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Arcanum First time Arcanum player, need some general guidance

Ninefingers

Educated
Patron
Joined
Mar 16, 2018
Messages
70
Location
England
Golems are really slow so you should be able to kite them easily enough as ranged. Can do it easily enough in real time if you want to speed it up a bit.
 

Otterz

Literate
Joined
Apr 9, 2018
Messages
24
Location
Your head
Never thought I'd see the words "balanced" and "Arcanum" coexist in the same sentence, but here we are. I'm pretty sure bati isn't in need of guidance anymore, but if anyone wants to tackle Arcanum as a first timer, my two cents would be: stay the hell away from casters and crafters, they're simply not worth the headache. Roll a decent melee character, pick up Virgil (if you're playing a warrior character he's the only companion you'll really need: he's deeply tied to the story and likes healing you while you tank. Win-win situation. Worhtless Mutt is also good to have around with his insanely op melee skills; grab it as soon as you get to Ashbury) and grit your teeth for the first 30 lvls while grinding yoursef out of the "this sucks, I suck, life is pain" pit and jumping straight into the "I sneeze and continents die" side of the spectrum. Once there, do whatever you darn well please; the game's yours to split open like a ripe watermelon.
A word of warning: don't play if bad level design sends your blood pressure spiking up. Same if you're hoping to plunge into a coherent, cohesive worldbuilding. Lore's interesting, but most of the time thrown at you in separate infodump packets that could as well exist on their own, with little to no connection with each other. Troika was in a supreme financial pickle and was pressured to release the game well before good sense would advise, and it shows.
The writing however is excellent, and so is quest design (most of the time anyhow). Dialogues are imo the only true selling point of this game. Makes me wish they'd written a novel instead of forcefully wedging all that amazing prose into a messy piece of virtual tabletop.
 

Xor

Arcane
Joined
Jan 21, 2008
Messages
9,345
Codex 2014 PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015 Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire Divinity: Original Sin Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Divinity: Original Sin 2
I started first blind playthrough as melee tech dwarf, but the pyro-axe is so OPd, it took all the fun away.
If that's your problem, you're not going to be able to play the game past a certain point with any build unless you invest all your points in trapfinding and other useless skills. Even bad combat builds become broken in Arcanum after a certain point.

Golems are really slow so you should be able to kite them easily enough as ranged. Can do it easily enough in real time if you want to speed it up a bit.
The only danger is the ranged projectiles they shoot that do a shitload of damage. And remember to "#back off" so your companions don't stupidly charge to their deaths.

I’m really getting into this now. I decided to play as an ugly degenerate half orc mongrel who solves all problems with an axe.

Hit a bit of a wall with the ore golems so decided to branch out into bows. I was broke and everybody hates me because I’m an ugly fucker and cursed by a gypsy to boot. I figured I might as well become the cunt that everybody expects me to be so I started murdering shop keepers - now I’m loaded and can actually afford arrows.

Unfortunately certain upstanding citizens now attack me on sight with their bare hands and I have to lure them to a secluded spot and have my way with them away from the prying eyes of the guards.

This is the best negro fantasy minority simulator I’ve ever played.
My half-ogre with 2 intelligence ended up becoming a monster who murdered everyone he came across (once I had done all the quests I could in that area). I hadn't planned on doing an evil playthrough, but sometimes things just work out that way.

Also keep Virgil with you if he still is, you can turn him evil too and there's a fun scene between him and elder Joachim...
 

Tigranes

Arcane
Joined
Jan 8, 2009
Messages
10,350
Playing melee, Virgil and Mutt certainly sounds painless and smooth, but also extremely boring, and selling someone cheap on the magic of arcanum.

You're supposed to see all the cool gun schematics and craftable mechanical spiders and flamethrower guns and spells and then endure whatever bugs or imbalances because you are living that dream. If you don't buy into that, then you shouldn't be playing it - after all, playing the above way is essentially hours of shitty makework just to enjoy one half of the game (i.e. the non-gameplay half).

Also, Molotov Cocktails. they can really help you get by early level combat for any kind of character, also with the Fallout-like possibilities for absurdly bad throws blowing up half your team.
 

