OK, I'm Baffled --- New Player Woes

[CobraEye]

Thanks to Basilisk for producing a great game.

I have a fighter level 4 with good strength, dexterity, endurance, and speed, and reasonable skills elsewhere. I have really been struggling with getting things done, though.

I keep getting "surprised" by 4 noximanders which poison me, or thugs which pummel me, and my only success is to kill one then run away and recover then come back to fight the others.

I have visited the forums and see where others suggest all kinds of stat development, buying items, or collecting cool stuff. I have next to no gold, and haven't found much of anything worth while.

Might seem like whining, but after 20 hours of play I am struggling just to stay alive at level 4, whereas it seems others are finishing the game with stellar equipment and levels.

Any thoughts?

Thanks to all.

[krisklef]

well, for what it's worth, I am fond of fighting one or two of a group, running off and resting for 12-24 hours. It seems the only way a novice like me can slug through some of the baddies. Just wait until you get to the carniraptors; my tactic as a mage is to get lots of mana up, find one, hammer him with 5 or 6 fire missles, and go chameleon when he closes range. Then run away and store up some more mana. Rinse, repeat.

I am not through the game yet, but when I finish, I'll probably go back and start over with some more efficient choices of skills etc. But I can't see a way past the familiar tactic of luring one guy away, dealing with him, and then taking a spa. Maybe lots of heavy armor skill?

If you have elemental skill and Sonic Blast, that's a good way to handle groups of monsters. But you have to keep casting it.

Good luck!

[BasiliskWrangler]

Don't assume that swinging a sword is all you need to be successful. Eschalon does not play like a contemporary shooter.

Early on, concentrate on just surviving- become skillful in weapons or magick and don't waste too many points on non-combative skills. Likewise, spend your gold carefully- purchase items that will maximize your Damage, ToHit or Armor Rating before you buy things like lock picks or spells like "Cat's Eyes".

Also, keep lots of health potions in your inventory but don't drink them except when they are needed. If you are injured but otherwise healthy, just explore for a bit and you'll recover HP naturally.

Along this line of thinking, if you are poisoned and you have a detox potion, don't drink it right away. Wait- perhaps your body will remove with the toxin on its own. I only use detox potions when I am down to 5 hit points or so and it looks like I might not survive the poisoning.

If you are near town, go ahead and pay a few coins to get a room for the night instead of camping. This heals you and guarantees a safe night's rest.

[solistus]

What skills have you trained?

Eschalon is _very_ hard for a pure combat character at the beginning. Divination or Elemental will do wonders for early encounters. Also, learn to love quicksaving and reloading. You can use it to sleep in small increments so you can reload if you get 'surprised' by a random encounter you're not ready for. Also, most chests, coffins, loot bags, etc. have their loot randomly "rolled" when they are opened, so if you are really poor, you can keep reloading a chest until you get some valuable loot to sell.

It's possible to make it through the first few levels by spamming level one spells. I'm making an uber-efficient character now (using books and trainers first before spending valuable points), so for most of the early game all I had to go on was my 1 free point in Divination as a Healer.

[CobraEye]

Don't assume that swinging a sword is all you need to be successful. Eschalon does not play like a contemporary shooter.

I agree and have just added Elemental, but can't afford to buy a scroll at 300GP to learn a spell.

Along this line of thinking, if you are poisoned and you have a detox potion, don't drink it right away. Wait- perhaps your body will remove with the toxin on its own. I only use detox potions when I am down to 5 hit points or so and it looks like I might not survive the poisoning.

I can handle that under normal circumstances, but it seems that each time my character fails to save vs. poison during a single melee combat the game "adds" another batch of "poison points" I have to endure. I lost nearly 60 points AFTER combat due to cumulative poison effects and died anyway. As one cannot use the city travel while poisoned, sleeping in the woods is about the only option.

I have tried to find the books and trainers to help me acquire skills, but they all seem to be available only in places where level 4 hackers would never survive.

Thanks again to all for your thoughts, and thanks as well to Basilisk for a great game. If it was easy, it wouldn't be any fun!

[solistus]

CobraEye: rerolling loot might be a good way to get your first combat spell. You can reroll until you either find a scroll or find a valuable item you can sell to buy a scroll.

[Daemian Lucifer]

Start as a mage(either divination or elemental),then pick enemies one by one,fall back and recover mana.I managed to go through the whole game without a single hour of sleep,and here is how:Start with high perception(18-20 at least),pick a druid and one of the magics(both will give you one starting offensive spell,so its up to you,but I prefer elemental since it has better buffs later and there is a divination trainer).This will allow you to recover your mana during your long walks.But stay clear of the dungeouns for a few levels because those have slower regen rates for druids.

Also,pick unarmed since that allows you to bash anything without breaking your weapon,and you can switch to some weapon once you get to the trainer.Plus you will be picking off your enemies from distance,so unarmed is just for finishing them off.

Pick one of the armours(light has better charms and is available sooner,but heavy gives greater protection,so its up to you).

Dont pick the following skills because you can train them for money:Cartography,alchemy,cleaving,blundgeoning,swords,throwing and archery.If you go this path,the first quest to do is the one for the cartographer.It is a tough one for such a weak starting build,but with proper use of black powder kegs and some running,it can be done.

[Dragonlady]

Start as a mage(either divination or elemental),then pick enemies one by one,fall back and recover mana.I managed to go through the whole game without a single hour of sleep,and here is how:Start with high perception(18-20 at least),pick a druid and one of the magics(both will give you one starting offensive spell,so its up to you,but I prefer elemental since it has better buffs later and there is a divination trainer).This will allow you to recover your mana during your long walks.But stay clear of the dungeouns for a few levels because those have slower regen rates for druids.
.

