Well, location damage is no joke. I had some inkling of this before of course but I just fought a quest boss that was in plate mail but without a helmet. Neither of us could damage each other until he failed to block one thrust that hit him in the head and killed him in one hit.
The fact that the sword was poisoned might have helped a bit too.
Yeah but if he was wearing a helmet, how would you know he was important to the story? /warhammer
One of the things that's bugged me about a number of the game's cinematics is that while they'll keep you in whatever clothing and armor you're in, they'll take of your helmet for the scene. Particularly weird when one of them was during an spying mission using a full faced helmet as a disguise. But aside from that, the npcs have an outift with no helmet they use when at home/camp and an outfit of full armor they'll use in events where they go into a fight which still has their clothing layer visible beneath the plate so once the cinematic is done they're back in full armor. Except for this guy who must have stolen all manner of stuff in his career as a bandit but never stole someone's hat.
Yep, i'm in love with this game. Hate the saving, but i actually rather enjoy the lock picking. It's difficult but not impossible. Granted, i'm using KBAM. Controller would be...haneous.
I found 1 bug with starting the learn to read quest while the main story quest was in the vacinity. The learn to read guy never moved and i couldn't save any more.
All told, nothing is more fun then stealth killing an entire bandit camp....it takes a while...but it is entertaining to watch them run when you jump out of bushes by mistake...
Wow, I don't think I have a single stealth kill this entire game. My strategy to bandit camps is basically to put on the heavy armor and then follow the steps in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGuhRsAEPDw
Yep, i'm in love with this game. Hate the saving, but i actually rather enjoy the lock picking. It's difficult but not impossible. Granted, i'm using KBAM. Controller would be...haneous.
I found 1 bug with starting the learn to read quest while the main story quest was in the vacinity. The learn to read guy never moved and i couldn't save any more.
All told, nothing is more fun then stealth killing an entire bandit camp....it takes a while...but it is entertaining to watch them run when you jump out of bushes by mistake...
Lockpicking was easier with a controller earlier albeit poorly explained. The lock would turn way too fast on keyboard and it wasn't too difficult to rotate the left analog stick along with the right. Not like you don't move both at once in a lot of games. But it's faster on mouse and keyboard once you have some skill points and when I eventually do a new game to try new things I would make sure to buy beginner lockpicking training from Pechek and some others.
If you haven't modded the saving system and do want to actually use the schnapps, it's actually really easy to make a bunch. Alchemy is very forgiving, you start with the recipe for schnapps (which the game doesn't really tell you) even if you can't read the words and have to look at the pictures, the Rattay herbalist sells belladona while the other ingredient is common, and so long as you put in the right amount of ingredients you can screw up everything else and still get a potion out. Following the steps just increases the yield up to 3 baseline.
Wow, I don't think I have a single stealth kill this entire game. My strategy to bandit camps is basically to put on the heavy armor and then follow the steps in this video:
And then collect the spurs on the way out.
Stealth is definitely not as developed as the armor and melee. Not to say it's not effective at times but it's a real crapshoot on how the AI is going to react. At a skill of 9 I'm definitely not invisible in armor but it still sometimes makes bandits bug out and not treat me as hostile when they spot me. On top of that, it takes a while for the stealth kill input to register and that's long enough for many enemies to notice you. It was a bit frustrating trying to use it against even isolated Cuman patrollers. Against a target that's sitting down you get more time to use a kill or knockout and obviously against someone still sleeping.
Stealth has generally been more about opportunities to practice lockpicking and pickpocketing or do some quests than for setting up kills.
It's EASIER at night, but not required if your fast enough. The one camp i did it on there was 2 spots of "solitude" that they used. I just bounced between them using "murder run". I only got seen once, but managed to duck into the woods fast enough and he lost track pretty quick.
I also used my scare tactic to create some openings. If you jump at someone from the bushes they take off, leaving their friends back exposed to a knife. Of course sleeping bandits are evidently difficult to wake up. If your noise is low enough.
It's EASIER at night, but not required if your fast enough. The one camp i did it on there was 2 spots of "solitude" that they used. I just bounced between them using "murder run". I only got seen once, but managed to duck into the woods fast enough and he lost track pretty quick.
