Larian Studios Forums Beyond Divinity (English) Help/Tips/Tricks Game imbalances, ways to increase difficulty?

Hi folks,

I'm playing through the game, at the beginning of Act 2, on Hardcore, and I'm finding that the game is far too easy if you take your time to clean out the Battlegrounds like a good, thorough gamer should... When you can enter the battlegrounds, check the vendors, leave, and repeat until you find great gear, it gets too easy. My characters at level 17, and I am finding that I am really outpacing the level of mobs in the game. My main character is an archer, and if the explosive arrows don't take out a mob immediately, my Death Knight, a sword-and-shield warrior, will take it out with one hit. This goes for mobs around the same level as I am at, too. Boss monsters in BG dungeons are extraordinarily easy, for they just can't hit me.

The game is also too easy if you find a lot of Holy Water in the BG merchants' inventory. Why bother using the highest level charms, worth 50k gold, for a 5 point gain in stats which is tied to a weapon or piece of armor when, for 33k, you can buy holy water and make a permanent potion to give you 10 permanent points with no strings attached. Maybe a good way of balancing this out is to either increase the price of holy water, or to decrease the amount of stat gain to 5 or maybe 4?

I also have several levels of the Extra Skill Points for Summoning Dolls skill, and have my Act 1 skellie as a dedicated alchemist. Can't wait to get more summoning dolls, I can give the extra skill slots on each of them to non-combat skills I would never have spent points on. What a skill! An investment of 4 points give all your dolls that 4 points, talk about return on investment! THis is a very powerful skill which, along with the Summoning Doll Level Increase skill, could easily unbalance a game. I very rarely use my summoning doll for combat, I just don't need to. It's much more convenient as a mule, or a dedicated alchemist. When I get other dolls, I plan on using them for other rarely-used skills, such as pickpocketing or lockpick.

Anyway, my main question is this?

Does anyone know of a way involving hex editing that increases the base level of all monsters? If I can increase mob levels by 5 or so, I can bring the difficulty level back into line. Since most mobs are 5 or so levels behind, Hardcore mode would be much more challenging. I've already gone through most of the Act 2 BG Level 1 dungeon without getting any experience for killing most of the mobs, as they were more than 8 levels behind me. I am reluctant to cut back on vendors and permanent potions. I'm one of those gamers who won't cheat outright, but will take full advantage of all the resources available to me...

So, if anyone knows of a way to do this, please share... thanks in advance.

Just in case you hadn't heard already: lockpick is badly bugged and doesn't work at all.

I don't know of any way to boost monster levels, but you can give yourself a handicap; just use normal arrows, don't repeatedly enter the BF looking for equipment or holy water, don't use charms, etc.


Welcome to the forum. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wave.gif" alt="" />

Hehe Shrike, I was about to post about the exact same things. I am now clearing out the 1st dungeon in the Battlefields in Act II and the boredom factor is steadily increasing. I am level 17 too and have been consistently facing mobs 7-8 levels below mine for an ungodly amount of hours.

With their random loot engine you'd think they'd expand it to the mobs too, increasing their level dynamically as my characters progress, but I don't see this happening. I don't know how much longer I'll keep bottom-feeding like that.

It's not like I was cheating or anything. I've been doing what the game allowed me to do. Purposedly leaving areas of the map unexplored is not an option, as is using lower grade equipment. On of the biggest draws of this kind of game is the search of phat lewt because let's face it, with the way quests are designed and presented we don't actually quest in BD, we randomly kill things until we stumble upon a quest mob or item. Remove the search of loot and character progression then what's left, 3 seconds-long mob encounters?

Now there is the option of NOT doing the BF dungeons and quests. But in Act I they were like half the game, won't the game become too short if I don't do the BF? I won't mind skipping them now that I come to think of it, they have nothing to do with the story, they are clearly designed as training grounds, are not that fun to be honest, and seem to be the main reason why I stopped enjoying the game. Back to the mainland I guess.

