Return to TitanQuest

[hoopsguy]

I had a lot of fun playing this game back when I posted my dynasty two years ago, enough that I pulled out the old CDs to load it up on the new laptop. I did not bring over the saved games, so I'll be starting fresh.

In order to make this a little more interesting, I'll put in a couple of house rules. Subject to change as the game progresses:
1.) No spending any points on either spells or attributes until I die.
2.) At the time that I die, I can then spend one point on either a spell or an attribute.
3.) Exception to #1 is to spend the minimum # of points to allow my character to use a found item. This will not be abused - if I'm spending points on the item, I intend to use it and expect to have that item equipped for a few levels.
4.) No spending more than 10% of my income purchasing any items.
5.) May only purchase a maximum of three items per locale (Greece = locale, not city = locale)
6.) At least for the initial character, no item swapping between alts.
7.) Complete all side quests.
8.) No "farming" to get better equipment, unless I'm really "stuck" ... sure hope that I do not need to resort to this for quite some time.
9.) Can purchase unlimited health and energy potions

If there is anyone who wants to check out the old dynasty, it is here:
Titan Quest dynasty - slow ride through "Legendary" play - Front Office Football Central

[hoopsguy]

And with that, SonOfSquid is born. He hails from the Greek cow-town of Helos, and is currently sporting a grey tunic. Starting stats listed below.

Level 1:
Health: 300
Energy: 300
Strength: 50
Intelligence: 50
Dexterity: 50

The only equipment is a copper dagger:
4-8 damage
15% Piercing
Speed: Very Fast

All resistances (Fire, Cold, Lightning, Poison, Piercing) are zero.

Offense:
Average Damage: 10
Attack Speed: 106%
Damage Per Second (DPS): 10

Defense:
Combined Armor: 0
Block: 0%
Damage Blocked: 0

I have 500 gold to my name.

[hoopsguy]

The game begins in the small Greek town of Helos. It in under attack by Satyrs and other assorted beasts. The village is asking for my help clearing them out so the farmers can farm and whatever else it is that people do in Helos.

I get my first quest - Save Timaeus' horse. Quests are divided between main quests and side quests. This one is considered a main quest since it falls on the major story arc. The side quests do not need to be completed to advance the plot.

The horse is under attack from a Ravenous Boar and a pair of Satyrs. Both are too busy attacking, but failing to kill the horse, to take notice of me gutting them with my tiny dagger. And I now have some new goods, thanks to this battle.

Leather Harness:
7 Armor

Bronze Knife:
7-9 damage

That boost the DPS rating up to 12 and the Combined Armor to 7. I'm still a real lightweight (level 1 and all) but this is a step in the right direction.

Timeaus has no money for me, but promises that I'll achieve total consciousness on my deathbed. Anyway, time to save the city from the onslaught of monsters.

[hoopsguy]

The town leader is named Diomedes. He implores me to remove a pesky Satyr shaman that is in the woods just outside of town. Apparently, the shaman and his troops are making it tough on the farmers here. There is a cash reward in it for me.

Not much to see in the town here. There is a merchant, a storyteller, a trader, a fountain, and a shrine.

Merchant - trade goods
Storyteller - shares a story about Herakles, who hailed from these parts
Trader - will hold goods for me beyond my inventory. This can also be used to share goods between alts. You can also purchase additional storage space, starting at 10,000.
Fountains - these act as save points in the game
Shrines - allow you to teleport back to this spot, saving the time required to walk the lands. The first time I played this game I did not understand this ability until about Level 20 ... I wasted an awful lot of time walking around.

[hoopsguy]

I encounter a number of Satyr's on my initial journey outside the village. It takes 3-4 hits of my dagger to put them down. Along the way, I pick up my first non-weapon, a Potion of Lesser Healing. Another Satyr drops 30 gold, and I work my way to a chest that holds a couple of potions of healing.

This is all well and good, but I still have not found an interesting weapon. I have the choice between my knife and a torch. Both deliver a DPS of 12 and neither can be used at range.

I've also seen boards out in the fields and I know that they can deliver a lot of damage to me at this level. I would prefer to have a little better equipment before taking them on, if at all possible.

That trip out to the fields saw my health go as low as 65 (starting value 300). I guess that is the cost of bringing down a dozen Satyrs. Halfway to Level 2.

[hoopsguy]

The next trip out includes more Satyrs, as well as a few Crows. No major worries here, as we work our way to the outskirts of the woods. A chest reveals three more healing potions, bringing the count to six.

