Alas, no more to do

[Farwalker]

This run began when I unexpectedly rolled this:



A 106, with nice distribution! Well, I thought it might be time for that hardcore game I'd been meaning to play...

(This is close to a perfect roll for the characters I play. Other than the one point off perception - and because I was playing "true healer" I ended up putting an extra 2 points in Wisdom instead of using a certain ring. It's 2 points or Xed is dead...)

Walker became a Male Emayu Druidic Healer, no skill points invested, starting attributes:
Str: 15, Dex: 14, End: 24, Spd: 14, Int: 14, Wis: 12, Per: 25, Con:12

He avoided trouble at first, learning the art of foraging from a trainer, practicing under the trainer's protection and resting as needed at a nearby inn. As the money in his pouch multiplied he soon became a traveling scholar, learning from various skill masters and collecting books on any subject he could find.

(I did a bunch of this while keeping all options for challenges open, in case I ever wanted to go back and do them. Then I hunted until I hit 50k experience - level 13 - increasing perception to 40, endurance to 45 and strength to 20 at that level-up for the added benefit to health and mana.)

By level 21 [30] attributes were:
Str: 24, Dex: 24 [44], End: 46, Spd: 14, Int: 14, Wis: 14, Per: 42 [49], Con:12
Skills (and invested skill points), with all training and books:
Alchemy: 16 (6) [18 (8)]
Arcane, Div: 20 (10)
Arcane, Elem: 11 (1) [15 (5)]
Armor, Lt: 1 (-)
Armor, Hvy: 1 (-)
Armor, Shield: 1 (-)
Cartography: 10 (-)
Dodge: 1 (-)
Foraging: 10 (-)
Hide in Shadows: 52 (42)
Lore: 1 (-)
Medicine: 3 (-) (Free start skill)
Meditation: -
Mercantile: 1 (-)
Move Silent: 17 (7) [21 (11)]
Pick Lock: 10 (-)
Repair: 8 (-)
Skulldug: 1 (-)
Spot Hidden: 1 (-)
Unarmed: 10 (9)
Bludgeon: 10 (-) [27 (17)]
Bow: 10 (-)
Cleave: 10 (-) [*see note below]
Pierce: 1 (-) [*see note below]
Sword: 10 (-) [*see note below]
Throw: 8 (-)

[* Cleave and Sword I actually trained late, and I don't think I got around to reading the books for Cleave, Pierce or Sword. For Cleave and Sword I didn't want the extra feat ready notices since I wasn't going to use them anyway. Pierce - well I was hoping for a trainer in 1.05, and I wasn't using it anyway...]

[Farwalker]

Now, part of the reason I wanted to try Hardcore is there was a mention of better stuff. You know, maybe I was missing some cool gear if I wasn't in Hardcore?

For the record: I don't think the "10% improved item generation quality" provided any long term benefit. If you're thinking about going Hardcore rules just to get an edge on your final gear (like I did), don't bother. Oh, you'll pick up less rotten meat etc at the low end, but I never found even one random piece of equipment out in the field that caused me to say "Wow", or that I used in my final equipment. My gear all came from fixed item placements and shops. I suspect there is just as good stuff in the shops without going Hardcore too - it's possible the odds are a bit better in your favor with Hardcore, I don't know for sure, but it's a much bigger hassle to shop around in Hardcore.

What I ended up with (this is my combat gear):

Head: Resistant Spun Adamantium Skullcap +3 (10 Armor, 1.9 lbs, +10 All Resist)
Cloak: Ancient Dragon Skin Light Cloak +3 (9 Armor, 2.0 lbs)
Torso: Fireproof Spun Adamantium Armor +3 (12 Armor, 7.6 lbs, +20 Element Resist)
Belt: Fireproof Adamantium Warlord's Belt +3 (10 Armor, 8.0 lbs, +20 Element Resist)
Hands: Mighty Mithril Scale Gauntlets +3 (9 Armor, 3.8 lbs, +2 Str)
Legs: Mighty Tungsten Studded Leather +3 (9 Armor, 12.8 lbs, +2 Str)
Feet: Insulated Dragon Skin Boots +3 (10 Armor, 5.4 lbs, +20 Magick Resist)
Amulet: Stonebreaker (+2 Bludgeon, +2 Str, +3 To Hit)
Ring: Intense Focus (+5 Concentration)
Ring: Arcane (+3 Perception)
Quiver: Mithril or Diamond Arrows
Weapons:
A) Warmoth Bow (I never did get around to enchanting it further)
B) Bare Hands
C) Divine Ore War Hammer +3 (10.2 lbs, Base 9 Dmg, +3 Dmg, +3 Freeze Dmg, +3 Fire Dmg)

[Farwalker]

What about spell choice?

