Keyrock

I just hit level 16 and got spear master for my hunter and magic focus master for my freemage. I haven't cleared the Lost City yet, but I found the secret entrance into Seahaven, which is convenient. Maybe it's time to try the cyclops and shadow dragon again? As an aside, I can't wait to get to The Crag so that I can train earth magic master.

Nah, you were right, I just checked it. You only pay for the supplies you need to top off, rather than a flat rate. I'm pretty sure it was a flat rate during Early Access and they changed it since. Since I started playing again when the game was fully released I only bought supplies when I was down to zero, so as to maximize my value, hence why I didn't notice the change.

I always pictured Al Qaeda as running NetWare 286 2.x IPX/SPX protocol on machines running DOS. Have I been living a lie?

The problem with allowing gender choice in a historically accurate period piece of a game is all the extra development that this would entail. You can't just simply let the player choose male or female, change a few lines of dialogue here and there and keep the rest the same, because that would not reflect an accurate representation of the attitudes of that time period. Entire quest lines would have to be completely remade for the female character, to accommodate the unique challenges a female character would face when compared to a male. While I think that would be certainly interesting to play and I would welcome such an option, I can certainly sympathize with the developers not wanting to do the extra work involved in creating many of the quests and scenarios twice to accommodate the gender choice. They are making a game centered around a very specific protagonist, that is their choice and that is their right.

I too hope Shani makes an appearance.

I haven't paid close enough attention to say for sure, but my impression is that you pay the same price for rations from each vendor regardless of whether you had 4 rations or 2 rations or 0 rations with you previously. Maybe I'll do an experiment to test that theory when I get home.

It was a little bit of a role reversal with Lebron scoring a bit more and KD having the more complete game with more rebounds, assists, and steals. Both guys played at a really high level though, it's basically splitting hairs between them in that game. The shooting performance they put on at the end of the 3rd with LeBron and KD trading buckets back and forth was pretty fun to watch. And yeah, Miami jumped out to a big lead, but it was all OKC after that. Neither guy can do it alone, not against an opponent of that caliber, anyway, but OKC's supporting cast was better. Lamb and Serge were great and Fish had a throwback game, playing like it was 4 or 5 years ago. Like I wrote a while back when Russ had surgery again, him being out is turning out to be a blessing in disguise. Guys like Reggie Jackson, Jeremy Lamb, and Perry Jones are getting more minutes and having to take a larger role on the team. They're building valuable experience and confidence and they've learned how to play and win without Russ, all while not losing any ground, in fact, they've gained ground. They're still obviously a better team with Russ playing, but it's good to now know that, unlike last year's playoffs, if the need arises, these guys are ready to step up and fill the void. On Miami's side, while D-Wade put up respectable and efficient shooting numbers, watching him, it's pretty obvious that he's not at 100%. That's fine for now, but the Heat will need him at full strength come May and onward.

Actually, you always get the amount they advertise, whether you have any with you or not, to the best of my knowledge. So you can but the rations from the merchant in the wagon and have 9 whether you had any with you already or not, same price either way. In Seahaven you can get 13 rations. I always wait until I have zero left to buy rations to maximize what I get for my money. Soprigal (so far) has the best price per ration, but then you only have 6 (you can't buy another 6 from them to have 12). Seahaven has the highest price per ration but you can have 13, which is great if you're heading into a long, tough dungeon). From a realism standpoint, I like to look at it as the rations in Seahaven have a longer shelf life, hence why you can carry more with you, while the ones in Soprigal spoil quicker. Also, I meant to write level 15 in my previous post. I obviously am not level 5 in act 2. That's what I get for posting late at night. (*grumble* *grumble* damn system won't let me edit my post after a set amount of time *grumble* *grumble*)

I'm up to level 5 and still trudging along in Act 2. I actually still don't even have a full complement of gear on every character, as I'm missing a bunch of rings and necklaces. I refuse to buy them, unless I see something really nice that I can actually afford. I figure that I'll find something good eventually, so it would be better not to waste my money. I just found the Lost City. Seems easy so far, but I'm only right at the entrance, I figure it gets harder later on. I'm pretty well stocked on supplies, so I might be able to clear the whole thing in one go. If not, I'll trudge back to town for supplies. Once I hit level 16 or 17 I think I'll go back and try the cyclops and shadow dragon again. At that point I think I'll be able to kill them without having to drink a wheelbarrow full of potions. I hope.

I like Boogie. I'm a fan of the head cases, provided the don't do anything too crazy. It helps that he's very talented too. Definitely a fun guy to watch.

Bigger deal for the Thunder than the Heat, though not a huge deal for either team. It's a nice confidence booster for the Thunder knowing they can beat the Heat and they can beat them in Miami, plus any win is important in the insanely tight West. For he Heat, the loss isn't a huge deal, they know they have another gear they can go into in the playoffs. Ultimately it's a January game. If they meet again in June, those will be the games that matter.

It's Drakensang and it's not a MMO.

