Need help on magic heavy character

Sloty1984 · Post by **Sloty1984** » Tue Jul 30, 2013 11:14 am

Hi!
I want to play a character which solves most situations through magic.
But I also want to be good in talking-skills.
Perhaps a little thieving also.
Is it possible to build such a character?
If so, how would you skill him/her?
I dont need a perfect build but it should solve most of the problems the game gives you with ease.

Also I heard the game was very buggy.
Which mods would you suggest me to get to have a smooth gaming experience?

galraen · Post by **galraen** » Tue Jul 30, 2013 11:51 am

Extremely ease to build a mage/thief type, only problem is you'll be over-powered and find the game too easy.

As to how, again easy, throw skill points at magic skills, primarily air and fire. Increase attributes, no need to go over the top as you have spells to increase strength and dexterity and there are items that will also boost attributes. Put some points into melee and persuasion and you're good to go basically.

Never had any bug problems with the game, and I've played it extensively.

Sloty1984 · Post by **Sloty1984** » Tue Jul 30, 2013 12:23 pm

Thanks!
What do you think about overpowered?
Which skills do I need to improve?
How many magic scools are possible?

I also want a little melee, which skills should I choose?

galraen · Post by **galraen** » Tue Jul 30, 2013 2:27 pm

I made a mistake in my first post I meant Force, not Air.

The game is unbalanced in favour of magic, once you have Shield of Protection, and the rest of the Force spells, plus Fire Spells up to and including Fire Flash and get your magic affinity over 50%, not difficult, you'll be unstoppable.

All you really need in Melee is three levels and Melee expert, strength and Dexterity up to 16 (Strength of Earth Spell and/or Agility of fire will get them up to 20).

Conveyance, Fire (to level 3), Force, Earth (just Strength of Earth), [url='http://www.gamebanshee.com/arcanum/spellcolleges/necromanticwhite.php']Necromantic (White) and, optionally Temporal are all that are worth bothering with. [/url]

[url='http://www.gamebanshee.com/arcanum/spellcolleges/necromanticwhite.php']Summons are a pain in the ass, and actually reduce the amount of experience you get unless you can keep them out of action, which of course is self defeating. The same is somewhat true of followers although they do make useful mobile back packs.[/url]

Dodge is OK, but not nearly as useful to the player as it is to enemies. Bows are useless, but throwing is worth spending three points in. Even as a mage you can still throw Molotov Cocktails.[url='http://www.gamebanshee.com/arcanum/spellcolleges/necromanticwhite.php'][/url]

Sloty1984 · Post by **Sloty1984** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 4:10 am

Thanks!
Which are the most important attributes for a mage?

Which throwing weapons are in the game?

What melee weapons do fit such a build?

Which race is best for a mage?

galraen · Post by **galraen** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 4:40 am

Which are the most important attributes for a mage?

Willpower is the prime attribute, Strength and Dex for melee purposes, Int and Con for increasing the number of continuous spells (strength of earth, agility of fire for example) and sustaining them. For persuasion you also need charisma, for a throwing/slashing mage Perception isn't really necessary. Main focus initially anyway, should be Willpower and Dexterity, followed by Strength.

Which throwing weapons are in the game?

Boomerangs, Chakrams and daggers primarily, Chakrams are best until you manage to find the Aerial Decapitator, if you ever do find it that is.

What melee weapons do fit such a build?

Any, Weapons who's name begins with Arcane are the best, they increase your mana pool and are indestructable.

Which race is best for a mage?

Any but Dwarf will do.

Sloty1984 · Post by **Sloty1984** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 6:10 am

Thanks!
But what about the thieving skills?
Should I build them up or will I cripple my other skills if I do so?

Sloty1984 · Post by **Sloty1984** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 8:23 am

What are the most important hotkeys for this game?

galraen · Post by **galraen** » Wed Jul 31, 2013 9:46 am

Thieving skills frankly aren't worth spending points on apart from pick-pocketing, which is well worth spending three points on.

Only hotkeys I used were quicksave, the world map hotkey and (I think) F4, the one that tells your followers to 'back off'', which I quickly hit every time there was an encounter. The way experience works in this game means that everything your followers hit or kill deprives you of experience points, hence my point about them being nothing more than mobile back packs.

Sloty1984 · Post by **Sloty1984** » Thu Aug 01, 2013 8:17 am

Which key is quicksave and worldmap(didnt find it in the manual)?

GawainBS · Post by **GawainBS** » Thu Aug 01, 2013 9:29 am

Quicksave is F8, IIRC. An F-key anyway. Worldmap is available via traveling to the edge of an area.

Sloty1984 · Post by **Sloty1984** » Fri Aug 02, 2013 6:37 am

Thanks!

Which was the most fun character you ever played in Arcanum(doesnt need to be a mage)?

Sloty1984 · Post by **Sloty1984** » Fri Aug 02, 2013 7:41 am

Is there a hotkey to highlight items on the ground???

GawainBS · Post by **GawainBS** » Fri Aug 02, 2013 8:31 am

My favourite build is either a Fighter/Mage or a Technologist Gunslinger.

There's no highlight key.

Be sure to play with Drog's Patch and the levelcap remover.

Sloty1984 · Post by **Sloty1984** » Fri Aug 02, 2013 9:34 am

Where do I find Drog's Patch and the levelcap remover ???

How do you build a fighter/mage?

GawainBS · Post by **GawainBS** » Fri Aug 02, 2013 9:52 am

Google helps, a lot.

Fighter Mage: The spells Galraen suggested, minus Strength of Earth. Fire up to Fireflash, Force completely, Necromantic White up to Major Heal, Temporal completely (Haste is awesome) and then the school that grants Teleportation. Add magic spells to reach 100% aptitude.
Max Melee & Dodge. Remember that DEX is THE combat stat in Arcanum.

Sloty1984 · Post by **Sloty1984** » Sat Aug 03, 2013 12:06 pm

Thanks.
Any tips on race, gender and background(or doesnt it matter)?(also in a roleplaying point of view)?

How do you guys find important items when theres no highlight key?

Do i understand right, if an NPC participates in combat I get ZERO experience for that fight?

Is there any way to find out how much an item is worth in money?

GawainBS · Post by **GawainBS** » Sat Aug 03, 2013 12:49 pm

Gender doesn't matter, there's some minor differences in quests.
Background: Only Child is good, but not recommended if you want more than one NPC. Avoid backgrounds that give bonuses to skills: you need four "points" in a skill to make it count as one full rank. (Although "normal" points you allocate to skills count as a full rank.)
We find important items by looking on the screen. (No intention to be snide, but there's no secret technique to it. I never had trouble with it in Arcanum. Interactive elements light up if you mouse over them.)
You get XP for every hit you inflict. If NPCs inflict damage too, there's less for you to inflict, ergo less XP.
Try selling an item. No other way.

Sloty1984 · Post by **Sloty1984** » Sun Aug 04, 2013 7:35 am

Is it very hard to complete the game with only one (or zero) NPCs?

GawainBS · Post by **GawainBS** » Sun Aug 04, 2013 8:21 am

Unless you make a dedicated diplomat/thief without NPCs, the game is never hard.
Although, I try to play with Virgil & Marcus at the very least, for they add a great deal to the story.