Together RPG - Might & Magic III - 6/1-8/1
Re: Together RPG - Might & Magic III - 6/1-8/1
Swimming is in the dungeon under Fountainhead. Everyone needs that skill. Pathfinding and Mountaineering are in the next town (you'll stumble on it if you keep exploring as you are) and two people need each skill. There are enemies in the water, but not until you get to map column C which requires the Walk on Water spell. Note that swimming only lets you enter rivers, lakes, and a square of the ocean. Going further into the ocean (which includes Piranha Bay) requires Walk on Water.
Blizzard Entertainment Software Developer - All comments and views are my own and not representative of the company.
Re: Together RPG - Might & Magic III - 6/1-8/1
Well shoot, guess I missed that skill statue under Fountain Head then. I will probably go back to grab that then as soon as I get the chance before making my way to the next town. There is a lake in the Hidden Valley that I'd like to check out.
Re: Together RPG - Might & Magic III - 6/1-8/1
Also, I'm playing the PC version, but having looked up the differences between this and the SNES release, it looks like beating this will also cover that one, as the vast majority of changes for the SNES port are cosmetic. The biggest change is in one dungeon where all of the reaper enemies were apparently replaced with much easier skeletons.
So yeah, I'm doing myself a favor by getting to this now. I've also been really enjoying it, more than I thought I would in the couple of hours that I've gotten to put in.
So yeah, I'm doing myself a favor by getting to this now. I've also been really enjoying it, more than I thought I would in the couple of hours that I've gotten to put in.
Re: Together RPG - Might & Magic III - 6/1-8/1
I've been surprised by how much I've gotten into this game. When I did M&M1 I could only do it for a little bit at a time before I would get trashed by a bad encounter. Here it feels like they've rebalanced the combat AND by removing random encounters they let you feel like you're truly progressing in the world. It'll be interesting to compare with M&M2 since that one started to include things like the skill system and the auto map but it still shares a lot of design with M&M1 (as well as the new wrinkle of fights having arbitrarily large numbers of off screen enemies).
Blizzard Entertainment Software Developer - All comments and views are my own and not representative of the company.
Re: Together RPG - Might & Magic III - 6/1-8/1
Which games in the series allow you to pass on character progress? I remember you said you couldn't port characters from M&M2 into M&M3, but since 4 and 5 go together and are built on the same engine as 3, is it conceivable to shift the same party through those and Swords of Xeen?
Re: Together RPG - Might & Magic III - 6/1-8/1
You can port a party from MM1 to MM2; they will be reduced to level 7 if higher and start with a fixed amount of gold based on their level (items aren't ported over).Ack wrote:Which games in the series allow you to pass on character progress? I remember you said you couldn't port characters from M&M2 into M&M3, but since 4 and 5 go together and are built on the same engine as 3, is it conceivable to shift the same party through those and Swords of Xeen?
MM4 and 5 combine into one giant game. There is no import of your party from 3. The way 4 and 5 work is that there are various points that let you move between the world maps of the two games. So you could conceivably start by doing all of MM5's content, then switch back to MM4's, or you can hop between the two as you choose.
Swords of Xeen is on the same engine but also doesn't feature party import.
Blizzard Entertainment Software Developer - All comments and views are my own and not representative of the company.
Re: Together RPG - Might & Magic III - 6/1-8/1
Well, I knocked out the last four overworld dungeons and gained the last key items I needed to penetrate the final area. As I suspected it was a part of a previous dungeon I had explored that I couldn't get to using any of my available magic. This was filled with a lot of extremely tough enemies, and I had to back out several times to heal back up. But I was able to get to the final area and solve the final puzzle. No actual boss fight, but I wasn't too surprised; M&M1 didn't include one either.
The final areas (both the last area and the last coup9le dungeons) of the game started to turn on the old school dick meter; lots of enemies that had instant kill attacks. My smaller SP pool was really starting to hurt, as buffing the party meant I couldn't toss out revives as needed. But I was able to persevere.
Final thoughts here: http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopi ... 7#p1045487
The final areas (both the last area and the last coup9le dungeons) of the game started to turn on the old school dick meter; lots of enemies that had instant kill attacks. My smaller SP pool was really starting to hurt, as buffing the party meant I couldn't toss out revives as needed. But I was able to persevere.
Final thoughts here: http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopi ... 7#p1045487
Blizzard Entertainment Software Developer - All comments and views are my own and not representative of the company.
