Killing Balvarines in 30 Seconds...

Etherial · Post by **Etherial** » Sun Jun 25, 2006 7:42 am

A Comprehensive Guide to Surviving in Albion

The thing is balance. In most fantasy RPG games the key is to specialize in a particular discipline or weapon, to pick that stick with it until you are the undisputed god of ___. The same isn't to be said of Fable. No, the game encourages you to do the impossible an' become the best at everything, to scoff at other, lowlier heroes and aspire to true power.

How do you do that? Well! Here are some tips for you:

Early on you are going to want to concentrate on Physique, Toughness, Speed, and Guile. Also, you are going to want to get three spells. IN! THIS! ORDER! - Time Slow, Multi Strike, Multi Arrow

Time Slow is an all-important spell to possess, it is the difference between victory and defeat, and life and the waste of a good resurrection Phial an' some nasty scarring.

NEVER EVER USE AN AGES POTION WITHOUT A COMBAT MULTIPLIER OF TEN OR MORE! Seriously, I can't stress this tip enough! Why consume 1,000 EXP now when you can consume 10,000 or more (with Time Slow you can pretty much do that because you're so darn hard to hit...) later, when you actually need gobs of EXP?

Forget about the expensive an' mana hungry Healing spell until you are up to your neck in escorting quests. Besides, with the Multi S./Time S. spell combo, you can pretty much intercept and kill anything before it can reach and hurt you or your those put into your care. Multi S. (Strike) is a curious an' undoubtedly useful spell. Low mana cost coupled with an attack that suddenly can't be fully blocked (only the first blow is stopped, I think, not the consecutive weaker blows that REALLY add up) allowing you time to recast an' strike with a multiplied Flourish!

Mutli Arrow is also an extremely useful spell, as its first level triples any damage your ranged weapons inflict (major combat multipliers here, folks when you're doing 1000+ in damage every few seconds). Though this one is somewhat temperamental, like Time Slow it is mana-thirsty, and only gets worse as it gets more powerful, so try to balance that with your Magic Power upgrades, and carry boatloads of Will Potions. That isn't to say that you should EVER be squeamish with your mana usage, you have mana to USE IT! So do so! Good Heroes are great with their hands and their bows, exceptional heroes are great with both but also have a few nice tricks up their sleeves, tricks that are used often and effectively.

Use your Guile to get good prices in the shops, and eventually corner Albion's Health Potion, Grain Sack, and then its Emerald markets. Though officially your primary task in Albion is killing things that go bump in the night, your day job should be as a trader. Eventually you'll be making over 100,000 gold pieces with every passing of your ever-growing stockpile of goods, and you DO want your inventory to grow, by the way. The more you trade in the more money you make with each transaction.
Health Potions an' Grain Sacks can both be found from the same merchant in Barrowstone South, first work on the potions after you have a fair number yourself (15 oughta do the trick) an' if you have at least 3 in Guile (enough to start stealing things from shops) you can start making small amounts of money. Work your way up until you can have BOTH the entire stockpile of Health Potions AND when you have enough money to buy all of the trader's Grain Sacks. When this happens you start making some REAL money by trading back and forth with him. If you feel impatient then also snap up his entire stock of Cider Crates and begin trading those with him as well, you'll gain money a little bit faster, but you'll also have to put up with more tedious clicking.
Now then! Emeralds, how do we get into the super profits available with gems? Simple, 1 out of every 4 wandering traders is likely to have about 10-25 of those green honeys on him at one time, also the trader in Oakvale has a nice stock and is capable of being cajoled out of huge sums of money with the right Guile level. When you reach the Emerald level you are basically beholden to no one for money, not the guild, not your killing abilities, nothing and no one. You can buy yourself the best stuff and anything you want.

Obesity is not that hard to get rid of in Albion, and certain foods confer you EXP in a specific area. Red Meat gives your body what it needs to build muscle, Carrots sharpen the eye and the fortify the nerves with its bountiful vitamin A, and Fish is brain food. Like the Ages potions, it best to pig out on these cheap, plentiful sources of EXP when you have a high Combat Multiplier. I like to put a food item into a quickslot an' then wolf then down en masse until my Combat Multiplier drops to about 5, at which point, it's a waste of good food-items in terms of EXP gained.

