SilentBob420BMFJ

I propose a merge of all of the DS3 sections, since this forum is quite dead as it is (wouldn't be surprised if moderators don't even come here but once a week). I already put all my posts in the General Discussion section, since I won't get an answer if I post it in the other sections, so might as well make it official. As for spoilers, people should just be required to put a spoiler tag in their subject and/or body. Seriously, dividing up the at best 10 weekly posts on the entire forum is pretty useless.

Rewards? It's not "adds some damage from your Attack", it adds all of it. If you have 100 Will and 100 Attack, your abilities do 200 damage. If you have 150 Attack and 50 Will, your abilities do 200 damage. So why would you want Will, which isn't good for all your attacks, whereas Attack is? If I had a choice, I'd have 200 Attack and 0 Will. And if critical hits do double damage, as they do in every game, well I got a 512 critical with one of my abilities, and I had like 150 Will at the time, so that tells you that Attack is not "weak" in the calculation (which is as simple as 1 + 1).

Wow, it seems many of you didn't read the help topics in the game (I read every one, and frequently checked back as needed), or at least paid attention to the tutorial. Here's a quote straight from the game: "Additionally, when you use Special Abilities, your Attack DPS is added to your Ability DPS to determine the amount of damage dealt." Now that we have the facts straight, I'll ask again, why do people say Will > Attack? I've seen guides saying to pile up Will at the cost of anything else. Come on now, it's obvious that, after adjustments due to talents, you're gonna want to choose whichever is higher, but favor Attack if it's close. Also want to factor in that you won't be using 100% of your Will 100% of the time, but you will be using 100% of your Attack 100% of the time. So basically, something like 15 Attack vs 18 Will, you're gonna take the Attack. If it's like 15 Attack vs 22 Will, then ya might wanna go with Will.

So this much needed info was in the first 2 games? *facepalm*

I keep seeing people recommend Will. Very little articles/posts on this game on the web, but a few of them say Will all the way. Attack is included in all your attacks, but Will is only for your abilities. Now, there are Will increasing talents, but it still usually won't matter, Attack is superior. The way I see it, somewhere around 40% more Will than Attack on a piece of gear is when you consider it. So if it's 14 Will vs 10 Attack, then maybe you can think about taking Will. And this is after doing the math with your talents (for instance, Lucas can get a 50% bonus to Will with Force Of Will, but he also can have a 20% bonus to Attack with Wrathful Might, so you have to multiple both of those every time you have a borderline decision). Basically no matter how you look at it, Attack is superior to Will because it's included in the abilities' damage. Sure, you might have a little more damage if you go with Will, but unless you use your abilities significantly more than regular attack (due to lots of Focus talents or something), it needs to be more than just a little. So what's up, why are people obsessed with Will?

True. I stay away from those duration effects, especially when the description says low/moderate. Speaking of which, They use this high/moderate/low chance/damage system to describe stuff, which is dumb. Who's to say what high or low? It totally depends on what you're talking about, but I consider a high chance to be like 50%, but maybe it's 80%, which means it's more useful that I thought. And for the damage, if it says it does "moderate" damage, does that mean it starts at that and as you add points it gets higher? Is that for 1 point in that stat that it starts doing "moderate" damage? I know this game doesn't require the absolute best choices, but still, that's the fun of playing a game like this, as somebody put it in another thread. If this were the World Of Warcraft forum, I guarantee you somebody would know the answers to these questions, because some people find out, no matter what.

This is exactly why I'm so confused at how little people are on this forum. This is the main reason I'm on this forum, is to get technical answers about choices I need to make. The descriptions are indeed brief as you put it, this why I'm here, to find out. Take a look at what I'm dying to know, maybe you can help: http://forums.obsidian.net/index.php?showtopic=58791

See, I already maxed out Blade Dash, which is useless now. I also put 3 points in Live By The Sword; will he use Graceful Repose? (Do they heal naturally after a battle, or do they have to use healing?) He never seems to even get close to dying though, so maybe I wasted those points as well. But from what I read, I won't need many points, since they will all just go into Shield Pummel, Heroic Strike, and Wind Shear. He doesn't even use any of this 3rd tier abilities, right?

This place is quite dead. Since I joined this forum a week ago, the majority of the posts are mine. Is this not where people come for this game? If not, then where? Surely there has to be all sorts of talks of builds and such somewhere. (Look at the amount of posts in The Chapterhouse section, it's sad.) I have so many questions, and they're just not being answered. I still like this game, but not as much now that I know I have no ability to get the answers I want. It's depressing being excited about a game, going to the game's forum ready to discuss and ask questions, and then finding not many people play it. And yes, just because there aren't many people on here does mean not many people play it, because this is an action RPG, which always has questions and builds to discuss. I could see if it was a simple single player game with no RPG elements (character builds, technical questions, math, etc.), but this game totally should have people talking.

I have Lucas as my companion, and I maxed out Blade Dash, and he doesn't even use it. It's actually his least used ability, and I have a total of 4 right now.I figured he'd use whatever I put points into, but his mastery in those abilities says otherwise. He seems to really like to use Shield Pummel, and based on how little I've had it, I'd say Wind Shear too. So should I start dumping points into what he uses, or will he get smarter and use what I want him to?

Because I just had to find something to do with it, what I do, is lay down an Immolation Aura, take 1 step back, and just stand there blocking while everything burns. I totally could be attacking, but the problem is my attacks will sometimes bring me too far away from the flames. I find in general that Immolation Aura is way too small (it's hard to keep enemies in there), but I invested 5 points in it, so I gotta use it.