There was one major surprise here. One of the Satyr's dropped a shard of the Essence of Achilles. I won't be able to use this until level 3, but this can be slotted on a weapon to provide 5 bonus damage as well as increasing attack speed by 4%. This is a pretty nice find for this early in the game. You can merge these shards, combining the effects, until completing the set at 3 pieces. A completed shard will give an additional bonus. One more note on this - it is free to slot this items, but it costs money to remove the slotted shard. So I usually hold off until I have a complete set. Not sure if I'll change that logic with the house rules, but for now I'm leaning towards banking these.

[hoopsguy]

The next trip out, I attract a boar while fighting a satyr. Just as I recalled, these guys are quite a bit tougher and it takes about 8 hits to finish him off. But I notice that the experience is a lot better and I'm pretty close to level 2. Time to take on another boar. I've got about 150 health, and the last one took about 70 of my health in the battle. It is good to know that when I hit Level 2 I'll instantly get all my health and energy restored to full amounts (300 each).

Mission accomplished, Level 2.
Level 2:
Health: 300
Energy: 300
Strength: 50
Intelligence: 50
Dexterity: 50

Equipment:
Bronze Knife
Leather Harness

All resistances (Fire, Cold, Lightning, Poison, Piercing) are zero.

Damage Per Second (DPS): 12

Defense:
Combined Armor: 7
Block/Damage Blocked: 0%/0

Offensive Ability: 50
Defensive Ability: 50

Greatest Monster Killed: Ravenous Boar
Monsters Killed: 36
Greatest Damage Delivered: 9

I have 597 gold to my name.

[hoopsguy]

The Shaman is up ahead. Just before him there is an alter that provides healing. I'll try to save that for the shaman, if needed. In the meantime, there are several satyrs to clean up first. And these satyrs have some items that I can use:

Pine Crude Buckler:
8% chance to block 26 damage

Pine Crude Bow:
3-11 Damage, 25% Piercing, Very Slow, DPS 7

Although the bow does less damage than my knife, I like being able to attack from range. So I'll use the bow and switch to the knife for up-close fighting (use W key to do this).

I try out the bow on a few more Satyrs, but attract the attention of the Shaman. He begins throwing fire at me, and I see my health heading south. Time to quaff my first potion, we'll see how many I burn through with this guy. As it turns out, only one as the potion gives a lot of health relative to my starting total of 300. I continue to fire arrows into the Shaman and he falls, leaving a couple of magic items. Now we are in business!

[hoopsguy]

Quite a haul, between the Shaman and the chest behind him. Looks like magic items cannot be used until Level 3, and I'm only about halfway there.

Simple Wraps of Agility:
14 Armor
+8 Dexterity
+18% Energy Regeneration
Requirements: Level 3, INT 70 DEX 54
Hmm, won't be using this for awhile

Smoldering Withered Staff:
9 Base Fire Damage
2-5 Fire Damage
+1.0 Energy Regneration/sec
Speed: Slow
This is the weapon that the shaman used against us

Bangle of Brawn:
10 Armor
+4 Strength
+20% Energy Regeneration

Pupils Band of Insight:
+3 Intelligence
+51 Energy

Pupils Garland:
10 Armor
+43 Energy
+20% Energy Regeneration

Smolderign Crude Spear of Insight:
8-18 Damage
25% Piercing
2-5 Fire
+5 Intelligence
Speed: Slow

On the way back, I decided to get a little closer to level 3 by taking on a boar. Well, it turned into three boars and I had to consume a potion of healing to make it out of there. One of the boars left a Boars Hide, which is similar to the Achilles fragment. This adds 2 to Armor, can be slotted with any armor (chest, shield, leggings, arms) and there are 5 to a set for this one.

Time to get Level 3 and start using some of this gear.

[hoopsguy]

The town leader, Diomedes, appreciates our efforts in taking out the shaman. In fact, he seems surprised that we succeeded. However, he is now worried about more monsters arriving and asks me to head to Sparta and petition General Leonidas to send troops to his town. He also provides me with 1,000 gold for my effort. All in all, not a bad start. I would consider making some purchases right now, but the house rules are pretty restrictive. Guess I'll use what my enemies drop for now ...

