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Nobear

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  1. Has anything changed to the "top picks" list for A3? [To answer Mechalibur's question from years ago, on a Mac at least, right click on the application file and choose "Show Package Contents." For A3, the file is Contents>Resources>a3itemschars.txt.] I see that the Haakai is listed with cr_base_level = 30. Conversely, the Hraithe has cr_base_level = 26. Do enemy levels change between games, or is there something else that affects their actual level in game? Considering any rebalanced or new enemies, what are peoples' favorites in A3?
  2. Some of them seem decent, like Shade Call and Blink, but I keep forgetting to use them. I can't decide whether Blink would be better for my archer tank (just to get her into tanking position) or my dual-wielding backstabber. In either case, it could come in particularly handy in the face of knockbacks and immobilization effects. I assume the damage ones (like Lightning) are as bad as spell scrolls, and I might as well just sell them. On the other hand, even a small amount of damage on a reusable item might not be terrible if I have 6-9 AP left. If hit chance is decent with it on Torment, perhaps this could be more reliable in some cases than hoping that Haste procs. A similar item is the Xian Harp. Anyone had luck with that? I know I could test this stuff out. I was just wondering if anyone else was already experienced in using these items strategically, or trying to and deciding it's not worth it.
  3. The tooltip says "your abilities will be less effective until you return to base." Anyone have specifics on how much less effective?
  4. Yes, item bonuses apply to any character regardless of build, as long as it's equipped. I'm also 99% sure the improved crit chance from any longbow applies to all attacks, correct me if I'm wrong. I wouldn't call thrown pointless if you choose them and build for them (on a dex-focused character). As an alternative to bows, they have good base damage and good secondary effects (in A3; I forget about A1 and A2). It's a matter of preference. But if your only dex-based character is an archer, then nobody in your party will make even half-decent use of thrown weapons. You really need to pump your primary attack stat (str, dex, or int) in order to have decent accuracy and damage with attacks that use it, especially on Torment. Dumping (and selling) thrown would be most optimal for your party. btw if you want most of your Tool Use to come from your archer because it feels right, or to budget for specific builds across your party, go ahead. But keep in mind the game counts your party's collective Tool Use skill in A3 (again, I forget if it's the same in A1 and A2).
  5. [Spoiler warning] This post is intended as a companion to My Party Build and Advice Post. It takes off where the walkthrough element of the other post leaves off, and focuses exclusively on that walkthrough element. My original motivation for this post was to lay out my case for Randomizer and others that you can prevail in Torment without assigning any skill points to Endurance. You can achieve this chiefly by facing challenges according to an optimal order, postponing certain fights, and going out of your way to seek out others. This way, you ensure that the potential to die in one round of combat is never an issue that creates frustration or prevents progress. At the same time, you ensure that a dex-based tank becomes and remains avoidance-capped — and everyone in your party becomes and remains hit-capped — against as many level-appropriate enemies as possible. From that position of power, successfully mitigating or healing damage as needed is possible largely by finding the right strategy and tactics. It is also a matter of keeping your party and its members well-built, which I began to outline in my first post. In this walkthrough, I will focus on detailing the challenge completion order, strategy, and tactics that have yielded continued success in Torment with my party. To recap from my first post, I assume that the party is level 5 when first venturing onto the surface. I assume they defeated the goblins and bandits in Upper Avernum, along with select challenges ranging no farther north than New Cotra and Ghikra. From first surfacing to defeating the Slime Plague: 1) Kill unicorns, still prioritizing Daze. Even a well-built avoidance tank won't have enough avoidance yet to reliably avoid getting hit by unicorns, and they can one-shot a tank. Postpone Benthorn and the imp behind him. 2) Use the first stone circle, which is accessed by clearing the mountain path north, then heading slightly east. Make your way around western Krizsan Province counterclockwise, picking up the Steel Breastplate from the cache on your way to the western towns. 3) Fully explore those towns, leaving the magic barrier in Pergies for when you learn the spell and don't need to blow a crystal on it. Postpone the scribbane package quest from Pergies, Gruhkbar's Pit, and the snakes just west of the Agate Tower. 4) Sweep the rest of the mainland western Krizsan Province map, killing slimes on your way to Krizsan, but selling your unicorn horns (which usually levels up my whole party) before taking on Agate Tower. For the Mega Spineflinger, summon a shade, since shades are immune to cold damage. You can also keep a melee fighter alive if they are not acting first in party order. Keep the first party member out of range of the frost, and have them use scrolls of Group Heal to help keep the melee fighter alive. You may need to use Healing Potions liberally, which I don't find you need very often, so you should have plenty saved up to burn through by this point. For Bojar, keep your backrow characters just outside the room. If you focus fire him hard enough, he may not get around to exploding everyone in the room, but you might as well be safe. 5) Sweep the Krizsan Province map again, north through the Inn of Blades to the mountains, then back south on your way east to the Slime Pit. Postpone the Get Metal Lumps quest. For the final boss of the Slime Pit, focus fire it, don't be ashamed to use Healing Potions and/or Group Heal scrolls, and use summons to keep the slime adds busy that it sends at your characters. 6) Turn in the Slime Plague quest in Krizsan, and head back to Fort Emergence with the news for Anaximander and Berra. Preparing for the Roach Plague: 7) Sell Magical Notes, talk to Kelner to actually reset the enchantment device, and enchant a Steel Breastplate. Again, I hope this early enchanting doesn't hurt me in the endgame. I've read there are 13 uses across devices. I'm being careful to only enchant gear that I'll use for a while, and save 8 uses for my endgame BIS (Best In Slot) items. 😎 Explore the Tower of Magi. If I have a Piercing Crystal, I might use it to complete the quest for Carrie's notes. Buy 6 Arcane Lore total, excluding the one party member I never intend to cast spells (my dual wielder). Buy priest spells. If there's one priest spell I might hold off on, it's Heal. I find Minor Heal is sufficiently effective, given that I assign a point of Priest Spells every level until 19. 