Hi there,
I'll try to answer your questions below. Also, I've now finished most of the town quest lines except for Farnus, Teal, Demata & Rathadon. The last I cannot continue because I attacked one of the Rathadonian villages (which is a quest in itself). The other three I cannot make progress on because without being able to find the survivor I cannot open up any of the other quest lines.
I've also cleared all but three dungeons. I cannot answer the question asked in the Lair of the Wind inside the Temple of Terrine, meaning that I cannot get through a door. I cannot provide the magic word to the Hermit in the dungeon where you find the Seal of Farnus (the island east to that of Teal, with no settlements) and I am currently part way through the Rifts under Fire Mountain.
1. To be capable against Assassins, you probably want to:
Be making 3+ attacks per round with your main fighters (200 skill points)
Be using at a minimum weapons like Halberd+20, Longsword+10, Heavy Crossbow+50
Have armour & body skills at 200 for your tanks, with Full Plate armour
Have your mages able to cast 'Deathstrike' for an instant kill
One of the best weapons you can get in the game is the Backstab Dagger used by Assassins. To the east of Farnus on the road just before it turns to the North there is a Lair (you will not find it if you simply walk onto the square, you need to 'search') which you can attack, which should contain an Assassin. Equipping your edged weapon fighters with backstab daggers is a very good idea.
2. Yes, they are possible. Both will go down immediately to a mage deathstrike. There is a Deathknight lair a couple of squares south of the SW corner of Teal. I recommend hunting for Deathknight as soon as your mages have 'Deathstrike' in order to equip yourself with the best armour (Dark Mail) and the best weapon (Sly Sword) I have seen in the game.
The forest north of Farnus also contains at least one 'Jax', who wears Light Mail, almost as good as Dark Mail.
At the point of the game I am at, with fighting skills above 300, wearing Dark Mail & using +50 weapons, I can kill off Earth Golems pretty easy. A Death Knight could probably still take my entire party if it were not for my mages Deathstrikes. I believe Living Trees are the most powerful enemies in game, as I still cannot even hurt one with an aimed shot.
3. The quality has a massive impact. I think the quality of the weapon acts as some kind of multiplier to your weapon skill. At the top end, 'Perfection' weapons outperform 'Terrific' weapons by a huge margin. Sly Swords, Backstab Daggers & named weapons (like Balen's blade) are always perfect I think.
4. My approach is to:
Develop my mages with Bow skills & Essence until they can cast Deathstrike. Deathstrike allows them to kill off any one mob, even those that your fighters cannot harm. Using bows allows them to set up for aimed shots whilst being more or less out of harms way themselves. I have two invisibility rings & phasecloaks for my mages now too, which means they almost never get hurt.
Your priests will become your most powerful characters once they have the spell 'Wrath of God', which simply kills off 95% of mobs instantly in any combat no matter how many you are facing. You need 104 Wisdom & 250 Karma for this spell.
I have two warriors that have armour ratings into the high 200's & early 300's take up blocking positions & then move my blacksmith, priests & rogue into flanking positions where they can aim from relative safety.
I also found about halfway through the game that switching to aim for the head, instead of the torso, made fights far easier.
Once you have weapons like backstab daggers & sly swords, along with weapon skills above 200, your main fighters can kill things like Rathadonian Soldiers with one attack.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(doublejack @ Jun 29 2007, 09:09 PM) [snapback]297153[/snapback]</div>
Quote:
Hello. Newbie here and I'm hoping to get some info on this game. I started playing Disciples of Steel almost 15 years ago but never got very far, and just recently picked it back up. I'm pleasantly suprised to see others giving this game a shot too.
1. I see the tip about the Thieves Tools being in the tower in Teal. What constitutes good equipment? Is banded / plate as good as it gets?
Related to this, I find it very odd that casters can equip heavy armor. Most RPGs don't allow that. Does it hurt their ability to cast?
2. Is it possible to kill things like Death Knights and Earth Elementals? I think my party is relatively strong, but I can not even touch several monster types in combat. Is this normal? Am I just too weak yet?
3. Does the quality of work really matter for weapons & armor? I've noticed that upgrading from, say, adequate ring mail to terrific ring mail does give slightly better protection, but just by a few points. Is that all the difference there is?
4. Does anyone have some basic combat strategy suggestions? I find myself only using one or two mage & illusionist spells, none of which do substantial damage. Meanwhile, the majority of damage is done by my melee specialists. I also haven't had much use for ranged weapons, instead having my ranger wield a footmen's flail. Is the combat just that imbalanced, or am I missing something? Maybe it balances out as casters gain power?
Many thanks in advance to anyone who shares their thoughts.
P.S.
I'm also stuck at the point of finding the Survivor in Teal. I searched pretty much the whole island and could not find him.
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