[hoopsguy]

The next area is Laconis. As I set foot into that region, I'm approached by a traveller. This man, Nicostratus, shares a tale of woe. His friend Tellis has been captured by brigands (presumed to be satyrs?) and he hopes we can rescue him. He offers magical jewelry in return and I agree to try and find his pal.

It is dangerous out there at Level 2. But I find a frostbite shrine, which delivers cold damage and slows foes on contact (duration 30 seconds) and go hunting with vigor during this time. Not quite Level 3, but more stuff to use and store.

Leather Armbands:
9 Armor
This moves the Combined Armor rating up to 16

Bronze Crude Spear:
11-20 Damage
25% Piercing
Speed: Slow
This has a DPS of 15, up from 12, and it is my new (temporary) weapon.

Protective Leather Leggings:
9 Armor
14% Fire Resistance
Requirement: Level 3, just like all magic items

Essence of Artemis Bowstring:
3 piercing damage
2% increased attack speed
Slots with bows, 3 to complete set

Next run should get me over the top to Level 3 and then see what is the best mix of equipment to use.

[hoopsguy]

And that was fast, as it took just three Satyr's plus a boar just outside of Helos. The spear is much more effective, as it was able to slay Satyr's with 1-2 shots and fell a boar with 4. But that spear goes on the backburner, as Level 3 brings along most of the goodies.

Level 3:
Health: 300
Energy: 394
Strength: 54
Intelligence: 53
Dexterity: 50

Equipment:
Smoldering Crude Spear of Insight (primary)
Smoldering Withererd Staff (secondary, no shield with this item)
Pupils Garland
Leather Harness (non-magical)
Pine Crude Buckler (non-magical)
Bangle of Brawn
Protective Leather Leggings
Pupil's Band of Insight

Fire Resistance is 14%. All other resistances (Cold, Lightning, Poison, Piercing) are zero.

Damage Per Second (DPS): 17 with spear, 12 with staff

Defense:
Combined Armor: 36
Block/Damage Blocked: 8%/26

Offensive Ability: 50
Defensive Ability: 50

Greatest Monster Killed: Dark Satyr Shaman
Monsters Killed: 97
Greatest Damage Delivered: 18

I have 2119 gold to my name.

I'm not able to use the Simple Wraps of Agility. If I wanted to use them I would have to burn most of my points. They just are not worth it in the overall scheme of things and I think I'm doing fine on this challenge without this item. So no points spent so far.

[hoopsguy]

There is one stop on the way to the cave that brought great joy to SonOfSquid - finding a "Battle Marker". This is even better than the Frostbite shrine, as it drastically increases both the speed and damage of attacks. Satyrs fell in record numbers during that period. Upon reaching the cave I battled through a host of Satyrs to rescus Tellis. Tellis rewarded me with a magical ring. Here is a recap of the magic items found along the way:

Leather Leggings of Recovery:
9 Armor
+26 Health Regeneration
A bit more practical than our other leggings, up until I face a monster with fire-based attacks

Protective Band of Insight:
10% Cold Resist
+7 Intelligence
Starting to move up there with the Intelligence score.

Protective Crude Buckler of Ability
8% chance to block 36 damage
10% Cold Resist
+16 Offensive Ability
Requirements: 56 Strength
Not quite strong enough to use this

Crude Spear of Brawn:
13-22 Damage
25% Piercing
Speed: Slow
+6 Strength
Requirements: 52 Dexterity (still at 50)

I also got a minor upgrade to my armor, moving from a Leather Harness to a Leather Breastplate. Ditto the shield, which moved from a Pine Buckler to an Ash Buckler.

[hoopsguy]

Just past the cave entrance is the save point, where it transitions from Laconia to Laconia Woods. There is a break from Satyrs, as we encounter Boars and Crows. Oh, and a new foe - Hags.

But that respite is short-lived, as I save a man from a pack of wild Satyrs. He warns of Harpies and Centaurs, while lamenting that the Satyrs have never been this wild and aggressive before.

I meet Euphadimus, who tells me that he has medicine for his city but cannot get past the Satyr champion ahead. Hmm, wonder if this will be the first real threat to bump me off? 300 health is not much, so I'm trying to fight from range where possible. I'm guessing I'll be OK here, but will probably need to go to the potions.

Magic item update:
Tough Garland - provides a bonus +4 on armor.

I'm no longer collecting non-magical items to sell. My inventory is pretty tight and I'm seeing enough magical stuff that I'm not going to sweat picking up every item that falls.