9) Go back to Fort Emergence and read the spell books you just hit the AL requirement for. 10) Sell any Stoneshatter scrolls from here on out. Go back to the wolf den under the Goblin Lair and use Move Mountains to get the previously inaccessible loot. 11) Go down that southern corridor in Upper Avernum, and get ambushed by the rats including the Vapor Rat. I should be able to handle them now. Also clear the chitrach larvae guarding the herb patch southwest of New Cotra, fight the shade along the western border to the northwest of New Cotra, and I can probably also handle the nephilim camp north of the shade. Same with the fire worms on the northern shore of the big lake, and the bugs in the backroom in Ghikra. Tell Rentar-Irhno what you found on the surface, for XP and a crappy ring to sell. I can probably also clear most of the lizards down the twisty paths on the east side between the bandit lair and Erika's Tower, but not the basilisk yet. I realized it won't work to use an Invulnerability Potion to fight the Ice Worm, since it's an outdoor encounter and it acts first at that level. I can, however, probably clear New Formello, but whether I want to try to solve the whole chitrach problem at this level is a close call. Even putting every possible point into each character's primary attack stat, the party still won't be hit-capped against chitrachs. But if built well, hit chances may be high enough to yield a decent chance of success. If you attempt it, make sure to save after the first three waves. Null bugs are nasty at this level. If you can beat those ones, you can also complete the Murder Cave quest. Killing all the sliths near Erika's Tower for the Vampiric Blade will present a similar level of difficulty. That blade is pretty much made to order for a dex-based tank, although at this point, you may need to switch some gear to avoid being encumbered by the strength penalty. A Girdle of Strength can help with this, perhaps borrowed from another character. 12) Explore Erika's Tower very carefully, saving frequently. Expect to have to postpone multiple of the accessible fights at this level, including the ghosts in the kitchen, the Splitting Worm out back, the contents of all the cages except the one with the dead Empire soldier, and the room that summons monsters when you try to get the Gleaming Blade. Read the Vahnatai Notes, which gives you a point of VL (Vahnatai Lore). Return to the Tower of Magi to complete that quest, granting you another point. 13) You should have 9 Arcane Lore total, 6 bought and 3 from VL. The other point of VL is from stealing the crystal in Ghikra. This is enough to return to the Agate Tower and read the spell book below it. Also, having level 3 Move Mountains enables you to access the spell book on the first level of the Slime Pit. On your way, try to complete the scribbane package quest from Pergies and Grukhbar's Pit, avoiding Grukhbar himself. You should also be able to handle Benthorn the unicorn and the imp behind him now. Focus fire Benthorn and include him in your AoE, since he heals the other unicorns. A scroll of Spellward wouldn't hurt with the imp. 14) Do one more sweep of mainland Kriszan Province south of the mountains, going north and then east from the Slime Pit. Stopping by Porter's Retreat and buying a map from Kendrick wouldn't hurt, although you're unlikely to make use of it for a while, but it's cheaper there than in Sharimik. Clear the Wolfrider Warrens. For the boss fight, try to focus fire the boss and AoE him and the other goblins, avoiding his pets. Otherwise, he will greatly buff his pets, including by granting them Spine Shield so that they become dangerous to melee. 15) Make a little potion-brewing detour heading east from Krizsan Province along the south coast, assuming you have at least one Graymold and one Mandrake by this point. It'd be nice to get the Discipline Blade as a reward for killing the ogres near Bolton, but to say that fight would be hard at this level is the understatement of the year. You can just decline to fight them. Take the ferry and head east to Libras, then buy tickets to Lost Island from the innkeeper. Ask Harmon on Lost Island to brew at least one Graymold Salve. They are really rare and useful potions that somehow magically affect the whole party, but the timing of brewing at least one is to prepare for a quest. Really getting filthy: 16) Consider making a detour to Sharimik to buy priest spells including Unshackle Mind, Mass Healing, and Mass Curing. Unshackle is situational, but in the fights where it's useful, it can be downright critical. The latter two spells will make fights with Mung, Guardian, and other poison-spewing roaches significantly easier. While you're in Sharimik, break into the back of the Mayor's office through a hidden switch requiring 13 or 14 Tool Use, and steal a peak at the Dispel Barrier spell book. Ooh! nlambert's index, linked to from Randomizer's Strategy Central stickied thread, can help you efficiently look up the areas past level 1 barriers you may have skipped. Randomizer's Massive List might be a more comprehensive source, though. Note 1: Whatever else you do in Sharimik, don't pay 1,000g to get permission from Levin. He'll be reluctantly willing to waive that fee after you defeat the roach plague. Note 2: Keep in mind that whenever you hit level 12, I recommend getting Sage Lore for everyone and reading the previously undecipherable books in the Tower of Magi (in a secret room, opened by a switch in a shop off the south perimeter) and the back of Erika's Tower. Read the books at your convenience, since you won't be able to actually cast the more useful of the spells (i.e. Arcane Summon) until at least level 15. Note 3: In light of note 2, as you buy more spells in Sharimik, two that you definitely won't need are Minor Summon and Summon Aid. 17) Fully explore Farport, which is just northeast of Fort Emergence, over the mountains on the shore. This is the earliest you're likely to encounter a Tool Use requirement as high as 15, but it's just an inn room that you can alternately explore by paying to stay at. 18) Take the ferry to Port Townsend. It's safe to fully explore all the towns on the Isle of Bigail, notwithstanding the roaches you'll encounter in and between them. But these should be easy enemies for a well-built party of this level, with the possible exception of Mung Roaches. Try to AR Mung Roaches down as priority targets before they spray you with poison. Head west and slightly north from Port Townsend to Shayder. Postpone the southernmost of the two locked rooms near a sign warning of traps: it has a ghost that will eat you utterly. Postpone the western room with indications that it's a private residence: it has bandits. If you want to prepare for getting as close as you can to joining the Thieves' Guild, buy drinks from the bartender, then stronger drinks, then pay for the secret, then talk to Irvine. Buy a map from the librarian. Give Jed some Graymold Salve that you hopefully had brewed back on Lost Island. This allows you to be very cheaply trained by Meena in NL (Nature Lore) and Bows. She has a chance to be in either Shayder or Hectar. IIRC there is one cache and two herb patches accessible at this point on the isle with NL requirements above 4. 8 — if not lower — is enough for all of them. Clear the sewers. The boss there is an example of a poison-spewing roach that could be made significantly easier if you stopped in Sharimik to train Mass Healing and Mass Curing. 19) Make your way around the isle, exploring and fighting things unless otherwise noted. Asking Kurtz in Fenris Port to craft some Group Heal and Spellward scrolls can prove useful. Point Contemplation should be doable. For the boss fight, park your first character by the fountain, and have them start each round by taking a drink. You can certainly complete the Spiral Crypt quest now, postponing Gorfival himself until you have level 2 Dispel Barrier, which is necessary to access him. You may want to postpone trying to visit the southern lighthouse, as the ursagi on the way are likely to hit hard and be hard to hit at this point. Probably also postpone the ghost in the northern lighthouse, the gremlins, Kneece, and sanctifying the altar in the friendly spider lair. The roachranea in the same spider lair would be hard but borderline doable, as would the undead in the southern part of the lair, accessible with Move Mountains. If these fights prove too frustrating now, there's no rush. The roachranea's loot is crap, and the undead guard an enchantment device that you're probably best off not using on your current gear. Do follow through with Spider, the leader of the spiders, to learn the location of the friendly roaches and ultimately the Filth Factory. 