Incline Elminage Gothic (former Japan only dungeon crawler)

[aweigh]

ummmmmmmmmmmm

download this citra build i use and never fails me: https://firedrop.com/964fef9952b140982b72eccc0bdd8125

there are 2 main "versions" of CITRA of which the official one (the build that comes with an .executable that is named "no-QT") utilizes OPEN GL (so if your generalised opengl core drivers are for some reason borked then citra will not work right); and there is a 2nd build that is only attributed to "the Chinese" but it gets shit added to it constantly.

the 2nd, unofficial build, is notable for its seperate set of .executables of which the main one(s) will always be named along the lines of "SSE3-JIT" which stands for it taking advantage of cpu SSE3 (and sse4 for INTEL users) instructions and JIT stands for just-in-time, which simply put makes things work faster.

I personally use the "SSE-JIT" branch of the unofficial build, and that is what is inside the link I posted. I already have it set to use a FRAMESKIP of "1" and every other single option is set to DEFAULT SETTINGS, except of course the keyboard controls.

BTW, of the .executables inside the CITRA download I posted the one I like using is the one named "sse3-JIT-no-GC"; the extra jargon in the .executable names will always simply refer to some speed hack or another which that .exe uses... so if an .exe crashes for you, then try another one until one works for you.

For what it's worth, btw, I am always checking out the performance on the latest nightly builds off the official site (i.e. official build utilizing .executables with "no-QT" in the name) and with FRAMESKIP of "1", everything else set to default... it runs only slightly, very, very slightly less noticeably faster than the other one so don't believe there's some magic build out there that is ultra perfect.

 

[an Administrator]

I have the PC version(GoG)

 

[an Administrator]

Well, just ran the game in compatibility mode(Windows SP3) and it's all fine now.

 

[an Administrator]

Why do charmed enemies hit themselves?!
I just used a charming tarrot card on a single monster, it got charmed and then literally killed itself!

 

[Haplo]

Why do charmed enemies hit themselves?!
I just used a charming tarrot card on a single monster, it got charmed and then literally killed itself!

Well, its random. They may attack themselves or their allies. If they have no allies left, they will kill themselves.
Makes some early Floor Master encounters trivial. Not that you actually want to kill them before you rob and/or recruit them.

If you wanted to keep them between encounters as loyal party members, Summoner is the way to do it.

 

[Haplo]

So I was wondering about the reason to visit the Royal Tomb. Seems to be an optional area with relatively weak enemies (apart from that damn immortal stalker.. finally got him!), little xp and annoying layout with walls often closing behind your back.

Seems like I've finally found the reason: to shower the player with OP loot!
Found some really nice stuff in there. Death Arm (that thing's crazy.... and that chainsaw sound! need another one for my Brawler... in fact Ninja could also use it...), a strange sub weapon called Cranium or some such (my Valkyrie offhands it), various pistols (one does 12-12 damage, gave it to my Nue Samurai-in training), a nice spear (but inferior to the one I've got from Sanctum or Vulcano), Holy Mace (nice for a Bishop), Crystal Mace (meh).

Looking at the Japanese loot table, it seems I still haven't found everything and it might be worth it to farm this area some more for a Shuriken or a Saint's Spear. And some armor also.
So yeah, finally some significant equipment upgrades!

 

[Dorateen]

So I was wondering about the reason to visit the Royal Tomb.

For me it was the

Spoiler

Hermit's Knife

 

[Haplo]

I haven't found one yet.
Though I have 3 ninjas by now. Not counting the unfinished Mysterious Kid quest. First was a Hotlet Thief turned Ninja, second a RedCap and now a Dragonfly.

I'm a bit tempted to get the Brainsly later for its superior resistances, but I guess I'll pass. Late, no Charm status plus he's ugly.

