mikeprichard

You're quite welcome. As to the underlying inventory issues, I've come to expect wonky inventory systems from Spidweb games over the years; though Jeff has made some gradual improvements in this area, it's never seemed to be a priority for him, which is unfortunate given how much time players spend managing inventory through the course of play. He has noted in various Steam topics where these issues have been raised by several players - see e.g. Inventory and other feedback :: Geneforge 2 - Infestation General Discussions (steamcommunity.com) - that he's considering how to handle inventory in future titles. Like you, I'll hope for the best, but I don't expect too much.

Per Waladil's recent Steam post: "There is a small problem with putting this into existing games, any items already created by the game (i.e. in any zones you've already explored) will not get the stackable tag. You have to go to new areas to get stackable items." Waladil's earlier April post also notes: "The game gets funky about making items stackable in a game that's already started. All of the old items are saved as unstackable and this will only apply to newly-found items. I don't know if there's a way to fix this, so the mod is best applied to new games if possible." So, if you install the mod in the middle of a playthrough, it seems it will only affect items in areas you've never visited/entered before.

Re: this brilliant mod - having briefly checked in here and on Steam, I noticed Waladil just posted to Steam a different mod file link from that found in the Steam topic linked in my OP above; see the new Steam topic Junk Bag is NOT infinite :: Geneforge 2 - Infestation General Discussions (steamcommunity.com). I'm not sure whether these are different versions of the mod, or if more mod updates are planned, but I defer to Waladil here in case he'd like me to edit/do anything with this or the top post for clarity. Cheers.

Ah, OK - that's more recent than his comment I was thinking of from maybe 2-3 months ago. QW was my least favorite Spidweb series, though still significantly better than the average CRPGs out there IMO - but I'm personally glad he's going to focus on the A4-A6/G3-G5 remasters and maybe a surprise or two along the way, and hope he makes good cash doing so. (I'm still disappointed he's not going to "fix" the A4-A6 map perspective to match most of his other games, with a more immersively scaled "zoomed out" world map vs. local area maps - but I'll try to get over it, lol.)

Is there any definite statement from Jeff that he won't be doing a full Queen's Wish 3 to complete the trilogy as originally planned? I'm 99% sure (but of course, now I can't find the reference...) that in the past couple months he confirmed on a stream or elsewhere that a full QW3 is happening, and I'm unsure of the exact basis for suggestions to the contrary.

There's quite a bit of Guardian advice (including for solo runs) at Guardians need a buff. My personal take (with more details at Guardians need a buff (comment 328597)): I always play solo Guardians (and in G4-G5, solo serviles), and find them extremely fun and viable, recognizing I don't ever play on Torment (like the OP, I usually play GF games on Normal, and very occasionally on Veteran).

Ah, the descriptions on the Skills & Training screen - got it.

It's nice that he made some tweaks, and yeah, from the Steam discussions, it does seem a 1.0.3 may be possible at some point. Anyway, sounds good - thanks! EDIT: Jeff's blessing/mental magic tooltips in 1.0.2 still say "effect" instead of "duration", unless I'm looking in the wrong place.

Hi Slarty - in addition to the improvements to Searer and Chain Lightning Jeff made in v.1.0.1, it seems he may have fixed the behavior of a few more skills in v1.0.2 - particularly War Infusion/Guardian Push/Lifedrain and maybe others - to make additional skill levels after the first actually have (more than miniscule) increased benefits. Unless I'm confusing my files, he may have even incorporated at least some of your mod edits; e.g., the Searer 1.0.2 vanilla description now specifies "(or acid with two points of this skill)" instead of the 1.0.0/1.0.1 vanilla description "(or acid at higher skill levels)". I'm guessing you're busy reviewing the many changes Jeff made in 1.0.1/1.0.2 in general and as they may impact other mods, but do you plan to update this mod as well at some point? The mod itself is helpful not only for accuracy/clarity in the descriptions, but also for insight into other changes he may have snuck in per your usual thorough research. Cheers.

I think Lorn's talking about GF1 Mutagen, not GF2 Infestation.

Yep, your reputation will affect merchant prices in the relevant faction strongholds. I don't think it affects "wilderness" merchant prices, though I'm not 100% on that.

Mechanics +3 in Mechalibur's original list in the OP refers to non-sarcophagus boosts - specifically: Rydell's Pentil book, Hills of Jars, and +1 training from Flig (see details above). There is a fourth possible point I noted in my subsequent post above from a sarcophagus in the Sealed Lab, but given how sacrophagi work in GF1 (they're annoying), it's so late in the game as to likely be irrelevant/unusable - and I certainly don't recommend holding off on Mechanics increases for so long just to get that extra "free" point. As to how much Mechanics are "needed" overall, I kept notes indicating I ended the game with 10 total points including boosts but before temporary items, and had no issues opening all locks with living tools to spare (though there were 1 or 2 traps just beyond my skill, with 13 or 14 required). As usual, Strategy Central has some useful linked info, including Randomizer's traditional "Atlas", which notes a maximum of 14 Mechanics needed to disarm all traps in the game - GF1-M - Atlas to Quests and Items [Massive Spoilers] - Geneforge Series - Remasters - Spiderweb Software Forums (ipbhost.com). That atlas will also give the location of the gloves (in the Mine Core - though spoilers aplenty there, so be careful with your word search if that's an issue).

