Help Me Plan My Party

[KnowledgeBrew]

Okay, I want to min/max everything and don't want to have to do more than one run through. Don't say to use the search because it can be hard to search for that one exact tidbit you need.

 

First, do you have to make sure that all your characters have around the same experience penalty like previous Avernums or is the experience now averaged?

 

Okay, it seems like to properly min/max you should old off on training skills until you can buy the three points except in the four primary stats. And unlike previous Avernums you can buy points in tool use without being screwed by the trainer.

 

I want a glass cannon party.

 

Here's the archetypes:

 

Melee Weapons Warrior: Blademaster/Divinely Touched. Stats in Strength or intelligence for anatomy? Some in Dex for parry? Slith or Nephil?

 

Train Strength to 6, Intelligence to 4, and Dexterity to 6? Then put points in melee, parry, anatomy, blademaster?

 

Archer Thief: What combination of Nimble Fingers, Sharpshooter, and Divinely Touched should he be? Considering first aid is worthless. Stats in Dex for Gymnastics? What skills should I invest in? Definately Neph. Should I specialize in thrown or bows or just go for sharpshooter?

 

Mage: Natural Mage/Divinely touched obv. Train int. Then when three points bought magery, mage spells, and spellcraft?

 

Pole Weapon using priest: Slith definately. Only anatomy on this character? Should this be a pure priest and the warrior be a blademaster using both melee and poles?

 

Help me decide.

[Kelandon]

I don't know anything, but it may be useful to look here for some of that as you wait for someone more knowledgeable to respond.

[Randomizer]

First we need to know difficulty level. You can do things at normal that fail by the time you increase difficulty to torment.

 

Magery and spellcraft can be bought at Shankar's Tower just after the demo. Also arcane lore is available there. Nature lore and hardiness is the next chapter in Harkin's Landing. Get resistance in Exodus.

 

Tool use can't be trained. There are items to help get 3 in tool use. You need 18 with items to do all traps and doors that aren't quest locked. 20 will get a few of them, but it really doesn't get you enough.

 

Fighters should get combat skills so they can have battle disciplines at the start. Shield breaker and well aimed blow really make a difference at the start. In normal difficulty, leg sweep will keep you from taking damage. Also the combat skill trainer isn't until Tranquility (chapter 4) where it pays to just spend money for mages and priests to get those skills.

 

I don't think anatomy is worth the skill points. Parry is useful, even in the weaken form.

 

Read all the topics in the link for Strategy Central. It will give you a better idea if you're only going to play once.

[Lilith]

Quote:

Originally written by KnowledgeBrew:
I want a glass cannon party.

Be warned: Jeff designed this game specifically to discourage glass cannons. You don't need much endurance -- about 5-7 points will do for most of the game, even if you're playing on Torment -- but you do need some.

Quote:

Melee Weapons Warrior: Blademaster/Divinely Touched. Stats in Strength or intelligence for anatomy? Some in Dex for parry? Slith or Nephil?

Train Strength to 6, Intelligence to 4, and Dexterity to 6? Then put points in melee, parry, anatomy, blademaster?

Going for Anatomy is probably a waste of skill points, but Parry is definitely worthwhile -- in fact, if you feed him a lot of skill potions, it's possible to build up Parry and Blademaster enough that Riposte becomes available. If you don't want to use pole weapons, I'd recommend a nephil rather than a slith: being able to use a bow every so often is worth more than the small health bonus.

Quote:

Archer Thief: What combination of Nimble Fingers, Sharpshooter, and Divinely Touched should he be? Considering first aid is worthless. Stats in Dex for Gymnastics? What skills should I invest in? Definately Neph. Should I specialize in thrown or bows or just go for sharpshooter?

First Aid isn't bad now, actually, but you only need a few points of it to make a difference. Nimble Fingers isn't very good, though; you'll probably get more mileage out of Deadeye. I prefer to give my archers some spellcasting skills so they're more versatile, but you're the one playing the game.

