Legend of Grimrock 2 Party Compositions

[Elim]

Human rogue, does sick damage with two swords and nearly always hits/crits.
Insect knight, rarely takes damage, doesn't do damage (useless)
Human mage, fire bot and does some damage and provides light, usefulness 5/10 since my rogue kills everything.
Human alchemist, provides potion and poison, meh, more useful than the mage.

I think my next group will be a fighter, a melee rogue, an alchemist and maybe ranged rogue.

 

[Pope Amole II]

for the passive battle mage

Actually, I don't think that the battle mage is that passive. Wizards start with the same 50 mana, buy +2 willpower over the battlemage and they gain +2 mana more per level. That may sound like a lot, but by the level 15 it's only 38 points of difference - pretty much one more spell (and they pay for that with having 33 less hps and no protection/resists bonuses). And, considering that in the hard fights you're overdozing on mana pots anyway, it's not like this difference matters that much.

Now, of course, if said wizard is a lizardman wizard with the fast metabolism, then yeah, it's 3 spells of battlemage for each 4 spells the lizard will cast (but, once again, that's outside of mana potions or healing crystals). But that's less about the battlemage vs wizard competition and more about lizardman vs insectoid one. So, while they're tanky as hell, I don't think that battlemages are that much worse than wizards - actually, I think that those measly 38 mana points are totally not worth the huge amount of survivability you're losing so I'd go for a battlemage even in my back rows - it's not like you never get flanked or never feel the need to swap rows to save one of your furries from dying.

 

[Greatness]

I didn't mean battle mages are passive. I meant wielding a staff on a battle mages give you a passive bonus of +10 protection.

I agree on Battle Mages > Wizards.

 

[Vault Dweller]

Minotaur Barb, Aggressive + Rage, Heavy Weapons, Armor, Accuracy
Lizard Knight, Daemon Ancestors + Endure Elements, Light Weapons, Armor, Critical
Human Battle Mage, Aura + Fast Learner for extra specialization, Fire Magic, Concentration, Alchemy, undecided
Ratling Rogue, Mutation + Agile, Firearms (because why not?), Critical, Dodge

Level 6 so far, playing on Hard, no complaints.

 

[Immortal]

Minotaur Barb, Aggressive + Rage, Heavy Weapons, Armor, Accuracy
Lizard Knight, Daemon Ancestors + Endure Elements, Light Weapons, Armor, Critical
Human Battle Mage, Aura + Fast Learner for extra specialization, Fire Magic, Concentration, Alchemy, undecided
Ratling Rogue, Mutation + Agile, Firearms (because why not?), Critical, Dodge

Level 6 so far, playing on Hard, no complaints.

Ironman or Limited healing Crystals?

 

[Vault Dweller]

Limited healing (I use the crystals rarely, usually sleeping it off or brewing potions to heal injuries).

 

[Pope Amole II]

Btw, one sudden realization I've just had is that barbarians are much better with the light weapons than they are with heavy. Dunno about late game, but in the early there's around 33%-50% speed discrepancy between the STR-based light weapons and heavy ones. The barbarians have huge innate damage bonus so it's much more beneficial if they attack much faster & dual-wield. You squeeze more out of that. I see pretty much two basic builds - backrow minotaur barbarian with aggressive & headhunter (I don't like headhunter that much, but here it's very synergistic) and frontline tanky insectoid (chitin armor+that 10% speed bonus - also a great synergy here; but then, you may also make him backrow with the 10% speed+aggressive talents, depends on your needs).

 

[Greatness]

I always suffer from restartitis with any new CRPG. Here's what I'm trying currently.

Insect Battle Mage (Chitin Armor, Natural Armor) [Fire Spells]
Insect Battle Mage (Chitin Armor, Natural Armor) [Water Spells]
Minotaur Alchemist (Aggressive, Weapon Specialization) [Throwing]
Human Farmer (Fast Learner, Skilled) [Missile Weapons]

Hard/SingleCrystals

All ranged so I can gib stuff before it reaches me.

It seems the protection stacking with Insect/BattleMage/Shield is the only thing that can actually get away with being lazy on hard and face tanking, so I went with them as my frontline. Might be advantageous to leave both as fire magic, but I like some diversity.

