Might & Magic X Teased by Ubisoft, To Be Revealed at PAX East

[Humanoid]

So part of the reason why the game runs so poorly, and draws so much power (I notice my PC heating up quite a bit more than most games). It has some insane overmodelling, with some floor tiles (y'know, flat surfaces) apparently consisting of up to 1200 polygons. One thousand two hundred. That's worse than the worst of Bethesda's notorious modelling excesses. (Give them that kind of polygon budget and they'll at least manage to make a boulder)

 

 

But yeah, insanity.

[Keyrock]

I think I have been thwarted by this game on warrior difiulty. Once I get deeper into the forest I just get slaugthered mercilessly. Good healing doesn't help if my guys die in one hit.  I had better luck with my abandoned all caster party. At least they were making progress until their mana bars were gone. 

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

[LadyCrimson]

Humanoid should write one of those GameFAQ's on this game.

 

It sounds like melee/toughness is generally King in this game, which I find a little disappointing/limiting. But then, based on some of the (tiny) bits I've seen in videos, the dungeons themselves seem more designed around close-quarters than the later M&M games, where there was often a lot of room to back up/move around in etc. I haven't watched too much Let's Play, tho, so I don't have the full scope of things or anything.

 

I do have a burning question - are there horseshoes?  

[Keyrock]

It sounds like melee/toughness is generally King in this game, 

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

[LadyCrimson]

Well I'm sure there's variable situations that call for one or another, like any RPG. It's just sounding like melee is more dominant and/or would be pretty tough to not have any melee at all.

 

Like a party of 3 mages + 1 cleric or no cleric at all.

[Keyrock]

Well I'm sure there's variable situations that call for one or another, like any RPG. It's just sounding like melee is more dominant and/or would be pretty tough to not have any melee at all.

 

Like a party of 3 mages + 1 cleric or no cleric at all.

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.

Edited January 29, 2014 by Keyrock

[LadyCrimson]

Aren't almost all party-based RPGs pretty difficult with no melee characters?

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.

 

Which is actually a common balance complaint.

 

Balancing for the generalized common party make-up is fine. I only dislike it if I feel there's little to no flexibility away from certain party makeups. eg, I don't even like feeling like I *must* have a Cleric type.

[Keyrock]

 

Aren't almost all party-based RPGs pretty difficult with no melee characters?

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.

[LadyCrimson]

I could be entirely mistaken in my impressions, too, let me say. I'm not even playing the game after all. It's only the impressions I have from reading about the game in various places. It'll take some more weeks and a lot more players finishing the game several times to really know for sure what type of balancing it has.

 

Also, when I say easier, I don't always mean faster. But typically for myself at least, I'll die/wipe a lot less often with all-mage/all-ranged than melee. My melee combat skill is not very phat, in any game. But apparently I maneuver parties around a field pretty well - when such is an option.

[Humanoid]

Not that I've tried it, but I think the main thing holding back a very magic-heavy party is not so much encounter balance, but money. Magic is an expensive business. But still, as you get into Act 3, cash stops being a real concern. I'd also envisage a lot more rest abuse, and therefore probably also the hassle of having to go back to town now and then to restock supplies while mid-dungeon.

Edited January 30, 2014 by Humanoid

[Keyrock]

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.

[IndiraLightfoot]

Alright! I played the game for the first time with headphones on and in a dark room, and it was slightly creepy, actually. I was startled twice, once by some critters coming around a cave bend, and once by a piece of furniture exploding and giving me a mad monster instead. The soundscape is pretty good, with ambient sounds being a bit loud, but still unsettling. Keyrock has already praised the party banter, and I'll happily chime in that praise. By the way, it turns out my elven ranger speaks Scottish too. I had no idea. It's a first in a CRPG! 

 

And yes, Keyrock, magic is expensive, not only the mana potions but some of the more useful magical items at the shops as well.

 

And a WARNING:

I found a pretty nasty bug. I was in a fight and my freemage felt the need to quaff a mana potion. I took the blue one, but nothing happened. No mana, not even the combat log registered any action, but my mana went from 29 to 3, permanently!!!

So, what actually happened? It wasn't a mana potion I drank, it was one of those, you get a permanent point in Spirit-potion. I had missed that I had found, so I mistook it for a mana potion in the heat of battle, but like I said, it erased all of my mana, instantly, and without any record of it!

Luckily, I had a save just outside the fight, or rather, the door, that immediately triggered it. Thus; I reloaded it, and then I redid the whole thing on purpose just to see if it was just a hiccup, but nope, rather a bug, coz it happened again. You CANNOT drink that kind of permanent spirit potion in combat. I reloaded once again, and then drank that potion when the monster alert-light was off, outside the door. Then I got my point in Spirit, and this was also recorded in the combat log.

 

Another bug, but this time in my favour:

My shield dwarf had her board worn, and we were close to Sorpigal, so I thought, why not? Let's go there and repair it. My party went straight there, and there was that yellow hammer on the portrait of the dwarf. But when I entered the town, and then went to the armour smith, the yellow hammer token was gone, and so was the worn shield. The proprietor had the option "repair items" greyed out.

