Best AC, and other questions

Remove all ads!

I've just gotten this game and am playing with Co8 5.0.0. I'm not heavily spoiled (I don't mind spoilers though), and haven't read much besides the manual and the 3.5E books.

First question:
What's the best approach to building a high-AC tank?
1. heavy magic armor, tower shield, 12-14 dex.
2. light armor, good shield, enough dex to meet the max dex bonus.
3. naked, with at least one monk level. dex and wis pumped as high as possible, mage armor spell or bracers of armor.

All of these are dependent on what items the game gives me as I play through. If there's a +3 chain shirt early on, but not even +1 full plate until near the end, then of course #2 is better than #1. I'm not just interested in what the best armors are, but how good the early and intermediate armors are. #3 is especially problematic, since I'm relying on dex and wis booster items, plus I'll need a ton of rerolls to get good stats. I've read enough to see that armor/item creation is a powerful strategy, but that isn't available for quite a few levels, plus I see no need to waste xp making something if I'm about to find its twin. So spoil away!

Secondly, can characters change alignment during the game? How hard is it for a Paladin to fall? Is it as simple as the party killing a few peaceful NPCs, or would they have to do something evil story-related? If he does fall, how easy is it for him to get an Atonement?

Thirdly, should I kill the 3 shopkeepers in the starting area, take their stuff, then get the girl to res them (and any of my guys who may have died)? There doesn't seem to be any penalty for this.

Thanks guys

 

1. I'd say that early on the safest bet would be the heavy armor w/ tower shield. There's a +3 chain shirt in Hommlet, but you have to kill the evil shopkeeper(s) to get it, which isn't the easiest task with low-level PCs. There are also some elven chains available relatively early. When you can craft items (at higher levels), you can make items that give +6 to attributes, which would make very high DEX and WIS possible. If you play with level cap, you'll have plenty of xp to spend for crafting.

2. Paladin can fall easily. No need to kill anyone - participating in a drinking contest is enough. I assume killing innocents would have the same consequence. I have no idea about the Atonement - I reloaded .

3. The starting area is added by the Co8 mod just to get your starting gear, so you might get away with killing them. I'm not sure if they have anything useful or do they even give much xp.

edit: As you probably know, ToEE is a little different from IWD or NWN . The combat is turn-based, but also the tactics are IMO much more elaborate in ToEE, as movement, weapon reaches and so forth actually mean something. High AC for a tank is always good, but the enemies won't always go for the first PC they see

 

Thanks Kullervo (awesome name btw. someone should make a Kalevala-themed rpg).

Yeah, it seems like ToEE is more like the goldbox games, but with wayyyyy more combat options. Is it going to get tedious going through all the choices during battle?

 

I didn't find the combat tedious (barring crashes or glitches without Co8).
I love strategy games, and I loved the gold box games. I'd say if you liked the gold box games, you'll like ToEE's combat. That's just my opinion though.

 

Combat takes more time, but most of the battles are fairly simple and don't require much special tactics. Actually, it's these vanilla fights that can get tedious. Harder and/or bigger battles are very interesting, although they might get relatively long - but they can also get truly epic.

Some of the combat options aren't really that good, but some are literally life-savers; 5-foot step, charge attack, ready vs. approach are my favourites. The combat in ToEE is a lot about moving - or staying put - and using space and the turn system to your advantage. I also liked the way you can cast spells with such a pinpoint accuracy.