First playthrough of Arcanum ever

[jaro]

Hi,
I've just obtained Arcanum, it's gonna be my first playthrough ever. I've been thinking about creating a Half-ogre technologist with a Miracle Operation background, so he's good with both melee and firearms, and also intelligent. Is that a good build for a first playthrough? If yes, which statistics and skills should i pay special attention to? Also tell me if you can what I should avoid investing in.

First post by the way, hi there

 

[Sodomy]

Large races (that includes half-ogres) cannot use guns, unless there's something I'm forgetting about that particular background. Half-ogre with high INT is also of questionable utility.

That said, it's awfully hard to create a build that's so shitty that you can't complete the game- Arcanum is really pretty easy. There's only two hard dungeons (one of which can be avoided with a diplomacy check), and if all else fails, you can get by the tough enemies (who are all of one particular species... those who have played the game know exactly what I'm talking about, I'm sure) by switching it to real-time and outrunning them.

 

[jaro]

Thank you for your help I thought Half-Ogres can use bigger guns, like rifles, flamethrowers etc. That would seem logical. Also, why is an intelligent half-ogre a bad thing? INT is needed for schematics, I'd also like to have a good amount of dialogue options and use Persuasion quite often.

 

[Sodomy]

Half-ogres tend to get nasty reactions, not only due to their low beauty score, but also ones that are intrinsic to the race.

Also, you're not going to get "bigger guns" until quite deep into the game (and even then, I'm not certain half-ogres can use them). And, trust me, you do not want to be relying on Virgil for your primary source of damage, for any time, no matter how brief.

For the build you've come up with, you almost certainly want a human. Maybe a dwarf, or perhaps a halfling/gnome, if neither have a magic affinity (again, I can't recall).

 

[JarlFrank]

Dwarf or human is best for technology/gun users.

 

[janjetina]

The combat in the game is unbalanced at the expense of the technology oriented characters, especially in the beginning, so I'd advise either a full melee build or a magic user build for the first playthrough. Alternatively, you can start a melee build and later put points into technological disciplines. For a melee character, strength and dexterity (as it determines action points, it is useful for all characters) are needed, intelligence is important for the schematics, and charisma is important for characters who want to achieve their goals through the use of diplomacy. If you want to use guns, you'll need high perception. This illustrates the need to be clear what kind of character you want to play, as character points are not so abundant to make a jack-of-all-trades.

 

[jaro]

Yeah, so I guess I'll just play a typical Half-Ogre dumbfuck for the first time, maybe I'll put a few points into INT

 

[JarlFrank]

You'll miss a lot of content that way, though. I wouldn't recommend the dumb ogre for your first playthrough, but it can be a lot of fun the second/third time around.

 

[jaro]

So let's say I'll get my INT up to an acceptable level, how 'bout that?

 

[JarlFrank]

That would do, some characters will still react negatively towards your race though. And ogres are most fun when they're dumb and strong, anyways.

It's your game and your decision though, so do what you want :wink:
Higher intelligence is definitely recommended to completely understand the story, though. The lulz from the retard dialogue/journal are bigger, anyways, if you already know what the game is about.

 

[jaro]

So how much should I put into INT? 6 will suffice?

 

[Emotional Vampire]

If you want to be "different" just play a half-orc.

 

[JarlFrank]

6 is enough to speak coherently, yes.

 

[jaro]

If you want to be "different" just play a half-orc.

Easier for the first time?

 

[JarlFrank]

If you want to be "different" just play a half-orc.

Easier for the first time?

Yep.

 

[racofer]

How does Arcanum compares to Drakensang?

 

[merchant's skeleton]

I'm playing properly for the first time too, using Drog's latest patch. I'm playing a human with the Miracle Operation background. Started with points in firearms, persuasion, and gunsmithy; bumped my dexterity a little to help out in combat too.

Combat has been pretty hard to begin with. My dude has had more critical failures in melee than I can count. But I've made it to Tarant at level 5, and I've bumped strength (so I can use my hand-crafted flintlock) and dexterity a bit more. My guy still sucks, but I''ve got Virgil and the ogre to back me up.

Enjoying it so far. Combat is really not great, but it's tolerable in turn-based mode. The rest - the world, dialogue, choices and quests - are just dandy. Thank god for the widescreen mod. I couldn't play it very far when it first came out due to the interface, and view screen, but it's much better now.

 

[Truman]

I recommend using a character editor and giving yourself Teleport (or whatever it's called). Sure it's cheating, but it's sooo much better than running 5 mins to the world map.

 

[Emotional Vampire]

Combat has been pretty hard to begin with. My dude has had more critical failures in melee than I can count.

Skills are much more importants than stats, so instead of pumping ST and DX you should be pumping PE and Firearms, and don't forget to get yourself trained as well. If you're a gunslinger(or any non-magickal charater really) get yourself a pair of Charged Rings ASAP.

 

[Good Ol' Drog]

Large races (that includes half-ogres) cannot use guns

Not true, they can use rifles. According to the lore, their fingers are just too thick to use handguns (a la Fallout's Super Mutants).

Also, on the subject of racism.

E.g. a Dwarf PC get a -20 reaction penalty when talking to an Elf NPC.

 

[Emotional Vampire]

Why the hell Dark Elves and Elves like each other?

 

[JarlFrank]

Why the hell Dark Elves and Elves like each other?

Because they're the same race?

 

[Black]

Why the hell Dark Elves and Elves like each other?

Because it's the same race, different ideology.

 

[Emotional Vampire]

:chechnya:

 

[merchant's skeleton]

Gar is awesome. What level do I need to be for him to join me? No spoilers if possible.