I went with the following (and I think I'm maxed out in both lists):

Divine Tier 1:
Bless, Cat's Eyes, Create Food, Fleshboil, Lore
Divine Tier 2:
Enchanted Weapon, Haste, Nimbleness, Ogre Strength, Protection from Curses

Elemental Tier 1:
Draw Water, Element Armor, Fire Dart, Predator Sight, Reveal Map, Sparkling Wonder
Elemental Tier 2:
Dense Nimbus, Compress Atmosphere, Enkindled Weapon, Trap Kill
Elemental Tier 3:
Invisibility, Portal, Supernova

Normally I stuck with Bless, Nimble, Ogre Str and Pred Sight. I added Haste and/or Invisibility as needed, and Cat's Eyes and/or Reveal Map when I wanted to see better. Fleshboil for magic ranged attack on single enemies, Compress Atm for groups. I never bothered with enkindled weapon (how much overkill do I really need?), and maybe used enchanted weapon a couple times against spirits. Portal is awesome for getting around in general, and for shopping in particular.

[Farwalker]

So what's so good about this build?

Regenerates health 1/round, mana 2/round (which is plenty for this build), above ground or below.
99% resistances to elemental and magic. (Take off boots and leggings before walking on lava).

Hidden even in the open in broad daylight.
Very quiet - without buffs point blank melee is silent in no armor torso/leg/feet and spells are silent point blank in light armor t/l/f.
With buff (nimbleness) point blank melee is silent in light armor t/l/f, spells are silent point blank in heavy armor t/l/f.
(Typically I hit the enemy and they mill around looking for me while I finish them off.)

Divine Tier 2 buffs at maximum strength, and all the elemental spells you really need (including invisibility at up to level 2 strength). With extra items you can increase the elemental, for example to get a third portal location, or if you really want to get those maximum strength Elemental Tier 2 buffs.

Three strong feats that work great together. I lead with bow feat, remove the bow and use the unarmed feat, equip the hammer and use that feat, and then finish things off with that hammer. The damage output of this approach is extremely high.

You won't miss much. With usual buffs 41 to hit gives maximum chance to hit against all but the two strongest bosses in the game. After applying the bludgeon feat to reduce their armor you won't be missing them much either. Most of the time I just stayed in power mode for the higher damage - the feats don't miss, and after a bludgeon feat is applied to an enemy to reduce their armor I can stay in power mode to finish them off without any reduced chance to hit (except against the strongest bosses).

You won't get hit much either. If your armor is in full repair (and it typically will be with this build, other than quick-travel wear on your boots), with typical buffs an armor rating of 85 reduces almost all enemies in the game to only 1% chance to hit. If they ever saw you come out of hiding in the first place. And if you do find a tougher enemy that can hit you, there's always invisibility to take another 90% off their chance to hit.

You can cast with weapons in hand. (You do need to be buffed to do so with the war hammer in hand though - which you normally will be anyway.) Concentration is high enough (buffed with a ring) to pretty much avoid spell interruptions.

There's not much you can't do with this build. Spot hidden seems ok with the high perception, and there's equipment to further increase spot hidden and perception when exploring. You can't disarm tough traps, but you can trapkill them or take them out with attacks. You can pick any lock just fine. You can carry enough, although you may need your ogre strength buff to carry heavy loot or a bunch of powder kegs (not a big deal).

So I took my time exploring everything, to prolong the fun as long as I could - of course by the end it was pretty much a cake walk. You really don't need anything near this strong a build or this high a level to finish the game, but I enjoyed figuring out what could be done.

Here's the end stats (could have maxed the score a bit more, left most of my expensive toys and collectibles behind, and forgot to read a couple books as mentioned):

[Kreador Freeaxe]

Nice job maxing the level. That's an impressive feat because it takes a WHOLE LOTTA camping.

[BasiliskWrangler]

Congrats! Very impressive play through- even I have never naturally played to level 30!