[hoopsguy]

The big Satyr is no challenge, as I mop the floor with him and his band of merry men. Also hit Level 4 in the process.

Level 4:
Health: 300
Energy: 351 (down 43)
Strength: 54
Intelligence: 60 (up 7)
Dexterity: 50

Equipment:
Smoldering Crude Spear of Insight (primary)
Smoldering Withererd Staff (secondary, no shield with this item)
Tough Garland
Leather Breastplate (non-magical)
Ash Crude Buckler (non-magical)
Bangle of Brawn
Leather Leggings of Recovery
Pupil's Band of Insight
Protective Band of Insight

Cold Resistance is 10%. All other resistances (Fire, Lightning, Poison, Piercing) are zero.

Damage Per Second (DPS): 17 with spear, 12 with staff

Defense:
Combined Armor: 42 (up 6)
Block/Damage Blocked: 8%/31 (up 5 damage blocked)

Offensive Ability: 50
Defensive Ability: 50

Greatest Monster Killed: Satyr Brute
Monsters Killed: 196 (up about 100)
Greatest Damage Delivered: 32 (up 14)

I have 4243 gold to my name.

[hoopsguy]

Laconia Hills is past the now-dead Satyr Brute, and the land reflects the name. The hills are alive with crows, hags, and ... you guessed it ... satyrs. After plowing through a satyr camp, deftly switching from ranged to hand-to-hand weapons, I meet Theages. Apparently demons have taken his dowry for his daughter wedding off to a nearby cave. I appear to be in the rescue business once again.

I recover the dowry, although the demons deliver more damage and I'm growing mildly worried about the paltry 300 health as I move ahead. In the process I pick up something for us.

Beads of Agility:
+7 Dexterity

This allows us to equip the Spear that was previously unavailable. It gives a small bump on DPS from 17 to 18.

I meet a traveller who tells me the Spartan army is ahead. We cross a bridge, moving to a territory known as "Spartan Road".

[Alan T]

This was indeed a fun game, I feel sad that I never completed it. I think it just came along at the wrong time Real life for me.

[hoopsguy]

Completed = never finished Greece? Never finished Beginner? Or never finished Legendary? I've never finished Legendary ... think I've stalled out in Greece there with my 2-3 characters that got that far.

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by hoopsguy

Completed = never finished Greece? Never finished Beginner? Or never finished Legendary? I've never finished Legendary ... think I've stalled out in Greece there with my 2-3 characters that got that far.

I never finished Greece, much less Beginner. I remember talking about playing multiplayer with you at some point too, but some point later is when my wife went to the hospital. I know I haven't played it since then.

Your dynasty thread here is kind of giving me the itch to dig it back up and install it, but not sure when I'll have time to give it a try though

[hoopsguy]

I think both Steam and DirectDownload have options for getting it if you don't have the CD's. I had all of TQ, but was missing the first disk (the "Play" one) for the expansion, so I went the DD route to pick it up. Pretty cheap, was $15 for the expansion and I think it would have been $20 for the bundle of the two.

[hoopsguy]

Also, for those reading along, care to hazard a guess what level I can reach with this set of conditions? Or what might kill me (if you know the game)?

For comparison sake, I bit it for the first time in my previous dynasty at Level 9 to a pack of Giant Turtles. It was a silly, careless death. I'm trying very hard not to be careless with this ruleset since SonOfSquid is pretty fragile and just can't afford it.

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by hoopsguy

I think both Steam and DirectDownload have options for getting it if you don't have the CD's. I had all of TQ, but was missing the first disk (the "Play" one) for the expansion, so I went the DD route to pick it up. Pretty cheap, was $15 for the expansion and I think it would have been $20 for the bundle of the two.

I should still have the discs around somewhere.. Maybe I'll give it a try later today (depending on the snow)

[hoopsguy]

OK, so here is an area that I thought would be a real challenge for staying alive. There is a graveyard before we meet the Spartan army. Lots of undead warriors, archers, and spellcasters here. The biggest worry is that they spring from the ground in packs, and can overwhelm unprepared characters. I've got a fair amount of potions and this is the first place that I've been pounding them down.

The rewards are very good here. Lots of magic items, although there are enough appearing now that I'll only mention the ones that are new and interesting to SonOfSquid.

Band of Brawn:
+8 Strength
This replaces our ring giving +3 Int and +51 Energy. I'm not dipping into the 300+ Energy, and I need the highest stats I can get.