20) Towards the end of this first pass of Bigail, you may want to attempt Kneece, as Purgatos has an extremely useful hidden Haste spell book. Definitely pop a Spellward scroll to help with the fire damage you're going to face. Priorize bats over lizards. Some of your best friends against these fire immune enemies are Icy Rain, Curse the Land, and Call the Storm. Throw typical party placement out the window. Bats keep themselves spread out. If you have a melee fighter, keep your eye out for the rare opportunity to AR melee multiple enemies down. Your priest should similarly be on the lookout for good placement to Call the Storm multiple enemies without hitting allies, which might mean getting out in front. Of course, ask for Purgatos' help defeating the roaches immediately before or after breaking in around the back and sneaking a look at his spell book. Jerk :P. Optional: While you're on Kneece, if you're willing to use cheesy tactics, I discovered a way to make the Xurphus the Drake fight slow but entirely devoid of risk. Approach the magic barriers to the left of the southernmost building, home of the drake, moving around as needed until the drake's pet lizards notice you. Attack them at range from here, and they can't get to you. I think it's even possible to get the drake out and do the same, but my memory is a little fuzzy on the details of how I cheesed this fight. Anyway, he's got some good/interesting loot, including Mercuric Leather. While not worth equipping on its own IMHO, said leather could conceivably be good on your hasting mage in the future, if combined with another AP-boosting item. 21) Now that you've cleared the easier parts of Bigail, and perhaps some challenging but efficiently-rewarded areas, you might switch gears for a bit. It's a decent time to go back and see whether you can and kill the snakes just west of the Agate Tower (there are two groups hiding in different spots in the swamp), the bandits who fight you for the Metal Lumps quest, and/or Grukhbar. Don't expect to be close to hit-capped against Grukhbar, so it'd be a slow fight at this point, but probably doable with Mass Healing. If you take the ferry near Bolton and head east, you should be ready to fight the ogres obsessed with the Xian Skull; help the nephilim; explore Libras, Lost Isle, Storm Port, and Gebra (postponing the monks there), and buy 40 or so Fine Clothes in Storm Port (cheaper than in Libras). If you buy many more than that, you risk not being able to sell them. Postpone Gorst and the other islands with basilisks. You should be able to easily handle a single basilisk at this point, but groups are likely to kill characters in one round. Heading slightly north of these southeastern towns, the dryad grove (one character only – use your tank) should be easily doable if you just follow the gremlins' cryptic advice. The answer to the first riddle is "a rose." The one who talks only in numbers becomes greatly offended if you say numbers out of counting order . With the third, literally just go where he's pointing, which enables you to successfully pick a flower to then use to put the ogre to sleep. If your tank has trouble with the rats, that should tell you you've done something horrendously suboptimal with your build. But if you've survived this far, you're probably fine. 22) You may want to postpone the gremlins up the path with the Perfect Flower for the other dryad's quest, especially the later waves which include Null Bugs. I recommend postponing the Fiery Pit. I cleared it once around this point, but it was tough and resource-intensive, and involved a lot of reloading. There will also be a drake guarding the exit as you attempt to leave, so you can't just explore a bit and expect to leave safely. The Golddale Mine, however, should be easily doable. The boss is a pushover, a standard case of "focus fire the magic one and AoE down the rest." It's the immobilizing flingers on your way out that are more likely to give you even a bit of trouble. The traps require as much as 14 Tool Use, but all you get from disarming them is a shorter route back to Golddale to turn in the quest. Warning: In Golddale itself, be very careful with Ivanova's book-stealing quest. It's easy to accidentally complete right after picking it up, and the only way to avoid this is to manually quit the dialogue. Why avoid completing it? It's about postponing the reward until you can make optimal use of it. The reward is +1 Hardiness for the whole party. Before turning that quest in, make sure to first get 10 Hardiness for everyone through skill points, then buy 2 points each from a trainer, then turn in that quest and use the Hardiness crystals you've hopefully been saving. 23) The Ursagi may still be a bit tough at this point. Your tank may not be avoidance-capped against them yet, and they can kill a character in one round after hasting themselves, so they present a similar issue as did the unicorns when you first encountered them. It would be more tedious than with the unicorns to fight them by prioritizing Daze, because they are harder to kill, and come on — you should have decent AoE spells at this point. I vote for postponing them. 24) On the other hand, it may require an Invulnerability Potion, but you should be able to beat Vahkohs now with the right tactics. To fully prepare, visit Squiggus first to read the Mass Healing spell book. It's in a room opened by a hidden switch, and spawns a fight with gremlins and Null Bugs. Then in the Lair of Vahkohs, read his Protection spell book (the right one — avoid the left one) just after talking to him and taking him up on his little game. Fight your way back towards the entrance, saving as you approach it. Prebuff just before he would see you round the corner, and start combat manually. Send your tank to one side. If your tank is dex-based, pop AR and rain down on him from range. If you have a melee fighter, send them in to AR him down as well, remembering to drink an Invulnerability Potion before the last hit. If anyone didn't get Battle Frenzy from Haste, have them drink some Gremlin Wine or a Speed Potion, or maybe cover your bases by doing this during precombat buffing. Have your mage cast Arcane Summon to the opposite side as your tank, and place your priest in the middle. Hopefully you can kill Vahkohs before he summons bats, because your party will probably be overwhelmed if he does. He will likely live to summon rats, though, which your tank and Arcane Summon are now in a good position to tank. AoE down each group of rats separately, starting with the one being tanked by the summon, since your tank should be much tankier than a summon at this point. Finally, end Vahkohs for good by heading back past his throne room, looting the switch-accessible areas on the right, and continuing north through a passageway that was previously blocked by a barrier. Hopefully you learned Dispel Barrier in Sharimik, and can dispel another barrier that lies still ahead, then Move Mountains and you're good. Destroy the crystal housing Vahkohs' soul, and the demons guarding it should be pie compared to Vahkohs. 25) Either before or after Vahkohs, fully explore Squiggus and Lennus and the immediately surrounding areas, sell your Fine Clothes, and buy 40 or more Fine Herbs to take back to Libras. Take note that you risk not being able to sell them at some point after 90 total, which you could try to get close to without exceeding in one trip, if you have enough gold and space in your packs. For killing Vahkohs, you not only got a unique shield and cloak from his lair, but you got level 3 Protection from his lair, and now you also get level 3 Minor Heal as a result of turning in the quest. You should be ready to steamroll the rest of the roaches! Filth Incarnate: 26) You can probably defeat most of the remaining accessible areas on the Isle of Bigail now, which I recommend doing before the Filth Factory. You're going to end up destroying the factory in a glorious blaze of flames and explosions, so you want to be as well-prepared and thorough as possible, because you'll never be able to go back. I recommend clearing the rest of the first level before using the one-person portal. There's a mirror in the room with the single laser, which can be hard to see. Move it, by bumping into it from the right direction, to block the laser and clear the way to some loot. Just down a passageway continuing clockwise from that room, there are some worms that may be challenging. Prebuff, and use a Spellshield scroll to mitigate damage from the frost ones. In light of that, focus fire the other worm first, which sprays poison at the group. Mass Healing/Curing might already be coming in handy. They likely will again when you face the Prototype Roaches in a room located almost full circle clockwise around the first level. 