The Chronicles of Soulflayer

[The Lurker]

So. After arguing with Delicious Vlish in the GF5 forum, I decided to try to make his "omnipotent" servile. He'll be very good at mental magic, and I want him to be a decent spellcaster when it comes to battle magic and blessing magic as well. He will also need to be good at swordfighting and throwing missiles. I will only put points in Healing Craft if absolutely necessary. I will not neglect Mechanics and Leadership, but I will try not to use them too much in the hardest battles (for example, I will try to fight Moseh without having the Alphas). I will also try not to put points in any Shaping stats. Instead, if I feel I need to make a decent creation, I will use boosting items like Delicious Vlish suggested.

 

My character will be Soulflayer. I want him to be a treacherous backstabber. He doesn't have particularly strong moral beliefs and will fight purely for the pleasure of kicking butt. He does not like Trakovites. He will side with the Shapers at first, but betray them once he reaches Moseh. I will play on Torment.

 

Soulflayer started with 6 in Mental Magic, so as to make Daze more powerful, and spent most of Chapter 1 putting points in Leadership, Mechanics, Melee, Missile, Parry, Quick Action, as well as one more point in every primary stat. My, isn't heavy armor painful. I will sure miss my high strength from the last time I played as a combat-heavy servile. I've become addicted to the Thahd Skin Tunic.

 

I actually dealt with Master Thell, despite siding with Crowley. I wouldn't want to miss the powerful sword, after all.

 

I didn't have any major problems completing Chapter 1, with the exception of a few optional fights. The shaper soldiers guarding Spirefield were very tough, and the battle required quite a few reloads. I had to make a Thahd to distract my enemies and I used Greenfang for a bit of extra power. Speaking of Greenfang, I actually think he can be decent with lots of Dexterity. The two Alphas in Chickweed Bridge were quite tough, but they could actually be dazed, which allowed be to heal between hits. The battle against Shaila's creations and the one that occurs when escorting Shaila were very easy. The Runewarded Thahds weren't actually all that bad after I hit them with Venom Thorns. I did need to use a few healing pods. The spinecores should never be a major problem as long as you take out their buds from afar before engaging them. The Shaper guarding the Cairn Gates was actually pretty powerful (I actually fought him *before* finishing the Dumping Pit), so I used an item to haste myself in order to make the fight easier.

 

I'm currently playing Chapter 2 - right now, I've got 9 Mental Magic, so that's one less problem to worry about. I also bought those two Spellcraft points from Burkes. Expensive but worth it, in my opinion. Oh, and I love the Ring of Eye's Purity. I had no problems when I fought everything that stood between me and the Illya Safehouse.

 

So far I've won three hard battles in Chapter 2 :

 

1) The one against the monsters in the Purity Workshop B. I had to lure the monsters into the healing pool room so I could beat them.

2) The one against Alwan's Wingbolts. I had to make two Thahds to distract the Wingbolts, and even then it wasn't easy. I think I got a bit lucky.

3) The one against Jadetree. Once again, I had to lure the enemies into the corner of the forest path so I could pick them off. I find that depending on how you make Jadetree get mad at you, she and her bandits may or may not give you a free turn before they attack.

[Drayk Armitage]

Originally Posted By: The Lurker

I want him to be a decent spellcaster when it comes to battle magic... He will also need to be good at swordfighting and throwing missiles.

Why, why, why?

Pick one or the other. Why develop redundant skills?

[The Lurker]

Because Vlish said 1)I would need good sword skills and 2) he also said he likes missile weapons. Besides, fighting skills are cheap when you play as a servile. Missiles can be great, but they're just not as useful as melee in some fights (*cough*quickactionagainstwingbolts*cough*).

[Delicious Vlish]

Casting strong daze and then mowing stuff down with reapers leaves you with an immensely satisfying tingly evil feeling.

 

Plus, it is surprisingly cheap and effective on your energy reserves.

[The Lurker]

Whoops. I somehow managed to misread your post, Slarty. The reason why I'm using both battle magic and thrown missiles is this : variety. There is no submission bolt, and there is no lightning baton either. That said, it's not like I'm greatly increasing my battle magic skill or anything - right now I'm using the Ring of Eye's Purity, as I said before, and if necessary I will use a few other magic-boosting items.

 

(And Vlish is right - disintegrating helpless enemies is fun).

[Drayk Armitage]

Well, perhaps it's fun, but if you're trying to find out whether or not the build works, diversifying attacks seems kind of stupid. I wasn't complaining about magic and thrown, I was complaining about all 3 attack types: pick one and stick with it. You can argue the merits of swords vs spells vs missiles all you want, but choosing one of them (swords or spells, at any rate) and investing heavily in it is going to leave you better off, 99% of the time, than having a little bit invested in each one. Battle magic provides enough different attack types and ancillary effects that it will never really be ineffective against a given enemy. Swords aren't great against everything, but there is almost nothing that they aren't decent against, when pumped.

[Randomizer]

I always liked dazing a group and then applying burning spray. Since it acts at the end of the round, I usually get to redaze or attack and finish off the weaken opponent.

 

There are times when you have to have the right attack type. But if you generalize too much then you can't do enough damage for the last half of the game. Missle weapons are nice because they scale up damage for crystals. There are plenty of swarms that can be weaken by a few crystals ahead of an area attack spell to finish them off.