I also used my scare tactic to create some openings. If you jump at someone from the bushes they take off, leaving their friends back exposed to a knife. Of course sleeping bandits are evidently difficult to wake up. If your noise is low enough.
I suspect my armor is just a bit too visible to stay stealthy. I've sometimes been able to isolate a Cuman but couldn't get close to stealth kill him, only take him out with an arrow. And then I get noticed while trying to loot the guy.
Night would be easier but that doesn't help with sound when sneaking up from behind. Plus traveling at night is a real pain.
I suspect that I could easily pull it off in a forest area where my hunting perk kicks in but what does and does not count as forest seems to be spotty.
Not that it matters a lot. A bandit camp dies really quickly with only the two in better armor and weapons able to even dent my stamina. A Cuman camp is a slightly tougher but it generally only takes one good hit to take one out of the fight. Plate armor and a high defense skill make a huge difference.
There is a huge patch of belladonna in the woods west of Talmberg (40+ plants) . The clearing containing the woodland farm is marked on the map by some tents. There are a few bandits guarding it. I'm torn between grinding out my alchemy skills mass producing savior schnapps, or simply purchasing savior schnapps at the more affordable rare that the bathhouses offer. The main thing stopping me from making all of the options is that the finished product is heavier than the herbs used to make it.
My stealth skill is my highest skill due to me opening every locked chest that I can find. One enjoyable moment was deliberately springing a bandit trap. Although nothing happened when the bait screamed "NOW! GET HIM!" because his friends were already dead.
There is a huge patch of belladonna in the woods west of Talmberg (40+ plants) . The clearing containing the woodland farm is marked on the map by some tents. There are a few bandits guarding it. I'm torn between grinding out my alchemy skills mass producing savior schnapps, or simply purchasing savior schnapps at the more affordable rare that the bathhouses offer. The main thing stopping me from making all of the options is that the finished product is heavier than the herbs used to make it.
My stealth skill is my highest skill due to me opening every locked chest that I can find. One enjoyable moment was deliberately springing a bandit trap. Although nothing happened when the bait screamed "NOW! GET HIM!" because his friends were already dead.
You can always just stash a bunch of them. Or sell them.
I'm curious if there's any good use for a powerful hallucinogen that I experienced as part of a side quest and later found the recipe for. I imagine I would have found alchemy more useful in general had I tried it out earlier instead of after I was already in full plate and able to one shot many enemies with either longsword or bow.
There is a huge patch of belladonna in the woods west of Talmberg (40+ plants) . The clearing containing the woodland farm is marked on the map by some tents. There are a few bandits guarding it. I'm torn between grinding out my alchemy skills mass producing savior schnapps, or simply purchasing savior schnapps at the more affordable rare that the bathhouses offer. The main thing stopping me from making all of the options is that the finished product is heavier than the herbs used to make it.
My stealth skill is my highest skill due to me opening every locked chest that I can find. One enjoyable moment was deliberately springing a bandit trap. Although nothing happened when the bait screamed "NOW! GET HIM!" because his friends were already dead.
You can always just stash a bunch of them. Or sell them.
I'm curious if there's any good use for a powerful hallucinogen that I experienced as part of a side quest and later found the recipe for. I imagine I would have found alchemy more useful in general had I tried it out earlier instead of after I was already in full plate and able to one shot many enemies with either longsword or bow.
Sneak into a bandit camp, pour it into the food pot, then wait for breakfast and record the results?
There is a huge patch of belladonna in the woods west of Talmberg (40+ plants) . The clearing containing the woodland farm is marked on the map by some tents. There are a few bandits guarding it. I'm torn between grinding out my alchemy skills mass producing savior schnapps, or simply purchasing savior schnapps at the more affordable rare that the bathhouses offer. The main thing stopping me from making all of the options is that the finished product is heavier than the herbs used to make it.
My stealth skill is my highest skill due to me opening every locked chest that I can find. One enjoyable moment was deliberately springing a bandit trap. Although nothing happened when the bait screamed "NOW! GET HIM!" because his friends were already dead.
You can always just stash a bunch of them. Or sell them.
I'm curious if there's any good use for a powerful hallucinogen that I experienced as part of a side quest and later found the recipe for. I imagine I would have found alchemy more useful in general had I tried it out earlier instead of after I was already in full plate and able to one shot many enemies with either longsword or bow.
