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A6...really hard?


akindc

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OK, I know this is going to make most of you laugh, since I'm sure you've all finished the game with one character, on torment, while blindfolded, but is A6 harder than other Spiderweb games? I'm played almost all of them, and this one has been much, much more challenging. Just wondering if that was intended, or if I'm just putting together a terrible play through.

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I don't know if anyone has finished A6 in torment with a single character besides Student of Trinity since my game is on hold in the Eastern Gallery.

 

There is a steep jump in difficulty after you leave the Eastern Gallery and head north mostly due to the increased health of the Scourge Sliths in and around Formello. It's not that the fights are harder in terms of tactics, but that they take longer to complete. If you don't have potions to recharge in a fight than you get wiped out due to attrition. Also Slith forces at Formello's gates infinitely respawn so you can get wiped out if you stay and fight instead of sneaking around or retreating.

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I found it more difficult than the other games by the time I got to Formello, but then that probably was due to being lazy and not bothering with a lot of quests. Had to scroll through my quest list to look at them all by the end. I also absolutely despise using items due to them being finite, which probably didn't help matters since more battles in A6 are based around attrition than any other Spiderweb game as I recall.

 

So no, nothing to laugh about.

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I would also say that "mass healing" is much less effective in A6. I have a level 20 priest who knows the spell at level 4, with int = 10, and priest spells=10. In previous Avernum games, that would have been enough to get all members of a critically injured party back to almost 100% health. Now if I have a couple members at 20% health or less, I use two separate healing spells (one for each) to get them back to somewhere around full health - rather than a mass healing which seems to only get me a 30-40% improvement (no statistcs here, just a general feeling). This is becoming a real pain, especially since haste doesn't work like it used to either.. My only partial solution has been to train my mage in a few level of priest spells as a backup for when my priest only gets one turn.. sigh.

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I think it's easier than both EFTP and Avernum 5, but much harder than Avernum 4.

 

So about in the middle as far as Avernums go.

 

I think Avernum 5 is the hardest just because it has massive jumps in difficulty (that mission with the sentinels half way through the game is bloody hard and comes out of nowhere as the game up to that point isn't so difficult) and insane HP bloat so that battles (even random ones) take FOREVER. And given how linear A5 is there's no opportunity to leave, grind, and come back later like you can in Avernum 6. There are some really hard fights in Avernum 6, but most of them are entirely optional, and most of the main quest missions in A6 are really easy (I actually think you could complete A6 at a really low level if you mostly just stick to the main missions, do the minimum amount required, and only pick the easiest ones). Whereas, Avernum 5 is basically just one long corridor, so you have to do stuff in order to advance at all.

 

I remember having a harder time with EFTP than A6, but that could also just be because EFTP was the first Avernum game I ever played and I was an old pro by the time I got to A6. So maybe EFTP is easier, I don't know. But I do think most of the main quest missions are much harder in EFTP than they are in A6, so there's that.

 

PS: people complain about nerfing haste in A6 a lot, but personally I never had a problem as speed potions and wands are SO ABUNDANT that you have enough for every big fight and then some. I played through on torment and ended the game with a whole stash of extra speed potions and like 30,000 dollars in cash on top of it, so I could have bought more if I really wanted to. Resources aren't really scarce in A6 so don't be afraid to use stuff when you need it, even invincibility potions.

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I agree for the most part with what you said. I think that Avernum 5 was the hardest and I still have yet to beat it. Once I get to Lysstek the Beast quest, the game pretty much ends for me. Sure Avernum 4 had its moments that I couldnt beat, but most of those moments were optional. Lysstek the bandit leader in Avernum 5, was a main mission. I havent actually played Avernum 6 so I wouldnt know. However, I read a few reviews and the reviews state that jeff makes many things more simplified for the average player while still giving a challenge to the advanced.

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I agree for the most part with what you said. I think that Avernum 5 was the hardest and I still have yet to beat it. Once I get to Lysstek the Beast quest, the game pretty much ends for me.

 

For that fight, it helps if you have at least one tough melee fighter with the Bladeshield discipline. Having assistance from the NPCs available nearby will also take a bit of heat off you.

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For that fight, it helps if you have at least one tough melee fighter with the Bladeshield discipline. Having assistance from the NPCs available nearby will also take a bit of heat off you.

 

Yeah, I think that what was wrong with fights like those is my own style of characters. When I used to play Second trilogy, I had 2 melee or pole fighters and a hedge wizard. What I found works better in all Avernum Games is doing what you said, and also instead of 2 fighters, 1 fighter and 1 archer with a wizard. That way, only 1 of my characters is getting slammed against the wall and the archer can take down other essentials without getting hit. Takes off some of the healing from wizard as well.

 

Im gonna try that on my next run. Thanks for tip!

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