RPG Progress Report

[MrPopo]

Yeah, I've been noticing that the general power curve is weird in this game. I just finished up the appropriate dungeons in Castle Ironfist and have moved onto Free Haven. So I've got New Sorpigal, Mist, and Ironfirst cleared (barring dungeons I haven't been told to go to yet). That's the other thing I've learned; only go to a dungeon if someone tells you to do so. If you're moving from town to town appropriately then they'll only tell you to do stuff you can do at that level or shortly thereafter. Any other dungeons are later game content.

[Ack]

Yeah, I've been noticing that the general power curve is weird in this game. I just finished up the appropriate dungeons in Castle Ironfist and have moved onto Free Haven. So I've got New Sorpigal, Mist, and Ironfirst cleared (barring dungeons I haven't been told to go to yet). That's the other thing I've learned; only go to a dungeon if someone tells you to do so. If you're moving from town to town appropriately then they'll only tell you to do stuff you can do at that level or shortly thereafter. Any other dungeons are later game content.

Yes and no. There are some dungeons where you will never be told explicitly to go visit, they just happen to be there for additional experience or background info. For example, if you took the route from Ironfist to Free Haven that involved traveling along the southern strip of coast in Bootleg Bay, you may have found the Hall of the Fire Lord. The kicker about this place is that you only get a quest for it once you actually go inside and talk to the Fire Lord, who asks you to clear it out for him. I have yet to actually do it, I just walked in, talked to him, and left.

Alternatively there is one dungeon that serves only as a small side step for going into the Free Haven Sewers dungeon, while yet another dungeon near Silver Cove has a sort of faux-quest which you won't know about until you enter, kill the boss, take an item from him, and then talk to the local ruler. You never receive a notice about a quest in that dungeon, but you do get sent on a quest-esque journey. There's also a "quest" in Mist that is accessed the same way quests are, but it's never added to your quest log and instead only activates a teleporter you can use to go fight a bunch of enemies on other islands.

Yes, I find a lot of this confusing. The quest log has generally been good about this stuff, it just hasn't worked out in certain situations, and you can skip some portions of things too if you know what you're doing.

[marurun]

Marurun and Noise have both been forced to spread the love..., though I have pumped them up

I don't like it when you talk about me this way, sir! It makes me very uncomfortable...

[Ack]

Marurun and Noise have both been forced to spread the love..., though I have pumped them up

I don't like it when you talk about me this way, sir! It makes me very uncomfortable...

What about when your belt breaks, and Noise has to help you remove it so he can "repair" it?

[marurun]

That sounds completely above board. I have no concerns whatsoever.

[Kuruwin]

If you need more offensive power with spells then you should put points to dark magic because sharpmetal is the best. It costs lot of mana to cast but it's deadly against almost all things.

[MrPopo]

If you need more offensive power with spells then you should put points to dark magic because sharpmetal is the best. It costs lot of mana to cast but it's deadly against almost all things.

Amusingly, I was trying to fight a Minotaur Lord and Sharpmetal was doing a lot less damage than Incinerate, even though my dark was 12 and master while my fire was 5 and expert.

Speaking of, last night when I was price fixing across the realm I discovered Darkmoor was under attack by skeletons and ghosts. I, being the noble soul I am, decided to help out. But during my mad mashing of the A key I accidentally killed a peasant. Those ungrateful folks decided to all gang up on me, and naturally I had to defend myself, leaving my reputation at the lowest it could get. But you know that old saying, when life gives you lemons dash into an end game area and train up in master dark magic. The run took a few attempts because that town was under attack by giants who could one shot me if they rolled well.

[Ack]

Hahaha, I told you that if you got started, you'd blaze past my progress, Popo! I have yet to delve too much into the Light and Dark magic, partly because the spells are expensive, and partly because I just haven't spent as much time around towns with those guilds running at regular hours. I've tended instead to stick with Fireball and Lightning Bolt with enemies, and then swap to Implosion and Incinerate with boss-types.

Anyway, I'm working on the last of the usual council quests, and once that is done, I'll have to investigate the Greater Temple of Baa to find out what is up with Silvertongue. I stuck my head in earlier, but all of the doors hurt me, so I'll come back later to figure out the puzzle. In the meantime, I'm taking on wizards and fire elementals in Gharik's Forge.

Work Completed

Council Quests: 5/7
Promotion Quests: 11/12
Sidequests: 20/26
Obelisks Found: 5/15
Sections of World Map Visited: 10/15

[MrPopo]

Well, I blazed my way to Light and Dark because on my first playthrough I was not happy with the magic scaling and I did like the crazy buff spells. I only just got a high enough level that I can cast both of the light buffs (so I need to buy the other one). But so far being able to cast a daily all the +attributes buffs at 3x my light level and all the +elem resist buffs at 3x my dark level (now 4x) has been awesome. Next set of buffs will buff my other status, like hit, damage, etc. All my skill points went to light on one character and dark on the other until they were both at 12, then I started getting the other magic.

[Ack]

Might and Magic 6

It's been nearly a week since I was able to post, but I've made considerable progress in the game. I've wrapped up all of the job quests, so everyone is their highest possible rank and an honorary head of every other job. I've finished all of the council quests and moved into the second set of quests for the main storyline, where I have to acquire memory crystals from four locations to power up the "Oracle." This is where the sci-fi element of the Might and Magic series comes into play, so now I'm powering up machines.

I've also been knocking out sidequests and traversing the world. Fun fact: your characters go from earning 5 to earning 10 skill points at each level once you hit around level 50. Unfortunately by now you're also starting to lose locations where you can train up, so keep that in mind while you're building up. It's proven highly useful though, so now my casters are 10+ in nearly all magic schools (Mind is the only one lagging behind), and I've been able to easily master many more skills.

The enemies I'm encountering are tough, but I've also built up most of my spellbooks for my three casters. I don't have a ton of Light and Darkness spells, but the ones I do have I acquired either because they provided key utility, because they were on the cheaper end of the spectrum(which is still pricey compared to the other magic schools), or because they serve to help get me out of a bind. For example, there's a spell to kill undead on the Light side which can wipe out a lich in one hit. That's brilliant, especially as one of the castles I have to take on for the memory crystals is packed to the gills with liches.

In the meantime, I've slain a named dragon, taken down Lurch, king of the minotaurs, and have raided the greatest of the Temples of Baa after a world tour which involved me running for my life to avoid titans, hydras, sea serpents, flying demons, and all manner of other nasty critters. I have yet to visit the Dragonsand, but I will probably tackle it last, as I have a quest involving statues and pedestals which also requires I visit there.

Currently I'm parked on the northern island of the Eel Infested Waters, ready to take on Castle Alamos for the third memory crystal. The master for Light Magic is also around here somewhere, so I'll probably go visit her and get this taken care of. Time to get down to brass tacks and wrap this up.

Work Completed

Council Quests: 7/7
Memory Crystals Acquired: 2/4
Promotion Quests: 12/12
Sidequests: 23/26
Obelisks Found: 12/15
Sections of World Map Visited: 14/15