Legend of Grimrock 2

[Nyast]

Fully agreed. For not listing the spell schools, I think the creator ran into a limitation of the original engine/game, not much he could do there. It's easy to forget this is a mod so it's technically limited to what the original game had.

I've done some good progress in various areas today. The cemetery and catacombs are complete, the map design is really the strength of this mod. I also solved that mini-quest with the carpenter/bridge, and also thought it was well done. I finished the shrine of the god ( I was misisng a hint to complete the dungeon ), and I finished exploring the lake and most of the swamp. There's an underground area below the swamp, and without spoiling too much, this has probably been the most difficult area of the game so far, since I was low on food and didn't know the way out. I really like that this mod keeps me on my toes in terms of resource management. It's walking on a thin line, while in most other games it's on the easy side. I just hope it doesn't get too hard later on. I'm noticing a difficulty spike and more and more monsters are getting more dfificult, forcing reloads. Speaking of which, does anybody know how many areas this mod has ? I saw on Steam somebody mention it had like 40-60 hours of content, which seems a lot ( more than the original ), so I'm suspecting I haven't even reached the halfway point. I'm about 18 hours in.

The only big negative downside with this mod are the ambushes. I don't mind them when they're related to traps ( you step on a plate or get an object, and some walls/doors open to unleash some monsters ).. but there are many moments in this mod where monsters are literally teleported in your face. That's a bummer, which is probably going to prevent me from rating this mod as the game of the year. For me that award is probably going to Vaporum 2, although I'd rate it higher without these bad ambushes. This mod really has a fine balance between non-linear exploration, combat and puzzles. I'm genuinely impressed that somebody took so much time and effort to make what's essentially a full quality game out of a mod.

 

[Whisper]

I really like that this mod keeps me on my toes in terms of resource management. It's walking on a thin line, while in most other games it's on the easy side. I just hope it doesn't get too hard later on.

It is intended.
"Managing items and resources - important part of this mod. Try to use what you have with maximal effectiveness. Strategic errors can lead you to the failed campaign. And this is absolutely normal for this mod".

I plan to do full run after i finish Lost city, but i am not sure i will win at first try. Though i will play on hard, on normal it is noticably easier, for example your food lasts longer and enemies are slower.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

I hate to tell you this Whisper - but not everyone likes or appreciates Vatnik-levels of difficulty in mods.

While I haven't searched the internet for information on the "Guardians"-mod as much as I did for "Lost City", the question still lingers whethers this mod makes the same foolish mistake as the other mod regarding basic game design - that 80% of the mod is preparation for the last 20% of it.

Time will tell.

 

[Whisper]

I hate to tell you this Whisper - but not everyone likes or appreciates Vatnik-levels of difficulty in mods.

While I haven't searched the internet for information on the "Guardians"-mod as much as I did for "Lost City", the question still lingers whethers this mod makes the same foolish mistake as the other mod regarding basic game design - that 80% of the mod is preparation for the last 20% of it.

Time will tell.

Not all, but some like me do.

Who dont want difficulty have plenty of choice anyway. So they can live with few difficulty games and mods.


p.s. The Guardians is harder than Lost city. I never was in danger untill i got into pyramid and i never skipped bosses. In mod Guardians i had to skip some (in middle of mod, not sure what happens later).

 

[Nyast]

I just passed the half-way point, unlocked the 17th area ( out of 32 ). Difficulty is now clearly rising. I just reached a cave with 5 trolls ( killing one is already hard enough ) with limited space and of course, the entrance blocked behind me. No idea yet how to pass that one, I might have to level up and come back later.

One thing I haven't figured out yet are the winged keys unlocking the teleporter back to livingrock. I only got one so far in the entire game. Does anybody know where to find them ? or is that something that is coming later on ? It's a bit annoying to have to do long-distance walks over maps you've already cleaned.

Food is slowly becoming a non-issue. I've discovered ratlingtown, a city of ratlings with many shops where you can exchange junk items for food. Keeping junk items somewhere in your base instead of throwing them away randomly on maps is indeed a smart move.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

One thing I haven't figured out yet are the winged keys unlocking the teleporter back to livingrock. I only got one so far in the entire game. Does anybody know where to find them ? or is that something that is coming later on ? It's a bit annoying to have to do long-distance walks over maps you've already cleaned.

