Current Events > Playing Age of Decadence. Want to make a spearman but the game wants me to not.

(+) Yeah! (+)

Started as Praetor.

Found that dialogue was the appropriate solution to nearly everything in Teron, with streetwise+etiquette+lore more or less guiding me along with minimal issues.

I put a point in alchemy and thought I'd make a poisoned spear master, to make the most of the extra strikes with the one handed spear.

Then I found out poison only works if you deal damage, and my reaction strike basically does none to anyone with armor. And that poison doesn't stack. Then I found out all the Teron enemies have many more levels of combat skills than me, and I can't hit them while they can hit me repeatedly and are in great number. I tried fighting without a helmet exactly 1 time, and the enemies just headshotted me repeatedly until I died. Some hella strong thugs in Teron...

What gives, game? Does the required combat prove significantly easier than the forced combat?

@apolloooo
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Praetor is a bad class to start with. A non combat playtrough like merchant or loremaster is a better way to start off or if you wanna fight, A focused build like mercenary will get you used to the combat. The game dont really tolerate bad build, and you cannot, absolutely cannot have a hybrid build until you get used to it.

I have played trough it 5 times so far and i had to roll back a save 2 or 3 times because of bad build.

And you cant get all the content in 1 playtrough anyway. You have to sacrifice content if your build dont allow it.

Like the progression trough classes are like this:

Easy:
Merchant (full speech no combat)
Mercenary (full combat to get used to the system)
Loremaster (no combat like merchant)

Medium:
Grifter : a blank slate, but your reputation start of better with the dialog focused playtrough. A good starting point to experiment with a charismatic character that can fend off himself.
Thief: (like 70% stealth , 15% streetwise 15% combat)
assassin (70%,combat 30% stealth, etc)

hard:
Drifter: a total blank slate
Praetor: funny because praetor is considered one of the hardest route due you have to be a diplomat sometimes, soldier sometimes.

For general tipps:

You want TO FOCUS.
If you want a combat character, pick a single weapon, raise it all into 1 specific weapon (and abuse the carry over effectiveness thing. For example putting a skill point in swords will not only raise your effectiveness in sword by for example 10% but it will also raise your blunt weapons in 5%, so if you face enemy that strong against sword, you can switch to hammer with a degree of effectiveness, and can save you in a pinch)

for hybrid, you still have to focus at least 70% of your skill point into your main class.

For example, if you wanna role play tough merchant, put at least 7 level to mercantile and split the rest into speech, and combat.

Your merchant will not be defenseless against common bandit, but in no way you hope to fight a well equipped soldier as a merchant unless you want to locked out your route.

Another tips: treat blocking/dodging as mutually exclusive. This is a must to not waste precious skill points.

You either dodge, or block.

To some degree alchemy and crafting too should be treated as they are mutually exclusive. Like at least between these two put 80-20 share for each. Merchants will help you for potions/bombs if you focus on crafting, and vice versa.

Combat tips:

Crowd control is important.

Dont be afraid yet to use bombs, nets, bolas, poisons, potions, yet still be be a little conservative for them.

Use the molotov to block pathways, for example if you are facing 5 enemies, try to block several people with fire, and deal with the few.

Get out of the enemies attack range, it is alot better to deal with 1-2 people at a time instead of bravadoing 5 guys at the same time. Abuse corners, doors if avaiable, and positions. Dont get surrounded.

Abuse the locational damage too remember striking their arms, lower their THC or striking legs lower their movement grid. Study what effects each type of attacks do, inprovise on your situation.

Quicksilver potions are your best best friend in a pickle. Poison are useful, and yes you have to hit to poison them.

Whetstone and poison are your good friends too

One of my quick assassin character have a dagger which is always poisoned, he strike once, run, strike run, strike run. The poison will chip their health slowly while the slower enemies play catch with you.
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I completely forgot about this game. Read about it in like 2012 or something. Didn't know it finally released. Is it any good? I'm bored with most other western rpgs right now and looking for something to scratch that itch.
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apolloooo posted...

Quicksilver potions are your best best friend in a pickle. Poison are useful, and yes you have to hit to poison them.

