Might and Magic The Might and Magic Discussion Thread

[Luzur]

I hope someday, someone make a MM4-5 open source remake with QOL fixes

I was part of a MM1 remake years ago (i did texture mapping) but as usual it fizzled out

 

[octavius]

Before replaying MM2 I had some goals:

1. Finish it completely within one game year.

2. No party deaths.

3. Defeat the Devil Kings and Mega Dragon.

Sadly I fell short on all three.

I spent five days too much, excluding the two years wrongfully imprisoned and the two years from time traps. I would probably have made it if I had started using the well at C1 1,5 that sets magic points to 200 as soon as I discovered it, instead of wasting time resting.

Had three party deaths, all of which could have been avoided.
I try to play as "blind" as possible, but I got overconfident from memory of MM3 where radiation only ages, so I stepped into the Death Zone.
Got too cocky when fighting Alcwande and his Water Elementals, and had some bad luck with pressing wrong keys.
Didn't complete the final puzzle in time. I actually did decode Yellow, Green and Red messages, but at this point I was so exhausted that I figured I could just look up the answer. Unfortunately the answer is not straightforward; you actually have to do some decoding yourself. Googling only provides you with the method.

The Devil Kings (magic immune (?) and with 5000 HP each) proved too tough for lvl 48 characters. I had to retreat after defeating 4-5 of them. Probably doable with lots of patience, which I had run out of at that point.
The Mega Dragon has 64,000 HP, is immune to physical attacks, and the only spells that seems to have a remote chance of working are non-elemental ones. So it sounds like a project that could take several hours and then you realize you have run out of spell points...

 

[Darth Canoli]

The Mega Dragon has 64,000 HP, is immune to physical attacks, and the only spells that seems to have a remote chance of working are non-elemental ones. So it sounds like a project that could take several hours and then you realize you have run out of spell points...

What about finger of death?
I suppose there is no mass distortion spell.
So it's 64 implosion casts?

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

I hope someday, someone make a MM4-5 open source remake with QOL fixes

I was part of a MM1 remake years ago (i did texture mapping) but as usual it fizzled out

Damn! That would have been cool to see finished.

 

[octavius]

The Mega Dragon has 64,000 HP, is immune to physical attacks, and the only spells that seems to have a remote chance of working are non-elemental ones. So it sounds like a project that could take several hours and then you realize you have run out of spell points...

What about finger of death?
I suppose there is no mass distortion spell.
So it's 64 implosion casts?

Finger of Death and Disintegrate supposedly only works in the Nintendo version.
Miss Distortion sounds like the most likely spell to get him down to size, and then use Implosion to finish him off. Problem is that the chances of spells actually penetrating his MAR is so low, so you run the risk of running out of spell points.

 

[Desiderius]

GM Identify Monster on MMIX is supposed to give Resistances. I have 15 ranks + GM and not seeing it - is there a trick?

 

[octavius]

On the third try it was back to Hell for the Devil Kings. On second try the front line was too wide (5), but with only two of the devils in melee range the square jawed heroes of Square Lake prevailed:

Loot was meh, but the XP was enough for another 40 levels.

Still haven't seen any Time Lords or Orc Gods, so I think I will play MM2 some more.

 

[Desiderius]

On the third try it was back to Hell for the Devil Kings. On second try the front line was too wide (5), but with only two of the devils in melee range the square jawed heroes of Square Lake prevailed:

Loot was meh, but the XP was enough for another 40 levels.

Still haven't seen any Time Lords or Orc Gods, so I think I will play MM2 some more.

247.5M? You sure this isn't Diablo 4?

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

That devil reminds me of Frank Zappa.

 

[madrigal]

What about finger of death?
I suppose there is no mass distortion spell.
So it's 64 implosion casts?

Implosion only does 500 damage.

Miss Distortion sounds like the most likely spell to get him down to size, and then use Implosion to finish him off. Problem is that the chances of spells actually penetrating his MAR is so low, so you run the risk of running out of spell points.

