Larian Studios Forums Divinity II The Dragon Knight Saga / Flames of Vengeance (English) Divinity II - The Dragon Knight Saga Nightmare mode on Xbox of a female hero

Hi all,

first of all I wish to give a heartful thank you to Larian Studios for the many great improvements the DKS has undergo (last patch of february the 11th 2011 included) compared to the original Ego Draconis !!!
Just only one day played from level 1 to 6 and already blow away of amazement by discovering all the changed things !
Especially the "controls" and the new great feature to compare equiped gear with eachother by traders or in your own inventory ... etc etc ... I love it!!
Trading is from now on hundred times more a relief and a real pleasure !!
Also the improvements in graphics are awesome ( graphics I find really not the most important thing in a RPG, but to say this: the DKS is a lovely gift for your eyes in comparison with original Ego Draconis!).

EDIT: O, forgot to say a very important thing: how amazing I find all the loot I find and the wares the traders have!!! Really Great Fun !! Plus the humour and music is also very enjoyable & a real pleasure !!

A big for all improvements (so far I've seen now) !!

So, yesterday my female hero "Lana" started in Farglow a new adventure ! Training in the arena she was almost nearby death (because of I, the controller of her movements, was a moment very clumsy!).
Good I trained many times over and over again to feel which class sweets me best and I, gamer, chose the Warrior. Wirldwind skill is always handy to start with !
Plus 4 in Strength is good to faster regenerate HP early on.
The first NPC's Lana Mindread (and do quests fro) are the traders. And mindreading Richard is also worth the XP dept ! Now he gives me 4 X more Gold and XP points for each Goblin heart!!

Doing a little bit fighting Golblins, mixed with solving some side quests and 1 main quest in Brocken Valley ... Lana reached level 6.
Soon more info about her stats and gear, but so far I can say I put 1 point in lockpick (Farglow), 1 in Summon Ghost (nice!) and put almost all statpoints in Vitality (now 16) to boost my HP first!! Despite this, Lana has already experiencet 2 or 3 nearby deaths ! She's very careful, but not too afraid to take some risks

Greetings,
DKS gamer & his female hero Lana

I think the end will come at Amdusias...

Huh? is the 360 patch out?

Yes!

Great! thank you

Yesterday Lana reached level 8. She just met Talana and after the "Dragon dream" and the conversation with Zandalor Lana killed a few enemies, gained a level and go back to Broken Valley Village via the Teleporter Shrine in the Goblin tribal .. time for doing some trading.

Lana's current stats are (with her Bow equiped) :

Skillpoints left: 2
Skills : Mindreading (3, 1 from Earrings), Lockpicking (3), Summon Ghost (2), Wirlwind (1), Poison Arrows(1, from Amulet), Hide in Shadows(1, from Bracelet ), Magic Blast(1), Ranger Stealth(1).

HP (& HP reg) : 337 (0,44%/sec)
Mana (& M reg): 131 (0,31%/sec)
XP : 17449 - rest to level 9 : 6551 xp)
Vitalty 33
Spirit: 2
Strength 4 - Cond. Body : 4 %
Dexterity 4 - Heig. Refl: 4 %
Intelligence 2 - Ind. Will : 2 %
Ranged Damage 30 (maximum)
Critical Change 16 %
Melee Resist. 19,62 %
Ranged Resist. 11,75 %
Magic Resist. 14,06 %
Total Empty Charm slots : 7

Most BOOST-points go into Vitality (a boost of 9!) and Healing Aura enchantm (both Rings have them). Also now wearing 2 pieces of 1 SET (Rivellon Guards Armour + Leggings) that give an extra boost in Ranged Armour Rating (+ 8).
Also have another bow with Life Leech level 1 and a one-handed sword (with also Life Leech) + nice shield. My Helmet is a SET piece of "Wild Dwellers".

All the loot and the goodies I can find or buy are so lovely and to "see" Lana walking with all that nice gear on ... amazing !!!

Nearby Death Experiences? Yes, a lot of them !! Early on, especially the Goblin Chiefs! But a great smile on Lana's lips if Lana kill them and take a Goblin heart afterwards Many Gold and XP Richard gives me already! Now I'm curious if I find more Goblin hearts in the area after I met Talana ...

