mikeprichard

I'm getting ready for a playthrough of G5, and was wondering if there's a guide to rewards (gear from quests, available special areas, etc.) and consequences for having a certain reputation and/or joining a certain faction similar to Slarty's excellent G4 guide (http://minmax.ermarian.net/g4/g4q.html). I've found bits and pieces of info throughout the forums (e.g. about the secret tunnel area that requires you to say you'll consider joining a certain faction), but nothing that really brings it all together. Anyway, I expect there's no such thing, but any specific min-max munchkiny powergaming advice for G5 would still be appreciated. (For roleplaying purposes, I'm considering the Trakovites for the endgame, but I'm still interested in how to game the factions/reputation for the MOST LEWT.) Cheers!

Thanks for the quick reply! Now that I know the Chapter 1 total is probably off by the 2 points, I can plan to grab an extra -2 from one of the optional conversations to compensate - and thanks to your insanely (in a good way) detailed work, that'll be cake. Peace! EDIT: Did some more testing (used a +1 conversation option with Mouawad to see how close I was to getting her first "loyalty" reward, which requires 105 reputation), and it turns out Slarty's end-of-chapter reputation subtotals as listed in the min-max guide are in fact correct. So I'm now thinking maybe at least one listed action's reputation effect was overstated by +2 in the guide (i.e. even though the listed guide numbers should total to 104 rep at the end of Chapter 1, you in fact end up with only 102 rep at the end of the chapter after doing all listed actions). Anyway, bottom line, something's off in the Chapter 1 numbers, but it doesn't matter in the long run - if you follow the Slarty guide, you should end up OK in the end. Thanks again.

All - sorry for 8-year-necroing this thread; since it's stickied in the Strategy Central section, and I think Slarty's still around, I thought it would be legit to get something clear here. Please don't yell. I'm fragile. Slarty - in your G4 reputation min-max guide at http://minmax.ermarian.net/g4/g4q.html, you plan a net total of +4 to reputation in Chapter 1 (+2 Let Tycho go; 0 Help Serif's rebels escape; +2 Betray Burkes; -2 Intimidate Master Thell; +5 Walk Shaila to Forsaken Docks; -3 Guide Caravan through Cairn Gates), yet calculate total ending reputation for the chapter at 102. As the player starts the game with 100 reputation, shouldn't the total at the end of the chapter therefore be 100+4 = 104? Since it looks like you're planning to hit exactly 120 rep for the Ring of Eye's Purity, this +/-2 error in the first chapter could throw off my whole munchkiny plan. (I know there are a few extra minor conversation reputation options I could use to tweak the number and still meet the "plan" - with Alwan/Mouawad/Mars etc. - but I'm not sure which direction I'd need to take these without knowing whether the above is really an error.) Anyway, great work as always - cheers!

Pardon my 6-year necro on this thread, but can anyone please provide a current link to the G4 maps? The links in the OP are obsolete. Thanks!

I just tried to get into a replay of Avadon, and have to admit I couldn't do it. The linearity, the backtracking through the same relative handful of maps, the hard level caps (which I've hit 3/4 of the way through both Avadon 1 and Avadon 2)... in retrospect, it all makes me miss the good old days of Exile and the early Avernums. I guess the Avadon style is the "new" Spiderweb, but if Avadon 3 is like the first two, I don't think I'll be buying. I'm just looking forward to the remakes of Avernum 2 (fingers crossed for later this year?) and Avernum 3 (huge dynamic open world = best Spiderweb game ever). Anyway, just the ramblings of a Spiderweb old-timer. Cheers!

It wasn't until Avernum 4 that Jeff implemented in-game resistance etc. stat information that was accurate, so yeah, you're going to see resistances listed as more than 100% in Avernum 3 that aren't really 100%. I'm not sure what the caps are, but later game caps were usually in the 90-95% range. But again, the in-game info pre-Avernum 4 isn't going to tell you much - i.e. I have no idea whether "110%" really means 60%, or 80%, or what. Just look forward to the Avernum 3 remake in a few years, like me.

In my Normal playthrough, I had Dedrik in my party throughout the game, and I only ever invested in INT, with the whole middle skill column and the three main bottom skills maxed. He was a powerhouse with Spirit Claw.

