Zeviz

I think dexterity has higher priority than endurance. It's always better to not get hit at all. As for intelligence, I didn't need it until I bought her spell upgrade half way through the 3rd island. (After that spell upgrade, I had to start increasing her intelligence, because she was running out of energy in long battles.) However, strength and dexterity are two primary skills for her, because with those skills high enough you don't need much endurance (most enemies miss) or much intelligence (most battles are over before you run out).

Yes, the experience and gold are the same whether you give notes to rebel sympathizer in Fort Wilton or shaper in Inner Keep. Collecting Iron Bars for sale is best done after the area is cleared. (Kill all enemies, sweep the area for loot, go to the next area, drop loot, repeat.) Iron Bars are among best things to collect for sale, because no matter how many you take, they only use 1 inventory slot.

Quote: Originally written by Leonor: ...Maybe I should play through the games in order to appreciate the whole story? I am just confused though, as all stories seem to start in the beginning of the rebellion instead of having a logic follow up, like they were different approaches? ... To understand overall storyline you have to play the games in order. You will not understand what Geneforge (the artifact) is unless you play Geneforge 1. And you will not know where drakons come from unless you play Geneforge 2. Another reason why I'd recommend starting with Geneforge 1 is that it and Geneforge 2 have much better plot. If you are going to chose only 1 game out of the series, I'd recommend Geneforge 2, because it has largest range of meaningful options and much better plot.

I heard that you only need herbs, shaper notes and shaper tools for various quests. The rest of items might be useful for some recipies, but most of them can be safely sold. (And things like iron bars and flawed crystals can always be sold.)

I never bought Spidweb hintbooks, because the games can be easily finished without them and any questions I might still have are answered on these forums. As for BoE scenarios, I had to look up hints for most scenarios I've played. I guess the difficulty of puzzles in BoE scenarios is higher.

To use the Phoenix's egg, you must have talked about it to Erika (and possibly the mage in Motrax's lair). I don't know if this is the problem in Avernum, but in Exile 2 it was possible to find Phoenix's egg without talking to all the people who were supposed to tell you about it, which would make you unable to use it.

The way I pronounce him, it sounds Alvan. And a couple more suggestions: if you are playing as Guardian, be aware that Parry isn't nearly as strong as it used to be. It's still pretty good, but you can't build your character around that single skill. Also, there are some areas to which you'll have to come back later, when you are stronger. For example, advanced tests in the training center are far too tough for you when you just pass basic tests.

The main warning is that there are only 2 sides now. So don't give pro-servile opinions unless you are certain you'll be joining Latalia. Other than that, the game plays the same way as previous Geneforges, so any strategies you had before still apply. PS Don't forget to pick up Alvan and Greta. Their stats can be improved with their skill points alone, without spending your essense, so they are very useful unless you are playing solo. (However, be aware that they have opposite phylosophies and don't get along with each other very well.)

You don't need mechanics. You might have to combine 2 or 3 ingredients at a time, instead of just dumping all of them on the forge. (Try combingin stick and gemstone, then adding spores and eye to the product.) PS If you can make other rods, but can't make this one the recipe in the faq might be wrong.

What's the difference between normal version and the one from Real Arcade? Do they let you download the game to your hard drive? If they do, the Data > Scripts folder should still be there.

If you don't have any backup saves, the only thing I can suggest is to use a character editor. You can read about Hawk King's editor here: http://www.ironycentral.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=16;t=0008 13;p=1 Just use the character editor to remove the extra endurance points and give yourself the stats you'd rather spend points on.

It seems the editor advertized here is no longer available. However, you can still use Hawk King's editor: The editor itself: http://www.geocities.com/hawkkingsdomain/Editors/z0entrydlg.txt The discussion of it: http://www.ironycentral.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=16;t=000813;p=1 PS To use this editor: 1. Back up the Data > Scripts subfolder of your Geneforge2 folder. 2. Replace the z0entrydlg.txt file in Geneforge2 > Data > Scripts folder with the file linked above. 3. Start the game and read the obelisk in the center of Entry Valley.