[Delicious Vlish]

I usually only added a few points to melee skills and used items to boost them. With such strong magic, (blessing) melee skills don't need to be pumped all that much to be effective.

[Drayk Armitage]

Pumping blessing magic only makes it last longer. It doesn't increase the bonus. Similarly, the damage ramp for missile skill is more or less the same as for battle magic, so you might as well give that bonus to the majority of your attacks instead of a handful of crystal tosses. Adding a couple cheap points once it starts costing 10 or 12 to boost either magic pump skill is one thing, but that doesn't seem to be what's being discussed.

[Delicious Vlish]

http://www.ironycentral.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=84398#Post84398

 

Sadly, the link to the discussion in the first post is dead.

 

Thread still very useful though. Note the remarks about mental magic.

[The Lurker]

Randomizer : Wingbolts aside, the last half of the game is more about endurance battles than about killing your enemies as fast as possible. As long as my hit rate remains decent (and I can't foresee any problems with it any time soon), I'll be satisfied.

[Acky]

Nice story lurker. PLease keep it going.

[The Lurker]

Oh, I will, Ackrovan.

 

I'm almost done with Chapter 2. I breezed through most of the areas, and when Daze didn't work often enough, (like against the Turabi Gate clawbugs), I just ran, went back to a friendly town, and finished off the remaining enemies.

 

Neither the Parasitic Shade nor the Malformed Drayk were much of a challenge. I weakened both from a distance with both missiles and spells, then finished them off in melee. Moseh is now dead, he was ridiculously easy.

 

Mind Alpha was somewhat troublesome, I'm glad the Plated Clawbugs don't attack if you're far enough away from the servant mind. I killed the Mind with Ice Spray spells, then dealt with the bugs in melee.

 

Mystithus would have been extremely difficult had it not been for the fact that I abused the engine's flaws to prevent two of his images from appearing.

 

For those who want to know, the weapons/spells I'm using right now are :

 

1) Oozing Blade (aka Munchkin Sword).

2) Venom, Acid, Submission thorns (I haven't used any submission thorns yet, but I have a feeling they're going to come in handy soon).

3) Firebolt, Burning Spray, Ice Spray, Lightning Aura, and to a lesser extent, Searer.

 

I think I will keep my Thahd Skin Tunic until I make an artifact, like, say, the Legs of the Tyrant.

[Acky]

I'd also recommend getting the Shapemaster boots. They'll give you a great bonus to your shaping skills, giving you access to pretty good creations.

 

Howrah! I'm an infiltrator

Nebulon, get the achlohol

Mystic, get the Polka music

I'll get the railroad train. Were gonna go have a Barmiztfa

[The Lurker]

I'm very fond of the Shapemaster Boosts too, but they come very, very late in the game.

 

Anyway, quick update - the Western Rise is the only Chapter 2 area I haven't fully explored. I've finished looting Moseh's Bunker. I think I'll keep the Gruesome Charm, since I gain more skill points than I lose. Cormac has been defeated, he was a total pushover. Mihzera and Mose have left the fens. I can't foresee any problems in Chapter 3 thanks to the Channelers.

 

Killing the Forgotten One's merry band of ultra-powerful creatures is going to be painful. Don't you just hate enemies who slow you down?

 

I think I'll take care of Shaftoe and Eliza at some point in Chapter 3, once I get stronger spells.

 

Two interesting facts : although I fought Moseh, I told him I could repair him before he attacked, and he didn't drain me at all. After I killed Moseh, both Shaftoe and Eliza turned hostile, but not the Barrier Zone creations. Go figure.

[Randomizer]

The Barrier Zone creations are scripted to respect the amulet so you can pick them off one by one and not make the rest of the zone hostile.

 

The Forgotten One's section of Sandros Mines is horrible for a mental attack based character since they are immune and don't summon susceptible creations. Don't forget to attach a steel spine or use spine shield spell for one of them.

[The Lurker]

"One of them"? Why am I suddenly thinking of the Old Golem?

 

Anyway, yes, ghosts are super-bad for a singleton. Much like Mystithus (I probably could have beaten him/it without abusing the engine, but it would likely have taken quite a few reloads and blessing crystals for the avoidance enhancement, and I was feeling lazy).

[The Lurker]

The Maddened Rotwhatever, the Oozing Sentinel, Nakel, Eliza, and Shaftoe are no more. And I made the Legs of the Tyrant.

 

The first two were a joke. Channelers you know. I single-handedly defeated Nakel, since I didn't want the fight to be *too* easy.

 

Eliza was surprisingly easy after sabotaging her power spirals. Having a Drayk for this battle proved to be quite helpful.

 

Shaftoe required two Essence Pods to take down (hey, Dominate is a costly spell - gotta keep that golem charmed), but he wasn't too hard - I even killed him before he could use his aura attack. I fought him in melee, since his missile attacks are so powerful.

 

I can destroy both the Imprisoned Soul and the Soultaken Twins right now, but I think I'll wait until I can afford to use fewer Essence Pods.

[Delicious Vlish]

So, how does it feel to play a mental magic focus servile?

 

The game is remarkably easy, right?

 

Don't forget terror. It is useful right up to the end.

[The Lurker]

Well, maybe, sorta, yeah . And since some powerful creations don't really require many points in Shaping, I will probably really kick butt when I get the Shapemaster Boots.