Good news - Jeff responded to my email (I copied the list from my first post into the body of my message). Here's his response in full: "Thank you for the comments! It will be quite a while until I work on Avadon 3, but I'll certainly see how many of these can fit into the engine as written. Some of these will probably not make it into Avadon 3 but definitely into the Geneforge rewrites (which will use this engine)." Also, could one of the mods please pin/sticky this thread? I'd really like it to stay visible so other players can add suggestions as they see fit over the coming months. Thanks all!

Yeah, I was trying to make a funny... and an Avernum prequel would be pretty freakin' awesome.

Based on absolutely no inside info whatsoever, I'm thinking the progression will be Avernum 2 remake - Avadon 3 - Avernum 3 remake - Geneforge remakes. But Jeff is a wily one - Avernum 7 might also be next.

Yeah, good thing I don't post under my real name - I'd probably be in the dungeons by now.

Good suggestion, but I got impatient and sent the email already. I'm confident that my edited first post (from which I copied the suggestion list into the email body) isn't redundant, though. Also, the intention of the email was more to make Jeff aware of the list; hopefully he'll eventually check in as it continues to develop. I'd also really appreciate stickying this thread, but I guess that's up to the mods.

I've been curious about that - never been as big a fan of Geneforge as Exile/Avernum, but when is Jeff planning to start the Geneforge remakes? Or is he?

Funny, A3's the remake I'm looking forward to the most - it's by far my favorite Spiderweb game yet. Just goes to show everyone has different priorities!

It's been mentioned elsewhere that Jeff's sort of running out of steam these days. I think the (IMO) weaker story and quest development and much more linear style of Avadon compared to the earlier Exile/Avernum titles are symptoms of this. Not trying to be harsh; just looking to explain the changes I've noticed in the more recent titles myself. That said, unless Jeff suddenly switches from making RPGs to making first-person badminton games, the man will always be able to count on me as a customer.

Points taken - though hopefully enough of the regular playtesters have been reading/contributing to this thread for at least some of the points to be brought to his attention next time. I also agree with your "pet" peeve. As for your question on blank spaces - I had the same problem until I realized there's a "Toggle editing mode" icon in the post editing menu (top left). Click that, and you'll then be able to do more thorough text editing. Yeah, it's weird, but that's how it is.

It's in the SW Barracks in Monitor Base C (the Corruption). BTW, you can do a "find" search in Randomizer's "Synergizer's Item List" for this type of info, unless you really don't want to risk seeing any spoiler-y info in your peripheral vision.

I resurrected this thread to edit my list above with the slime and roach plague numbers (thanks qella!), and also noticed this issue - but just remember, "unfriendly" towns like Colchis aren't affected by the plague, so they're intentionally not mentioned in the list.

Thanks - I do (have the time) and I did (email Jeff), so I guess we'll find out whether he considered any of our suggestions when Avadon 3 comes out in a few years. Take it easy, all!

Good point; maybe that's what Jeff was going for then. Based on their descriptions, it would seem more logical for at least some of these skills to use STR, but at least there is a "method." Anyway, I get the impression Jeff doesn't have the time/inclination to read through the forums. So do any of the veterans think it would be appropriate for me to email him directly about this thread to draw his attention to things some fans might like to see in the next installment? Or is this whole exercise just academic?

Right - I meant to include Earthshatter with Earthquake, and those other physical/melee-type-damage Blademaster/Shadowwalker skills also use DEX when it would make more sense for them to key off STR - or at least not only DEX. I also forgot about the strange ranged weapon modifier for Icy Lance. So does anyone know what's up with these - i.e. were any of these stat mechanics intentional on Jeff's part, and if so, why?

Cool, thanks Lilith. Going back to the shaman DEX-vs.-INT thing - was Jeff ever planning to "fix" Call the Storm's and Earthquake's use of DEX (i.e. make them use INT instead) after Avadon 1, and just forgot to change this for Avadon 2? Or was this intentional, and if so, why? Just wondering whether any previous beta testers have some inside info.

Ha, no argument there.

Exactly. The whole thing seems pretty tacked-on, as you don't have much time to actually interact/develop a relationship with the scout in-game. I appreciate that Jeff is trying something new, and he obviously doesn't have a AAA budget to throw around, but the way the "romance" was implemented, I don't think it adds anything to the game.

That makes more sense then - so I guess ignoring END is really only viable on Casual or Normal. BTW, for a playthrough on Hard/Torment as a melee-focused character (I'm thinking Tinkermage), what would be a recommended STR-vs.-END stat point distribution by Level 30?