Finally completed the game!
Yes, I am slow. But also having 2 small kids needing attention and a wife who keeps hogging the computer, so I haven't had too much time to play.
I admit to reloading... tons! Literally!
I found out, eg, that Elite orcs & Elite crossbow orcs has 1% chance to drop VL charms (54 dropped in 4912 kills). And that each bookshelf has approx 1% chance of having a spellbook (37 found in 2685 tries). Fun things to know
I had over 1.6 M gold and 53 VL charms (not counting the ones I'd already used on my eq) before leaving Ferol (ie, before visiting Dark Forest or Verdistis).
And I had a full set of 5-charm eq at the end, giving 1800 hp, 2900 mana and 150+ resistances. Fights were naturally pretty easy. Though I excuse myself with being more of an explorer than a fighter - I think I killed almost every monster/solved every quest/explored every place possible.
If/when i start over, I'll probably try a never-reload/never-buy game to make the fights a bit more challenging.
I still feel the randomness is a bit too random. Take, for example, the dragon eq. For most parts the best eq available. Imagine being new to the game and finding the Shield of the Dragon:
- Durability: 13/13
- Armor: 180
...and that's it! I would have pawned it in the nearest shop! If even bothering to pick it up. And yes, the shield can be that sucky. Same for any other special item.
The one I reloaded myself into keeping was a tad better:
- Durability: 62/62
- Charm quality: 5
- Armor: 380
- +4 defence
- +80 vitality
- +15 resist fire
- +10 resist lightning
- +2 sight
- Summon Skeleton +1
- Lockpick +1
- Summon Vermin +1
- Aura of Guarding +1
And now that I've played it through I can honestly say that if the special items didn't have this huge randomness, there'd be no need to reload, even if your luck is against you. As one of the hints suggest when the game is loading: If you find an area is too difficult for you, try another area first. One of the things I really enjoy in a game is when you have to skip parts that are too tough and get back later, after getting a bit stronger.
All in all, though, a very entertaining game! Whether you reload or not. Thank you for creating it.
And thanks to everyone for keeping this forum active.