This allows me to equip the previously mentioned
Protective Crude Buckeler of Ability
8% chance of blocking 36 damage
+10% Cold Resist
+16 Offensive Ability

I hold onto all of the items that provide stat bonuses and some type of protection from attacks, which means that the inventory is starting to get crowded. If this keeps up I'll have to look up the Caravan guy back at our starting town of Helos.

[hoopsguy]

Level 5 arrives in battle with the undead.

Level 5
Health: 300
Energy: 300 (back to starting value)
Strength: 68 (up a whopping 14)
Intelligence: 57 (down 3)
Dexterity: 57 (up 7)

Resist Cold is 20 (up 10), all others is 0

DPS: 18 w/Spear (up 1), 12 w/Staff
Combined Armor: 42
Block%/Damage: 8%/36 (up 5)

Health Regen: 1.26 (up .26)
Energy Regen: 1.97 (down .08)

Offensive Ability: 73 (up 23)
Defensive Ability: 57 (up 7)

Greatest Killed: Awakened Dead - Forest Lich
Monsters Killed: 311 (up 115)
Greatest Damage Dealt: 32

Gold: 7,204

[hoopsguy]

We finish clearing out the cemetery, with the end result being a Majestic Chest. This is the big honeypot in the game; the chest that on average offers the best loot. I'm decidedly underwhelmed by the contents, but overall the undead yielded quite a bit of treasure. I have to teleport back to town two times to unload all of the goods we find.

We arrive at the Spartan War Camp and seek out General Leonidas. However, rumor has it that he does not grant audiences to unexpected guests. And that proves to be the case. However, if we can take care of a pesky Centaur, then one of the men should be able to get us in to meet the General. The quests continue. This is part of the main quest, which means that we pretty much have to hunt down the Centaur.

[hoopsguy]

The Spartan War Camp marks a major step in the journey. It holds the second portal of the game (the first was in Helos), a rebirth fountain (save point), and a number of stores. We see our first Enchanter here. The Enchanter can add/remove the slotted items (ex: Essence of Artemis' Bowstring) from weapons, armor, rings/amulets, etc. I did not account for these guys in my spending rules, but my initial thought is that they fall within my 10% spending rule but not within my "max purchases" guidelines, since I'm just manipulating my own goods rather than obtaining new ones.

[hoopsguy]

I'm asked to retrieve Hippias, an ancient Spartan warrior, from the fields. One of his companions is worried that he has not return. It sounds like Hippias may have lost a step or two.

Off to the Pellana Valley to find Nessus the killer Centaur. We head due east, encountering boars, crows, and a centaur (not Nessus) before running into Hippias. He is sitting on a rock, with the bodies of his enemies before him, enjoying a quiet moment. He tells us he will head back to camp soon, and seems amused that the others were concerned with his welfare.

I am pretty sure that Nessus is going to hand me my lunch. At a minimum, I'm going to get Level 6 before fighting him and load up on as many potions as possible before facing him. Probably 30 potions, just to be on the safe side. As a general rule, I'm taking a potion any time I dip below 50% of my health. Boars are hitting me for about 30 points (10% of overall health) each time, which is about the worst I've seen. But I know Nessus will be quite a bit worse than that.

[hoopsguy]

Just outside the camp we find a new item. It is a formula for a Lesser Artifact called a Deathrattle. We need to combine three items to make it:
- Valor of Achilles
- Spectral Matter
- Scroll of Arcane Power

Well, I have none of these now and haven't seen any creatures that drop Spectral Matter. But I will, eventually. When I have these, I'll have my artifact that does the following:
10 Damage
30 Poison damage over 3 seconds
+30 Health
+30 Energy
+15% Attack Speed
Plus a completion bonus.

I'm a real sucker for attack speed bonuses, so I obviously can't wait to complete this. I'll set the over/under on this at Level 21 ... it is going to be awhile.

[hoopsguy]

I do have an alternate reason for wanting to get to Level 6 before facing Nessus. I'm going to have to run from him, and I need clear running lanes ... I can't find myself in a situation where I stumble across a couple of boars while running from Nessus and his guards. This was reinforced when I was jumped by two boards and three crows. I had to use several potions as I retreated from them, pulling them all the way back to base where the guards helped finish off the wild animals.

