Best game I have played in a loooong time + Question

[Matrik]

I generally don't bother buying games anymore, because they are all too easy, have 0 depth, and text-based MUDs are the only thing I find myself enjoying. I'm very glad I stumbled upon this amazing gem of a game.

I think I'm about half-way done with Book 1 after my Sunday veg-fest. The fact that this game pulled me in for nearly a whole day speaks volumes to its awesomeness in my eyes.

Anyway, high praise aside, I have a question that I'm afraid to read too much of the forums for. I read a little bit and hit a spoiler, so don't want to chance that again .

Spot hidden: I've made it halfway through the game without the need for this. Narrowly survived some traps, sure, but no deaths from lacking the skill yet. I'm more worried about finding the hidden goodies. I found a gem in the bee cave, and it made me wonder how much of these are in the game and what sort of spot hidden level one would need to find them. Are they game changing or just wallet fillers? I've been pretty successful so far, so no need for more money, just worried about missing game changing events.


Magic skills: Any point to going over skill level 11 (to cast highest level spell)? I assume it adds damage or something, but I currently just use buffs from divination.

If any are curious I am a paladin.
Swords: L11
Heavy Armor: L5-6
Shields: L5-6 (I read these points were wasted, le sigh)
Divination: L8 or so (only spent three on gaining the skill, didn't know about books/trainers early on)
Cartography:L7
Elemental:L1 (or 3 can't remeber)

Enemies (notably the Taurax that just started appearing) have been getting tougher, but I found adding leatherskin to my buffs helped immensely. Plus, if a foe is too tough I just get them to a dark area or wait until dark and use cat eyes to fight them. Makes a huge difference.

Shift-click bashing: I wish this was explained early game, but I figured it out a little later. I'm sure I'd be slightly stronger in the treasure department had I known.

Once again: GREAT F** GAME. I <3 mah Basilisk. I will be eagerly watching this company from now on to see new games that come out.

[Kreador Freeaxe]

Most of the stuff you can spot with Spot Hidden is either treasure or traps. Not urgently important and certainly not required to complete the game. There are more of those gems around in the bee cave, though, and elsewhere. A high Perception can work the same as Spot Hidden, as well (your chance to spot a hidden object is a combination of your Perception and any Spot Hidden skill).

One of the really great things about Basilisk's games is the replayability with different character builds and trying out challenges. Book II has even some more possibilities for that.

Welcome to the Basilisk fan club and keep having fun. We'll help you as much or as little as you want.

[Matrik]

That is exactly the type of answer I was looking for. As for replayability, I really like that too. It seems rare to me to see such a well done RPG with actual replayability. I have lots of ideas for future characters already and I eagerly anticipate finishing Book I so I can try Book II.

Thanks again.

[SpottedShroom]

I'm afraid those Heavy Armor points past the first were also wasted. Still, there's plenty of sources of XP to get you to a high enough level that you shouldn't feel too bad. Plus, you can always be thinking about your next character :)

[Matrik]

I was under the impression more skill in heavy armor = more damage reduction. Is this not true?

[Kreador Freeaxe]

I was under the impression more skill in heavy armor = more damage reduction. Is this not true?

The higher the skill, the higher the chance that you will receive 50% damage from any given blow. It generally takes so many skill points for that to become advantageous that people think there are better places to spend the points. I generally played Book I with character types that rarely let enemies close enough to do damage in the first place, so I never had more than the one point to use the armor without penalty. But your mileage may vary.

[xolotl]

Magic skills: Any point to going over skill level 11 (to cast highest level spell)? I assume it adds damage or something, but I currently just use buffs from divination.

The extra levels in Divination and Elemental allow you to cast higher-level spells at higher, um, levels. There's three tiers of spells in the game, each requiring more of the necessary Skill to cast, in addition to having the six levels within each spell. If you want to cast tier-3 spells at level 6, you need a Skill of over 30.

(I would regardless advise you to stick with your current strategy of favoring Swords over Divination, FWIW - Divination is a great support skill for a melee character (like a Paladin) but takes an awful lot of effort to become effective on its own (especially in Book 1).)

Glad you're enjoying the game, and welcome!

[Painted Lady]

You might want to explore Elemental on a future play-through. The game can feel completely different if you aren't primarily using hand-to-hand combat.

Also, 1 point in light armor and 1 point in heavy armor are all you really need. There are other skills that you probably want to put those precious points into learning.

[Matrik]

So dam redux is not a straight damage reduction but instead a chance to receive 50%. Thanks for the clarification.

On spells. I see higher tier spells now (bought the portal spell, which I couldn't read). So that makes sense, think I'll stick with just the first tier spells with this one.

I definitely plan to play a magic-user next. I can definitely see how it would change the game. I bought training in elemental just so I could use fire darts to hit exploding barrels and some of the low level spells on that side like air shield.

[Kreador Freeaxe]

Air Shield and Predator Sight are the two really great Elemental spells for everyone. With those on my Ranger, I only occasionally lit a torch and only received damage when I wasn't paying attention and stepped on a trap.

Playing a straight magic user can be tricky, especially early in Book I, as you won't have the regenerative capability with your mana that you build up later (in Book II, this was increased and magic users get REALLY powerful--some say too powerful).