Completed Geneforge

[coldcrow]

Exactly, and when their usefulness fades out you get the best creation in the game.

 

[ElectricOtter]

Exactly, and when their usefulness fades out you get the best creation in the game.

Touche


Anyway, am I the only one who thought that Battle Alpha's sucked compared to other Battle Creations in Geneforge 5? Seriously, Kyshakks were a much better investment. I tried running a team of Vlish and Battle Alphas and the Alphas got they're asses kicked before I was out of Mera-Tev.

 

[mountain hare]

Exactly, and when their usefulness fades out you get the best creation in the game.

Touche


Anyway, am I the only one who thought that Battle Alpha's sucked compared to other Battle Creations in Geneforge 5? Seriously, Kyshakks were a much better investment. I tried running a team of Vlish and Battle Alphas and the Alphas got they're asses kicked before I was out of Mera-Tev.

Battle creations (including Battle Alphas) sucked donkey balls right up until Geneforge 5. Why would I ever choose melee over missile, if missile offers a better damage die and tactical flexibility?

Geneforge 5 changed the action point system so that melee creations weren't at such a disadvantage (you wouldn't miss an entire round of attacking simply because you wasted action points closing the gap between yourself and your opponent). But battle creations were still inferior.

Except for the War Trall. The War Trall is easily the best creation in Geneforge 5, amounting to an armoured tank. It has a strong missile attack which does physical damage (a form of damage which is rarely, if ever, highly resisted), has moderate resistance to all forms of damage, oodles of health, and a low essence cost. By the end of the game, I usually have five to six in tow.

 

[ElectricOtter]

Exactly, and when their usefulness fades out you get the best creation in the game.

Touche


Anyway, am I the only one who thought that Battle Alpha's sucked compared to other Battle Creations in Geneforge 5? Seriously, Kyshakks were a much better investment. I tried running a team of Vlish and Battle Alphas and the Alphas got they're asses kicked before I was out of Mera-Tev.

Geneforge 5 changed the action point system so that melee creations weren't at such a disadvantage (you wouldn't miss an entire round of attacking simply because you wasted action points closing the gap between yourself and your opponent). But battle creations were still inferior.

Except for the War Trall. The War Trall is easily the best creation in Geneforge 5, amounting to an armoured tank. It has a strong missile attack which does physical damage (a form of damage which is rarely, if ever, highly resisted), has moderate resistance to all forms of damage, oodles of health, and a low essence cost. By the end of the game, I usually have five to six in tow.

Battle Creations were not inferior to others in Geneforge 5. In fact, they were excellent. Clawbugs and Plated Bugs were fast, deadly, and a team could carry you safely throughout the first half of the game. Rotghroths and Rotdhizons were the same deal with higher hp and acid attack to boot. I will concede that War Tralls are the best creation in the game. A team of 2 Gazers, 2-3 Rotdhizons or War Tralls can take on anything in the game. Torment ain't got nothing on this shit.

EDIT: that action point change came in G4, by the way

 

[coldcrow]

War Tralls are not the best creation. In terms of raw power Ur-Drakons are, even Eyebeasts are more powerful if somehwat limited due to magic dmg.

Rothdizhons outdamage Tralls, especially if hasted. Not to mention they can corner annoying foes with scripted ranged attacks. Also not to mention they deal overtime damage. It is way more useful to keep essence open and create a shock trall + regeneration aura once you enter a new area.

You can easily prove that point by looking for the enemies which are hardest to deal with and guess what: Rothdhizons, Drakons+Eyebeasts (if more than one).

 

[mountain hare]

Battle Creations were not inferior to others in Geneforge 5. In fact, they were excellent. Clawbugs and Plated Bugs were fast, deadly, and a team could carry you safely throughout the first half of the game. Rotghroths and Rotdhizons were the same deal with higher hp and acid attack to boot. I will concede that War Tralls are the best creation in the game. A team of 2 Gazers, 2-3 Rotdhizons or War Tralls can take on anything in the game. Torment ain't got nothing on this shit.

EDIT: that action point change came in G4, by the way

Clawbugs were *good*. For their essence cost, Clawbugs did have higher health and damage output. But I think Vlish outclassed them because of their ranged attack, which cursed opponents. No other creation you can Shape can inflict the curse effect, and the reduction in to hit and damage is noticable on Torment.

I never bothered with the Rotties and Gazers though. War tralls really are just that good.

 

[mountain hare]

War Tralls are not the best creation.

They are the best creation that your PC can Shape. Some would argue that Shock Tralls are better. They may be, although they can never be levelled up.

In terms of raw power Ur-Drakons are, even Eyebeasts are more powerful if somehwat limited due to magic dmg.

Gazers do magic damage, which every man and his dog resists in GF5. Artila, Vlish, Glaahk, Drakons, Tralls, Wingbolts, enemy Shapers etc. will have *at least* moderate resistance to magic damage. This is why Glaahk also fall by the wayside, despite being good in theory.

Fire resistance is also pretty common. Good luck having your Drakon beat down another Drakon, or even a Drayk. You mention Ur-Drakons. You can't get them until (literally) the end-game, and they have zero magic resistance. A war trall has moderate resistance across the board.

War Tralls do an enormous amount of physical damage, which no enemy in the game (that I can think of) has decent resistance against.

Rothdizhons outdamage Tralls, especially if hasted.

