I don't like Avernum...

[Eclipse]

I started playing Avernum 2 and using my knowledge of the exile series to plan it out but I don't know if I should points in endurance etc and the fact I couldnt even lower some stats to boost other stats when making the beginning party further agitated me.

 

How come I die in like 2 shots? And how come my mage cant make a fireball... im so confused

[Alorael at Large]

If you want to make characters exactly to taste you need to select the "Custom" class. Then you can allocate all skill points to your heart's content.

 

A few points of Endurance are good, but you don't need to start with more than four or five points on your fighters. Actually, if you look at the Berserker class, it's not a bad build. You can customize it a little bit better, but using that class is fine for normal difficulty. You didn't raise the difficulty setting, did you?

 

There are no area spells in Avernums 1-3. There are spells that effect multiple targets like Ice Lances instead. You can even start with the spell if you raise your starting mage's skill high enough.

 

—Alorael, who wouldn't depend on knowledge of Exile skills to help in Avernum. The system has changed enough that it can trip you up badly.

[Randomizer]

Tactics in battle are way different. In Avernum you should let attackers come to you instead of having your fighters run up to them. Having 4 instead of 6 characters also takes a little getting use to since you will be more outnumbered in fights.

 

Custom characters also can't get more than a certain group of spells at the start so play around with the list of spells to get the maximum spells at the minimum mage or priest level.

[feline monstrosity]

Originally Posted By: The Once and Future Pluperfect

There are no area spells in Avernums 1-3.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but what about cloud of daggers?

[Alorael at Large]

Cloud of Blades is an area spell, but it's also a fairly late-game spell and a wall spell rather than a fireball.

 

—Alorael, who supposes he was, therefore, technically wrong. You still can't count on lobbing big blobs of damage at enemies regularly. Instead, you get to select a few enemies for damage.

[The Mystic]

Though I wish Cloud of Blades targeted an area instead of enemies. With the area spells from the Exile series, you could target the spell on whatever space caused the maximum effect.

[Randomizer]

Also Exile area effect spells could be targeted to go after the invisible monsters which can only be hit by weapons in Avernum or Cloud of Blades targeted on a character or your summoned creature.

[Vent]

Originally Posted By: Randomizer

Tactics in battle are way different. In Avernum you should let attackers come to you instead of having your fighters run up to them.

I'm close to the end of A1 and see it totally differently. I have the reverse feeling in A1 to have to throw asap the fighters to attack enemy magic users asap. Ie it's the reverse than waiting.

In A5 I feel it different but that's not the right forum place.

Among other typical stuff in A1 battle it's the use of slow, either it really slow enemies so it is very efficient either it make them lost time to cast multiple haste to cancel the slow. Obviously haste can be interesting too. Mass summoning can help provide targets for enemy mass attacks. Most often Battle Rage is more a priority than Shield. And most often the best multiple target spell is divine fire that you get later in the game. Until that and even when you have DF Repel Spirit is often a nice choice anyway against any undead stuff.

I don't know for exile, but for Realmz I felt fights are working much better as a general system than in A1 and A5.

That said in A1 at normal difficulty, the game gradually become easier and it's not easy to decide when to change and rise the difficulty setup.

[Dark.Fenix]

exile2 still is the best of exile and avernum games.

 

but yes exile and avernum are way diferent. i actualy like the A5 mechanism but not A2. tried the demo of A2 but gave up before finishing it due to be used to E2 and A5 :S

 

hell, even A4 anoys a litle (not being able to atack with 1 action sucks)

[Vent]

Do you mean that now you are used to E2 and A5 you won't be able to play another RPG using a different system?

[Feo Takahari]

Originally Posted By: Vent

Do you mean that now you are used to E2 and A5 you won't be able to play another RPG using a different system?

While I can play both earlier and later Avernum games, I've certainly been rendered incapable of liking most RPGs not by Spiderweb. ''Two Worlds'', ''Mass Effect'', and other hybrids are good, and the ''Final Fantasy'' series can get me to hang on to the end based on storyline, but ''Neverwinter Nights'' and such have all left me bored out of my gourd. Here's hoping ''Fallout'' will turn out to be more fun when I finally get around to buying it . . .

P.S. Very nearly mentioned ''Mass Effect'' without making fun of the sex scenes. We couldn't have that, now could we? Therefore, insert mocking comment here.

[Lilith]

Quote:

P.S. Very nearly mentioned ''Mass Effect'' without making fun of the sex scenes. We couldn't have that, now could we? Therefore, insert mocking comment here.

alien lesbian sex is simultaneously the best lesbian sex and the best alien sex

[Alorael at Large]

Fallout 3 lost me by becoming a hybrid. Maybe you'll appreciate it more for that change.

 

—Alorael, who was going to make angry comments about Realmz combat. Then he realized he can't, really. The spells needed a lot more work, the AI was lackluster (a problem in Spiderweb games too), and monsters would get stuck behind impenetrable walls, but the whole killing stuff part was actually done fine, although really not much differently. The monsters you fight aren't balanced, of course, but it's Realmz.

[Slawbug]

Originally Posted By: Feo Takahari

While I can play both earlier and later Avernum games, I've certainly been rendered incapable of liking most RPGs not by Spiderweb. ''Two Worlds'', ''Mass Effect'', and other hybrids are good, and the ''Final Fantasy'' series can get me to hang on to the end based on storyline...

If you like FF storylines and Spiderweb style mechanics, it sounds like you really need to download an SNES emulator. There's a huge trove of SNES RPGs that lie between those two poles.

[The Mystic]

Originally Posted By: Randomizer

Also Exile area effect spells could be targeted to go after the invisible monsters which can only be hit by weapons in Avernum or Cloud of Blades targeted on a character or your summoned creature.

Which, of course, in a nutshell, sucks.

[Vent]

I played some of Mass Effect I never saw more boring reading than in this game. I wonder if I succeed to read fully a single entry in the encyclopedia without to fall asleep from my chair. Dialogs ain't better and for action I didn't saw much than a low level shooter.

[Earth]

I played Avernums (1-3) and Mordor: Depths of Dejenol same time, but stopped playing Mordor years ago since levelling took so much time and only storyline is kill monsters, kill some more, explore dungeons to find nastier monsters and sometimes kill some monster (rare-very rare usual) or bring back some item (rare-very rare usual) for Guild to be able get leveled. I still have Mordor's savegame if I someday decide to reinstall it (which is unlikely). I have played other RPGs (flash-games) and liked those very much.

[Randomizer]

I got the same gripe with Mordor as you do. It's better as a MMORPG since that was the original version on PLATO so every few months and especially on holdiays there would be changes like a new version of a level and you could chat to a limited degree with the other players. The downside was that areas could get cleared out ahead of you.