Old player new replay, and some insights on game mechanics

I'm replaying Arcanum recently. I have finished the game when it first released with an elf mage with harm/disintegration, he was too powerful that the game became boring. Then I tried a gunslinger, but the unpatched LGR made it too easy also. This time with all patches on, I'm trying a gunslinger again, with a dip in magic (haste). He is a gnome with beat with an ugly stick background, some kind of a grotesque.


He started with fire of agility and charm to offset the negative reaction, 2 points in throw, expert training and uses the mystical chakrum until mastery in firearm. With FoA, charged rings and Jayna's drugs, dex is 20 easily. The beginning was easy, the damage is decent because chukking chakrum only costs 2 AP. For the tougher foes, he also has molotovs and stun grenades to compliment. He's in caladon and reached L34 now, mastered electricity and constructed the tesla gun; completed the first circle of blessings for +2 WP and learned the haste spell; coupled with haste potion he can clear the whole room before anyone moves a finger. :thumbup:


I find a strange bug though, gnomes get +10 on bad reaction so they can charm repeatedly and the reaction will go up. Followers also react positively to "bad" actions, my followers all love the little grotesque (300+ reaction). :-?


After years Arcanum is still very fun. The art is awesome, the streets in Tarant, the lamps in Caladon, the music all wonderful. It's really misfortunate that we don't have games like Arcanum anymore.




Some insights on game mechanics which I promised:

- Tech weapons don't work as well on magic creatures right? But what I didn't know is a higher tech aptitude will increase your to hit with tech weapons on magic creatures. So to build an optimal gunslinger, you want to keep TA at 100.

- Electricity is simply the best discipline for gunslinger because besides the TA which a gunslinger need anyway, it gives you tesla gun - one of the best guns, charged rings and Chapeau.

- Tesla gun is better than I expected, mainly because ER is rare and there are many high DR enemies like golems, seething mass, rock rats, etc. Charge is aplenty, 130 per day in Tarant inventor, just camp a few days. And you can build tesla gun before going to BMC if you plan for it, a very big help. It feels wonder that you can actually kill ore golems in a few zaps, when in otherwise scenario you are scratching their rocky surface with the pea shooter that is the hand cannon.

- There is one little secret of tesla gun, the bolt lights up the target it hits, similar to casting illuminate on your target, making subsequent targetting easier.

- The chapeau, despite what the schematic description says, the DR bonus actually works against melee attack. It is the best helm a techie can use, 20 DR is better than most helms, and it's light and no PE malus. :thumbup:

 

Oh, you poor unexpecting n00b you. You have no idea what you've just let yourself in for, do you?

*settles back with chips and dip to enjoy the show*

 

Let 'em come!

 

Well, at least you've got some spunk. (Oh god, I've been on Smart Bitches Trashy Books too long, I can't read that sentence without either laughing or cringing.)

 

Oh I forgot 100 TA can't use teleport scroll, it is a biggie for sloth like me. 95-96 TA is good enough then.

 

I don't think there'll be one. Actually, I can't figure out why there should've been one in the first place.

 

*waves Xiao away again* His information is readily useful, and is actually a few facts I think were either unknown or obscure enough that most people didn't handily know them. This is actually got me to thinking that we need to start some form of database holding all the random little facts like this that've been amassed over the years.


*sits on Xiao, steals some of her chips and dip and waits for someone to point him towards said already existing database*

 

HEY! Personal space! PERSONAL SPACE! Outoutoutoutoutoutout!

*smacks Darkfool repeatedly with her (exceedingly heavy) bookbag until he gets the point*

 

I haven't found the schematic for the Tesla gun, and i'm on Caladon as of now (completed almost every other side quest before Caladon, level 39 dwarf, no extra experience from the side quest with the portal).

 

That does inspire my curiosity. How did you find that schematic so early, Felicity, and where?

Xiao, you're the worst seat I've ever sat on. Quit squirming.

 

DarkFool, you have ten seconds to get off, then I'm setting your pubes on fire.

 

Good, while he's occupied I'll just head over to his house and get my rubber balls back.

I gotta say, though, that I'm with Wolfsbane. Why a show? As far a newbie posts go, it was a good post. Maybe I missed something goming back from a weekend with less sleep than I would have liked.

 

You can buy it from the gagetry vendor in Tarant. If it doesn't show up in the store, advance one day and check again. The store refreshes its inventory everyday.

 

Won't show up, maybe it's from the patch/mod. Plus in my version no merchant changes his invetory for a day! Nm don't tell me where it is, i wanna find it on my own.

 

I've generally found that if you wait in the shop, the merchents inventories will never refresh (almost as if they know what I'm trying to do), but if I linger several streets away and come back, They've switched it up.

As to where the schematic may be found, there's a ramdom chance of it being in certain gunsmith shops and inventor shops.

Spoiler

I found mine on the Ashbury gunvendor I think, but can't remember for sure

 

*reads earlier posts* Oh wow, I must have been hella pissed off at something when I made that first post. Sorry, felicity. I have no idea what came over me.

Having said which... DarkFool, OFF!

 

Apparantly the shops in Arcanum have little genies to mend their items at night when everyone is asleep. The genies are very shy creatures however, they don't come out where there is sight of adult. So my advice is the same as Peter Quincy: move your view off screen from the vendor, then advance one day.

 

Ah nothing to sorry for. You didn't sound pissed or angry to me, fortunately.

 

Damn, found the Schematic at the Wheel Clan, but my game was messed up already at time that ( i have 32 points to invest in skills and sometimes i put points in Teleporting to advance and play a quest sooner ).