Post by krakun on Aug 26, 2015 12:21:09 GMT -5
Prelude
She swiped the reeds to the left and her eyebrows crept a fraction upwards at the prints in the river bank's soft mud. Three webbed toes. She raised a hand to those following her. Kincaid, lost in thoughts, composing a poem for the eyes of the lass at Korvain's Trench, bumped into Selen and both fell in the brown muck.
"By the Dark Four," she whispered, "can't you - "
"Fwwwttt" - "THUNK!". A spear landed inches from Selen's mouth, stopping any further swear words from escaping into the fetid mists.
"Ha! Did you hear zhat? Chargay!". Kincaid darted forwards onto the slippery rocks, dancing hither and thither and humming a little tune.
Kjartan grumbled and regretted the day he had taught Kincaid about following spears backwards. "So you see Kincaid, to find the attacker that shot the arrow, you go backwards." "But ze arrow points zhat way, I should follow ze arrow, non?" "Sigh. Well, they want you to go the way the arrow points, so let's surprise them and go the other way." "Ha, stupid frogs, you have it right, let's fool zem."
Selen let loose a volley of arrows. Three of those shots went through feet and soil, pinning the Krete to the ground. She didn't even need to nod at Kjartan, a "FWOOM" passed by her left and half a dozen bushes went up in incandescent flames.
Kincaid was almost at the other side of the river, he couldn't resist turning around grinning "I love ze smell of crispy frog legs in ze morning!".
One of the remaining Krete Archers took advantage of Kincaid's inattention to shoot at Fyona, who was just behind Kincaid. Hindered by her heavy armor, she couldn't evade the shot in time. A red splotch at her hip marred her immaculate white skirt.
"Ahh! You ... you -- bugnosher " (insults were not Fyona's strongest point), " do you know how long it took to clean this thing?" She took three powerful strides towards the stricken archer "IT. TOOK. TWO." She swung her spiked mace into its left flank "WHOLE [SPLAT]", crushed its skull "DAYS [CRUNCH]". "And now I'll have to get the bits of brain out of my hair too".
"Anyone else for some divine punishment?".
Selen looked slyly around. "Nope, nothing left, not even a glinting chest."
Kincaid spun around. "Someone mentioned chests?"
Introduction
This Team build debrief is first an homage and a thank you to all the forum members who inspired and taught me the intricacies of Heroes of Steel.
Thank you John Robinson, contributor, Karjus, CdrPlatypus, johndramey, En1gma, matrim, tenbsmith and my apologies to the others I've forgotten to tag like the insignificant Cory Trese and fallen.
I wanted to build a team as solid as the Holy Rollers, but using different talents. Following roughly the ADODA model:
All this gives a team that completes, on Normal difficulty, a third of their battles in two turns.
Kincaid
Primary Talent goals : Crippling Strikes 6 as soon as possible, for the Action Point and dodge reduction and the Area of Effect. The damage reduction is a nice bonus but not mandatory. The talent is never raised beyond that because of the high Spirit Point cost. After that Cunning Footwork to increase Kincaid's defense, and to raise the probability of Critical Hits. When that is maxed (giving +6 Accuracy, 16% Critical, +6 Parry, +9 Dodge), Flanking Unity until its maximum +9 accuracy boost is reached at level 8. Kincaid's remaining weakness is ranged attacks, and Sure Parry won't help so it's kept at level 1.
Primary Skill goals: The focus is first on raising Kincaid's Blade skills, and just a bit of skill in Thrown thrown in. A few points in Thrown suffice, because most monsters (except some very specific monsters such as Krete and Skeleton Bladesmen) have poor Evasion. The skills that allow the buffs to last longer are left for much later, allowing Kincaid's hits to land leading to shorter battles, at the cost of rebuffing often and chugging mana pots. After Episode 1 it's also easy to get scrolls/books of Sustainment, which prolong the effects of buffs. These will be necessary only for the big boss battles.
Primary Attribute goals: Zero points in Intelligence, in favor of Dexterity and Constitution. This in order to land hits and have sufficient constitution in case Kincaid gets hit. Kincaid will have to chug a pot of mana now and then, and will only come into full bloom when he gets his hands on the Heartbeats of Summer (guaranteed quest item: +200 SP, 48 holy damage, 12% sp drain).
Weapons: Kincaid's weapon of choice is a 1-AP blade. For this and other excellent equipment the group will make a beeline to join either Koda or Braeys and go to the Ember lake. The other hand holds throwing knives for occasional mop-up.
Armor: Kincaid is not leading by stealth, so he can wear armor with stealth penalties. Evasion bonuses are still useful and preferred.
Gear: Kincaid is mostly going to wear +accuracy and +critical hit gear.
Role: Until Kincaid has the Heartbeats of summer, his role will be mainly poking things to reduce their AP and dodge. If monsters are not next to each other and thus not affected by the Area of Effect, and if he has already cursed them, he falls back on Lunge 1 hoping for a critical hit. Selen gets points in Sly Look quite late in the game, so early game Kincaid helps in revealing unexplored terrain so that Selen and Kjartan can land their ranged attacks. Early game Kincaid is one of the first to attack, late game he is one of the last, occasionally mopping up with his throwing knives (Darting Steel 1 and Thrown skill 5 is sufficient for this purpose).
Attacks with:
Crippling Strikes 6, 1 AP and 16 Spirit, 31-82 Dmg with 23% critical, +48 Holy Damage. Accuracy = 8 + Weapon(6) + Blades(16) + Dex(15) + Bonus(17). Curses for -1 AP, -32 Dmg, -4 Dodge.
Lunge 1, 1 AP and 2 Spirit, 31-80 Damage with 23% critical, +48 Holy Damage. Accuracy = 3 + Weapon(6) + Blades(16) + Dex(15) + Bonus(17)
Darting Steel 1, 1 AP and 2 Spirit, 23-87 Damage with 23% critical, +48 Holy Damage. Accuracy = 3 + Weapon(9) + Thrown(7) + Dex(15) + Bonus(14)
Significants stats at Level 37: 871 HP, 568 SP, 82 armor, 11 Dodge, 19 Dodge Bonus, 17 Parry Bonus, no resistance to speak of.
Going forwards: Kincaid is almost complete at this level. Flanking Unity still needs to go to 8, and after that the most useful could be either Sure Parry (to improve dodge, helping with ranged defense), or Darting Steel (to add importance to his thrown attack, and help in bringing down monsters with high dodge/parry). I'm not sure yet which it will be, it will depend how they perform in Episode 4.
Kjartan
Primary Talent goals: Early game Kjartan goes for Chocking Ash until it has a 3 by 3 square Area of Effect at level 5, the dodge/parry reduction helping Selen and Kincaid landing their first hits. After that the party has enough skills to land hits without needing Choking Ash, and late game it's kept for monsters with high dodge/parry (Skeleton Bladesmen and bosses mostly). As monsters go upwards of 60 armor in Episode 3, extra points in Choking Ash for the -Armor won't make much difference. Meteoric Strike would have been a good candidate next, but with its high AP cost and small area it's not as interesting as high levels of Firebolt and Firestorm. In practice Kjartan is too busy blasting things to smithereens to ever have time to curse monsters.
