Spells eating fatigue

I have some doughts about some game mechanics. I am a temporal master, so due to the mastery all temporal spells needing fatigue per period of time should take it every 20 seconds instead of every 10 seconds. So when I cast both Tempus Fugit (5/20) and Haste (3/20) on myself, it should take 8 fatigue points on every 20 seconds to make them last. I have 20 Constitution and due to it my healing rate is 6, which means I regenerate 6 points of fatigue per 10 seconds, 12 fatigue points per 20 seconds. The mathematics show, that when I cast both Tempus Fugit and Haste being a temporal master with healing rate 6, I should gain 4 fatigue points every 20 seconds ( 12 - 8 ). however instead of gaining 4 FP/20 sec I somehow lose 1 FP/20 sec.
My question simply is - why? Is there something wrong with the game mechanics about it?
I don't think it is important to mention, but I did cast during my game some permanent spells using the Dwoemer Shield bug with the Mage Staffs (few permament Create Undead, lots of permanent Static, lots of other permanent spells from magic scrolls), some of them are still active while some aren't, due to the death of people I did cast those spells on. However I know spells cast with this bug are active even after they die. But if that would be the cause, my fatigue would lower all the time, which doesn't happen.

 

I'm not sure if this matters (as it wouldn't based on the simple math you used), but I was under the impression spells cost *half* what they did normally when mastered. So, for example, if a spell normally takes 5 every 10 seconds, it would take 2.5 every 10 seconds instead. Perhaps this slight change in the order of operations somehow messes it up? We all know how buggy this game is....

 

I firstly thought that halving the costs is only for casting the spells, not lasting, bacause I saw f.e. that casting Tempus Fugit dropped from 40 to 20, but lasting is still 5 per period of time, as usual. A long time later I realised, that while the cost of lasting didn't change, the period did, and all spells needing lasting in a mastered college, in the description, take that amount of points every 20 seconds instead (at least that is what the description says). But something that isn't quite working as it should. Perhaps someone knows more about the machanic of fatigue regenerating, fatigue taken by spells needing lasting and about the changes made by mastery.

I made more experiments with this. When casting Haste, I regenerate 3 fatigue points after 10 seconds (6 minus 3/20) and 6 fatigue points the after the next 10 seconds, than again 3, and so on. So Haste seems to work properly with the halved fatigue cost in both casting and lasting. However Tempus Fugit acts strange for me. I either regenerate 1 fatigue points per 10 sec, which means it takes me 5 fatigue points per 10 sec (just like the halving wouldn't work for it), or ocasionally I lose 5 points per 10 sec, which would mean it sometimes costs 11 (!) fatigue points per 10 sec (while it should be 2,5 for a master), which is 6 more than usual. I considered it may be because of permanent spells, bacause I have two permanent undead followers with me (which normally without permanency would cost 6 FP/10 sec). Sooo, if I'm thinking right, it's like Tempus Fugit is bugged and it's lasting isn't halved when mastered, and additionally sometimes the game "forgets" that my undead followers are permanent and sucks fatigue for them too, but only when Tempus Fugit is used. This is all getting bizarre... And my conclusions are based only on several experiments, all of them might be just made by chance and be nothing more than guesses. It would be great to hear an opinion from someone who knows more about these game mechanics. Is Tempus Fugit bugged, are my permament spells hunting me down, or is it something else?

 

I would very much like to know the answer to this one as well.

I have been trying to decide what magic discipline I would like to master. I was leaning towards Force, or Temporal. I am playing Polished CarArcanum so the benefits of Temporal would be lessened.

-Force would give me discounts on Bolt of Lightning and Disintegrate (such a USEFULL spell, I only recently realized how good!).

-Temporal would help with the Congeal Time, Hasten (on followers), and Tempus Fagit.

 

Anyone?

 

Meta, so you can protect yourself from disintegration and even make the caster disintegrate himself.

 

I have never even seen anyone ofther then my character cast Disintegration; can they cast it? Do they ever? If so, then perhaps I should.

 

Only the most badass mages cast desintegrate in the game, such as:

Spoiler

Nasrudin, K'an Hua, Force Master in Tulla and... I'm not sure if anyone else.

I think it's kind of "ingame protection", so there won't be a situation where you play an hour with your 50 level char without saving and suddenly get desintegrated by some average 15 level mage. And those who have it in the spoiler box, well, you can expect it actually from them.
However, even being so rare, being able to block deisntegrate has it's great role playing values, and that's all the beauty of playing Arcanum.
Also constitution 20 makes you immume to desintegrate.

 

Another possibility for mastery could be morph. Or maybe one of the elemental schools, they all've got some great spells (e.g. Fireflash, which can kill multiple enemies per casting, while desintegrate can kill only one, and then even evaporates that enemy's equipment, I know at least one skeleton with unmissable equipment).

 

IMHO the most powerful warrior is a wisely created battle mage. Nothing can beat a character who is a melee master and at the same time a temporal master. That's the character I currently play. 20 strenght for 20 additional melee damage, 20 constitution for great heal rate and being immume to desintegrate, 20 Willpower for being immume to a whole lot of spells, 21 dexterity for 26 speed for a start. With that Tempus Futig* + Haste* = DOZENS of action points to chop your enemies apart using your mastered melee skills. Hell, with potion of speed it can get even to 97. Having 97 AP for using my Bangellian Scourge makes the game sooo unfair.


*And with temporal mastery and heal rate 6 a mage should in theory regerate more fatigue than he uses for maintaining those two at once. Somehow he doesn't, which was the reason I started this thread.

