A:EftP - Noob Questions

[ChiefJC]

Howdy,

 

I've been having great fun while playing Escape from the Pit but im abit lost with a few things, at the moment and would like some advice.

 

1) Town to Town.. At the moment I am doing a quest at the tower of the magi and I am almost level 10 all around, is this the right level to be doing this at ?

 

I feel like it is harder then it should be since I am getting quite badly bruised even with my tank in the doorway and everyone else healing/shooting missiles in. Whats the ideal way to work yourself around Avernum ?

 

2) Is this build bad ? I have a Berserker as main character with Warrior as second and in background I have Sorcerer and Priest who both shoot arrows while my fighters get in close with the Berserker with high Str/End

 

3) Is a good knowledge of lock picking important ?

 

Thanks for your time

[adc.]

Oh hai there.

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1.) So yeah, the quests are kinda hard on the tower of magi. So, if I were you, I'd rather kill stuff and do quests on the nearby Fort Avernum, Silvar and Formello.

2.) Not bad, it's pretty ok. But my build was Sorcerer and Priest (I used the char editor)

3.) At most minor quests. Yes.

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If you have the full version, you can press Shift + D and type editor if activated.

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If you have the demo version, press Shift + D and type iamweak as many as you like to gain experience (menial work).

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Here's a tip. Press Shift + D and type showmeall to spot enemies around doors and the next rooms and be ready.

[Jerakeen]

Your party is fine. Archery will become less useful as you go, but it's pretty good in the early game. You're playing on Normal, yes?

 

Rehctawthgin is correct that you can probably find some easier quests in the eastern gallery and Formello area, though Kelner in the tower will give you an easy one, too.

 

Alternately, there are a few errand-boy type quests in the Great Cave to the west; just be careful to avoid combat.

[ChiefJC]

Thanks alot guys, I was thinking about starting again because I realized after reading these forums some character mistakes (that and I'd like to take more time to read through the stories instead of just running around like a madman.

 

But yes I am playing on Normal, what would you recommend for a good team build ? I was thinking possibly in layman's terms, because if Archery isn't so useful down the line then what replaces the role it plays in the early game, this is my new plan

 

Two Berserker, one spell user with a mix of heal and other spells.. and possibly a rouge, but I am not so sure. I appreciate your guys help. Cheers.

[Jerakeen]

Spells are the best for damage output later in the game. A rogue character is kind of useless, since tool use is a collective skill. I strongly recommend you have two casters, and don't obsess too much about the tips on the forums - they're mainly intended for min-maxers playing on Torment. As long as you invest mostly in each class's primary stat (STR for fighters, INT for casters), you'll be fine. And you can always use the editor to re-assign skill points if you make a mistake.

[Randomizer]

Some lock picking is useful since it can allow you to open hidden switches to get to loot or avoid combat. Also the better loot is behind traps and in locked containers.

[Alorael at Large]

Two front-line fighters and two spellcasters is a standard assortment that will do just fine on normal. I'd advise spreading the skills like cave lore and lockpicking out among your characters, since the total party value is added. By all means give your characters bows, but don't invest much in bow skills.

 

Besides locks, I'm not sure what a rogue is. There's no benefit to using daggers over big swords, You don't get much out of ranged weapons. Don't try to make a class that doesn't work in Avernum.

 

—Alorael, who thinks the intended progress through the game is starting with the Eastern Gallery (Fort Avernum, Silvar, Fort Duvno), going up to Formello and maybe Fort Draco, then south to Mertis and the Tower of Magi, and only then working your way west.

[MMXPERT-seraph of thermodynamics]

I believe rogue is a class that:

Is good at throwing missile weapons but not bows

Has high quick action and gymnastics, maybe throw in parry/riposte a bit

kinda dependent on items

Is mediocre in melee, uses two swords (so has dual wielding buffed)

knows very little or no spells and only some disciplines

[The Reverend]

An archery build can work on hard (and thus certainly on normal as well), but by the later parts of the game they'll be dealing less damage than your melee fighter and much less than your spell casters. But I enjoyed playing it because it added a bit more variety. Her high evasion for melee, fire and energy (but alas not cold) from all the dexterity that you need to give an archer made her very hard for many enemies to hit.