Primary Skill goals: Early game Conjuring is raised no further than 7, because having more than 7 monsters within range in a 3 by 3 square is exceptional. Instead points are invested in Sorcery, raising both accuracy and targets for Firestorm. Kjartan will get a staff, so the rest is spent in Polearms.
Primary Attribute goals: The traditional Intelligence and Constitution to start. By the time Kjartan reaches INT 11 he's very soon getting the Staff of Nahanna (+280 SP), so points which would have gone to Intelligence are invested in Dexterity instead. Around that level the benefits of Shield of Cortias alone are not sufficient, and Kjartan needs a little extra Dodge to feel comfortable.
Weapons: Kjartan wields +Ranged attack staffs early on, and later the staff of Nahanna.
Armor: His weakness remains the low level of Hitpoints, so a +HP robe is recommended.
Gear: With the high damage of Firebolt and Firestorm, it's no wonder that +Accuracy and +Critical hit gear is used. Most of these have +Damage, but that's less important since the damage spread on those spells is already very high. Kjartan also greatly benefits from a single additional point of movement, see 'role' below.
Firestorm: Once Kjartan reaches Level 18 he is respecced to Firestorm 5 (7x7 cloud, range 8) which is a gamechanger. During episode 1 Kjartan received the killing blows on the big bosses (Shaman, Groth, Baron), so that he would reach Level 18 before the storerooms. By that time the team had 22 moonstones, enough for his respec. If you're using Boost-In you also have a free respec per character, so this should be achievable for anyone.
Role: Early game Kjartan just curses everything in sight, ripping an occasional Firebolt. As soon as he has Firestorm and a +1 MP item, everything changes. Kincaid closes in first to reveal hidden terrain, Kjartan lets loose a Firestorm, walks 2 squares closer, which brings him in sufficient range to release a firebolt. He's now within range of the closest enemies, but those will be dispatched this turn by the others.
Attacks with:
Firestorm 10, 9 Range, 4 AP and 102 Spirit, 93-248 Fire Dmg with 10% Critical. Accuracy = 20 + Sorcery(16) + Knowledge (4) + Bonus(22).
Firebolt 10, 6 Range, 2 AP and 32 Spirit, 101-276 Fire Dmg with 10% Critical. Accuracy = 18 + Sorcery(16) + Knowledge (4) + Bonus(22).
Significants stats at Level 37: 624 HP, 973 SP, 60 armor, 8 Dodge, 6 Dodge Bonus, 11 Parry Bonus, 14 Resistance and 19 resistance per magic type.
Going forwards: With Firestorm and Firebolt at 10, Kjartan is mature. Anything else is just gravy. There is 1 point in Burning Blades for a cheap extra 1% critical hit, and the rest will probably be Pureflame shield even if I'm skeptical it will help much against Episode 4 enemies who do upwards of 500 damage.
Fyona
Primary Talent goals: Fyona helps the group tremendously with Shield of Cortias which is maxed as soon as possible. Next is the question of how to use Reckoning's Area of Effect, here Zealous Strikes is maximized, keeping Reckoning at level 1 where is has already reached its maximum Area of Effect. Fyona hits first with Zealous Strikes, the generous attack bonus guarantees she'll hit, and the buff remains for 2 (soon 3!) turns. She then hits everything with Reckoning, because it's a SP cheap way to spread the message of holy damage.
Primary Skill goals: As with Kincaid, skills helping Fyona hit are initially preferred over those granting longer buff times. Hammers is maxed first before any investment in Leadership. Lore and Invocation are not useful to the talents used here, both can be safely ignored.
Primary Attribute goals: Fyona gets 2 points in Strength to help initially with accuracy, but after that's it's all Constitution and Dexterity to help with Dodge. This, combined with her armor, allows her to comfortably go on the front lines.
Weapons: A 2-AP hammer is preferred over a 3-AP hammer for multiple reasons. Firstly because this leaves more opportunities for Critical Hits. Second because at unglomming with surprise Fyona, with a +1MP item, has just enough to reach a first monster and get her Zealous Strikes buff running. Lastly, Fyona gets the Vlotgar quest goodies which include a shield, precluding 3-AP hammers.
Armor: Fyona gets the spoils of the Vlotgar quest: Bonesteel armor and Braeysguard. This gives her in total 200HP, 6 accuracy, and 4% critical, removing pressure on CON and STR, and allowing investment in DEX.
Gear: Fyona's almost there in terms of dodge/parry, she still needs a bit of dodge/parry equipment. There's also some powerful +Holy Damage items to be found which she uses, as well as a +critical hit equipment.
Role: In the early game Fyona's main contribution is the Shield of Cortias buff, once she has the Vlotgar quest armor and a good mace from Ember lake, she gets right in the face of foes along with Kincaid. She opens with Zealous Strikes, and as long as the buff lasts spreads it liberally with Reckoning. A +1 mp item helps her generosity in distributing 3 hammer blows per turn to masochist monsters.
Fyona doesn't have any curse-removal talents. The team chose to suffer the short period when there are curses without curse-removing scrolls, resting at a waystation to clear them. After that there are enough curse removing scrolls and books.
Attacks with:
Zealous Strikes 10, 2 AP and 26 Spirit, 63-168 Damage with 12% Critical, +16 Fire, +20 Holy Damage, buffs for +7 Accuracy and +54 Holy Damage. Accuracy = 14 + Weapon(7) + Hammers(16) + Str(7) + Bonus(20).
Reckoning 1, 2 AP and 6 Spirit, 63-138 Damage with 12% Critical, +16 Fire + 28 Holy Damage(add to this the +54 Holy Damage ZS Buff), curses with -1 Action Point and -8 Damage. Accuracy = 3 + Weapon(7) + Hammers(16) + Str(7) + Bonus(20). (Add to this the +7 Accuracy ZS Buff).
Significants stats at Level 37: 971 HP, 332 SP, 86 armor, 12 Dodge, 9 Dodge Bonus, 14 Parry Bonus, 7 Resistance and 3 resistance per magic type.
Going forwards:
Fyona is where she needs to be, with maxed Shield of Cortias and Zealous Strikes (which should last 3 turns in one of the next releases). What's next? Righteous Fervor does not give enough HP at this point for the required additional investment of Lore and a healing spell. Strickening won't have enough return for monsters with 30+ resistances. Consecrated Defense should soon also last 3 turns, that will help Fyona play an even more important role in Episode 4, and that's where she's heading.
Selen
Primary Talent Goals: There's so many good talents for Selen that it's hard to stay focused. Pinning Shot is raised to 5 very quickly, for its -1 AP , -5 Parry -6 Dodge and Area of Effect. It's only much later when Selen gets a very good 15% Spirit Drain gear that she can afford to go to Pinning Shot 8. If you don't have such an item, stay at PS5, the extra 2 potential targets are not worth the increase in SP Cost and required INT to support it. Selen's other two major talents are Quicksilver Defense, which was raised whenever she was getting hit too much, and Dance of Shadows whenever no talent was needed elsewhere. I can't stress enough the importance of having 4 movement points for Selen, it helps a lot in getting good Area of Effect positioning, and getting out of the way to allow Kincaid and Fyona their first hit during the turn where Selen won the Stealth roll. Shortly before entering the City of the Dead where it will be necessary she develops Sly Look 4. Before that the cramped quarters make it possible to guess the direction of the enemies with Kincaid 8 times out of 10.
