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Post by xdesperado on Feb 21, 2014 21:19:24 GMT -5
Ok so I finally got HoS a couple days ago and started playing. (Yes I know I'm late to the party.) Anyways went through the escape and early 1st chapter with default team, then decided to start over with Selen instead of the thief since I wanted a scout that could handle melee a bit better. So far loving her as the Frenzied Blows has her chewing up ratkin hoards and Pinning Shot gives her a solid ranged attack that can hit multiple targets. My issue, and I noticed this on both saves is that the party will ungroup when combat is immenint but seldom will any enemy units be visible on map. Having to use Sly Look at start of engagement just to locate enemies is wasteful of SP and doesn't allow for best use of any potential surprise. Any way to give a better indication of at least one or two enemies location when the party expands from travel mode? Kyera and Karjtan are my primary ranged attackers. Karjtan does most of the heavy lifting there, generally after hitting any groups or tough opponents with Choking Ash. Kyera is more ranged mop up with Holy Retribution as she tends to get busy healing with Myshanna's Tears once Vraes and Selen get fully engaged in melee with the swarms. Actually Vraes is my least favorite currently as he seems to have a hard time getting into the action which means he doesn't pull and keep heat the way youwant a tank to. Think it may be because I've currently got him with dual swords and his attacks are AP intensive. Good damage and hits fairly regular, but only getting 1 or at most 2 attacks a turn just doesn't generate enough threat. Especially if Selen has several opponents trying to suround her and she can T off an attack with every single AP and ends up getting 2 or 3 criticals in the process. Anyways any suggestions/feedback welcomed.  |
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Post by algesan on Feb 21, 2014 23:06:09 GMT -5
The game's method of revealing terrain is screwy, sometimes seeing stuff six squares away and sometimes only adjacent. The sight skill is cheap and becomes a lot more useful, I use it quite a bit at the start of a fight.
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Post by fallen on Feb 21, 2014 23:11:12 GMT -5
xdesperado - definitely worth raising Sight to level 2 to get the AP reduction. It's cheap, and as you raise it increases what you can see. You'll want to decide in your group if you do or don't want the Stealth surprise. If you win the Stealth roll against monsters, you get the first turn. If not, they get the first turn. Lots of varied opinions about which is better. With Vraes, what Empowered Attack are you using? Carrying 2 x 2 AP swords may be a bad place to start as you get down to 1 attack a turn!
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Post by beuns on Feb 22, 2014 0:40:40 GMT -5
xdesperado : welcome to the party !  Your main problem (IMO of course) is to localise ennemies at the start of the fight. I agree that having AP used blindly to uncover the map is not very useful. My tactic is to have the stealth character going in front 3/4 titles away from the group that is ready to welcome the swarm of ennemies. If I hadn't discover any when stealth character has still 3 AP left, I send Vraes to uncover more map (as he can stand against muliple ennemies at the beginning of a fight). That works really often for me.
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Post by Cory Trese on Feb 22, 2014 0:51:50 GMT -5
The game's method of revealing terrain is screwy, sometimes seeing stuff six squares away and sometimes only adjacent. The sight skill is cheap and becomes a lot more useful, I use it quite a bit at the start of a fight. LOL, screwy? It uses a very common ray-tracing algo. Sorry you don't like it, will try harder in the next game. |
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Post by xdesperado on Feb 22, 2014 1:25:39 GMT -5
Thanks for responses everyone. Please keep em coming. Cory Trese problem with sight is that while moving in group you have pretty much a 6 tile clearance. However when you enter a combat and your party is de-grouped you get a varied amount of tiles uncovered and seemingly most times no enemy unit in sight. Now if you had low stealth and were just blundering into the enemy with them getting first turn that would make sense. However I've got Selen leading the party and she has good enough stealth for her current level that most times my party gets first turn. However, that first turn ends up mostly wasted generally as I'm stuck burning AP and SP just trying to find the enemy. Means that other than giving me a chance to use buffs I can't do much in the way of closing and sneak attacking. As for Vraes I've ditched the second sword in favor of a shield and he's doing much better now. Give him Stone Skin 1, Natural Mastery 1, and use Crushing Blow 5. Has enough attacks now to draw some heat though Selen is still generating plenty. May have to raise her Con for some more HP so she doesn't go under in swarming attacks before Kyera can heal her.  |
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Post by beuns on Feb 22, 2014 1:34:56 GMT -5
xdesperado : I tried a bit of two weapons for Vraes too and got to the conclusion : 1H sword and shield is more in the way of a tank with good damage capacity. Maybe a 2AP weapon with a 1AP ? I'll try that later.
