Magenta

Thanks!

Something I've been wondering about. I don't know if I skipped through the dialog too quickly or what, but it seems something happened to them, but I did not learn what. Does anyone out there remember?

Clawbugs are the worst! When the earth destroys itself, and you think there is nothing left but the cockroaches, the clawbugs will come in and destroy them in minutes.

Me too, but it will probably be YEARS. I'm going to try Avernum next - I've never played it. Maybe it will keep me busy until #2 comes out.

Hope this is non-spoiler enough: The closest to where you are is west through the mines and continue on that path. Another one is several zones north of Pentil. Let me know if you want to know how many zones west of the mines or north of Pentil.

Congrats. I don't know about you, but I struggled on Torment. I'm glad I did it though. Besides the extreme satisfaction of knowing I can do it, I also learned a lot about different approaches to combat. And I was surprised how many different approaches it took.

It's just over two months since Mutagen was released. It has now taken over as my all-time favorite RPG, replacing... you guessed it... the original Geneforge. I continue to be amazed at Jeff's ability to weave together a story that can be played and replayed in so many different ways. This is role playing at its best. I have joined all the sects at one time or another, and played without joining any sects. I have played as a Shaper, and a solo pacifist Agent. I played as a Guardian who Feisty Slapped the S#$% out of some well-deserving Sholai and rogues (thanks for the tip BenS). And played again as an mostly solo Agent but not pacifist. I have played normal, veteran and torment. I'm not very good at combat, so I fully expected to fail on torment, but there were these medals, and well, I had to at least give it a try. I would be embarrassed to admit how many times I died and reloaded, but persistence paid off. I not only finished, I cleared all the areas before using the Geneforge, except of course Guarded Docks. And yes, I earned all the medals. After all that, I still can't wait to start another run. This time I want to play as a Shaper again. For some reason, this is the hardest role for me to play. From time to time, I will find myself using Agent or Guardian tactics, which is not the best use of the Shaper's innate abilities. I find it interesting that there is no longer any incentive to keep the same creations around for a long time. This means you can create and recreate them as needed for each situation. I know some people feel like expendability means destroying their beloved pets, but I don't think that is how a real Shaper would think. Shapers are arrogant SOBs, who use their creations as tools, not pets. If your hammer breaks, you might be annoyed but you just get another one. There is no remorse over lost tools. At least that's how I plan to play it. We'll see how it goes.

Persistence pays off. And a little luck. Enough of them finally got close enough to each other where I could deal more damage with airshock than what they were dealing. I'm pretty excited about it too. This is the first time I have played on torment, and I even did it before using the Geneforge. Good times.

Back to heal and cure... I just realized that the cockatrices in Barrens Bunker heal and cure themselves every time they attack. Or at least they do on torment. Don't know about the other difficulty settings. Makes you rethink your approach to battling these critters. Acid is worthless cuz they cure almost immediately. Anyway. I'll figure something out. Back to the topic at hand, since the logic to do it is already there, it makes me hopeful that in future releases, some of that can make it into creations that we can make.

Just a curiosity question. I have only been able to finish Swanwick's last quest late in the game, like after using the Geneforge. At that point, there really isn't much opportunity to give the cockatrice a try. I was wondering if anyone had used it, and how it fared?

Right. When I play as Shaper, spending time healing is not a problem. That's my job. It's also the hardest role for me to play, because I like to get involved in the fighting also.

Maybe I do not understand the problem. The original question asked about equipping the singing rapier, which does require minimum melee skill. I did not think you needed a minimum skill of any kind to equip the charmed plate - just the strength to carry the weight.

How about a creation that can heal and cure? Sometimes it seems like I spend more time healing than fighting. (can you tell I'm playing torment for the first time?) I have a tendency to play guardians and agents solo, because it seems like such a waste for them to spend so much of their AP healing, while their weaker buddies do the fighting. Maybe make it an available skill on one of the magic creations. Or maybe make a special creation to go with the ornk and the cockatrice. Then there could be a whole story line to go with it. Or maybe I just need to get better at combat?

