phaze
Exemplar
Posts: 368
|
Post by phaze on May 9, 2017 8:17:44 GMT -5
Continued playing the new content for the joy of it. Made just past a certain decision to which I said yes. Appropriate given I proclaimed the party as the harbingers. My next party declined that choIce, and I wonder if the story is impacted?
The battle in ember tower was fun. A bit challenging with an outdated party but manageable overall. Kincaid died once as emersai's ranged attack was nigh undodgeable with 59 strong dodge and 12 regular and -11 Acc on him. With so many enemies, I failed to realize he was in range and did not put EA on him quick enough. Given this party had a loss in the salt marsh, I didn't use any item buffs to buffer my team. Just regular talents and more desire to play through the content and test the scope for my stringer party.
Item drops were interesting though clustered oddly. 4 tretherin staffs? I had nearly identical drops from each chest sadly. Bad luck I guess?
Emersais attack may have a bug in it? It clearly is ranged but also reduced sure parry without the animation. I was surprised when all of a sudden a wraith hit Kincaid in melee.
Can't wait to get to a campsite to respec!
|
|
phaze
Exemplar
Posts: 368
|
Post by phaze on May 5, 2017 15:29:56 GMT -5
Yeah, this party was before crit dam % so my equipment choices were before all the changes and now seem lacking. And not having sly look 4.
Very excited about the upcoming battles. Just saw Ravenna across the chasm. I'll finish the current content before testing my high score party.
|
|
phaze
Exemplar
Posts: 368
|
Post by phaze on May 5, 2017 11:21:00 GMT -5
matrimStarted the new content with an old party. And by old, I mean pre-lvl 20 skills patch and increased Ep 1 exp. I am killing well enough but the bevy of high damage ranged attackers caught me by surprises and nearly took out non-Kincaid characters. Thankfully this iron man party is not my high scoring one. Since I only have enough crystals left for one respect each, I am waiting for the ''new talents'. One major change I will make is to dump CA for Imm as a go to curse. With PS and DS and FU, accuracy is high enough without CA. The -26 armor no longer suffices compared to the added Crit chance for better damage. Enemies have too high armor and HP for the extra 13-26 dam to matter much compared to the extra hundreds a crit can do. This party feels underpowered given it is so old, but it gets the job done so far which bolds well for my more improved parties. Edit - And down goes Selen. An off screen wave striker doing 840 dam nailed her twice and rolled high. I think with all the equipment changes, old parties may not be tooled correctly to manage the jump in damage dealers. So glad I used a test party first.
|
|
phaze
Exemplar
Posts: 368
|
Post by phaze on May 2, 2017 13:21:21 GMT -5
Thanks! Trying to decide whether to plow ahead with my tamilin party (currently clearing the UF) or play new content with old parties. Never enough time!
|
|
phaze
Exemplar
Posts: 368
|
Post by phaze on Apr 27, 2017 15:05:39 GMT -5
Oh man. Since iOS hasn't updated yet, I've been curious as to the new content. Color me intrigued as to what this actually entails I'm taking a new party through ironman that will best my old score if it makes it and have several parties waiting at Freeport to run through once the content hits. Can't wait for the continued story. Also, new talents are a mechanism I simply did not expect!
|
|
phaze
Exemplar
Posts: 368
|
Post by phaze on Apr 7, 2017 13:07:40 GMT -5
48 bloodstones in game? Hmmm...might want to let Matrim know about his max experience guide since I believe most players have only found current 28 bloodstones total with the current content. 48 would suggest we're missing a lot of secret finds
|
|
phaze
Exemplar
Posts: 368
|
Post by phaze on Apr 7, 2017 8:11:42 GMT -5
Some of it depends on quest choices and what items you get, so depending on your play through in Ep 3 and 4, you may not see all of them, especially depending on how thorough you are.
I am making my way with a new party in Ep 1 and just crafted a shield for Kyera. A totally awesome feeling to be rocking a savage shield with parry 6, +100 sp, +6 dam, +2% crit chance, +8 res all, +8 SP drain. Next up on my list, a stealth bow for Tamilin followed by a dodge 1 ap knife for Kincaid.
To the Trese Brothers, have you considered in in-app purchase for bloodstones? I would totally do that. Since bloodstones are not evenly distributed across the game, a boost in supply could be useful. Though, since you are planning to add more bloodstones in Ep 1, this may become less of an issue.
|
|
phaze
Exemplar
Posts: 368
|
Post by phaze on Apr 6, 2017 9:25:19 GMT -5
Some late game crafting results as promised. As I did not closely track the tuning item and results, I am leaving that out to not give people wrong information. However, I mostly tested sp drain and crit items with a dabbling in hp, sp, or elemental damage. Since this Ep 4 party sold many accessories from the early game, tuning was difficult since my stockpile consisted of late game items with multiple effects.
