Help me to play Arcanum

[Turok]

Yea thats right, i never finish the game, i always stop playing after i reach a island where i get incarcelated, my caracter sux, i always try to make a technological guy but i always fail to make a good char and choose a good party.

So tell me, how do you play Arcanum, i mean what kind of caracter you use and why???

 

[Zhirzzh]

If you can't get through the game, just make a mage and spam Harm. Extremely easy. Worry about playing a tech character once you figure out what you're doing.

 

[Squirly]

But tech characters are the most interesting!

I mean, I can't really talk because I never finished it either (several restarts, installation of mods, crashes and so on) but I got pretty damn far with a human evil genius. He was smart.

 

[Humanophage]

Focus on charisma and get as many followers as possible. I remember (not particularly fondly) running around with a huge army by the end of the game only wearing a tuxedo.

 

[Andhaira]

Yeah play a warrior mage with a focus on fire and lightning spells and swinging a greatsword.

Also, get sog mead mugg.

 

[JarlFrank]

Focus on charisma and get as many followers as possible. I remember (not particularly fondly) running around with a huge army by the end of the game only wearing a tuxedo.

This. Charisma + many followers + persuasion skill = best Arcanum experience.
And you'll still get enough experience to max both your charisma+persuasion and one or two combat skills.

 

[Zhuangzi]

As said above, Arcanum is quite easy with a Mage character who also does a fair bit of whacking with a big sword. Really simple. I've played the game through at least 3 times but never as a technologist, which is a shame I guess. It just looked a LOT more complicated.

 

[Durwyn]

I've found Arcanum pretty unfinishable if you make pure combat tech character. Especially the black mountain clan mines/stronghold. With gunfighter I couldn't even scratch golems.I had to run away from all enemies straight to the hidden dwarf. Maybe if you spam some explosives it becomes easier. It's a lot easier with magick fighter or mage.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

An early game hint is to try to have at least Charisma 9 when you start the game. There's a very useful NPC in the first town that won't want to join up with you otherwise.

With him, Virgil, my bag of technological tricks and an Elephant Gun, I played through the game...way too many years ago, come to think of it.

 

[Paperclip]

I've found Arcanum pretty unfinishable if you make pure combat tech character. Especially the black mountain clan mines/stronghold. With gunfighter I couldn't even scratch golems.I had to run away from all enemies straight to the hidden dwarf. Maybe if you spam some explosives it becomes easier. It's a lot easier with magick fighter or mage.

Killing golems with guns is easy if you "exploit" the unbalanced combat system (use real time) and have a lot of ammo.

 

[MetalCraze]

[...]many followers[...] = best Arcanum experience.

Yes especially when they summon some retarded golems which then proceed to attack you instead of an enemy and when you try to kill those golems your followers heal them.
On my next playthrough I won't take with me anyone but the Dog.

 

[somnium]

I've found Arcanum pretty unfinishable if you make pure combat tech character. Especially the black mountain clan mines/stronghold. With gunfighter I couldn't even scratch golems.I had to run away from all enemies straight to the hidden dwarf. Maybe if you spam some explosives it becomes easier. It's a lot easier with magick fighter or mage.

Killing golems with guns is easy if you "exploit" the unbalanced combat system (use real time) and have a lot of ammo.

that's how I did it as well, but be prepared to sell a arm and leg for ammo early in the game, if you don't have the skill and schematics to make your own. I left for the mines with around 700+ ammo on me (well not me exactly as I let the ogre carry it) and I had barely enough in the end. An alternative "tactic" would be to spam Molotov cocktails in the turnbased mode as they take 0 action points to throw.

 

[Squirly]

Lots of ammo and explosives. That's how I did the mines. At least your gun doesn't deteriorate when you hit a golem unlike my awesome magic sword that I used with my one elf char. That sucked.

 

[sheek]

Lots of characters suck because party AI sucks and you can't control them. They'll end up getting themselves killed. So you have to resurrect them so you also have to specialize in magery.

Lots of ammo and explosives. That's how I did the mines. At least your gun doesn't deteriorate when you hit a golem unlike my awesome magic sword that I used with my one elf char. That sucked.

I ended up killing most of the golems by stabbing them to death with those miniature swords which the imps (kites?) carried. Completely ridiculous and I went through about 20 of those dagger-swords but I was the only party member who could dodge their attacks, and I had Virgil + the woman herbalist heal me up after each fight.

 

[Darth Roxor]

Lots of characters suck because party AI sucks and you can't control them. They'll end up getting themselves killed. So you have to resurrect them so you also have to specialize in magery.

It's called F5.

Anyway, I did it as a technologist with the shoop and run tactic. Each time a golem appeared, I told my companions to back off (F5) and then started running around shooting things in real time (because that's what RPGs are to us) and trying to avoid hits. Wasted helluva ammo for that, but at least I had the schematics for bullets, and hell, I don't really see another way I could have done that except doing serious random encounter grinding for levels or something.

 

[Faceless]

Max out the following:
Melee
Dodge
Backstab
Prowling
Dexterity
Strength

Set the combat to Fast Turn Based

In combat, start prowling immediately, move behind an enemy, attack and OHKO it.

 

[Erebus]

I cruised through the game with a mage who had high charisma. Harm, Summon Ogre and plenty of followers will make combat easy.

 

[Destroid]

I got stuck in the mines and gave up

 

[FeelTheRads]

Can't understand how people have problems with playing a tech character. Really. Mage might be easier (never played as a mage, so I wouldn't know) but if that's the case then it must really be a breeze because I found it very easy as tech too.

You guys must really suck at building your characters and/or using them properly.

 

[Helton]

My last play through I just got bored when I got to the west half of the continent. Is that normal?

 

[Darth Roxor]

My last play through I just got bored when I got to the west half of the continent. Is that normal?

Yes.

 

[Thrasher]

Mage - spam harm and temporal spells.

Get a bunch of followers.

Super easy.

 

[Zhuangzi]

Well, the game is really straightforward and fun as a mage. No worries at all. I cruised through the whole thing with Virgil, lots of direct damage spells and a big, big sword.

 

[Thrasher]

I might add that still some locations were tedious (even if easy).

 

[jagged-jimmy]

Just go for melee, get a pyro axe and you will never encounter any challenge at all.