Sneak into a bandit camp, pour it into the food pot, then wait for breakfast and record the results?
That's the obvious thing to try but kind of pointless given that I can just walk into a battle between bandits and Cumans and walk out with only armor damage. Given that it's non-lethal, I'm curious about spiking the village soup pot. I'm sure no one will mind too much.
I failed the lockpick tutorial, it seemed difficult to me. Maybe my mouse sensitivity is too high, I don't know. I am trying to play without doing shady things though, so I guess I don't care, though I imagine at some point the main story line probably makes you do it?
I failed the lockpick tutorial, it seemed difficult to me. Maybe my mouse sensitivity is too high, I don't know. I am trying to play without doing shady things though, so I guess I don't care, though I imagine at some point the main story line probably makes you do it?
There's usually a corresponding key to everything important. If you don't pick the lock open you just need to find the key and pickpocket/knock out/murder whoever has the key.
IMO, lockpicking is mostly useful for leveling your stealth skill. I think what throws people off is that the lock rotates faster than they're comfortable with and they freak out and in turn move the pick too far away from the sweet spot. The lock will stop itself if the sweet spot moves too far away from the pick, and you're usually fine if you don't move the pick further outside the sweet spot. So simply find the sweet spot, start turning the lock and move the pick in a circle at whatever speed that you're comfortable with that is also slower than the lock's rotation rate. That will generally open most locks that you're allowed to attempt.
Lockpicking did give me a quick influx of ~700 G (500 in coin, 200 in goods) shortly after arriving at Rattay. However other methods of farming cash open up shortly after that, and most chests outside the city only have pocket change in them.
DO NOT get the repairman perk. I made two incorrect assumptions with it. One, I thought that breaking my lockpicks would put broken lockpicks in my inventory and that success at future chests would replenish the lost picks. Two, I thought that lockpicks would be rare. But as soon as I unlocked access to fences I saw that I could purchase lockpicks by the dozen from the fence. The STURDY LOCKPICK perk will help you much more.
Also, there are apparently different tiers of "Very hard" locks and no indication as to whether you can attempt to unlock them until you try. Although I've heard that you can cheese the locks by getting the "luck of the drunk" perk and then just spamming lockpicks at it until you get lucky.
I failed the lockpick tutorial, it seemed difficult to me. Maybe my mouse sensitivity is too high, I don't know. I am trying to play without doing shady things though, so I guess I don't care, though I imagine at some point the main story line probably makes you do it?
The lockpick tutorial is on an easy difficult chest. That is harder than the very easy locks.
I'd suggest getting the beginner lockpick training from Peshek before trying the tutorial though, the first few skill levels make a big difference and there's nothing critical to unlock that early anyway.
I failed the lockpick tutorial, it seemed difficult to me. Maybe my mouse sensitivity is too high, I don't know. I am trying to play without doing shady things though, so I guess I don't care, though I imagine at some point the main story line probably makes you do it?
There's usually a corresponding key to everything important. If you don't pick the lock open you just need to find the key and pickpocket/knock out/murder whoever has the key.
IMO, lockpicking is mostly useful for leveling your stealth skill. I think what throws people off is that the lock rotates faster than they're comfortable with and they freak out and in turn move the pick too far away from the sweet spot. The lock will stop itself if the sweet spot moves too far away from the pick, and you're usually fine if you don't move the pick further outside the sweet spot. So simply find the sweet spot, start turning the lock and move the pick in a circle at whatever speed that you're comfortable with that is also slower than the lock's rotation rate. That will generally open most locks that you're allowed to attempt.
Lockpicking did give me a quick influx of ~700 G (500 in coin, 200 in goods) shortly after arriving at Rattay. However other methods of farming cash open up shortly after that, and most chests outside the city only have pocket change in them.
DO NOT get the repairman perk. I made two incorrect assumptions with it. One, I thought that breaking my lockpicks would put broken lockpicks in my inventory and that success at future chests would replenish the lost picks. Two, I thought that lockpicks would be rare. But as soon as I unlocked access to fences I saw that I could purchase lockpicks by the dozen from the fence. The STURDY LOCKPICK perk will help you much more.