Food is slowly becoming a non-issue. I've discovered ratlingtown, a city of ratlings with many shops where you can exchange junk items for food. Keeping junk items somewhere in your base instead of throwing them away randomly on maps is indeed a smart move.

I had figured out the "keep junk items around" one on my own somehow. Good to know that will pay off.

The deal with the keys is that once you activate the teleporter hub, you get one 'winged key' (they look like an X to me) and can use it in any similar lock you find, to activate the teleporter there. To get more keys you place green gems in the shelf where you put the power gem to activate the teleporter hub. For each teleporter activated you get some XP and a reward. So far I've gotten a blue gem and a lockpick, so hopefully the rewards improve with more teleporters activated.

 

[Nyast]

Oh wow, thanks for the hint for the winged keys. I had totally forgotten about it. Makes my life a lot easier.

Still some good progress today, two more areas explored. I'm slowly getting closer to the last part of the game, I think. Difficulty has stepped even higher. I'm burning food and potions faster than I can replenish them. Makes me wonder how hard will the end game be.. ( and I'm playing in normal difficulty mode ).

 

[Whisper]

Oh wow, thanks for the hint for the winged keys. I had totally forgotten about it. Makes my life a lot easier.

Still some good progress today, two more areas explored. I'm slowly getting closer to the last part of the game, I think. Difficulty has stepped even higher. I'm burning food and potions faster than I can replenish them. Makes me wonder how hard will the end game be.. ( and I'm playing in normal difficulty mode ).

Yes, normal is recommended.

I will start on hard, but i am not sure i can finish the run, maybe will restart with better party/tactics.

 

[Nyast]

When I started playing, I thought the mod was on the easy side. I never had any trouble with monsters / combat.. that is, until the mid game. Monsters started to hit hard, cause some disabilities ( fucking birds that make you blind ), and have a ton of hitpoints. I'm now reaching the point where I feel clearly under-levelled, but I've pretty much finished all the available maps and solved all the riddles / secrets I could. I've now reached a level that is full of dozens of monsters, and killing even one of these takes a significant amount of resources / effort. Add to that mobility / level layout restrictions, and I'm not sure how I can progress further.

This is in normal difficulty. I can't imagine how bad it'll be in hard mode.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

When I started playing, I thought the mod was on the easy side. I never had any trouble with monsters / combat.. that is, until the mid game. Monsters started to hit hard, cause some disabilities ( fucking birds that make you blind ), and have a ton of hitpoints. I'm now reaching the point where I feel clearly under-levelled, but I've pretty much finished all the available maps and solved all the riddles / secrets I could. I've now reached a level that is full of dozens of monsters, and killing even one of these takes a significant amount of resources / effort. Add to that mobility / level layout restrictions, and I'm not sure how I can progress further.

This is in normal difficulty. I can't imagine how bad it'll be in hard mode.

Methinks I'll be starting on Easy when I finally get around to restarting.

One question: I had trouble with the puzzles in the underwater temple near the start. I could get the Orb of Radiance and reach the Blessing Room, but I couldn't do anything in the large pool room (the one with the trident on an altar blocked by a force field). Have you cleared that section?

 

[Nyast]

When I started playing, I thought the mod was on the easy side. I never had any trouble with monsters / combat.. that is, until the mid game. Monsters started to hit hard, cause some disabilities ( fucking birds that make you blind ), and have a ton of hitpoints. I'm now reaching the point where I feel clearly under-levelled, but I've pretty much finished all the available maps and solved all the riddles / secrets I could. I've now reached a level that is full of dozens of monsters, and killing even one of these takes a significant amount of resources / effort. Add to that mobility / level layout restrictions, and I'm not sure how I can progress further.

This is in normal difficulty. I can't imagine how bad it'll be in hard mode.

Methinks I'll be starting on Easy when I finally get around to restarting.

One question: I had trouble with the puzzles in the underwater temple near the start. I could get the Orb of Radiance and reach the Blessing Room, but I couldn't do anything in the large pool room (the one with the trident on an altar blocked by a force field). Have you cleared that section?

Yeah, I've cleared that a long time ago. Are you asking how to clear that force-field ?