If block didn't use Focus, then ya, you could block while you think of what you do next. But other than that, I don't understand when to block. I mean you're just sitting there, losing Focus, why? Run away or dodge, right?

As a rule of thumb, when choosing gear for your characters, go for the "core" stats: attack, agility, will, stamina, armor. A weapon which is + 20 Attack is generally better than one with +10 Attack and +30 Fire because the Fire effect is based on a chance (not well defined, as you have pointed out), whereas Attack is *always* added to Attack DPS. And furthermore, if you have a good Attack and Ability DPS your enemies will be long dead before they can taste the effects of poison, fire, lightning or whatever. Definitely true, however, we need to know all the stuff I asked, because where do you draw the line? Do you give up 5 attack to get 20 of something else? If that something else is like I described above, a stat with a vague description, well you have no way of technically comparing it. Seriously, "a chance to do damage" etc. doesn't mean anything in an RPG. How often, how much, how long? Those must be answered for every statistic, ability, etc.

I easily got past that part, and am getting the hang of it now, but the question is, am I doing it right? Just because I get past a part doesn't mean I am. So strategies are welcome. And I feel that since I'm talking about early in the game, that builds won't matter much. Again, this game is very odd to me in that it's not obvious how to play, like every other game. World Of Warcraft is much more complex than this game, and I had no problem, since you're introduced slowly, and in the beginning, it is nothing more than a button masher. That's usually how it goes, is it's a button masher at first regardless, but then as you get more skills etc., you have to use them in a certain order/situation.

I'm extremely curious about the Chaos effects, for a slightly different reason: Chaos - Poison: "grants your attacks a moderate chance to deal heavy poison damage over 9 seconds" Forget about "moderate" not being defined, what about the fact that we actually don't know what we're increasing here? With the Chaos effects, what are you adding when you have some gear with a Chaos effect value of 15 instead of 4? Think about it: you're not adding any greater chance, because the chance is defined as "moderate"; you're not adding any more damage, because the damage is defined as "heavy"; and you're not changing the duration of the effect, which is exactly 9 seconds. So...

I just noticed that almost every statistic has a vague description too. Here's an example: Warding: "grants your hero a low chance to stun ..." 1. What is a "low chance"? 2. How long are they stunned?

I ask these types of questions a lot, and I rarely get answers. I didn't expect an answer, at least not one that isn't a flat out guess. It just bugs me when I see vague wording or flat out unknown things that are pretty important. I'm waiting to come across a stat in a game that "adds damage sometimes". I wouldn't be surprised if I saw that exact wording, which is sad. RPGs are about numbers, and you may not need to know every formula on how it all works, but you should at least know what the hell a talent is that you're adding points to.

I'm level 3 and at the part in the very beginning where you have to kill some creature that isn't letting a guy fish. All these creatures come out of the water and start attacking you. What would you do with Anjali? Dodge and swipe with your staff? Lay down an immolation aura and just sit there holding block (because if you lay it and run, mobs don't stay in it very long I've found)? Or am I not supposed to be level 3 doing this? I'll probably beat it before somebody answers, but I've died multiple times, so clearly I'm not doing something right. I just want to know what to do when surrounded by enemies for a low level Anjali. I'm waiting for that "Oh that's what you do" moment.

No, I read that when you take damage when blocking, you gain "juice" for your power spheres I think.

The time limit explains it.

So then how do you block? I mean, do enemies not attack that frequently? And is it a pattern they attack in? For instance, in most games with block, what you do is block the enemies predictable pattern, and then attack. Is it the same here, or am I missing something with what block is for? I heard you gain your power spheres when you block or something?

I can't seem to find the edit button.

I'm starting this thread for all questions about the exact meaning/value of certain vaguely worded descriptions of abilities, proficiencies, and talents. The one I'm currently interested in right now: "Anjali has a 10% chance to regenerate life when she takes damage." OK, how much? I'm not gonna max out Phoenix's Warmth just so I can have a 50% chance to regenerate an unknown amount of life. This talent could be good or bad depending on how much you get back. 50% of the damage done to you? 100%? And I'm sure it is, but is this instant regeneration?

I just started this game, and am level 3. I did a lot of reading before I started playing, like I always do, so I'm not a newb for being only 2 hours into the game. With that said, how exactly am I supposed to be playing? Like give me some ideas. How do I not button mash basically. So far, what I do is I walk around in fire form, and when I see a mob, I immediately start throwing fireballs. Then when they get close, which happens after only fireball combo, I switch to human form and start doing normal attacks. If it's multiple mobs, I will drop an immolation aura right before they get there, and then switch to human form and use a combination of the normal attack and spinning kick. I never block, and don't see how you have time for it. I find that after using my immolation aura, I run backwards, and the guys just run right through it, or never pass over it, either way not being damaged much, if it all. Then it repeats, but I'm out of mana. I just want to know how to play correctly. I knew quite well what to do in World Of Warcraft, so this is embarrassing I can't quite figure this out. Unless this game is just hard as hell?

I'm playing as Anjali, and when I'm on the equip screen, at the top left it shows what form I'm equipping for? I don't get it, I thought gear was universal. I noticed that the 2 slots on the left, which appear to be necklaces, are only for fire form. Is this true? Do those items' stats only apply when I'm in fire form? Ah, I just read another thread, explaining that the staff and the 2 slots on the right are specific to form. BTW, there's a glitch kinda, in that if you hover/select the staff, it will say human form, but then go over to the middle slots, and it's still human form. OK, now go to the slots on the right, and it says fire form, but then go left to the slots in the middle, and it still says fire form! So it stays on whatever you viewed last, the staff or the 2 slots to the right. This confused me at first.