Also, there are apparently different tiers of "Very hard" locks and no indication as to whether you can attempt to unlock them until you try. Although I've heard that you can cheese the locks by getting the "luck of the drunk" perk and then just spamming lockpicks at it until you get lucky.
I think the bold is something I wasn't realizing especially.
I picked up the envenomed blade perk from alchemy and put bane poison on my blade. I don't have a baseline for how long poison lasts without the perk, but my weapon was envenomed for at least 24 hours ingame. It was still envenomed when I logged off for the day. I'm starting to wonder if weapons are envenomed by # of hits rather than time.
I picked up the envenomed blade perk from alchemy and put bane poison on my blade. I don't have a baseline for how long poison lasts without the perk, but my weapon was envenomed for at least 24 hours ingame. It was still envenomed when I logged off for the day. I'm starting to wonder if weapons are envenomed by # of hits rather than time.
I suspect that's the case. I poisoned both my longsword and my axe in preparation for something but only fought with my longsword. My axe is still poisoned after a few days.
What are you using the axe for? I've been rolling with the sword for no/light enemies and the mace for plated enemies, since it seemed like those were the best for the two types you find.
Also, do folks have thoughts on using a shield vs two handers?
What are you using the axe for? I've been rolling with the sword for no/light enemies and the mace for plated enemies, since it seemed like those were the best for the two types you find.
Also, do folks have thoughts on using a shield vs two handers?
The axe is strictly for when I have to use a torch in the off hand. It's somewhere between a mace and sword given that it does both blunt and slashing damage. But also, I could actually safely train with axes with Sir Bernard whereas mace training used weak but actual weapons and resulted in actual wounds after a few hits.
Otherwise I strictly use longswords at this point. Plate armor is effective enough to not need a shield and the better reach and damage are really nice.
My lock pick and pick pocket skills are getting on point. My stealth skill is getting up there too. I'm getting much faster at ghosting bandit camps. I finished off 5 guys in about 5 minutes in this one camp. Think i got a little lucky though. I caught one guy alone, knifed him. When his buddies went looking i managed to get 2 of them on the way back without a sound. One of the others went to sleep and that just left one more guy to knife.
My problem is that i can't carry everything i need back to the markets. Every time, "your horse inventory is full". Ugh i need to find some saddle bags bad...
I also found the very hard lockpicks that i can't actually lock pick, even though i can for others. The very hards unlocked at rank 7, i'm rank 9 now and still finding some i can't do. Hopefully rank 10 will get them all open...
My lock pick and pick pocket skills are getting on point. My stealth skill is getting up there too. I'm getting much faster at ghosting bandit camps. I finished off 5 guys in about 5 minutes in this one camp. Think i got a little lucky though. I caught one guy alone, knifed him. When his buddies went looking i managed to get 2 of them on the way back without a sound. One of the others went to sleep and that just left one more guy to knife.
My problem is that i can't carry everything i need back to the markets. Every time, "your horse inventory is full". Ugh i need to find some saddle bags bad...
I also found the very hard lockpicks that i can't actually lock pick, even though i can for others. The very hards unlocked at rank 7, i'm rank 9 now and still finding some i can't do. Hopefully rank 10 will get them all open...
Also consider a new horse. Some carry a lot more and you can browse them while buying a new saddle with saddlebags.
My lock pick and pick pocket skills are getting on point. My stealth skill is getting up there too. I'm getting much faster at ghosting bandit camps. I finished off 5 guys in about 5 minutes in this one camp. Think i got a little lucky though. I caught one guy alone, knifed him. When his buddies went looking i managed to get 2 of them on the way back without a sound. One of the others went to sleep and that just left one more guy to knife.
My problem is that i can't carry everything i need back to the markets. Every time, "your horse inventory is full". Ugh i need to find some saddle bags bad...
I also found the very hard lockpicks that i can't actually lock pick, even though i can for others. The very hards unlocked at rank 7, i'm rank 9 now and still finding some i can't do. Hopefully rank 10 will get them all open...
Also consider a new horse. Some carry a lot more and you can browse them while buying a new saddle with saddlebags.
Not being to own more than one horse was a disappointment. Not like I have much to spend money on so having a collection of horses would have been nice.