Just a passing note, there is a trainer for elementalists too. Same town as Diviniation - Blackwater.

[Krafen]

Although, if you start with Elemental, you don't need Unarmed because the starting Elemental spell can break barrels while the starting Divination spell cannot.

[hanako]

My current playthrough (first on actually owning the game, as my first attempt in demo was a rogue-type who was very frustrated) started as a pure sword-fighter. I had more luck than it sounds like you're having, partly through being very willing to save/reload.

Lockpick chance only 20%? (I gave in and eventually added a basic lockpick skill because bashing annoys me) Quicksave first, load 'til it works.

Nasty monster with a chance of a horrible status effect? Save before fighting, retry until I win without being poisoned, diseased, or cursed! (Unless I can afford the remedy.)

Need to sleep? Save first, reload if something attacks in the night!

Fought a grueling battle only to be rewarded with a piece of cotton string in a chest at the end? Reload that chest! (This is the only time I reroll loot.)

Also, en route to Blackwater for your first visit, there is at least one area where you may be attacked by something too high-level for you to manage , There's also a lot of WIDE OPEN SPACE. Go around them and just keep going until you get off the map. You can fight them a few levels later. Reaching Blackwater is extremely useful for character development - this is where I took Divination and discovered a whole new world. I'm still mostly a fighter, but the addition of catseyes and nimbleness and such makes a big difference in melee.

I haven't won yet, though, I'm still on my first game!

[DarkFoss]

I just started this game as well as a mage..I did the Blacksmiths quest
halfway through lvl 1..I'm a roll freak though jacked int and perception up to 20 during character creation the only stat below 12 is concentration... currently playing in the crypt half way through lvl 2.

I did choose unarmed skill though to do some bashing without having to waste mana and having to risk camping in the dungeons...

Great game so many ways to play it through..I forsee a lot of lost time with this one

[Daemian Lucifer]

Although, if you start with Elemental, you don't need Unarmed because the starting Elemental spell can break barrels while the starting Divination spell cannot.

That takes a lot of mana and would take a lot of time.But it has the advantage that it isnt a crime to break something with a spell.

[CobraEye]

CobraEye: rerolling loot might be a good way to get your first combat spell. You can reroll until you either find a scroll or find a valuable item you can sell to buy a scroll.

Maybe someone could explain how to do this? I guess I am just not doing right: quicksave before opening a chest or a barrel, open it. Enjoy gold and loot if desirable; restore the quicksave game if not and repeat opening process?

It's possible to make it through the first few levels by spamming level one spells.

I'm not sure I understand what you're suggesting. Sorry to be so dense!

All in all I anticipate playing the game several times to explore options. Again, thanks to all for suggestions.

[solistus]

CobraEye:

You're got it exactly right for rerolling loot. Make sure to quicksave BEFORE opening the chest- once it's opened, it's been rolled and that loot ain't changing! If you save in front of an unopened chest, you can open it and either save again to keep the loot or restore to try again.

As for spamming level one spells, both Elemental and Divination have a level 1 damage spell (Fire Dart or Flesh Boil). If you're patient, you can win most early fights just by casting these over and over. It's easier with Divination, because you also get a healing spell.

In general, the easiest way to win fights is to attack with buffs. Divination gives a great buff called Bless from the beginning that adds a bonus to your to hit and damage rolls. Once this gets to level 6, it's hard _not_ to be a formidable opponent. Toss in Quickness and Ogre Strength to boost any stat deficiencies and maybe an Enkindled or Enchanted Weapon and you can really bring on the hurt!

OK, maybe I lied. The absolute easiest way to win fights is with Hide in Shadows. You can kill enemies stronger than yourself with no restores without taking a single hit in the right conditions! When you're hidden, you're basically invisible; monsters will not attack you at all. If your Hide in Shadows is good enough, in a dark area like a dungeon you can hide even when not by a wall or doorway, and you can get a couple hits in before being revealed. No matter what your level, you can reset your hidden status by moving a single step (just make sure wherever you move to is a good spot to hide - a single step toward a lantern might not do so much good!). Sidenote: if you camp in the dark while hidden, you will remain hidden when you wake up until you move. Even if it's light out.

Tip for tough fights: try quicksaving a lot. If you have a really bad round of combat (e.g., you miss or fail to cast your spell, the bad guys crit you for a lot), you can restore to a turn or two beforehand. I've managed to get out of tough spots (e.g., surrounded by Noximanders at level 5 with low hp) by restoring a lot until every single round of combat goes just right.

[Krafen]

As for spamming level one spells, both Elemental and Divination have a level 1 damage spell (Fire Dart or Flesh Boil). If you're patient, you can win most early fights just by casting these over and over. It's easier with Divination, because you also get a healing spell.

Are you sure about the healing spell with Divination? When I started with Divination, I only got the attack spell. Admittedly, I was suprised the healer didn't start with the ability to heal.

I found starting with Elemental 6 to be very effective. That gives you access to Fire Bolt 3, which 1-shots just about everything you will find before you reach level 2. At level 2, you can increase that to Elemental 11 for Fire Bolt 6. This makes the early game fairly easy. You will, of course, need to heavily emphasize Perception to accommodate the high mana expenditure, but you aren't really spending more mana than you would otherwise, you are just expending it in less rounds. Once you get your Perception to 38+ (which is possible by level 4), you can kite fairly effectively.