Primary Skill goals: Selen first makes a beeline for Bows 16. Each hit means more damage dealt, more opportunities for critical strikes and curses, shorter battles. Lore, used to make buffs last longer, is raised later when the other characters also start to raise their buff length skills. It doesn't make much sense to have Selen's buffs last longer than all the other buffs, so when Lore is 8 she starts investing in Stealth. She has enough Stealth already, but it frees her from the need for stealth gear, she can then switch +Stealth boots in favor of +Crit boots. When Selen reaches 4 MP, a few points are put in Blade so she can use Frenzied Blows 1 with a 1 AP blade for her remaining Action Point.
Primary Attribute Goals: Since Selen keeps her Pinning Shot at a moderate talent level, and she knows she'll get the Tears of Sedolla (15% SP Drain), she can afford to skip on INT. Everything goes to DEX and CON.
Weapon: Selen tried many 3 AP bows (even a sturdy 57-140 damage bow), but couldn't be convinced. Three volleys per turn allow her to distribute more curses, more chances at critical hits, and more damage. The extra range offered by 3 AP bows was not necessary with her 4 movement points. In her off-hand she wields a 1 AP blade, for the Parry bonus it gives in the early game, and for spending her last Action Point in the later game.
Armor: Selen is still wearing Stealth armor at this point, but she now has sufficient Stealth from attributes to switch to something like the Oakenshield armor (+180 hp +20 resists!) when it becomes available.
Gear: One movement point, then a maximum of critical hit. The extra +damage from the gear is a nice bonus, but not the main reason for her choice of equipment.
Role: Selen leads by Stealth, successfully once she has some +Stealth equipment and sufficient Dance Of Shadows. Upon unglomming she uses Sly Look (if available) to reveal terrain, uses up to 4 MP and 1 AP to be ideally positioned, curses everything in sight with -1 AP, and attempts to make best use of her Area of Effect. If the monster is already cursed and is alone in the Area of Effect, she'll use Loose 1 (the 0 spirit attack). If there's an AP left and a monster is sufficient close, she'll also poke it with her melee weapon.
Attacks with:
Pinning Shot 8, 2 AP and 24 Spirit, 34-158 Damage with 27% Critical. Curses with -1 AP, -7 Parry -7 Dodge. Accuracy = 12 + Weapon(10) + Bows(16) + Dex(15) + Bonus(12).
Loose 1, 2 AP and 0 Spirit, 34-158 Damage with 27% Critical. Accuracy = 0 + Weapon(10) + Bows(16) + Dex(15) + Bonus(12).
Frenzied Blows 1, 31-95 Damage with 27% Critical. Accuracy = 3 + Weapon(6) + Blades(6) + Dex(15) + Bonus(8)
Significants stats at Level 37: 842 HP, 414 SP, 58 armor, 11 Dodge, 13 Dodge Bonus, 18 Parry Bonus, 2 Resistance and 3 resistance per magic type.
Going forwards:
Selen still has points to spend on Quicksilver Defense. She'll use it to position herself in order to draw attention away from Kjartan, and escape everything that was meant for him. Somewhere one point will be spent in Steel and Shadows, and the rest in Frenzied blows.
Order of dungeons:
The team is greatly helped by some important gear. They hit the Underforge directly after Episode 1, swore allegiance to Koda, upgraded their items at Ember lake, fetched the staff of Nahanna, took care of Vlotgar, went after Fang in order to get the Heartbeats of Summer (but went no further). Only after that did they do the other quests and dungeons. Now they're on the doorstep of the Tower of Ember. They'll buff up with every book acquired along the way, add on 30-something books of sustainment, and not rest until they're back at the warcamps.
She swiped the reeds to the left and her eyebrows crept a fraction upwards at the prints in the river bank's soft mud. Three webbed toes. She raised a hand to those following her. Kincaid, lost in thoughts, composing a poem for the eyes of the lass at Korvain's Trench, bumped into Selen and both fell in the brown muck.
"By the Dark Four," she whispered, "can't you - "
"Fwwwttt" - "THUNK!". A spear landed inches from Selen's mouth, stopping any further swear words from escaping into the fetid mists.
"Ha! Did you hear zhat? Chargay!". Kincaid darted forwards onto the slippery rocks, dancing hither and thither and humming a little tune.
Kjartan grumbled and regretted the day he had taught Kincaid about following spears backwards. "So you see Kincaid, to find the attacker that shot the arrow, you go backwards." "But ze arrow points zhat way, I should follow ze arrow, non?" "Sigh. Well, they want you to go the way the arrow points, so let's surprise them and go the other way." "Ha, stupid frogs, you have it right, let's fool zem."
Selen let loose a volley of arrows. Three of those shots went through feet and soil, pinning the Krete to the ground. She didn't even need to nod at Kjartan, a "FWOOM" passed by her left and half a dozen bushes went up in incandescent flames.
Kincaid was almost at the other side of the river, he couldn't resist turning around grinning "I love ze smell of crispy frog legs in ze morning!".
One of the remaining Krete Archers took advantage of Kincaid's inattention to shoot at Fyona, who was just behind Kincaid. Hindered by her heavy armor, she couldn't evade the shot in time. A red splotch at her hip marred her immaculate white skirt.
"Ahh! You ... you -- bugnosher " (insults were not Fyona's strongest point), " do you know how long it took to clean this thing?" She took three powerful strides towards the stricken archer "IT. TOOK. TWO." She swung her spiked mace into its left flank "WHOLE [SPLAT]", crushed its skull "DAYS [CRUNCH]". "And now I'll have to get the bits of brain out of my hair too".
"Anyone else for some divine punishment?".
Selen looked slyly around. "Nope, nothing left, not even a glinting chest."
Kincaid spun around. "Someone mentioned chests?"
Introduction
This Team build debrief is first an homage and a thank you to all the forum members who inspired and taught me the intricacies of Heroes of Steel.
Thank you John Robinson, contributor, Karjus, CdrPlatypus, johndramey, En1gma, matrim, tenbsmith and my apologies to the others I've forgotten to tag like the insignificant Cory Trese and fallen.
I wanted to build a team as solid as the Holy Rollers, but using different talents. Following roughly the ADODA model:
- AP reduction. If we can't use Vincent then that comes from Kincaid's Crippling Strikes (-1 AP and -5 dodge curse over 5 squares at level 6) and Selen's Pinning Shot (-5 Parry, -6 Dodge, -1 AP over 4 squares at level 5).
- Damage avoidance. The team took the dodge/parry route instead of the armor/resistance/HP/damage reduction, this because the end of Episode 3 is filled with monsters dealing 300+ damage and the current talents don't remove enough off that edge for their comfort. This is where Fyona's Shield of Cortias, Selen's Quicksilver Defense, Kincaid's Cunning Footwork, and the heavy use of Dex comes in.