Yea i mean i'm not that far into the game, but it's a real missed opportunity to not have some type of home development with stables and workers and everything. Perhaps it's there and i just haven't gotten that far, but i'm kind of doubting it as it's supposed to be a peasant experience. Maybe in the sequal.
Yea i mean i'm not that far into the game, but it's a real missed opportunity to not have some type of home development with stables and workers and everything. Perhaps it's there and i just haven't gotten that far, but i'm kind of doubting it as it's supposed to be a peasant experience. Maybe in the sequal.
As a whole, there's a lot of content that would make sense for the game or was even planned that isn't in. As is, the game was delayed from planned release for like 2 years and I don't think any of the stretch goals made it in though you still see the hooks for them (eg, the butcher's dog as a companion, Theresa playable for at least some side story missions, Henry's dad warning you about crossbows and codex pictures showing crossbows but none being in the game).
I just dinged lockpicking 12 and confirmed that "Lucky Thief" (10% chance to unlock a chest upon breaking a pick) is capable of unlocking Very Hard chests that you are incapable of attempting legitimately. This opens up the potential for some extremely lucrative hauls since the entire shop inventory is within a heavily locked chest. You can clear them completely out. I might be stealing all of the potion recipes in the near future.
I'm gonna need more lockpicks though. I succeeded on one "too difficult" chest on my first try, but then I wasted 25 or so trying again.
edit:
Also the "Stuffing" maintenance perk is great. I had been focusing on mostly light armor for my sneakiness, and stuffing pushed it over the edge so that my noise level is down at zero now.
I just dinged lockpicking 12 and confirmed that "Lucky Thief" (10% chance to unlock a chest upon breaking a pick) is capable of unlocking Very Hard chests that you are incapable of attempting legitimately. This opens up the potential for some extremely lucrative hauls since the entire shop inventory is within a heavily locked chest. You can clear them completely out. I might be stealing all of the potion recipes in the near future.
I'm gonna need more lockpicks though. I succeeded on one "too difficult" chest on my first try, but then I wasted 25 or so trying again.
edit:
Also the "Stuffing" maintenance perk is great. I had been focusing on mostly light armor for my sneakiness, and stuffing pushed it over the edge so that my noise level is down at zero now.
Lucky Drunk is also capable of pushing one over the edge to unlock very hard chests. Just gotta deal with the bit of stumbling around afterwards but probably easier to find alcohol than that many lockpicks.
The maintenance perks in general are extremely strong. I make less sound with some of my mail layers on than I do without them. And it's an easy skill to raise since your armor and weapons will take damage often and grindstones can repair even badly damaged bladed weapons you loot for free while boosting your skill.
I considered lucky drunk, but the noise boost didn't sit well with me. I'll probably pick both it up and the noise reduction perk soon. I think a respec potion is in the works? I'll ditch "repairman" in a heartbeat for one of those. Lockpicks are dime a dozen though. Just buy them in bulk from your local miller. Before I started spamming lockpicks to try and force open chests, I think that I had only broken a dozen picks tops since I figured out the training chest. Repairman has by far been my worst perk choice.
I did pick up the "Drunk" perk, but I don't know if it works like I thought it worked? It's supposed to remove the negative effects of drinking as long as you don't drink yourself into oblivion, but it worsens your hangovers. I thought that it might let me drink Lazarus potions without wobbling around, but apparently not.
I considered lucky drunk, but the noise boost didn't sit well with me. I'll probably pick both it up and the noise reduction perk soon. I think a respec potion is in the works? I'll ditch "repairman" in a heartbeat for one of those. Lockpicks are dime a dozen though. Just buy them in bulk from your local miller. Before I started spamming lockpicks to try and force open chests, I think that I had only broken a dozen picks tops since I figured out the training chest. Repairman has by far been my worst perk choice.
I did pick up the "Drunk" perk, but I don't know if it works like I thought it worked? It's supposed to remove the negative effects of drinking as long as you don't drink yourself into oblivion, but it worsens your hangovers. I thought that it might let me drink Lazarus potions without wobbling around, but apparently not.
The extra noise is a concern but most of the very hard locks I encounter are pretty far away from people so it doesn't matter as long as you open the lock. But I'm also not going on any burglary sprees, it's more for dealing with the occasional very hard chest I see in a bandit/Cuman camp.