I find one interesting monster in the wild. There is a Centaur called a "Trapper" who throws a net on me. The net does damage, but also immobilizes me for a few. Can't let that happen when I'm low on health. After taking a potion there is a gap of about 15 seconds before I can take another one. If I'm low on health and can't immediately chug the next potion then I need to run until I get to suck down another potion. This monster compromises my ability to do this.

[hoopsguy]

Level 6 - time to face the music.
Health: 300
Energy: 300
Strength: 68
Intelligence: 57
Dexterity: 57

Resist Cold: 20
Resist Pierce: 9 (from 0)

DPS: 18 with Spear, 12 with Staff
Combined Armor: 43 (up 1)
Block%/Damage: 8% chance to block 36

Health Regen: 1.00 (down .26)
Energy Regen: 2.18 (up .13)

Offensive Ability: 73
Defensive Ability: 75 (up 18)

Greatest Killed: Awakened Dead - Frost Lich
Monsters Killed: 438 (up 127)
Greatest Damage Dealt: 33 (up 1)
Gold: 9,394 (up 2,190)

[hoopsguy]

By comparison, my Nature Spellcaster at Level 6 had 534 Health, 512 Energy, and a slew of spells to use in addition to his weapons. I'm fairly close on DPS and Combined Armor, but I just cannot take a hit.

First engagement - I pull away some of his guards and take out a pair of Centaur Trappers and a Centaur Ranger. Good start, took two potions to do it while fleeing.

Second engagement - I take Nessus down to about 40% of his health while chewing through 20+ potions. He won't chase me beyond a certain point. So as long as I have enough potions and I'm careful, I should be able to wear him out. But it is a land war in Asia, so to speak. Time to go load up on 40 or so potions.

Third run - it takes another 15 potions to finish off Nessus. Great success! He has a unique item that I'm a long way from being able to use and another item that may be the first one I spend points to use.

Petroclus' Shortblade (unique)
22-26 Damage
10% Piercing
Fast
16 Reduced Armor for 3 seconds
7% Cold Resist
8% Energy Leech Resist (this is one of five secondary resistances that I have not yet covered in stats recaps)
+16 Strength
+16 Dexterity
+15% Attack Speed
Requirements: Level 11, Strength 105, Dexterity 94

Centaur Cuirass
18 Armor
+16 Defensive Ability

I'm having a devil of a time finding armor that I can equip (still using non-magic stuff) so this may be the one where I crack and spend points to make some minor upgrades to SonOfSquid.

[hoopsguy]

OK, here is an item that it tantalizingly close.

Tough Garland of Brawn
Armor 12
+4 Armor
+6 Strength
+20% Energy Regeneration
Requirements: 58 Intelligence (1 away)

Nessus was guarding a Majestic Chest that had a slew of items I'm unable to equip. Everything seems to require 70-80 of some stat, and I'm not at that mark with any of them. Somthing is probably going to have to give soon with my stats.

Time to see Leonidas.

[hoopsguy]

Brasidas, the guard for Leonidas, drops this beauty on us.

"So, you killed the Centaur. I have to say, I didn't thin you would. You are no Spartan".

Thanks, pal. Awfully generous for you to allow me to see Leonidas, even if you are telling me to "be quick about it". Tool.

Leonidas tells us that he will send people to Helos, and that it is not the first village to apply for help. All of those who mocked Spartan discipline now cry for Spartan soldiers. He, however, does not have a warrior to spare for learning the source of the monsters. I get that task. I'm to head to Megara and look up his friend Timon. Timon will provide me with info on a proper offering for the Oracle in Delphi. There I will learn the source of the monsters.

[hoopsguy]

All that work to survive Nessus, only to give away the first death to crows and harpies. I managed to get two groups attacking me together, and I was not able to flee and quaff my potion quickly enough to survive. Idiot death #1.

OK, that clinches it. Time to make a minor purchase to bump up our Dexterity to use the armor. I think that is the most minor upgrade I can make. Declaring a specialization (for spell casting) would be much more helpful, but I'm trying to stay as gimped as possible while moving ahead with this quest.

[hoopsguy]

It ends up costing 3 points to move the Dexterity up to use the armor. Buyers remorse - wish I had just spent one point and picked up a spell specialization.

[hoopsguy]

After finishing off the crows and harpies, I see that this crop of harpies hit pretty hard. I take advantage of a regeneration shrine to heal me while I pick off the last of their number. There is also a nearby cave that holds bats and low level demons. Neither of these slow us down much, although the demons hit pretty hard relative to other monsters that I'm facing.