- Off-tank. Kincaid and Selen are natural tanks when taking the dodge/parry route, even more so because they both invest in Dex for offense. Fyona is also built for melee damage, so there are three tanks.
- Damage. With monsters in Episode 2 and 3 having 20 to 40 resistance, and sometimes double the armor, the "critical hit" route was taken instead of armor/resistance stripping. Although it was not a design criteria at first, it quickly appeared that most attack talents for this team have Area of Effect, and that goes well with critical hits. All team members contribute significantly to damage output.
- Accuracy. Kincaid and Selen's -AP curses have also parry/dodge reduction, so that's two Krete with one stone. In the early game, Kjartan's Choking Ash helps them land these cursing attacks, later game this is not as necessary thanks to Kincaid's Flanking Unity which grants +Accuracy to all team members.
All this gives a team that completes, on Normal difficulty, a third of their battles in two turns.
Kincaid
Primary Talent goals : Crippling Strikes 6 as soon as possible, for the Action Point and dodge reduction and the Area of Effect. The damage reduction is a nice bonus but not mandatory. The talent is never raised beyond that because of the high Spirit Point cost. After that Cunning Footwork to increase Kincaid's defense, and to raise the probability of Critical Hits. When that is maxed (giving +6 Accuracy, 16% Critical, +6 Parry, +9 Dodge), Flanking Unity until its maximum +9 accuracy boost is reached at level 8. Kincaid's remaining weakness is ranged attacks, and Sure Parry won't help so it's kept at level 1.
Primary Skill goals: The focus is first on raising Kincaid's Blade skills, and just a bit of skill in Thrown thrown in. A few points in Thrown suffice, because most monsters (except some very specific monsters such as Krete and Skeleton Bladesmen) have poor Evasion. The skills that allow the buffs to last longer are left for much later, allowing Kincaid's hits to land leading to shorter battles, at the cost of rebuffing often and chugging mana pots. After Episode 1 it's also easy to get scrolls/books of Sustainment, which prolong the effects of buffs. These will be necessary only for the big boss battles.
Primary Attribute goals: Zero points in Intelligence, in favor of Dexterity and Constitution. This in order to land hits and have sufficient constitution in case Kincaid gets hit. Kincaid will have to chug a pot of mana now and then, and will only come into full bloom when he gets his hands on the Heartbeats of Summer (guaranteed quest item: +200 SP, 48 holy damage, 12% sp drain).
Weapons: Kincaid's weapon of choice is a 1-AP blade. For this and other excellent equipment the group will make a beeline to join either Koda or Braeys and go to the Ember lake. The other hand holds throwing knives for occasional mop-up.
Armor: Kincaid is not leading by stealth, so he can wear armor with stealth penalties. Evasion bonuses are still useful and preferred.
Gear: Kincaid is mostly going to wear +accuracy and +critical hit gear.
Role: Until Kincaid has the Heartbeats of summer, his role will be mainly poking things to reduce their AP and dodge. If monsters are not next to each other and thus not affected by the Area of Effect, and if he has already cursed them, he falls back on Lunge 1 hoping for a critical hit. Selen gets points in Sly Look quite late in the game, so early game Kincaid helps in revealing unexplored terrain so that Selen and Kjartan can land their ranged attacks. Early game Kincaid is one of the first to attack, late game he is one of the last, occasionally mopping up with his throwing knives (Darting Steel 1 and Thrown skill 5 is sufficient for this purpose).
Attacks with:
Crippling Strikes 6, 1 AP and 16 Spirit, 31-82 Dmg with 23% critical, +48 Holy Damage. Accuracy = 8 + Weapon(6) + Blades(16) + Dex(15) + Bonus(17). Curses for -1 AP, -32 Dmg, -4 Dodge.
Lunge 1, 1 AP and 2 Spirit, 31-80 Damage with 23% critical, +48 Holy Damage. Accuracy = 3 + Weapon(6) + Blades(16) + Dex(15) + Bonus(17)
Darting Steel 1, 1 AP and 2 Spirit, 23-87 Damage with 23% critical, +48 Holy Damage. Accuracy = 3 + Weapon(9) + Thrown(7) + Dex(15) + Bonus(14)
Significants stats at Level 37: 871 HP, 568 SP, 82 armor, 11 Dodge, 19 Dodge Bonus, 17 Parry Bonus, no resistance to speak of.
| Equipment | |
| Tulwar | 1 AP, 6 Accuracy, 7 Parry, 31-46 Damage |
| Stalker's Knives | 1 AP, 9 Accuracy, 23-54 Damage at 3 Range |
| Leather and Pauldrons | 74 Armor, +2 Evasion, -2 Stealth |
| Heartbeats of Summer | 200 SP, 48 Holy Damage, 12% SP Drain |
| Bladesman's steps | 30 HP, 3 Melee accuracy, 10 Damage, 3 Dodge, 4 Armor |
| Untold Death | 8 Damage, 7% Critical) |
Going forwards: Kincaid is almost complete at this level. Flanking Unity still needs to go to 8, and after that the most useful could be either Sure Parry (to improve dodge, helping with ranged defense), or Darting Steel (to add importance to his thrown attack, and help in bringing down monsters with high dodge/parry). I'm not sure yet which it will be, it will depend how they perform in Episode 4.
