new t EBII - early experiences

Here's where all things related to Book II are being discussed!
Javolenus
Initiate
Posts: 16
Joined: March 10th, 2011, 2:38 am

new t EBII - early experiences

Post by Javolenus »

Hi There,

I just bought this game. Here are my early experiences:

1. I go to the first town. I enter a building and see chests. I open a chest and take the stuff. A woman attacks me. Then a guard attacks me. My character is killed.

2. I go to the first town. I enter buildings and see barrels and chests. I open them where possible and take what's inside. I find traders and buy stuff and equip my character. I walk about and kill rats. Night comes. I camp. Then I can't camp due to some message, so I walk about in the dark. Morning comes. I don't know what to do so I enter a building and talk to a woman. She wants me to check on her brother who lives east of town and I accept the task. I take the road east and get killed by dragonflies.

3. I assume there's something wrong with my character so I start a new game and make my character a fighter. I repeat the steps outlined above with the same results.

4. I start a new game but don't accept any quests. Instead I decide to explore the map. I find the various combat modes. I walk down a road and am attacked by dragonflies. I switch combat modes. My character is killed.

5. I start a new game and make the parameters as easy as possible. I repeat the steps outlined above. My character is armed with bow and with sword. He is a fighter. He is killed by a dragonfly.

I guess, at this point, my question is: how do you traverse the map and complete quests while avoiding getting killed by dragonflies?

Personally, I find it really irritating that I've got to post questions on a forum in order to survive the first few minutes of a game.
User avatar
onlynoly
Initiate
Posts: 10
Joined: March 9th, 2011, 4:46 am

Re: new t EBII - early experiences

Post by onlynoly »

Talk to NPCs in the town first and collect quests in your quest book. Try to finish the easier quest before venturing out in the wild. There are some quests that is not as dangerous as fighting dragonels at an early level. When you level up, you can improve your character so he/she can fight stronger opponents.

I just finished the game as a mage. Maybe you should try it first. You can use long range attack magic with that character.
The only way to find your way is to get lost first...
User avatar
KillingMoon
Officer [Gold Rank]
Officer [Gold Rank]
Posts: 460
Joined: December 10th, 2009, 6:34 pm
Location: NW Europe

Re: new t EBII - early experiences

Post by KillingMoon »

onlynoly wrote:I just finished the game as a mage. Maybe you should try it first. You can use long range attack magic with that character.
I agree with that. For new players, starting with Fire Dart, an easily accessible spell from the Elemental school of Magick, is the easiest way to step into the game.

A few other points that a new player may overlook:
* At game setup you can reroll the dice; just roll until you get something good.
* Make sure you're boosting the attributes that match your specialization in an almost tunnelvisioned manner.
* If choosing a physical weapon (not Magick) get 10 points in it asap, as that rewards you with your special weapon feat, which is awewome for most weapons.
* Be thrifty with money - you'll find plenty of loot in the form of weapons and armour around. Try saving your money for your training - there are many opportunities to buy skills in this game, especially in Kuudad.
* Avoid taking on more than one enemy at a time.
* Keep an eye on your character stats, notice for example that your defense will go down if you're equipping a piece of armour without being skilled in wearing that particular type of armour.

The first bit of the game is the most challenging bit. If you're playing it right, you will become stronger as the game progresses.
User avatar
Kreador Freeaxe
Major General
Major General
Posts: 2425
Joined: April 26th, 2008, 3:44 pm

Re: new t EBII - early experiences

Post by Kreador Freeaxe »

Javolenus wrote:Personally, I find it really irritating that I've got to post questions on a forum in order to survive the first few minutes of a game.
Did you read the Player's Manual first to understand what the various stats do for your character? Also, early on it is helpful to specialize your character as much as possible. In combat, especially early, it is easier to beat enemies with guerrilla tactics: divide enemies, snipe at them, use terrain to your advantage. Charging into a crowd of enemies is likely to get you killed very quickly.

Also, did you pick up and read the note outside your front door when you started?
---

Kill 'em all, let the sysadmin sort 'em out.
User avatar
xolotl
Lieutenant
Lieutenant
Posts: 777
Joined: August 21st, 2008, 1:54 pm

Re: new t EBII - early experiences

Post by xolotl »

I'll echo the advice given about spellcasters being the most powerful in Book II (largely due to the immediate effectiveness of their long-range attacks), and also the advice about specialization. The more skills you try to give your character, the more difficult the beginning of the game is going to be. If you do try a spellcaster route, remember that Perception is by far the most important attribute to put points into.

In regards to the note about camping in your second attempt, the message should let you know what the problem is. Either you're too close to either people or enemies, or you happen to be standing right next to a tree or something and need some more room. In the first case, just move away from living things and try again; in the second, just nudge your character a space or two away from where you were.

In terms of getting experience, the quest you get from the Blacksmith in Eastwillow is one of the more easily-achieved quests, which should give you some XP. I think that typically the next quest most people take on is the one given by the Priest in Eastwillow (heading down into the old well).