Done for the night, about halfway to Level 7, with a ways to go before hitting Megara.

[gi]

After reading your first dynasty my wife and I played this to legendary, though we didn't finish it at that level. Got sick of it, but might try it again. If playing it mutiplayer, get the mod that makes it harder. Players6 I believe, otherwise I found the game too easy. Good luck on your next adventure hoopsguy!

[hoopsguy]

Thanks for the well wishes, GI. I would be very interested in MP if I can find people who want to play at the same time. This time around I've got a system that should be able to run multi-player better, as I've gone from 512MB to 3GB of memory. The old one would drag in multi-player pretty badly. I think you got to see some of that back in our City of Heroes days ...

As a point of reference, the harpies hitting "pretty hard" was in the 40-50 points of damage per strike range. That isn't as much as the 60-75 per hit from Nessus, but there were more of the harpies. Hopefully the armor addition helps, although at some point I'm going to need to improve the health a little bit. Which will probably mean putting a point into spell specialization.

[gi]

Best thing about City of Heroes days was you giving a clapping hand to help us up from the water

And I remember your old compute rig, nice to see you upgraded. If you're still in the central time zone we might be able to swing a meetup. The Players6 mod makes it so that the game things there are six players at all times no matter how many players join. Treasure isn't increased, which is why I like it. If we run multiplayer, I'd like to use your house rules. I also like Skype for VOIP. Let me know.

[Alan T]

So, no thanks to Hoopsguy I ended up playing this too long on Sunday. It led to a conversation from my wife:

Her - "Are you playing this with anyone or just by yourself?"

Me - "Just by myself, decided to give it a try for a while. Even though I might want to try multiplayer if I get back into it at some point"

Her - "Won't your friend on Sunday nights get jealous?"

Me - "Huh?"

Her - "Obviously you aren't going to be looking for another night to play games every week in addition to your bowling league and softball team.. so I assumed this meant you would be doing this on Sunday night instead of playing your other online Civ game?" (note the civ game she refers to is actually Europa Universalis multiplayer).

Me - "..."


So yeah, I might be interested in trying multiplayer.. but I have to work on convincing her better

[gi]

I hear ya Alan T, I'll have to 'sneak around' to get the time to play multiplayer. Good luck!

[hoopsguy]

Death #2 is pretty sad. I start off with some long-range bombing on Centaurs and Boars, but while moving into position to flank one of them I pull another boar + Centaur after me. They are close enough to hit me with a net and start whaling away on my meager 300 health. I get a potion and start to retreat, back past the starting point on the map. Oops, that area is still live as well (just loaded) and a pack of another 4 or so crows join in the fun. I'm not able to fend them all off.

[hoopsguy]

So, I'm thinking it is now time to spend one point on a mastery.

"The Hunter must rely on speed and range to stay out of the reach of enemies". Yep, that is pretty much what I'm doing at this point. So I'll go with this mastery. I do not think this one gives particularly high health bonuses either, so I feel like it is a little bit in keeping with the challenge in front of me. One point here goes towards the mastery, the next point would go towards an actual spell (potentially).

The point for level 1 (of a possible 32 points in the mastery) grants +2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, and +35 Health. So I'll be playing with 335 Health as a minimum (could be enhanced by items, potentially) from here on out.

[hoopsguy]

That extra health, coupled with the stats bonus, feels like my own private BALCO as SonOfSquid rips through a Satyr camp. One of the Satyr's was riding on a boar and attacking with a poison range attack, but he fell. Along with a slew of archers, casters, and warriors. I went into close combat mode often with this group, but never in great numbers. Potions of healing (burned through about four of them) kept everything manageable, as health never dipped below 100.

One item of note - Chilling Short Sword:
9-13 Damage
10% Piercing
Fast
2-6 Cold Damage

The problem is that if I change weapons my INT drops to 57, which makes my helmet and bracers unuseable. I'm already dealing with this with the long range attacks from the staff, but I do not want this up close as well. So the sword stays on the shelf for now. I'm normally a slave to DPS, but for this particular character I'm focusing on how to stay alive. Health, resistances, and armor are all mighty big components of this strategy.

[hoopsguy]

The next region is the Mycenean Ruins. Yet another undead burial ground. And I learn here that I swapped out my staff during my last equipment swap, so I'm now left with my spear. Wow, coupled with the "3 purchases rule" and not having any spells this is a tough blow. Time to go scrounging to see if I can find a bow or something on the ground that I can use. If not, I may have to burn a purchase - cap would be about 1,700 based on the 10% rule. But I am just not built for close combat right now. So getting a long range attack again is imperative.

