Getting Slaughtered :-O - ID: 1445
FORUM: Gossip - The rusty dagger tavern
This topic was started by Visstar on 13/09/2016, 20:12:35
Wow, this game is fun, and rather challenging as far as finding the right order to do things in! But I guess I am doing pretty well, having killed the orc chief, rescued the prisoner, and gotten the assignments to clear the road to the east and get the silver sickle from the burial mound.
BUT!
Wow, am I in over my head! I am barely surviving, and have concluded that the burial mound is simply beyond my ability right now. I had to cheat to beat the fixed encounter with the orcs attacking the lizards on the way to Loch Caetar, and I'm not sure I can even cheat my way to the silver sickle.
My characters are all Level 11, as follows: Fighter (153 h.p./AC -14), Paladin (134/-16), Monk (83/-16), Bard (128/-17), Thief (70/-12), Mage (78), and Conjurer (78). The monk and the fighter are the work horses, dealing 80-260 h.p. in damage per attack. The Paladin is OK as a fighter, but his main value is the protect and attack spells, which seem to last until you go into a camp. The thief is getting to be valuable at spotting traps, etc., but her main value so far has been hiding and shooting arrows at orc shamans!
My mage has mastered star fire, but it is far too weak, and I regret the time I wasted having her master it. The main spells she uses now are giant strength and dragon breath. I've tried Absorb Magic, but it doesn't work at all that I can see, unless the effect is a small improvement in saving throw. It doesn't seem to affect a shaman's Spirit Strike in the slightest.
The conjurer mastered ray of fire, which is still pretty useful, but his main spell right now is Electrify.
And that's my firepower. I entered the burial mound, started a fight with a group of scarabs (only because I couldn't get away), and as soon as I hit "Yes, start!" a scarab killed the monk with one bite. I have tried three times, and haven't even managed to map the whole burial mound, let alone retrieve the sickle!
I seem to have gotten way ahead of myself. Am I skipping something? Should I be wandering around the woods hoping to pick up tens of thousands of XP to go to level 13+ before I attempt to complete the mission I was given? It just seems that I was given a mission I cannot possible complete. :(
What levels were your characters when you retrieved the sickle?
Followup: I now have all non-magic characters at 13. My former conjurer is now a level 10 mage (150 h.p./220 s.p.) and my former mage is now a level 9 sorcerer (154 h.p./212 s.p.) Once they hit 13, I'll start the sorcerer on conjurer spells and the mage on sorcerer spells. That's happening with reasonable speed, I suppose, but with all the wandering around in the forest waiting for encounters, my monk is still 100k XP from level 14. At 99 h.p. he may need to make level 15 before entering the burial mound! This is taking a ridiculous amount of time and I really feel like I'm missing something. I've tried the Bandit's Cave and barely survived two encounters (and that only because their wizards are too dumb to advance into range before casting Giant Weight).
I feel like I'm stuck in a huge hole in the game design. I got to Savage Crossing and am completely stuck. As far as I can see, all the places I can go are well beyond my ability. I was hoping I would get help from the Tarasz priestess, but no sign of the swamps. I feel like I went through the first three levels of a dungeon and found there was no 4-7, just a chute to level 8!!
Don't give up!
Perhaps someone can give you some hints or new tactics *looking around*?
At this point there is a bit of grinding needed, I admit it. But it shouldn't take too long.
If I remember right there are some playstyle posts to be found in the forums... try them.
Kind regards
Mario
Thanks, Mario. Lots and lots of grinding. Fortunately the Druid's Grove wasn't bad at all and creeper sap was a nice little bonus. Not a ripoff like the spider silk, LOL. I'm back in the burial mound with level 13 characters and a freshly-minted Level 1 wizard (he skipped being a sorcerer). We'll see!
Update: on the lower level of the mound. Mapping is a PITA (the red lines for the walls are almost invisible on the map). Learning more famous last words, since the Crystal of Safety seems to have a strange new meaning of the word "safety."