Oh, and I imagine that by now you've learned a lesson about the care you should take when trying to rob the good townsfolk of their possessions. :)

Edit: Er, and by "Aridell" I meant "Eastwillow," of course.

Edit again: Oh, and one other thing I had meant to mention: there's no time limit for any of the quests in the game, so you don't have to avoid accepting quests early in the game. If a particular quest is too difficult (or you just don't feel like it at the time), you can always just get around to it later.
Javolenus
Initiate
Posts: 16
Joined: March 10th, 2011, 2:38 am

Re: new t EBII - early experiences

Post by Javolenus »

OK, I see! now I understand things a bit better. Many thanks indeed for the help - much appreciated.

I've been playing the game a few hours since starting this thread and things have not been working out! I went down the well to look for the priest but one of the doors locks behind me and I can't get out! I reloaded the save game and tried again with the same result. Never did find that priest!

Then I accepted the Blacksmith's quest to retrieve the sword from the Constable who lives 'north-east of town'. I took that direction and got killed by dragonflies (or whatever they're called).

I took the quest to find Wendy's brother, but got killed by rats.

I read some of the ingame help and I definitely read the letter at the start of the game. But actually none of that helped at all and I wasn't prepared for how tough the game is (or seems to be).

But having read the replies here, I see that, actually, I've got to start again and choose another character. Mmm, this seems to contradict the idea that you can choose whatever chararcter you want, and play the game how you want!

If I hadn't read the helpful advice here I'd probably have just quit the game and resigned myself to wasting more money. As it is, I'll have another go and hopefully get further.
User avatar
Kreador Freeaxe
Major General
Major General
Posts: 2425
Joined: April 26th, 2008, 3:44 pm

Re: new t EBII - early experiences

Post by Kreador Freeaxe »

Have patience and think moves through. Watch your combat modes (the little sword in your tool bar will allow you to use one of the four combat modes: normal, power, finesse, or parry), as they add a lot of possibilities to combat. Eschalon has a lot of strategy to it, and not a lot of hand-holding. It's also helpful to run your mouse along walls while you're exploring. Things may be hidden from view by the isometric camera angle.
---

Kill 'em all, let the sysadmin sort 'em out.
Javolenus
Initiate
Posts: 16
Joined: March 10th, 2011, 2:38 am

Re: new t EBII - early experiences

Post by Javolenus »

OK, thanks for that. I like the game's atmosphere and presentation, and get the feeling there's a lot to enjoy and explore. Do the combat modes affect magical ranged attacks too? Or just regular melee combat?

I began a new adventure with a magic-using character. I didn't survive any longer than before. Although I could use ranged 'fire dart' attacks, I couldn't avoid multiple enemies and consequently got slotted in short order.

To be honest, I'm a bit stumped. If I want to play the game I have to accept and complete quests. Once I leave the first town in order to begin a quest, I get attacked by many enemies. My health/mana points just won't hold out, while the damage I inflict is minimal. I have tried running away from these fights and camping in order to regenerate health/mana, but as soon as I hit the road the whole thing is repeated again. If I stay in town and do the 'go down the well and find the priest' quest, I just get stuck in some room because the door closes behind me and I can't figure out how to open it. If I open other doors, multiple enemies appear and it's game over.

Having now started 4 separate adventures with various classes and skills, I'm not really sure what to do. The game seems to be encourging me to do nothing: it gets dark, so you can't go anywhere without getting killed; it gets light, but you can't go anywhere without getting killed. No wonder all these townsfolk want to give me jobs - they know it's not safe to take two steps outta town!

Well, there are lots of games around and I'm not sure my (limited) patience will hold out much longer on this one. I really want to push the story forward, but if I can't even complete a single quest!

Meanwhile, I do have a specific question: the Constable who lives 'north-east' of town, and Wendy's brother, who also lives 'north-east' of town - are their houses on a separate map? How do I get there? So far, I've only found the Dragonel-infested farmhouse.
Randomizer
Captain Magnate
Captain Magnate
Posts: 1469
Joined: December 11th, 2007, 6:51 am
Location: Wandering the Rift

Re: new t EBII - early experiences

Post by Randomizer »

The Blacksmith's quest is to the Constable, so go north along the road from the Blacksmith along a fence and turn west and then south to reach a building. The door is on the southwest side. Only a few rats along the way.

Wendy's brother lives in the next zone to the east and in the northeast building past lots dragonels and a few outlanders. This is a harder quest.

The room down the well closes when you or a rat steps on a pressure plate (it looks like a dotted square on the tile). You can reopen the doors by using the lever in the center and then avoiding stepping on a pressure plate by moving diagonally.