| Lvl | A S T | Attrb | Skill | Talents |
| 3 | 2 2 1 | __+1 Dex(8) +1 Con(6) | __+2 Blades(6) | __+1 Crippling Strikes(1) |
| 4 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Thrown(3) | __+1 Crippling Strikes(2) |
| 5 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Blades(7) | __+1 Crippling Strikes(3) |
| 6 | 1 1 1 | __+1 Con(7) | __+1 Blades(8) | __+1 Crippling Strikes(4) |
| 7 | 0 0 1 | 0 | 0 | __+1 Crippling Strikes(5) |
| 8 | 1 1 0 | __+1 Con(8) | __+1 Thrown(4) | 0 |
| 9 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Blades(9) | __+1 Crippling Strikes(6) |
| 10 | 1 1 0 | __+1 Dex(9) | __+1 Blades(10) | 0 |
| 11 | 1 1 0 | __+1 Con(9) | __+1 Thrown(5) | 0 |
| 12 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Blades(11) | __+1 Live by the Blade(1)(+1MP) |
| 13 | 0 0 1 | 0 | 0 | __+1 Cunning Footwork (1) |
| 14 | 1 1 1 | __+1 Dex(10) | __+1 Blades(12) | __+1 Cunning Footwork (2) |
| 15 | 0 2 1 | 0 | __+2 Blades(14) | __+1 Cunning Footwork (3) |
| 16 | 1 0 0 | __+1 Con(10) | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Blades(15) | __+1 Cunning Footwork (4) |
| 18 | 1 1 1 | __+1 Dex(11) | __+1 Blades(16) | __+1 Cunning Footwork (5) |
| 19 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Lore(3) | __+1 Cunning Footwork (6) |
| 20 | 1 0 0 | __+1 Con(11) | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Lore(4) | __+1 Cunning Footwork (7) |
| 22 | 1 1 1 | __+1 Dex(12) | __+1 Lore(5) | __+1 Cunning Footwork (8) |
| 23 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Lead(3) | __+1 Cunning Footwork (9) |
| 24 | 1 1 0 | __+1 Con(12) | __+1 Lead(4) | 0 |
| 25 | 0 0 1 | 0 | 0 | __+1 Cunning Footwork (10) |
| 26 | 1 1 0 | __+1 Dex(13) | __+1 Lead(5) | 0 |
| 27 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Lead(6) | __+1 Flanking Unity (1) |
| 28 | 1 1 0 | __+1 Con(13) | __+1 Lead(7) | 0 |
| 29 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Lead(8) | __+1 Flanking Unity (2) |
| 30 | 1 1 1 | __+1 Dex(14) | __+1 Thrown(6) | __+1 Flanking Unity (3) |
| 31 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Thrown(7) | __+1 Flanking Unity (4) |
| 32 | 1 0 0 | __+1 Con(14) | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Lead(9) | __+1 Flanking Unity (5) |
| 34 | 1 1 0 | __+1 Dex(15) | __+1 Lead(10) | 0 |
| 35 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Lore(6) | __+1 Flanking Unity (6) |
| 36 | 1 1 0 | __+1 Con(15) | __+1 Lead(11) | 0 |
| 37 | 0 0 1 | 0 | 0 | __+1 Flanking Unity (7) |
| 38 | 1 1 1 | __+1 Dex(16) | __+1 Thrown(8) | __+1 Flanking Unity (8) |
| 39 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Thrown(9) | __+1 Darting Steel (2) |
| 40 | 1 1 0 | __+1 Con(16) | __+1 Lore(7) | 0 |
| 41 | 1 1 1 | __+1 Know(5) | __+1 Lead(12) | __+1 Darting Steel (3) |
| 42 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Thrown(10) | __+1 Darting Steel (4) |
| 43 | 1 1 1 | __+1 Know(6) | __+1 Thrown(11) | __+1 Darting Steel (5) |
| 44 | 0 1 0 | 0 | __+1 Lore(8) | 0 |
| 45 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Lead(13) | __+1 Darting Steel (6) |
Kjartan
Primary Talent goals: Early game Kjartan goes for Chocking Ash until it has a 3 by 3 square Area of Effect at level 5, the dodge/parry reduction helping Selen and Kincaid landing their first hits. After that the party has enough skills to land hits without needing Choking Ash, and late game it's kept for monsters with high dodge/parry (Skeleton Bladesmen and bosses mostly). As monsters go upwards of 60 armor in Episode 3, extra points in Choking Ash for the -Armor won't make much difference. Meteoric Strike would have been a good candidate next, but with its high AP cost and small area it's not as interesting as high levels of Firebolt and Firestorm. In practice Kjartan is too busy blasting things to smithereens to ever have time to curse monsters.
Primary Skill goals: Early game Conjuring is raised no further than 7, because having more than 7 monsters within range in a 3 by 3 square is exceptional. Instead points are invested in Sorcery, raising both accuracy and targets for Firestorm. Kjartan will get a staff, so the rest is spent in Polearms.
Primary Attribute goals: The traditional Intelligence and Constitution to start. By the time Kjartan reaches INT 11 he's very soon getting the Staff of Nahanna (+280 SP), so points which would have gone to Intelligence are invested in Dexterity instead. Around that level the benefits of Shield of Cortias alone are not sufficient, and Kjartan needs a little extra Dodge to feel comfortable.
Weapons: Kjartan wields +Ranged attack staffs early on, and later the staff of Nahanna.
Armor: His weakness remains the low level of Hitpoints, so a +HP robe is recommended.
Gear: With the high damage of Firebolt and Firestorm, it's no wonder that +Accuracy and +Critical hit gear is used. Most of these have +Damage, but that's less important since the damage spread on those spells is already very high. Kjartan also greatly benefits from a single additional point of movement, see 'role' below.
Firestorm: Once Kjartan reaches Level 18 he is respecced to Firestorm 5 (7x7 cloud, range 8) which is a gamechanger. During episode 1 Kjartan received the killing blows on the big bosses (Shaman, Groth, Baron), so that he would reach Level 18 before the storerooms. By that time the team had 22 moonstones, enough for his respec. If you're using Boost-In you also have a free respec per character, so this should be achievable for anyone.
Role: Early game Kjartan just curses everything in sight, ripping an occasional Firebolt. As soon as he has Firestorm and a +1 MP item, everything changes. Kincaid closes in first to reveal hidden terrain, Kjartan lets loose a Firestorm, walks 2 squares closer, which brings him in sufficient range to release a firebolt. He's now within range of the closest enemies, but those will be dispatched this turn by the others.
Attacks with:
Firestorm 10, 9 Range, 4 AP and 102 Spirit, 93-248 Fire Dmg with 10% Critical. Accuracy = 20 + Sorcery(16) + Knowledge (4) + Bonus(22).
Firebolt 10, 6 Range, 2 AP and 32 Spirit, 101-276 Fire Dmg with 10% Critical. Accuracy = 18 + Sorcery(16) + Knowledge (4) + Bonus(22).
Significants stats at Level 37: 624 HP, 973 SP, 60 armor, 8 Dodge, 6 Dodge Bonus, 11 Parry Bonus, 14 Resistance and 19 resistance per magic type.
| Equipment | |
| Staff of Nahanna | 40 HP, 280 SP, 4 Accuracy, 12 Damage |
| Elder Greatrobe | 48 Armor, 3 Evasion, 80 HP, 2 Accuracy, 16 All resists |
| Ring of the chosen | 1 Accuray, 8 Damage, 8% Critical |
| Snakescale boots | 1 MP, 4 Ranged Accuracy, 8 Damage, 2% Critical, 8 Armor |
| Fireheart Amulet | 3 Ranged Accuracy, 16 Firedamage, 2 Armor |
Going forwards: With Firestorm and Firebolt at 10, Kjartan is mature. Anything else is just gravy. There is 1 point in Burning Blades for a cheap extra 1% critical hit, and the rest will probably be Pureflame shield even if I'm skeptical it will help much against Episode 4 enemies who do upwards of 500 damage.