Great Bow: 43 - 125 damage, 11 acc, range 7: +120 max sp, +22 ice dam, 4% crit hit, +4 parry, +4 stealth, +6% sp drain >> This bow is actually better than the ice heart bow I believe. Tuning item was Sp drain I believe
Keen Tulwar: 36-59 dam, 8 parry/8 accuracy, +22 ice dam, +60% crit damage, +8 dodge, +5 stealth >> this is a crazy weapon for the + dodge and crit damage. It makes a dodge Kincaid drool in Ep 4 as increasing dodge gets harder to keep up with enemies. Tuning item was a dodge accessory as I recall.
Freeman Dueling Saber: 45-60 dam, 9 accuracy/6 parry, +12 ice dam, +24 lightning dam, 5% crit hit, +20% crit dam >> this is a nice damage upgrade for a 1 up blade with crit elements. Tuning item was a crit hit I believe
Vrotta Spines: 29-76 dam, 8 acc/5 parry, +4 fire dam, +20 lightning dam, 8% crit, 4% sp drain >> really great crit and sp drain combination. I believe the tuning item was crit % or sp drain.
Flashknives: 37-72 dam, 10 acc/5 parry, +1 move point, +22 lightning dam, +16% crit dam
Flashknives: 37-70 dam, 11 acc/4 parry, +1 move point, +120 hp, +22 fire dam, 78% crit dam >> Very nice damage boost for a crit character. I believe the tuning item was a fire/earth elemental accessory
Flashknives: 45-84 dam, 11 acc/4 parry, +22 ice dam, 5% crit, +5 stealth >> A very nice base damage boost with crit chance and stealth. Good use for a stealth Kincaid or Tamilin.
I really wanted a Flashknives with increased dodge but never seemed to pull one.
Behemoth Shield: 12 parry, auto block 6%, +500 HP, 2% crit chance, +6 dodge >> Incredible boost to a tank Vraes, Fyona, or Kyera with the added HP, improved base parry, and + dodge. Tuning item was a HP item as I recall
Behemoth Shield: 12 parry, auto block 6%, +180 sp, +3 dodge, +12 resist all, 8% sp drain >> Incredible boost to shield users needing more SP and SP drain.
Shields are probably my favorite crafting items so far as the stat bonuses are better than nearly all shields found in the game and especially since shields do not seem to be a choice for legendary items (of current content so far, correct me if I am wrong as I am have not played Vraes/Fyona to Ep 4). Vlotgar's shield is good as are the drops in OwH, but there is a major dry spell in shields for a lot of the game in my opinion.
Armors are more confusing to me since stealth and robes have good in-game varieties already and there is some unknowns with the evasion and stealth bonuses (at least display issues?). For regular light armors and heavy armors, there are good in-game varieties that are purchased in Granthorn, drop in CoD and OwH as well as good quest items (Oakheart, Vlotgars plate, Edict plate (if you can get Gholla to work correctly) as well as legendary armor for Kincaid/Vraes so far. The recent boost to Kincaid's legendary (+60% crit damage) is pretty awesome. I likely will not be upgrading armors given the in game drops and limited number of bloodstones.
Prime candidates for crafting are shields and weapons as my priorities. Shields are just amazing with crafting bonuses now and a crafted shield can last most of the entire game. Weapons are good candidates for improving key abilities like SP drain, crit, parry/dodge, and stealth depending on your party needs as well as modest improved base damage. I alway crave a better weapon with SP drain for damage dealers and sometimes the game doesn't give a drop. SP drain really is amazing for creating long-lasting parties that minimize camping.
Staves and robes, once available in mundane versions will be worth a look, though again, since there are really good in game drops for staves and robes, crafting would not be my top priority with the limited number of bloodstones.
|
|
phaze
Exemplar
Posts: 368
|
Post by phaze on Mar 28, 2017 13:07:30 GMT -5
I had wondered about this issue myself. Since crafting requires mundane items and most robes and staves E2 onward have magical properties, crafting seems to be not available. I think after the robe at the end of Ep 1 (20 armor, 2 evasion), I am not positive of ever seeing a mundane robe after that the rest of the game.
The good news is that robes and staves have many great bonuses already, and since you get really good stave drops from quests as well purchasing options from the Storm Brothers magic store, I never found a lack of items to use for magic users.
Maybe the existing magic shops of the gypsies in Braeys territory, magic shop in Brunehorn, and shops at CoD be expanded to include mundane robes and staves for crafting?
|
|
phaze
Exemplar
Posts: 368
|
Post by phaze on Mar 24, 2017 15:43:10 GMT -5
Sorry to hear! Always painful. That stretch of the game I lose nearly all my parties.
One issue with maxing levels like this is a question of safety since it can push some maps and mobs to obscene difficulty 😳
While good for score, iron man takes just one death.