Quote:

Mage: Natural Mage/Divinely touched obv. Train int. Then when three points bought magery, mage spells, and spellcraft?

Waiting until the trainer for Magery and Spellcraft is a very good idea, since she's so early in the game anyway. Consider a few points of Priest Spells so you have a secondary healer -- you'll want at least up to Unshackle Mind in case your priest gets charmed.

Quote:

Pole Weapon using priest: Slith definately. Only anatomy on this character? Should this be a pure priest and the warrior be a blademaster using both melee and poles?

Well, you can't use both melee weapons and pole weapons at the same time. Having a non-dedicated fighter use swords or polearms has always felt like playing with fire to me, though; you need Parry to survive being swarmed.

[Zummi]

Hmmm..I actually use only three for all my Avernum playthroughs..a warrior, an archer, and a risky..but fun..mage/priest..@_@

 

Quote:

Nimble Fingers isn't very good, though; you'll probably get more mileage out of Deadeye.

So..should I choose Quick Feet(..or something like that..) instead for an archer?

[Alorael at Large]

Fast on Feet is a fairly good trait, but Divinely Touched is just too good to pass up. Deadeye is also fine, or Elite Warrior if your archer will do more than arch.

 

—Alorael, who does not play on torment but does heartily enjoy making mage/priests. You get twice the mileage out of Spellcraft, Magery, and Intelligence, gain flexibility, and it's not like you wanted to put your casters in the line of fire anyway. Casters who are nephils and for whom you buy a few points of shooting skills make fairly good backup archers and get some nice battle disciplines even without any skill point investment.

[Zummi]

This might be a dumb question..but..what are the requirements for the Battle Disciplines..@_@

[Randomizer]

Quote:

Originally written by Azuma:
This might be a dumb question..but..what are the requirements for the Battle Disciplines..@_@

Each melee and pole weapon level counts as one combat skill and each missle and thrown weapon level counts as half a combat skill. 5 is the minimum for the lowest, well aimed blow and 20 gets you all. There are items starting in the middle of the game that give combat skills that are great for spellcasters.

It used to be easier to get batle disciplines, but after beta testing the demo, Jeff increased the requirements. I was right that mighty blow was broken at the time.

[Lilith]

Quote:

Originally written by Professor of Sincerity:
—Alorael, who does not play on torment but does heartily enjoy making mage/priests.

Mage-priests aren't easy to make in A5, thanks to battle disciplines. My Natural Mage/Divinely Touched mage-priest only ever got enough Priest Spells skill for Mass Healing and didn't get all the battle disciplines until near the end of the game, even though I gave him the Discipline Blade and fed him quite a few skill potions. If I'd gone for Pure Spirit instead of Divinely Touched, I probably could have achieved 17 levels of priest spells, but that would have meant forsaking all the delicious bonuses from Divinely Touched.

[Alorael at Large]

They're not harder to make. They're just not possible to make if you want all the battle disciplines as well. My casters never got more than the benefits of purchasable skill levels and the bonuses of being nephilim. I'm not sure that was optimal, but it's the build I'm most accustomed to.

 

—Alorael, who decided that the buff disciplines are most important on fighters, magic works fine most of the time, and flexibility tended to be worth more than the raw power of spell-discipline synergy. On torment that might easily be an unacceptable sacrifice, but as he said, he doesn't play on torment.

[Lilith]

Quote:

Originally written by Professor of Sincerity:
—Alorael, who decided that the buff disciplines are most important on fighters, magic works fine most of the time, and flexibility tended to be worth more than the raw power of spell-discipline synergy. On torment that might easily be an unacceptable sacrifice, but as he said, he doesn't play on torment.

Using Adrenaline Rush to cast three spells per spellcaster per round is a great way to start any fight. There's not much that can stand up to six Divine Retributions and three Arcane Blows, even on Torment. Very handy for dealing with swarms of various monsters in Vahnatai lands. And if you stack loads of fatigue reduction gear on everybody, they'll be able to do it once every three or four rounds.