Yet it hurts me to know that I may leave some blacked out areas on some maps. Maybe there is a patch in the works that would make mobs levels dynamic?

If you are able to stick to the game => The after game BF are pretty tough. Enemies range from 2 levels lower up to 1 lvl higher. In this case they are really dynamic.

Enemies in Act 3 in-game are harder (try killing the humans there, they use magical attacks) - and those in Act 4 BF use the stunning Shaman hammer spell. Maybe this will challenge you a bit?
Kiya

BTW, I played the game without BF (just went in there afterwards for trying out stuff). I couldn't say it was too short - but maybe this is only my opinion.

Still hanging in there <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/winkwink.gif" alt="" />. I believe the solution was to simply get out of the BF and only get back there to trade/repair. Now I'm running around the imp village and having much more fun.

I wonder whether I'll miss anything important in these BFs. If what I saw in the Act I BFs is relevant to what is to come, there were no important items, just a few more chances at the chests/barrels lottery. Won't I miss things like keys needed in the mainland, summoning dolls, good unique named items, etc., if I skip the BF dungeons from act II onwards?

Nope. You do not miss anything that is related to the main game from not doing the BFs. I only used them in act1. The BFs come with thier own quest. You may miss out on good items tho, as I did not use them I am not sure.

I've found the B/F dungeons have become incredibly boring (and I'm only in Act 2), so I just nip in and find the way down to the lowest level as quickly as I can to get the quest item, then TP back to the quest giver to get the XP.

However, a few times a monster has dropped a very nice item, so that's been a bonus. And one dungeon featured a class of monster that usually dropped charms, so I was able to load up on them, too.

[color:"red"] F [/color]

I usually settle with clearing out the act one battlefield just to accumulate a bit of gold, equipment and experience. After that I only use the battlefield for the merchants. But they are still nice to have just in case you need alittle boost and that is probably what they where intended for.

Sorry, I'm the type of gamer who just has to explore everything... it's some sort of moral obligation, and most of the fun in games like this. I'm an addict to the Metroid and Castlevania games for this reason. The main reason DD was so wonderful to me was because there was so much to explore. It was fully open-ended, just like the Fallout series and Arcanum. There was a coherent plot, but you could explore your heart out with all the sub-quests. Most of the appeal of the game to me would be tainted if I learned that the only way to get a balanced game was to skip the battlefields altogether.

It's like buying an SUV (one of the hybrid ones, of course =P) and learning that it won't work offroads. One of the main selling points is useless now, and there's nothing to distinguish it from the hordes of other cars out there. If I wanted hack-n-slash alone, I'd play the Diablos, if I wanted strategy and plot alone, I'd go with Neverwinter Nights. It's the effective combination of the two that drew me to Divine Divinity, which got it down perfectly, and the promise of the same that keeps me coming back to Beyond Divinity. Now, I learn that if I continue doing what I like doing most, the game is not as much fun. It's probably not enough to keep me from the game, but it definately feels like I must go through the motions in clearing out the battlefield dungeons. Sure, I could practice self-restraint in not touching the dungeons, but that's would only make me more anxious and disappointed... I would know that there's something new to explore just around the corner, but I couldn't touch it unless I wanted to spoil the game later on. How exciting would an episode of Scooby Doo be if the Mystery Machine broke down, and the crew decided to look for help at the farmhouse a half mile down the road instead of the spooky, haunted mansion? =)

Besides, I like randomly-generated dungeons. It's the reason why I still try to play the Nethack/Rogue/Angband games, despite how difficult they get due to their own game imbalances. It's the reason why some gamers will deal with ASCII characters to play a game when there's tons of games with top-of-the-line graphics out there. Sure, BD's randomly-generated dungeons need a bit more variety... I can't count the number of times I've opened a chest just to find a plain leather cap, and it gets boring seeing the same large rooms over and over. Still, it's an improvement over DD in some ways. Though I'd prefer a few strategically placed, pre-generated mini-dungeons in the main game, the presence of vendors, whose inventory changes constantly and whose level keeps pace with yours, is really attractive.