You can, and I have. Besides, the analogy fails because a tie is a fashion item, its sole purpose is aesthetic. A greataxe is a weapon, its purpose is functional. That top spike serves no function because i's too short. Wrong. The tie is just part of your attire. You could just wear normal clothes so you don't freeze to death, but you wear a tie anyhow to uh.. spice things up. That little spike is the axe's tie. Analogy complete!! Nah, clothes are just there to hide out self made shame. Unless you live near the arctic or antarctic circle, you could survive just fine butt nekkid, especially if you lived nekkid all your life and didn't come to become reliant on clothes (like a drug habit). Besides, I don't want a tie on my axe... unless it's an ascot, in which case, I'll think about it.

I don't know about "all," since I'm pretty sure I haven't ever come close to playing that many. But the ones I have played ... nah, not really. What usually happens is such is a lot more difficult in the beginning but then actually becomes easier. Well, if we're talking about D&D-based games then that has to do with mages in D&D being insanely weak at very low levels and rather overpowered at high levels. This holds true in both video games and pen and paper. That's a fault of the D&D system, more than anything else. I will agree that the all mage party in a D&D-based game is much easier to play at high level than it is at very low level, though I still think a balanced party is easier to play at high level than an all mage party.

A balanced party will naturally be better equipped at a variety of random situations thrown in their direction, the game is built around a balanced party, as it should be. An all caster or all fighter party will excel in certain situations and have a ruthlessly difficult time in other situations. I honestly didn't expect the game to be any other way. I think you could do a viable all caster party so long as at least one of them is a hybrid that can melee to some extent, like a Shaman or a Rune Priest. Even then, though, be prepared to spend a small fortune on mana potions. Crusader, I guess, is the closest thing to a Cleric in this game, though closer to a Paladin, really, as it's a hybrid that's closer to the physical than the magical end of the spectrum. Aren't almost all party-based RPGs pretty difficult with no melee characters? To me, part of the fun of making a non-standard party is overcoming the extra challenges it presents.

I disagree. There are plenty of enemies that are quite tough to damage with sheer brawn and much easier dispatched by magical means.

No shame in playing on Adventurer difficulty, it's plenty challenging. Warrior difficulty is just punishing.

My favorite one so far was when I entered Seahaven. "Look at them all just stand around. It's like they're waiting for us to show up and solve all their problems for them." I'm also fond of "Yes! Running on Mother Earth, beneath Father Sky!" The enthusiasm in the delivery gets me every time.

I wonder what the Hunter promotion quest will be? I'm salivating over the idea of the Harpoon ability. Every time I use it I'm going to yell "Get over here!" As an aside, I think the barks in this game are fantastic, some of the best I've heard in any RPG. Obviously, they get repetitive after a while, but that's unavoidable unless the developer wants to spend the time and money to have 500 phrases for each race/gender/demeanor combination, which falls under the blanket of "resources that could have been better spent elsewhere". One minor quibble: Why must dwarves always be Scottish?

Huh, I didn't know people actually finish M&B. Yeah, I had no idea Mount & Blade had an actual end either.

Tell me about it! And I do enjoy my party being wiped out every now and then. Speaking of which, in Act 1, there are a few really tough enemies. You can return to them later, no? It would be a shame if Act 2 locked you out somehow. I mean, there are even one or two master trainers on that peninsula. Early on, I even had to leave certain levels in dungeons be simple because they were too tough for my party, and that's something I've missed in many CRPGs as of late. Yes, you can come back and fight the cyclops and shadow dragon later. In fact, I don't think I had much of a chance against either one in act 1 on warrior difficulty. Maybe if I'd min-maxed my party, I might have had a sliver of a chance, but min-maxing is not my idea of fun, though I get some people really enjoy that sort of thing, more power to them (literally). Personally I'm enjoying the "slog", but maybe I'm just a masochist like that.

Poison Spray is pretty much my favorite spell so far. Cast it right at the beginning of battle and the damage really adds up after a bunch of rounds. I even plan my attacks around it, knowing approximately how much of an enemy's bar will take a hit each round, I can tell "okay, he's going to drop dead next round anyway, I'll attack someone else). I actually think my Hunter is almost as good a defensive character as my Defender. Late game, I think the Hunter may actually become my best defensive character (also, I'm really looking forward to getting Harpoon and Snare). While my Hunter doesn't use a shield, spear skill grants extra blocks, as well as two-handed skill. More importantly, the Hunter can grand master endurance, dodge, and arcane discipline. Part of the reason I created my party the way I did is that I have two characters, both orcs, coincidentally, that can grand master arcane discipline (Hunter and Shaman). Combine that with orcs' natural ability to shrug off status effects, and I have a pair of characters that are really difficult to disable. While I haven't reached late game yet (I'm somewhere in the midst of act 2), my hunch is that magic damage and effects will become every bit as much a concern as physical damage, if not more, in late game. Hence, my thinking that arcane discipline will become more and more important going forward.

Maybe I'll make a party with all he classes Humanoid deems unworthy. I'll call it the Min-Min Party.

There is a scribe in Karthal that provides xp bonus. Just complete the scribe quest once you will reach Karthal Same 10% boost?

It's okay, I'm willing to look the other way, just this once. Let's never speak of this again. I wonder how viable an all orc party would be? Barbarian, Hunter, 2 X Shaman, or something like that. Obviously, a bit light on the magic end of the spectrum. On the other hand, no particularly squishy characters either. Doing an all dwarf party would have essentially the same drawbacks and benefits.