The only way I could do it, due to the spell point problem is using 8 Clerics casting Mass distortion, magic herbs and Photon items for implosion.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Yeah, the MM2 MegaDragon is a beast. I think there is a cheese but mostly the tactic you're trying is what most do. I'd like to think there was a clue but damn... that's a long time ago.

Funny, I think its the toughest version of all:

Mega dragon

Info
Hit Points: 1,300
Armor Class: 100
The Mega dragon is a unique monster that appears in the Dragon Cave in Might and Magic VII: For Blood and Honor. He has the appearance and stats of a red dragon, but uses a ranged fire attack, dealing 16D8 damage, and is immune to fire and body attacks. His attack can break his target's armor.

Mega dragon

Info
Hit Points: 64,000
Armor Class: 100
The mega dragon is a monster in Might and Magic V: Darkside of Xeen. It uses a ranged attack that deals 10D200 energy damage and can strike all members of the party. It can eradicate its target. It is highly resistant to physical damage and immune to all other forms of damage.

DON'T READ AS ITS A SPOILER -- possibly only SNES related

Spoiler

Mega dragon

Info
Hit Points: 64000
Armor Class: 250
The mega dragon is a unique creature in Might and Magic II: Gates to Another World, and a central part of the history of CRON.

The mega dragon, should it fight the player's party, is practically impossible to defeat: it has an incredible amount of hit points, it can only be harmed by non-elemental magic which fails against it about half the time, and its melee attack eradicates party members thus removing them from the battle for good. It can also knock out all party members in the front row (or up to six targets, in versions of the game that don't use rows) with its energy breath attack, though this can be recovered from.

The only ways of dealing significant damage to the dragon are the Mass Distortion spell, and Implosion (once the dragon's HP has fallen to 2000 or less, thus making Implosion more powerful than Mass Distortion). Even if the player had a full party of clerics with Photon Blades, though, it is very likely that they would not have enough turns to defeat the dragon.

The mega dragon was created in the eighth century to battle King Kalohn. Both itself and Kalohn perished in a battle in the area that thus become the Quagmire of Doom. The player's party are ultimately obliged to save the king by traveling back to the eighth century with the elemental orb and talons that will allow Kalohn to defeat and survive against the dragon.

If the player's party returns to the Quagmire of Doom in the eighth century without the orb and talons, they will witness Kalohn die before the mega dragon turns to fight them.

HEROES 4

& Da MegaDragon King

 

[Lasagna42]

Hey all! New to RPG Codex, which is kind of astonishing, since it looks like it was build with special love, just for me. I think I'm going to like it here. Of course I took an ambien twenty minutes ago, and my brain is not to be trusted.

Still, I'm poking around the site, seeing what's what. I always loved the reviews from here, but never looked into the community, which looks thriving. Wish I had joined years ago.

Anyway: Might and Magic. I had two questions for the experts:

1. Is Might & Magic X worth having to download that UBISoft player? I'm pretty gunshy with that stuff. I've got Steam, because duh, and I've got GOG, because they sold (cheap!) the games of my youth when nobody else would. But these other things - when I downloaded RDR2 they made me install and agree to so much shit I was worried I'd accidentally given away my house.

Sorry, that was boring. But is the game worth it? I read really upbeat reviews and others that cautioned that the combat didn't work quite as intended. What does everyone think?

2. I loved MM6 and MM7 when they came out. Since then I've dabbled in World of Xeen, but never got past the first city even though I was enjoying it. It's just that it's old and clunky, nothing more than that. Should I stick with it? How much nostalgia is required to really enjoy WoX?

 

[Cyberarmy]

I think I'm going to like it here.

Welcome!

Spoiler

 

[Butter]

How much nostalgia is required to really enjoy WoX?

None. I think it's just all around a better game than 6/7/8. You can play it entirely with the keyboard, which is by itself a big advantage over the later games, and it will feel a lot less clunky once you get used to that.

 

[lukaszek]

1. Is Might & Magic X worth having to download that UBISoft player?

yes, it is worth to endure...

