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Replaying the series - Recommendations?


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Hi! I'm replaying Geneforge series right now and I'm trying to do things differently (specially with class selection). Right now I'm about to finish Geneforge 2 as a Shaper, and I'm planning to start Geneforge 3 right away with the Guardian class.

 

I would like to see recommendations on how to build a Guardian, or simply just builds you like to play with this particular class (so, not necessarily the best ones, but just the ones you consider fun or interesting to play with). I'm used to play as an Agent and I had some problems to enjoy building my pure Shaper in G2. So, any ideas or recommendations for my future G3 Guardian?

 

Also, I have a concern for when I reach G5. In my first playtrhough, G5 was the only game I didn't play as an Agent, since the Sorceress seemed pretty awesome. But I noticed that the "speed" spell and the "speed" effect in general had been modified radically. Maybe I was way to used to rely on the speed spell for obliterating foes with my agents, but I don't see if I would be able to play as a solo Agent in G5 without the magical AP accumulation. Is it viable? Or any other recommendation for playing Agents in G5?

 

Thanks a zillion! :)

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I would like to see recommendations on how to build a Guardian, or simply just builds you like to play with this particular class (so, not necessarily the best ones, but just the ones you consider fun or interesting to play with). I'm used to play as an Agent and I had some problems to enjoy building my pure Shaper in G2. So, any ideas or recommendations for my future G3 Guardian?

 

Geneforge 3 isn't the best game in the series for Guardians to shine (that'd be G2), but you should be able to do okay. Obviously you want to invest in Parry and Endurance to help keep you alive, as well as some weapon skills for damage output. Given your limited but usable essence pool and the fact that low-tier creations are actually very viable right into the late game in G3 if you keep them alive and let them level up, consider backing up your combat skills with an army of cheap but powerful creations like Vlish. Magic isn't your strong suit, but you'll do fine at healing and some investment in blessing magic can still be worthwhile as well. A tough main character backed up by support fire from hard-hitting but fragile creations should work reasonably well, in theory.

 

Also, I have a concern for when I reach G5. In my first playtrhough, G5 was the only game I didn't play as an Agent, since the Sorceress seemed pretty awesome. But I noticed that the "speed" spell and the "speed" effect in general had been modified radically. Maybe I was way to used to rely on the speed spell for obliterating foes with my agents, but I don't see if I would be able to play as a solo Agent in G5 without the magical AP accumulation. Is it viable? Or any other recommendation for playing Agents in G5?

 

Basically, the way to make a solo character work in the later Geneforge games is to use mental magic to disable enemies and pick them off one at a time. Daze and Charm are both excellent crowd control: dazed enemies won't act until you attack them first, while charming one enemy in a group can make the rest of the group focus on it instead of you. Don't be afraid to pump your Mental Magic and Spellcraft into the stratosphere: invest enough and by the endgame you'll be able to successfully charm Gazers. Also, even as an Agent it's not necessarily a bad idea to make a creation or two, unless you're particularly committed to the idea of a solo run.

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Never tried the missile weapons path... I'm tempted to spend some points into it, but I've always wondered how you deal with the ammunition. It seems a bit scarce, given the number of enemies and their HP.

 

I've finally started G3. I'm trying to do a decent melee Guardian as suggested by Triumph; also, I'm trying to level up a battle creation from the beginning, as Lilith said. I've just left the school, wish me luck ^_^

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None of the creations you can get at the beginning (like Thahds or Fyoras) are worth bothering about. Too weak.

 

G3 is the game of the Vlish; for various statistical reasons I don't fully recall, they are the optimal creation in G3. If you want a small number of relatively early creations that you can level up and bring along all through the game, your min-max best bet is to get Vlish on the second island (that'll be Magic shaping not Battle shaping).

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Can confirm that vlish are the best things to drag around, at least with your shaper (and probably with your guardian). Matter of opinion here, but battle creatures were only really worth lugging around (as opposed to the other types) during Geneforge 5. GF3, though -- if you're going on a Guardian run, a vlish might be able to hit/damage what you can't. The ranged attack will really help for those "don't want to get too close" battles. Plus, a Guardian will be dealing physical damage, so the nature of the vlish's attack will help counter anything that's weak to magic. Admittedly, vlish don't seem like the ideal punching bag that an early-game Thahd would be, but they were more useful over the long run than a lot of other creation types.*

 

Fyoras and Thahds are useful for a while, but they don't seem to hold up past a certain point. Vlish are 100% (or 90%, at least) the way to go.

 

*I don't claim to be an expert. Take everyone else's advice into consideration before mine. It's been a while since I've played the Geneforge games. Have been going through my own little replay ever since I bought them all off Steam.

 

Side note, I have my own replay question. Any class recommendations for a GF4 run? Still need to play through the game as a fence-sitting trakovite, can't decide which class/build would be worth playing this time around.

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The statistical reasons are here:

http://spiderwebforums.ipbhost.com/index.php?/topic/5111-broken-vlish-a-too-long-analysis/

 

Artila are fine early on with pumping Magic Shaping, but G3 Vlish are probably one of the top 5 most overpowered abilities in any SW game ever. (Not sure about the others. Exile Luck, Exile Bless, old style Haste, and G2 Parry, maybe? Okay, some of those are crazy. Top 10 though!)

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All right, finally I've decided to hear the forum wise words and invested two points in Magic Shaping and Create Vlish. The fact is, Thahd seemed extremely powerful at first, and I was seduced :p Also, it was easier to create them since Guardians start with 1 point in Battle Shaping but none in Magic Shaping.

 

Anyway, I'm starting to foresee problems in the future. Right now, my Guardian can obliterate enemies with brute force, but I don't think he will be able to stand a chance in the upcoming major battles. Is there any teacher or book out there that gives points in Battle Magic Blessing Magic? Or I'll have to resort to canisters?

 

Also, the essence pool seems a bit... poor. I'm not spending any points in intelligence as suggested. Any recommendation to palliate this?

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Battle magic? I wouldn't recommend it. Stay the course! You'll be better served by items / Blessing magic / careful tactics. Without powered-up Mental magic or a horde of creations, one of your most important skills is maneuvering carefully enough to avoid drawing the ire of more than a few enemies at a time. Also, is it possible you wandered into a slightly harder area and need to spend so more time poking around easier areas for now, until you level up more? The Geneforge games are very good at providing multiple paths, so that if one zone is too tough for you currently, there's almost certain another path in the zone or an entirely different zone where you can go to advance.

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Yes, yes. I said Battle Magic but I was thinking of Blessing Magic. The Agent inside me tricked the keyboard :D

 

I think Blessing Magic would be very effective due to Guardian gameplay style. If there are teachers/books about it, that would be wonderful. I'll look into the guide and FAQS ^_^

 

Thank you all.

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