Update #2: I haven't finished the burial mound, but I got the sickle! :P
After getting slaughtered by 34 Clansmen, I suddenly remembered the spell "Further Foe," which I had originally thought was useless. The second try, I pushed a group of 20 Clansmen 90' away, and on the second round pushed the other group 90' away, then once they got back into range, I rained hailstorms on them and wiped them out before they got back into melee range. That give my sorcerer enough points to get Odin's Court, and I started cleaning up after that.
Now to polish off the 3rd level and start the 4th level, then it's on the the temple in Druid's Grove ... I think.
The lesson: You really need both Level 7 Mage and Conjurer spells to survive here! I think when adventurers meet Gwyddon, or perhaps a second druid outside the mound, he should warn groups without two level 13 magic users that they are too weak and they should toughen up by helping Foliera in Druid's Grove first.
Congratulations :-)
Glad you made it!
Thanks Mario! Once I was strong enough to do it, it was a blast. I really enjoyed the design of the burial mound, from the puzzle of getting down, to the beauty of some of the rooms (water features and statues) to the secret passage to the area behind the north door. Well done!
Now that I am in replay after replay mode, when I start over I grind in cessantly. My magic users have to be at level 20 before changing classes. And I usually want an Arch Mage in the Burial Mound. That is overkill, but it's really easy to get in over your head moving forward with minimal characters. Yes, you can struggle through with low level characters, but for me it's more fun with high level ones who are well prepared...
What do you do with the creeper sap? and the mushrooms?
@Visstar
Congratulations on solving your sticky situation!
By sheer coincidence - and serendipity - I decided to start re-playing iOS games that I have yet to complete (of which I have a number inc. FFIII where I have been stuck in the last dungeon for over 3 goddamn years). I remembered Silversword, and logged in to discover that my party was at the exact same place as Visstar [Lake Caetar], and I need to do the exact same mission [sickle].
My party composition is somewhat different:
2 Warriors (Barbarian & Dwarf)
2 Monks (Human)
1 Rogue (Hobbit)
1 Magician (Elven)
All level 13, except the Magician level 8 (level 7 Conjurer spells & level 4 Magician spells). I use summoned / wandering monsters for the 7th slot (currently a Guardian of the Grove).
2 Monks is overkill, and wastes a character slot because the Monk is only effective in melee range. Thus, I need to swap out one of the Monks for a Bard. I haven't experienced too many problems with one Mage thus far in, however I'm now heading into the mid-game ...
I'll put exploring the Burial Mound on hold to do the above party swap-out, and reacquaint myself with Savage Crossing, Druid's Grove etc, but not Inferno!
What do you do with the creeper sap? and the mushrooms?
There is a druid south of Savage Crossing who will reward you for each bit of creeper sap you bring him. It'a very nice bonus to the experience points you get from the grove.
As far as I know, mushrooms have no use except for making sauces and omelets. The exception is:
And I vaguely recall you can trade mushrooms to someone in the expansion, but what you get back isn't all that great (Moon pie, maybe?)
I decided to start re-playing iOS games that I have yet to complete (of which I have a number inc. FFIII where I have been stuck in the last dungeon for over 3 goddamn years). I remembered Silversword, and logged in to discover that my party was at the exact same place as Visstar [Lake Caetar], and I need to do the exact same mission [sickle].
Greetings, riotous one! :)
You have reached the point in Silversword where (IMHO) it changes from pure exploration and learning game mechanics to serious adventuring. You should have a blast finishing! However .....
You don't need a second monk anymore (and maybe not a second warrior) and you really need a bard and a second magic user. You'll be starting the new character(s) from scratch, but you're at the point in the game where your party can take the new character(s) on some adventures where they will gain enough experience to jump 5+ levels at once. Just as an example, you can walk back and forth between Road to Castle Cranbourgh and Forest, re-doing the encounter with the Guardians of the Grove over and over again. Your Level 1 characters will catch up to the others pretty quickly.
Personally, I found found summoned monsters more trouble than they were worth, but YMMV. I liked having a Paladin, but there are some drawbacks to that.
Have fun!