[geishaboy]

I can only imagine how long it must have taken to get to level 30

well done

[Rowanas]

I can only imagine how long it must have taken to get to level 30

well done

Actually, not that long. Camping north of Edon where the rift harpies are is the way to get quick xp. You have to kill 50 rift harpies to advance from 19 to 20, and that increases by 5-10 for each level thereafter. Since Harpies come in packs of 9-10 every couple of days while camping, it's not as incredible a task as you might take it for. At level 10 foraging, two steaks and a flask of water will sustain you for approximately two weeks, or 7 encounters, or 63-70 harpies. That's roughly a level for 100 gold (50 gold for a steak, estimate).

That said, it's an impressive achievement, maxing out the level, takes endurance and drive to camp for that long with the XP piñatas.

[Farwalker]

I can only imagine how long it must have taken to get to level 30

well done

Actually, not that long. Camping north of Edon where the rift harpies are is the way to get quick xp. You have to kill 50 rift harpies to advance from 19 to 20, and that increases by 5-10 for each level thereafter. Since Harpies come in packs of 9-10 every couple of days while camping, it's not as incredible a task as you might take it for. At level 10 foraging, two steaks and a flask of water will sustain you for approximately two weeks, or 7 encounters, or 63-70 harpies. That's roughly a level for 100 gold (50 gold for a steak, estimate).

That said, it's an impressive achievement, maxing out the level, takes endurance and drive to camp for that long with the XP piñatas.

Yep, I'd camp for a week there sometimes while waiting for stock to refresh in stores after buying something. I had the site anchored on a portal, and additional portals right next to the dwarf and island blacksmiths. Otherwise I'd often hang out in the Port K Inn. (Sleep, save, portal to smith 1 and check inventory - reload if nothing, portal to smith 2 and check inventory - reload if nothing, sleep again at inn... and repeat. I'd do a bit of that, then go explore a new area, shop a bit more, explore another new area, etc.)

[Farwalker]

Wow, amazing what a little loot does to the score - here's the "carry a ton of wealth" version.

[Aldbeski]

hi farwalker very impressive playthrough on questio though : where the hell did you find that armor you were wearing cause i finished the game three times now two of the times i was playing with all the rules checked and i don't think i ever found this type of armor ever (perhaps playing the untouchable challenge had something to do with it ) i don't know
and one more thing you said that the 10% on the items generation is crap then tell me this have you ever found a cleaving weapon that is worth 6483 gold pieces and has a base damage of 8 + 4 damage

[Farwalker]

hi farwalker very impressive playthrough on questio though : where the hell did you find that armor you were wearing cause i finished the game three times now two of the times i was playing with all the rules checked and i don't think i ever found this type of armor ever (perhaps playing the untouchable challenge had something to do with it ) i don't know
and one more thing you said that the 10% on the items generation is crap then tell me this have you ever found a cleaving weapon that is worth 6483 gold pieces and has a base damage of 8 + 4 damage

Yep, took a lot of shopping to find most of those armor pieces (without the +3 bonuses of course, I added all those). You'll need to haunt the Durnore shop and especially the final blacksmith on the island, because they only show up rarely. And before you do make sure you have enough money to pay for that torso if it appears! The first time I saw a good one (fireproof dragon skin I believe it was) I just about choked at the price (my Mercantile skill was low and it was something around 25k value doubled to around 50k price, very roughly - I didn't have even near that much).

That light cloak is the exception, available near the very beginning of the game - it's in the area down the Eastwillow well - but you have to be patient and wait until you're high level to pick it up to get it at Ancient Dragon Skin. It seems to be the best cloak in the entire game. You have a chance of getting an extra enchantment with some of the other cloaks in the shops, which is nice, but the armor benefit isn't close to as good and they tend to be much heavier.

I can't remember if there's a named axe that fits your description, but you might be able to find a random one something like that. If you mean +4 physical damage benefit, the only kind of axe that randomly shows up on is a grand axe - and a tempered steel grand axe (for example) should have base damage of 8. Grand axes are super common in the last blacksmith store especially, so if you like axes that's a good place to look for them. (I saw divine ore versions with +4 dam or +4 dam / +3 to hit a few times in my game, that's base damage of 11. See BW's thread on most powerful weapons etc found in the game, I put a picture of one of them up there.)

[Farwalker]

My best to BW for the recent addition of content!

If you haven't checked it out, you really should - it's a rather fun explore.

Also, I noticed that there are now new item bonuses in the game - so there may be better items out there to find now than what I managed to collect... have fun figuring out what's been added!

(I found a belt that gave me +40% protection for poison, just as an example... and there was a place in the new dungeon to try it out too!)