Spoiler

There are two levers underwater that you need to pull down. Each lever is in a half of the room and you can't access the other half underwater. There are two entrances to the underwater temple, one from the lake and one from the starting valley, and both will get you access to a half of this pool room.

Other information about this level:

Spoiler

This only gets you access to the trident ( which is a pretty good underwater weapon btw ) and opens doors and corridors that linked the two halves of the level together, so you don't have to pass through the outside areas all the time. It also gets you access to a Buddah statue ( it seems part of a bigger game-wide riddle, there are many such statues in various areas of the game. I read it gets into play at the end game, so not much to do with it yet at this stage of the game ) and to an altar ( that one is important and related to the goddess blessings ). The goddess blessings IMO was one of the more obtuse puzzles of the game. I had to get help online to figure it out.

Blessing puzzle hint:

Spoiler

In the church, there are signs giving you the list of herbs you need to place on altars. I assumed it was the altar in the same room, so the cardinal directions didn't make much sense to me. In fact, you need to place these herbs into the altars of the whole dungeon. There are 6 of them iirc, including the one in the church and the one in the pool room.

 

[Nyast]

Oh, while I remember: another general hint for this mod: stock up on torches. Like, a lot. The more the better. Later in the game there's an important puzzle that requires you a shitton of torches. If like me you ignored picking up torches ( thanks to the orb of radiance giving light ), you'll have to pay a lot of gems in order to get enough torches for that puzzle.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

Oh, while I remember: another general hint for this mod: stock up on torches. Like, a lot. The more the better. Later in the game there's an important puzzle that requires you a shitton of torches. If like me you ignored picking up torches ( thanks to the orb of radiance giving light ), you'll have to pay a lot of gems in order to get enough torches for that puzzle.

Was already doing that, now will do it harder.

IIRC there's a secret on the starting map where a wall opens up revealing goodies if you put a torch in every sconce on the map. (You can also mine a square in the SW to reach a secret room.)

 

[Whisper]

This is in normal difficulty. I can't imagine how bad it'll be in hard mode.

Hard divides monster attack cooldowns by 1.6, multiplies damage dealt by Monsters by 1.4, adds 15 to monster accuracy, and divides move cooldowns by 2.
Additionally, when playing on hard, monster movement and attack cooldowns appear to have a 40% chance of being halved a second time for a total reduction of 75%.

 

[Whisper]

I've now reached a level that is full of dozens of monsters, and killing even one of these takes a significant amount of resources / effort. Add to that mobility / level layout restrictions, and I'm not sure how I can progress further.

What is name of this level?

 

[Nyast]

Spoiler

Citadel Approach

 

[Whisper]

Oh, while I remember: another general hint for this mod: stock up on torches. Like, a lot. The more the better. Later in the game there's an important puzzle that requires you a shitton of torches. If like me you ignored picking up torches ( thanks to the orb of radiance giving light ), you'll have to pay a lot of gems in order to get enough torches for that puzzle.

Was already doing that, now will do it harder.

IIRC there's a secret on the starting map where a wall opens up revealing goodies if you put a torch in every sconce on the map. (You can also mine a square in the SW to reach a secret room.)

There are 4 sconces (i put torches) and i dont see anything. Or are there more sconces? And where door opens? Checked like for 20 all of Livingrock, still see only 4 sconces for torches.

 

[Unkillable Cat]

I honestly can't remember what it opened and where (or even if) but one sconce is in a room in the NE that can only be accessed by dropping in from a pit.

There's also the pressure plate in a corner of one of the ruined rooms which needs to be weighed down from above, that will open a spot in the NW corner of that same room.

I am juggling a lot of things in my life right now, which is why I'm both having trouble recalling minor things in games, and having the time playing them.

 

[Whisper]

I honestly can't remember what it opened and where (or even if) but one sconce is in a room in the NE that can only be accessed by dropping in from a pit.

There's also the pressure plate in a corner of one of the ruined rooms which needs to be weighed down from above, that will open a spot in the NW corner of that same room.

I am juggling a lot of things in my life right now, which is why I'm both having trouble recalling minor things in games, and having the time playing them.

Yes this 2 sconces (from secrets) and 2 sconces usual. So total 4...Where this hidden door opened?

 

[Unkillable Cat]

I've finally restarted this, only found four sconces and nothing opened. :/ My memory is probably acting up again.