 

If I can successfully charm the Titan's creations at the end of the game, the Servile just might end up becoming my second-favorite class (I'm still a big Lifecrafter fan right now).

 

EDIT : I believe part of why I found the Servile to be weak last time may have been because I wasn't nearly as careful with item management as I am now.

Right now I've got 6 Spellcraft, and I've yet to spend a skill point in that category.

 

I've just put a single point in Healing Craft, since my healing was really getting weak.

 

Just so you know, before this replay, this was how I rated characters :

 

1) Lifecrafter, by far. Even newbie players shouldn't have much trouble playing this class, and there's a fairly big margin of error with how you spend your skill points.

2) Infiltrator. I focus heavily on battle magic, mental magic, and melee, and usually ignore missiles.

3) Shock Trooper.

4) Servile. Yeah, I know, I had underestimated this class.

5) Warrior. I think most people will agree that the Warrior isn't all that great.

 

[Acky]

I'm personally a Warrior guy. Weapons and creations work great toghther if done right. Any other artifacts you might want?

[Randomizer]

Originally Posted By: The Lurker

If I can successfully charm the Titan's creations at the end of the game, the Servile just might end up becoming my second-favorite class (I'm still a big Lifecrafter fan right now).

You should be able to charm the Titan's summoned, since I remember being able to do so and I didn't pump mental magic. I did increase spellcraft because that boosts all spells.

[Drayk Armitage]

Why the Shock Trooper in G4 would ever rate above the Servile is beyond me. G5 is a different story, but in G4 the Shock Trooper really was an inferior class.

[Acky]

Everyones opions are different.

[Drayk Armitage]

Some questions are subjective. Other questions are not. People may have different opinions on both kinds of questions, but for the second kind, some of those people are simply wrong.

[The Lurker]

Originally Posted By: Slarty

Why the Shock Trooper in G4 would ever rate above the Servile is beyond me. G5 is a different story, but in G4 the Shock Trooper really was an inferior class.

Do remember that this was *before* I started this replay. I no longer rate the Shock Trooper above the servile.

Anyway, I kind of liked the Shock Trooper - okay, maybe she wasn't teh greatest character evar, but being able to fight alongside your creations was IMO pretty fun.

[The Lurker]

Well, Chapter 3 was a joke, and now it's over. On to Burwood Province. Before I killed Monarch, I bought two Create Kyshakk points from Shaper Dannell. It was expensive, but hey, there's at least one area in GF4 where you can get infinite money, so that's okay.

 

The Wingbolts guarding the road were surprisingly easy, I picked them off one at a time and didn't even have to use mind control. A few Ice Sprays spells took care of them.

 

Agent Yngrid was very easy, and I got her Infiltrator Charm.

 

That Shaper guarding Valeya Road was much trickier - I had to dispatch every hostile creation nearby before fighting him. Then I fought him in melee, dazing his worms when necssary.

 

The Brutal Wight was tough, so I made a Kyshakk to help me. The poor ghost literally killed itself on our Spine Shields.

 

Guardian Kantor wasn't much of a problem since I destroyed his rear guard before fighting him. However, this made the townspeople mad at me for some reason, and I forgot to buy the Demon's Bile before fighting Kantor. Ah well.

 

I charmed the creations guarding the path to the Maddened Trall, and they completely destroyed each other. It was very fun.

 

The Maddened Trall was difficult. I fought him in melee, since his missile attacks are quite dangerous. I wanted to charm the Kyshakks, but I didn't even have to - because he was cornered, he was unable to make the two Kyshakks. He did make the two Battle Alphas, however.

 

Guardian Dameron summoned two War Tralls while I was fighting him. I managed to charm one of them, making the fight much easier. And I have the Frozen Blade. Neat. I think I'll stick to the Oozing Blade most of the time though, I'm really fond of it.

 

Shaper Horis summoned a very powerful Burning Kyshakk while I was fighting her. I successfully charmed it, and she died in no time. Then I finished off the Burning Kyshakk in melee.

 

The Uberoozebeast took a while to die, but it wasn't too difficult. I killed it from a distance, since it does quite a bit of damage in melee. And I love the Ornkskin Gauntlets.

 

I managed to defeat both the Imprisoned Soul and the Soultaken Twins without using any Essence Pods. They were no match for me and my Kyshakk. I can kill the Old Golem, but once again, I'll wait until I'm a bit stronger. Wouldn't want to waste too many items, after all.

 

I gave two Puresteel Rings to Orois Blaze, but chose not to pay him for the (expensive) canisters. I just unlocked the three remaining doors intead.

 

I've got 8 Spellcraft right now due to various enhancements and items. I still haven't spent a single skill point on Spellcraft. Delicious Vlish was right - charm spells are great, but it takes a very powerful spellcaster to charm the most powerful creations, apparently.

 

I'm *still* using the Thahd Skin Tunic, but physical damage is starting to hurt. I may have to replace it with something that provides better protection.

 

And in case anyone wants to know, I'm using the Girdle of Genius from Southforge Citadel. Powerful mental spells can be pretty costly.

 

Ackrovan - I plan to make the Gloves of Savagery and Shapemaster Boots at some point. Maybe the Cloak of Shadows, too.

[Randomizer]

Originally Posted By: The Lurker

Guardian Kantor wasn't much of a problem since I destroyed his rear guard before fighting him. However, this made the townspeople mad at me for some reason, and I forgot to buy the Demon's Bile before fighting Kantor. Ah well.

