First time Arcanum player, and I've got a question :)

I've been reading about how unbalanced this game is when it comes to playing tech characters, and the first character I would like to play happens to be tech based. While I was reading about it I came across a MOD called Hard Arcanum that is suppose to balance tech based characters out. Since this is my first time playing the game I wanted to know if it was worth using this MOD or is it better to wait and use it once I finish the game at least once (either way I'm going to play a tech based character)?

 

My first character was a melee/technologist/thief. I wouldn't say it is unbalanced. I really enjoyed playing as him. I actually enjoyed that character more than my mage.

 

I would advise you to play through at least once before getting the mod, Shido. There's a reason it's called "Hard".

 

Ok thanks! I've decided I'll give it a try with the MOD. I think I'm going to try a Tech Rogue, useing guns, and nothing but guns, and tech to design traps and lay traps(if that is possible).

 

You do know that the mod also changes other parts of the game, right? Like the followers, and certain quests, and huge chunks of gameplay.... It's not just a balancing mod, and truth be told there are players who don't think the game needs much more balancing. It seems a shame that you won't really be playing the game you originally purchased.

(Psst.... Powers That Be.... If this isn't a Hints-n-Tips thread I'm packing it in and shipping off to the nearest booby hatch.)

 

If you're unpatched, the looking glass rifle is plenty "balanced" if you ask me.

 

:consults the PatchReadme:

The patch changed the Looking Glass Rifle? How so? :-?

 

It reduced the damage of the Looking Glass Rifle why didn't they balance Disentigrate instead.

 

Before the patch, the rifle was 40-40 damage.

After it was knocked to 15-30 if I remember correctly.

 

Actually, people are getting it wrong. It's not tech characters that are unballanced, it's mages.

Mages have a one hit kill spell (desintegrate), 5 mana lots of damage spell (harm) and area of effect moderate damage spell (fireball).

Arcanum is an easy game. You will get some challenge as a tech char, while a mage can easily kill anything.

 

If you make a kill-everything-with-magic-mage then the game can be quite easy, but if you try some other type of mage, the game can be very challenging. Try making a mage who fights using the nature college and one or two of the elemental schools.

 

It's true. There are only about 5 spells in the game that actually make the game really easy and if you want to make the game easy and take them, then the fault is with you.

Besides, I found that grenades are area of effect weapons - just like spells. And guess what, you don't lose fatigue for using them. Infact, for the average tech player, their strength is high enough to carry more grenades than a mage can cast area of effect spells, because not only does the mage have to recharge their mana after every couple of big spells, but their strength is usally somewhat lower than a technologist and they can't carry enough potions as well as equipment in order to use as many spells - in addition to needing to lose APs for quaffing potions. It all balances out in the end.

As for harm, I don't see the difference between using harm and a chakram, other than harm actually does less damage than a chakram and takes more fatigue. Seems to me that a throwing character is more powerful.

However, it's true that there are two instant kill spells - quench life and disintegrate. Quench life however, doesn't always work and doesn't work on several enemies. Disintegrate destroys all items too, so you can easily fail quests and getting money is very much harder.

Therefore, it's a trade-off and the player's choice. I've played plenty of characters both mage and technologist and I can say that unless you go out of your way to take all the really good spells, playing a mage can be far harder than any technolgist (save a chemist, which sucks).

This is why I find it highly unfair and unbalancing that people like Chris Beddoes produce mods that creatly penalise all mages. Sure, they're absolutely great mods, but just because it's possible to create a super character, it doesn't mean that ALL mages are overpowered, and infact, if you play a mage with CB's 'hard Arcanum' and don't take the overpowered spells, then you're pretty much screwed.

 

You should try killing things with a chakram in real time combat. The old blind master is funny in real time.

 

And your point is? Using realtime is harder an ALL aspects of fighting. Just because you use a chakram doesn't actually mean you have to fight with a slower rate of fire. You can actually keep clicking and fire up to three or four chakrams at once. I assume you're just lazy and click once and leave it?

 

Bah, when you have the flamethrower it's better to run around in real time...simply to see that constant stream of molten death .

 

I prefer real time for melee based characters. I met the old blind master the first time with my half-ogre.

 

Playing Real-time does being harder, in many ways. Although spell like harm and disintergate still rocks, many super spell/weapon/skill in turn-based become harder to use.

For throwing, throw explosive in tuen-based cost too little AP, and the fact is that ranged combat in real time is difficult to target enemy. In a dense woodland, you always find line of fire block by tree while enemy run towards you, but in turn-based you can step aside and fire a deadly bullet in the same round. (But anyway, throwing is just overpowered.)

For a mage, you can count how much mana you are using and how much left any time you want in tuen-based, but in real time it is easy to push too much and faint. (Yet for harm it always kill enemy before half of max mana is used.) And in real time the casting animation cost time. (i think it make sense : casting should cost time.)

But still, if you want to enjoy a throwing character, I recommand turn-based.

 

actually i find that the accurracy of your throws degenerates over the course of your turn, at least with molotov cocktails it does.

i'd also like to comment on the usefulness of molotov cocktails, if you use ranged weapons i highly suggest you put ONE point in explosives just to gain access to these babys, they are inexpensive to make (al you have to buy is fuel, and you can find rags anwhere) and are extremely useful in combat if your character specializes in ranged attacks, when ever i'm swamped in granite rats, or orcs, or giant spiders, or any kind of strong melee based character i just drop one near my feet and i get a little instant breathing room. (molotov cocktails cause your enemys to be blown back quite a distance) so far it has been the best character point i've ever spent, and has gotten me out of numerous jams, where i probably would have died and reloaded about 20 times if i hadnt had 2 or three molotv cocktails at the time...

ok, now that i'm done rambling... i have a question, it seems like i could throw molotov cocktails for an indefinite period in turn based mode, is it the same with the boomerang/chackram/aerial decapitator? or does that cost AP?

 

Nah, actual throwing weapons cost AP. It was a bug with the cocktails that allowed zero AP usage.

 

I just finished the game with my all dwarf party. My character was a melee/throwing tech dwarf with explosive, smith and some electrical skills. He worked very well. Its true what you say, grenades are very useful. Especially the stunning grenade. It saved me many times during my lower levels.
Then again melee is a bit to good in my opinion. One's I was above level 15 nothing could stop me.