What do you mean by "item list"? Just a list of all item names? Instructions on where to find good equipment? Stats of various items?

lol That list was very amuzing. About Servant Minds, they are like computers: very "intelligent" in the areas for which they are designed (running schools, mines, etc.), but very "dumb" in all other areas. And to add a few more items to that list: - You can carry 1000lb, as long as you do it slowly. - However, none of you friends, or pets can carry even a single gemstone, no matter how strong they are. - Normally, it takes years to master magic, shaping and combat technique. However, you can learn them instantly if you pay the right trainers. (Why couldn't your school hire these trainers and save tons of teaching time?) - In the course of a few weeks you and your travelling companions can become stronger and better trained than experienced soldiers, who spent their entire lives training and fighting.

If you mean character editors, yes, some people made them for Gf2. This thread discusses one: http://www.ironycentral.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=16;t=000867#000000 And another one: http://www.ironycentral.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=16;t=000813 There also are several others at these forums (use search to find all of them).

Thanks to everybody for your suggestions. I've just finished Emulations and it was perfect for the kind of scenarios I currently like. Now I'll try the next things on suggestions list. PS About puzzles in scenarios, they are good if they feel natural and can be solved quickly. However, if I have to waste hours trying possible combinations and/or go online looking for solutions, it breaks the atmosphere of the scenario.

Oh, the poor computer... It's feelings are hurt every time you type in that cheat code.

Since this is a single-player game, you could argue that there is no such thing as cheating. You aren't competing against anybody else, so everybody can do whatever makes the game most enjoyable for then. If people were competing against each other, like they do to get into a Hall of Fame in newly released BoE scenarios, then things would be different. But since there is no Hall of Fame here, even editors are fine, if the users don't mind ruining the game for themselves.

I also don't think of Save/Reload as cheating. I often use it to explore different conversation options and courses of action without having to play through the whole game several times to see all of them. As for the other methods of cheating, exploitation of game mechanics is a grey area, cheat codes are obviously cheating even from their name and Editors simply turn the game into something different, destroying all the challenge of playing it.

If you mean Nethergate 2, I think it would be a great idea. I just hope Jeff will come up with a new story for it, instead of just giving a face-lift to Nethergate.

About Luck, I always like to get a few points just in case. It improves your armor and resistances by 1% in addition to supposedly increasing chances of getting good loot from dead monsters, so it's worth it to buy a few points just for that. About leadership, the common recommendation is to have 10 on Dhonal's Island. The earlier you'll get it to 10, the more often you'll get a chance to use it. Later, you might need even more, but I don't think it's as helpful later in the game. For Mechanics, try to get 10 (with items) before leaving first island. In the end of the game, you might need 20 (with items), but you can survive with less.

Where are you trying to download it from?

Here is how I did it: 1. Make as many Thahds as you have space for. 2. Use Speed Spores, Bless group, etc. 3. Send one of your Thahds towards him, while the rest of your group stands back and hits him with ranged attacks. 4. Repeat step 3 until you run out of thahds. 5. Close in for the kill and hope that you can finish him this round. Or you could simply come back later, when you are stronger.

Your poll is missing an important category: "less than 1 time" (for those who got bored in the middle). I marked "1 time", but I haven't actually finished the game. I'll probabaly finish it later, but at the moment my answer is "0.6 times". For comparison, I've gone through Gf1 over 2 times and gone through Gf2 2 times with several branches in the middle to see multiple endings.

You aren't supposed to get these items until much, much later. If you don't mind a little cheating, you supposedly can enter combat mode, haste yourself and rush into the room, closing the door behind you before the guards notice. (Apparently, only 1 of the guards raises alram, the rest just ignore you. So you have to time it so that that particular guard can't see you sneaking in.)