 

But to make it work well, you have to fully specialize - put *every* stat point into dexterity. For ability points, concentrate on bows and sharpshooter initially (the 4% damage boost per level is nice). Once sharpshooter is full (it maxes out at 10), go for lethal blow. One nice thing about archers is that they can get lethal blow without having to waste points on quick action. Gymnastics can also be beneficial because it is easy for archers to access (bows as a prereq) and with enough points gives you 10 AP pretty regularly without needing any AP-boosting equipment (2 attacks instead of 1, or 4 instead of 3 with an adrenaline rush). Sniper is sometimes useful, but fairly unpredictable. The random curses will sometimes cause enemies to be slowed, which is nice when it happens, but not something you can count on.

[Randomizer]

Range attack builds don't work well on torment. The advantage of avoiding damage with high dexterity gets negated when you are hit because you don't have Hardiness to reduce it. High endurance will help some, but expect to die, a lot.

[The Reverend]

Yes, I never try Spiderweb games on torment ... Hard seems just right for giving me a good challenge whilst still maintaining some semblance of my sanity.

 

On hard, by mid-game, my archer was rarely getting hit except by enemies with cold attacks (yes, the cold attack issue is a flaw, but not common enough to make it unworkable).

[ĐªгŦĦ Єяŋϊε]

Why does everyone think that quick action is a waste?

[Earth]

against some enemies it let's party to act before enemies but not all (until around lvl 25 when against all enemies except bosses) especially against giants/ogres/zombies.

[ChiefJC]

Cheers for all your answers, if any of you are interested I recreated my team

 

Two CC Specialists who Dual Wield. A Sorc and a Priest for Heals/Buffs.

 

I hope you don't mind me sticking another Q out there, but Im at the same point again. I have got the amulet back for the mayor and now have a crown token, Im level 8 and have been doing the quests off of the boards in Silvar (All Completed), Fort Duvno (All Completed) and Formello (All completed apart from kill the Giant and Ogeres).

 

But I keep getting slapped by the Giant stupidly before I can even start they get the first round and they kill 1 tank and almost knock out the second (and thats the end of that battle..) So I thought I would go westwards where I get murdered by Slith, or on a boat from Silvar to the islands in the middle of the sea and get killed by angry plants or try to get the wise dragons horde but get killed by his pets.)

 

Now maybe im missing something, because I am almost half certain my build is not terrible but my results are terrible, any advice on what to do, where to go ?

 

Cheeers

[Randomizer]

You should be a bit higher by the time you finished with the Mayor's Necklace quest. Have you done delivery quests from Formello up to Fort Draco, the Ancient Crypt, and Motrax's Lair?

 

Take your boat southwest along the river from the Dark Lake south of Cotra into the Great Cave. There are lots of easy delivery quests there to gain a level or two. Then go back and fight stuff.

[The Reverend]

Have you done the quests for Cotra as well? How about heading south to the Mertis area? I came back at a higher level to handle the giant near formello.

[ChiefJC]

I have done all of those quests on the boards and the quests for Cotra too, i've done everything ive been given so far apart from the giants. Ill look into the delivery quests in the Great Cave area thanks for the tips and Ill look into Metris too... Im not sure why I am only level 8 since ive done everything. OH well thanks for your advice its appreciated

[Jerakeen]

You could try clearing the bat cave right to the end if you haven't done it already. Should be quite doable at your level. Also head west to Ft Dranlon for some cheap spell levels. Just take a boat from Cotra to avoid encounters.

[Yerac8]

I am another noob and was at the same point last week. I did parts of of a lot of areas to get past this point. I think I was around L10 when I started doing parts of the Aranea cave and spiral pit as well as the upstairs bit of the first Kyass quest.

 

I had to try and lure out my opponents by going just into the room and then running away. Then I would leave my 3 strongest to fight while my weakest (my sorceress at that level) ran away as far as it could until the others died then I would bolt for the closet town and restore them and come back and do it all again.

 

It is a bit time consuming but it was a good way to get more money to pay for my mage and sorcerers training.

 

I havent played any sort of game for about 10 years so am new to everything. I recently got an ipad for work and bought Avadon, now I am hooked!

[The Reverend]

I found that there were a lot more quests that were manageable once I got to around level 10-12. The beginning of the game (prior to level 10 or so) was probably the hardest part. It was even more pronounced in Mac version 1.0, before Jeff rebalanced some of the early areas.