The town probably got mad because you attacked the still friendly creations destroying the rear guard. This is one place where charm is really effective to turn them against Guardian Kantor.

If you are still wearing a thahdskin tunic than finishing the Sandros Mines will give you Shaper Trueweave that has 20% armor and bonuses to your creation. You lose the strength bonus of the thahdskin tunic, but the weight is about the same.

[The Lurker]

The creations weren't friendly, they were neutral. These townspeople get mad waayyy too easily.

 

Thanks for the tip about the Shaper Trueweave - I've got a few breastplates in mind right now, but this robe is indeed pretty nice.

 

I've just tried attacking the Shaper Camp. I charmed and killed a few enemies and ran. It appears than the respawning creations are very resistant (though not immune) to Charm spells. Not good. I may have to make a few creations to distract them when I eventually decide to explore it for real.

 

I've destroyed the Cultist Safehouse with almost nothing but mental spells. Wow. I did just as well as a Lifecrafter for this area, if not even better. Impressive.

 

Oh, and I *so* can't wait to fight Incantor Diamus.

[Lilith]

For a servile, it's normally a better idea to wear the Girdle of Life, since your Endurance is probably higher and therefore more expensive than your Intelligence. If you need more Int, buy it with skill points when you level up. (Disregard this if your Int is actually higher than your End already.)

[Acky]

Great so far. How is having a skills in weapons and battle magic going?

[The Lurker]

Thuryl : I've been mostly neglecting Endurance since the beginning - usually I can either heal myself faster than I take damage, or I can distract my enemies with creations, or I can wreak havoc with my mental spells. So, right now, my Intelligence is indeed higher than my Endurance. I'm still pretty tough... With a few buffs, I can literally walk through pylons and minefields.

 

Ackrovan : I'm doing fine. Being skilled in both melee and battle magic is no problem at all. Missile weapons... They were useful if the first two chapters, but I've been somewhat neglecting them in the Fens and Burwood. My Dexterity's still pretty high thanks to various bonuses, so we'll see if they can be useful again.

[Lilith]

Originally Posted By: The Lurker

Thuryl : I've been mostly neglecting Endurance since the beginning - usually I can either heal myself faster than I take damage, or I can distract my enemies with creations, or I can wreak havoc with my mental spells. So, right now, my Intelligence is indeed higher than my Endurance. I'm still pretty tough... With a few buffs, I can literally walk through pylons and minefields.

Enjoy it while it lasts. Jeff ramped up the damage of mines in G5 -- at least, of the ones he really doesn't want you to walk through. I don't think that even a servile can mitigate 3000 fire damage to a survivable level.

[The Lurker]

Ah, thanks for the warning. Soulflayer has yet to use a spore baton.

 

Anyway, I've destroyed pretty much everything that can be destroyed in the Western Morass. It was somewhat difficult, and I had to increase my Intelligence as well as use hit-and-run tactics. But Charm spells worked very well, and I was able to get the vial of blood poison.

 

Scourge Vossizon is dead, although I'll admit I did enlist Teliamerus's help. Mass Madness seems to work very well against her worms.

 

I defeated Salassar without using Leadership. Once he started making more creations, I cast Mass Madness and he died very quickly. Ice Spray helped a bit, too - Drakons and Drayks seem to be very weak against cold.

 

For some reason, I thought a Pure Crystal Shard was required to make the Shapemaster Boosts. My memory needed refreshing, I forgot that you could make them right after Quessa-Uss, and so I did.

 

And I beat the Old Golem without using any Essence Pods. I used an Essence-armored Gazer (I felt like trying a new creation) as well as my Oozing Blade and my spine shield (and, of course, the usual protection and mass energize spells). The Gazer took care of the first few forms, then I finished off the Crumbling Golem myself. Spine Shield really does work wonderfully here.

[The Lurker]

Well, I sure wasn't expecting the Forgotten One to be this easy. His Essence Lances spell wasn't really effective against my Gazer, and the nightmare burrowers were very easy to charm. My Gazer's Kill spells never missed and did a lot of damage. All in all, I found the Old Golem to be much tougher. I think the Shaper Trueweave will become my main suit of armor.

 

Just for the challenge, I managed to save the rebels in Fort Raevinn (well, I'm not 100% sure I saved every single rebel since one or two battle creations managed to sneak in, but I certainly saved most of them, at the very least). I did most of the work on my own, using lots of Charm and Mass Madness spells. I used Essence Pods, re-blessed myself and saved between waves. I even ran away and made a Rot to help me at one point (it didn't survive very long, but it did help me a little).

 

I beat every single enemy in the Poryphra Ruins. It was surprisingly easy (although I had to leave and re-enter the area a lot). I used my Gazer, and Charm spells, against the Wingbolts and Kyshakks in the ruins. I mostly used Charm spells to destroy the 10 War Tralls guarding the main camp. Then I did hit-and-run attacks on the camp with a Gazer until Alwan's warriors were destroyed. Then I sneaked into the western building and killed the Guardian there. Alwan didn't even interfere. Then I sneaked into the eastern building and kept attacking Miranda until she fled. Oh, and I charmed her creations, of course. Hellton was very easy - I just charmed him, then Alwan killed him for me. I managed to get Shaper Grim's attention without Alwan noticing me, so I just lured Grim into the tiny room in the western building, and well, he didn't last long. Alwan himself wasn't too tough - I used Spine Shield, kept hitting him in melee, charmed the first Wingbolt he made, and he fled shortly after.