You age only when you spend GENERAL experience, not the three specialist kinds of Strength, Skill, or Will. This means that while you can pick up the Green EXP Orbs, you won't age a single year until you spend what's in those orbs.

Later in the game, maximize these four spells in this order: Healing, Ghost Sword, Lightning, and Divine Fury/Infernal Wrath

Lady Grey is turned on by fear, not sweetness. She likes a good smack on the tush to a soft kiss on the neck. An evil laugh an' a cheap piece of blackest Jet will get you farther than 45 minutes spent puffing out your chest and pumping your arm.

More to come... as soon as I get some sleep.

Etherial · Post by **Etherial** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 5:05 am

Killing Balvarines in 30 Seconds Part 2: The Formative Years

Do not change your title right away. I know that being called Chicken Chaser is annoying, and being called Arseface is funny as heck, but you'll be needing that gold to establish your economic empire, and to buy shinies. The same tip for spending can also be said of hair styles, facial fuzz, and tattoos. You're too poor to start courting' the ladies... or the fellas just yet. You don't even have enough to buy a house! So... Hold onto that gold and save up for a nice suit of Chainmail.

Learn how to steal, and do so whenever possible. Many interesting items are to be had in the houses of peasants. From valuable gems to one-of-a-kind pieces of clothing that may or may not come in handy at a later date. Also, steal from shops when you have the Steal expression. Find a quiet corner in the shop, wait for the store keeper to check on you (he/she will, trust me), and then go back to their keeper's counter. That is your chance. Enjoy your ill-gotten gains! Don't worry, you'll make up for the evil points later if you seek the righteous path. Killing those bandits adds up after awhile... speaking of Bandits.

When fighting Bandits, it's best to take out at least one with a well-placed headshot with your longbow. And I say longbow because the crossbow's lackluster rate of fire does not make up for it's slightly harder punch. Also, you can't run while you're recocking the weapon, making you easy pickings.

Don't bother with the larger two-handed weapons until you have at least a rank of 4 in Speed. They can't be swung fast enough and you are vulnerable in between swings. Then again, they cause, on average, one and again the the damage of their one-handed counter parts. Though, in this guide's opinion, the trade off between power and vulnerability just isn't worth it. At this point you need every combat multiplier you can get your green hands on.

Why do I do this? Because I care.

Try not to get hit. I can't stress this enough. It's best to simply avoid a blow with a quick backwards roll than to take it with a block. Or, if you followed the previous advice and had gotten Time Slow, you could just get rid of the need to roll an' run in behind your foes an' go to town. Which brings me to my next piece.

There is no dishonor in hitting someone in the back.

Thus ends your primer. Follow this advice an' you'll beat the game without much trouble.

snoopyofour · Post by **snoopyofour** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 11:55 am

Good guide except for a couple of exceptions. Its best to start upgrading health and using general points to put into magic. Lightning and Forcefield are without question the two most important abilites in the game. The benefits of being harder to hit with Slowtime are pale in comparison to being impossible to hit. Combined with Lightning, these two spells make it possible to reach absurd combat multipliers. Why settle for 10,000 exp on a potion when you could be getting 350,000 with ease? If you want to max out every ability with ease you should focus primarily on those two spells.

Berethor · Post by **Berethor** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 2:27 pm

Fairly good guide, but I have some comments...

Those spells to start out with are good for most characters, but I think that choosing is depedant on play style. If I was going to be a Witchhunter, I would get Force Push, Multi Arrow and Slow Time. Likewise, If I was going to be a Spellwarrior, I would get Slow Time, Enflame, and Multi Strike. It all depends on how you want to play. And the title is about Killing Balverines, where is the info on balverines?

