FAQ: basics, talent checks, combat, hints

[Dunedain]

I can't understand how i can take special abilities. I have only Mighty Blow with my main character.

[Crystal]

You have to search for trainers. Mages offer spells, hunters offer abilities belonging to ranged combat and so on...

[Deimos]

a few questions for you guys


Let's say I start as a battlemage


1)
I have a spell that gives me AR, a personal defense spell.
It states that it gives +1 AR and then another +1 AR every three levels but that it cannot be higher then SP/2

So this means there is no benefit to increasing the points I put in that spell above the minimum needed depending on my level correct?

At level 1, SP only needs to be 2
At level 3 (or 4, depending on how it's calculated), SP would need to be 4
Anything above that is just wasted because there are no other variables in the spell that take SP into consideration.
Am I right?


2)
Is there any reason to keep increasing weapon skill past the point where you have 19 AV with it? (I know that isn't 19 points in the weapon but a combination of your base AV and the points put into the weapon, split between attack and parry).

If not, then my battlemage who starts with 6 in axes will eventually catch up to a mercenary who starts with 10 in axes. I realize the merc has higher STR so he will do more damage.


3)
Does your Base AV and PA go up with level or is it totally based on your attributes (CO+AG+ST)?


4) Are there any weapon talents that are impossible for some archetypes to get or are all of the requirements based on Base AV, PA or some attribute like STR?

Basically I want to know if my Battlemage or Healing Mage would be able to eventually get stuff like Offensive Combat, Shield Fighter, Roundhouse, etc etc




5)
From what I'm starting to understand, since it appears you can eventually get pretty much anything on all the archetypes, a mage type could eventually have everything a fighter has but with lower Vitality, Endurance and STR.

In the long run, what is the benefit of playing a fighter type since they can never get spells and mage types can pretty much do everything a fighter can do?




Thanks all

[walkir]

2) Is there any reason to keep increasing weapon skill past the point where you have 19 AV with it? (I know that isn't 19 points in the weapon but a combination of your base AV and the points put into the weapon, split between attack and parry).

If not, then my battlemage who starts with 6 in axes will eventually catch up to a mercenary who starts with 10 in axes. I realize the merc has higher STR so he will do more damage.

Aside from the WM? In Drakensang, not really.

3) Does your Base AV and PA go up with level or is it totally based on your attributes (CO+AG+ST)?

The latter

4) Are there any weapon talents that are impossible for some archetypes to get or are all of the requirements based on Base AV, PA or some attribute like STR?

Aside from finding the trainers, there are no requirements to learn a skill.

Basically I want to know if my Battlemage or Healing Mage would be able to eventually get stuff like Offensive Combat, Shield Fighter, Roundhouse, etc etc

Aside from APs, no problem at all.

In the long run, what is the benefit of playing a fighter type since they can never get spells and mage types can pretty much do everything a fighter can do?

You don't need as much AP as if you took the warrior in the first place. In the real TDE, you do have lots of differences ((dis-)advantages to begin with).
Plus, mage types can't use metal armor aside from the quest armor. Well, they can, but they can't use spells if they do.

[Deimos]

I'm a bit confused on PA and Shield Parry...


In the FAQ, it says this example:

"Alrike uses a rusty axe with WM 0/-3, she fights with a shield. Her weapon parry is reduced by -3, but as long as she uses shield parry, this is totally unimporant for her."


I thought that if you used a shield, you had 2 parries, one with your weapon and one with your shield. Or is it you have two parries with the shield?

When I look at my character stats who has a shield, it shows two values in the Parry, it also shows my Dodge value.

When I get attacked, which one is used to calculate if I avoid the attack?
What about if I get attacked twice in one round? three times?


I asked this in another thread and the answer I got there seems to contradict what is said in the FAQ.

Basically, if I plan to always use a shield, is there any reason to allocate TAV to the Parry side of the weapon?

[walkir]

Basically, if I plan to always use a shield, is there any reason to allocate TAV to the Parry side of the weapon?

Yes, there is. The AT-Value may not be higher than PA-Value+5.
Plus, you get a bonus point to shield-PA as your weapon-PA reaches 15. (At least it does in the PnP)

[Amosh]

When I look at my character stats who has a shield, it shows two values in the Parry, it also shows my Dodge value.

When I get attacked, which one is used to calculate if I avoid the attack?
What about if I get attacked twice in one round? three times?

1st attack: Weapon parry or dodge, depending on which value is higher.
2nd attack: Shield parry
all other attacks: No parry at all.

[Deimos]

When I look at my character stats who has a shield, it shows two values in the Parry, it also shows my Dodge value.

When I get attacked, which one is used to calculate if I avoid the attack?
What about if I get attacked twice in one round? three times?