Alchemist for STR based weapons since none of the other class bonuses seemed all that great compared to the alchemists mass energy potions for the dual mages and permanent +stat potion abuse. Also since everyone in the group is permanently starved potions are necessary to heal injured bodyparts.

Farmer just for something different. Uses DEX based weapons. It seems overpowered actually, since at the moment it's 4 levels above everyone else and had maxed out weapon skill by the 2nd or 3rd dungeon. Not sure what to do with the extra skill points now though.

 

[Pope Amole II]

Not sure what to do with the extra skill points now though.

There's always the critical tree and you can also take 3 levels of dodge simply for the 10% speed bonus - it seems like not much, but it stacks pretty well with all the other dmg bonuses you've already taken.

 

[Whisper]

Minotaur Barb, Aggressive + Rage, Heavy Weapons, Armor, Accuracy
Lizard Knight, Daemon Ancestors + Endure Elements, Light Weapons, Armor, Critical
Human Battle Mage, Aura + Fast Learner for extra specialization, Fire Magic, Concentration, Alchemy, undecided
Ratling Rogue, Mutation + Agile, Firearms (because why not?), Critical, Dodge

Level 6 so far, playing on Hard, no complaints.

Probably worst party i saw, please if you finish game with it, write how it went.

Btw, one sudden realization I've just had is that barbarians are much better with the light weapons than they are with heavy. Dunno about late game, but in the early there's around 33%-50% speed discrepancy between the STR-based light weapons and heavy ones. The barbarians have huge innate damage bonus so it's much more beneficial if they attack much faster & dual-wield. You squeeze more out of that. I see pretty much two basic builds - backrow minotaur barbarian with aggressive & headhunter (I don't like headhunter that much, but here it's very synergistic) and frontline tanky insectoid (chitin armor+that 10% speed bonus - also a great synergy here; but then, you may also make him backrow with the 10% speed+aggressive talents, depends on your needs).

Problem is you will often see armoured enemies.
2-h heavy have armor ignore AND they suffer less from armored enemies at first place.

 

[Whisper]

Human rogue, does sick damage with two swords and nearly always hits/crits.
Insect knight, rarely takes damage, doesn't do damage (useless)
Human mage, fire bot and does some damage and provides light, usefulness 5/10 since my rogue kills everything.
Human alchemist, provides potion and poison, meh, more useful than the mage.

I think my next group will be a fighter, a melee rogue, an alchemist and maybe ranged rogue.

Hard difficulty?

 

[Whisper]

Alchemist can get away with 1-2 points in firearms. Since points only decrease jamming chance and add range (damage stay same).

 

[Elim]

Hard difficulty?

No, I was running away from hard because my first group got killed there, was running fighter/knight/mage/alchemist.

My mentioned party is on normal now and it is a little bit too easy.
I think this group will work fairly well on hard with a couple of changes. But the rogue will keep her place, she is just devastating. The alchemist has a place, too. The potions are live savers.
Still, do not know what else I will take. Mage? Maybe a fighter for the front row?

Do crits ignore armor? My rogue sometimes hits for nothing, the crits on the other hand kill stuff.

 

[Pope Amole II]

Problem is you will often see armoured enemies.
2-h heavy have armor ignore AND they suffer less from armored enemies at first place.

Well, yeah, but light weapons also have ways around that - fireblade, for example. Haven't tested it as my current party has no light weapon user, but shouldn't it do pure fire damage which can't be really resisted? If so, that barbarian build will be extremely good with it.

 

[Wulfric Pinewood]

If i create party with Lizards only, will i be able to explore underwater without danger of drowning ?

 

[Greatness]

Problem is you will often see armoured enemies.
2-h heavy have armor ignore AND they suffer less from armored enemies at first place.

Well, yeah, but light weapons also have ways around that - fireblade, for example. Haven't tested it as my current party has no light weapon user, but shouldn't it do pure fire damage which can't be really resisted? If so, that barbarian build will be extremely good with it.

There's also this if you don't want to be restricted to a certain weapon.

Spoiler

 

[Mortmal]

I am just starting party creation, what would be the best stats for an alchemist spec in throwing weapons ? Dex obviously helps acording tool tips, but does strengh improves the damage too ?