27) When you're ready for the single-person portal, either an evasion tank or a melee fighter with AR would make good candidates. The latter can cut through enemies faster, and will just have to use a healing potion or two. If you want to ever have level 3 Blink, you're going to have to use the panel to release the swamp creatures. They're shamblers, so hopefully you've been pumping your main attack stats enough to achieve a half-decent hit chance against them. Watch out for their Spine Shield, which makes meleeing them dangerous. If all the shamblers you're fighting have Spine Shield up, and you have an evasion tank and a melee fighter, have the melee fighter use Blade Shield and tank it out, while your evasion tank plays AR archer. If all else on the first level is explored, send someone back through the portal to deactivate the lasers, and make your way down to the Lower Filth Factory before the lasers come back online. 28) To get past the first few rooms of the Lower Filth Factory, first activate the lone switch in the one room, which closes the vents. Then activate the switch in the room with the three that overloads the pipes and causes a stinky explosion, given the unfortunate state of the vents. [btw aren't you kind of glad that technology to reproduce smells in games hasn't really taken off?] If you don't know which switch to activate, just pull all three. Go through the newly-accessible portal, and make your way around the perimeter before taking the path toward the center. This second ring from the outside ends with the first Guardian Cockroach. Depending on where exactly you encounter him and the placement of regular Cockroaches around him, you may be able to focus fire him down before he even acts. 29) In the third ring from the outside, you're going to trigger ambushes as soon as you cross the southernmost and northernmost points. These each include a guardian among more — and tougher — adds than the first one had. You could try to have an archer tank clear the cockroaches in front of the guardian so that a melee fighter can reach it in the first round, although I'm not sure if I've ever actually pulled this off. Alternately, focus fire the guardian without the help of a melee fighter, and have said fighter start mowing down different cockroaches on either side honestly. Summons can definitely help take some heat off the non-tanks. Finally, as soon as you attempt to enter the fourth and final ring from the outside, one last ambush is triggered, which features a guardian on either side. A melee fighter has a short and clear path to ARing down the northern one before it can act, while an archer tank should step towards the other and cut into it with AR, and the casters can get that guardian in their AoE. Any guardian that survives to spray its filthy poison around is going to give your priest good use of Mass Healing/Curing. 30) The only group of roaches remaining is bunched up so tight, AoEing them down will be like shooting fish in a barrel compared to the ambushes. It takes you back to the simple days before friendly fire! Inspect the dragon scales next to those roaches, and you're ready to set fire to the very center of the factory. What could go wrong with this plan, right? Just go in and drop the egg, and run for your life!!! You'll be ambushed by relatively easy roaches on the way out, and finally a lone guardian who drops some armor that's good for pretty much one thing: selling. Put it straight into your junk bag, and immediately leave through the special exit behind that guardian. You'll hear satisfying sounds of roaches getting crunched up in the magical fire behind you. Turn in the quest in Shayder, and head back to Fort Emergence to tell Anaximander and Berra the news. You'll also get experience again from telling Rentar-Ihrno in Ghikra, but no items this time. Preparing for Diplomatic Killing: Or will it murderous diplomacy with the troglos? To be continued...
  6. With Vahkohs, I had my tank block the rats from the left, and shoot the boss with AR. She wasn't tanking him at all, so it was definitely a good time for my dual wielder to drink an invulnerability potion and focus fire him down with AR. Meanwhile, I had my mage cast an Arcane Summon to tank the rats from the right. The casters took out the rats with - yes - well-placed AoEs, starting with the group on the right, although my priest prioritized Unshackle and used Mass Healing liberally as needed. By buffing in pre-combat and hitting hard and fast, we took him down before he summoned the bats. I definitely took out most of the other demons before killing the Haakai, partly because my dual wielder needed a clear path to efficiently reach him, but I believe she used her first AR to mow down the other major demons. The Haakai never moved from his starting spot. A Spellward scroll and Mass Healing were enough to keep my party alive through his AoE. Part of my ability to survive fights like that without assigning Endurance points, I think, is the order in which I even attempt encounters. I am currently writing a walkthrough which details this order, intended as a continuation of this thread.
  7. On your points: I would certainly have been fine putting off Nature Lore for a few levels. But once I venture onto the surface, one of the first things I go for is a Steel Breastplate in a cache on the northwest corner of mainland Krizsan Province. Putting off Tool Use seems like a reasonable option, I'm just presenting another option with specific alternative benefits. You could, perhaps, compromise with Tool Use and start with 9, so you can get the Fine Steel Waveblade right away. Any wave blade can be useful, if not for a melee fighter, then for a mage to counteract encumbrance penalties before access to Swordmage. I think we'll have to agree to disagree on this one. I'd consider assigning some Endurance if I could still be hit-capped against all level-appropriate enemies. But chitrachs, and the haakai summoned by sanctifying the Troglo temple altar, are just two examples of enemies I wasn't hit-capped against at appropriate level, even when I assigned every point and prioritized every talent to boost my main attack stat. Only my tank took any Endurance traits by my low 20s. Enemies that posed a problem for me more because of dying in one round than because it was hard to hit them were relatively rare. I postponed fighting the Ice Worm, any drakes, or basilisks in groups. Scrolls of Spellward can help against these. I've only felt the need to use one Invulnerability Potion so far, which my dual wielder took fighting Vahkohs. In my current game since last restarting, I'll see if using one can allow me to beat the Ice Worm right after defeating the Slime Plague. I had a brainfart when writing the previous sentence. That won't work, since it's an outdoor encounter, and the Ice Worm acts first at that level. The rest of your points I think include very good observations and advice, universally worth taking into account. Thanks again.
  8. Thank you for your feedback, Randomizer. I edited my post to be much longer and provide far more info and detail, as well as to note what you said about dual wielding vs pole weapons being roughly equal. btw your massive item list incorrectly states that Ivanova's quest grants Resistance. It grants Hardiness.