Piotrovitz

Savant
Joined
Dec 21, 2017
Messages
805
Location
Paris, Texas
I started first blind playthrough as melee tech dwarf, but the pyro-axe is so OPd, it took all the fun away.
If that's your problem, you're not going to be able to play the game past a certain point with any build unless you invest all your points in trapfinding and other useless skills. Even bad combat builds become broken in Arcanum after a certain point.
That would suck big time, as I'm loving the game so far and am bent to finish it.

Aren't there any decent guns that can carry you over through most of the fights, without trivializing them, like pyro-axe does with melee techs?
 

Piotrovitz

Savant
Joined
Dec 21, 2017
Messages
805
Location
Paris, Texas
Also, Molotov Cocktails. they can really help you get by early level combat for any kind of character
Crafting molotovs and putting point in throwing is one of best early game investment for techs IMO
Shit flying around like rag dolls and wasting almost entire turn to get back to you + no friendly fire is just pure win.

Also, going through every trash bin you see makes you feel like playing freegan simulator.
 

Otterz

Literate
Joined
Apr 9, 2018
Messages
24
Location
Your head
You're supposed to see all the cool gun schematics and craftable mechanical spiders and flamethrower guns and spells and then endure whatever bugs or imbalances because you are living that dream. If you don't buy into that, then you shouldn't be playing it - after all, playing the above way is essentially hours of shitty makework just to enjoy one half of the game (i.e. the non-gameplay half).


Don't get me wrong: I quite agree on you there. Arcanum is set in a wide, wide world, with tons and tons of fascinating (albeit at times eccessive) lore bits. And yet, for a first-timer, it can all be a bit confusing I'm afraid. This is why I recommend the first playthrough to be as linear as possible: to get a glimpse of the possibilities the game has to offer and indirectly get used to them while avoiding to get overly confused by its several facets.
 

Egosphere

Arcane
Joined
Jan 25, 2018
Messages
1,909
Location
Hibernia
I started first blind playthrough as melee tech dwarf, but the pyro-axe is so OPd, it took all the fun away.
If that's your problem, you're not going to be able to play the game past a certain point with any build unless you invest all your points in trapfinding and other useless skills. Even bad combat builds become broken in Arcanum after a certain point.
That would suck big time, as I'm loving the game so far and am bent to finish it.

Aren't there any decent guns that can carry you over through most of the fights, without trivializing them, like pyro-axe does with melee techs?
From what I recall, guns are generally underpowered in the game. I pickpocketed the hand-cannon early in Tarant, but quickly went back to balanced sword because it killed faster and didn't use bullets. If that axe is too op and you can't resist using it, then yeah the tech build is for you.
 

Tigranes

Arcane
Joined
Jan 8, 2009
Messages
10,350
Guns are underpowered at the start due to the time it takes to build up accuracy, bullet supply, and access to decent guns - rather like FO1/2. Once you get going, you are just as curbstomper as any other build, and the only real trade is that you lose magic's utility spells and quick playing pace in return for a cooler experience of assembling and trying a variety of crazy gun types.

That said, you don't have to use particularly super-powerful guns (the elephant gun, wasn't it? I forget now), and there's a wide variety after midgame. Just like how it's easy to stay melee without going pyroaxe/balanced swords.
 

Piotrovitz

Savant
Joined
Dec 21, 2017
Messages
805
Location
Paris, Texas
That said, you don't have to use particularly super-powerful guns (the elephant gun, wasn't it? I forget now), and there's a wide variety after midgame. Just like how it's easy to stay melee without going pyroaxe/balanced swords.
Was wondering more if the guns/schematics/parts are distributed more reasonably, unlike that goddamn pyro-axe that you can get 1 hour into the game.
I don't mind getting uber weapons at the end, especially guns, which require much more investment in stats/skills than melee stuff.

Balanced swords are ok - they provide smooth start for melee techs and are ok for clearing all the early locations/combat quests.
Things would be fine if the next step would be charged/envenomed weapons - combat would get easier and you would still have fun times and incentive to look for further search schematics.
 

Tigranes

Arcane
Joined
Jan 8, 2009
Messages
10,350
Sure, in the sense that for normal playthroughs, gun builds will find themselves not using guns for like the first 25% of the game (again, like FO1/2), and then after about 50%, there comes a point where you get access to more great guns than you will ever need.
 