Edited January 30, 2014 by IndiraLightfoot

[IndiraLightfoot]

Yay! I just finished Act 1.

Here's a screenie of my party after the end boss. It was my first try, so still a decent outcome (MILD SPOILER):

*

*

*

*

*

 

Look who's standing tall, and see which whimpy elves got what they deserved. At the least the human just was poisoned an drendered unconscious. My intrepid dwarf somehow dragged them all the way back to Sorpigal and resurrected and restored them. In my defence, I had been saving up loads of money for upgrades in skills and certain items. I ddn't even have earth mag expertise and posion spray when that screenshot was snapped.

 

Well, the OCDer in me had to go back into all the dungeons and lick the walls one more time, just to make sure I hadn't missed any secrets. Well, despite my "thorough" playthrough, I had missed five of them!  A tip: Make sure you rotate the party on each tile, and speaking of tiles. You know that OCD-thing of hitting every tile on the map? Well, in the great outdoors that's a chore, but it's well worth it. Ubisoft has hidden small "search" sites on the ground that you only see when yo like stand on them, and then you get to dig up treasures. I had missed like five of those too. So, I left Act 1 quite rich.

 

EDIT: Another tip: Buy those rest rations from several places and you can have more. If you buy from one vendor (the goblin inn) you get six, but if you buy from another (like intinerant merchant), you get three more, a sweet total of nine.

Edited January 30, 2014 by IndiraLightfoot

[Keyrock]

EDIT: Another tip: Buy those rest rations from several places and you can have more. If you buy from one vendor (the goblin inn) you get six, but if you buy from another (like intinerant merchant), you get three more, a sweet total of nine.

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*)

[Janmanden]

Rotating on each tile to see it all.. That's.. really.. erm, old. Do you also have to look UP and DOWN for each tile?

[Humanoid]

Moving the camera is an available but useless option in this game, purely aesthetic, so no up and down.

 

 

As for rations, I was under the impression that the price is per unit that varies, but you only pay for the units to take you up to the maximum. So technically it's most efficient to buy from cheapest then top up from the more costly ones. But really, the price difference is so trivial it may as well not have been a mechanic.

 

For what it's worth though, the largest supply amount you can get is from the inn outside Karthal. Not in town itself, just in the area around it. You can get there during act two, but there are a number of tough encounters around it, so it's probably not worth it.

[Keyrock]

As for rations, I was under the impression that the price is per unit that varies, but you only pay for the units to take you up to the maximum. So technically it's most efficient to buy from cheapest then top up from the more costly ones. But really, the price difference is so trivial it may as well not have been a mechanic.

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.

[IndiraLightfoot]

I can't test it right now, but I am almost certain that the IM wagon deals out 6 rations just like the Goblin Inn. That's why I was surprised to see a new sentence at the wagon "...for a total of nine". It made my day, as when I faced that end boss in Act 1 I hadn't rested for that entire floor, and I had one minor mana potion left. But now I have 35, plus a few medium ones. Those hidden treasure troves don't just shower gold on you, you get potions too. :D

[Humanoid]

The guy in the wagon will always fill you up to 9, this I can guarantee. I just can't quite recall whether it's a flat fee or a variable one depending on your current supplies - I was pretty confident it did take them into the account, but Keyrock is making me doubt myself.

 

The inn in Seahaven will fill you up to 13 days, the inn outside Karthal something higher, and the inns in Karthal and the Crag... well, who knows, it's lower than that last one so they're irrelevant.

[Keyrock]

The guy in the wagon will always fill you up to 9, this I can guarantee. I just can't quite recall whether it's a flat fee or a variable one depending on your current supplies - I was pretty confident it did take them into the account, but Keyrock is making me doubt myself.

 

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.

[Humanoid]

Heh, I mostly just assumed it'd be the same as MM6/7 and never checked it either.

 

 

Only just got to The Crag last night. Dang, this place is a maze. I've complained before about placement of certain expert trainers in Seahaven instead of Sorpigal, but placing your master trainers here might arguably be crueller. I know they're *trying* to invoke the spirit of the past games, but a bit more of a fair progression here would be helpful in balancing.

[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.

Edited January 31, 2014 by Keyrock

[Humanoid]

 

You're not meant to clear Lost City all in one sitting, you do the one quest given to do in there and exit to Seahaven. The further levels are for later quests and at points will be much much tougher. Especially the "level 3" extension.

 

But yeah, I did the Cyclops and Dragon around that time. The Manticore a little bit later, you have to overcome its self healing.

 

[Keyrock]

Finished act 2.  The final boss fight of the act was surprisingly easy, all things considered.

[Humanoid]

Maybe because of the megaambush just prior to him.

 

Act 2 really ought to just have been an appendix to Act 1 - hell throw it into Act 1 and move the hard gating to after that point. It was, after all, just one dungeon to Act 1's four dungeons (five if you count the tutorial). It'd add a feeling of freedom to Act 1 having two cities, and solve most of the trainer placement issues.