| Lvl | A S T | Attrb | Skill | Talents |
| 3 | 2 1 1 | __+1 Con(5) +1 Int(7) | __+1 Conjuring(3) | __+1 Choking Ash(2) |
| 4 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Conjuring(4) | __+1 Choking Ash(3) |
| 5 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Conjuring(5) | __+1 Choking Ash(4) |
| 6 | 1 0 1 | __+1 Int(8) | 0 | __+1 Choking Ash(5) |
| 7 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Conjuring(6) | __+1 Firebolt(2) |
| 8 | 1 1 0 | __+1 Con(6) | __+1 Conjuring(7) | 0 |
| 9 | 0 0 1 | 0 | 0 | __+1 Firebolt(3) |
| 10 | 1 1 0 | __+1 Int(9) | __+1 Sorcery(5) | 0 |
| 11 | 1 1 0 | __+1 Con(7) | __+1 Sorcery(6) | 0 |
| 12 | 0 0 1 | 0 | 0 | __+1 Firebolt(4) |
| 13 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Sorcery(7) | __+1 Firebolt(5) |
| 14 | 1 0 1 | __+1 Int(10) | 0 | __+1 Firebolt(6) |
| 15 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Sorcery(8) | __+1 Firebolt(7) |
| 16 | 1 1 0 | __+1 Con(8) | __+1 Sorcery(9) | 0 |
| 17 | 0 0 1 | 0 | 0 | __+1 Firebolt(8) |
| 18 | 1 1 1 (respec) | Con 8, Int 11 | __+1 Sorcery(10) | Ash 5, Firestorm 5, Firebolt 4 |
| 19 | 0 0 1 | 0 | 0 | __+1 Firestorm(6) |
| 20 | 1 1 0 | __+1 Con(9) | __+1 Sorcery(11) | 0 |
| 21 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Sorcery(12) | __+1 Firestorm(7) |
| 22 | 1 0 1 | __+1 Con(10) | 0 | __+1 Firestorm(8) |
| 23 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Sorcery(13) | __+1 Firestorm(9) |
| 24 | 1 1 0 | __+1 Con(11) | __+1 Sorcery(14) | 0 |
| 25 | 0 0 1 | 0 | 0 | __+1 Firestorm(10) |
| 26 | 1 1 0 | __+1 Con(12) | __+1 Sorcery(15) | 0 |
| 27 | 0 0 1 | 0 | 0 | __+1 Firebolt(5) |
| 28 | 1 1 0 | __+1 Con(13) | __+1 Sorcery(16) | 0 |
| 29 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Polearms(3) | __+1 Firebolt(6) |
| 30 | 1 0 1 | __+1 Dex(5) | 0 | __+1 Firebolt(7) |
| 31 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Polearms(4) | __+1 Firebolt(8) |
| 32 | 1 1 0 | __+1 Dex(6) | __+1 Polearms(5) | 0 |
| 33 | 0 0 1 | 0 | 0 | __+1 Firebolt(9) |
| 34 | 1 1 0 | __+1 Dex(7) | __+1 Polearms(6) | 0 |
| 35 | 0 0 1 | 0 | 0 | __+1 Firebolt(10) |
| 36 | 1 1 0 | __+1 Dex(8) | __+1 Polearms(7) | 0 |
| 37 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Polearms(8) | __+1 Burning Blades(1) |
| 38 | 1 0 1 | __+1 Dex(9) | 0 | __+1 Pureflame shield (2) |
| 39 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Conjuring(8) | __+1 Pureflame shield (3) |
| 40 | 1 1 0 | __+1 Dex(10) | __+1 Conjuring(9) | 0 |
| 41 | 1 0 1 | __+1 Dex(11) | 0 | __+1 Pureflame shield (4) |
| 42 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Conjuring(10) | __+1 Pureflame shield (5) |
| 43 | 1 0 1 | __+1 Dex(12) | 0 | __+1 Pureflame shield (6) |
| 44 | 0 1 0 | 0 | __+1 Conjuring(11) | 0 |
| 45 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Conjuring(12) | __+1 Pureflame shield (7) |
Fyona
Primary Talent goals: Fyona helps the group tremendously with Shield of Cortias which is maxed as soon as possible. Next is the question of how to use Reckoning's Area of Effect, here Zealous Strikes is maximized, keeping Reckoning at level 1 where is has already reached its maximum Area of Effect. Fyona hits first with Zealous Strikes, the generous attack bonus guarantees she'll hit, and the buff remains for 2 (soon 3!) turns. She then hits everything with Reckoning, because it's a SP cheap way to spread the message of holy damage.
Primary Skill goals: As with Kincaid, skills helping Fyona hit are initially preferred over those granting longer buff times. Hammers is maxed first before any investment in Leadership. Lore and Invocation are not useful to the talents used here, both can be safely ignored.
Primary Attribute goals: Fyona gets 2 points in Strength to help initially with accuracy, but after that's it's all Constitution and Dexterity to help with Dodge. This, combined with her armor, allows her to comfortably go on the front lines.
Weapons: A 2-AP hammer is preferred over a 3-AP hammer for multiple reasons. Firstly because this leaves more opportunities for Critical Hits. Second because at unglomming with surprise Fyona, with a +1MP item, has just enough to reach a first monster and get her Zealous Strikes buff running. Lastly, Fyona gets the Vlotgar quest goodies which include a shield, precluding 3-AP hammers.
Armor: Fyona gets the spoils of the Vlotgar quest: Bonesteel armor and Braeysguard. This gives her in total 200HP, 6 accuracy, and 4% critical, removing pressure on CON and STR, and allowing investment in DEX.
Gear: Fyona's almost there in terms of dodge/parry, she still needs a bit of dodge/parry equipment. There's also some powerful +Holy Damage items to be found which she uses, as well as a +critical hit equipment.
Role: In the early game Fyona's main contribution is the Shield of Cortias buff, once she has the Vlotgar quest armor and a good mace from Ember lake, she gets right in the face of foes along with Kincaid. She opens with Zealous Strikes, and as long as the buff lasts spreads it liberally with Reckoning. A +1 mp item helps her generosity in distributing 3 hammer blows per turn to masochist monsters.
Fyona doesn't have any curse-removal talents. The team chose to suffer the short period when there are curses without curse-removing scrolls, resting at a waystation to clear them. After that there are enough curse removing scrolls and books.
Attacks with:
Zealous Strikes 10, 2 AP and 26 Spirit, 63-168 Damage with 12% Critical, +16 Fire, +20 Holy Damage, buffs for +7 Accuracy and +54 Holy Damage. Accuracy = 14 + Weapon(7) + Hammers(16) + Str(7) + Bonus(20).
Reckoning 1, 2 AP and 6 Spirit, 63-138 Damage with 12% Critical, +16 Fire + 28 Holy Damage(add to this the +54 Holy Damage ZS Buff), curses with -1 Action Point and -8 Damage. Accuracy = 3 + Weapon(7) + Hammers(16) + Str(7) + Bonus(20). (Add to this the +7 Accuracy ZS Buff).