 

[Haplo]

Wow, I've found a weapon that for now is even better for my Brawler then the Death Arm.
Funny stuff, called "World". 10 Hit, 10 Attacks, sucky damage 1-4 (enchanted to 5-8). Oh and most importantly does double damage (double, not x1,5) to all races. Had to unequip some belts and boots which gave him x1,5 boosts against some mobs, as they were reducing the bonus. Seems the Brawler is back in the position of the prime damage dealer (often lands 15 hits 400-450 damage, possible combo), even though he's 14 levels behind the Valkyrie (which admittedly is not far behind in damage dealt).

Although long term, when he's Hit improves with level (and I start encountering gods), I can see the Death Arm becoming superior again. Especially if I can find another one somewhere. Or the very good Jamadhar I also found in the Royal Tomb yesterday. Still no luck finding shuriken/poison blade for my Ninja or the Saint Spear, Akira Komatsu or something Heaven for my Valkyrie. Maybe I should just move on. Eventually I may find it in the post game dungeons.

 

[Haplo]

So, maybe I can brag a little about my party, cause why the hell not:
Valkyrie tank:

Spoiler

Brawler skirmisher:

Spoiler

Charm & Confusion low cause of World weapon -90% malus.

 

[Haplo]

Status mastery Samurai:

Spoiler

Deadly Ninja:

Spoiler

 

[Haplo]

Cunning Priest/Mage/Alchmist/Summoner:

Spoiler

And last but not least, Mage Nuker:

Spoiler

I guess it's slowly time to wrap up the main game....

 

[aweigh]

that is one powerful party

 

[aweigh]

Haplo

i didn't find a poison blade for my ninjas until like, my third playthrough, so i wouldn't stress over that particular weapon much. Shuriken, Gravity Ring, Full-Moon Demon Ring will carry you over your L-range Ninja most of the game.

it's S-range ninja who have hard choices to make:

a) dual-wielding Kunetsu's nets the S-range Ninja a whopping extra -4 AC (-2 on each one), plus they're almost end-game damage worthy. Good for making a super low AC front-row Ninja who can, if needed, defend other party members during his turn.

b) dual-wielding Ninja Swords. lots more damage than the Kunetsu's, with the same 10% behead rate but no AC bonus.

You start finding extremely swag shit startni from the final story dungeon which will completely outlcass everything before it, and then it only gets even better in the post-game. That's one of the most biggest strength's of the game: the itemization. You will always be constantly upgrading every member of your party even to the very fnial floor of Ibag's Tower (and even afterwards).

There is not one single "super weapon" as even the very very end almost every class will have a choice between emphasizing damge, accuaracy, # of hits per attack, AC bonus or status affliction in their weaponry.

 

[aweigh]

oh, and the reason for the royal tomb is simple:

Starfish wanted to make an extremely kick-ass dungeon that was reminiscent of the dungeons from their early Wizardry games (more puzzle oriented with its own mini backstory) with phat loot to reward the player for completing it. It is the mid-game point in the story dungeons and by far the most memorable.

Note that when I saw backstory all I mean is that there are 2 or 3 flavor texts that allow you to make up in your own mind a scenario of what happened. It's nothing terribly interestnig but it sticks out for being the only dungeon with multiple instances of flavor text that has nothing to do with demons or with Cyclonus.

also the Death Arm's chainsaw sound is a callback to the Wizardry sword the Cuisinart.

 

[aweigh]

nah, actually the most memorable dungeon is BY FAR "The Cave of the Ancients".

that dungeon is pure love. I could re-play The Cave of the Ancients forever.

 

[Haplo]

Thank you very much, aweigh.

Yeah, I didn't find a poison blade, but eventually I got a shuriken, so not bad. Definately great loot to be found at the Tomb.

And yes, I think I've found one of those Kutneslika (so, nets, huh?). Pretty awesome. Trouble is I can't find a 30 AP ore to make it L-range.
May make my Ninja front row again, once I find a sub-spear for my Valkyrie. That Cerebellum sub weapon is damn strong, but being able to attack from the back row would be handy... although now being able to attack with the main hand spear the back enemy row is handy as well...

 

[Haplo]

Well, Cyclanos down. And finally got mastery skills on my Summoner, Brawler and Mage.
Of to the Soldier of Giant Gods!