That's the concept of creation "control" - another topic also linked in GF1 Mutagen Strategy Central has some more details - Geneforge Mutagen Creation Mechanics - Geneforge Series - Remasters - Spiderweb Software Forums (ipbhost.com). Short version (though I generally don't play Shapers, so am not an expert) - you'll want it to be stronger than "weak" if you don't want to frequently lose control of your critters.

Whoops... so you are. What I meant to link to lol - Analysis - Creation Balance in Mutagen - Geneforge Series - Remasters - Spiderweb Software Forums (ipbhost.com).

EDIT: never mind lol

For Jaffee's lesson, in addition to being an Obeyer, you need to have learned about Trajkov (not sure the exact triggers for that) and met Masha.

Yeah, I kind of assumed in my above "notes to self" that Darian is an option to switch rep from one extreme to the other. I had more notes about rep values needed that I didn't share here that made it pretty simple to avoid using Darian altogether, but it certainly would be simpler.

The significant guaranteed extra damage from Chain Lightning even against single enemies coupled with its earlier availability and low-ish essence cost make it extremely strong, IMO. I've got both CL and Essence Lash at 3 points at endgame, and EL doesn't do much more damage than CL (it does Wrack and Shock, but also costs 7 vs. 3 and doesn't hit other enemies). So they're both fairly on par, with variation depending on the situation/needs, in my experience - though if we're only talking about bosses/single strong enemies, EL may indeed have an edge. Also agree with Guardian's Roar seeming underwhelming as the "final" skill, but its effect is unique within the Weapon Shaping tree (ignoring magic/creation options).

My basic notes/path for this are a fairly close mashup of Slarty's/Mech's comments in that topic (I've assumed the player is a completionist explorer here; these are just some highlights): 1) Say "pro-Shaper" things to get the Obeyer quest from Leader Rydell in Pentil to feed Control Four, and complete the quest. 2) Join the Obeyers by talking to Leader Rydell, and talk to Learned Jaffee in Pentil for a free point in Create Fyora (if you have at least 5 Leadership) and a Sholai lesson (if you've learned about Trakjov and have met Masha). 3) Say “pro-servile” things to get the Awakened quest from Ellhrah in Ellhrah's Keep to kill Control Four, and complete the quest. 4) Join the Awakened by talking to Ellhrah, and talk to Swan in Ellhrah's Keep for combat skill training and Sorkin in Pentil East for a Sholai lesson. (The Takers can also be joined for their rewards either before or after joining the Awakened. However, joining then leaving the Takers for another faction will cause everyone in Kazg to become permanently hostile.)

Cool, enjoy - and forgot to say: welcome to the forums!

"Retrain" only resets any directly invested skill points; all points obtained through canisters/quests/books/etc. are kept (which is important, since you'd never be able to get most of those back otherwise).

Ah, thanks for clarifying how exactly this works - I seem to be seeing the Lifedrain effect trigger a lot more than 15% (without any other Lifedrain effects active), but maybe I've just been lucky. The 10 melee requirement is a non-issue for my character, but I might consider the Purifying Blade again based on your comment.

The melee alternatives to the fully maxed Purifying Blade are the Puresteel Soulblade (with slightly less damage but 15% Lifedrain, which IMO makes it superior) and the Essence Eater (which with its dual magic/physical damage may at times do more damage in a single attack than the above two blades - though note the melee-upgraded Frosted Annulet will only have a chance to double the physical portion of the attack). But to reinforce the original point - all three have a significant to-hit bonus, with the Purifying Blade having the highest in the game, and if you're missing frequently (check the combat log for the exact to-hit percentages), it is likely a character level issue.

Also, following up on an earlier post, the Feisty Slap Glove does in fact accept up to four anvil augmentations, but to amend the info currently in the Atlas (and assuming the in-game tooltips are correct for each version of the glove), the augments do the following: ---first: increases unarmed damage / adds chance to daze ---second: increases chance to daze ---third: adds chance to stun ---fourth: further increases unarmed damage / increases chance to stun

Hmm, that would make sense, but I went back to the mind with Leadership 10 and exhausted all dialogue options (I'd done the same the first time through the Power zone, and didn't notice any new options this time), and these two doors in Shaping remain closed. I haven't yet killed Akkat or Easss, but I doubt that would do it(?). EDIT: OK, it's the two heavily-locked levers (with no key available) in the small room with the Battle Alpha canister in the NW/heating vents part of the Shaping zone. The Atlas indicates these levers instead affect the heating tiles, but they don't seem to - FYI for others who might stumble on this.