Stuck on Aurelian Outpost

[Abelian]

After trying out a high persuasion and streetwise Loremaster in Teron, I decided that I would save the high perception/intellect/charisma build for a later playthrough and play as a "dumb muscle" character the first time around, with a couple of point in streetwise/persuasion so that the character is not a complete fool.

My current build is an offense-oriented mercenary (7/9/9/7/4/4), with levels 6 in Sword and CS. My problem is that I don't know how to deal with the Aurelian outpost. I bought the stronger poison and killed the leader using CS in the dialog, but I am barely able to defeat the three remaining soldiers, let alone the five men in the mine. I must have tried this battle twenty times.

My character is wearing a legionary armor and I tried using both a scimitar and a gladius and shield (and a dori in a spear build). I tried using nets, too. So how is a combat-focused character supposed to deal with the outpost? Is it a quest only for loremasters/grifters? I have level 3 in Streetwise and Persuasion, so I could deal with Esbenus without fighting his raiders. Should I have focused on combat entirely?

 

[Serious_Business]

No defense skills? What? It was done I suppose, but you like giving yourself a challenge, do you?

Anyway, poison their food.

 

[Abelian]

No defense skills? What? It was done I suppose, but you like giving yourself a challenge, do you?

Anyway, poison their food.

I did poison their wine with the stronger 50 gp potion, not the 5gp rat poison. Regarding defense I do have level 2 in dodge, so my attack is 76 and defense is 20 (41 with the Phyrgian armor, I guess I'll try this one instead).

VD suggested on Steam that a critical-strike build relying on armor for defense was very competent. I thought I could specialize on offense and then one-hit kill the weakened soldiers.

 

[Saark]

Did this early on as an assassin with some points in dodge/crit/daggers. Event-killed the praetor with the critical strike check like you did, pulled the other 2 melee guys away so the crossbowman wouldn't shoot me and hoped that he would miss a lot once I dealt with those 2 goons.

I then left the area to heal up and stuff, only to return and see the remaining forces having fortified the mine. There are no new enemies though, they're just all standing outside waiting for your move. With high dex you can climb over their barricade without taking any damage (might need a rope too) and then just slaughter them. Most of them are just slaves with shitty weapons and accuracy, so with full health this should be doable for your build.

 

[Night Goat]

Should I have focused on combat entirely?

Yes. The couple points you put into streetwise and persuasion are gonna soon end up useless anyway if you don't keep pumping them, and combat is difficult enough that you really need to invest everything in it if you want to do it. And if you're not an assassin I don't think critical strike is a good investment, put those points in your defense skill instead.

 

[Abelian]

The couple points you put into streetwise and persuasion are gonna soon end up useless anyway if you don't keep pumping them, and combat is difficult enough that you really need to invest everything in it if you want to do it.

Well, I guess I'll roll a new character; I thiking either a sword/dodge merc or a spear/shield merc. The streetwise and persuasion probably would have revealed too much on a first playthrough, anyway.

 

[Rivmusique]

Always take alchemy to 2. Poison is free tiny damage and having a bunch of healing salves around means less trips to the doctor.

 

[Whisper]

Just tested my current character (another variation on the dumb spear and block merc) vs Poisoned Aurelians.
My kit is Masterwork Bronze Lorica Segmentata, (Iron) one-handed spear (Balanced and +passive, I think), a Infantry Shield. Also some poison and a whetstone.
I kill the guard that comes to meet me with repeated Aim: Head (lol no helmet, what an idiot), but his buttbuddy with the hammer and his crossbownman pal #REKT me.

Query: I made my own poison with 3 Alchemy, what's the difference between the vanilla poison you make, the rat poison and the bigger better poison from the alchemist?

Less hp for guards and i think easier assasination of one target pre-fight if you go that route.

I wouldnt be surprised if you get less check in sneaking.

 

[Mozg]

If you use Coltan's poison (either by being in the assassin's guild and asking or by being a Praetor and asking Dellar for some), the hammer guy starts already dead and everyone else is "badly wounded".

 

[hivemind]

so my attack is 76 and defense is 20 (41 with the Phyrgian armor, I guess I'll try this one instead).

Generally for a balanced newbie friendly combat build you should probably aim for you attack and defense ratings to be similar at any given time.

 

[Shadenuat]

Query: I made my own poison with 3 Alchemy

By the way, you should check descriptions in skills when you level up, Poison improves every 2 levels. So for Teron 4 Alchemy with 5 dmg per tick would win most fights, for Maadoran 6 will be good all around, and anything 8 or higher is a bit of an overkill since you'll do ~30 dmg through 3 turns meaning stuff will die in 2 hits max.

Meaning I wouldn't keep Alchemy at uneven levels.

 

[Shadenuat]

You can lure crossbowman to you if you run behind small wooden palisade just to the right of a guy you can critical-strike. Stand in first square where it begins.
Instead of nets try bolas.

If you poison their wine with poison from asassin guild there are just 3 guys to deal with - hammerguy dies too.

 

[Shadenuat]

Throwing doesn't affect consumables.

 

[Tigranes]

Any character with 4/4 attack/defense skill or higher should be able to handle poison-weakened Outpost, especially if you have alchemy/crafting & are able to CS the dude.

Usually the key is to use the barricade on the right. Either go right into the corner where the xbowman can't shoot you and then use fire vials, or stay, as Shadenuat says, in the first square to lure the xbowman.

Different chars have different bottlenecks in this fight (which is why it's so cool, it mixes different challenges). The Decanus usually requires throwing everything you've got and achieving a quick kill, because most Teron characters won't have sufficient ways to avoid not getting raped by him. If you have ranged weapons & fire vials, this isn't particularly difficult. At melee, that might mean using bombs and bolas to get away those guaranteed CS/aimed hits.

 

[Eyestabber]

I defeated them on my first try with my new hybrid build. Didn't even know about the stronger poison (how do you get it, btw?). A well placed black powder bomb can knock 2 guys to the ground, making the fight MUCH easier. Also, bolas/web are OP.

Stats on my guy: 4-10-6-8-8-4

CS instakill also helps.

 

[Shadenuat]

Btw the minimum amount of mooks there at the entrance is 2. That's if you get poison from asassin's guild and also 3 points in critical strike (repeating myself here but it actually didn't occur to me that it's indeed just 2 enemies). You are left with decanus & crossbow kid (and they are also wounded).

I defeated them on my first try with my new hybrid build. Didn't even know about the stronger poison (how do you get it, btw?).

I was only able to aquire that poison from Dellar as Praetor. Logically Asassin should be able to do that too.

I wonder what if you give poison delivery man your own poison but with very high Alchemy skill, like 6+. But I doubt developers tracked your own potions in the script.

 

[Dyskolos]

I wonder what if you give poison delivery man your own poison but with very high Alchemy skill, like 6+. But I doubt developers tracked your own potions in the script.

There's a decent change I'm not remembering correctly because it was a few weeks and several characters ago but I'm pretty sure my assassin's 6 alchemy homebrew potion didn't kill the hammer guy, just left him at the same 'badly wounded' level as the others. I remember being surprised on a later playthrough with the existence of Coltan's poison.