Lockpicks are cheap, I'm just usually pretty far away from a shady miller. The ones inside of Sasau and Ledetchko are on the up and up. On the other hand, I always have some alcohol on hand because of potions and alchemy.
I think the negative effects that perk refers to are the stat/skill debuffs you get if your drunk status goes too far. You still get the wobble even in the phase where you get social buffs.
I find that a lot of the very hard chests are at the foot of the merchant's bed or in the same room, and their stats are generally geared towards detecting thievery.
I can appreciate that they did not want you to be an immortal god of war who slaughters whole armies on your own, but i can't help but feel that they've gone a bit too far on the other direction.
Atleast in the beginning, the character controls like he was drunk, and it's all but impossible to hit anything from horseback.
Why do i even have to swing at things from horseback?
The swords pointy, just point it at things and charge at them.
I find that a lot of the very hard chests are at the foot of the merchant's bed or in the same room, and their stats are generally geared towards detecting thievery.
I've seen some people recommend breaking into those while the merchant is awake and therefore not in bed. Though there's also the option of pickpocketing the key while they're asleep instead. I do know that the cluster of shops around the Rathaus in Rattay have at least some of their chests in a separate room from the bed. I have to assume the room full of chests filled with armor was the armorsmith's storage room. Similarly, the herbalist has very hard chests in the room between the storefront and the alchemy station while I assume his bed is upstairs.
It's going to be somewhat of a moot point for many people unless they do the pickpocketing route though. By the time I was good enough at lockpicking to open a very hard chest, I had a ridiculous amount of money already in large part due to poaching animals and selling the cooked meat. One deer or boar is a huge payout, moreso if you have the Butcher trait as deer liver and kidneys sell for a lot on top of the meat.
I find that a lot of the very hard chests are at the foot of the merchant's bed or in the same room, and their stats are generally geared towards detecting thievery.
I've seen some people recommend breaking into those while the merchant is awake and therefore not in bed. Though there's also the option of pickpocketing the key while they're asleep instead. I do know that the cluster of shops around the Rathaus in Rattay have at least some of their chests in a separate room from the bed. I have to assume the room full of chests filled with armor was the armorsmith's storage room. Similarly, the herbalist has very hard chests in the room between the storefront and the alchemy station while I assume his bed is upstairs.
It's going to be somewhat of a moot point for many people unless they do the pickpocketing route though. By the time I was good enough at lockpicking to open a very hard chest, I had a ridiculous amount of money already in large part due to poaching animals and selling the cooked meat. One deer or boar is a huge payout, moreso if you have the Butcher trait as deer liver and kidneys sell for a lot on top of the meat.
Certainly. Lockpicking has not been a major money maker for me at all. Most of my funds came from dispatching camps of bandits and cumans. Furthermore I fear that actually going through with stealing the shop's inventory will be akin to killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. I mostly open the chests because they're there. I'll take any coin or skill books that I find but almost always leave everything else.
It is however still a superb way to level your stealth stat. Although at times it seems like the game's programming for greeting you isn't tied to stealth. For example, let's say that I'm hiding after opening a chest woke up an npc:
"what was that noise??"
"Hello Henry! It's good to see you!"
"hmm, it was probably nothing. I must be going crazy"
I find that a lot of the very hard chests are at the foot of the merchant's bed or in the same room, and their stats are generally geared towards detecting thievery.
I've seen some people recommend breaking into those while the merchant is awake and therefore not in bed. Though there's also the option of pickpocketing the key while they're asleep instead. I do know that the cluster of shops around the Rathaus in Rattay have at least some of their chests in a separate room from the bed. I have to assume the room full of chests filled with armor was the armorsmith's storage room. Similarly, the herbalist has very hard chests in the room between the storefront and the alchemy station while I assume his bed is upstairs.
It's going to be somewhat of a moot point for many people unless they do the pickpocketing route though. By the time I was good enough at lockpicking to open a very hard chest, I had a ridiculous amount of money already in large part due to poaching animals and selling the cooked meat. One deer or boar is a huge payout, moreso if you have the Butcher trait as deer liver and kidneys sell for a lot on top of the meat.
Certainly. Lockpicking has not been a major money maker for me at all. Most of my funds came from dispatching camps of bandits and cumans. Furthermore I fear that actually going through with stealing the shop's inventory will be akin to killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. I mostly open the chests because they're there. I'll take any coin or skill books that I find but almost always leave everything else.