Ninefingers

Educated
Patron
Joined
Mar 16, 2018
Messages
70
Location
England
I started first blind playthrough as melee tech dwarf, but the pyro-axe is so OPd, it took all the fun away.
If that's your problem, you're not going to be able to play the game past a certain point with any build unless you invest all your points in trapfinding and other useless skills. Even bad combat builds become broken in Arcanum after a certain point.

Golems are really slow so you should be able to kite them easily enough as ranged. Can do it easily enough in real time if you want to speed it up a bit.
The only danger is the ranged projectiles they shoot that do a shitload of damage. And remember to "#back off" so your companions don't stupidly charge to their deaths.

I’m really getting into this now. I decided to play as an ugly degenerate half orc mongrel who solves all problems with an axe.

Hit a bit of a wall with the ore golems so decided to branch out into bows. I was broke and everybody hates me because I’m an ugly fucker and cursed by a gypsy to boot. I figured I might as well become the cunt that everybody expects me to be so I started murdering shop keepers - now I’m loaded and can actually afford arrows.

Unfortunately certain upstanding citizens now attack me on sight with their bare hands and I have to lure them to a secluded spot and have my way with them away from the prying eyes of the guards.

This is the best negro fantasy minority simulator I’ve ever played.
My half-ogre with 2 intelligence ended up becoming a monster who murdered everyone he came across (once I had done all the quests I could in that area). I hadn't planned on doing an evil playthrough, but sometimes things just work out that way.

Also keep Virgil with you if he still is, you can turn him evil too and there's a fun scene between him and elder Joachim...

Will do! Kept him so far for his healing, plus only have the CHA for one follower and he seemed the most tied to the story.
 

Uncle Skull

Educated
Joined
Jul 8, 2017
Messages
75
If memory serves the only real opportunities to sleep with people are working as a whore in Tarant and sleeping with the guy who owns the gentleman's club to get in. And the widow in Caladon, like I mentioned earlier. I don't think you even get to bang Raven.

I have heard from reliable sources that you can also shag Min Gorad.

if anyone wants to tackle Arcanum as a first timer, my two cents would be: stay the hell away from casters and crafters, they're simply not worth the headache. Roll a decent melee character, pick up Virgil (if you're playing a warrior character he's the only companion you'll really need: he's deeply tied to the story and likes healing you while you tank. Win-win situation. Worhtless Mutt is also good to have around with his insanely op melee skills; grab it as soon as you get to Ashbury) and grit your teeth for the first 30 lvls while grinding yoursef out of the "this sucks, I suck, life is pain" pit and jumping straight into the "I sneeze and continents die" side of the spectrum. Once there, do whatever you darn well please; the game's yours to split open like a ripe watermelon.

Id' say first timers should probably not try to go into extensive crafting since ingredient hunting can be a pain in the ass, but they should experiment as they like before they are 2/3rds to the freaking level cap, as well as dump some points into persuasion so they can do the mastery quest and skip the Dredge. I don't get why exactly do you claim casters are not worth it considering how much headache you can avoid if you go mage.
Also, no Magnus Shale Fist?:decline:
 

Egosphere

Arcane
Joined
Jan 25, 2018
Messages
1,909
Location
Hibernia

I'm a big fan of Arcanum, but I could never understand why the guy in Arcane armor in the intro movie isn't wearing any armor over his crotch. Is it a psychological trick, like he's leaving his balls unprotected because he's just that confident?
 

oscar

Arcane
Joined
Aug 30, 2008
Messages
8,036
Location
NZ
Game is easy enough that you'd have to actively try pretty hard to make a 'bad' build.
 

Piotrovitz

Savant
Joined
Dec 21, 2017
Messages
805
Location
Paris, Texas
Sure, in the sense that for normal playthroughs, gun builds will find themselves not using guns for like the first 25% of the game (again, like FO1/2), and then after about 50%, there comes a point where you get access to more great guns than you will ever need.

TBH I found the pre-BMC game pretty ok using fine revolver, the only time I had to resort to melee was the blimp crash site.
Probably would be easier with balanced sword, but it's not that much of a pain with a gun.

On a side note - not sure if those char backgrounds were included in vanilla or added in Multiverse, but the ones that give you +1 to physical/mental stats with 30% xp gain penalty make the levelling pace much more like it should be : |

Also, am I having hallucinations, or does Multiverse gives you xp for dmg done by followers?
 

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