 

[Whisper]

I am just starting party creation, what would be the best stats for an alchemist spec in throwing weapons ? Dex obviously helps acording tool tips, but does strengh improves the damage too ?

Throwing is STR based.

 

[Whisper]

Hard difficulty?

No, I was running away from hard because my first group got killed there, was running fighter/knight/mage/alchemist.

My mentioned party is on normal now and it is a little bit too easy.
I think this group will work fairly well on hard with a couple of changes. But the rogue will keep her place, she is just devastating. The alchemist has a place, too. The potions are live savers.
Still, do not know what else I will take. Mage? Maybe a fighter for the front row?

Do crits ignore armor? My rogue sometimes hits for nothing, the crits on the other hand kill stuff.

I tried rogue, dual-wielding daggers, replaced him with battle mage. Damage is meh, cant take hits at all.

Rogue is good as archer though due +1% crit per lvl.

 

[Cyberarmy]

I tried rogue, dual-wielding daggers, replaced him with battle mage. Damage is meh, cant take hits at all.

Rogue is good as archer though due +1% crit per lvl.

You should have waited till you got 2 swords or similiar weapons for damage. But yeah as frontline characters they are useless, evasion is not very usefull like %80 of games (dodge 9 times, got hit once and die...) They are most effective when used at back row. On hard my little sinistar rat is cutting through enemies like hot butter.
Battle mage is the ultimate tank, thanks to his spells. Gave my knight heavy weapons and rushed it to 5 for single hand use, usefull shields start to come by after 4-5 levels.

My first setup had alchemist, it is good to have potions and bombs but I'm now killing so fast I don't mostly need potions except some boss fights and ambushes. Killed summoned stones and herder bosses really easy with these guys.

 

[Iluvcheezcake]

4 human battlemages with fast learner and strong mind, points into willpower and vitality, totally dumped str and dex.
Playing on hard difficulty. Is there a list of magic spell gestures so that i can plan ahead? So far the game is really fun.

 

[Cyberarmy]

4 human battlemages with fast learner and strong mind, points into willpower and vitality, totally dumped str and dex.
Playing on hard difficulty. Is there a list of magic spell gestures so that i can plan ahead? So far the game is really fun.

Not sure if this consist all

Spoiler

Name: Shield
Type: Utility Spell
Reqs: Concentration 1
Signs: Spirituality, Balance, Protection
Info: Creates a magical shield around you. The shield protects from physical damage by increasing your Protection by 25. Every point in concentration skill increases spell's duration by 10 seconds.

Name: Darkness
Type: Utility Spell
Reqs: Concentration 2
Signs: Death, Balance
Info: Negates all magical and non-magical light sources carried by your party.

Name: Light
Type: Utility Spell
Reqs: Concentration 2
Signs: Light, Balance
Info: Conjures a dancing ball of light that illuminates your path.

Name: Force Field
Type: Utility Spell
Reqs: Concentration 2
Signs: Fire, Light, Air, Physicality, Ice, Death, Earth, Spirituality, Fire
Info: Creates a magical barrier that blocks all movement. Every point in Concentration increases spell's duration by 2 seconds.

Name: Darkbolt
Type: Utility Spell
Reqs: Concentration 3
Signs: Death, Balance, Spirituality
Info: Shoots a ray that engulfs the target in magical darkness.

Name: Shock
Type: Air Spell
Reqs: Air Magic 1
Signs: Air
Info: Conjures a blast of electricity that deals shock damage to all foes directly in front of you.

Name: Invisibility
Type: Air Spell
Reqs: Air Magic 3, Concentration 2
Signs: Air, Physicality, Balance, Death
Info: Turns yourself and your friends invisible.

Name: Shock Shield
Type: Air Spell
Reqs: Air Magic 3, Concentration 3
Signs: Balance, Life, Air, Physicality, Balance
Info: Creates a magical shield reducing shock damage against the party.

Name: Lightning Bolt
Type: Air Spell
Reqs: Air Magic 4
Signs: Spirituality, Balance, Life, Air
Info: You channel the power of storms through your hands.

