Wasteland 2

[Vaeliorin]

My boxed copy arrived today. It's pretty nice, though the manual isn't as extensive as I'd dreamed it to be (whenever I hear old-school manual, I always think of the BG/BG2 manuals, and that's obviously not a reasonable size expectation to have for most games.)

[Enoch]

That's weird.  All I found in the hole at that particular Shrine was a single piece of junk.  (I think it was a Blow Dryer.)

 

(Edit:  This references Hiro's post, regarding the Shrine between Titan and Damonta.)

Edited October 26, 2014 by Enoch

[Gromnir]

That's weird.  All I found in the hole at that particular Shrine was a single piece of junk.  (I think it was a Blow Dryer.)

 

(Edit:  This references Hiro's post, regarding the Shrine between Titan and Damonta.)

 

you don't understand the old skool appeal of random 1007? 

 

had less time this weekend than we hoped, but we managed to get our crew through the ag center.  made a change from Predator theme to Apocalypse Now: william b. kilgore, walter e. kurtz, benjamin l. willard, and roach. is largely the same skills spread as our Predator group, but we did need to make some minor changes. for example, while we made kilgore our leader, there ain't no way we were gonna give him kiss arse.

 

HA! Good Fun!

Edited October 26, 2014 by Gromnir

[ManifestedISO]

Still at the beginning, second full start, first post-second patch. Saved Highpool this time ... christ, the Ag Center mistress and her overpowered guilt gun. I feel awful and impotent. Except for the way better assault rifles dropped after mid-Wasteland encounters. 

 

Finally got the hang of the camera ... the whole QWES combo. I'm seeing an uncanny resemblance to Jaheira from this Native American female. 

[Drowsy Emperor]

I couldn't play it due to the atrocious interface (harder to navigate than any Fallout game, how did they manage that?) and graphics.  Maybe someday...

[Lexx]

Well, Fo1/3 weren't in 3D. Besides, I don't think the camera controls are that bad. I got used to it pretty fast and then it was never an issue again.

Edited October 27, 2014 by Lexx

[Keyrock]

For me the biggest thing I needed to get used to was pressing "U' to toggle between controlling the whole party at once and controlling each Ranger individually.  Once I got used to that I had no issues controlling the game at all.  It's a turn-based game, so it's not like you need to frantically click or hit hotkeys in real-time during combat.

[Lexx]

Why U? I kept it on space and it was good.

[Enoch]

The only default keyboard binding that gave me trouble was "swap weapon" on X, because I hit it often by accident when going for the "highlight interactable object" effect bound to Z. 

 

But, yeah, the camera rotation is not fantastic. 

[Volourn]

"I couldn't play it due to the atrocious interface (harder to navigate than any Fallout game, how did they manage that?) and graphics.  Maybe someday..."

 

Kiddin' right? The controls and graphics are awesomesauce.

[ManifestedISO]

Never heard a funnier goat-screaming-bloody-murder, than at The Prison. I think four different recordings ... there is a human voice actor somewhere who can bring the bleat like no goat's business. 

[prodigydancer]

I thought Arizona was great but LA is even better:

 

 

 

 

Edited October 29, 2014 by prodigydancer

[Enoch]

I've only just started the California part of the game, and it doesn't exactly start off strong. Santa Fe Springs looks neat, but it has lots of open space with nothing interesting going on.  And, from a narrative point of view,

Team Foxtrot getting pwned by a bunch of 80 HP dogs, and the idea of "securing" a perimeter by boarding up a few holes in a 6-foot-high wall had me rolling my eyes.

 

 

It should be interesting, though, visiting locations that I vaguely know from the fact that my in-laws used to live in the area.  ("Cerritos?!  I've been there!")  The local geography was one of the big reasons that I found FO3 enjoyable, overall, in spite of some of its flaws. 

[Keyrock]

@Enoch - California gets a lot better once you leave Santa Fe.  There's a lot more to do in California outside of combat than there is in Arizona.  Of course, you can go guns blazing bloodbath style too, if you prefer.

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

So I dived in without any real idea what I was doing.

 

I'd argue some mechanics could be clearer, would prefer higher starting attributes with no extra points at the 10-level increment, and some more money to spend on starting gear instead of everyone being outfitted with whatever they put points into. Actions confused me for a bit, but after plugging a few raiders I got the hang of it. Would like to see perks or traits as well.

