Year 2009 Attempt: Me vs Lionheart

[RK47]

After dying over two character builds, I'm ready to give up again. Unless someone can give me an advice on how to actually 'beat' this game. I installed the 1.1 patch so I can have a gamespeed slider but it didn't really help much when most of the spells are hardly worth spreading and survival in combat seems solely reliant on hitting that potion button before I die.

Advice on character builds and combat tips would be really great cause this is a game that I couldn't finish at all despite having it for more than 5-7 years ago.

 

[aleph]

Are you really sure this game is worth so much effort?

 

[theverybigslayer]

Sorry, I had the same problem about combat.

 

[Major_Boobage]

I actually bought this game and used a warrior. I got passed the dragon but i couldnt get past those archers on the ridges where you have to walk around to hurt them because they are on platforms.

 

[Jim Cojones]

I actually bought this game and used a warrior. I got passed the dragon but i couldnt get past those archers on the ridges where you have to walk around to hurt them because they are on platforms.

Solution: don't fight them, just run. I almost finished it. But I couldn't kill the last boss because he was invulnerable until one used some lever which could be seen only if the character had high traps ability. If there were any really dangerous traps before, I would at least have a potion that rises skill temporarily. Or I would get back to a shopkeeper if the halls behind me hadn't been floated with lava...

But I don't know what build did I use, except that i didn't invest in that skill, nor in speech.

 

[Luzur]

i found a trainer somewhere and that made my day.

 

[Marsal]

I used a "pure" mage. That mental (I think) magic is very good. Charming a creature is great for killing thougher ones (they duke it out amongst themselves and you finish the survivor). Slowing enemies down and running around spamming ice (or fire) magic works. Protection magic is also a good investment. Just buy all mana potions you can find and don't spread your skill points too thin (focus on a couple of magic skills and some thieving). Boots that give speed boost are useful as are spell damage amplifying items.

Play Divine Divinity, you aren't missing much in Lionheart.

 

[RK47]

So far doing great on my 5th attempt. Rule of the thumb being Damage Resistance priority over everything, but if find the lack of more than 7 hotkeys limit my spell choices. I've hit level 21, but unsure on which spell tree or skill to invest in.

My primary skills are (100ish)
1H Melee & Evasion for attack & defense
and Divine: Protection for damage resists and mana shield with minor Flame damage aura for extra dmg.

Minor skills are (50ish)
Lockpick, Speech
Should I invest more on Detect Traps & Speech?

I still can't decide on the 2nd Spell tree to focus on. I usually kept these on my 7 hotkeys:

1. Physical Aura: Resistance
2. Armor Spell: +AC & Temp HP
3. Circle of Flame: Radius of periodical fire damage around character
4. Cripple: Debuff enemies chance to hit, AC, etc.
5. Weaken: Lower enemy damage by 20% for a short time.
6. Might: Increase slashing/crushing dmg by 10%
7. Mana Shield: 20% of incoming dmg will be taken by mana instead of HP.

And fucking Venom Ward perk made those snake creatures on Act 2 a total joke since their poison HEALED me, I can let them spit at me all day long and I still wouldn't die. HUGE difference compared to my last playthrough where I ran out of Mana and Potions just trying to keep the poison from killing me.

 

[Texas Red]

Is there ANYTHING good after Barcelona? Some boss that you can smooth talk perhaps?

 

[Hümmelgümpf]

Is there ANYTHING good after Barcelona? Some boss that you can smooth talk perhaps?

I believe bosses can be talked to death, but you still have to fight the cannon fodder.

 

[RK47]

There are certainly some usage of speech during sidequests but most of Act 2 devolved into combat. So if you were playing a diplomatic character with sub-par combat skills and gear, you're definitely fucked. Most boss encounters in side quests does not allow you to negotiate at all. It's either you step into the room to kill it, or it kills you. At worst, they won't even let you leave the dungeon till you kill the big bad. One of them traps you in the room with them till you win.

Tagging speech isn't worth it. Most non combat skills does not heavily punish you for failing to keep up with the level scaling. But should you gimp yourself in combat, you're in a world of hurt.

The only exploitable shit I found was while paused you can switch gears and drink potions. This is a life saver when you faced multiple casters who pelt you with spells from afar.

 

[Andhaira]

One really wonders why they didn't use turn based comabt despite using the SPECIAL system. That sai how hard can it be? I find all rpgs to be not that hard.

 

[RK47]

Well there's lack of difficulty slider and the amount of mobs they throw at you can sometime be overwhelming. I've hit a dead end in the 3rd Act Crypts. Pretty much got shot to pieces when trying to recover the Sacred Lance, those casters just shock me with lightning and randomly stun me. Tried quaffing a Electric Resist scroll but not much luck, there's at least 3 of them in a room and a slew of other trash mobs that could hurt when I'm stunned.

