question & strategies on armor & weapons - minor spoilers !

silverdragon72 · Post by **silverdragon72** » Sat Jan 31, 2004 3:42 am

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looking through the weapon and armor section of this side, it seems that aren't real good heavy armors - all light armors especially with high DEX and/or using cat's grace seems to have a better AC !?

1. So, does anyone know if this section is more or less complete?

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There also seems to be no really useful shields in IWD2 !

...and only a few good 2-handed weapons !

...and no good main hand short blades (damage) !

...btw. the best weapon class seems to be the clubs !!!

- Freezing Flames +5: 5D6+5 - for a simple 1-handed weapon !

- Confusion +5: 3D6+5 & impact & 50% chance confusion without save !!!

and some real good ones for 2-W-F (2nd hand)

- Monkey Paw: +1 attack

(2. ....anyone knows: if using this weapon on your 2nd hand does it give a bonus attack for your main hand ?)

- enlightement +5: all attributes +1/+2

- punishing +5: 3D6+5 & +3 CHA !

and it seems to me that all these weapons aren't special HOF-versions !

3. ...can anybody confirm this ?

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wrap up & conclusion:

- weak shields
- only few good 2-handed weapons
+ very good weapons for the 2nd hand
+ good 1-handed weapons
- but no good small blades

4. ...AFAIK weapon finesse only works with small blades - right ?

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so from my point of view it would make sense to go for 2-W-F without using weapon finesse (using high STR)

- not for the extra damage you deal with the 2nd weapon
+ but for the great boni you cpould get from these weapons (+att. & +attributes & +deflection bonus)

5. any suggestions / comments ?

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Mirk · Post by **Mirk** » Sat Jan 31, 2004 8:25 pm

the way i see it, there are a couple of aspects to consider re. iwd2 weapons, such as critical hits (both crirtical range and multiplier), damage type (some monsters are resisitant to certain damage types), enchantment level (which is not the same as a to-hit and damage bonus), on-hit affects(web, etc.) and defensive abilities. i feel that while there are few (not at all?) over-powered weapons, EVERY weapon type has it's decent representative at all the power levels.

same goes for armors - i had a fairly balanced parties, one-two heavy armor user (+1 dex), one medium armor user (+2 dex), one-two light armor user (+4 - +6 dex), and one-two arcane casters/monks.never had a problem with finding a good armor, even if it did cost me a pretty goldpiece.

one final (and annoying to some) aspect to consider here is the fact that the loot in iwd2 is random in som cases, i.e. you won't always get that thing you found your last time through in area A container B the next time you get to that container. the items are placed the first time the game loads your party into an area in any given game, so reloading won't help.

edit: man, those 4AM spellings... had to fix them

harbourboy · Post by **harbourboy** » Mon Feb 02, 2004 10:37 am

I don't understand what you are saying about Clubs. There is only one good club that I know of and that is the Club of Disruption. Otherwise the game seems dominated by swords. There are stacks of good longswords but four of the best weapons (non HOF) are:
- Greatsword of the Soulless
- Holy Avenger (of course)
- Halberd of Hate
- Greataxe of Flame (if you can find it)

But I have tried having characters who only use a particular weapon and they have always managed to find something good.

If you want better armour then install Weimar's ease of use mod - that has some great heavy armour. Otherwise, Oswald's Full Plate Mail is pretty good heavy armour for a big part of the game.

silverdragon72 · Post by **silverdragon72** » Mon Feb 02, 2004 11:03 am

Originally posted by harbourboy
I don't understand what you are saying about Clubs. There is only one good club that I know of and that is the Club of Disruption. Otherwise the game seems dominated by swords. There are stacks of good longswords but four of the best weapons (non HOF) are:
- Greatsword of the Soulless
- Holy Avenger (of course)
- Halberd of Hate
- Greataxe of Flame (if you can find it)

But I have tried having characters who only use a particular weapon and they have always managed to find something good.

If you want better armour then install Weimar's ease of use mod - that has some great heavy armour. Otherwise, Oswald's Full Plate Mail is pretty good heavy armour for a big part of the game.

I just searched the armor & weapon section on gamebanshee ICWD2:

and there seems to be some great clubs (I listed a few of them above)

...but I didn't find anything about Oswalds Full Plate there !?

anyone knows if the weapon and armor section is complete ?

and has anyone a link to the Weimar mod ?

and is the halberd of hate good for anything ? - are there so many "good" enemies ?

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harbourboy · Post by **harbourboy** » Mon Feb 02, 2004 12:40 pm

Oswald's armour is the stuff that he can make for you if you bring him a Boring Beetle shell. I have never ever encountered the clubs that you have mentioned. They might be HOF items that can only be found at later stages.

Sirperry · Post by **Sirperry** » Mon Feb 02, 2004 11:59 pm

Link To Weimer's Mods

Here you go http://www.weidu.org/iwd2.html#iwd2-ease
I heartily endorse all of these mods.

silverdragon72 · Post by **silverdragon72** » Tue Feb 03, 2004 9:39 am

Re: Link To Weimer's Mods

Originally posted by Sirperry
Here you go http://www.weidu.org/iwd2.html#iwd2-ease
I heartily endorse all of these mods.

thanks !

but...

...does the "Armor and Shields Provide Damage Resistance" -part makes sense ?

...could imagine that this should have an major impact on the game-play ?!!

...and does it give an AC bonus *and* damage resistance ?

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Sirperry · Post by **Sirperry** » Thu Feb 05, 2004 11:05 am

I think damage resistance makes MORE sense than an AC bonus alone. But it does unbalance the game, as IWDII was not designed for it. I choose not to install that particular portion of the mod. Keeps it fun for me.

And a general note: when installing mods it is best to make a back up save of any games in progress.

silverdragon72 · Post by **silverdragon72** » Fri Feb 06, 2004 9:40 am

Originally posted by Sirperry
I think damage resistance makes MORE sense than an AC bonus alone. But it does unbalance the game, as IWDII was not designed for it. I choose not to install that particular portion of the mod. Keeps it fun for me.

your are absolutely right that the D&D damage system doesn't make much sense at this point:

For 4.x I would suggest the following:

in real fights most blows will be blocked with weapons and/or shields

but to deflect piercing damage (spears, arrows) you will need a shield

so the same way your BAB increases there should be some value how good your character can block/deflect blows with weapons and shields

this value should be increased by a DEX bonus and some kind of additional block/deflect value of weapons and shields.

1. You will better block a blow with a shield then with a sword, but the sword will better block than a dagger or a bow

2. You can't deflect arrows with anything else than a shield

3. Fighting with 1-handed weapon and shield will allow better blocking then 2WF, but 2WF is better than a 2-handed weapon.

Additional there could be some feats giving you a blocking bonus.

If you can't avoid being hit, your armor should only give some kind of damage resitance...

...additional armor should give you some RES to fire, cold, elec., and acid based attacks. (fire will do less less damage if you wear a leather armor instead of only wearing a robe!)

hope 4.x will fix this "old" D&D problem finally !!!

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