 

That said, this game handles world map awesomely. I wish this was the approach PoE would take, as I really enjoyed the SoZ world map. TB combat is much easier to manage than RTwP and despite taking longer I don't feel bored.

 

Will probably create a new party, but holy **** is this game great.

[IndiraLightfoot]

I've avoided reading this thread, since spoilers abound. However, after 60 hours of playing, still with my first party, I have finally reached Act 2, as it were!

Overall, this CRPG will go down in history as one of the classics. Sure, sometimes the combat and the far too few music tracks can make it a bit repetitive, and the graphics aren't always top notch (some areas have been rushed), but all the fun stories, the cool writing and the general feel with the overland map and you having a party that you feel you have full control over and one that you have made into something decently unique is absolutely fantastic. Great game!!

 

 

My Arizona adventures weren't all smooth sailing, though:

 

 

In a first playthrough in a CRPG, I'm through. However, already at the Rail Nomads Camp I realized this game is setting you up to mess stuff up!

I caused a war there. Also, I let those poor sods in Highpool die, while saving the AgCenter, cause science is cool.

I went into those honey badger infested Level Up Mines far too early, but manage to take them out with a few explosives.

Later, I went to the Prison, but I only cleaned out the Valley. I went back and forgot those northern exits into the Prison areas.

Instead, I bought half-decent Rad Suits over at the Citadel (where I couldn't resist to press the red button and we all went to Kingdom Come).

After a reload, I took my party far east, and managed to enter the Valley of the Titan, almost dead by radiation. Angela had to leave, so we did lots of quests there - we sided with the mad monks. A hint at some Silo 7 made us go straight up to it and we talked to the monk, and then oops! We had caused an atomic disaster in Arizona. When we went back, it was all just a big insanely radioactive crater left. A few quests got lost. Then we went to Damonta, and pretty much cleared the place, killed the synth, couldn't open lock to Lex, but we had no idea how to reach the Radio Tower and attach that thingie (I didn't know you could cast explosives on doors by pressing on the big explosive image icon!), so we left Damonta and risked our lives back through the radiation, and went back to Prison Valley, recalling those northern exits.

 

There we killed hoards of Red Scorpions, in the cave, in that camp, and we let out pigs, but William died when we fought those fake farmers. Finally, we reached the prison. We had those weird treads, so we fixed up that robot, set it to kill non-organic stuff, and let it go towards the turrets. Sure, it took them out, but!!!

 

When we came up to the Prison entrance, there were mines, each exploding for 1,000 damage each, and they couldn't be disarmed ("Impossible").

I had to wiggle my best Perception guy through that field. Unfortunately, one central mine made that impossible, so I literally stripped Ralphy and had him commit suicide (like father, like son). I had him with me for 20 hours (that's how evil I am, heh). After that, my Perception guy could squeeze through into the camp and attract the aggro of all those Red Scorpions. Unfortunately, one guy (that I really cared about) vs all that camp was impossible too, so she began to wiggle back through those 1,000-dam mines, but at the end, thanks to the imposed grid, she would die, or rather, enemies following her, exploded nearby mines, and then she died. And I couldn't lose her!

What did I do? I sacrificed another NPC, a joking bastard with 3D-glasses that appeared after the nuke catastrophe. I stripped him, and him take out blocking mine instead of my self-made character. After that, we ambush-killed all the camp in that entrance choke point. That, at least, was fun.

 

However, the quests in the citadel dwindled, and  I knew something was wrong. In the end, I googled that you could blow up the gate to the Radio Tower, so went all the way back just for that. Not very fun at all. And it got worse, when we got back to the Citadel, they acknowledged that we had killed Danforth, but then we got the quest to deal with him after that radio tower had been activated. It was of course impossible, so for the second time, a game breaking bug forced me to XML-hack a journal entry to Resolved True. So, then the citadel regrouped and Vargas stood up by the chopper, and we flew there, and started massacring mutant dogs.

We are like level 23 now, and we've found most shrines and lots of skill books - and I focus on all those non-combat skills, so I have an easy time with all those obstacles and getting xp and items from them.

 

 

 

[IndiraLightfoot]

Some more info on my Arizona run:

 

 

I have been having Rose as a very dear party member, with a robotic arm and morals and quite a temper sometimes, and towards the end I got two more robotic companions:

Jamie the robot (Rose uses Computer Science to overclock his disco ball abilities, and my Mech Repair guy heals him), and then the hilariously funny Lexiconium.