In the meantime I have some first-map troubles:

# There's a secret room in the "Equipment"-room, but I can't figure out how to get to it, as it won't stay open unless the doors into it are closed. Was I required to jiggle the levers before that room got fixed?

# There's a power gem behind a "Blessing of the Wind" and a "Blessing of the Wood"-puzzle. I'm guessing the latter is that wand you get by placing a branch on that altar in the SE, but the former must then be something you place on that elevated altar surrounding by windy noises in the middle of the map. Any hints on what item that is?

# Got any good recipes that pop up later in-game? The 'fish-pie' sounds interesting, considering how many trouts I'm catching.

 

[Nyast]

# There's a power gem behind a "Blessing of the Wind" and a "Blessing of the Wood"-puzzle. I'm guessing the latter is that wand you get by placing a branch on that altar in the SE, but the former must then be something you place on that elevated altar surrounding by windy noises in the middle of the map. Any hints on what item that is?

# Got any good recipes that pop up later in-game? The 'fish-pie' sounds interesting, considering how many trouts I'm catching.

Blessings riddle:

Spoiler

The solution to what item must be placed on the air altar is found in some other notes in the area. More particularly, that "Uru" guy who's afraid of the trees.. hint: it's a pretty simple item that you can find everywhere in the level.

For recipes, I don't remember where I found them, but you'll get many of them later on when you progress into the game. You can bake bread with eggs + wormroot; you can smoke fish with fish + wormroot. You can cook meat with meat + spices ( you can even double up on spices to improve nutrition ). Also helpful: grimcap and wormroot for food rolls.

Later in the game the recipes get more advanced. Cooking's pretty cool in that mod. You can bake pies, cakes, various booze, make ham or your own cheese, sausages, etc.. Some of these recipes need to get chained. For example, there's a recipe to make cheese, but later in order to bake cheesecake from fruits, mushrooms and cheese..

 

[Unkillable Cat]

Spoiler

The solution to what item must be placed on the air altar is found in some other notes in the area. More particularly, that "Uru" guy who's afraid of the trees.. hint: it's a pretty simple item that you can find everywhere in the level.

I tried most of those already, as I figured it's a commonplace item. Am I really going to have to go through my entire inventory + scrapheap for trading with the ratlings to find the answer to this?

For recipes, I don't remember where I found them, but you'll get many of them later on when you progress into the game. You can bake bread with eggs + wormroot; you can smoke fish with fish + wormroot. You can cook meat with meat + spices ( you can even double up on spices to improve nutrition ). Also helpful: grimcap and wormroot for food rolls.

Already know all of these.

Later in the game the recipes get more advanced. Cooking's pretty cool in that mod. You can bake pies, cakes, various booze, make ham or your own cheese, sausages, etc.. Some of these recipes need to get chained. For example, there's a recipe to make cheese, but later in order to bake cheesecake from fruits, mushrooms and cheese..

This is what I'm talking about. While I've yet to find any cheese (or make it) I've been having my Insectoid Battlemage eat all those spiked fruits raw because... they still count as his "racial food", so he's been getting some good stat bonuses while almost killing himself!

I've also come across a hint that I missed the first time round: Seems there's a place where "leaving the unborn to be watched" will give me bonuses in regards to underwater breathing - I'm guessing I need to leave an egg at a pivotal place. Am I on the right track with this one?

 

[Sacibengala]

This thread made me finally start this game again. I'm using the magics mod and liking it so far. There are another mods that you recommends?

 

[Unkillable Cat]

This thread made me finally start this game again. I'm using the magics mod and liking it so far. There are another mods that you recommends?

Take it with a grain of salt, and it's just my opinion... but at this date there are no Grimrock 2-mods worth talking about.

Sure, the "Magics of Grimrock" certainly tries something, but it goes overboard with the magic system. And we're trying to figure out of the "Guardians"-mod here is worth a damn. If someone could take that system and refine it, LoG2 might be onto a winner there.

 

[GentlemanCthulhu]

I can never play this game more than a couple hours each run. It's odd because I love the original and have beaten it. I honestly think it being open world and not in a calustrophobic dungeon is the reason why. I just don't like the tropical island vibe. Think I might not be the only one thinking so since the game didn't sell as well as the first one (afaik).