  9. [Spoiler warning] There is already advice out there for the full game, but I wanted to hone in on the mistakes I made that prompted me — as a perfectionist and completionist — to restart several times. First, I present my party: Azshandine, human dex-based archer evasion tank who will minor in Priest Spells and eventually get Resistance Elinarae, human strength-based dual-wielding backstabber who will eventually get Parry Kalaestra, human mage who will eventually minor in Priest Spells Quri, human priest who will eventually get Parry By eventually, I mean by level 35, the last level when skill points come 2 per level. Each character has a total of 73 skill points to work with at level 35, and 75 total at level 40. Other posts list 43 as the highest reasonably attainable level, whereas 45 would be the next time you'd get another 2 skill points. Balancing Optimal and Fun: I realize parties with two mages and one priest are generally considered most optimal, especially given that you can only have one cloak (i.e. Curses, Bolts, Blades, or Arcane) active at once. I do feel that the introduction of friendly fire has made magic slightly less powerful, or at least subject to further tactical considerations that weren't present in A1 or A2. I also have a personal preference for diversity, using as many of the available options as possible. This party is really only missing pole and thrown weapons. Your party could be based on mine, but substitute for these options based on preference. I personally find the flurry-of-blades aesthetic of dual wielding to be very satisfying, and I'm pretty sure dual wielding still out-damages pole weapons in endgame* after the A2 nerf. As for bows, I remember the Fury Crossbow from the original A3 and am looking forward to seeing its remake counterpart (no spoilers please), and there is also quite a bit of money to be made from selling thrown weapons. This guide is not so much to crunch out the very most optimal party build, but more to get the most out of the one you choose (assuming you don't choose totally ineffective characters, like ones that try to split between the three primary attack stats). *Dual wielding and pole weapons do roughly comparable damage endgame in A3, according to Randomizer. I also like the greater diversity of finding deadly and unique blades for both hands. Personal preference. Don't let me dissuade you from going poles instead. Primary stat vs Endurance: I've read different advice about your primary attack stat (i.e. Dexterity, Strength, or Intelligence) vs Endurance. I've tried leveling my primary stat to Endurance at a 2:1 ratio, and prioritizing other traits over those that boost the primary stat. In my experience, this is a recipe for disaster. The amount of times I had trouble hitting, and wasted resources and/or died in a protracted battle as a result, far outnumbered the times I was unavoidably one-shot. Some advice says Endurance is helpful in the early game, but not in the late game. Well I can tell you, your primary stat is more helpful than Endurance in the early game. In other words, my advice is to forget Endurance entirely. Eventually you might get it as a trait, but not as a high priority. If you don't believe me, try fighting the Haakai summoned by sanctifying the Troglo altar at an appropriate level without exclusively pumping your primary stat. Or fighting the chitrachs in Upper Avernum just after defeating the first plague. You'll miss so much you will want to cry. So avoid frustration and pump only your primary stat, period. In the rare level-appropriate fights where being one-shot is a bigger issue than hitting your enemy, that's what you judiciously save your Invulnerability Potions for. Vahkohs is a good example of that. Those potions are rare, but I had my dual wielder take one and put it to great use for that fight. Raising a dual wielder: If you have someone in your party you want to be a dual wielder, consider having them use a sword and shield until at least level 8 or so. Even pumping Strength as high as possible, the starting 35% hit and damage penalty of dual wielding means it'll often be a DPR (Damage Per Round) loss at low level. Before % damage increases (the earliest sources for which are traits and Blademaster), the math works out that you need at least a 75% modified hit chance for dual wielding to be a DPR gain over sword-and-board. Hit chance and % damage increases from any source are equally effective in countering this penalty, although the trait that only increases hit chance is strictly inferior to a point of Strength. The Dual Wielding skill would ironically be the most efficient way to counter the penalty at low levels, except it's not accessible at low levels. Blademaster will eventually outperform Dual Wielding, once your modified hit chance is capped for most enemies. Blademaster is still great to get early, especially since it helps even before you transition to dual wielding. Level 1: Everyone starts custom, with 2 Tool Use and the Nimble Fingers trait. In addition, Azshandine has 2 Melee Weapons, 1 Bows; Elinarae has 3 Melee Weapons; Kalaestra has 3 Mage Spells; and Quri has 3 Priest Spells. The early focus on tool use is because I prioritize access, and there are really good things you can get at level 1 with 12 Tool Use. Of particular note are the Fine Steel Waveblade (9 TU) in Fort Emergence and the Waveblade (12 TU) in Ghikra. The first I give to my dual wielder, and it's way stronger than anything else you're likely to find until at least level 20 or so. Given the mileage I get out of it, it's the first item I bless (at the Portal Fortress). btw make sure to ask Kelner about recharging the device. I'm pretty sure the condition for it to be ready again is not the passage of time, but defeating the Slime Plague. Enchanting early items like this — even long-lasting ones — may or may not prove to be a mistake by endgame. Time will tell. Even unenchanted, the Fine Steel Waveblade is placed way too early IMHO, and will serve as a nasty blade for a while. The other Waveblade I give to my mage, because the +10% hit chance on it cancels out 10% worth of hit penalties on encumbering gear, which lets her wear a bronze or iron shield and chainmail before gaining access to the Swordmage trait. At level 1 on Torment, you are weak as hell against even rats. Fortunately, I've found a way to avoid combat entirely at level 1. Thoroughly explore Fort Emergence, then the Portal Fortress, then New Cotra. Find the cows for the Nephil's quest in a corner southwest of New Cotra, avoiding the chitrach larvae patrolling the herb patch. Then go to a recessed, rubble-filled area just south of the big lake to "help" the Vahnatai defeat the chitrachs. Of course, you'll be lucky to hit a larva at level 1, let alone a chitrach. But, unlike some later fights where the people you're helping actually need the help, these Vahnatai can handle themselves. In addition to the above, this should get you to level 2 without any combat where you need to actually put yourself in jeopardy. Save and reload often to avoid other potential fights. Advice about Saved Games: I tend to have four rotating saves at a time, then periodically switch to a different set of four saves when I reach a certain milestone, and want to have the option of restarting from just before it. An example of this would be to reserve a save from just before stepping into the portal to recover the stolen Orb of Thralni. And I name my saves to keep track of these milestones. Level 2: Everyone gets 1 Nature Lore. Azshandine gets to 2 Bows, Elinarae gets to 4 Melee Weapons, Kalaestra gets to 4 Mage Spells, and Quri gets to 4 Priest Spells. You could postpone the point of Nature Lore if you want, or forego it entirely if you're not a completionist. I don't think Upper Avernum requires any Nature Lore, except for parts only accessible with the Orb of Thralni. I can state definitively that 4 NL is enough to get you through mainland Krizsan Province on the surface, as far east as the Slime Pit. But in any case, postponing combat (except the above Vahnatai encounter) until level 2 will give you an advantage as you start to kill those goblins, and complete the courier quest and most of the southernmost outdoor portion of Upper Avernum. Fights within this general region that I'd save for after defeating the Slime Plague include the long passage at the very south (where you are ambushed by rats including a Vapor Rat) and the bugs in a backroom in Ghikra. The Ice Worm, and the hellhounds behind locked doors and switches in the Portal Fortress, I'd save for after defeating the Roach Plague. Levels 3-5: Azshandine levels 1 each in Melee Weapons and Bows. This has the side benefit of getting her to AR very quickly, and without spending anything on training. Elinarae levels 1 each in Melee Weapons and Blademaster. Kalaestra levels 1 each in Mage Spells and Melee Weapons. And Quri levels 1 each in Priest Spells and Melee Weapons. You aren't likely to come across a need for the second level of Nimble Fingers until after defeating at least the Slime Plague. Prioritize primary stat increase traits, followed by damage-boosting traits. The health-boosting traits only become better than a point of Endurance once you have at least 100 health. By level 5, the party should have completed the bandit quest. Going much