Greetings,
DKS gamer & his female hero Lana

Note:
if I give in the past Ego Draconis a 7,5/10, now I give the DKS 9,5/10 !! There's really soooo many changed in the very good way !!!
So great, that it is almost only a matter of time to play from level 1 to 8 again if Lana get killed ... maybe indeed Amdusias will be the one, but I'm afraid a situation of one or more Black Ring Members together in combination with a weak moment or whatever can kill Lana more early on than meeting Amdusias! I'm more afraid of the Black Rings after the conversation with Patriarch the Dragon !! I remember that was a murderous situation!

Another more than happy bunny.

Enjoy!

Here I'm back with news !

Lana still breathing ! Now she's level 11 (XP rest to L 12 = 9863 (ca 1700 dept) ).

Summon Ghost (3/5) is a really helpful lovely funny witty Ghost(y) ! If I haven't had this Ghost, Lana would be stone-dead for long !!
Finding different jewellery that have Healing Aura is very great thing. Have a bow with Life Leech level 03 and find a first Bow that belongs to a Armour Set: Wild Dwellers Bow (req. L 12). Lana is already wearing the Wild Dwellers Helmet, so I hope equip at level 12 both pieces give extra boost.
My apologies for making a mistake :
wearing the Cuirass & Leggings from the Set "Rivellon Guards Armour" give not + 8 to RAR***, but + 4 to RAR and + 4 to MAR.

Yesterday Lana find the correct way to make 2 extra Amulets! The first one in the Lost Cavern (nearby the Chapel Scrine): "Amulet of Slantwig"(skill: Rush Atack & 1 EES*). After finding 3 Talisman's (West, East & South) I hold them up in that order on the right place (nearby the place where you can find a book "Dusty Tomb" if I remember correctly) to conjure the Talisman of the North. Great Talisman !(+ 2 Wisdom skill + 3 EES + 2 to Magic damage + another skill I can't remember now ...).

I've found at level 10 the Skull for my Creature (but have only found a Goblin head and Arms, nothing more so far) and the Enchanter. But only accepted many new quests & don't solve none of them yet. First go for some !
O, and also go into the Bandit Camp and accept even more quests .
Now I have many traders where Lana possible can buy many kind of interesting stuff: Martis, Noryfundus, Carlin, Lamotte, Derk, Locke, Dr Needleman, Mara, Folo, the Miller & the Priest !
Each time Lana go up a level, the first thing she do is looking what the shopkeepers have this time after their restock ! Many times it is difficult to make decicions "what" to buy and what not LOL ... but it's also simple if Lana have not enough goldcoints to spend, even not a coint to spend .... "on drink and girls", like Richard recommend ...

Woow, this is really a great fantastic lovely funny RPG ! Freaking adictive and with a good replayability & since the last improvements even better !!!

Note:
* EES: empty enchantment slot
** ECS: empty charm slot
*** RAR: Ranged Armour Rating; MAR: Melee Arm. Rat., MgAR: Magic Arm. Rat.

Unfortunality ... I have to say ....
My female hero, Lana, is no more !!


Lana, she R.I.P.
(at least, I Hope so ... )


I remember as it was today Zixzax, the Almost Wise, said to me about Bellegar ...
"I'd have named him: The old coot whose senility kicked in at eleven !"
... and with a big smile on my face nobody can stop me to laught aloud until my last breath flow away ...

Note:
comparing Ego Draconis with the DKS: In ED Amdusias was mostly of the time in his Dragonform totally NOT so dangerous!! Mostly of the time he didn't see me coming and taking that piece & I could simply take my time to read into the Orbis Arcesco ... Is it because I read the mind of Amdusias in his Dragonform ?!?


Oo ,that arrogant type of an Amdusias ! Next time I WILL find a way to rip him in pieces !
But how? I must be sure to be the first (& fastest) one to make short work of him !

Ooo oooo, I make a big mistake in my strategy plan, a big mistake ... I've tried to jump right before Amdusias and using a melee weapon, but I was to slow and before I had the chance to start to attack him I hear a strange voice in my head : fear !!! That bastard cursed me with "fear" and the only thing my legs could do was running away from him !
Ooo doom and gloom ... two or three explosive arrows later I was almost killed ... my last salvation (I hoped!) was to make myself invisible, take some potions, summon my brave Ghost ... but I was ... to slow and I was not fast enough ... yes, I was certainly too slow ... and make use of the wrong skills to start the battle !