Re: Together RPG - Might & Magic III - 6/1-8/1
Dang, Popo, I've only barely gotten started on my journey. Nice job. I didn't even get to play last night since I was busy with a class.
You said you planned to hit up M&M2 before moving to 4+5. Think you'll get to it this year? Also, any specific stuff I should watch out for in 3?
You said you planned to hit up M&M2 before moving to 4+5. Think you'll get to it this year? Also, any specific stuff I should watch out for in 3?
Re: Together RPG - Might & Magic III - 6/1-8/1
Honestly I don't know when I'll get around to any of them; we'll see how things strike my fancy as the year goes on.
In terms of things to look out for, I'd just say keep something handy to take notes. If you see something on the wall that is more than "There's bad guys in Dungeon X" then it's probably a useful clue. I guess a tip there is that since turning is a free action (except on trap squares) you should mostly avoid strafing in hallways; instead walk through then and then turn at the corners. Most of the messages are either in corners of hallways or at the end of T-intersections.
The Sorcery classes get several important mobility spells. Don't forget you have them. Etherealize moves you forward one square and doesn't trigger traps; you can use this to move into a trap square on a T -intersection and then strafe to the side so you don't take damage. There's also one dungeon which has thin walls (not the normal block walls) which you can Etherealize through. If you find yourself unable to break them you can use Etherealize. Teleport is extremely handy, especially in conjunction with Wizard's Eye. Since you can move up to 9 squares in the direction you're facing you can use it to skip obstacles or even get into hidden rooms; one map required this technique to solve its puzzle while another gave hits as to the existence of hidden areas on the map that were filled with loot.
Later on in the game you will find enemies that can magically age you. Once you get up into advanced age you will begin to lose stats; if a stat ever goes to 0 (which can happen from various status ailments that lower stats) then resting will kill that character (dies in their sleep). There is a way to reverse the aging; it's something to look out for. I had to avail myself of it a few times.
In terms of things to look out for, I'd just say keep something handy to take notes. If you see something on the wall that is more than "There's bad guys in Dungeon X" then it's probably a useful clue. I guess a tip there is that since turning is a free action (except on trap squares) you should mostly avoid strafing in hallways; instead walk through then and then turn at the corners. Most of the messages are either in corners of hallways or at the end of T-intersections.
The Sorcery classes get several important mobility spells. Don't forget you have them. Etherealize moves you forward one square and doesn't trigger traps; you can use this to move into a trap square on a T -intersection and then strafe to the side so you don't take damage. There's also one dungeon which has thin walls (not the normal block walls) which you can Etherealize through. If you find yourself unable to break them you can use Etherealize. Teleport is extremely handy, especially in conjunction with Wizard's Eye. Since you can move up to 9 squares in the direction you're facing you can use it to skip obstacles or even get into hidden rooms; one map required this technique to solve its puzzle while another gave hits as to the existence of hidden areas on the map that were filled with loot.
Later on in the game you will find enemies that can magically age you. Once you get up into advanced age you will begin to lose stats; if a stat ever goes to 0 (which can happen from various status ailments that lower stats) then resting will kill that character (dies in their sleep). There is a way to reverse the aging; it's something to look out for. I had to avail myself of it a few times.
Blizzard Entertainment Software Developer - All comments and views are my own and not representative of the company.
Re: Together RPG - Might & Magic III - 6/1-8/1
Well, I only had about an hour to play last night, but I made some progress.
I started by returning to the dungeon beneath the starting town Fountain Head to find the trainer for the Swimming Skill. Once secured on every member, the B-Team returned to the surface and began mapping out the shoreline of area A1. I'm one of those folks who doesn't like to leave any section of the map uncovered, so I made a thorough examination of the area, moved into B1 for a bit, and then uncovered an interior lake in A1 and pushed into area A2.
Hordes of orcs and goblins stood in my way, but I made short work moving through, slaughtering them, and destroying their bases. In the process I discovered a quest to save an imprisoned unicorn. With the external sections of A2 secured, I made brief excursions into areas A3, B1 again, and B2 to cover area borders. I also encountered new enemies in these areas, and while I could take them, I found I wasn't doing it fast enough for my liking. Hopefully better equipment and levels will help, but their use of status effects was also disheartening.