further in Upper Avernum will prove problematic, whereas the party is now ready to venture onto the surface! Early combat tactics: If there's literally one word of advice I can give, here it is: Daze. At low level, all your characters are likely to die if attacked by more than one or two enemies at once. Even a dex-based evasion tank will not yet have high enough evasion to survive multiple attacks most of the time. To avoid accidentally waking up dazed enemies, I would even consider postponing the Bolt of Fire upgrade (adds a chance of cleave), and being very judicious in when to use summons and when to avoid them. I'd say to generally only use a summon if it's likely to attack a melee enemy, so you can be reasonably certain that any enemy the summon wakes from Daze will attack the summon, not a player character. Daze continues to be occasionally useful at higher levels. But once your tank can actually tank most enemies — a process that should begin to solidify for a well-built dex-based evasion tank around the time you're wrapping up the Slime Plague — your default mage spell priorities will probably switch from Daze -> Haste to Haste -> AoE (Area of Effect) damage spells. At this point (for outdoor encounters) my default tactics switch to moving my tank up 5 spaces and shooting the highest priority target, moving my backstabber up one space, and using the first round to buff and wait for the enemy to surround the tank. This works with most groups of predominantly melee enemies, particularly comfortably once my tank's Dexterity is so high that enemies of an appropriate level have only a 5% chance to hit her. A word on party order: Playing with both a mage and a priest, I find I prefer having the mage go first. One reason is that, if the mage casts Haste in combat, the priest has a chance to benefit from it on the same round. The other reason is that damaging mage spells tend to cost less mana than their priest counterparts, at least until you have access to high level spells. If an enemy might be finished with either a Bolt of Fire or a Smite, I'll try the more mana-efficient one first, and only Smite if Bolt of Fire missed or otherwise failed to kill. Likewise starting later on with Icy Rain vs Divine Fire. Note that having the priest go first would alternately have the advantage of allowing her to cast a time-sensitive heal, cure, or Unshackle on the mage. A case could be made for either order, and you could switch the order for different situations. For instance, have the mage go first except when about to face an enemy likely to hurt or disable the mage. Battle Disciplines: My archer tank usually uses the first ranged discipline until she gets Blade Sweep. I think I remember reading that Blade Sweep is dex-based, and it does seem that my dex-based tank is far more accurate and hard-hitting with it than is my strength-based dual wielder. Once she can properly tank hordes of weak enemies like slimes or goblins, Blade Sweep is deliciously effective against them, killing or almost killing many of those who surround her. AR (Adrenaline Rush) is my default choice once I get it, but I still prefer Blade Sweep for efficiently clearing the occasional horde of weak trash I encounter. Blade Shield is also useful when tanking is more important than taking out high priority targets, and/or when all the enemies are surrounding the tank. When it's down to just one or two enemies on the tank, sometimes I'll have her move away and shoot them, using AR if available. For my dual-wielder, some of the early melee disciplines have good utility features for different situations. But if I think one strong hit will likely kill an enemy, I'll just use the first discipline, since it does more damage and resets faster. After assigning 8 skill points to Melee Weapons, she is the first character I buy weapon skills for in order to get AR. Keep in mind my tank gets 8 to both Melee Weapons and Bows, so she gets AR and Blade Shield for free. I find AR on a well-built backstabber to be very satisfying. She usually just holds back and shoots (and generally misses) on the first round. btw I've found it's quite possible for a backrow character to aggro an unengaged enemy onto themselves by attacking, even if they miss, so I usually have Elinarae shoot one adjacent to the tank. On the second round, she goes in behind up to 3 enemies surrounding the tank, and ARs down as many as possible. Occasionally, it will be both possible and more fun/effective IMHO for her to instead go for high priority targets(s) on the first round, not waiting for enemies to surround the tank. Usually, however, this results in a messy battlefield and enemies doing more damage than necessary, because some understandably decide to hit her and not the tank. Finally, I'll note that I've found Blade Shield occasionally useful for my backstabber. When in hell would that be, you might ask? Well, when she can't backstab (safely), such as when a Shambler or Troglodyte Khazi puts up Blade Shield or Spine Shield themselves. She's basically useless in these situations — which is why I consider such enemies to be high priority — so I figure she might as well tank it out, and see if she can't hurt some enemies with a taste of their own medicine. btw I give her both the Blink and Lightning crystals. Blink is useful when she gets ensnared or immobilized, and Lightning lets her do some damage (albeit not much, based on game mechanics) when all targets available to her would be unsafe to hit. Warnings about maximizing skills: The most recent mistake I caught that prompted me to restart was being unfamiliar with the rather arbitrary system for maximizing skills. Basically, if you plan to maximize a particular skill beyond 10, there is a certain arbitrary order you must adhere to: 1) assign skill points, 2) buy two levels from a trainer, 3) use knowledge crystals and other skill-boosting sources. Diverging from this order means you'll never be able to reach the maximum possible value for that skill, ever. Also, the almighty character editor won't even be able to correct this transgression. Careful with the skill-boosting quests, because it can be hard to tell when a quest boosts a skill, and if so which one. The two I found by my early 20s were the Steal Book for Ivanova quest from Golddale (+1 Hardiness for the party) and Hidden Poulsbo Giants (+1 Lethal Blow for the party). Be forewarned! Also, have fun :).
  10. I read that post. It seems like a good basic test design, except it's a small sample size and doesn't rule out other factors. Among them, party order and race. Those might seem like silly factors that couldn't possibly have an impact, but you've gotta rule them out nonetheless. I am open to the possibility that Challenger does something. I suppose for me, in deciding whether to invest 3 trait points in it, my standard is whether I notice a difference in practice. So far I haven't. Without it, the majority of melee enemies I've found nicely surround my tank when I send her at least four spaces ahead of anyone else, and use the first round to buff. When I send in my dual-wielding backstabber to AR some of them in the second round, if any of the ones she hit are still alive, they will turn around to attack her. Also, if a caster hits enemies that are not nicely surrounding the tank, any surviving enemies among those will typically target the caster. I'm fine with those mechanics. They make sense to me. And I don't believe 3 Challenger prevented them from occurring, although to be 100% certain I'd have to double-check. Conversely, when I had Challenger and I really wanted it to work, it didn't. So in my experience, whatever effect it may have has been a) unnecessary for the majority of melee enemies, and b) ineffective against ranged enemies or ones with atypical AI.
  11. Thing is, I'm not personally convinced that this chance of proc'ing you speak of isn't just part of the AI. Some enemies, such as most archers, seem to have a preference for backrow characters, but will occasionally hit front row ones. If I had to make an educated guess, enemy AI may be based largely on party order. I'd have to test this by switching party order. It seems the majority of enemies — especially melee ones — will prefer the first party member. I've even seen bandits knock back the tank, and their allies will pursue her quite a distance, even getting slowed by other party members to obsessively pursue her. Then there are enemies like the Ice Worm (ridiculously OP for its location btw, easily accessible at level 1, deals over 100 Cold damage and acts first unless you go back at much higher level) which have never failed to target the second party member in my experience.
  12. Thank you. lol how embarrassing, I even commented on that thread back in the day. My memory is now refreshed. It's funny that the one time I tried Capture Soul in the A3 remake, it happened to be on one of the only creatures reported universally immune in A2 — a basilisk. I guess I confirmed it's still immune in A3 :P.
  13. Thanks. I know that's what Randomizer stated, and I trust he knows his stuff, I was just making sure there wasn't some misunderstanding based on wording.
  14. But will I continue to get 2 skill points per level at 31, 32, 33, 34? Or will I get no skill points for those levels, and the next time I get 2 skill points is level 35?
