Stealth, Blacknight & Silent Stalker

[tenbsmith]

I'd like a better understanding of Stealth.
1. Does it increase your chances of getting the first turn in fights? (I think so).
2. What does Stealth do during battles?
3. Regarding Silent Stalker, what does 3-9x Critical mean and does it only apply if you are in 'stealth'?

[fallen]

1) Yes, that is what Stealth is most useful for.
2) No effect during combat.
3) Silent Stalker's extra critical bonus is only in effect during the first turn, if you won the Stealth roll against the enemies. It does not grant Critical %, so you need to get that elsewhere, but if you get a critical its pretty guaranteed to be a death blow (3-9x Dmg).

[drekx]

I don't know if I'm doing things wrong but I find that the 1st turn of combat to not be exactly advantageous mainly because line of sight for me seems to be shorter than the enemy's line of sight. A lot of times an encounter starts without me even seeing one of the enemies so if I move first then I would spend my whole turn searching for them, so then they would generally get the 1st attack round on me. Is there a proper way to take advantage of that 1st turn?

[Swami]

Also, why is it that enemies are in archery range and can see me, while I am not able to see them nor shoot them?

[algesan]

I use it to position my party in an initial defensive stance towards the threat axis and then let the mobs come at me. One trick is to back off a space or two, which forces any archers to move their full move towards you, useful when there are several plinking at the group from Max range.

Swami, you can blind target squares within range by tapping on them. If a mob is there, the character attacks.

[fallen]

Swami - because they heard you coming and are in waiting? You failed to be Stealthy.

drekx - I find that in my Stealth turns I am never able to get 100% of my AP to attack. The enemy is always at a distance. I usually move forward with Vraes or with Tamilin, sometimes one square at a time, until I can see the enemy. Then I look at the terrain I can see and choose how to deploy so that I can have the best line of site and control over the upcoming fight. Usually, Kjartan (if you're using him) and Tamilin spend a few AP pegging the first enemies we can see or dropping some Curses. This is a little harder with Vincent and his limited range. If you're a Farsight user, then you may drop a FS on Tamilin's first turn, or have used it before the combat started and have a lot more info on the enemy's deployment.

[Swami]

I'll watch closer, but my recollection is that even when I get the first round, they are out of sight and I have to close to even shoot em with a bow.

Ok, so Rd 1 even winning stealth rolls, I probably won't be close enough to shoot/melee? If that is intentional, maybe I am just expecting too much from stealth.

[fallen]

Swami - very often I am able to immediately attack monsters with my bow if I win Stealth. This depends from fight to fight based on the terrain and exactly where the monsters spawn.

This is what makes Silent Stalker a good talent.

[ntsheep]

You sunk my rat ship! I torp you with pygmies!

[hollowpoints]

Jan 16, 2014 14:12:18 GMT -5 Swami said:

I'll watch closer, but my recollection is that even when I get the first round, they are out of sight and I have to close to even shoot em with a bow.

Ok, so Rd 1 even winning stealth rolls, I probably won't be close enough to shoot/melee? If that is intentional, maybe I am just expecting too much from stealth.

I'm with swami on this one. Most times I can't see enemies after winning the stealth roll. I guess this is an opportunity for the wizard to use his relatively low SP far sight skill. I have not invested points in that talent so what I do instead is target black squares with Tammy's Aimed Shot until I find the proverbial "Ratkin Battleship" lurking in the fog of war, and then shoot away at the darkness.

Hey Sheep why you gotta torp fallen like that?

[Deleted]

Jan 16, 2014 13:25:24 GMT -5 Swami said:

Also, why is it that enemies are in archery range and can see me, while I am not able to see them nor shoot them?

Homefield advantage. A defender not only tends to better know the territory,  but in warfare can use pre-calculated and adjusted rangings for indirect fires. Of course thats not directly factored into the game, but arrow fusilades have been used that way for thousands of years.

TL; DR... defenders that know their territory dont always have to see to shoot you.

[Karjus]

You can shoot someone you can't see. First thing I do on winning first round is select Tam and try and shoot into close dark squares that I think someone might be in.

You'll end up with a out of line of sight, out of range or she'll shoot if able. Not great would prefer to be able to see them of course but can be helpful.

Sent from my GT-I9100P using proboards

[tenbsmith]

First thing I do when I win stealth is advance Vraes 1 square at a time for up to about half or 2/3rds of his action points. This will often uncover monsters hiding in the dark allowing my ranged combatants to inflict damage. Even so, I've found the advantages of winning the stealth role to provide only a marginal advantage. Still, a marginal advantage can be important in a close fight and combined across fights can mean you consume that many fewer potions.

On the other hand, I have invested very little into Tam's stealth attributes. I seem to recall someone posting on here about using stealth to creep up on opponents and off them one at time... or something to that effect.

Don't forget about the stealth advantage for having Tam first in your marching order.

[ntsheep]

Jan 16, 2014 15:03:13 GMT -5 hollowpoints said:

Jan 16, 2014 14:12:18 GMT -5 Swami said:

I'll watch closer, but my recollection is that even when I get the first round, they are out of sight and I have to close to even shoot em with a bow.

Ok, so Rd 1 even winning stealth rolls, I probably won't be close enough to shoot/melee? If that is intentional, maybe I am just expecting too much from stealth.

I'm with swami on this one. Most times I can't see enemies after winning the stealth roll. I guess this is an opportunity for the wizard to use his relatively low SP far sight skill. I have not invested points in that talent so what I do instead is target black squares with Tammy's Aimed Shot until I find the proverbial "Ratkin Battleship" lurking in the fog of war, and then shoot away at the darkness.

Hey Sheep why you gotta torp fallen like that?

I myself am now confused. When I wrote that it was because I had saw a "Ratkin Battleship" remark. It was not meant for fallen. I have had a couple of glitches with my PC today. Getting knocked of from my connection and the like.

[algesan]

I agree Stealth as a first turn advantage is so-so. The only problem with going second comes in tight passages, but leading with Vraes then fixes that.

OTOH, if using Stealth can break up encounter groups it might become worthy of more investment....or maybe not with the buff penalty after coming out of combat mode. I know how irked I get in areas with several small combats where you get little exp before having to walk all the way back to a camp to refresh.