If you are playing as a mage, you can adjust the damage you do by changing the spell level from 1 to a higher number. The most is a level 6 version of the spell and it is limited to half the amount of skill levels you have in elemental magic. When you start your character make sure you have the maximum levels in the skill, 5.
User avatar
KillingMoon
Officer [Gold Rank]
Officer [Gold Rank]
Posts: 460
Joined: December 10th, 2009, 6:34 pm
Location: NW Europe

Re: new t EBII - early experiences

Post by KillingMoon »

Javolenus wrote:...having read the replies here, I see that, actually, I've got to start again and choose another character. Mmm, this seems to contradict the idea that you can choose whatever character you want, and play the game how you want!
Many different character builds are possible, and there are many different ways of how to play it - someone's done it as a level 1 Mage (just never hit the level-up button to stay level 1) and people have won it without making a single kill! Then there are the different challenges that you can choose to take on or ignore, but for a first play-through a lot of options will prove to be too challenging.
If you're new to the game you'll just get killed a thousand times because you don't know yet what you're doing. If the game would be easy for a new player it would be a bad game - no challenge. But many people start Book II with Book I experience, and for them the game's easy.
I went down the well to look for the priest but one of the doors locks behind me and I can't get out! I reloaded the save game and tried again with the same result. Never did find that priest!
I think Kreador Freeaxe didn't want to be too specific in his advice as to not spoil things, but I'll try raising the veil a touch here: look for something clickable that might open a hidden door...
Randomizer wrote:The room down the well closes when you or a rat steps on a pressure plate (it looks like a dotted square on the tile). You can reopen the doors by using the lever in the center and then avoiding stepping on a pressure plate by moving diagonally.
Yeah, there's that door as well, but you need to go ahead here. Then later on there's the hidden door that I was referring to.
Many of the quests are a bit difficult, as they'll leave you scratching your head. I guess there will be people that try to play a game like this without looking things up in a forum, but I think you need to be an RPG veteran for that. I often just look things up in a forum if I'm puzzled about something.
The sticky threads by Randomizer and Jedi Learner at the top of the Book II forum give help with the quests if you need it.

Just a few more bits of general advice:
* Save your game often and in different slots.
* Just flee if your enemy is getting the better of you - there's no shame in a tactical retreat!
User avatar
xolotl
Lieutenant
Lieutenant
Posts: 777
Joined: August 21st, 2008, 1:54 pm

Re: new t EBII - early experiences

Post by xolotl »

One tactic to try and ensure that you'll only be taking on one enemy at a time is to move around carefully and "wait" a few turns after each step or two (you can do that with the spacebar). Enemies can notice you and start moving towards you when they're offscreen, so waiting will give them a chance to move onscreen so you know they're there. If you just run forward heedless of the enemies, you'll certainly end up with more and more noticing you, and you'll get mobbed.
Javolenus
Initiate
Posts: 16
Joined: March 10th, 2011, 2:38 am

Re: new t EBII - early experiences

Post by Javolenus »

OK, many thanks indeed for these very helpful replies. I'm now getting further into the game thanks to this help - very much appreciated. The combat options (sword icon) and waiting option (spacebar) are proving useful.

I managed to complete my first quest! This was getting the sword back from the Constable. Just a few things that puzzled me though . . .

1. The manual says that lock picking is a crime and if you are observed there will be consequences. But I had to lockpick the Contable's door in order to get in and he was standing right there. I expected trouble (because he must have 'seen' or 'heard' me lockpicking) but nothing happened and his attitude was OK.
2. The manual also says that stealing is a crime etc. But I walked around the Constable's house opening and looting chests, trunks, drawers, without any interruption from him.
3. After getting all the loot from the Contable's house, I went back to town and sold it all. Then I went back to the Constable and bought the sword off him for 60 gold (but after selling his looted stuff I was still up on the deal). Then I took the sword back to the Blacksmith and got 100 gold reward.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that, without lockpicking and stealing I wouldn't have known how to finish this quest, but the manual gives the impression that such tactics should be avoided or only used surreptitiously.

Anyway, I'll now and look for the subterranean priest. I appreciate the hints and tips, so thanks again!
Randomizer
Captain Magnate
Captain Magnate
Posts: 1469
Joined: December 11th, 2007, 6:51 am
Location: Wandering the Rift

Re: new t EBII - early experiences

Post by Randomizer »

You have to be seen for it to be a crime. So it's possible to take things if you aren't in line of sight. Also removing things from barrels isn't considered a crime.

When you lockpick and the person is one the other side of the door, it usually isn't a crime. You should save before doing it just to be safe.
User avatar
xolotl
Lieutenant
Lieutenant
Posts: 777
Joined: August 21st, 2008, 1:54 pm

Re: new t EBII - early experiences

Post by xolotl »

Glad you're having a slightly easier time now; good luck underground! Note that the priest who gives you the quest is just in the main town; you don't have to go underground to actually get the quest (and in fact you'll probably want to accept the quest before you head down there).

Oh, and it is certainly possible to do the constable's quest without any stealing or lockpicking, though your methods are certainly viable ones. :)
User avatar
onlynoly
Initiate
Posts: 10
Joined: March 9th, 2011, 4:46 am

Re: new t EBII - early experiences

Post by onlynoly »

someone's done it as a level 1 Mage (just never hit the level-up button to stay level 1) and people have won it without making a single kill!
Level 1 Mage? That's crazy! But still possible. I like to try that one out.
The only way to find your way is to get lost first...
Post Reply