 

I fully explored Drosstro's lab. The Experimental Rot was easy, because once again, I was using a Gazer and Rots are very weak against magical attacks. The Unstable Firebolts were tougher - they were very resistant against my Charm spells, but I eventually managed to charm one. Two of the Firebolts the began attacking each other, and I dealt with the third one in melee. By the time I killed it, the second Firebolt was dead, and I easily finished off the first one.

 

In case you are wondering, no, I haven't attacked Khima-Uss and the Grayghost Gates yet. Maybe later, if I'm feeling psychotic.

 

My next major fight will probably be against Incantor Diamus, Agent Hesione, and Shaper... Um, what's his name already... Tungsten, I believe. I wonder how the fight in the Windswept Farms will turn out - as a Lifecrafter, I found this battle to be one of the hardest battles in the game. Who knows, maybe it'll be easier as a Servile.

[Acky]

There's a lot of enemies in that area, so you'll get swarmed pretty easily. Since you only have a gazer with you, you'll have to be carfull not to get swarmed. If you can, make a War Trall so you can hit the Eyebeast with phyisical. This is one of the few times that the War Trall comes in handy in the game.

[The Lurker]

I have destroyed the Turabi Gate. It appears that Diamus is, in fact, not immune to mental effects, so I just charmed him and let his (former) allies kill him. Two Aura of Flames spells took care of those pesky submission turrets. I managed to lure Agent Hesione into the eastern building without drawing Tungsten's attention, and killed her without too much trouble. I charmed the surviving Thornflinger to help me against Shaper Tungsten - he actually hit the Shaper pretty hard. Shaper Tungsten summoned two powerful Wingbolts during the fight. Thankfully, I managed to charm one of them. Tungsten died shortly after, and I destroyed the remaining enemies myself.

 

And I beat Thora Eye and his creations, although I had to leave and re-enter the area several times. The battle was easier than as a Lifecrafter, thanks to my mental spells (I so love charming Cryodrayks)... Ackrovan - yup, War Tralls do physical damage from a distance, which is the only good thing about them (along with their big number of hit points).

Anyway, I still liked my Gazer better : big amounts of damage, resistant to magical damage, and immunity to mental effects, which helps when fighting Thora Eye.

[Drayk Armitage]

War Tralls actually resist all sorts of damage, and they have one of the strongest missile attacks in the game. Gazers are *not* immune to mental effects, either, although they do have high mental resistance. Tralls have mental resistance too.

[The Lurker]

Slarty, this is the GF4 forum, remember ? War Tralls are weak against magic, and Gazers and Eyebeasts are literally immune to mental effects (or at least, the ones the player can make - I haven't tested mental spells agaist every single enemy Eyebeast in the game).

 

 

Latest report:

 

I killed Eye Hertzfelt without any major difficulties. Same old strategy - Gazer and Charm spells. I completed Ssaroyen's quests and killed him and his cryodrayks afterward. At this point I was feeling really bored, so I headed to Northforge and grabbed the Black Key. Since I was tired of using the same strategy over and over, I put a few more points into Shaping so I could have access to the very high-level creations. Maybe it was the best way to spend my skill points, maybe not, but I don't care, I just want to have fun. And so I entered the Sealed Catacombs with an Eyebeast. The 3 "enhanced" Tralls weren't a problem, especially since I managed to charm one of them. The Clawbug Queen was fairly easy, her spawned clawbugs really didn't like my Eyebeast's Aura of Flames spells. I used myself as a meatshield while my Eyebeast was busy toasting everying. She didn't last long. The Wingbolts weren't a problem either, since Eyebeasts are *very* effective against them. The Beta Slavemasters... Well, they did try to kill my poor Eyebeast, but they didn't survive long enough. My Eyebeast's terror touch helped a bit, too. I killed the Rots guarding Eye Mindtaker Fhonge with no problems. Fhonge proved to be very resistant to my Eyebeast's attacks, so I clearly needed something else. I absorbed my Eyebeast, went back to the Aziraph Rebel Camp to rest, then headed back into the Catacombs, and made a Shock Trall. I slowed and weakened the Eyebeast, and my Shock Trall quickly took care of it (as a sidenote, it appears that the "dying" condition of charged creations doesn't matter all that much if you give them Regeneration). Ackrovan is right, Eyebeasts don't like Tralls . I deactivated the spawning platform, then entered the Titan's Hall.

 

Apparently the Northern Sentinel doesn't like being freezed to death by its very own enslaved cryodrayks. Gotta love Mass Madness. Between the cryodrayks, my Shock Trall, and my own hits, the Sentinel died surprisingly quickly (that said, it was still the toughest Sentinel - it sure hits hard).

I used Unstable Firebolts to destroy the Exploding Kyshakks south of the Western Sentinel, then summoned two Burning Kyshakks to kill the Western Sentinel. It died VERY quickly.

I used an Eyebeast to destroy the Roamers and Reaper Spinecores in the northwest corner. It worked very well.

I used a Shock Trall to kill the Northern Sentinel. Yes, I know, magic-based creations like Wingbolts, Burning Kyshakks or Gazers would probably have been a better choice, but this Sentinel is so weak that it doesn't really matter.

