Arcanum virgin seeks advice on getting a piece of arcanum

[Pliskin]

Ok, the pyrotechnic axe was total win for any and all melee characters.
Plus the fact that it was so easy to make made it impossibly easy for even a half ogre to become the master of fiery death. I had one party that consisted of me, sogg, and chukka (Chukka being the only full blown ogre in the group) and fuck, lemme tell you those things, I don't give a shit what anyone says about speed, are so fucking overpowered it's insane.

Isn't there also a bug whereby the Pyrotechnic-Axe isn't damaged when pounding on ore golems, and the like?

Yep. You keep telling yourself that while I equip the pyro axe.

Did you miss the part where I was talking about firearms?

Yah, you keep charging at me with yr Pyro-Axe while I'm getting off 10 shots a turn with my Mechanized Gun. Oh, sorry! Yr dead before you even reach me! So much for that One Big Hit you never got to make...

It would look something like this

 

[Carceri]

Did you miss the part where I was talking about firearms?

Right. I'll still take this:

over the mechanized gun. The advantage of the mechanized gun is that you can scratch another enemy after you brought down the initial target because of that absurd speed, but I prefer guns that do the same amount of damage with less bullets. I don't really like running around with 1000 bullets in my inventory so I can fire 72 bullets per turn instead of just 6.
72, man!

Isn't there also a bug whereby the Pyrotechnic-Axe isn't damaged when pounding on ore golems, and the like?

Not necessarily a bug. Arcane weapons have the same behavior.

 

[Pliskin]

I don't really like running around with 1000 bullets in my inventory so I can fire 72 bullets per turn instead of just 6.
72, man!

I believe I mentioned something about the absurd ammo requirements of most firearms in my first post --- where I recommended a mod that makes bullets weightless.

Not necessarily a bug. Arcane weapons have the same behavior.

Really? Because I seem to recall most arcane weapons taking damage when smacking golems --- something I found very annoying at the time. When you consider that the Pyro Axe is a Tech item, and the ore golem is Magic aligned... Well, I call it a bug.

 

[Carceri]

I don't really like running around with 1000 bullets in my inventory so I can fire 72 bullets per turn instead of just 6.
72, man!

I believe I mentioned something about the absurd ammo requirements of most firearms in my first post --- where I recommended a mod that makes bullets weightless.

I was just saying I prefer other weapons over the mechanized gun. I don't play with mods/patches except the bug fixing ones. No biggie, really, there are better guns out there anyway.

Not necessarily a bug. Arcane weapons have the same behavior.

Really? Because I seem to recall most arcane weapons taking damage when smacking golems --- something I found very annoying at the time. When you consider that the Pyro Axe is a Tech item, and the ore golem is Magic aligned... Well, I call it a bug.

Hmmm, I remember specifically the arcane axe not taking damage either by hitting ore golems. I might be wrong though, I haven't played a magic inclined character in a very long time. Nevertheless, I don't see why the tech/magic balance would affect the durability of the pyro axe. You only have a lower chance to hit the golem. Besides, the Ogre Ogre would have fixed it already if it was indeed a bug
Right, Ogre Ogre?

 

[Double Ogre]

Once a weapon reaches a certain point in magick/tech complexity it becomes indestructible. For most types of weapons it must be 100% (all Arcane weapons are 100% magickal). However, it's 60% for Axes and 80% for Hammers. And as Pyrotechnic Axe is 75% tech, it cannot be damaged.

 

[Pliskin]

Once a weapon reaches a certain point in magick/tech complexity it becomes indestructible. For most types of weapons it must be 100% (all Arcane weapons are 100% magickal). However, it's 60% for Axes and 80% for Hammers. And as Pyrotechnic Axe is 75% tech, it cannot be damaged.

http://www.rpgcodex.net/phpBB/viewtopic ... 340#814340

 

[Kefka1983]

I was way into this game years ago when it first came out, so I was inspired to dust off my discs and give it another play. I am using all the mods listed on pages 1 and 2 of this thread, including the UAP. However, Krupp's mod doesn't seem to be making bullets weightless for me, even though I installed all these in the recommended order.

Also, I have just reached Dernholm with Sogg and Virgil. I am a human fighter with hyperactive as a background. The only thing I don't like about that is that it takes -1 from my charisma. Is there a better background for fighters?

