G2 - Missle Guardian and Other Questions

[jormundi]

Hello, I recently beat Geneforge 1 using a magic shaping build and found it to be mostly fun. By the end of the game though, I found it to be almost too easy besides the fact that managing all the creatures in tight space was annoying as hell.

 

I wanted to try guardian in the second game to try something new. Reading some of the pinned topics it also looks like guardian is a really solid pick. I also read some of the pinned topics for some builds/stat ideas.

 

I was thinking of going with a missile guardian. I see that dexterity influences my chance to hit. What influences my damage with missile weapons? Just the missile weapons skill, or also strength?

 

Can parry work when I'm using a missile weapon?

 

How important is quick action for a build like this?

 

Are luck/mechanics/leadership about the same usefulness as the first game?

As a guardian, I can have seemingly decent shaping abilities. Would it be wise to pump some points into some shaping or even magic? Battle shaping perhaps to tank while I shoot from afar?

 

I asked a lot of questions I know, but I was wondering if anyone had any general insight/things to look out far as I start this game with this build?

[googoogjoob]

20 minutes ago, jormundi said:

I was thinking of going with a missile guardian. I see that dexterity influences my chance to hit. What influences my damage with missile weapons? Just the missile weapons skill, or also strength?

I'm pretty sure that in Geneforge 1 and 2, Missile Weapons is the only skill affecting the damage you do with missile weapons. In Geneforge 3-5, Dexterity increases both chance to hit and damage with missile weapons, but not in 1 or 2. Strength increases the damage of Creations' ranged attacks, but not the player's.

 

21 minutes ago, jormundi said:

Can parry work when I'm using a missile weapon?

Yes. Parry is extremely powerful in Geneforge 2, and Guardians especially should invest in it heavily.

 

22 minutes ago, jormundi said:

How important is quick action for a build like this?

Quick Action gives you a chance to hit a second time in melee. If you're going for a missile weapons build, it is not going to be very useful to you at all, and the points you'd put in it would be better put in Missile Weapons or Parry.

 

25 minutes ago, jormundi said:

Are luck/mechanics/leadership about the same usefulness as the first game?

Luck remains barely useful. Mechanics and Leadership are both still very useful- though it's easy to fall into the trap of spending too many points on them early in the game.

 

26 minutes ago, jormundi said:

As a guardian, I can have seemingly decent shaping abilities. Would it be wise to pump some points into some shaping or even magic? Battle shaping perhaps to tank while I shoot from afar?

Shaping is overwhelmingly the strongest option in the Geneforge games. As a Guardian, you'll probably have fewer Creations than a Shaper would, but you still absolutely want to have some. Normally a Guardian will be tanking as much damage as their creations, but Parry is so powerful in Geneforge 2 that you don't need Creations to tank for you so much- you'll probably want creations capable of doing different types of damage more than you want tanks.

Putting points into magic isn't a great idea for a Guardian, but it might be workable?

[jormundi]

Thank you, this gives me a better idea of how I want to start my build

[Randomizer]

One problem I found playing a missile guardian in GF2 was running out of the better missiles. Upgrading to the next best baton type too soon meant reaching the end and having to go back to the lowest type as you run out of baton ammunition. While you don't do as much damage as a melee guardian, you can take advantage of terrain and not needing to move as much before attacking.