosting items to reach 20, then head in. With 20 mech, you can rush the reaper-infested middle area, and disable the otherwise infinitely generating Rotghroth spawner, then clear the rest of the areas at your leisure.. though make sure you leave the NW area for last. If you didn't get the Infiltrator's Ring, then you've either had to waste levels pumping mech to compensate for the 2 point loss, or you're hoping to rush Ratlord Eye for the last remaining ingredient for it. If you're the latter, than may the lords of war have mercy on your soul, because facing the 5+ prerequisite Gazers with the constant threat of ambush Rots is a punishment in and of itself. I'm sure it's possible, but again, I wouldn't recommend it. Your final goal is the Alpha Creator in the NW corner, easily the hardest boss you'll fight in the game. Let me be perfectly clear here: if you've not disabled the unlimited spawner, don't even attempt this part. You're not a Shaper, you can't blast this thing down in 2 waves, you're going to be fighting all 3 waves of uber creations and then tanking hits to boot. Having unlimited spawning Rots on top of that will be too much for your party to handle, so don't try it. The fight itself will be the culmination of all your positioning abilities up until this point. I won by having both my Gazers covering the two side corridors, while my Guardian tanked the harder creations to the north, Greta staying behind to blast the Alpha Creator itself, and my Rot right in it's face to prevent it from using it's otherwise obliterating magic barrage. There will be a lot of tanking in this fight, and likely some harrowing moments in terms of healing and positioning. I won after only a single reset (in which the Alpha Creator blasted Greta into oblivion one turn), so it's very possibly, just tricky. And that's it. If there's any blatant mistakes (or if anyone wants to politely argue how much I'm under-appreciating Vlish), please let me know. Otherwise, thanks for reading.
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