  15. I find Summon Shade to be pretty strong in early-midgame. To prepare for midgame and beyond, I pump my mage/priest skill every level until maxed, and get Sage Lore on all my characters at level 12. With 6 trained Arcane Lore and a few Vahnatai Lore, this allows me to read the Arcane Summon book in the Tower of Magi by level 12, and be able to use the spell by level 15. Some of the creatures I've gotten from Arcane Summon have been powerful enough to really turn a fight around through midgame, especially if a party member goes down. Conversely, I was disappointed by Capture Soul. The one time I tried using it, I had gotten it all the way up to level 3, only to find that a basilisk was immune. Not an ur-basilisk, just a regular one. idk if this is partially dependent on character level or what. I'd like to know if there are any good creatures not immune. They would have to be at least as powerful as what I could get with an Arcane Summon for me to consider that spell useful, since it does have the advantage in principle that I can pick and choose which creature I want. In the original A3, I got a good set of sims which were especially useful in specific situations.
  16. I'm returning to Avernum with the A3 remake after a few years away. I'm a bit fuzzy on how things were in the A1 and A2 remakes. Has anything changed in this regard? I could be wrong, but I thought builds were planned with level 30 in mind, not level 35. To be clear: I should expect 73 skill points total at level 35, then 75 at level 40?
  17. Thanks for the answers you gave. I still have an interest primarily in #6 (Luck) and #9* (whether assignable skill points keep coming at the same rate until level 30 or 35). Luck is hard to search for in forums, because it's a commonly-used word. #9 I suppose I could ask Randomizer to clarify on his post, just wanted to have this all in one place. Aside from my dex-based tank, the rest of my party consists of a dual-wielding backstabber, and a standard mage and priest. I know it would probably be more optimal for late game (with Cloak of the Arcane) to replace the dual wielder with another mage, but I find my dual-wielder to be very satisfying as her hit chance, % damage, and weapons improve. It just makes me happy when she sneaks up behind three huge cockroaches around the tank and takes down all three in a flurry of blades with AR :P. I'm thinking my tank will never be the ideal archer anyway, given that she can't shoot in melee range, which means there are turns where she'll do no damage with archery no matter what skills she has. I think having her minor in priest spells is probably the way I'll go, so she can do things like Unshackle the priest when needed, and eventually gain Resistance. *Update: I did confirm #9 to my satisfaction on Randomizer's post. So with 73 skill points to work with at level 35, after Melee Weapons, Hardiness and Parry, I could potentially have my tank get 10+ in Bows, Sharpshooter, Lethal Blow, and 9 in Priest spells and still have 8 points left. I could put 2 in Tool Use, 1 in Nature Lore (I'm a completionist), and max out Luck. Or I could go the Resistance route, and I'll get her 8+2 Bows either way. Side benefit: no cost to getting AR. But with the extra skill points I wasn't taking into account before, I could just have everyone minor in priest spells lol. I'll have to figure out what extra to get for my priest. Parry? First aid?
  18. Sorry, I meant Energy damage. I was confusing it with Force damage from Dungeons and Dragons lol. They are both used to describe that pure magic-element damage. But Avernum is a bit confusing in that it doesn't have Lightning damage, and instead also calls the damage from Lightning Spray "Energy." So is Energy damage in Avernum considered elemental, regardless of the theme of the spell? And is the physical damage from Move Mountains not considered to be from an elemental spell, making it the one damage spell not affected by the Elemental Focus trait? What's stated onscreen, in this case, doesn't answer these nuances for me. It isn't even clear that the trait doesn't increase a qualifying spell's non-damage effects as well, such as knock back distance or burning damage/duration. I think it probably doesn't, simply because that would have been easier for Jeff to implement, but I'm not sure.
  19. Which damage spells are considered elemental for the purposes of Elemental Focus? And is this consistent across A1-A3 remakes? Also, does it increase just the damage, or other effects of the damaging spell? I think of elemental spells as air (lightning), water (cold), fire, and earth (physical). Whether the damage of a physical spell (like Move Mountains) is considered magical at all I think is beside the point: it's a spell and it certainly seems elemental. Lightning Spray is considered Force Energy damage, which is the same type as Smite and Arcane Blast. Does that mean those spells also benefit? Lastly, what about acid spells, like Spray Acid and Pool of Corruption? idk if I'd consider those to be elemental damage, but in fantasy, acid is sometimes associated with the earth. Am I overthinking this? Does this trait just increase damage — and only damage — from all spells? lol
  20. 11. Are there any changes I should know about to the skills, or to avoidance? I seem to remember a 20% hit floor, but I forget which game(s) it was from. I think it was an attempt to make avoidance tank builds unviable, because they are pretty OP with a 5% hit floor. Guess what kind of tank I have? The same cheesy dex-based avoidance kind, a front-liner whose weapon of choice is a bow and arrow. Sure, when exactly 9 enemies are in play, all perfectly surrounding her, she can't use her bow. I mean she could blink out with her Vahnatai crystal, but her main job is tanking, not drop-in-the-bucket pew-pewing. But she can definitely help take out high-value ranged targets, and sometimes she'll move and shoot when few enemies are left. She uses Blade Sweep to such great effect that I'm fine having everyone else get Adrenaline Rush before her. As I mentioned before, I've started the game over several times, but I've been consistent in the kind of tank I like Azshandine to be. Thing is, she'll at least do something with her bow just from having high Dex, but the question is how I want to specialize her. The way I see it, every 10 levels is a chance to get 10 in two skills. By level 10, she can have 8+2 Melee Weapons and 10+ Hardiness, with a couple points for utility skills like Tool Use. By level 20, 10+ Parry and... it's already wide open. In various iterations, I've gone for Riposte, Quick Action, and/or Lethal Blow, but I'm thinking I could do better. Riposte doesn't reduce damage at all, right? And it's an independent roll, so it has no effect on how often you're hit or missed? You can either be hit, evade, or parry and also riposte? I think it would make sense to have her minor either in archery or in priest spells. For archery, what's the priority of skills for damage? I'd have to get Bows 8+2, then what? Sharpshooter and... Lethal Blow? Or Sniper? Do the old complaints about Sniper still stand to the same degree? Personal prejudice aside, which two skills would most efficiently compliment Bows for damage? Or if she minored in priest spells, she could still hit with a bow like she does currently, get up to Mass Healing/Curing, and get Resistance O.o. This is all thinking of level 30 as the cap for skills. But if skill points continue to be regularly available until level 35 (see #9), that means either maxing out another combat skill, or maybe maxing Luck and getting some First Aid... but I'd have to plan for that kind of thing. And that's just one party member.
  21. 10. Friendly fire on Hard and Torment. Ha! This definitely helps contribute to difficulty in an interesting way, one that forces a change in tactics. The reason I'm laughing is that the AI hasn't been updated to try to avoid friendly fire. One of the tougher quests I've attempted so far is the Kriszan Province one where you have to help a drake lord against other drakes. First, you'd think drakes would be smart enough not to keep breathing fire at each other when they're immune to it. Second, you'd think they'd be smart enough to try to avoid killing their own minions and allies in the process of being engaged in the first idiocy. The trick to that quest may well be to get the heck out of the way, and cross your fingers that the drake lord can handle his competition without you lol. I've tried making sure I'm nowhere near LOS between them. But if an enemy drake's often fire-immune minion comes out my way, my friend the drake lord will still turn around to breathe on it, killing me and usually giving the enemy minion a quite pleasant sauna.