1st attack: Weapon parry or dodge, depending on which value is higher.
2nd attack: Shield parry
all other attacks: No parry at all.

Ah, ok, now it's clear!

So the shield is only usefull when more then one opponent is attacking you.

I think I'm leaning towards going with a battlemage and equipping him with an axe and maybe a shield. I'll buff up before a fight and then either launch offensive magic/debuff and proceed to melee the enemy, OR, i'll buff up, switch to better armor (metal) and melee (because cant cast spells in metal armor).


Or, I'll go with Healing Mage since he has AE regen bonus. Does Healing Mage get access to same spells as the battlemage? Can I turn him into a offensive caster?

[Amosh]

Yes, the healing mage can learn offensive magic as well.

btw, there is no need for metal armor. The armor enhancement spell becomes extremely powerful later in the game, and it lasts very long.

[player1]

When I look at my character stats who has a shield, it shows two values in the Parry, it also shows my Dodge value.

When I get attacked, which one is used to calculate if I avoid the attack?
What about if I get attacked twice in one round? three times?

1st attack: Weapon parry or dodge, depending on which value is higher.
2nd attack: Shield parry
all other attacks: No parry at all.

Ah, ok, now it's clear!

So the shield is only usefull when more then one opponent is attacking you.

My ingame experience is different. If having shield parry value better then my weapon parry, and fighting single opponent, my sheild parry value will be used.

Thus, building character that focuses on AT and good shield skill does work well.

[Cleitanious]

I see my guy block with his shield versus only one opponent all of the time. I don't know if it's just the animation though.

[Roban Grünstein]

1st attack: Weapon parry or dodge, depending on which value is higher.
2nd attack: Shield parry
all other attacks: No parry at all.

Wrong!
1st parry can either be weapon, shield or dodge.
2nd parry can only be shield parry
3rd parry is impossible

Basically, if I plan to always use a shield, is there any reason to allocate TAV to the Parry side of the weapon?

Correct. Only reason to spend weapon TAV into PA would be the "never more than 5 points difference" rule.

[player1]

Wrong!
1st parry can either be weapon, shield or dodge.
2nd parry can only be dodge
3rd parry is impossible

This is wrong too.
You can parry two attacks, one with shield one with weapon.

You can test this easily in that first combat challenge with the guards at the start of the game.

[Deimos]

in the FAQ it says:

2) Shield parry
Pro: One additional parry allowed per round (with SF I), ignores WM (in general there are much more weapons with WM malus than with WM bonus), makes ranged combat versus character more difficult, allows early AT maximization, makes it possible to wield many weapons even with low TAV effectively
Con: Weapon parry may be a bit better in very late game, needs instructor to be teached, requires good shields (which will not allow spellcasting except for the story gear), more costly ducat wise than weapon parry, some attacks cannot be parried (breath of a dragon), needs high ST


This leads me to believe that the second parry is the shield. So is the first one weapon, shield or dodge (whichever is highest)?

[player1]

My ingame experience:
If dualing single opponent, best value, either shield of weapon parry, is used (probably dogde fits here two if better then both).

If combating two opponents, one attack will be against shield and one against weapon parry. Not sure if it is always first weapon, then shield, in those cases, or maybe order depends from which one is better.

[Roban Grünstein]

Again: You can make two shield parries per round.

[Cleitanious]

If you have a weapon and no shield:
You will get 1 parry or dodge. Dodge will be used if it's > your parry or if the attack cannot be parried.

If you have a weapon and a shield:
You get 2 parry or block or dodge, whichever is highest will be used both times. If the attack cannot be parried then Block or Dodge will be used, whichever is higher. If the attack can only be dodged, then dodge will be used. Wearing a shield essentially means you get 2 "Defensive actions" instead of one

If you have a ranged weapon or no weapon:
You will dodge

[Deimos]

1st attack: Weapon parry or dodge, depending on which value is higher.
2nd attack: Shield parry
all other attacks: No parry at all.

Wrong!
1st parry can either be weapon, shield or dodge.
2nd parry can only be dodge
3rd parry is impossible

Basically, if I plan to always use a shield, is there any reason to allocate TAV to the Parry side of the weapon?

Correct. Only reason to spend weapon TAV into PA would be the "never more than 5 points difference" rule.

Roban,

You contradicted yourself in a post, I think you meant to say the 2nd parry can only be Shield but wrote Dodge

[player1]

Again: You can make two shield parries per round.

I don't think so.
I tested a combat with two guards and my character with weapon parry 10 and shield parry 14.
PA 11-14 would sometimes succeed in parry and sometimes not.

Which leads me to believe that only one attack is parried with shield, and another with weapon parry, not both with shield.

[Amosh]

Again: You can make two shield parries per round.

In the german forum someone found out that the first parry is indeed always a weapon parry, no matter if there is a shield or not...