Etherial · Post by **Etherial** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 9:57 pm

Physical Shield is moot if you can't get hit or strike too fast for your enemy to react, both effects are given with Time Slow and a sharp eye.

Lightning... Something to think about. I didn’t mention it before because I thought that the damage it did was mediocre. I'll have to try it. I've only just gotten the game last Monday and beaten it yesterday night. I've only ever used Lightning once in an actual situation with combat-thingies, and I will admit that I wasn't that impressed... then again, I wasn't really paying much attention to the multiplier indicator. No, I was more concerned with the undead horde chasing me. I just, ah, really-really-really hate undead things; that's the subject for a different rant, though.

Etherial · Post by **Etherial** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 10:35 pm

[QUOTE=Berethor]Fairly good guide, but I have some comments...

Those spells to start out with are good for most characters, but I think that choosing is depedant on play style. If I was going to be a Witchhunter, I would get Force Push, Multi Arrow and Slow Time. Likewise, If I was going to be a Spellwarrior, I would get Slow Time, Enflame, and Multi Strike. It all depends on how you want to play. And the title is about Killing Balverines, where is the info on balverines?

[/QUOTE]
Fine-fine-fine... I suppose it's only fair that I throw a little something in about Balvarines.

The Balvarine is one of the most annoying enemies of Albion, if not THE most annoying second only to Nymphs. They are fast, they attack quickly and often more than once. They are capable of knocking your hero off of his feet and into a moment of vulnerability, when stunned they cannot be damaged like Hobbes or Bandits, and are also capable of wasting your precious time by jumping up and out of not only danger but also the map. Also, Balvarines leave incredibly nasty, tattoo-obscuring scars. In short, you want to kill them and kill them as quickly as possible.

Here's how you do it:
Forget about Silver Augmentations boasting to damage Balvarines. It only works against White Balvarines, and in the entire game you'll only ever face four of those monsters. Instead, get yourself a good weapon with a Piercing and Sharpening Augmentation, the third (Master Weapons and Frying Pan only) can be whatever you want... even a Silver Augmentation if you want this weapon to do extra damage to Undead, Screamers, Wraiths, and Summoners (Not sure about the, but I think it works on them because they are an undead monster).

If you see them but they can't see you (A high Guile Rating or an Assassin Outfit, preferably both, is good for making optimal situations like these), it's best to get out your Longbow, wait until you're at full power, and let rip your Shaft O' Death. If you had gotten the Piercing an' Sharpening Augments with Multi Arrow or an Accuracy ability of 5, it will be an instant kill. If not, then you'll have at least taken down a majority of the beast's health, making him easy prey for melee weapons or spells.

If the Balvarine has spotted you, and you do not have Time Slow or Physical Shield (something that you don't need if you have Time Slow on hand), expect to take damage. If, however, you do have either spell, cast one.

If you have Physical Shield, you are immune to the Balvarine's attacks as long as you have mana, so keep an eye on your blue gauge and don't expect any melee attacks to really get through beyond the first couple. The Balvarine is as quick to defend itself as it is to attack you. So you'll be dependent on additional spells, your Longbow, or God forbid your Flourishes. Expect the Balvarine to have time to evade danger by leaping off of the map, use this relative time of quiet (an' declining Combat Multiplier) to find a good spot and recock your bow or pop another Will Potion.

If you have Time Slow, however, you have basically pulled the teeth out of the Balvarine's mouth, so to speak. If you remember from the tutorial levels how easy it was to win against Whisper once you got in BEHIND her, well... the same applies to Balvarines and anything else stupid enough to get in your way. This is easy enough to do ith Time Slow, and when combined with a nice Speed ability level (at least 3), you'll have the beast down in little time, and with enough slowed time left to move onto the next baddie.

And that is how you kill Balvarines in thirty seconds or less.