Name: Poison Cloud
Type: Earth Spell
Reqs: Earth Magic 1
Signs: Earth
Info: Summon a toxic cloud of poison that deals damage over time.

Name: Poison Bolt
Type: Earth Spell
Reqs: Earth Magic 2
Signs: Earth, Death, Ice, Physicality, Air
Info: A sizzling venomous bolt of poison shoots from your hands.

Name: Poison Shield
Type: Earth Spell
Reqs: Earth Magic 3, Concentration 3
Signs: Balance, Death, Earth, Spirituality, Balance
Info: Creates a magical shield reducing poison damage against the party.

Name: Fireburst
Type: Fire Spell
Reqs: Fire Magic 1
Signs: Fire
Info: Conjures a blast of fire that deals fire damage to all foes directly in front of you.

Name: Fireball
Type: Fire Spell
Reqs: Fire Magic 3, Air Magic 1
Signs: Fire, Life, Air, Physicality
Info: A flaming ball of fire shoots from your fingertips causing devastating damage to your foes.

Name: Fireshield
Type: Fire Spell
Reqs: Fire Magic 3, Concentration 3
Signs: Balance, Life, Fire, Spirituality, Balance
Info: Creates a magical shield reducing fire damage against the party

Name: Meteor Storm
Type: Fire Spell
Reqs: Fire Magic 3, Air Magic 3
Signs: Fire, Spirituality, Balance, Physicality, Air
Info: Unleashes a devastating storm of meteors on your foes.

Name: Ice Shards
Type: Water Spell
Reqs: Water Magic 1, Earth Magic 1
Signs: Earth, Death, Ice
Info: Deathly sharp spikes of ice thrust from the ground hitting your opponents in a line. Every point in Water Magic increases the spell's range by one.

Name: Dispel
Type: Water Spell
Reqs: Water Magic 1, Concentration 1
Signs: Fire, Life, Air, Physicality, Balance, Spirituality, Earth, Death, Ice
Info: Shoots a ray that damages elementals.

Name: Frostbolt
Type: Water Spell
Reqs: Water Magic 3, Air Magic 1
Signs: Air, Physicality, Ice
Info: You hurl a bolt of ice death dealing ranged damage and freezing your opponents. Every point in Water Magic increases the probability and duration of the freezing effect.

Name: Frost Shield
Type: Water Spell
Reqs: Water Magic 3, Concentration 3
Signs: Balance, Death, Ice, Physicality, Balance
Info: Creates a magical shield reducing cold damage against the party.

 

[QuestionMan]

As a long time reader on the Codex I'm somehow perplex to see the ultimate success of Grimrock in this forum. I am more of the turn-based player and can't get around hectically clicking and aiming for the small symbols in the lower part of the screen.

Which is especially ironic since Almost Human claimed that a turn-based gamestyle would make the player too often focus at the tactics screen in the upper right corner of the screen (for those who read their blogpost), instead of the 3D scenery. But with actual dancing system and the picky way of clicking the actions the player mostly focuses on the lower corner of the screen - which is worse.

Anyone know if it's possible to play solo or duo parties in Grimrock 2?

 

[Mortmal]

I am just starting party creation, what would be the best stats for an alchemist spec in throwing weapons ? Dex obviously helps acording tool tips, but does strengh improves the damage too ?

Throwing is STR based.

OK , so i think i will get a minotaur aclhemist then . Does that class uses a lot of energy on special attack ? I am planning to spec it in mostly throwing then eventually firearms.My aprty composition will be be 2 insectids battlemages covering the school of magic , stats in willpower and vitality as little as possible in str dex since they wont melee. Back the minotaur alchemist, and an human rogue dual wielding light weapons with accuracy and crit .

 

[Whisper]

You should have waited till you got 2 swords or similiar weapons for damage. But yeah as frontline characters they are useless, evasion is not very usefull like %80 of games (dodge 9 times, got hit once and die...) They are most effective when used at back row. On hard my little sinistar rat is cutting through enemies like hot butter.

I re-rolled party when my rogue was lvl 12.
53 evade, gets hit a lot. Damage is meh with max dex and best weapons.

Also since you almost never fight face to face and are kiting - it is better to use 1 big hit then 2 smaller ones.