Lock picks & General Help needed

[Janusz11]

Hello all!

I need some help. First, where can I get some lock picking items? I'm now a level 5 Ranger and have been as far as Aridell, North- and South-Parish and the Salted Coast but have not found any lock picking items yet.

And then I need some help in general on how to improve my character or what to do to be able successfully battle all the enemies. Fact is that the little red lizards are the only enemies I don't have to fear anymore. But one of the bigger green ones can kill me in no time- and there are always more than just one. I may be able to kill him first. But his poison will finish me off for sure. I don't carry hundreds of bottles of Detox Serum with me.

Also the goblins and thugs are a real problem. I may take on one or even two goblins at a time. But the Grimmhold's Maintenance Level is crawled with them as you know. And the thugs are a real challenge. I need all my 57 Hit Points to be able to kill just one thug!

Honestly speaking, I'm now at a point where I find the game fairly frustrating. Its not only that I always have to fall back, finding a (momentarily) save place to rest. The game pretty much has become a save-load-save-load procedure because the enemies I encounter are that much stronger than my character. I don't want to run through this game, mowing everything in my way down and its totally alright with me that there are some characters that are tougher than mine. But the enemies I mentioned are the normal sight in the regions I travel through now. And that makes the game more frustrating than challenging to me.

So, what can I do? What abilities do I need to stand a chance against the mentioned enemies? Are there any special weapons that could help me?

I already carry a Steel Battle Axe with me and don't use my bow as I usually don't carry zillions of arrows with me.

I sometimes fight at night so that my enemies can't see me. Btw., its kind of unfair that my character suffers from the darkness even though I have Cat Eyes. This should give me an advantage in battle over my enemies.

Thanks in advance for your help!

[thecube]

Hello.

Lockpicks are sold by Innkeepers and can be found as random loot.

I haven't played a Ranger yet but I assume that a battle axe may not be a perfect weapon for them...
I mean Rangers tend to shoot at things. Possibly while they hide in the shadows? So maybe concentrating in +To Hit Attributes and Bow skills you'll be able to kill most of the bad guys before they reach you... Maybe even kite them a bit. Works great with Magic users not sure about archer types. And *do* carry arrows!

Cat's eyes is useful in close combat I believe.
Predator sight would be perfect for an archer as it allows you to see all monsters in the dark but I fear it needs an experienced magic user to cast it...

And maybe you should leave Grimhold for a bit later? Goblins can be tough... Eastern Thaermore maps should be ok for your level...

Like I said I haven't played a Ranger (yet) but since my current char, a Magic user, relies in ranged combat I employ whatever tactic ensures all enemies lie dead before they get a chance to hit me...

Don't give up though. It's a good game.

Hope I helped a bit.

[Janusz11]

Thanks thecube! Your tips are very welcome!

You are right, a battle axe isn't the right choice for a ranger. But I have an amulet which allows me to use a cleaving weapon. And since I sooner or later end up in close combat anyway I use the axe now all the time.

Of course, I'd prefer my bow. But then again, I can't afford all the arrows I'd need to kill all the enemies. This is probably the difference between a wizard and a ranger: a wizard has the knowledge (of his spells). But as a ranger I have to pay for every arrow I fire!

I meanwhile got Predator Eyes and yeah, they are a great help to my night-fighting tactics!

I'll keep on playing and try to improve on my character/weapon choice/tactics.

Thanks again.

[IJBall]

Janusz11,

I guess my advice would be to not get too frustrated - I too played a Ranger my first game, and I too had to abandon it (even though I was about Lvl. 12) because I had mishandled my character's development.

Basically, it's probably not uncommon to abandon your first game. So don't worry about it.

So, here's my advice:

Go ahead and abandon your current game, and start over.

If you stick with a Ranger in game #2, my strong advice is to keep rolling until at least your Strength, Endurance and Dexterity are 12 or above - it's really best if your Dexterity is max'ed out at 14. Then I'd pour most/all of your Attribute points into Dexterity - Dexterity is the thing that determines your bow ToHit (and even MaxDamage), so Dexterity is key for Rangers.

In terms of Skills, I'd probably be tempted to Max out your Bow skill at Lvl. 6. This combined with your high initial Dexterity should help you kill most of the stuff you need to on the first couple of maps. Then go for Light Armor. Your choice of Pick Locks is good. Also go for Hide in Shadows, and probably Move Silently. And I'd go for Swords or Cleaving Weapons. Then any other Skill you want.

For Rangers, I advise Druidic class, and whichever Race adds to your Dexterity & Concentration.

Now that you know where to get Lock Picks (all the pub/inn merchants sell them, and they occasionally pop up as treasure, at least later in the game), you should be able to alleviate your money problems (e.g. not being able to buy Arrows).

At the start of the game, I strongly advise trying to do Garrett's quest first (in the Salted Coast), as you can buy Cartography that way. (This one will also net you some $$$, if you have lock picks.)