 

[Kliwer]

1. Is Might & Magic X worth having to download that UBISoft player? I'm pretty gunshy with that stuff. I've got Steam, because duh, and I've got GOG, because they sold (cheap!) the games of my youth when nobody else would. But these other things - when I downloaded RDR2 they made me install and agree to so much shit I was worried I'd accidentally given away my house.

Sorry, that was boring. But is the game worth it? I read really upbeat reviews and others that cautioned that the combat didn't work quite as intended. What does everyone think?

2. I loved MM6 and MM7 when they came out. Since then I've dabbled in World of Xeen, but never got past the first city even though I was enjoying it. It's just that it's old and clunky, nothing more than that. Should I stick with it? How much nostalgia is required to really enjoy WoX?

1. It all depends (of course) on your preferences. For me - M&M X is one of the best games released in the last 20 years. Very interesting battles, nice exploration and dungeons, decent difficulty level. It is a bit underdeveloped and a bit too short, but still has the hallmarks of genius.


2. World of Xeen doesn't require nostalgia at all (I played this game for the first time maybe 6 years ago and I immediately fell in love with it). You just have to endure the interface a bit (it's still one of the most accessible games of its era). I also recommend M&M 3 - personally, I even prefer it to WoX.

 

[Fishy]

2. World of Xeen doesn't require nostalgia at all (I played this game for the first time maybe 6 years ago and I immediately fell in love with it). You just have to endure the interface a bit (it's still one of the most accessible games of its era). I also recommend M&M 3 - personally, I even prefer it to WoX.

And in favour of the UI, it has tons of keyboard shortcuts, and the (Q)uick battle action is fantastic to fast forward trash mob fights efficiently.

 

[Darth Canoli]

2. I loved MM6 and MM7 when they came out. Since then I've dabbled in World of Xeen, but never got past the first city even though I was enjoying it. It's just that it's old and clunky, nothing more than that. Should I stick with it? How much nostalgia is required to really enjoy WoX?

I also agree with the codex hivemind, it's well worth it, M&M III being even better but arguably lacking some QoL improvements but from where you're coming, you wouldn't see the difference.
You'll get used to the UI, it's not too bad aside from the inventory but even then, just write down the keyboard shortcuts and keep the note close.

Implosion only does 500 damage.

My bad, M&M III implosion does 1K damage.

Yeah, the MM2 MegaDragon is a beast. I think there is a cheese but mostly the tactic you're trying is what most do. I'd like to think there was a clue but damn... that's a long time ago.

Funny, I think its the toughest version of all:

DON'T READ AS ITS A SPOILER -- possibly only SNES related

HEROES 4

& Da MegaDragon King

I didn't know HoMM IV had a mega dragon, i could never get really far in this one, maybe it's worth enduring the pixel hunt and terrible color palette choices (monsters barely visible on the map and such).

 

[jackofshadows]

I didn't know HoMM IV had a mega dragon, i could never get really far in this one, maybe it's worth enduring the pixel hunt and terrible color palette choices (monsters barely visible on the map and such).

HoMM IV is an awesome game (seriously). I don't like campains much but love to play scenarios once in a while, with my favorite the only XL vanilla map where I making 1-2 rogues which are scout around and eventually becoming stand-alone assassins and the other 1-2 heroes slowly clearing the map with the army, King of Bounty game-style.

The music is fantastic, and the gameplay is addicting as much as in previous games.

And speaking of dragons, aforementioned assasin at some point could kill one black dragon per hit which is... cool.

 

[Desiderius]

I didn't know HoMM IV had a mega dragon, i could never get really far in this one, maybe it's worth enduring the pixel hunt and terrible color palette choices (monsters barely visible on the map and such).

HoMM IV is an awesome game (seriously). I don't like campains much but love to play scenarios once in a while, with my favorite the only XL vanilla map where I making 1-2 rogues which are scout around and eventually becoming stand-alone assassins and the other 1-2 heroes slowly clearing the map with the army, King of Bounty game-style.

The music is fantastic, and the gameplay is addicting as much as in previous games.