It is however still a superb way to level your stealth stat. Although at times it seems like the game's programming for greeting you isn't tied to stealth. For example, let's say that I'm hiding after opening a chest woke up an npc:
"what was that noise??"
"Hello Henry! It's good to see you!"
"hmm, it was probably nothing. I must be going crazy"
There are definitely a number of systems that don't seem properly hooked up to each other. The greeting at high rep is a very noticeable cue. I've also had things like bandits be completely non hostile if I was sneaking but spotted like the AI to investigate sounds and sights was overriding combat routines.
Another one that's likely more due to no scripting attached to something as opposed to conflicting scripting is that I've been made the huntsman of a region but anything I harvest from animals is still considered stolen despite having quests to collect game meat for a noble banquet and taking items from my office's containers is still flagged as stealing.
Giving this a rest for awhile until a few patches drop. There's some good stuff in this game, but I am on the third major questline in a row that has bugged out repeatedly. It would be bad enough, but the save system has meant that I have lost half and hour to an hour each time.
Giving this a rest for awhile until a few patches drop. There's some good stuff in this game, but I am on the third major questline in a row that has bugged out repeatedly. It would be bad enough, but the save system has meant that I have lost half and hour to an hour each time.
It's definitely one I advise most people to wait on. I've modded the save system on PC. I can't imagine playing it on console like this.
I haven't had issues with the save system and I savescum like crazy some nights.
I save every day at a bath house to collect clean clothes, full nutrition, full energy, and +2 charisma. The bath houses also sell savior schnapps at discount prices. If stocking up at the bath house everyday isn't sufficient, then it's easy to mass produce them at the alchemy bench. The steps synch up with the timer, so you don't even need to watch the clock.
*Pour wine into the pot
*2x belladonna in mortar /pestle (don't grind yet)
*1x nettles in the pot
*Spam the bellows until it starts boiling and then ~3 more times for good measure.
*Grind belladonna and immediately put it into the pot
*grab a phial and immediately collect the potion
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One of the things that's bugged me about a number of the game's cinematics is that while they'll keep you in whatever clothing and armor you're in, they'll take of your helmet for the scene. Particularly weird when one of them was during an spying mission using a full faced helmet as a disguise. But aside from that, the npcs have an outift with no helmet they use when at home/camp and an outfit of full armor they'll use in events where they go into a fight which still has their clothing layer visible beneath the plate so once the cinematic is done they're back in full armor. Except for this guy who must have stolen all manner of stuff in his career as a bandit but never stole someone's hat.
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3DS: 3454-0268-5595 Battle.net: SteelAngel#1772
I found 1 bug with starting the learn to read quest while the main story quest was in the vacinity. The learn to read guy never moved and i couldn't save any more.
All told, nothing is more fun then stealth killing an entire bandit camp....it takes a while...but it is entertaining to watch them run when you jump out of bushes by mistake...
And then collect the spurs on the way out.
Lockpicking was easier with a controller earlier albeit poorly explained. The lock would turn way too fast on keyboard and it wasn't too difficult to rotate the left analog stick along with the right. Not like you don't move both at once in a lot of games. But it's faster on mouse and keyboard once you have some skill points and when I eventually do a new game to try new things I would make sure to buy beginner lockpicking training from Pechek and some others.
If you haven't modded the saving system and do want to actually use the schnapps, it's actually really easy to make a bunch. Alchemy is very forgiving, you start with the recipe for schnapps (which the game doesn't really tell you) even if you can't read the words and have to look at the pictures, the Rattay herbalist sells belladona while the other ingredient is common, and so long as you put in the right amount of ingredients you can screw up everything else and still get a potion out. Following the steps just increases the yield up to 3 baseline.
Stealth is definitely not as developed as the armor and melee. Not to say it's not effective at times but it's a real crapshoot on how the AI is going to react. At a skill of 9 I'm definitely not invisible in armor but it still sometimes makes bandits bug out and not treat me as hostile when they spot me. On top of that, it takes a while for the stealth kill input to register and that's long enough for many enemies to notice you. It was a bit frustrating trying to use it against even isolated Cuman patrollers. Against a target that's sitting down you get more time to use a kill or knockout and obviously against someone still sleeping.
