A1 Character Build

[Jerakeen]

Hello all.

 

I'm wondering if there is a point of diminishing returns on key stats. Or to put it another way, what do I do now?

 

Playing on Normal with a party of four, my level 22 fighter has the following:

 

STR: 11

DEX: 10

INT: 1

END: 8

 

MEL: 12

BOW: 10

HRD: 4

DEF: 5

ASS: 9

 

LCK: 6

GYM: 8

 

Is it worth continuing to invest in Strength and Dex, or should I concentrate on Melee, which is cheaper? Do I get significantly more benefit from raising Assassination? (Right now I'm cleaning the floor with sliths and liches, but I assume the enemies will get tougher at some point.) My goal here is obviously to deal out maximum damage.

 

Also, how high do you typically raise INT on your spellcasters? Mine (both double-classed) are only at 10, but they seldom run low on spell points.

 

I should note that I already gave most of Silverlocke's knowledge brews to the spellcasters. Wow she had a lot!

 

Thanks.

[Rent-an-Ihrno]

I wouldn't put any more points into Melee. I usually put alot into Dex instead of Melee, Gymnastics etc., and alot into Endurance, Def and Hardiness. You could use a little more strength, but the damage cap in A1 is so low you'll hit it soon anyway.

 

Assassination is always neat, but not as powerful in A1 as, say, in A2. 10 is great.

 

My suggestion is: Quickly raise Endurance, then get 1-2 points in Str, 3-4 in Dex, and then concentrate on minor skills like Hardiness.

[Jerakeen]

Originally Posted By: Rent-an-Ihrno

My suggestion is: Quickly raise Endurance, then get 1-2 points in Str, 3-4 in Dex, and then concentrate on minor skills like Hardiness.

OK, sounds good. Right now I don't seem to be in much danger of dying due to low endurance, but I'll take your word for it. Anybody else?

[Toby-Linn]

He has very low intelligence....maybe raise a point to help resist charming and terror.

 

I know the gremlins charm your party like mad, I always hated running into those monsters!

 

Other than that I would go with raising defence and hardiness as well.

 

I try to make sure my spellcasters (one mage and one priest) usually have around 8 INT each by the end of the game.

[Jerakeen]

Originally Posted By: Toby-Linn

He has very low intelligence....maybe raise a point to help resist charming and terror.

I know the gremlins charm your party like mad, I always hated running into those monsters!

Yeah, I hate those little bleepers too. Both my casters have Unshackle, though. Will one or two points in INT really make that much difference? Luck seems like more bang for your buck.

[Rent-an-Ihrno]

Forget INT. To make a difference, you'd have to invest far too many points in it. In fact, mental effects are next to insignificant in A1-3. Your spellcasters should resist any charm or terror spell and be able to cure everybody else if necessary (most fights will be over before you even get the chance, though); should your entire party get charmed or whatever (and this is especially true for singletons), you just have to wait for the effect to wear off.

Only dumbfounding is nasty, and you'll know when to look out for it and prepare accordingly.

 

So my advice: leave your fighters as stupid as they come, and push your casters as far as possible. In fact, their INT should be much, much higher than 8 - after you've gotten them all necessary skills (arcane lore etc), you should do little else than force their INT (save for some endurance and so on).

[Alorael at Large]

The best protection from dumbfounding is to give your fighters a point or two in a casting skill. Priest is nice, as it gives you a little bit more healing if that ever becomes critical. The trick is that those dumbfounders meaning mung demons, target the closest spell-capable character, so a fighter hacking at a demon who can mumble through a couple of prayers takes the focus off your casters.

 

—Alorael, who believes the A1 damage formula still treats Melee and Strength as the same thing in the damage formula. If you want to hit harder, invest more. Otherwise, Gymnastics is very good (you can become pretty much unhittable). Dex also helps with dodging. Really what you need most is whatever you want your character to do better.

[Jerakeen]

Originally Posted By: Ex culminatio

Alorael, who believes the A1 damage formula still treats Melee and Strength as the same thing in the damage formula. If you want to hit harder, invest more. Otherwise, Gymnastics is very good (you can become pretty much unhittable). Dex also helps with dodging. Really what you need most is whatever you want your character to do better.

This is what I was trying to get at. If Strength and Melee are treated the same, aren't you better off investing in the cheaper one?

Base Melee is 1/3*(STR+DEX), and base Hardiness is 1/4 Strength. So if I have to raise Strength (and/or Dex) three times to increase base Melee, and four times to increase base Hardiness, is the extra damage from Strength worth the skill points?

Or are they better spent directly on combat skills, which I'm pretty sure would be more cost-effective (ie. I could raise Melee more than I could Strength and Melee together, even if I had to drop few points into Hardiness occasionally)?

And does there come a point when raising a stat makes no effective difference to damage dealt?

Re Gymnastics: Really? Cool!

Edit: One more thing--is Blademaster really worth 4500 gp/level?

[Randomizer]

Originally Posted By: Turtle

Edit: One more thing--is Blademaster really worth 4500 gp/level?

It's only money and you have more than enough at the end. Buy anything that you can.