 

"Somehow he doesn't, which was the reason I started this thread."

That really bites that it dose not work correctly, sounds like a litteraly unstopable character. Tell me, was he hard to level?

 

Not really. Before I started the game I planned exactly how every character points will be used, so there won't be no regreting or realising that there aren't enough of them. I included the race modifiers (elf) the background - only child, +6 willpower, -4 charisma, - some haggle and persuation; the items and blessings - got to 15 constitution and got Fawn's necklace +40 MR +4 constitution, got to 17 dexterity & got Makaal's blessing and used dexterity gloves to the time I got Velorien's blessing and +4 dexterity from it, then exchanged them for Acane gloves, also got to 19 strenght, increased to 20 from the dwarven God's blessing. After Vendigroth I bought a lot of tech manuals to compose the vivifier (or what's it called in english^^), which filled the missing constitution point and the missing one from the dwarven god blessing going away. I got the firsts four gods blessings and stayed with that to keep the bonuses till Vendigroth and then completed the whole three circle ritual. I didn't have any followers, so the charisma wasn't a problem.
I started as a evil swordman with some points in melee/dodge with heal and harm. With time I was increasing both combat stats and magic abilities, and I realised that a lonely warrior (or battle mage) is much easier to play than a pure mage or gunslinger technologist with their followers at the beggining (my two previous characters). White necromancy was good for healing myself while black for killing stone and fire creatures till I didn't get arcane equipment. At the portal near Liam's workshop I was killing all the monsters untill they stopped comming out (haste, attack, attack attack, retreat few steps, rest one hour when my fatigue get's too low) which gave me a lot of level ups. Magic Aptitude wasn't a problem, since I maxed out Temporal, White & Black Necro and Mental. Some time later I achieved mastery in melee and dodge. As I said I didn't wan't followers, but I did make the dread crystal spider and the cursed paladin permament undead followers (with the dwoemer shield bug using mage staffs), but I don't allow them to fight since I'm on a mission of whiping out whole Arcanum with my own hands (and sword ), they're for RPG values (imagine people hearing about whole towns being destroyed by the evil swordman wizard, with a giant undead crystal spider and a enslaved soul of a worrior), plus the paladin heals my when I need it, which isn't too often. I did the evil path, but I also got to Nasrudin so I can kill him later. I forced entrance to Tulla with the Tulla trick.
At the moment all towns and NPC have been slaughtered by me, excluding the NPCs which are reborning after death (I'll write about them and what I did with them soon in an other thread), now all I have to do is equip K'uan Hua with the ring of shadows (so he will stay unconcious and invisible waiting for me till the time I'll be back from the Void to kill him), kill Nasrudin (for the satisfaction of doing it and saying it to Arronax), kill all on the Void, add Torian Kel's Ancestral Sword and Kryggird's Falchion to my collection of three uber swords (with the Bangellian Scourge) and complete my great mission, propably by joining and Kerghan and killing him after destroing the remaining life in Acanum.

PS. Not THAT'S what I call a too-fuckin'-long post.

 

Wow, I am impressed. I dont think I have ever compleated the Gods quest (all of um for the ultimat blessing), its also late in the game so I dont know how much help it would be at that point.

I have always had followers, but they are anoying, and time consuming to manage their inventorys and keep them ok.

 

Now I see that Mazzerin's Mystery shows by itself how to do the Gods quest, but sadly, my first time was with a help of the walkthrough.
Yeah, it may be late in the game, but I always like to plan my game so to become godlike, even if it's at the very ending.
I had followers in two of my games, and they make a feeling of traveling with company and stuff and may (but don't have to) be useful in battle. I always did like to get the best stuff for them I could because t lookes really cool then. But they're often annoying as hell, especially when I like to combat myself and even with notorious clicking F5 they not always listen. -_- At the time I'm annoyed even with the dread crystal spider and cursed paladin, both masters of melee. I wan't to chop a head of a guard while they just get to him and kill him normally. I sometimes resurrect them after tham to kill them my own way. Also, the MOST annoying thing about followers is that sometimes the're reaction randomly drops when fighting for exampe kite archers or skeleton archers. I was SO pissed in Black Mountain, Ashbury or Derian Ka Temple when I started from the beggining the whole area because strangely my followers starte to dislike me (i hate that bug. Really. Hate.) My forced undead followers are much better in those terms, they hate my from the start with -50 reaction and I'm cool with that.

 

What is the earlyest point that you can compleat the gods quests? Without breaking the game. So I mean maybe doing a couple things out of order but then returning to the story line as normal.

Do you get bad bugs by using the permency trick?

 

Since the last point to complete the gods quest is receiving the blessing from Velorien's altar in Vendigroth, Vendigroth is the earliest normal way to complete it. AFAIK all the mountain passes (Gorgoth Pass, Hardin Pass, Bridge to the Wastes) can be forced, so theoretically after leaving Shrouded Hills it is possible to go to each location with the altar etc. On the second thought one of the altars (and the olive tree) is in the Wheel Clan, so you can get there only after the Isle of Despair (or when you have 20 PE).

There should't be any bugs (If the Tempus Fugit thingy isn't connected with the permanency thingy). The only thing you have to remember is that permanent spells are really permanent, and nothing, even death + resurrection won't end the effect of the spell. Therefore it is also good to not make permanent such spells which have an annoying sound (like purity of water for example ).

 

Hmm, Vendegroth, I supose you could go there early, right?

 

By forcing locations, yes, quite early. After leaving Shrouded Hills, to be exact.