Darzog · Post by **Darzog** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 9:11 am

Or just cast a maxed Enflame and all normal Balverines die in one cast. So 5 seconds to kill the entire group.

snoopyofour · Post by **snoopyofour** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 9:46 am

I'm not debating the usefulness of SlowTime, but physical shield is simply way better for getting experience. Maxed SlowTime and Berserk is the most lethal combination for a powerful melee combatant but you will spend so much wasted time and energy trying to get the experience to max out those spells. Using shield and lightning I had maxed out all but a few magic abilities by the time I completed the arena.

Berethor · Post by **Berethor** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 10:57 am

[QUOTE=snoopyofour]I'm not debating the usefulness of SlowTime, but physical shield is simply way better for getting experience. Maxed SlowTime and Berserk is the most lethal combination for a powerful melee combatant but you will spend so much wasted time and energy trying to get the experience to max out those spells. Using shield and lightning I had maxed out all but a few magic abilities by the time I completed the arena.[/QUOTE]

Sorry, no it's not. It is the best for killing block-heavy enemies. The best spell for gaining Exp. is Physical Shield, as it will absorb blows and Keep yur combat multiplier up. Say you are at the Old graveyard path where there are infinite zombies, and you had a CM of 30 with Physical shield on, and you kill an undead and collect what would be say, 30 Exp. The Multiplier takes that and Multiplies it, and all of a sudden you've got 900 Exp. instead. If you don't have PS on, the chances are that you would get hit and then your CM will be cut in half. As long as you maintain PS with a good Mana level, you can get your multiplier in the 1000's, and that 30 would be 30000 instead.

snoopyofour · Post by **snoopyofour** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 11:16 am

[QUOTE=Berethor]Sorry, no it's not. It is the best for killing block-heavy enemies. The best spell for gaining Exp. is Physical Shield, as it will absorb blows and Keep yur combat multiplier up. Say you are at the Old graveyard path where there are infinite zombies, and you had a CM of 30 with Physical shield on, and you kill an undead and collect what would be say, 30 Exp. The Multiplier takes that and Multiplies it, and all of a sudden you've got 900 Exp. instead. If you don't have PS on, the chances are that you would get hit and then your CM will be cut in half. As long as you maintain PS with a good Mana level, you can get your multiplier in the 1000's, and that 30 would be 30000 instead.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, it is. If you think there's anything else that can do as much damage in as little time then be my guest, (don't bother mentioning multi-arrow, even with Skorms bow it can't outdamage Berserker with Sola's greatsword). Not to mention that on top of those two you can add multi-strike, I don't know why you'd want to though, its overkill. And the zombies in the graveyard aren't infinite on computer. As for Berserk plus Slowtime being the best at killing block-heavy enemies...what's your point. Ah thats right, there are sooooo many challenging enemies in this game that don't block

. Besides getting your multiplier up that high is pointless since by the time you actually get to a place where the enemies truly are infinite, you should already be at least close to maxing out everything. Its nice for bragging rights but as far as utility goes its a waste of time.

Berethor · Post by **Berethor** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 11:44 am

[QUOTE=snoopyofour]Yeah, it is. If you think there's anything else that can do as much damage in as little time then be my guest, (don't bother mentioning multi-arrow, even with Skorms bow it can't outdamage Berserker with Sola's greatsword). Not to mention that on top of those two you can add multi-strike, I don't know why you'd want to though, its overkill. And the zombies in the graveyard aren't infinite on computer. As for Berserk plus Slowtime being the best at killing block-heavy enemies...what's your point. Ah thats right, there are sooooo many challenging enemies in this game that don't block

. Besides getting your multiplier up that high is pointless since by the time you actually get to a place where the enemies truly are infinite, you should already be at least close to maxing out everything. Its nice for bragging rights but as far as utility goes its a waste of time.[/QUOTE]

Yes, but where is the Exp. in that? Sure it is good for killing and maybe causing the most damage, but if you cause a lot of damage, you kill enemies in less hits, and when you kill enemies in less hits, you get less of a CM. I only see a CM of maybe 20 happening there. How is it good for getting Experince? All I see is an Uber-Quick-kill strategy which gets a smaller amount of exerience that gets diminished if your character gets hit.

snoopyofour · Post by **snoopyofour** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 12:07 pm

Ok, I agree with you there. I didn't really use berserk and slow until I'd already maxed out everything, so experience wasn't ever really an issue.