 

I summoned 3 spineshielded Ur-Glaahks to take care of the Titan's first form. While the Titan was busy killing itself, I kept hitting it with my own spells, and it shortly switched to its second form. I ran away from it and let it kill my remaining Ur-Glaahks (actually, I can't remember whether one or two were left at this point).

Then I made 3 Cryodrayks, and went back into the main room. The Titan summoned 4 Exploding Kyshakks... Which aren't all that hard to charm. I'm really fond of Mass Madness. Between the Kyshakks and the Cryodrayks, the Titan was outmatched - although I'll admit that by the time it switched to its third form, only Soulflayer and one of his Cryodrayks were still alive. Once again, I let kill my Cryodrayk.

I had to run away pretty far from the Titan's third form, since this time it was running (or slithering, rather) after me. I once again made 3 spineshielded Ur-Glaahks, and used them to corner the Titan's third form. Since we were fighting in a narrow hall, it only managed to summon one Rotdhizon near us. The other creatures appeared in the main room for some obscure reason. The Titan died, and the Rodhizon severely damaged itself on my Ur-Glaahks' spine shields, so finished it off in melee. I then charmed the two remaining Ur-Glaahks and spineshielded them. I attacked the Rotdhizon with spells while the creations were busy hitting one another. By the time my Charm spell broke, only a very weakened Ur-glaahk and a terrified Rotdhizon remained, and I took care of both with my new Puresteel Soulblade. Then I left the Titan's Hall, and enhanced the Puresteel Soulblade with a Golden Crystal.

 

So what's next? Well, since the Cloak of Shadows and Gloves of Savagery wouldn't be all that useful, I may make at least one more Mental Focus Charm - a few more points in Spellcraft wouldn't hurt. I think I'll do the Breeding Pits next. Then the test Unbounds, the Western Rise, Aziraph Camp Gamma, Matala, the Shaper Camp, and finally the big battle in Northforge Warrens.

[Delicious Vlish]

The Servile is God-like, isn't he?

[The Lurker]

Yes... And it became more and more apparent as I got further into the game.

 

I used two Burning Kyshakks to thoroughly destroy every Pylon in Northforge Warrens. It was uneventful. I take back what I've said about charged creations - sure, using them as meatshields is not recommended, but some of them can get the job done pretty well.

I made an Eyebeast to take care of the spawners, reaper turrets, and Wingbolts in the Breeding Pits. At this point, I don't think I even need to mention how ridiculously easy it was - especially since my Servile can cast Aura of Flames too. The Hivetender Vlish were a bit tougher, but still no match for us once we were properly blessed. I can't even exactly remember how I defeated the Corrupted Unbound, but it was completely anticlimactic. I just summoned creatures that dealt magic damage (I think I chose the Burning Kyshakks again), and kept hitting it in melee.

 

And wow, there are three Rotghroth (finally got that friggin' name right!) canisters, which means that rebels can make Corrupted Rotghroths. Makes me wonder why the GF4 hint book doesn't mention the Rot canister in the Breeding Pits.

 

I decided to test my Corrupted Rotghroths against Agent Miranda. Might not have been the best choice, I forgot that she had a spine shield. Oh well. I still managed to charm her creations, so I'll yet you guess how it ended.

 

I made three Unstable Firebolts to help me fight the Rogue Rotdhizon and its helpers. They did extremely well, and my charm spells finished the job. And I got the third Drakon canister. Drakons may not be that good, but Ur-Drakons can be quite useful.

 

I used three Wingbolts to fight the test Unbound. Oh my, was I glad they didn't hit me too often. They sure do a lot of damage. Unfortunately for them, my team and Greta's did a lot of damage very quickly, and the battle didn't last long... as usual.

 

Khyryk... was very easy. You can easily pick off his creations one by one, Khyryk won't even turn hostile. I fought Khyryk with an Ur-Drakon and my enhanced Puresteel Soulblade. The Ur-Drakon took care of the occasional Unstable Firebolts. My charm spells took care of the occasional Shock Tralls. Khyryk himself was a joke, although he did take a while to die.

 

I did hit-and-run attacks on the Western Rise with various creations and abused mental spells as usual. My corrupted Rotghroth killed the Incantor in the eastern building (Incantor Pylo, I believe) in one hit.

 

I destroyed Aziraph Camp Gamma with an Ur-Drakon (which turned out to be a very good choice) and a Gazer. It was a bit harder, since the first soldiers were all headed for me. Still, once I used my creations to distract them and cast a few charm spells... Ah, why do I even bother, you can guess what happened. Guardian Crowley managed to kill my Gazer, but was no match for Soulflayer and the Ur-Drakon.

 

I successfully thrashed the Grayghost Gates, mostly with Cryodrayks. As long as you use the gates or your creations to prevent the Drakons from attacking your main character, it isn't all that hard.

 

Matala is now very dead. I expected the fight to be a lot harder - Matala barely ever got a chance to attack. I first destroyed the Restoration Pylons, then summoned two Burning Kyshakks. I kept Matala slowed and weakened, and hit him repeatedly with my Kyshakks, my own spells, and a few melee attacks. My Burning Kyshakks killed the Decaying Rothgroth in two hits. When Matala fled into the last chamber, I absorbed my Burning Kyshakks who were running low on SP, and made two Burning Kyshakks again. Then I entered the last room. Matala died immediately after activating the Possessed Drakon. That thing hits very hard, but my Kyshakks took care of it fairly quickly.

