Leveling up, abilities, mages, bards - ID: 653
FORUM: Gossip - The rusty dagger tavern
This topic was started by GharanGrenloch on 12/05/2012, 13:50:09
I'm looking for some sage advice from game veterans. I'm still at a very early stage of the game (just finished the Burial Mound), but I am "already" L14 with my characters and L8-10 in the second class for my magic users. Also, because of the "caps" placed on certain ability bonuses, I'm wondering if they should go above 25. Some of my questions, thoughts, concerns...
1. If the cap for the SP bonus is set at +10, is it worth having an INT greater than 25 in a magic user? Does INT affect other things that are not so evident, e.g. damage for spells, saves, etc. Other abilities have multiple bonuses (DEX affects at least THAC0, AC, and initiative), so I'm wondering if that may be the case for INT, and I just haven't noticed.
2. See #1, same concern for CON. With a +10 HP cap, is it worth haing a CON over 25? Maybe for certain saves (poison, stone, stun, etc.)?
3. Other than LUCK, do other abilities affect saves, like in D&D (at least through v3.0, the last version I played)? DEX affecting trap damage, fireball-like spells, etc. INT giving a bonus to mind-affecting spells (WIS in D&D). CON, as listed above in #2.
4. It seems like DEX is the most key stat. For fighter classes, it affects THAC0 and AC. Even though AC is less important for those characters in slots 5-6-7 (my three magic users), it is still important for initiative-- casting Mind Blade or Coup de Grace or Invisibility before the monsters attack is very beneficial. I don't play a rogue, so I don't know about them, but I assume DEX is very important for the theiving abilities. Unless advised otherwise (because there may be hidden 'bonuses' to higher stats that haven't very evident to me), my plan is to keep adding to DEX as much as possible-- adding occasionally to STR to melee fighters (you have to hit before you can do damage, thus I usually prioritize DEX a bit over STR), having the casters cast as early as possible in the round, etc.
5. As far as leveling up with my magic users, what should I do about the options for the 3 "lower" classes-- magician, conjurer, and sorcerer? Should the path to Arch Mage include all three, or is there only "time" for two of those three? For instance, I have three magic users. I changed classes at L13, as soon as they learned their L7 spells. They are currently Mag-Con, Mag-Sor, and a Con-Sor. Wizard is available to them now. I am wondering if they should all become a Mag-Con-Sor before becoming a Wizard, or if I should jump right to Wizard when they can learn L7 spells in their second class. I will be taking them up to L13 in order to get L7 spells before the next change, regardless of what path should be followed. Alternatively, would it be beneficial (on a practical level) to take at least a few levels of that 3rd lower class, even if they are not taken all the way to L13? XP-wise, the early levels are "cheap" (one battle can be enough XP for a few levels) and the characters could receive a lot of extra SP and HP with taking at least a few levels? Is there plenty of XP (time in the game to complete the quests is probably a better measure) to become L13 in all 3 lower classes, then becoming a Wizard, then an Arch Mage?
6. What should I do with my Bard and abilities. At L14, he has 18s in everything, expect for INT and LUCK, which are 19 and 20. With only one attack per round, he will never be a very good melee fighter, compared to my Warrior and Monk, so I'm not sure putting level-up points in STR would be that helpful. I love the Bardsongs (although a few more for variety would be nice, request to Mario). Do any abilities (e.g. INT) affect the Bardsongs, e.g. duration, number able to be sung prior to needing a drink, etc. Basically, other than DEX (see #4 for justification) and LUCK (for saves), I'm at a loss at how to level-up a Bard. It seems that I need to get INT and LUCK to 25 before I can start adding to DEX though, so that may be the practical plan.
Sorry for the length, but I've been thinking about these things, and the answers don't seem to be in the Compendium. Any and all advice would be appreciated.
I leveled up all spell casters once they had all the spells they could have at level 13. Changing class at that time I think is the best...when you start a new class, they advance quickly and they acquire more points for their magic. I found this to be really key in advancing through the game. I also kept my rogue. With a bow, they are a nice asset. Some monsters that require hundreds of magic points to kill them seem to drop quickly from a much lower points arrow hit. The final AM spell...sodars wrath is really nice to have towards the end. Gook luck in bringing down Maruziel!
I finished the game recently and will offer my opinions.
1. The consensus is that there is currently no point in having > 25 INT. However, in another thread, icetear has said
<QUOTE>[quote]Following suggestions from other players, this cap will be removed in a future update, and some other stats (hp for casters) will change.
Because of that, I hedged my bets and took my INT up to 30. We'll see if that pays off after the expansion is released.
2. Same for CON. I never went past 25.
3. Not that I'm aware of
4. You're right: DEX is absolutely the most important stat. When I finished, my hunter and arch mages had DEX in the 40-50 range.
5. The generally accepted wisdom is to always max out (to lvl 13) all the mage classes. The extra hp/sp/stats from those cheap levels are just too valuable. For true min/maxing, I've seen suggestions to grind either conjuror or mage (with their 230k levels) up to 25 or higher. I grinded out a few "extra" levels (at sorceror 400k/level) and ended up finishing the game with only level 9 arch mages as a result. But I didn't regret it ... Demon War worked well enough for me.
6. I can't answer this one. I dropped my bard at the burial mound in favor of a third caster (I had no idea casters were so powerful when I started). I was debating her versus my hunter. In retrospect, I'm glad I dropped the bard. Everyone says the demon horn is what makes them worthwhile in late-game, and I found only one during my entire play through. The hunter, on the other hand, is a devastating crit-machine and could one-shot-kill pretty much anything by about Annsharbour. Having a guaranteed kill (out to 80') every round is pretty awesome.