Personally, I think the ability to change monster level in the game, maybe with a switch in the game difficulty submenu, would make the game much more challenging if you wish to select it. As far as I can tell, Hardcore mode only increases the number of monsters that appear, not the level, though I may be wrong there. There's little difference in difficulty between killing two monsters which are 7 levels below you, and killing 20. Ooh, you may use a health potion or two. That'll hurt your supply of 60+ potions. The main factor influencing the difficulty in slaying a mob is its level. It affects pretty much everything combat-related, from to-hit chance to chance to resist spells. Being able to change this wouldn't be too difficult to do in the next patch, I would think, and it would have a huge impact in being able to tweak the difficulty level of the game beyond the difficulty levels already implemented.

So, once again, I'll ask if anyone knows of any way to change the levels of mobs through hex-editing or any other means. It would restore balance to the game, and would make it much more enjoyable to me, and probably a lot of others, without sacrificing the game for those who find it challenging already.

"...My main character is an archer, and if the explosive arrows don't take out a mob immediately, my Death Knight, a sword-and-shield warrior, will take it out with one hit."

Heh... My archer uses splitting arrows, killing three or four with one shot, and most of the time, my DK is standing there picking his nose. They need less creatures "...at every bend" and perhaps just to have a few larger more deadly ones mixed in (like wandering level bosses) that you MUST avoid, or engage at your own risk.

A really neat routine would be to have a level boss that is almost impossible to beat track and chase you, or else a pack of mid level ability cronies swarm over you.

It's one thing to hack, slash, but continually move forward; it's another dimension entirely to have to look for the nearest exit while providing covering fire as you retreat. That's a gamer's paradise <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Ralph

There has got to be a way to make the game harder?

Is there a way to change the difficulty level I started with? I stared the game on the 2nd difficulty level and now I want more challenge.

With the patch installed, there is a difficulty setting in the game options. Once you switch to hardcore and save the game, you can not lower the difficulty in that save.


Welcome to the forum. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wave.gif" alt="" />

Instead of buying the best equipment for your PC and DK, you could buy the cheapest items available. And don't carry healing potions. Who needs them anyway? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/winkwink.gif" alt="" />

Did that happen in 1.45? I tried putting the game in hardcore to see if it would make a difference in what I got in the BF but I had no more luck buying good items than with the game on an easier setting.

I just don't like fighting. It bores me. I'll try the hardcore again to see if I can find any challenge in the game at hardcore but I doubt I will. I haven't found that I need to use any tactics or thinking to defeat the foes in this game. In the original Divine I remember having to use polymorph quite often to defeat some beasts. But when changing the difficulty level just makes you have to hack and slash for a longer period of time, I'll take the easy path.

I'm here to find equipment and pass time - yup. This is a real passtime. Like knitting:) Only I have a sweater when I'm done.

Oh, Silken - have you ever used polymorph in BD? Was nice => I chewed my nails about the outcome => Earth Elementals turned into rats, Tibars, Raanaar ghosts, Fire Elementals, Shadow creatures etc. As I didn't use Sharpen weapon and was a rather low leveled char... I had "interesting times".
Kiya

The difficulty option in the settings was added in v1.44. This mostly just effects combat, though in hardcore there are more monsters and a 30% chance for each character to get an extra skill point on leveling up.

You can increase the monster levels in the main game by leveling up in the Battlefields and vice versa. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/winkwink.gif" alt="" />

I hope I don't regret the decision, but I'll stick with hardcore and hope for the extra skill point.

Do you play in hardcore? How many more monsters? Any idea? I've been playing it for a while now in Act 3, but I had already cleaned up that act. I guess I should go find a BF to try.

Does Hardcore effect the probablity of finding good items and holy water?

[color:"orange"]How many more monsters? [/color]
About twice the number of monsters. Which is usually a challenge, but sometimes (like when you have a hundred little critters who will so not be able to kill you gang up on you) it gets kind of annoying. Let's hear it for the area effect spells!