[hoopsguy]

Pine Straight Bow to the rescue. It is not magical, but the damage is the same as I saw with the staff.

SonOfSquid needs a lot of potions to weather the undead, but picks up Level 7 in the process.

Health: 335 (+35)
Energy: 300
Strength: 69 (+1)
Intelligence: 62 (+5)
Dexterity: 71 (+14)

Resist Cold 23 (+3), Pierce 9, all others 0

DPS 19 (+1), 12 with staff
Combined Armor 56 (+13)
Block%/Damage: 8% block 36

Health Regen: 1.00
Energy Regen: 2.24 (+.06)

Offensive Ability: 87 (+14)
Defensive Ability: 105 (+30) - translates into opponents missing more at close range, although I don't think Level 6-7 foes are missing all that much

Greatest Killed - Nessus, Centaur Chieftain
Monsters Killed - 621 (+183)
Greatest Damage Dealt - 33
Total Deaths - 2 (+2)
Gold - 19,534 (+10,140)

[hoopsguy]

At the back of the ruins is an "Ancient Tomb". Within here are a number of sarcophagi holding treasure. Our foes here are the Carrion Birds (deliver poison damage), skeleton archers, and a new zombie that leaks poison upon death.

They are not the worst of the lot. Those are the Undead Assassins, who swing quickly and deliver damage. Another foe is the Undead Captain, who hits hard and (I believe) inspires his teammates to perform better. Running + potions are required for this battle, but no deaths.

[hoopsguy]

Next stop - Spartan Woods. Satyrs, Centaurs, Boars, and Crows are the far here. All pretty routine. I'm starting to see the Lesser Potions move to regular Potions, which means that the Health and Energy potions restore more points. The lesser ones are more than enough at my health levels, but I guess I have the benefit of being able to sell the Energy ones for a little more gold.

I'm also not getting much at all in the way of relics (the fragments that combine to make powerful items for slotting equipment). I'm starting to get a little annoyed at this fact.

Satyr Brutes are not fun to fight hand-to-hand at this point. They are slow, but if they get me up close they take away a lot of health.

Another new foe here are spiders. There are two types, one of which is a conventional spider. Slow moving, hurt a bit when they hit. The other is half-human, half-spider. They move faster but are pretty much wimps in terms of damage.

I found a new item that might prove to be helpful. Light Simple Wraps:
12 Armor (upgrade of +2)
+20% Energy
-10% Requirements
The change on requirements is potentially huge, as it would likely open up a few items for me to use. The downside is I would lose out on the +16 Defensive Ability bonus with my current item. I like that bonus, but I think it is an easy trade off. I would also lose 9% Pierce Resistance but that is not worth thinking twice about, by comparison.

[hoopsguy]

Welcome to Tegea, a small village on the way to Megara. Here is what we find in this town:

1.) Quest to clear up poisoned water supply
2.) Merchant to buy/sell items - including a "Scroll of Arcane Power" for 15K. Looking for feedback from those reading along ... should this count under my 10% rule and 3 purchases per land?
3.) A storyteller who shares a yarn about Artemis and Achteon

The spider-men are called Arachnos and they are some of the monsters blocking the path to the spring. These Arachnos seem a little bit tougher, as they hit for around 40 points of damage at close range.

[hoopsguy]

Venturing through the Tegea Forest, I learn the cause of the poisoned waters. There is a water nymph, or naiad, that is responsible for the water. However, her cave has been overrun by foul spiders. They are corrupting the water and, therefore, harming the nymph. She is asking for our help in cleaning out the cave. I'm expecting that there will be some good loot here as well.

An Arachnos threw a web around me, allowing a number of smaller spiders to get close enough to hit. Chug potions, retreat, dodge next web ... kind of a close one there. There is a majestic chest beyond this encounter, which drops several items but nothing that I can use at this time. Well, there was one item that I can use. I present the Draining Straight Bow of Endurance:
4-20 Damage, 25% Piercing, Very Slow
24 Energy Leech over 3.0 Seconds
+51 Health
DPS jumps from 12 to 17 with this weapon and I have about a 15% jump in health while using it.

I also find an Achilles fragment, ending the drought on those type of items. Maybe I need to whine in the thread more ...