Fable tlc maste · Post by **Fable tlc maste** » Wed Jun 28, 2006 9:44 pm

how about useing the murren greathammer with beserker and maxed out in str ull probley kill a dozen in oh say 12 seconds :laugh:

matthewd · Post by **matthewd** » Mon Jul 03, 2006 5:22 am

Good guide

its a good guide
I made two characters now a thief ( evil ) and a Mage ( Good )
My thief would recommend..
But my mage did it all just fine with the devine fury spell maxing it out a bit and ur invincable

( make sure to carry some potions Becouse in the casting time u will get hit...lol )
I did it all with a eboney longbow Lighting lvl 3 dvine fury lvl 3 and a stupid katana i found...
My armor was a bright will users outfit obtained at rosewood cottage

Etherial · Post by **Etherial** » Tue Jul 04, 2006 5:43 am

Another Installment!

A good guide is forever growing as its maker gains more experience with the game. Having recently beaten the game, an' allowed a bit o' "free play" I've come to some additional conclusions:

1) Lightning still bites the Big One. Limited cone of attack, so very not worth the continuous mana cost, and weak damage.
2) Nymphs an' Succubi Queens can be killed easily if one has Divine Fury, or Infernal Wrath coupled with Time Slow, thus making them the second most annoying monster in the game, coming in right under the Balvarine.
3) I was wrong about Physical shield, it was an opinion formed out of inexperience. When maxed out, it is quite possibly the greatest thing since Crunchy Chicks.
4) I know which augments harm what... mostly. Will be making an actual list in the next installment.
5) Wraiths are nowhere near as scary to me as regular, mundane Undead... *shiver!*

Etherial · Post by **Etherial** » Tue Jul 04, 2006 6:29 am

Starter Kits, Augments, an' more General Stuff

Earlier in the guide, you were advised to find balance, to try an' have the best of all worlds. This, however, is only really possible later in the game (after you finish with the White Balvarine an' start preparing yourself for the Arena), and so isn't that much use for the budding Hero trying to make his name in the world. Early in the game you WILL want to specialize, and here are some "Starter Kits" you'll probably find useful depending on your playing style, limited to five basic things to concentrate on for simplicity.

Strength: Time Slow, Multi Strike, Physique, Toughness, Speed
Skill: Time Slow, Multi Arrow, Speed, Toughness, Accuracy
Will: Physical Shield, Enflame, Magic Power, Toughness, Health
Strength/Will: Multi Strike, Time Slow, Magic Power, Enflame, Toughness
Skill/Strength: Physical Shield, Speed, Accuracy, Physique, Toughness
Will/Skill: Multi Arrow, Time Slow, Magic Power, Enflame, Accuracy

When deciding which elemental augment to use, keep in mind that if you use an augmented weapon against the wrong type of monster you will get no additional damage. Also, you have to know what kind of weapon might work best against what to kill it as quickly as you might be able. As stated earlier, I'd put in a small list of what I know to work against what to best out of the augments you'll come across.
Earth/Rock Trolls: Lightning augments, heavy melee weapons or longbow
Hobbes/Wraiths (Hoar Skeletons): Fire augments, light melee weapons or longbow
Ice Trolls: Fire augments, heavy melee weapons or longbow
Undead/White Balvarines: Silver augments, light melee weapons or longbow
Nymphs/Succubi Queens: Unknown (subject to update)
Forest Balvarines: No elemental augments work, not even silver, sorry.
Bandits: No elemental augments work.
Minions: Lightning augments, light melee weapons or longbow. I know! I was surprised as well, but from what I’ve seen ingame, they're devastated by lightning. Must be all the metal.