Damn, we should have placed a bet!

Hmmmm ... but Amdusias ... it MUST be possible to kill him, otherwise nobody can play further than Broken Valley ...
And strange is: in the Ego Draconis version I killed Amdusias in less than a minute with a good sword ... but I have the feeling my intelligence was a way higher and so my Indomitable Will was higher and he couldn't "fear" me (for long) .. I can't remember it clearly ...

But I wish to ask a question here :
Suppose : I have a strong Magical Sword (so with a good high Magic Damage!) and I hit Amdusias (or another enemy) with the sword.
1)What exactly does the Magic Damage DO ? Lower his HP or ... ? (I should think normal weapon damage lowered the HP)
2)And suppose the sword does some kind of magic damage like a magi spell do & I have invest points in magic spells like Destruction and Confusion : have these skills influence on the magic damage of that sword?

Sorry for my ("silly") questions ...I know I'm BORN to be very slow in "to let new knowlegde into my brains" ... by me it may take "some" time ..., a loooong time before I understand the real secrets of battle in a RPG ... the very first things I study in a RPG are mostly non-battle related cases ... like alchemy, trading, talking with NPC's and do quests, ... , solving puzzles like the best ...

Normal and magic damage essentially do the same thing: they lower the enemy's HP. The difference is that normal damage is augmented by your amount of strength and magic damage is augmented by your amount of intelligence. That's why weapons with higher magic damage are better for mage type characters because they typically have higher intelligence.

So is it possible to kill Amdusias in Nightmare mode? Yes, I've done it myself, but it took me a good few tries. His most deadly attack is his stun + explosive arrow(s) combo, so rush attacking him before he has a chance to fire those is actually a pretty good strategy. If you had resisted his fear spell you might well have ended up winning the fight – given you had a more than healthy supply of rejuvenation potions and your creature to back you up.

Jumping in the blood well helps, since even if he managed to cause fear to your character, (s)he won't run away due to being stuck in the well... and Amdusias will keep engaging you in melee.

Thanks for all the hints & tips

Now, I'm playing a brand new hero, this time started as a mage since I find Fireball more useful in the beginning than Wirlwind. Plus I go for a Ranger Mage Priest ...
... concentrate on skills of the Mage, Ranger and Priest !
I like Summon Ghost and many other Priest skills. I like the Ranger skills and always love the magic spells

I take even more my time to play with "Jurdenson". And take another strategy. And it goes better this time and so far (now level 6), yeah ... simply said : IT goes better !

One of the things I've think about in the past while playing the DKS .. and try always to survive (not get killed one time) on nightmare mode (great adventure, great challenge !) is that I'm mostly tooo slow (I, the gamer) ... so I've decised to take skills that give me more time to handle (the "pause"-button on the Xbox I find a little annoying to use in dangerous places or moments, I'm soo clumsy).
So Stun Arrows & Confusion I take for sure ! And at least 1 point in Hide in Shadows (from gear) for escaping dangerous moments !
I think also take all kind of Summoning skills (Undead, Demon, Master Summoner and naturally "me nice Ghost(y)" .. and Fear. Curse, I discover, is something like Ranger Supprise skill and I think I go for both skills, at least Ranger Supprise because I use frequently a bow ! I love using a bow in the DKS, I love using a 1-handed or 2-handed melee weapon also . In that case I always search in the first place fro a nice Bow that suits my hero best, second for a godo melee weapon too

Maybe I look over other skills that can make it better for a slow player ???
If someone can give some hints or tips, I'm in your debt ! But also many thanks in advance !


The more I play the Dragon Knight Saga, the more I gonna love this game !
Larian, you all did it again !! I love your genre of RPG's ...
... and I feel whole the time I play "this game has a Soul, this Game is a Gem" !!!

Personally I always pick Charm, that skill is very useful. Especially when you charm the healer of a group, not only will he stop healing his buddies, but he'll heal you instead! I think on Nightmare difficulty, that's something you really need!
Blind is useful too, makes an enemy totally idle for a while; if you have both this and Charm, you can make any group of enemies a lot weaker.