  22. Hi guys, I've come back to Avernum (with the A3 remake) after a few years. I remember this was a very helpful community. I stubbornly insist to play only on Torment, even as I'm relearning all the details I'd forgotten from before. I'm also loathe to use the Character Editor (except possibly for testing purposes). I've found there are things it can't even fix, such as failing to cap a skill before using relevant trainers, knowledge crystals, or certain quest rewards that I didn't notice except in hindsight (e.g. Hardiness and Lethal Blow). Let's just say I've restarted the game several times so far in order to tweak things about my builds. I tend to get to my low 20s, after defeating the slime and roach plagues, before I notice some other mechanical detail and my perfectionism demands I start over lol. I've read both Randomizer's and Clintone's advice, as linked to from the A3 Strategy Central. I found it generally good. However, despite their both stressing that Endurance should be considered a secondary attribute, I found myself frequently having trouble hitting things even maintaining a 2:1 ratio of primary stat to Endurance (total). I realized I had put maybe 5 points in Endurance by my low 20s, and can't help but wonder how much better off I might be having put even those 5 points into my primary attribute. It seems the times I've had trouble hitting stuff — and wasted resources and/or died in a protracted battle — have far outweighed the times I've been unavoidably one-shot. Or perhaps I could get by with the same 2:1 ratio if I kept up with the primary attribute traits, instead of postponing them in favor of others. Anyway, with all of this relearning and increased build planning, I'm wondering what specific mechanics have stayed the same in A3 compared to A1, and which have changed. One basic question: is Mariecury's A1 analysis (formerly known as Slartibus I believe?) still a good reference for A3, with few enough changed details to make this convenient as a starting point? Here are some of my observations and questions on what has changed (or not), mechanically. Feel free to correct me or add to this list. According to Mariecury's A1 analysis, the base dual wielding penalty was 20% in A1. The tooltip from A3 says it's 35%. Is this correct? If so, dual wielding starts off being a net DPA (Damage Per Action) loss unless your modified hit chance is sufficiently close to 95%. If your hit chance would otherwise barely be 95%, it's 60% dual wielding. Let's say it's super early game and you have no % damage bonuses. Then instead of doing (.95)(1) = 95% of (damage levels )(base weapon die average) DPA, you'd be doing (2)(.60)(.65) = 78%. Dual wielding only starts off being a net DPA gain if your modified hit chance is at least 75%, which means you'd otherwise have a 95% hit chance with 15% to spare: (2)(.75)(.65) = 97.5% of (damage levels )(base weapon die average) DPA. So a good rule of thumb is that if you're not seeing at least 75% hit chance from your dual wielder, they may be better off using a sword and shield until they get more % damage bonuses, which — regardless of source — make the dual wielding damage penalty less significant. Six new spells have been added. Priest: Curse the Land, Rain of Curses, Bless the Land. Mage: Pool of Fire, Pool of Ice, Pool of Corruption. Were any spells replaced? Some of the requirements have been adjusted, like Mass Healing and Mass Curing require 9 now instead of 8. Shouldn't affect the viability of hybrid (priest minor) builds much, right? I forget what bonus humans had before. I assume it wasn't extra traits, since Mariecury's A1 analysis doesn't mention that. 8 additional good traits would make humans the clear winner, but what do people think? Are there not 8 traits left after the first 16 good enough for humans to be the clear winner in practice? Mariecury mentioned the Quicksilver Bulwark, Quicksilver Sandals, Runed Plate, and Robe of the Magi as reasons not to take Swordmage. Apparently the Quicksilver Bulwark didn't reduce hit chance in A1 (this OP-ness vaguely rings a bell), but in A3 it does according to Randomizer's list. I'm ok with A3 spoilers, as I've played the original, but I'm rusty on some specifics. Is it doable (and not suicide on Torment) to get into Gale and buy the Runed Plate significantly earlier than you're "supposed to," in order to make not having Swordmage less painful? Or is Swordmage considered less of a waste now, especially as a human with 8 extra trait points to throw around? I've certainly enjoyed having it in early-midgame. It seems gold is a lot less scarce in A3 than in A1. It's still a resource I find I have to budget throughout early-midgame, but with the amount of gold available from conventional sources as well as delivery quests, is it now reasonable to expect that I'll eventually be able to have it all — all that gold can buy, at least? Or would that either be impossible or involve long, boring periods full of only delivery quests? Randomizer and others have listed max requirements for Tool Use, Arcane Lore, Nature Lore, and Vahnatai Lore, but what about Luck? There are certain special encounters where it seems you only find an item if you have a certain amount of Luck. Is this cumulative across the party like TU, AL, or NL, or does it have to be all on one character? Challenger still seems to do nothing, not from a short test, but from hours of gameplay where the tank had between 0 and 3 levels. With or without it, I find most enemies will go out of their way to hit and follow my dex-based archer tank when I start a fight sending her 5 spaces ahead, and have my backstabbing strength-based fighter move up only one space. I wait for my tank to be surrounded. I find this works for most enemies, but some won't nicely surround the tank, and some will specifically target other party members. I just haven't noticed Challenger play any role in how enemies behave, regardless of range. Does XP work basically the same way as in A1, meaning that rounding makes the XP traits useless in most cases? Randomizer includes the following sentence in his A3 advice post: "You still get assignable stats and skill points until level 35 when they are now every 5th level." Remind me: is this the same or different from how A1 and A2 worked? Because it seems that A1 builds were made with level 30 in mind. If I should expect an additional 5 levels of skill points, this could fundamentally change my builds.
  23. Sorry if the information I am spreading is wrong, but I read it here: http://spiderwebforu...torment +tower. It states that the tower disaster happens around day 100 on Torment, and around day 160 on all other difficulties. I thought it was funny too, and I don't know where the posters of that thread got the info. None of them objected to it, including Randomizer. But, if it's wrong, it should be put to rest. A bug would seem to offer the most plausible explanation for why I see absolutely NO difference in difficulty between Tough and Torment in A3, but I suppose it's possible that Jeff designed the difference to be small, or that he just didn't properly tune it to be noticeable. Is there a general consensus that Torment has always been barely, if at all, harder than Tough in A3?
  24. I have now beat the game on "Torment," which I believe incorrectly plays as Tough in the latest GoG version of A3. The main thing I can add is that, if you find and include all of the NPCs into your party, the game will be trivial given this difficulty bug, and you will be well above any utility skill threshold except for Potion Making, which you can bring to 20 easily on Carol. After I hit 20 potion making, I never failed making a Knowledge Brew, and it's worth it IMHO to take out this annoyance, considering the amount of Knowledge Brews you can make with just the herbs you naturally come across. If you properly time the turn-ins of quests and the activation of things that grant special skills like Vahnatai Lore, holding off until you've brought on all four NPCs (or, alternately, if you never switch out the characters you start with), you also won't need to purchase any Vahnatai Lore at all. This all considered, I can see why a proper min-max guide was never made before for A3: it's not challenging enough in its current iteration with a full party of the strongest characters. Hopefully the remake will bring back a proper challenge. That said, this guide is good for people who want to play a custom party. Thanks for making it Mikus!
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