Piranha Bytes RPG teaser site

[HoonDing]

I never went to the bandits in the swamp myself. I figured I would have had to do a lot of fighter related quests there and hence dump a lot of skill points in sword fighting & strength while I was trying to become a mage... I considered that with the lesser scope of this game compared to Gothic 3 one would not be able to acquire enough skill points to be able to become proficient in everything.

 

It was an interesting choice right in the beginning, and offers replay value. I don't think 'jack-of-all-trades' would work very well with the unforgiving combat.

[mkreku]

Well, I finished the game as a bandit and am now replaying it from the side of the Order. Instead of letting Jan take me to the bandit's camp, I let him take me to.. uh.. that little house on the prairie. And from there on I let one of the farmers take me to Harbour Town. I am currently in Harbour Town, solving quests for the Order. Not a gigantic difference from doing the quests for the bandits, but enough to make it interesting. I have yet to be called up to the commander.

 

I think I will go mage this time. I never play as a mage in any game. I will probably suck at it.

[jaguars4ever]

Well, I finished the game as a bandit and am now replaying it from the side of the Order. Instead of letting Jan take me to the bandit's camp, I let him take me to.. uh.. that little house on the prairie. And from there on I let one of the farmers take me to Harbour Town. I am currently in Harbour Town, solving quests for the Order. Not a gigantic difference from doing the quests for the bandits, but enough to make it interesting. I have yet to be called up to the commander.

 

I think I will go mage this time. I never play as a mage in any game. I will probably suck at it.

Mkeku, will I be able to fondle orcs in this game? If so I'll pick one up tonight.

[HoonDing]

Who needs Orcs when there are hordes of deadly porcupines & swarms of killer moths? Eh?

[LostStraw]

After coming from Batman: AA it took me a little while to get used to the lack of polish in this game but it's still fairly decent all things considered. I've played up through some of Act3 and then I got bored of my hammer wielding fighter character and didn't like that the sword weapons got all the love. The melee combat is just.. well, I don't like it very much. I think it's the annoying auto-lock on system that bugs me the most. I'll try a mage next and depending on how that goes I might try to make a bow using hunter that doesn't melee at all.

 

Mkeku, will I be able to fondle orcs in this game? If so I'll pick one up tonight.

There are ogres -- they like to fondle your character with their big clubs.

 

I never went to the bandits in the swamp myself. I figured I would have had to do a lot of fighter related quests there and hence dump a lot of skill points in sword fighting & strength while I was trying to become a mage...

It's possible to go through the swamp quests without investing any learning points. The fights are definitely more difficult and tedious as they last quite a bit longer but I've managed to do it twice now on normal difficulty. The most difficult fights are the ones in the arena -- I only remember three quests that specifically required killing monsters and none of them were too difficult. Even when faced with tough monsters it was never much of a run to lead them back to a group of friendly NPCs that would help kill them.

[Tigranes]

I'm in Chapter 2 now with my new playthrough, having gone Bandit Camp -> Harbour Town -> Monastery (Volcano Keep). Then of course the Inquisitor gives me a quest that takes me back to the Bandit Camp - apparently I can go back! Awesome. That might mean that I can rectify my error and actually learn Open Locks Level 3, because I'm really hurtin' on that one.

 

A comment about the difficulty: the combat remains punishing in the way Gothic 3 was (just without idiotic stunlocks, etc), but the economy not so much. Maybe because I did every quest I could and searched every nook and cranny, but I ended up with something like 5000 gold at the end of Chapter 1 - most of which I then proceeded to spend on runes and blank scrolls for later. At Level 15 I also was able to max out Alchemy, Prospecting and Smithing, so I'm lugging around lots of ore and lots of potions. (The thing about me being crap with twitch fighting though, is that even when I have 50 health potions I do end up actually depleting that supply.)