Also, if I may, I would recommend you first finish the game on Nightmare difficulty, without Hardcore rules: it will already be quite a feat, and that way if you want to try Hardcore later, you'll know what strategies to use against some very tough bosses like Amdusias. Otherwise I'm afraid you're going to replay Broken Valley 15 times before you manage to beat Amdusias :p

But it's up to you!

Axel is worried about you, Joram! It took him a good few days to get over Lana's death, the poor thing.

Anyway, Charm and Blind can indeed be real life-savers and ideal for the kind of character you're playing. But for 'lone' bosses like Amdusias, be sure to bring your creature! A warrior-style one will force him into melee combat and with a little bit of luck you'll have found an Undead head for it with Fatality.

Also, in areas where there are poison/fire/lava floors (e.g. the Bandit Camp or Barnabus' cave), be very careful, as on nightmare difficulty those mean instant death!

Wow, thanks a lot Axel .

In fact, the Priest Skills are great and most of the time almost everyone on this forum is talking about the Mage and/or the Warrior skills plus the Weapon Expertise skills (I never take one of them yet!) like Dual Wielding etc ... Recently I saw someone that find "Charm" a very good skill.

I find it always funny to read in a game guide the maker of the guide writing down his/her personal preferences about the skills he/she like or did not like ! While he/she didn't like for instance Blind (mostly they say: "useless"), I begin to think about it ... it's so funny & sadly at the same time ... but for me something like that is NOT a guide (imo). A guide that write down the pro's and contra's of each skill, that's a real guide in my opinion ! But maybe I'm the only one with such an opinion . I'm sure ALL skills can be useful in some way, suits best in some way ... I wish to delete the word "useless skill" forever and ever !!

Why I look into a guide? If it has info, lists or something, a useful overview of information, let's say about all the charms or enchantments ... or it have a clear map .. I take a look.
But mostly I search it for myself and make my own notes. That give msot fasisfaction .

I think about playing on nightmare mode, but not "really" hardcore. I do love the Broken Valley part very much, but it's indeed not so funny anymore if I must replay 15 (or more) times ... Not so funny because I've other things to do in my life and so "TIME" is the thing that I have not enough in my life ...

I have another idea:
each time my hero got killed, I only must load my previous save game (from 1 level back) and start from that point. Each time the hero die I post it here. I'm curious how many tries my hero needed to kill Amdusias

But this time I really start again ... because I was not happy with all the things I did before with Lana I. From the time I can go to an Illusionist (Battle Tower, I don't know if I can go to an Illusionist in Flames of Vengeance ?) and I got killed, I start & CAN change my name (and gender, so I wish) .. that will be very great !

EDIT, after I read Macbeth's post:
you mean the Temple of Doom ?(amongst other things later in the game).
That place was not a big deal, in fact. I'm more afraid of strong and/or fast (melee) fighter.

My creature : I didn't foudn enough body parts (I missed "Legs") so I (think) I can't make my creature before I have a head, torso, legs and arms ... or am I wrong?

Yeah, I meant the Temple of Doom, but if it was no biggie, all the better.

I think your new rule makes more sense, just because combat can be so brutally quick in DKS (as opposed to Divine Divinity).

Good luck with your next play-through. Let Jurdenson make Jurden proud!

P.S. It's a good idea to fiddle around with all kinds of skills in the beginning of the game. See what you like/don't like/use often and not so often. Maybe you'll like Blind, maybe not. (You'll definitely love Charm! ) You can unlearn and reassign all of them anyway once you have the Battle Tower and then opt for a more concentrated build.

The necromancer will have default legs (etc) he can use to build your creature, but they will not be as strong as the weakest ones you will eventually find yourself. The creature would still be a big help, though, even without the (initially small) bonuses to Conditioned Body / Indomitable Will / Heightened Reflexes that better legs provide.

Hahaha .. how stupid of me ! So I was thinking I couldn't make myself a Creature that battle with me against Amdusias (just because I haven't found 1 part, Arms) . LOL

Thanks Raze Next time this will not happen again

And o yes, Raze : if you start your playthrough (after 12th of april) on Xbox on nightmare mode difficulty it IS possible to reach the Enchanter Dreavan at level 8, at least 9 !