Significants stats at Level 37: 971 HP, 332 SP, 86 armor, 12 Dodge, 9 Dodge Bonus, 14 Parry Bonus, 7 Resistance and 3 resistance per magic type.
| Equipment | |
| Savage Spiked Mace | 2 AP, 7 Accuracy, 5 Parry, 63-106 Damage |
| Braeysguard | 9 Parry, 120 HP, 3 Accuracy, 12 Damage, 2% Critical |
| Bonesteel Plate | 84 Armor, -3 Evasion, 80 HP, 3 Accuracy, 2% Critical |
| Ring of the Chosen | 1 Accuracy, 8 Damage, 8% Critical |
| Righteous Mantle | 3 Accuracy, 20 Holy Damage, 3 Parry, 3 Dodge |
| Battlefire boots | 1 MP, 2 Accuracy, 16 Fire Damage (mainly kept for the ghouls). |
Going forwards:
Fyona is where she needs to be, with maxed Shield of Cortias and Zealous Strikes (which should last 3 turns in one of the next releases). What's next? Righteous Fervor does not give enough HP at this point for the required additional investment of Lore and a healing spell. Strickening won't have enough return for monsters with 30+ resistances. Consecrated Defense should soon also last 3 turns, that will help Fyona play an even more important role in Episode 4, and that's where she's heading.
| Lvl | A S T | Attrb | Skill | Talents |
| 3 | 2 1 1 | __+1 Con(6) +1 Str(6) | __+1 Hammers(3) | __+1 Shield of Cortias (1) |
| 4 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Hammers(4) | __+1 Shield of Cortias (2) |
| 5 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Hammers(5) | __+1 Shield of Cortias (3) |
| 6 | 1 0 1 | __+1 Con(7) | 0 | __+1 Shield of Cortias (4) |
| 7 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Hammers(6) | __+1 Shield of Cortias (5) |
| 8 | 1 1 0 | __+1 Str(7) | __+1 Hammers(7) | 0 |
| 9 | 0 0 1 | 0 | 0 | __+1 Shield of Cortias (6) |
| 10 | 1 1 0 | __+1 Con(8) | __+1 Hammers(8) | 0 |
| 11 | 1 1 0 | __+1 Dex(5) | __+1 Hammers(9) | 0 |
| 12 | 0 0 1 | 0 | 0 | __+1 Shield of Cortias (7) |
| 13 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Hammers(10) | __+1 Shield of Cortias (8) |
| 14 | 1 0 1 | __+1 Dex(6) | 0 | __+1 Shield of Cortias (9) |
| 15 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Hammers(11) | __+1 Shield of Cortias (10) |
| 16 | 1 1 0 | __+1 Dex(7) | __+1 Hammers(12) | 0 |
| 17 | 0 0 1 | 0 | 0 | __+1 Zealous Strikes(2) |
| 18 | 1 1 1 | __+1 Dex(8) | __+1 Hammers(13) | __+1 Reckoning(1) |
| 19 | 0 0 1 | 0 | 0 | __+1 Zealous Strikes(3) |
| 20 | 1 1 0 | __+1 Dex(9) | __+1 Hammers(14) | 0 |
| 21 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Hammers(15) | __+1 Zealous Strikes(4) |
| 22 | 1 0 1 | __+1 Dex(10) | 0 | __+1 Zealous Strikes(5) |
| 23 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Hammers(16) | __+1 Zealous Strikes(6) |
| 24 | 1 1 0 | __+1 Dex(11) | __+1 Lead(4) | 0 |
| 25 | 0 0 1 | 0 | 0 | __+1 Zealous Strikes(7) |
| 26 | 1 1 0 | __+1 Dex(12) | __+1 Lead(5) | 0 |
| 27 | 0 0 1 | 0 | 0 | __+1 Zealous Strikes(8) |
| 28 | 1 1 0 | __+1 Dex(13) | __+1 Lead(6) | 0 |
| 29 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Lead(7) | __+1 Zealous Strikes(9) |
| 30 | 1 0 1 | __+1 Dex(14) | 0 | __+1 Zealous Strikes(10) |
| 31 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Lead(8) | __+1 Consecrated Defense(1) |
| 32 | 1 1 0 | __+1 Dex(15) | __+1 Lead(9) | 0 |
| 33 | 0 0 1 | 0 | 0 | __+1 Consecrated Defense(2) |
| 34 | 1 1 0 | __+1 Dex(16) | __+1 Lead(10) | 0 |
| 35 | 0 0 1 | 0 | 0 | __+1 Consecrated Defense(3) |
| 36 | 1 1 0 | __+1 Con(9) | __+1 Lead(11) | 0 |
| 37 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Lead(12) | __+1 Consecrated Defense(4) |
| 38 | 1 0 1 | __+1 Con(10) | 0 | __+1 Consecrated Defense(5) |
| 39 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Lead(13) | __+1 Consecrated Defense(6) |
| 40 | 1 1 0 | __+1 Con(11) | __+1 Lead(14) | 0 |
| 41 | 1 0 1 | __+1 Con(12) | 0 | __+1 Consecrated Defense(7) |
| 42 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Lead(15) | __+1 Consecrated Defense(8) |
| 43 | 1 0 1 | __+1 Con(13) | 0 | __+1 Consecrated Defense(9) |
| 44 | 0 1 0 | 0 | __+1 Lead(16) | 0 |
| 45 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Lore(4) | __+1 Consecrated Defense(10) |
Selen
Primary Talent Goals: There's so many good talents for Selen that it's hard to stay focused. Pinning Shot is raised to 5 very quickly, for its -1 AP , -5 Parry -6 Dodge and Area of Effect. It's only much later when Selen gets a very good 15% Spirit Drain gear that she can afford to go to Pinning Shot 8. If you don't have such an item, stay at PS5, the extra 2 potential targets are not worth the increase in SP Cost and required INT to support it. Selen's other two major talents are Quicksilver Defense, which was raised whenever she was getting hit too much, and Dance of Shadows whenever no talent was needed elsewhere. I can't stress enough the importance of having 4 movement points for Selen, it helps a lot in getting good Area of Effect positioning, and getting out of the way to allow Kincaid and Fyona their first hit during the turn where Selen won the Stealth roll. Shortly before entering the City of the Dead where it will be necessary she develops Sly Look 4. Before that the cramped quarters make it possible to guess the direction of the enemies with Kincaid 8 times out of 10.
Primary Skill goals: Selen first makes a beeline for Bows 16. Each hit means more damage dealt, more opportunities for critical strikes and curses, shorter battles. Lore, used to make buffs last longer, is raised later when the other characters also start to raise their buff length skills. It doesn't make much sense to have Selen's buffs last longer than all the other buffs, so when Lore is 8 she starts investing in Stealth. She has enough Stealth already, but it frees her from the need for stealth gear, she can then switch +Stealth boots in favor of +Crit boots. When Selen reaches 4 MP, a few points are put in Blade so she can use Frenzied Blows 1 with a 1 AP blade for her remaining Action Point.
Primary Attribute Goals: Since Selen keeps her Pinning Shot at a moderate talent level, and she knows she'll get the Tears of Sedolla (15% SP Drain), she can afford to skip on INT. Everything goes to DEX and CON.
Weapon: Selen tried many 3 AP bows (even a sturdy 57-140 damage bow), but couldn't be convinced. Three volleys per turn allow her to distribute more curses, more chances at critical hits, and more damage. The extra range offered by 3 AP bows was not necessary with her 4 movement points. In her off-hand she wields a 1 AP blade, for the Parry bonus it gives in the early game, and for spending her last Action Point in the later game.
Armor: Selen is still wearing Stealth armor at this point, but she now has sufficient Stealth from attributes to switch to something like the Oakenshield armor (+180 hp +20 resists!) when it becomes available.
