CHAPTER 5: GODDAMN BATS
Finally, we have a chance to explore freely... and kill things! Let's continue. Also, you may have noticed the new icons on the bottom. Those are Rest, Map, Save Game, and Load Game, respectively
All the stalagmites in this area make it a bitch to navigate. As you can see by the message log, I bump into things a lot.
Goblins! Monsters, just like your party, will show up on the world map. Usually the icon that's displayed is the most numerous enemy in the group.
Running into monsters on the world map initiates combat. As you can see in the message log, we have entered "COMBAT!" with goblins and a Nephil (singular of Nephilim, lol).
This is the combat field. It's a pretty small area, but big enough for larger battles to take place. As you can see, all of your party members become visible in a combat area instead of just the one in the lead. The icons on the bottom interface have also changed. The new ones are Defend (increases defense but skips the character's turn), Get Items, Wait (skip turn), End Combat, Use Missile, and Act (that toggles between all characters taking turns and only the selected character taking turns. I've never found much use for it).
SMA can take anything these goblins throw at her at this point, so I have her charge straight up and attack. You can also see that the Nephil is just the default, basic one. Warriors or Shamans could be very dangerous to our party. (By the way, that blood splatter/damage effect is a bitch to get a screenshot of)
You can't see it here, but Andhaira is targeting a monster with his darts. He misses, as expected.
Here's the spell menu for priest spells. We have a pretty great selection for this point in the game. All we want to do now, though, is cast Wound on one of those pesky goblins. The number in brackets next to the spell is the tile range. In case you're wondering, yes, that line effect is used for targeting
everything. It sort of flickers in and out of existence, to add to the fun (it's actually not that bad, but it's a little odd considering the tile-based movement).
This is the similar menu for mage spells. We use the basic damage spell, Flame. It's kinda wonky with the damage rolls though, and it only does 2 hp worth to the goblin.
Liberal has shit for mage spells, but we still have our last-ditch damage spell, Spark. It only uses one point of mana, so it's good for conservation/emergencies. Ironically, it does more damage than DJ101's Flame spell. It's enough to roast the goblin. You can see the remains behind the other goblin in the next picture.
There's going to be a lot of missing for this first segment of the game. Blessing spells are your friend.
Andy manages to hit something with his dart, and... well... you can see the results.
The team mops up the remaining goblins quickly and collects the spoils.
A cave? Looks dangerous, let's check it out
Can't see shit, cap'n.
Here we are in the shit-covered bat cave. Also it's dark. Fortunately, we can cast Light, making torches p. much obsolete for the rest of the game. Don't know what Jeff was thinking when he did that. Anyway, let's explore!
Bats, while being weak, are damn annoying to hit. There's also tons of them. There was a pretty long battle in the first room, but I didn't get any shots because it wasn't particularly interesting besides DJ101 nuking some with a Fireball.
Blessing is
very useful in both Exile and Avernum. We target SMA, making her a little bit better at killing things.
Cleveland has been attracting a lot of attention from the bats. Racofer is keeping him patched up.
What we've explored so far.
Sorry about these images being screwed up, my capturing program has troubles targeting a window sometimes. Also, Andy manages to actually kill something with his darts!
We've cleared the first part of the bat cave. However, we won't be continuing on in this cave today. Why? Fucking
RABID BATS. Those poison-y motherfuckers will make short work of our party at this point, so we'll be returning at a later date. Let's book it before they find us.
Whew, we escaped safely. The silver circle you can see on the ground is a event point. When you step on one, a text box will pop up with extra information. These can also change things in the game world.
Hmmm, I wonder if we should invesi-
It's a trap! Thugs aren't much of a danger, but that brigand can fuck us up pretty bad if we're not careful. By themselves, they're not that hard.
Brigands have ranged attacks, but they're no pushover in melee. AoE attacks can also effect allies, so you have to be careful about their use. This ain't no Dragon Age 2.
Fireball is a generic weak AoE spell, but it sure makes those thugs roasty-toasty.
Light Heal All is the main reason why you want to start the game with a character that has 3 in Priest Spells. Holy Scourge is nice too.
DJ101's Fireball takes out the thugs, and our fighters whack the brigand to death. To the victor, the spoils!
And with that, we end our first combat update. Next time, on Let's Play Exile: I FUCKING HATE MAGES