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A5 - Mechanics questions


Masayoshi

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I'm nearing the end of Avernum 4 (like the new engine, but the plot seems a bit of a retread), and am looking ahead at the much-lauded Avernum 5. Before creating a party, I have a few questions that didn't seem to be explicitly covered in Strategy Central or the gamefaq by Matt P:

 

- Does Anatomy work with ranged weapons?

 

- Are Blademaster and Sharpshooter functionally the same as adding a point to Melee/Pole and Bows/Thrown, or do they provide a better bonus to damage? (I know Blademaster helps with fatigue recovery as well)

 

- Is Lethal Blow the equivalent of Assassination in previous Avernum games? As in, does it only work on lower-leveled targets?

 

- Is Parry as powerful as it was in Avernum 4? Does it work on ranged and targeted magic attacks like it did in A4?

 

- Does Luck do anything except boost Hostile Effect Resistance? Does it boost to-hit or damage? Are there any special encounters or secrets revealed when you have decent Luck?

 

 

I'm trying to keep myself spoilers-free, but I definitely want to understand the mechanics better before diving in. Thanks!

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Anatomy only works with melee weapons.

 

Blademaster and Sharpshooter are functionally the same, but the fatigue recovery from Blademaster is worth it late in the game.

 

Lethal Blow appears to add +50% extra damage and works as a straight percentage chance of happening without regard to level.

 

Parry is less effective in that it got lowered to +3%/level for melee and +2% for missile attacks. It is capped at 50%, but it is very useful and will help to stop attacks that lower your action points on the next round as well as damage.

 

Luck helps a little for to hit as well as armor/resistances. Otherwise it doesn't do anything anymore.

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Thanks again.

 

I've started, and so far it's a blast. The opening sequence was a good intro to what looks like heavy political intrigue.

 

Another mechanics question. It seems like Defense and Parry now both just give 3% evasion chance. Is there any difference? How do they stack up vs. Gymnastics (in terms of defensive power)?

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Thanks again.

 

I've started, and so far it's a blast. The opening sequence was a good intro to what looks like heavy political intrigue.

 

Another mechanics question. It seems like Defense and Parry now both just give 3% evasion chance. Is there any difference?

 

Yes -- a subtle but huge difference. Defense skill reduces the enemy's accuracy by 3% when attacking you, so if it previously had a 50% chance to hit you, it'll be reduced to 47% with one point of Defense, but if its chance to hit you was 120% it'll reduce it to 117% for no actual effect (since both values are above the hit rate cap of 95%). Parry is a flat chance to block an attack no matter what the enemy's accuracy is, so five points of Parry gives you a 15% chance to block a melee attack no matter whether it had a 20% chance to hit or a 200% chance. In general, Parry is considered better than Defense, because a lot of tougher enemies have such high accuracy that their hit rate will be maxed out no matter what (especially on higher difficulty levels).

 

How do they stack up vs. Gymnastics (in terms of defensive power)?

 

Parry is better.

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The 10 cap is in Geneforge games where skills decrease in usefulness every 10 levels. Avernum doesn't have that.

That is completely untrue. Avernum does have that, but only for a handful of skills -- which was also true of Geneforges 2 through 5.

 

It definitely applies to most evasion bonuses from skills in A5. In A6 I did more extensive testing, and as it is very likely that no *new* 10-caps were added in A6, it is a safe bet that in A5, the following skills all involve the 10-cap:

 

Quick Action

Lethal Blow

Magical Efficiency

Riposte

Luck (armor and resistances; not sure about evasion)

Dexterity (evasion only)

Defense (evasion only)

Gymnastics (evasion only)

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