Suggestions for a nOOb?

[BrownieMix]

Hello everyone! I just discovered the Geneforge series last Wednesday, and have been playing the demo for Geneforge 4 pretty much non-stop. Other then the boiling pits, I've managed to clear out most of the demo using a Lifecrafter, which has been tons of fun. I've ordered the full game, and hopefully I'll have it soon.

 

I've been reading some of the posts here, and I can't help but feel that I'm missing some big things each time I go out. I was hoping that some of the more experienced players - or anyone else - would be willing to post some helpful suggestions for a first time player of Geneforge 4. What is the "best" class? What skillz should I focus on? I've already learned some lessons, such as don't steal everything (or else...though I was really amused at my fate) and ice crystals work well in the beginning, but there are also some smart things I haven't done yet...such as use Daze and figure out which creations I should be making.

 

Anything that would be remotely helpful would be greatly appreciated.

[Alorael at Large]

I'm not one of the number crunchers, so my numbers are fuzzier than they might be. I think my advice is sound, though.

 

All the classes are playable, but servile and lifecrafter are the favorites. In general, you don't need to put as many points into melee as you might think even for a melee-oriented class, and you really don't need many points in shaping. Magic, on the other hand, needs its skills raised. (I like to have at least five points in a shaping skill if I'm going to be shaping with it, but others disagree.)

 

It's good to put some points in Mechanics and Leadership right from the beginning. Six points or so will serve you well, and eight are fine for most of the game as long as you have some equipment to boost it for the tough spots. Don't worry, you'll find that equipment.

 

If you're shaping, you can take your pick of creation types. In previous Geneforges it was best to choose one type (fire, battle, or magic) and stick with it, but in G4 it doesn't matter as much. I've gotten the best mileage out of fire, but magic is nice too. Melee is a bit more limited.

 

Most of your money will come from picking up everything that's not nailed down or under someone else's watchful eye and selling it. You can figure out what's worth selling at any given point in the game for yourself, but remember that plentiful items that aren't worth much alone can be valuable if you have enough of them.

 

—Alorael, who thinks that's all his advice for the moment. Really, you can just play and figure it out. As long as you're not on Torment difficulty the game is fairly forgiving of sub-optimal decisions. If an area consistently kills you it's more than likely that you shouldn't be there yet.

[Student of Trinity]

Keep the difficulty set to Normal (it's under Preferences in the in-game menu) or even Easy, at least until you start finding all the combats too easy.

 

A debate is currently raging over which class is the best, but it doesn't matter much. They're all workable, and they make the game pretty different, so it's not always easy to compare. Consensus seems to be settling now that Serviles and Lifecrafters are the most powerful, but some people like Infiltrators. The big difference is whether you're going to prefer playing with a half dozen or so creatures in your party, which you have to control, or with just a few, or even just your player character. If you want the mob, play a Lifecrafter. This also makes the game most different from other CRPGs. If you want to blast and hack things mainly yourself, with perhaps a bit of support from creations, then take a Servile (more hacking) or an Infiltrator (more blasting).

 

Otherwise, look at the Strategy Central thread on this forum, for links to other strategy topics here.

 

Good luck, and welcome to the boards!

[Lilith]

Quote:

Originally written by BrownieMix:
What is the "best" class?

Lifecrafters and Serviles are generally considered the best classes, and they play quite differently. A Lifecrafter relies heavily on having an army of powerful creations, while a Servile can actually manage quite well without any creations at all.

Quote:

What skillz should I focus on?

As a lifecrafter, Intelligence is always useful, because it gives you essence. Don't pump Fire, Battle or Magic Shaping too high, because you can get bonuses from items, and having a shaping skill over 10 (including bonuses) doesn't help much. Put points into blessing and mental magic every so often; 9 points in each is enough, and again there are item bonuses available. Battle magic is powerful, but can do more harm than good; attacking enemies will make them target you instead of your creations. Put a few points into Strength and Endurance if you must, but lifecrafters shouldn't be taking too many hits.

Quote:

which creations I should be making.

Battle shaping mostly sucks. A mix of the most powerful fire and magic creations available to you at any given point in the game will get you through most fights without too much trouble.

[Randomizer]

Reading The Saga of the Insidious Infiltrator will give you some hints on how to pick up extra experience and what order to do things in to avoid getting in over your head. There are ways to get easy experience that will help you early in the game.

 

Lifecrafter, servile, and infiltrator are the most powerful classes in the game. The warrior and shock trooper are handicapped by their low magic abilities and are harder to play.

[Emperor Tullegolar]

Any class can be the best class when you cheat! There's an editor thread around here somewhere, take advantage!

[Skippy the bush kangaroo]

Actually, I think the most important thing is for you to try everything yourself. It is all fun and you can appreciate the good better if you have experienced the bad. You miss out on something if you just follow the advice of everyone else and artificially circumscribe your choices and you should be able to finish the game regardless of the choices you make.

 

Notwithstanding that:

• It's Geneforge so I would recommend sticking with the lifecrafter for now - it is the most authentic experience.
• Also, for your first game - use canisters like they were candy. As a lifecrafter you need both shaping and magic skills so they are all useful. Later on you can worry about minimising your canister usage to experience different outcomes.
• You don't really need an 'army' of creations and you will be more effective if you have a reserve of essence to bless them heavily (see next point). I played through as a lifecrafter never having more than three creations. (I took the über-difficult 'secret' level using only two - an eyebeast and a drakon admittedly - but still only two creations.)
• As a lifecrafter the priority order in spell categories is blessing, then healing and mental (especially daze for the early levels) then, last of all, battle spells. Buff your creations with as many blessing spells as you can manage before every fight, daze the enemy and then hack them to pieces. (After a while daze doesn't work so well - but essence shackles is kind of nifty...)
• Also, as suggested earlier, battle creations are only so-so. Eyebeasts rock and drakons aren't half bad either. So that would suggest an early focus on fire creations and then an investment in magic creations starting around mid-game.

[Randomizer]

Fire creations tend to work the best if you want to concentrate on one shaping skill. Fyora, drayk, and drakon all never run out of power for their missle attacks. Kyshakks are the perfect shield since their health is so high you don't need to increase their health with augmentation or essence shield/armor for most areas. Even the roamer is nice since the acid attack adds to early damage. The creation 3 versions are best for the cryoa and cryodrayk even though they may run out of power. The ur-drakon comes so late that it is almost useless.

 

For magic creations the artila is great at the start but runs out of power in long battles. The wingbolt, gazer, and eyebeast are better for their high missle damage and decent melee attacks when they run out of power. They have enough health to last through most fights.