Add to this a fantastic involuntary tank: an alien that loves eating flesh and body parts and just hang around - Night Horror with a dollie (InXile's take on having a baby, hehe).

 

 

[Hiro Protagonist II]

This is my optimal way of playing Arizona, It's a fairly meta-gamey way to play but I find it enjoyable. I also open every toaster to get the items.

 

 

 

4 Party members. One member needs around 7 CHA and couple of points in leadership to keep Pizepi and Rose in line with combat. Need to work out how to get your CHA up to 24 for Pizepi to join your party.

 

NPCs for the game: Angela (temporary), Rose, Pizepi Joren, Brother Thomas in LA.

 

1. Ranger Citadel. Pick up Angela. Get her Outdoorsman to 4. You can now avoid every random enemy encounter on the world map up to Canyon of Titan.

2. Radio Tower. (Leave Shrine for later when you pick up Pizepi.)

3. Ag Centre. Pick up Rose. (Leave Shrine for later when you pick up Pizepi.)

4. Highpool. Complete as normal.

5. Wrecking Crew Camp. (Leave Shrine for later when you pick up Pizepi.)

6. Prison Valley. (Leave Shrine for later when you pick up Pizepi.) Go immediately to Red (Trader) for information on Rick Baychowski at Ranger Citadel. Now go back to Ranger Citadel. No need to go to Prison just yet.

7. Ranger Citadel. Get Rick Baychowski out of jail and go to Rick's RV to get the +4 Rad Suits. I let him leave and say to Vargas he's dead. You can now travel anywhere on the world map. Unrestricted access, no need to worry about random enemy encounters or radiation.

8. Rail Nomads. Peaceful Resolution requires Kiss Ass 4 and Smart Ass 6. This is where you need Pizepi Joren. Go to Darwin Village

9. Darwin Village. Pick up Pizepi Joren. Level 16 character. Smart Ass 6, Energy Weapons 7, Perception 6. (Requires a party charisma of 24. Need those spiked collars and maybe another NPC like Ralphy at Rail Nomads to get your CHA up. Puppies ability will also get your CHA up by 1 as well)

10. Go back and finish ALL areas and quests. Peaceful resolution at Ranger Nomads unlocks a new NPC. Need to go to the Prison and get the Preparation G Hemorrhoid Cream from the Toaster to give to Sadler at Canyon of Titan.

 

This doesn't take long to do because you didn't do most of the areas and quests. It's actually fairly quick to do. And this is when I usually 'start the game again' at this point and then complete every quest I left. Also this is where I go back and click on all the shrines and Pizepi now has a shedload of points. I up Perception first to about 8 and she can find hidden stashes all over the place. I then leave the rest of the points to assign when needed. Smart Ass would be next and I leave Energy Weapons for last.

 

When you're doing Rail Nomads, give the CD-i to Quarex and then I immediately go back to Ranger Citadel by mentioning the CD-I to Mercaptain. You can now pick up the Meson Cannon from her through a requisition.

 

I won't go into all the quests and there's some really good guides out there but I will say at the Canyon of Titan, keep the monk alive when you get him. Avoid all the random DBM militia and when you get to see Sadler, have one of your characters keep the monk a fair distance away. Go see Sadler (Smart Ass 4, Kiss Ass 7, Hard Ass 7). You will get then get the Charged Sniper Rifle from him by giving him the hemorrhoid Cream (from the Prison) and the locker reward will follow after in the dialogue.

 

Also, try and complete all the quests at Canyon of Titan as some NPCs appear at Damonta.

 

Go to Temple of Titan and give the 3 containers of sludge to the Monk to gain entrance. The monk that was following you will now leave. You now have free reign to go anywhere you like and kill as many raiders as you like. By keeping the monk alive in your travels, you have an additional quest with one of the monks at the temple to get 3 more containers of sludge. You can ask the original monk to follow you but I never do.

 

You can now speak to Buck Dingus (he won't speak to you with the monk in your party) and choose dialogue options 1. Bomb, 2. Bluff (Smart Ass 4), 3. Army Base, 4.Tech (Kick Ass 5) to receive the Kevlar Armor for free. (Armor rating 5, no STR requirements, no penalties).

 

Get the Depleted Uranium from the Toaster where the Titan rocket is. Go back to Ranger Citadel to get the Gamma Ray Blaster from Mercaptain with a requisition of $1.00 to buy it. This is an awesome energy weapon and it can do 100+ single and 300+ burst to robots.