I have a suede shirt and a fast sword, sogg has leather armor and a basic axe, and virgil has his stock gear. At this point in the game, what should I be buying for gear upgrades? And should I be going guns instead of swords? Thanks for any help, I appreciate it.

 

[Murk]

Kefka, your questions are all over the place.

Swords and guns are a completely different route of combat build - and if you want some 'real talk', melee weapons are more of an 'easy' path to take than guns. In terms of armor you have to check with your finances but if you can afford stuff with higher AC and DR (armor class and damage reduction) then take that -- as to what exactly would fit that bill would depend on whether you're going down the technological or magical path... if you're staying neutral then you would benefit more from non-magical items.

 

[Kefka1983]

Sorry about the randomness of my questions. I had been playing Arcanum for most of the day and had a hard time remembering things coherently. Thanks for your reply.

 

[Murk]

This forum is one big Arcanum information depository, if you have any specific questions - ask and you'll get all kinds of answers.

 

[ARZ]

Most of the older mods are incompatible with the UAP, so be careful. If you have no idea how the game works, don't use any of them.

Please understand guys, here it is coming from Drog himself. The older mods will not work (and might even disable some of the bugfixes) with the unofficial patch. To make it work properly you have to unpack both dats, see which documents are used by both mods and manually merge them using notepad. Not very fun, especially if you aren't familiar with Arcanum modding.

I actually am planning on updating some of the older mods to make them compatible with UAP but I'm not sure if the original creators of the mods would appreciate that, and there is no way to ask them since they are not active within the community any more.

 

[GeneralSamov]

K, since I can't seem to find info elsewhere, I'll ask here:

Where the fuck do your followers invest their character points? Can I influence their decision? Do they even get char pts?
I'm really at a loss, Virgil keeps casting heal minor wounds and doesn't seem very willing to learn the next spell, sucks at melee as much as he did at the beginning (I'm level 9 now), let alone Jayna. As it is, apart from their initial skills/schematics knowledge etc, I feel they're there more as cannon fodder as anything else, meat walls to prevent me from getting all of the damage.
Many thanks in advance.

 

[Hümmelgümpf]

Once a weapon reaches a certain point in magick/tech complexity it becomes indestructible. For most types of weapons it must be 100% (all Arcane weapons are 100% magickal). However, it's 60% for Axes and 80% for Hammers. And as Pyrotechnic Axe is 75% tech, it cannot be damaged.

Is the value affected by the wielder's own tech/magick inclination?

 

[ARZ]

They have pre-set character schemes that automatically invest their character points. By the end of the game Virgil can cast a high level heal spell, cure you of poison, and if he is fast enough resurrect you before the 'death' slides play.

He is a great follower to have by end game, unless you are a tech character.

Can't comment on Jayna since I barely ever used her.

 

[Double Ogre]

Where the fuck do your followers invest their character points?

They have auto-leveling schemes.

Can I influence their decision?

No, it wouldn't make much sense if you could. They're not PCs, they have their own unique personalities.

I've made a hack that gives you complete control over their character editor menu though, but it's obvious cheating.

 

[GeneralSamov]

Thank you both for the quick help . Guess I'll just need to have patience then.

 

[ARZ]

That's no problem, if you have any other questions later on just go ahead and ask here.

 

[GeneralSamov]

Heh, checking a tad more in depth I realized Virgil needs quite a bit more willpower to be able to learn the heal major wounds spell, bugger. Oh well...

On a more serious note though, I was also wondering where do the dismissed followers (the ones that get booted from the party) go, do they get back to their initial location, nearest city,...?

 

[Double Ogre]

where do the dismissed followers (the ones that get booted from the party) go, do they get back to their initial location

Yes.

 

[Major_Blackhart]

But it's only after a set time amount.
Different characters have different time amounts.
Some will wait forever (Virgil, Dogg, possibly Chukka and Gar), others will wait only a little bit and most will wait 24 hours and return to their original locations.

 

[Double Ogre]

None wait forever if you disband them.

 

[ARZ]

Geoffrey (who I take on almost every Arcanum run-through) is a complete bastard when it comes to waiting. Him and his annoying voice actor

He is a wonderful character, though. Simply awesome.

 

[GeneralSamov]

Thanks again to everyone.