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The combat in Arcanum is so flawed that it makes the game almost unplayable, I haven't completed it yet because of that. Plus I always had something less trying to play.

I for one would not play through Kotor a second time. IMHO Kotor is a very boring and linear game which only gets slightly interesting at the end. I absolutely loathe the way the camera is handled and moving through some of the large areas just to get somewhere was one of the most boring game experiences I had in a long time.

Reading that thread I feel like playing MM6 again and going back to New Sorpigal. If only the graphics weren't so old. MM6 is without a doubt better than both Oblivion and Morrowind combined. I wish that the training system in Oblivion would require you to find masters just like it did in MM6. I loved the fact that you could go anywhere and enter a dungeon just to find out that you were not well equipped or not strong enough to finish it when a monster would kill half your party with a single claw. That was good fun.

 

It's a shame, because putting up with some of the bad design decision in Arcanum is truly worth it. And that's coming from someone who posted a couple of very caustic rants about the game in this forum.

I didn't find the game that bad, but I certainly didn't see it as game of the year material (that or it must have been a really bad year). It's a very competently made game but it felt far too unoriginal for my taste, not to mention that I'm not a a huge Star Wars fan so the novelty of using lightsabers wore thin pretty quickly.

That was one of my favourite things about the M&M games and it's really done well in #6. One of the most difficult dungeons is on an island off New Sorpigal. There are clear signs that this is not the starter dungeon but you're still given the chance to go muck around it early on if you like a good challenge. MM6 really got the balance of freedom vs being led better than most RPGs.

I checked my notes and Poseidon is a Relic trident. I never found an Artifact trident or spear. That said some of the "normal" magical items can be very powerful so you can still get lucky and find a good spear, or enchant one yourself. Besides once you find the Ancient Weapons what other items you use becomes immaterial, if you decide to go that route.

Heh, going through my old MM6 notes really got me nostalgic

 

If you don't like the combat, make a mage a play through just for the story. Seriously it's worth it (and magic is overpowered which makes combat easy for the lazy man )

 

Thanks for the tip, I actually started the game three times. Once as a Half Orc technology specialist (bombs), once as a Dwarf technomancer and once as a Half Elf weirdo with maxed out Strength. Next time I will consider the Elf Mage build and avoid weapons altogether.

 

I just waltzed through the Temple of Baa with my new party. Not exactly a big deal for my drunken ass-kicking SOB gathering, just needed an awful lot of potions.

Now, off to Free Haven -- time to unload some cash and grab some better equipment. Oh yeah, not forgetting new spells and some training.

 

The "Sparks", spell is amazing in tight corridors and such. If you have 2-3 characters with that spell, things turns easy in alot of the dungeons.

 

That's one of my favourite dungeon in any CRPG. It's not that hard (it is an early game dungeon after all) but so early in the game you need to know what you're doing to get through it. I can see how having the stat boosts from being drunk would make things much easier. MM6 is a bit unbalanced when it comes to potions - there's no alchemy skill so you can get some very powerful potions very early in the game.

IIRC the spell shop in Free Haven has some must-have water spells - Town Portal, Lloyd's Beacon and Water Walk.

Oh yeah, and while in Ironfist don't forget to visit the seer and get the Pilgrimage quests. The shrines give some very nice permanent boosts.

Seconded. This is one of the most effective offensive spells until you get the crazy Black Magic spells.

 

I remember using Spark, when killing off Devils, in that game. The dark magic ones, just wern`t as effective against those buggers.

 

Stop! You're making me want to reinstall MM!

I've been playing MM3 + 4 when I was a wee lad of 5. Those were the days...

 

Yeah, Devils are resistant to Dark spells. I don't think I tried Sparks against them though, by that point in the game I just hacked them to bits. With the "Day of" spells melee fighting becomes much easier in this game.

Is that bad?

 

Short answer: YES!

But I guess it would feel good if the game didn't look so bad nowadays. I did reinstal it but I just couldn't play it because of that. Brought back some good memories of slaughtering goblins in New Sorpigal though.

 

I am about to enter Castle Darkmoor, now. Took a break for that exact reason. That dungeon is the worst I have ever experienced, in any crpg, ever. Was probably around 100 Liches in there + Beholders.

 

No Rawgrim, I'm sure there are far more than 100 Eyes in this one. The one huge cave towards the end has more than that I think

I have a love/hate relationship with this dungeon. I think it's incredibly well-designed, except it was designed to drive gamers crazy. And it's very good at this!

 

Gave me quite the satisfactory feeling, when I finished this game, I remember. Alot more so, than when I finished the BG games.

 

Hey, Ziad, here's another small slice of cheese for you to test out in LoL:G. Remember the skeleton in the final room of the Draracle's museum, the place where you smash the hourglass and have to smash the wall and jump through before dying of premature old age?

The skeleton I'm talking about doesen't move and is more a pile of bones. Try shooting that pile of bones from afar - each shot will count as a death blow, and you got yourself an easy way to crank up the Warrior skill to 8 (it stops when you get to 8). Helped me out BIG TIME to clean up the damn Dark Halls, the Dracoid Ruins...

There's also a life-leeching Dracoid Dagger hidden somewhere in the ruins, but I never found it.

 

Seriously DotW, where do you come up with all this cheese?

I remember the skeleton you mention. I also remember the Dark Halls being really annoying, and one of the few areas I never managed to explore entirely (loads of corridots I can see through windows but never could access). The boost form that cheese would be very useful for it.

I'm surprised at the level cap so early. I think the max level cap is 30 or something, but I never realised early areas had a much lower cap. Interesting.

I think I found the dagger actually, but it's not too long after finishing the Ruins that you can upgrade Firestorm to Darkstorm (you just have to cross the mountains). Once you've got this it's the best melee weapon in the game.

 

what game is DotW?

 

Rawgrim, it's Lands of Lore 2: Guardians of Destiny (commonly shortened to LoL:G at the time). It's very different from the original Lands of Lore, but it's a pretty good game in its own right.

 

Ok, cool. I have only played the original Lands of Lore. That one was very good, by the way.

 

Well, LoL is one of the few games in which cheating is next to impossible, so every little cheese that helps make the game easier is welcomed with open arms.

And yes, the Dark Halls are annoying, tough and creepy. The Fire shield is useful, and is worth the detour, IMO.

Oh, yeah, that reminds me... remember the Dagger of the Empty Hand, found in the same place you get the serum? This dagger dishes out a reasonable amount of damage very fast. Matter of fact, I did all the Dracoid ruins in one single run, including those nasty dragons who die surprisingly easily with the Dagger.