 

I've explored around two thirds of the map already, I think, and its fantastic. I think the world coudl have been a *little* bigger, but generally its a good size - not overwhelming but big and full of interesting things. I'm also having a great time with things like telekinesis, nautilus and levitations coming into play now.

 

I'm probably going to go for a Sword / Fireball combo, though I'm finding a serious lack of good swords after I decided to go Monastery/Mage route.

[Maria Caliban]

You won't be able to learn Open Locks 3 or Pickpoketing 3 IIRC.

 

You have 5,000 gold, have you bought your upgraded armor yet?

[HoonDing]

I really suck at the melee combat when I have to fight creatures whose attacks are unblockable for some reason (wolves, porcupines). Just like in Gothic 3, fighting humans is cake compared to most wilderness creatures.

 

Does it become better with more ranks in sword-fighting? If I'll join the bandits on a replay, I'll probably go for mainly an archer type.

[Tigranes]

You won't be able to learn Open Locks 3 or Pickpoketing 3 IIRC.

 

You have 5,000 gold, have you bought your upgraded armor yet?

 

Oh, is it restricted to those who side with the Don? Incentive for a replay I guess. I wish ranged weapons were any good in the game so I could go for a sneaky guerilla type, but the lack of a proper crosshair makes third-person shooting an exercise in frustration.

 

Which upgraded armour? Out of the worker's clothes, officer's clothes, novice's robe and mage's robe the last has been the best for me. I also found a leather helmet in my explorations.

[Maria Caliban]

I really suck at the melee combat when I have to fight creatures whose attacks are unblockable for some reason (wolves, porcupines). Just like in Gothic 3, fighting humans is cake compared to most wilderness creatures.

 

Does it become better with more ranks in sword-fighting? If I'll join the bandits on a replay, I'll probably go for mainly an archer type.

 

If you have a shield, all attacks should be blockable. If you're using a two-handed weapon sans shield it has something to do with your strength, I believe, but with enough ranks in sword fighting, you'll be able to use a shield as well.

 

Animals are hard until the later chapters. By the end, they're nothing. Have you taken on a scorpian/ashbeast/thunder lizard yet?

Edited October 14, 2009 by Maria Caliban

[mkreku]

...but the lack of a proper crosshair makes third-person shooting an exercise in frustration.

I've only tried the crossbow, but right-clicking zooms in to a over-the-shoulder view complete with crosshairs and everything.

[HoonDing]

Animals are hard until the later chapters. By the end, they're nothing. Have you taken on a scorpian/ashbeast/thunder lizard yet?

I guess my fireballs will have to do... I took some ranks in staff fighting but I only go melee in one-on-one fights.

[Maria Caliban]

Mages are very strong in the end. Don't give up hope!

[Spider]

You won't be able to learn Open Locks 3 or Pickpoketing 3 IIRC.

 

Who teaches Open Lock 3? I only found level 2 in the bandit camp.

[Tigranes]

I've only tried the crossbow, but right-clicking zooms in to a over-the-shoulder view complete with crosshairs and everything.

 

Awesome, thanks. I should have tried that...

 

You won't be able to learn Open Locks 3 or Pickpoketing 3 IIRC.

 

Actually...

I've just found out that Patty can teach you Open Locks 3 even if you join the Order, as part of the whole pirate questline in Ch2. woohoo!

 

[Maria Caliban]

You won't be able to learn Open Locks 3 or Pickpoketing 3 IIRC.

 

Who teaches Open Lock 3? I only found level 2 in the bandit camp.

 

Don't listen to me. I was wrong.

 

And if you look back, you can even see a mini-rant right after Patty taught my Open Lock 3, and it didn't work on the pirate's booty.

[Enoch]

This thread is intruiging.

 

Would ya'll recommend this game to someone who gave up playing Gothic 2 after a couple of hours? I just found the combat to be too frequent, difficult, and (this was the main sticking point) lacking guidance on how to get better.