And speaking of dragons, aforementioned assasin at some point could kill one black dragon per hit which is... cool.

There was a Lords of Magic scenario where you start out as a lowly lvl one Thief who can barely kill a fly that I still remember as unbelievably epic.

 

[Morpheus Kitami]

I didn't know HoMM IV had a mega dragon, i could never get really far in this one, maybe it's worth enduring the pixel hunt and terrible color palette choices (monsters barely visible on the map and such).

The Megadragon is from one of the expansions, probably why you don't remember it. The game is really fun, if you don't mind the strategy focusing on heroes instead of the creatures

There was a Lords of Magic scenario where you start out as a lowly lvl one Thief who can barely kill a fly that I still remember as unbelievably epic.

That's the Earth quest, which I remember being annoyed to start off because early on you need to get enough of a certain resource in order to prevent some dwarves you pick up along the way from leaving. Without them, the early section is insanely difficult, if not impossible. Same issue with the Fire quest.

 

[Dungeon Lord]

I have killed everybody at Castle Ironfist with some Armageddon spell.
Then I paid approx. 1000 gold at the temple and now I am a respectable citizen.

 

[Darth Canoli]

The Megadragon is from one of the expansions, probably why you don't remember it. The game is really fun, if you don't mind the strategy focusing on heroes instead of the creatures

Oh, i don't mind, the problem is your enemies don't mind it either, just the opposite, they love it so much they just gang on your hero and kill him and then it's game over...
Maybe that's on me used to play on higher difficulties and to take on strong opposition.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Lasagna42 said: ↑
1. Is Might & Magic X worth having to download that UBISoft player? I'm pretty gunshy with that stuff. I've got Steam, because duh, and I've got GOG, because they sold (cheap!) the games of my youth when nobody else would. But these other things - when I downloaded RDR2 they made me install and agree to so much shit I was worried I'd accidentally given away my house.

I never had an issue but I get tired of extra stuff running in the background. If you love achievements then its fine. I hated the price on the dev kit (which is what the entire unity program?)? Supposedly, the game can be modded and I was really hoping someone had modded 3 & Xeen and maybe some other games.

Did someone say they converted Xeen to PnP play? I swore I saw that (now to reread 200+ pages)

 

[Sceptic]

The Devil Kings (magic immune (?) and with 5000 HP each) proved too tough for lvl 48 characters. I had to retreat after defeating 4-5 of them. Probably doable with lots of patience, which I had run out of at that point.
The Mega Dragon has 64,000 HP, is immune to physical attacks, and the only spells that seems to have a remote chance of working are non-elemental ones. So it sounds like a project that could take several hours and then you realize you have run out of spell points...

I only did the Devil Kings once and I remember it being more an exercise in patience than skill. Never did manage the Megadragon (I never tried very hard), though I know that it is possible.

1. Is Might & Magic X worth having to download that UBISoft player? I'm pretty gunshy with that stuff. I've got Steam, because duh, and I've got GOG, because they sold (cheap!) the games of my youth when nobody else would. But these other things - when I downloaded RDR2 they made me install and agree to so much shit I was worried I'd accidentally given away my house.

I did install Uplay for MMX, and TBH I didn't find it as onerous as something like Origin personally. I think that if you buy the game through Steam you don't have to give Ubisoft any of your financial info. IIRC you will need both launchers on to play though, which can be annoying.

Sorry, that was boring. But is the game worth it? I read really upbeat reviews and others that cautioned that the combat didn't work quite as intended. What does everyone think?

Read my review and you'll have my answer

2. I loved MM6 and MM7 when they came out. Since then I've dabbled in World of Xeen, but never got past the first city even though I was enjoying it. It's just that it's old and clunky, nothing more than that. Should I stick with it? How much nostalgia is required to really enjoy WoX?

I played it when it was new, but I don't really believe in the nostalgia argument anyway. Judging by the number of people I've seen who started on the old M&M games in the past few years and loved them I'd say zero nostalgia is required. Then again I find MM3-5 to be so less clunky than anything made in the past 10 years.