 

Stay tuned for the last three fights, namely Khima-Uss, the second half of the Shaper Camp (I've already destroyed the first half with hit-and-run attacks), and the final battle against General Alwan.

 

EDIT : Oh, and I made a Mental Focus Charm as planned. I now have two of them in my inventory, since Greta gave me one at the end of Chapter 3.

[Delicious Vlish]

The endgame will be disappointing and anti-climatic.

 

At least, it always is for me. The Servile is just to strong.

[The Lurker]

I destroyed Rivergate Keep and Dillame with two Ur-Drakons, for fun and XP. Drosstro was surprisingly tough - why do those cryodrayks head straight for the main character? I used two Gazers for this fight, and lots of mental spells. In retrospect, I might have been better off with 3 Cryodrayks; Drosstro would have been defeated more quickly. But hey, I got the Forbidden Band anyway.

 

I fully explored the Shaper Camp (and destroyed every soldier in it) with two Eyebeasts. The Battle Gamma, Kyshakk, and War Trall can be charmed without *too* much trouble if you keep casting Charm and/or Mass Madness, but the Rotdhizon is insanely powerful and very resistant to mental spells (although I did manage to charm it once or twice, and what happened after that was very fun to watch ). Am I the only one who thinks it's weird that the soldiers still shout an alarm after they're dead?

 

I did the final battle in Northforge Warrens with two Ur-Drakons, and heavily blessed everyone before the battle. I thought I would have to reload and equip more fire-resistant items, but I didn't need to, although I had to use Restoration Potions and Restoration Spores. Mass Madness took care of Alwan's soldiers, and my Ur-Drakons did most of the work after that - their attacks were very effective against Alwan. Just for fun, I reloaded and tried the alternate version of the battle (the one in the Inner Shaping Halls), without enlisting anyone's help (except for Greta, who kept following me). I used three Unstable Firebolts and lots of mental spells. It was even easier than the battle in Northforge Warrens.

 

My endgame stats (these include my currently equipped items - see below):

 

Soulflayer

 

Level : 45

Skill points : 0

Experience : 44401

 

Health : 352

Spell Energy : 1396

Essence : 700

 

Strength : 11; Cost 5

Dexterity : 7; Cost 4

Intelligence : 20; Cost 9

Endurance : 7; Cost 5

 

Melee Weapons : 12; Cost 3

Missile Weapons : 4; Cost 2

Quick Action : 10; Cost 3

Parry : 10; Cost 3

 

Battle Magic : 10; Cost 4

Mental Magic : 10; Cost 6

Blessing Magic : 9; Cost 5

Spellcraft : 10; Cost 5

 

Fire Shaping : 5 (I forgot about the Volcanic Fetish at one point in the game and ended up wasting one skill point); Cost 7

Battle Shaping : 4; Cost 5

Magic Shaping : 4; Cost 6

Healing Craft : 3; Cost 4

 

Leadership : 7; Cost 4

Mechanics : 11; Cost 5

Luck : 3; Cost 2

 

Armor 91%

Fire Resistance 51%

Cold Resistance 51%

Energy Resistance 48%

Stun Resistance 102%

Mental Resistance 103%

Poison Resistance 65%

Acid Resistance 57%

 

Carrying 57 lbs. Encumbered at 69 lbs.

 

Weapon : Puresteel Soulblade. 15-75 Dam; +2 Parry; +1 Quick Action. Enhancement : Stronger Blows. Value : 1250. Weight : 7 lbs.

 

Belt : Girdle of Genius. Prot 6%; +2 Intelligence; +2 Creation Intelligence. Value : 250. Weight : 5 lbs.

 

Armor : Shaper Trueweave. Prot 20%; +2 Creation Strength; +2 Creation Dexterity; +10% Creation Hostile Effect Resistance.

Value : 1500. Weight : 2 lbs.

 

Cloak : Agent Cloak. Prot 4%; +1 Battle Magic; +1 Mental Magic; +1 Blessing Magic; +1 to Spellcraft.

Value : 500. Weight : 2 lbs.

 

Necklace : Runed Jade Necklace. Prot 4%; +10% Poison Resistance; +10% Acid Resistance; +1 Spellcraft; +10 Creation Poison Resistance; +10% Creation Acid Resistance. Value : 400. Weight : 0.4 lbs.

 

Shield : Stasis Shield. Prot 15%; -10% to hit chance; +40% Stun Resistance; +40% Creation Stun Resistance; +20% Creation Mind Effect Resistance. Value : 1250. Weight : 16 lbs.

 

Gloves : Ornkskin Gauntlets. Prot 6%; +2 Strength; +2 Endurance; +4 melee damage protection. Value : 750. Weight : 6 lbs.

 

Greaves : Legs of the Tyrant. Prot 14%; +8 Vampiric Touch; +5 Melee Weapons. Value : 1250. Weight : 10 lbs.

 

Boots : Shapemaster Boots. Prot 16%; +2 Fire Shaping, +2 Battle Shaping; +2 Magic Shaping; +10% Creation Hostile Effect Resistance. Value : 1250. Weight : 6 lbs.

 

Ring : Ring of Eye's Purity. Prot 6%; +3 Battle Magic; +3% Energy Preservation. Value : 750. Weight : 0.1 lb.