Will users would do well to max out Enflame as soon as possible. Like Divine Fury or Infernal Wrath, monsters momentarily unable to be damaged by melee weapons or bows are damaged by this spell, knocking them over an' giving you a precious second of supremacy to either run away, or cast Enflame again. It is quick-casting, only moderately mana-hungry, does high amounts of damage, and if you are walking the path of Good it is safe to cast around traveling merchants an' vagabonds. Also, it is quite good for building up a high Combat Multiplier, and does extra damage to monsters weak against Flame Augments, like the entertaining Hobbes, the dangerous Wraiths, or the devastating Ice Troll. When combined with other spells like Physical Shield or Time Slow, it is THE end all attack spell in general combat.

The Hero Save option is quite possibly the most exploitable part of the game, allowing you to purloin EXP an' rare items again and again and again depending on where you are in the quest. The best place to use this exploit is when you are at the Arena quest... fighting through hordes of monsters an' gaining insane amounts of EXP, as well as purchasing valuable armor an' augments rare to that part of the game. If you space out the Hero Saves to at least 5 slots, you can do this trick as many times as you like an' keep the risk of corrupting your game or freezing it to the barest minimum.

Now then! If you'll excuse me, I am going to put some of this guide's complied wisdom to use an' play it all over again!

matthewd · Post by **matthewd** » Tue Jul 04, 2006 6:49 am

[QUOTE=Etherial]Lightning still bites the Big One. Limited cone of attack, so very not worth the continuous mana cost, and weak damage.
[/QUOTE]

when lightning maxed out ur able to hit sevral enemys at the time at a fair rate of distance.... It helped me out greatly
For exampel:
fighting belvarines with lightning is one of the best way
Becouse when u hit them theyll B frozen stiff and wont B able to move
Having lightning maxed out U can hit 5 of them the same time...

Etherial · Post by **Etherial** » Tue Jul 04, 2006 6:38 pm

I stand by my assertion. Maxed out Lightning on TLC does 45 damage every half second or so. Divine Fury or Infernal Wrath at level ONE (as I've seen) will kill as many Balvarines as are close enough to you, an' when combined with other spells, make leveling up Lightning a waste of Will EXP.

matthewd · Post by **matthewd** » Wed Jul 05, 2006 1:38 am

[QUOTE=Etherial]I stand by my assertion. Maxed out Lightning on TLC does 45 damage every half second or so. Divine Fury or Infernal Wrath at level ONE (as I've seen) will kill as many Balvarines as are close enough to you, an' when combined with other spells, make leveling up Lightning a waste of Will EXP.[/QUOTE]

I agree on that one the only matter is that when using dvine fury and casting the spell will make it able for enemys to hit u for like 4 seconds till the spell starts to inflict damage (when serounded by elite bandits chopping u...u know what is going to happen )
U could cast time slow in the main time and physical shield but that is an AWFULL DRAIN on mana with will finally B done for and ull end up hitting ur hotbar for mana potions....
When this is done with lightning ther is a sore damge rate but they are frozen and not hard anymore to keep distand

Surly u are right about it.. but it dind match my style of play...

Berethor · Post by **Berethor** » Wed Jul 05, 2006 2:28 pm

Just to clear the air, Lightning sucks. It only has use in popping the heads off of human opponents, which is quite fun. Divine Fury is good, but it looks incredibly stupid. Infernal Wrath is sexy and has phyre!!! It may seem like an evil spell but it has no alignment modifier, so a goody-two-shoes can max this out without having to dip into the evil side of the alignment bar.

Slow Time, Physical Shield, and Enflame are probably the best spells in the game, coming in at Gold, Silver, and Bronze. Fourth would be Multi Arrow, then Berserk, then Infernal Wrath/Divine Fury and so on...

Here's my Philosophy for spells ONLY:

Warrior: Berserk, Multi Strike, Slow Time, Assassin Rush, Battle Charge.
Archer: Multi Arrow, Ghost Sword, Force Push, Slow Time, Infernal Wrath(a more powerful version of Enflame, and almost garuntees a kill. You could also use Divine Fury, you pansy

).
Mage: Fireball, Physical Shield, IW/DF, Ghost Sword, Force Push, Lghtning, Slow Time.