Not just hit! Also *deal damage*.

I think whetstones will save me some here, since once my crafting gets high they should enable the spear passive to trigger even on its super weak strike.

Figures that I chose the hardest background, lol
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basically i was trying to find a way to 'do more with less' as the creators put it, for the obvious-hybrid praetor

and it seems like spears...don't

the first 3 fights (cassius, the con artist gang, milletitus) are all in super confined rooms
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Okay, I'm now seeing something that I find very strange.

Armor penalties effect dodge: makes sense. Can't dodge about in praetorian armor, sure.

Armor penalties affect block? What? But why? I would've thought the entire point of block was to not deal with armor penalties.
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Darkman124 posted...

Okay, I'm now seeing something that I find very strange.

Armor penalties effect dodge: makes sense. Can't dodge about in praetorian armor, sure.

Armor penalties affect block? What? But why? I would've thought the entire point of block was to not deal with armor penalties.

Yeah, that was one of the few complaints i have seen. But the developers final word is better armor means better DR and it is important to balamce out so blocking and dodging arent really much superior to other.

Basically balancing issues.
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Gotcha. I see the base for block is higher as a compromise, and even low-level crafted armor can be made balanced.

Man...combat without crafting seems impossible.

It's just VERY unintuitive. As a praetorian I was waltzing around with the armor I was given, thinking it was a good idea--every single enemy used torso strikes and penetrated right through, or even headshots when I wasn't wearing a helmet! Clearly they all had ~100% hit chance against me. I'd have been much better off in a balanced suit of lesser armor.
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Both crafting and alchemy can be OP in each of their own way.

It still result in somewhat predictable progression path, but it still works.

For example, heavy armor, equipment dependent build favor crafting because your survival depend on how sharp your blade and how tough your armor is

Dodge focused build dont even need too good of an armour and they can basically just chip away enemies health with poison like i said, as long as it deals damage,the poison will work its way weakening them.

As for equipment itself, there are really good equipment spread troughout the game, usually loot from bosses or special items from stores or quest reward.

My favorite one is really where you can acquire a power armor, and activates its function to its former glory and get the hi tech shield that accompany it. you have to be a bit of asshole to get it, but it was damn worth it haha
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Yeah, I am just trying to wrap my head around the way the game handles defense.

Let me make sure I have this correct:

Dodge and block scores add to your defense rating, and when an enemy attacks you, it's 50+(E. Atk - You Def) % chance to hit. If the enemy fails this check, you either "dodge" or "perfectly block."

Armor penalty reduces your defense %, essentially increasing enemy % chance to hit, possibly making the AI tactics activate things like head attack and torso attack. Blocker with praetorian armor at start will get torso attacked repeatedly as a result.

Block also grants a % chance to add shield DR to armor DR if the enemy hits.

Dodge grants a % chance to counterattack when enemy misses.

Masterwork armor reduces armor penalty, functionally reducing enemy % chance to hit.

Do I have this right? Message seems to be that armor penalty is a HUGE problem for starting characters.

Also...since armor penalty hurts block as much as dodge, I can't shake the suspicion that dodge is 'just better' long run.
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i get it now!

an enemy "missing" you with block as your defense still deals you damage, you just add the shield DR to your total DR! it's just the passive "total block" that lets you fully block all damage.

versus dodge is total damage prevention on enemy miss.

i was wondering why they landed 100% of their hits and I didn't. makes a lot more sense now.

i feel like there is a LOT of conflicting info online that really makes it hard to grasp mechanics, and the game doesn't go out of its way to clarify things.

made a swords/dodge character and plowed through the mining outpost like a hot knife through butter using the scimitar, then annihilated militadius' goons and apparently now i have a reputation for gutting people like fish. no fancy shit required just dex 10 double fast attack with a big weapon that enemies' shield+armor can't reduce fully. only had 4 sw/4 dodge/3 crit

would also help if the game highlighted cover that ranged enemies can't shoot through, the outpost got a lot easier once i realized i could take cover and force the crossbowman to approach me. went back and beat him with my dagger/block build.
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