 

 

Some items I used that are still in my inventory :

 

Tinker's Gloves (Gloves). Prot 2%; +2 Mechanics. Value : 150. Weight : 1 lb.

Skein of Wisdom (Charm). +1 Intelligence. Value : 250.

Clawbug Charm (Charm). +8% Poison Resistance. Value : 250.

Puresteel Charm (Charm). +1 Strength; +1 level damage; +8% Creation Mind Effect Resistance. Value : 625.

Cryoa Claw Charm (Charm). +3% Cold Resistance. Value : 250.

Shaper Robe (Armor). Prot 12%; +1 Fire Shaping; +1 Battle Shaping; +1 Magic Shaping; +1 Healing Craft. Value : 500. Weight : 5 lbs.

Infiltrator Cloak (Cloak). Prot 2%; +1 Leadership; +1 Mechanics; +1 Stealth. Value : 150. Weight : 2 lbs.

Infiltrator Shield (Shield). Prot 6; +1 Mechanics; +1 Stealth; +1 Leaderhip. Value : 250. Weight : 10 lbs.

Black Pearl Talisman (Necklace). Prot 4%; +1 Battle Shaping; +1 Magic Shaping. Value : 250. Weight : 0.4 lbs.

Static Band (Ring). I kept it in case I ran into some very tough mines or pylons. That never happened. Prot 2%; +15% Energy Resistance. Value : 125. Weight : 0.1 lb.

Infiltrator Tunic (Armor). Prot 8%; +1 Leadership; +1 Mechanics; +1 Stealth. Value : 150. Weight : 2 lbs.

Volcanic Fetish (Necklace). Prot 3%; +1 Battle Magic; +1 Fire Shaping. Value : 250. Weight : 0.4 lb.

Infiltrator's Charm (Charm). +1 Leadership; +1 Mechanics; +8% Creation Mind Effect Resistance. Value : 625.

Thahdskin Tunic (Armor). Why am still carrying it? Prot 10%; +2 Srength; +1 Dexterity. Value : 100. Weight : 2 lbs.

Dhonal's Band (Ring). +2 Melee Weapons; +1 Strength; +1 Leadership. Value : 200. Weight : 0.1 lb.

Fyora Fang Charm (Charm). +3% Fire Resistance. Value : 250.

Mental Focus Charm (Charm). I have two Mental Focus Charms. +1 Spellcraft; +8% Mind Effect Resistance; +8% Creation Mind Effect Resistance. Value : 625.

Essence Charm (Charm). +1 Intelligence; +3% Hostile Effect Resistance; +8% Creation Mind Resistance. Value : 625.

Blademaster Charm (Charm). +1 Quick Action; +5% to hit chance; +8% Creation Mind Effect Resistance. Value : 625.

Forbidden Band (Ring). +1 Strength; +1 Dexterity; +1 Intelligence; +1 Endurance. Value : 625. Weight : 0.1 lb.

Tinker's Bauble (Necklace). Prot 2%; +1 Mechanics. Value : 100. Weight : 0.4 lb.

Gruesome Charm (Charm). -2 Endurance; +2 Intelligence; +2 Dexterity. Value : 375.

 

Essence Pods left (not counting the ones in the Inner Shaping Halls, I didn't bother to pick them up) : 27.

 

Overall, Delicious Vlish was right, the Servile really is very powerful. Possibly even more powerful than the Lifecrafter at times. If Mystithus had not been buggy, he would have been the only very tough battle - but even then I could probably have beaten him.

[Acky]

Very nice.

[The Lurker]

Thanks.

 

I've just noticed that I completely forgot to pick up the Omnicharm in the Titan's Hall. Silly me. Oh well, the endgame was easy enough already.

[The Lurker]

I've just replayed the Titan battle a few times for fun and wow, Cryodrayks seem to be really good against it. With Essence Shackles, Wrack, 4 Cryodrayks, and a Reaper Baton, I managed to kill the Titan before it could summon anything. Form 2 (the Ur-Drakon) never even got a chance to attack me, Form 3 (the Artila) only attacked once, and 3 of my Cryodrayks were still alive at the end of the battle (one cryodrayk was killed by the Golem form, although it inflicted a lot of damage before dying, thanks to Spine Shield). I didn't even need to run away to make new creations.

[Lyric]

try to kill it as a singleton if you're in for a challenge

[The Lurker]

Soulflayer wasn't designed as a pure singleton character, unlike, say, Onan the Barbarian. He'd just get blasted by the Drakon form.

[Lingti]

I have just played through as a servile as well, but i didn't use creations. Once i got my resistances up to 120% and over, I was a tank, or a turtle mage. It worked really well, and breezed through many areas. I was pretty much invincible, but towards the end of the game when pods were low, some of the fights were tended towards stalemate slogathons, especially the one with krykk! And I didn't even get any exp. from killing him!

 

I used the sunstone belt which is good, and hugely underrated, combined with the special fire shaping greaves, 20% resistances in fire, cold, and magic, it really helps cut the damage down.

 

One of the dragons dropped a scale at greyghost gates, which doesn't seem to be on the ingredient list, maybe I was lucky?

 

I think i need an online geneforge unreal tournament now, with my beefy guy; or just some extra sick scenario's, to help stave off game completion blues!

[Drayk Armitage]

You did not get your resistances up to 120% and over. If you are adding, you might get them to add up to 120%, but that is meaningless, because the game multiplies them.