[Callipygous]

I'm relatively new to the game myself having only been playing for about 4 weeks now. I played on Torment setting till ~13 and then switched to hard. I'm currently level 26. Two things I picked up on early on (especially while playing on torment):

1. Don't expect to finish a dungeon in one run. There have only been a couple that I did on my first pass through. The majority of them I would get through most of the dungeon or all the way to the end boss, and then not be able to come close to beating the encounter. So, I pack up the loot, head back to town and look for something more doable until I get another level or two.

2. Anytime I run/ran into an area that kept kicking my ass (like wondering into the slith's or giant's area at level 10ish) I figured that was the games way of telling me to explore. Every time I have, I've been able to find an area with a more appropriate challenge for my group.

[adc.]

So... Just let me check this.

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You must be having the demo...

[ChiefJC]

Cheers guys I've been doing what you said and the best part so far is I couldnt believe the cheap spells in the fort, I feel abit more kitted out now, on my way to Metris now but I feel like my spell casters are coming into a league of their own now... Ill keep you guys updated on my progress, thanks alot P.S: No I have the full game.

[Earth]

if I were you I would wait until casters have got Lightning Spray and Mass Healing until you Spiral Pit-quest or ToM Ogre-quest.

[Jerakeen]

Save often in the Spiral Pit. You don't have to do it all at once.

[adc.]

Alright. If you have done activate the Char editor, you should make at least another save file and go play it with the char editor...

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Optional:

If you just want spells, activate the editor (how many times do I have to say this -.-) press shift + D type editor and press the "see spells and abilities button" then turn any spell up to lvl 2.

-Rehctawthgin

[nikki.]

But nobody said they wanted to try the game with cheating! I mean, it's great you want to offer advice, but it's somewhat off-topic since everybody discussing their games in this thread seems to be relishing the challenge they're facing so far.

[MMXPERT-seraph of thermodynamics]

MMX used HAX

 

3500 damage to town guard (19000 blocked)

 

[Earth]

yea some enemies have high resistance to melee damage, before final mission I have seen overr 200 damage blocked even enemy not having any spell-shields on while highest my fighters have done is 250 dmg against low level random encounter (Goblin I think).

[MMXPERT-seraph of thermodynamics]

Are you sure it's not just the anti-adventurer genetics of town guards?

[Death Knight]

As for the question about rogues in avernum, it is very interesting as It could be anything. I definitely think something along the lines of high speed which would be a high quick action for a character. Im playing a character that dual wields like my other fighter but instead of using damage reducing skills like parry, he specializes in quick action for high speed. Attacking before the tough enemies have a chance to move can be deadly if you know what your doing. It can also get your rogue killed too though.

 

I'm not really sure that would even be an answer as there's the backstab skill which seems more rogue-like. The problem with that though is that you always go first and therefore almost never have an ally to backstab an enemy with.

[MMXPERT-seraph of thermodynamics]

backstab is a rogue skill only by name.

[Death Knight]

Well if that is the case then there would be a few rogue type builds in the avernum universe. In avernum 4-6 there was the anatomy skill which is basically more damage to humans/humanoid enemies. High melee/anatomy, and it sounds like an assassin or rogue type to me if anything. At least thats what i make of it.

[Avadon]

@Rehctawthgin

 

What is the difference between using the editor and using "iamweak"? I have Avernum on the iPad and used the editor to max stats at 40 when I started, but when playing my party's stats went up to 41 then 42?

[Jerakeen]

Iamweak adds XP, less the higher your level. It's not really very useful. The editor, as you know, lets you raise skills without needing skill points.

[Avadon]

So let me get this straight, increasing my level is useless once I have used the editor to max my stats? As in in terms of damage, hit points, skills etc?

[Jerakeen]

Oh no, increasing your level will have numerous benefits, but doing it with 'iamweak' would be incredibly tedious. And ineffective at a certain point, because the amount of XP decreases as your level increases.

[Avadon]

It would be best if Jeff the developer includes a new cheat, "iammax" in future that maxes out every attribute, level, hit point and skill in the next game.

[adc.]

That would be... unbalanced. Well, at least you could be immortal. At least, you could save a lot of time instead of menially typing iamweak.