 

Continue onto Damonta and Silo 7.

 

 

 

 

[Enoch]

My "mistakes" in Arizona were mostly

not doing much at the Prison until it was too late.  I went through the caves and minefield to bypass Red's turrets, got the info I needed for the rad suits, and left.  I didn't come back until Titan and Damonta were finished, which meant that I missed some quests (definitely pig rescue, maybe more) and that the DBM leader was dead by the time I found the Preparation G.  Heck, I never even moved that guy's stuck wagon-- I had recently ditched Angela for Pizepi, and nobody else had invested any points in Brute Force.  (Since then, I've been giving Rose BF ranks, mostly for the comedy value of an old lady in a labcoat kicking down doors.) 

 

I also tend to do things "all in one trip," which made the return trip to the Prison interesting.  I had switched my M-16s for AK-47s looted off DBM ambushes, and they take a different kind of ammo.  I was running a bit low by the time I went back through Titan ("Chaos" version), but I didn't detour to a merchant when I got the radio message instructing me to return to the Prison.  The problem being that the Prison is a lower-level area, and the loot drops are written such that the higher-tier ammo doesn't pop up.  I was over-leveled for the area, but it was made a little more even by my 2 AR wielders sticking to single-shot or no-shot when I thought I could get away with it.

 

[Gromnir]

when we get a chance to play again this weekend, we will be on our way to damonta. oddly enough, we had a moment o' clarity regarding ralphy immediate before we got him to level 10: he is a closet sniper. yeah, he don't have any skill levels in sniper rifles, but as he were level six (am recalling that he were level four in the beta) his poor skill choices were fixable... and we were likely to give somebody toaster repair eventually. ralphy gots low ap but good ci combined decent luck. at level 10 we boost his intelligence by one, and at 20 we will give him a 6 in speed. so by level 20, ralphy benefits from 7 ap and 12 ci in addition to potential level 8 or 9 skill in sniper rifles. am likely to boost his coordination at 30 and awareness at 40 for an eventual 8 ap and 13 ci. 

 

we ain;t a fan o' animal whisperer or toaster repair. however, we will have ralphy add one level to toaster repair via skill points and one additional level from the skill book we found. am suspecting there is a toaster repair trinket somewhere in the game.  ralphy gets more than enough skill points to fill out snipers and one additional skill o' choice such as alarm disarm or mechanical repair... and if you really want animal whisperer, we suspect you can go that route too. 

 

ralphy is a surprisingly effective sniper. am not certain why we didn't see that sooner than level 10. 

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Hurlshort]

Ralphy is my submachine gunner. He is low enough to make hime whatever you want, really.

[Gromnir]

dunno. his ap is kinda horrible for most combat builds we would consider.  a sniper can have relative low ap and still excel.

 

*shrug*

 

even so, is a quasi-rpg, so is good if other folks see different. 

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Enoch]

Looking at the table of available weapons, it seems that SMGs are a little deceptive.  There is only 1 of them that costs more than 7 AP for a maximum burst.  Unfortunately, that one is the best SMG in the game. 

 

I already had one of my Rangers and Rose both using Snipers, so I spec'ed Ralphie into ARs.  He's not great, but he can burst-fire if he doesn't have to move.  Still, I might demote him to "go get him when I see a toaster" status if I find an NPC I like in California. 

[prodigydancer]

Still, I might demote him to "go get him when I see a toaster" status if I find an NPC I like in California.

Late game NPCs are always weaker substitutes. In this game Pizepi Joren is the only useful follower who starts above level 9 and only because she has decent stats distribution. I specced Ralphy in Energy Weapons and gave him Gamma Ray Blaster. At level 30 with 8AP/12CI he's not spectacular but quite decent.

 

Also, Scotchmo isn't as useless as he looks at first glance. He's certainly useless in AZ (at least until you get Over Under which is the first somewhat useful shotgun in game). But in LA with SPAS (and engagement rings trinket for +3 CI) he can really make a difference.

 

 

My party in LA ~Level 32:

No troubles so far @Ranger. Vax is helpful but fragile - handle with care.

 

Edited October 30, 2014 by prodigydancer

[Volourn]

"even so, is a quasi-rpg, so is good if other folks see different. "

 

Semi? L0L It is a 100% certified RPG if every way manageable. Don't troll. It's rude.