Still, once I had charted the boundaries of my current territory, I decided to move into the local township, Baywatch. Instead of enjoying heaving bosoms clad in only skimpy red swimsuits, I discovered Baywatch was completely overrun with the undead, and they would not go without a fight. My equipment was weak, but thankfully Key proved her effectiveness in combat with devastating group spells. I swept through and cleansed much of the city but in the process discovered a back room populated by a ghoul and his horde of skeletons and zombies and was forced to reload and avoid him. On accident I stepped into the room again but only pulled a few undead out with me, so I am hoping I have just managed to thin his forces with little loss on my part.
With the general area now secured, I rested and hit up the local shops and learning centers. The combination of affording guild memberships for my three casters, new equipment for several party members, and the expensive mobility skills I wanted to purchase nearly drained my treasury, but I obtained the necessities to explore new terrain and decided now was a good time to go back out and finish charting my whereabouts. Moving through the mountains and dense forests proved a boon, as I discovered money and even better equipment for my troop along with new wagons and wells from which to gain power. Two of the discoveries included a Lapis Flamberge and magical Plate Mail, which are now equipped on Ack, my Fighter, the only character to take up two-handers. Nearly everyone else has the best equipment available to them, and I even managed to find a magic dagger for Key, whom I consider session MVP.
With A1 completely charted save for the ocean, I opted as my final act to head back to Fountain Head and clear out the storeroom full of enemies that I had left behind. What followed was a massive orgy of bloodshed as my party ripped through rats the size of horses and monsters made of green, bubbly ooze with little pity and no remorse. Caked in the blood of their foes, the B-Team left the storeroom once again well off on cash and did a final run down of inventory.
When next I play, I will likely go explore a bit of B1 and the giant bugs and sentient mushrooms which plague it. I need to figure out this unicorn thing too, and there are a couple of dungeons I have encountered in A1 and A2 that I have yet to explore. There are more monsters to hunt in my future and far more blood to spill.
I started by returning to the dungeon beneath the starting town Fountain Head to find the trainer for the Swimming Skill. Once secured on every member, the B-Team returned to the surface and began mapping out the shoreline of area A1. I'm one of those folks who doesn't like to leave any section of the map uncovered, so I made a thorough examination of the area, moved into B1 for a bit, and then uncovered an interior lake in A1 and pushed into area A2.
Hordes of orcs and goblins stood in my way, but I made short work moving through, slaughtering them, and destroying their bases. In the process I discovered a quest to save an imprisoned unicorn. With the external sections of A2 secured, I made brief excursions into areas A3, B1 again, and B2 to cover area borders. I also encountered new enemies in these areas, and while I could take them, I found I wasn't doing it fast enough for my liking. Hopefully better equipment and levels will help, but their use of status effects was also disheartening.
Still, once I had charted the boundaries of my current territory, I decided to move into the local township, Baywatch. Instead of enjoying heaving bosoms clad in only skimpy red swimsuits, I discovered Baywatch was completely overrun with the undead, and they would not go without a fight. My equipment was weak, but thankfully Key proved her effectiveness in combat with devastating group spells. I swept through and cleansed much of the city but in the process discovered a back room populated by a ghoul and his horde of skeletons and zombies and was forced to reload and avoid him. On accident I stepped into the room again but only pulled a few undead out with me, so I am hoping I have just managed to thin his forces with little loss on my part.
With the general area now secured, I rested and hit up the local shops and learning centers. The combination of affording guild memberships for my three casters, new equipment for several party members, and the expensive mobility skills I wanted to purchase nearly drained my treasury, but I obtained the necessities to explore new terrain and decided now was a good time to go back out and finish charting my whereabouts. Moving through the mountains and dense forests proved a boon, as I discovered money and even better equipment for my troop along with new wagons and wells from which to gain power. Two of the discoveries included a Lapis Flamberge and magical Plate Mail, which are now equipped on Ack, my Fighter, the only character to take up two-handers. Nearly everyone else has the best equipment available to them, and I even managed to find a magic dagger for Key, whom I consider session MVP.
With A1 completely charted save for the ocean, I opted as my final act to head back to Fountain Head and clear out the storeroom full of enemies that I had left behind. What followed was a massive orgy of bloodshed as my party ripped through rats the size of horses and monsters made of green, bubbly ooze with little pity and no remorse. Caked in the blood of their foes, the B-Team left the storeroom once again well off on cash and did a final run down of inventory.
When next I play, I will likely go explore a bit of B1 and the giant bugs and sentient mushrooms which plague it. I need to figure out this unicorn thing too, and there are a couple of dungeons I have encountered in A1 and A2 that I have yet to explore. There are more monsters to hunt in my future and far more blood to spill.