 

[Jasede]

I don't understand how long I should roll for stats in this (Gothic, PC) game... it seems really hard to get above 18. Sometimes 28 pops up but I almost always roll past it.

 

[Courtier]

Don't bother rolling long for optimal stats, they help but the way leveling is designed means you will always cap your stats rather quickly (they are somewhat negligible compared to hit dice). At most if you want to minmax pick a race that has high caps for the stat you want. Though it might be worth mentioning high LUCK means the odds of many stats increasing is much higher, and the odds of you losing stats on levelup are much lower.

E: When it comes to bonus points, you need a lot for advanced classes making it an hour long chore to roll those from the get-go. You might as well just pick a basic class and easily reclass to an advanced one after a couple of levels (!!!mind the alignment requirement)

OH also keep in mind when reclassing your stats are reduced to the class MINIMUM, your character ages, and you get *one* chance to convert gold to experience =>1gp=1exp, about a million and a half (varies) to get to level 13 where mages usually get final level spells, useful for getting a character all spells because you always retain up to 3 casts of every spell level learnt before, up to 9 if the new class can use that school. Hunters can retain 9 alch casts for some reason.

 

[aweigh]

Haplo Courtier Jasede

After untold hours playing all of the Elminage games I can recommend the following advice for optimal char-gen:

- Always create each character, regardless of race or class, with the most evenly spread allocation of points possible.

Sure, creating a Fighter with 22 Strength (racial max for Dragonewts) means lotsa fucking damage right from the start, but that means you'll have to skimp on his other stats (Luck, Wisdom, and Intelligence being the usual victims).

Why is that a problem? Because stats can go up or down during a Level Up and you want your Fighter to eventually class into a Samurai, Valkyrie, Ninja or Lord; and they'll probably never be able to do it if their other Attributes are super low.

As an example: Lords require something like 14-16 in every Attribute, and that Dragonewt Fighter with 22 Strength and racial minimums in the other Attributes is literally going to have to Level Up around 10 times or more in order to raise his stats to the requisite, and that's assuming the stats go up during each Level Up.

TL;DR: a Basic class with 10+ in every Attribute will be able to achieve an Advanced Class extremely fast compared to a min/maxed Basic Class character.

 

[Haplo]

I agree - provided that your goal is you change class and reach an advanced class as soon as possible.

One possible exception is sticking to the base class for a while - they gain levels at the fastest rate and have strongest base mastery boosts after level 26 and planning to only switch class end-game/post game using rare stuff like Hermit's Knife or Medal of Power - and not loosing the levels.

 

[aweigh]

for sure. my Alchemist is always Human/Innocent, at least in Gothic. Getting that Alchemy Mastery Skill % as high as possible is completely dependant on the character Level and Humans level the fastest. It is simply way too useful for post-game.

That remains my one critique of the Elminage tweaks to the Wizardry blueprint: they should make gear enchantment independant of character Classes because as it is right now it means every playthrough requires an Alchemist.

 

[Haplo]

Wonder if I can survive the post-game without one

I guess lack of AC will be my biggest concern.

 

[Courtier]

Only if you don't have a Ninja/Brawler, you can easily make them decoys every time with the alchemy spell and their AC gets ridiculous. Bigger issues are resistances against elements, ailments (especially instadeath) and increasing your own damage/range/adding slaying to weapons and finding good ore using a high level Alchemist (you get a lot of extra AP and increased chances of finding ore, there's also a related Alchemist only Ex skill that allows you to immediately see AP values and thus identify which ore is good). Against ailments Lord sanctuary % rises very slowly and Lords themselves level slowly to begin with

(though it's a hassle to cast decoy every encounter, that's why I had a Ninja AND Brawler on the frontline)

E: Also eventually it becomes feasible to just cast Wish and pay a level to take your AC down to the minimum in order to beat tough encounters, because exp per level requirement caps out relatively early and postgame enemies give loads of exp but are a nightmare to fight (you will still get killed even if you abuse Wish)