On my current run, I still may intentionally adjust not maxing xp to increase the odds of survival in key areas.
|
|
phaze
Exemplar
Posts: 368
|
Post by phaze on Mar 17, 2017 6:23:11 GMT -5
fallen I didn't mean an in-game log but was thinking about using this thread as a gathering place for a the basis of such a log. Alas, in my eagerness for crafting I was not thorough in logging the exact tuning item. I may just do a write-up with as best I recall. The shields and bows are among the most powerful crafts I've seen to date. The shields breath new life into Vraes/Kyera/Fyona though I haven't seen acc added yet, mostly HP or SP and dodge, drain, crit, and resists. I haven't tested 2-handed weapons yet and typically don't use them.
|
|
phaze
Exemplar
Posts: 368
|
Post by phaze on Mar 16, 2017 19:04:41 GMT -5
Thanks.
I did 13 crafts with a party in Ep 4. Some good results. Overall, I think I have a sense of tuning. The shields, bows, and 1 ap swords worked as expected. Throwing knives were tougher in comparison to what I crafted with boost-in groups. I really wanted a throwing knife with added parry and or dodge or sp drain on the Flashknives. No luck. Though I also crafted a Vrotta spine that came out with 8% critical and 4% sp drain which was very nice.
I'll have to upload some photos of the results.
What is really needed is a log of items and tuning items to give people a sense of output.
|
|
phaze
Exemplar
Posts: 368
|
Post by phaze on Mar 16, 2017 15:03:02 GMT -5
But the crit chance and sp drain would, yes?
It so happens that crit, sp drain, and damage are frequently associated on items.
With a late game party, we typically typically sold many items from that were of the one attribute type making tuning difficult. Newer parties would do well to save more items for tuning.
|
|
phaze
Exemplar
Posts: 368
|
Post by phaze on Mar 16, 2017 13:21:02 GMT -5
Hmm...cracked open an old Ep 4 party to test late game crafting.
My one shield test make sense to me. Sp and sp drain item went in and out came an enhanced shield that matches.
Crafted 4 throwing knives though and am confused by the results as I got the same result despite different very different tuning items each time. I don't think I quite understand the varieties available in crafting yet. This was not intuitive. Tried damages and crit, crit and sp, parry and dodge, and a multistat boot. Each time the knife came out with lit damage, 1 move pt, and minor crit dam. The move is nice but not what I wanted given only the boots had move.
Any thoughts?
The shield was similar to what I crafted in boost-in tests, so I thought the varieties maybe similar. In my boost in test, I was able to craft a parry dodge throwing knife with crit. Would love to know how to get other varieties without wasting a ton of bloodstones.
|
|
phaze
Exemplar
Posts: 368
|
Post by phaze on Mar 15, 2017 3:01:22 GMT -5
Downloaded. Testing crafting with boost-ins to get a feel.
So far enjoying the results on bows and shields.
The shields are jaw dropping and likely end game material until Ep 4.
So far two varieties surfaced on the spiked shield. Base parry increased to six. One with 200 hp, 6 dam, 2 crit, and 4 dodge. And one with 100 sp, 6 dam, 2 crit, 8 res all, and 8 sp drain.
I will need to keep testing later, but this is powerful stuff!
Edit- Some additional testing with stealth armor, robes, and weapons. I am mixed on the results for robes and stealth armor. The issue, I think, is that these items already have bonuses that are useful and drop frequently enough. Losing evasion and stealth on an armor is not a clear improvement and robes have good magical properties Ep 2 onward. One can get dodge, parry on these armors but I need to test more. Robes I think are a hard sell for using bloodstones.
Weapons have been interesting. One lesson learned, base damage increases is not guaranteed. The bonuses on weapons can be crazy good, crit chance, crit damage, and sp drain are common. Having added parry and dodge on a weapon is interesting.
Overall, I think crafting weapons will provide the most value to a player if you are not expecting base damage improvements but rather would benefit most from the added attributes to reinforce your build at key points in the game. Crafting results are more powerful than any weapon drops I have seen excluding legendaries. I think crafting would really shine when accessing CoD camp the first time or a specific weapon need in late Ep 2. There are so many battles before getting to Ep 4 that a weapon boost will shine in Ep 3.
Shields are hands down awesome crafted so far. I was always disappointed with shields bonuses until OwH to be honest. They start out well in EP 1 but get little variety until OwH. The 62 hp shield in brunehorn is good as is vlotgars, but shields didn't give much to a non Vraes character, my personal opinion for Kyera as a striker. I like the damage shields but they are few and far in between. Crafting blows this wide open. Kyera and Fyona will get a major boost from this.
Given the limited number of bloodstones, 28 I think with current content, crafting will work best if you can be happy with any variety upgrade and are not looking for 'that one killer item'. The limited bloodstones prevents endless testing in game.
The boost in is limited of course to items available. It seems the base item affects the stats if I understand it correctly. A crafting guide will need examples from across the game to illustrate the different varieties.
Interestingly, the tuning item doesn't need to be high end but rather have specific stats. It is hard to predict the crafting outcome if you toss in an item with Multiple stats. In this case, saving accessories that have specific values is important.
|
|