In terms of Noximanders (the yellow/green lizards), the key to them is to never fight them at close range. Just keep going after them with bow & arrows. If you're out of arrows - run! - and come back to finish them off later when you have some more arrows. (Bow & arrows are also pretty effective against the slimes too.)

Basically, just keep going on quests. When you go up levels, focus on adding to Dexterity, Endurance & Strength (probably in that order), and keep increasing weapons & armor skills as much as possible.

Bottom line: Don't be afraid to start over - you won't be sorry that you did!

[Randomizer]

The key in this game is having a clear line of retreat. There are always going to be times where you are hurt and need time to heal and/or recharge spell energy so being able to flee pays off.

Range attacks are really necessary with monsters that do poison attacks or something else that you aren't able to heal from. There is no sense in taking damage that you can avoid.

Save before using a lockpick. It's easier just to reload than to keep buying more.

[Turtle]

There are a couple of ways to deal with thugs as a ranger. Obviously, you want to shoot them before they get near you. If you don't have Hide In Shadows yet, here are some tips:
1. Approach the thug hideout in the eastern salted coast from the north--just follow the coast down until you see the fence. There are usually two or three of them in the yard (five altogether, but if you don't come too close they won't all see you). They are not very bright, so they will attempt to come straight toward you, despite the fact that there is a fence in the way. You will get lots of free shots at them while they're milling around in confusion. If you're careful and a bit lucky, you might be able to get them all this way. If not, try tactic #2
2. Lead them back north to the border with south parish--they can't follow you across it. There are two places you can cross, which are near each other but out of line of sight. So you can leave the thugs at one crossing and sneak back to complete the quest. They will stay there until you are ready to come back and finish them off. This also works with the quest for the wedding ring, if you're not ready to take on four at once.

Good luck, and don't give up!

[mark]

If your character is weak, use the torch feature. Only fight at night or in the dark. Swing your weapon to strike, then hit the "t" key at the same time. This will extinguish your torch, and your enemy will not strike back because he can't see you. When it is your turn again, hit the "t" key to turn the lights on. Repeat until enemy is dead.

[Janusz11]

Thank you all for your advice!

Seems like I haven't misconfigured my character that badly at all. These are my specs:
* Strength 15
* Dexterity 16
* Endurance 14
* Speed 14
* Intelligence 14 + 2 (Thinking Cap)
* Wisdom 14
* Perception 14
* Concentration 14

Also I have – among others – the skills Hide in Shadows and Move Silently.

Okay, I will keep on playing and fine tune my character and tactics then. I will get myself some arrows and try to make better use of them.

Btw., I have cleared the Easter Salted Coast already. It was tough (and one of the reasons why I've originally opened this thread), but I managed it. Somehow I managed to alarm the thugs in the hide out and some green slime at the same time and lure them to the border in the North. There they both got involved in a battle and I could easily attack the thugs and finish them off while they were busy fighting off the green slime. =)

Thanks again to all of you!

[IJBall]

Thank you all for your advice!

Seems like I haven't misconfigured my character that badly at all. These are my specs:
* Strength 15
* Dexterity 16
* Endurance 14
* Speed 14
* Intelligence 14 + 2 (Thinking Cap)
* Wisdom 14
* Perception 14
* Concentration 14

This is good, but I would urge you not to put any more points into the last 5 attributes - as a Ranger, they won't help as much as the first 3.

(Basically, you did what I did my first few games - try to even out the character's attributes. It turns out, in this game, the better approach is to focus on 2-3 attributes and put most of your attribute points into those.)

Btw., I have cleared the Easter Salted Coast already. It was tough (and one of the reasons why I've originally opened this thread), but I managed it. Somehow I managed to alarm the thugs in the hide out and some green slime at the same time and lure them to the border in the North. There they both got involved in a battle and I could easily attack the thugs and finish them off while they were busy fighting off the green slime. =)

Thanks again to all of you!

The advantage of what you did is that, if you're weak, you let the bad guys hurt/kill each other.

The disadvantage is that you don't get the experience points for the kill if the bad guys kill each other off!

But what you did isn't a bad solution...

[Janusz11]

The disadvantage is that you don't get the experience points for the kill if the bad guys kill each other off!

Oh, I did get the experience points. Maybe not all. But I always try to make sure that I have the last strike that finishes my opponent off (that means that I have to save-and-load alot though ).

If your character is weak, use the torch feature. Only fight at night or in the dark. Swing your weapon to strike, then hit the "t" key at the same time. This will extinguish your torch, and your enemy will not strike back because he can't see you. When it is your turn again, hit the "t" key to turn the lights on. Repeat until enemy is dead.

Dang, that seems to work pretty nicely! The enemies still fight back. But they only rarely hit me due to the dark while I hit them pretty hard. Thanks for the tip!