[LostStraw]

I created my mage and wow.. they are very powerful. At level 14 with maxed Magic Bullet my character was able to take out an Ash Beast with little difficulty. The only problem with mages is the large amount of mana used but considering their damage output it's not much of a downside.

 

I think staves received the least amount of love of all the weapon types followed closely by bows. They're both pretty much outclassed in every way by the other weapon types

 

Who teaches Open Lock 3? I only found level 2 in the bandit camp.

Cid in Harbor Town will teach open locks 3 after completing all of the quests for the Don. Patty will teach it as well in chapter 2 as Tigranes already mentioned.

 

[HoonDing]

I'm looking for the secret compartment in the Don's hacienda and it's obvious where it is (the Order dudes must be as blind as a mole) but I think that little rat "Toni" was talking nonsense when he told me how to gain access to it. Apparently unleashing a sledgehammer in frustration on the closet doesn't do anything for some reason.

[Tigranes]

This thread is intruiging.

 

Would ya'll recommend this game to someone who gave up playing Gothic 2 after a couple of hours? I just found the combat to be too frequent, difficult, and (this was the main sticking point) lacking guidance on how to get better.

 

I think it's the most accessible and least punshing of all PB games, while still retaining the spirit of it. Great optimisation also means loading after death (which will happen) is only a 5-second hassle (and saves are basically instant). You don't really feel lost, either.

[Enoch]

This thread is intruiging.

 

Would ya'll recommend this game to someone who gave up playing Gothic 2 after a couple of hours? I just found the combat to be too frequent, difficult, and (this was the main sticking point) lacking guidance on how to get better.

 

I think it's the most accessible and least punshing of all PB games, while still retaining the spirit of it. Great optimisation also means loading after death (which will happen) is only a 5-second hassle (and saves are basically instant). You don't really feel lost, either.

Thanks. Actually, since I posted that, I discovered that there is a demo. I'll give it that a shot this weekend, if I get a chance.

Edited October 15, 2009 by Enoch

[HoonDing]

Risen's 'Nameless Hero' in his sack clothes looks an awful lot like Jason Statham in the critically condemned Dungeon Siege movie. Risen also contains John Rhys-Davies. I think this adds a few more awesome points to the game.

 

Anyway, I picked up a war shield by defeating a guard and now melee combat has become much easier. Still takes ages to kill anything because of my low strength, but that's alright.

[Tigranes]

Yep. I figured I couldn't dodge, so I might as well shield it up. I'm in Chapter 3 now, around level 19, and with something like 60-70% defence for physical damage, around 25% for magical. The best shield I've found so far is that of

Lord Patroscon

... looks cool, too.

 

Chapter 3's pretty boring and slow at the moment with all the lizardmen around, I guess after ~20 hours I'm hitting the grind parts. We'll see...

[HoonDing]

Risen's gnomes must be amongst the cutest enemies in a videogame ever. I really hate killing them... they're so hilarious when they're jumping up and down.

[Tigranes]

Just hit chapter 4, and it's not quite as bad as I first thought. The entirety of Chapter 3 is a linear dungeon crawl that screams of cut content (quests are basically 'get 3 pieces of X to open door Y', and all 3 pieces are in 3 adjacent rooms with enemies), but the combat remains challenging and fun, letting you play around with your basically fully developed powerhouse character. I think I'm going to go on a big romp round the island before finishing off, just to see everything.

 

It's a real pity that PB didn't have the funding to carry the quality of Chapter 1 on, though (and I think they lacked an artsy-guy type in the crew who'd come up with brilliant, wacky storylines, even though the writing is decent and consistent all round). It would have been much more interesting

to have the Saurians be another sort of faction - that there's infighting and power struggles going on that you can get involved in - and also have the 'other party' play a bigger part. Picking the Order, the Don all but disappears from the story, whcih is a real pity - a Saurians - Order - Don triangle continuing with a 'Saurian village/city' as a quest hub would have been great for Ch3.