There is a Vampiric Lance in the West Workshop, but I don't remember it saying anything about charging. Is that the one?

You will be glad to know that's exactly how it works in the remake. A few other things have been improved as well. The biggest problem I have with Jeff's games is I can't stop playing them. In fact, I have decided I need to get some of his other games and try them out. The only other one I have played is Nethergate. (I'll take suggestions on which series to play next.) But for now, I'm in the midst of doing something I never thought I would be able to do - playing on torment. Do I need an intervention?

I have played this game and the original several times, and I find that I nearly always reach a point two or three times in a playthrough where I feel kind of stuck, and not sure where to go next. When that happens, there are some things I try: Go to some of the places you have been, and make sure you didn't miss something. Talk to people again and make sure you did not miss any quests. Maybe you did not have enough leadership the first time you talked to someone. Check your quest list to be sure there is not something you finished but did not go back and report to the quest giver. Check unexplored areas in places that are green on the map. Just because the area is green doesn't mean you have finished with it. You might find a person or item you missed before. In your case, be sure talk to the other people in Kazg. Offhand, I can think of two other quests you can pick up without joining the Takers. Keep trying all the places that you have not been. You might find an area that was too dangerous before, but now that you have gained a level or two, it might not be so hard. I agree with stilltim - joining a sect is much overrated. The biggest difference is in the narrative in the ending sequence. The only time it really makes much difference is if you are trying to play as a pacifist. I won't say it is impossible, but I can't imagine finishing the game as a pacifist without joining the Takers. But I digress. Good luck! hope this helps.

You can still use the Charmed Plate for all its skill enhancing benefits - it just doesn't help you meet the requirement for what weapons you equip. If you use the plate to give you the skill to equip the singing rapier, and then remove the plate - what happens to the rapier? Are you left with a weapon you can't use? This could be ugly in the middle of a battle. The simplest solution is to use only native skills when deciding what weapon you can equip. Then you are not faced with a dilemma when removing a skill-enhancing item. I'm guessing that's the logic behind it - at any rate, it makes sense to me.

Excellent job - very helpful.

I discovered one more pacifist trick in the Vats. The tablets for Toivo's last quest are in the library upstairs. If you just try to read any of the books, the library shades become hostile. But... if you put on one of the pairs of gloves from the box outside the library door, the shades are happy and you can read away. They don't even notice when you take the tablets.

Congrats, BenS. I'm still working on a feisty slap guardian run, but have had limited time to play lately. After your description, I'm still eager to try it.

I love Danette's Cloak! It saved my sorry you know what many times during my pacifist run.

p.s, Lord Backael has put together a pretty good guide here - should it be linked in Strategy Central?

I avoided the rogue area, and only cleared enough mines to get to the incineration chamber. I don't remember if I ran into the two mines that don't disable, but in my previous run I just took the hit and healed. That was on Normal though, not torment. There is a door west of the incineration chamber that leads to the door east of oroboros. If you go in that way, you can go out the same way.

When you can cast it, Dominate is fun with clawbugs. Charm some of them and watch them duke it out with each other. Brings a smile to my face every time. Friendly fire is less of an issue when facing fyora or vlish, who like to keep their distance, so it's easier to avoid hitting your own party. It's when you get a bunch of leaping lunatic thahds that all want to get up in your face that make it harder to get in the right spot for an aoe attack. otoh, when they aren't swarming, it's darn accommodating of the thahds to leap right up to the melee guardian so he can dispatch them without needing to chase them down. I suppose that will change when they start doing knockbacks. Don't let my learning curve discourage you. I could kick myself for forgetting about friendly fire. Randomizer gave me some good advice (Thanks!) and I think I'm getting the hang of it. I also learned that even though the guardian is weak at magic, he can still cast Daze. This helps to slow down the swarm, if you cast it before they get to you. I'm up to level 6 now, and my fyora is a lot less likely to go berserk. We'll see how it goes.

Thanks! I'll keep my li'l buddy and work on better placement. And maybe visit the shops for more spores to keep him healthier and still have AP for combat.