I don't know about that. War Tralls have a die size of d10 (?), and that is for a ranged attack. Melee attacks are generally d5. Then again, Rothdizhons do get double attacks, although that's acid based.

Also, Rothdizhons don't have the same level of diverse resistances as a War Trall, and they cost almost twice as much in essence.

Not to mention they can corner annoying foes with scripted ranged attacks.

You can corner with war tralls.

Also not to mention they deal overtime damage.

Acid damage is good, but there are easier way of inflicting it.

You can easily prove that point by looking for the enemies which are hardest to deal with and guess what: Rothdhizons, Drakons+Eyebeasts (if more than one).

But your PC doesn't have an innate 90% fire and magic resistance (unlike many in-game enemies). If they did, then you analogy would be valid.

 

[Humanity has risen!]

I've played a lot of Geneforges since then.

I completed 2, which I liked, but not as much as the first. I thought it began extremely well, but then in the second half of the game it kinda fell apart. Game became "Good, you've decided to join us, now go sabotage these guys!", and then that was it. It's not that it wasn't interesting or that the game world wasn't interesting, but the plot ceased to hold your interest at that point.

Then I played 3, up to about the half where I gave up, since I found it well made, but a bit banal, and it looked like nothing too important happened init anyway.

Now I'm close to the end of 4, which I like, but which I find to be a bit of a mixed bag. It seems to be a series of "gaaah, this evil McGuffin with shaping abilities is stopping our progress, can you please go kill it?!" Really, couldn't I take part of the warring between the rebels and shapers instead of hunting random rogues? Seems like a missed opportunity here.

 

[Kalin]

I am currently playing Geneforge 2 as a loyalist Shaper (in my previous game I joined the Barzites) and I am really enjoying it a lot. I have to agree that the plot slows down somewhat after a while, but the game is still quite nice. It will be interesting to find out what happens at the end, as I will probably purge Zakary at some point.

I actually enjoyed Geneforge 3 as well, it was a bit constrained, yes, but it was quite nice to explore the last couple of islands, and I enjoyed having Alwan as a companion. In part, it might be because my first Geneforge game was the fourth installment. Since the backstory had only been hinted at, it was a lot of fun to explore it in depth.

The Monarch in Geneforge 4 is indeed quite a chore. Are you playing pro-Shaper or pro-Rebel? While secretly working for the Shapers, I recall that, Monarch scenario aside, several quests revolved around betraying the rebels and rooting out insurgents.

 

[Nim]

I completed 2, which I liked, but not as much as the first. I thought it began extremely well, but then in the second half of the game it kinda fell apart.

Which it shares with Geneforge 1 imo. Great beginning and then going down the drain. I think it has to do with the non-combat content being mostly in the first half of the game.

You don't miss much by not playing G3 to completion. As a loyalist it's pure combat anyway in the second half, only rebels get a bit more content.

The Monarch in Geneforge 4 is indeed quite a chore.

Disagree. It is by far the shortest chapter if you know what you are doing.

Spoiler

Go for the Warped Creator under Grosch asap so that the Fens can be cleared. Then get the servile techs, disarm the mines and go north and kill Monarch, done.

 

[almondblight]

Another vote for Exile over Avernum, if you can run it. Exile has a lot more spells, more interesting spells (area of effect spells, fields), a party of six compared to a party of four, and better graphics. The graphics in Avernum all felt really bland and had this bled out quality, where as they were much more vibrant in Exile. They also could make really large creatures that took up several tiles, whereas everything in the Avernums is one tile (from what I played).

 

[Kalin]

The Monarch in Geneforge 4 is indeed quite a chore.

Disagree. It is by far the shortest chapter if you know what you are doing.

Spoiler

Go for the Warped Creator under Grosch asap so that the Fens can be cleared. Then get the servile techs, disarm the mines and go north and kill Monarch, done.

Ah, but on your first playthrough, you generally don't know what you are doing. When you venture into new areas, the most efficient ways in which to clear them are not readily apparent.

 

[Humanity has risen!]

I am currently playing Geneforge 2 as a loyalist Shaper (in my previous game I joined the Barzites) and I am really enjoying it a lot. I have to agree that the plot slows down somewhat after a while, but the game is still quite nice. It will be interesting to find out what happens at the end, as I will probably purge Zakary at some point.

I actually enjoyed Geneforge 3 as well, it was a bit constrained, yes, but it was quite nice to explore the last couple of islands, and I enjoyed having Alwan as a companion. In part, it might be because my first Geneforge game was the fourth installment. Since the backstory had only been hinted at, it was a lot of fun to explore it in depth.

The Monarch in Geneforge 4 is indeed quite a chore. Are you playing pro-Shaper or pro-Rebel? While secretly working for the Shapers, I recall that, Monarch scenario aside, several quests revolved around betraying the rebels and rooting out insurgents.

But the anti-rebel quests are mostly minor sidequests that don't really add much to the game. I want to be an active part of the biggest hits of the war.

What I hate the most about Monarch and the one before that are the endless respawning creations. I don't want to have to fight whole new creations every time I come back to an area! That's just cheap design.

 

[Humanity has risen!]

Finally completed 4 after all this time. The huge fight at the end was pretty nice.

Only 5 remains now.

 

[betamin]

5 and 2 were my favorites, 5 was especially good as a solo infiltrator.