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Post by xdesperado on Feb 22, 2014 1:44:11 GMT -5
xdesperado : I tried a bit of two weapons for Vraes too and got to the conclusion : 1H sword and shield is more in the way of a tank with good damage capacity. Maybe a 2AP weapon with a 1AP ? I'll try that later. Tried a bit of sword and dagger with Vraes. Almost as bad as dual swords for AP burn. Plus if you want decent accuracy with dagger you need to raise Dex while the sword is looking for Str raises. Trying to keep him fairly focused so fewer stats I need to spend points on the better. |
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Post by algesan on Feb 22, 2014 3:11:53 GMT -5
The game's method of revealing terrain is screwy, sometimes seeing stuff six squares away and sometimes only adjacent. The sight skill is cheap and becomes a lot more useful, I use it quite a bit at the start of a fight. LOL, screwy? It uses a very common ray-tracing algo. Sorry you don't like it, will try harder in the next game. I consider it a feature, but it doesn't follow a regular pattern. Partly it seems to do LOS, but sometimes it doesn't. Occasionally I have to walk into a square with a wall border to "see" the wall. More often, I will have to get within 2-3 squares. It will only be a problem in a one way hard timed section. |
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Swami
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Post by Swami on Feb 22, 2014 3:22:05 GMT -5
2x1ap weapons is feasible.
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Post by Cory Trese on Feb 22, 2014 3:26:50 GMT -5
2x1ap weapons is feasible. So any 3AP combination -- and it's easy enough to control the attribute that is used. I even think the 2AP + 2AP combinations become more viable in EP2 when the AR / PR gap on good blades widens up. |
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Swami
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Post by Swami on Feb 22, 2014 3:35:15 GMT -5
I even think the 2AP + 2AP combinations become more viable in EP2 when the AR / PR gap on good blades widens up. Sorry, please define 1) AR 2) PR |
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Post by vdx on Feb 22, 2014 3:41:46 GMT -5
How terrain is revealed is part of the tactic of the game. Not knowing where, how many or what type of enemy is part of the challenge and the sight skill will become your friend. Even if you get the surprise, spend a moment locating which direction or directions the enemies are coming from. If you search maps in a cautious pattern rather than plunging recklessly ahead, you'll get less fights where your covered in darkness. A good technique till you get the feel of the game is to use the first round of attack to form your attack group , using the terrain to help you. Choke points and corners can give you a great advantage over a much larger group. Conversely, get caught wrong and it gets ugly fast.
In a nut shell: be cautious and sometimes let the enemy come to you.
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Post by Cory Trese on Feb 22, 2014 3:43:06 GMT -5
I even think the 2AP + 2AP combinations become more viable in EP2 when the AR / PR gap on good blades widens up. Sorry, please define 1) AR 2) PR Sorry, using the internal API names. Makes Andrew mad too Weapon Accuracy and Parry -- when you are using the better of the two a weapon that is 2/2 and another weapon that is 2/2 ... you don't get much stacking. If you can get a dagger that is 1/6 and a sword that is 5/2 ... then you are getting a 5/6 weapon, which is good for that range of gear. |
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Post by contributor on Feb 22, 2014 4:01:13 GMT -5
I have to say that I don't see that big of a problem with the LoS stuff and beginning combat. The message we get at the beginning of combat is "Did you hear that?" Selen is leading the party and being all sneaky and hears the enemy up ahead. Not necessarily seeing them means you have to make some decisions. Send Vraes in to scout knowing he can take some hits? Use a spell (remember the mages could also develop this skill if you don't want to use Selen's AP/SP). It very rarely takes more than one. Or just find a choke point and get your team in good formation for what's coming. More choices are good.
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