Gear: One movement point, then a maximum of critical hit. The extra +damage from the gear is a nice bonus, but not the main reason for her choice of equipment.
Role: Selen leads by Stealth, successfully once she has some +Stealth equipment and sufficient Dance Of Shadows. Upon unglomming she uses Sly Look (if available) to reveal terrain, uses up to 4 MP and 1 AP to be ideally positioned, curses everything in sight with -1 AP, and attempts to make best use of her Area of Effect. If the monster is already cursed and is alone in the Area of Effect, she'll use Loose 1 (the 0 spirit attack). If there's an AP left and a monster is sufficient close, she'll also poke it with her melee weapon.
Attacks with:
Pinning Shot 8, 2 AP and 24 Spirit, 34-158 Damage with 27% Critical. Curses with -1 AP, -7 Parry -7 Dodge. Accuracy = 12 + Weapon(10) + Bows(16) + Dex(15) + Bonus(12).
Loose 1, 2 AP and 0 Spirit, 34-158 Damage with 27% Critical. Accuracy = 0 + Weapon(10) + Bows(16) + Dex(15) + Bonus(12).
Frenzied Blows 1, 31-95 Damage with 27% Critical. Accuracy = 3 + Weapon(6) + Blades(6) + Dex(15) + Bonus(8)
Significants stats at Level 37: 842 HP, 414 SP, 58 armor, 11 Dodge, 13 Dodge Bonus, 18 Parry Bonus, 2 Resistance and 3 resistance per magic type.
| Equipment | |
| Tulwar | 1 AP, 6 Accuracy, 7 Parry, 31-46 Damage |
| War Bow | 2 AP, 10 Accuracy, 34-112 Damage at 6 Range |
| Banded Sheathe | 48 Armor, 6 Evasion, 5 Stealth |
| Snakescale boots | 1 MP, 4 Ranged Accuracy, 8 Damage, 2% Critical, 8 Armor |
| Tears of Sedolla | 30 HP, 60 SP, 12 Damage, 7% Critical, 15% SP Drain |
| Assassin's Ring | 14 Damage, 6% Critical |
Going forwards:
Selen still has points to spend on Quicksilver Defense. She'll use it to position herself in order to draw attention away from Kjartan, and escape everything that was meant for him. Somewhere one point will be spent in Steel and Shadows, and the rest in Frenzied blows.
| Lvl | A S T | Attrb | Skill | Talents |
| 3 | 2 2 1 | __+1 Dex(7) +1 Con(7) | __+2 Bows(4) | __+1 Pinning Shot(1) |
| 4 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Bows(5) | __+1 Pinning Shot(2) |
| 5 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Bows(6) | __+1 Pinning Shot(3) |
| 6 | 1 1 1 | __+1 Dex(8) | __+1 Bows(7) | __+1 Pinning Shot(4) |
| 7 | 0 0 1 | 0 | 0 | __+1 Pinning Shot(5) |
| 8 | 1 1 0 | __+1 Con(8) | __+1 Bows(8) | 0 |
| 9 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Bows(9) | __+1 Quicksilver Defense(1) |
| 10 | 1 1 0 | __+1 Dex(9) | __+1 Bows(10) | 0 |
| 11 | 1 1 0 | __+1 Con(9) | __+1 Bows(11) | 0 |
| 12 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Bows(12) | __+1 Dance of Shadows(1) |
| 13 | 0 0 1 | 0 | 0 | __+1 Dance of Shadows(2) |
| 14 | 1 1 1 | __+1 Dex(10) | __+1 Bows(13) | __+1 Dance of Shadows(3) |
| 15 | 0 2 0 | 0 | __+2 Bows(15) | 0 |
| 16 | 1 0 1 | __+1 Con(10) | 0 | __+1 Quicksilver Defense(2) |
| 17 | 0 1 0 | 0 | __+1 Bows(16) | 0 |
| 18 | 1 1 1 | __+1 Dex(11) | __+1 Lore(3) | __+1 Quicksilver Defense(3) |
| 19 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Lore(4) | __+1 Dance of Shadows(4) |
| 20 | 1 0 1 | __+1 Con(11) | 0 | __+1 Dance of Shadows(5) |
| 21 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Lore(5) | __+1 Dance of Shadows(6) |
| 22 | 1 1 1 | __+1 Dex(12) | __+1 Lore(6) | __+1 Dance of Shadows(7) |
| 23 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Lore(7) | __+1 Pinning Shot(6) |
| 24 | 1 1 0 | __+1 Con(12) | __+1 Lore(8) | 0 |
| 25 | 0 0 1 | 0 | 0 | __+1 Pinning Shot(7) |
| 26 | 1 1 0 | __+1 Dex(13) | __+1 Stealth(4) | 0 |
| 27 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Stealth(5) | __+1 Pinning Shot(8) |
| 28 | 1 1 0 | __+1 Con(13) | __+1 Stealth(6) | 0 |
| 29 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Blades(4) | __+1 Quicksilver Defense(4) |
| 30 | 1 1 0 | __+1 Dex(14) | __+1 Blades(5) | 0 |
| 31 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Blades(6) | __+1 Sly Look(2) |
| 32 | 1 0 1 | __+1 Con(14) | 0 | __+1 Sly Look(3) |
| 33 | 0 1 0 | 0 | __+1 Stealth(7) | 0 |
| 34 | 1 1 1 | __+1 Dex(15) | __+1 Stealth(8) | __+1 Sly Look(4) |
| 35 | 0 1 0 | 0 | __+1 Stealth(9) | 0 |
| 36 | 1 1 1 | __+1 Con(15) | __+1 Stealth(10) | __+1 Dance of Shadows(8) |
| 37 | 0 0 1 | 0 | 0 | __+1 Dance of Shadows(9) |
| 38 | 1 1 1 | __+1 Dex(16) | __+1 Blades(7) | __+1 Dance of Shadows(10) |
| 39 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Blades(8) | __+1 Steel and Shadows(1) |
| 40 | 1 1 0 | __+1 Con(16) | __+1 Blades(9) | 0 |
| 41 | 1 1 1 | __+1 Know(5) | __+1 Blades(10) | __+1 Quicksilver Defense(5) |
| 42 | 0 1 0 | 0 | __+1 Blades(11) | 0 |
| 43 | 1 1 1 | __+1 Know(6) | __+1 Blades(12) | __+1 Quicksilver Defense(6) |
| 44 | 0 1 0 | 0 | __+1 Blades(13) | 0 |
| 45 | 0 1 1 | 0 | __+1 Blades(14) | __+1 Quicksilver Defense(7) |
Order of dungeons:
The team is greatly helped by some important gear. They hit the Underforge directly after Episode 1, swore allegiance to Koda, upgraded their items at Ember lake, fetched the staff of Nahanna, took care of Vlotgar, went after Fang in order to get the Heartbeats of Summer (but went no further). Only after that did they do the other quests and dungeons. Now they're on the doorstep of the Tower of Ember. They'll buff up with every book acquired along the way, add on 30-something books of sustainment, and not rest until they're back at the warcamps.