 

[RK47]

Fuck yes, finally beat it. And the ending suck dick, but finally I can put my mind away from this game forever.

 

[Andhaira]

Your perserverance is astounding. Now install and play divine divninty, you deseve a good game as a reward.

 

[Texas Red]

Fuck yes, finally beat it. And the ending suck dick, but finally I can put my mind away from this game forever.

So, any good moments after Barcelona or straight hack n slash?

Your perserverance is astounding. Now install and play divine divninty, you deseve a good game as a reward.

I consider it pretty much unplayable due to Diabloish combat system. Everything else is good though.

 

[Squirly]

Fuck yes, finally beat it. And the ending suck dick, but finally I can put my mind away from this game forever.

So, any good moments after Barcelona or straight hack n slash?

90% hack-n-slash.

Oh yes, I finished it as well. Can't even remember the ending it was spectacularly 'meh'.

I think they were hinting at a sequel at one point.

Deluded fools.

EDIT: For interest's sake, my build was an archer with some protective magic and lockpicking focus. Once you get the sniper perk enemies will fall down 9 out of 10 shots before they even have proper time to react.

 

[Micmu]

I can still remember the area where I stopped playing it (in horror). It was a desert map - which was basically a huge sqare area composed of IDENTICAL squares copy-pasted hundreds of times in a grid; each containing exactly one rock, one bush and one crab-monster on the same spot every time. There was one merchant in that area and you had to find entrance to the next area. It looked like some kind of debug/test map or something.
I didn't have any problems with difficulty though, but can't remember which character I played (some melee).

 

[RK47]

I think they were really running out of time, the finale felt so rushed with that shitty desert map. Like you said, just a huge open field with Gigantic Scorps assaulting you in groups of 1-3. The whole combat system is a mess, I had to game the system by achieving high level of resists to be melee viable.

I picked up a plate of Wound Constricting that healed me 1-4 HP when I was hit and that really helped. At one point I was hitting over my max HP cause the archers were doing less dmg than the armor healed.

But the kicker was probably talking down 2 of the last big boss battle near the end. I made it a point to pump speech on my last 5 levels just to see how it plays out. I don't understand how can they justify a normal diplomat with basic combat skills and spells surviving that far to deliver a speech that causes the final boss to suicide. I wish I could talk to all that 200 assassins I had to slaughter on the way there.

The whole combat sequence in the final dungeon is a world of hurt. Luckily I bought every potions and scrolls I could get my hands on previous acts. They had ranged casters placed behind iron bars that takes pot shots at you while you run past to hit a switch that would lower the bar. Those lightning damage stuns and the archers can knock you down as you walk past. So whenever I see a clump of casters, I just activate 4 of my resistance scroll and drank beer to max out my endurance & strength. Brute force ftw.

Uninstalled btw. Not gonna bother replaying it ever. The way it devolves from quest hubs to pure hack & slash in later acts is just horrid. They had a good setting that they wasted with all the clunky combat sequences. Companions are retards as well and can't be expected to survive the final dungeon unless you told them to stay put while you run the gauntlet.

 

[Squirly]

You even got companions up to the final dungeon? I never even bothered - they just kept dying on me.

And yes, they did run out of time, or so the story goes. They wanted to make something wonderful and Barcelona and it's hubs hint at what could've been, but it just devolves into retardedness the further you go on.

 

[Texas Red]

It's odd that no other RPG chose the alternative history route. You have all the lore already and just add some demons and magic. The escapism increases twofold since we can relate. The pluses are too numerous to list but I imagine going through a well known city like London would be beautiful.

Although what am I thinking. The moment a publisher decides to deviate from generic fantasy or sci, it's the moment hell freezes.

 

[BeholderX]

Are you really sure this game is worth so much effort?

It's definitely in my top 5 RPGs of 2003.

 

[Squirly]

How many RPGs were released in 2003?

5?

 

[RK47]

Dude, in no way it is RPG of the Year 2003. It's just...unacceptably hard in broken terms. The way it deceives you by giving Diplomacy skill but rendering it useless when you go beyond Barcelona is just a kick on your nuts.

"HAHA You thought you could talk your way to Level 15? WRONG!"

 

[TripJack]

Did he say it was the best of 2003?

But yeah I find it hard to believe this shit qualifies for top 5 either. Gothic 2, KotOR, ToEE, and then some expansions for NWN1 and morrowind all came out in 2003 . Not that all these were superb productions either. And not that he's necessarily played all or even any of them either.