Stealth has generally been more about opportunities to practice lockpicking and pickpocketing or do some quests than for setting up kills.
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3DS: 3454-0268-5595 Battle.net: SteelAngel#1772
I also used my scare tactic to create some openings. If you jump at someone from the bushes they take off, leaving their friends back exposed to a knife. Of course sleeping bandits are evidently difficult to wake up. If your noise is low enough.
I suspect my armor is just a bit too visible to stay stealthy. I've sometimes been able to isolate a Cuman but couldn't get close to stealth kill him, only take him out with an arrow. And then I get noticed while trying to loot the guy.
Night would be easier but that doesn't help with sound when sneaking up from behind. Plus traveling at night is a real pain.
I suspect that I could easily pull it off in a forest area where my hunting perk kicks in but what does and does not count as forest seems to be spotty.
Not that it matters a lot. A bandit camp dies really quickly with only the two in better armor and weapons able to even dent my stamina. A Cuman camp is a slightly tougher but it generally only takes one good hit to take one out of the fight. Plate armor and a high defense skill make a huge difference.
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3DS: 3454-0268-5595 Battle.net: SteelAngel#1772
My stealth skill is my highest skill due to me opening every locked chest that I can find. One enjoyable moment was deliberately springing a bandit trap. Although nothing happened when the bait screamed "NOW! GET HIM!" because his friends were already dead.
Armchair: 4098-3704-2012
You can always just stash a bunch of them. Or sell them.
I'm curious if there's any good use for a powerful hallucinogen that I experienced as part of a side quest and later found the recipe for. I imagine I would have found alchemy more useful in general had I tried it out earlier instead of after I was already in full plate and able to one shot many enemies with either longsword or bow.
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3DS: 3454-0268-5595 Battle.net: SteelAngel#1772
Sneak into a bandit camp, pour it into the food pot, then wait for breakfast and record the results?
Armchair: 4098-3704-2012
That's the obvious thing to try but kind of pointless given that I can just walk into a battle between bandits and Cumans and walk out with only armor damage. Given that it's non-lethal, I'm curious about spiking the village soup pot. I'm sure no one will mind too much.
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3DS: 3454-0268-5595 Battle.net: SteelAngel#1772
There's usually a corresponding key to everything important. If you don't pick the lock open you just need to find the key and pickpocket/knock out/murder whoever has the key.
IMO, lockpicking is mostly useful for leveling your stealth skill. I think what throws people off is that the lock rotates faster than they're comfortable with and they freak out and in turn move the pick too far away from the sweet spot. The lock will stop itself if the sweet spot moves too far away from the pick, and you're usually fine if you don't move the pick further outside the sweet spot. So simply find the sweet spot, start turning the lock and move the pick in a circle at whatever speed that you're comfortable with that is also slower than the lock's rotation rate. That will generally open most locks that you're allowed to attempt.
Lockpicking did give me a quick influx of ~700 G (500 in coin, 200 in goods) shortly after arriving at Rattay. However other methods of farming cash open up shortly after that, and most chests outside the city only have pocket change in them.
DO NOT get the repairman perk. I made two incorrect assumptions with it. One, I thought that breaking my lockpicks would put broken lockpicks in my inventory and that success at future chests would replenish the lost picks. Two, I thought that lockpicks would be rare. But as soon as I unlocked access to fences I saw that I could purchase lockpicks by the dozen from the fence. The STURDY LOCKPICK perk will help you much more.
Also, there are apparently different tiers of "Very hard" locks and no indication as to whether you can attempt to unlock them until you try. Although I've heard that you can cheese the locks by getting the "luck of the drunk" perk and then just spamming lockpicks at it until you get lucky.
Armchair: 4098-3704-2012
The lockpick tutorial is on an easy difficult chest. That is harder than the very easy locks.
I'd suggest getting the beginner lockpick training from Peshek before trying the tutorial though, the first few skill levels make a big difference and there's nothing critical to unlock that early anyway.
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3DS: 3454-0268-5595 Battle.net: SteelAngel#1772
I think the bold is something I wasn't realizing especially.
I'm pretty annoyed right now.
Armchair: 4098-3704-2012
Gotta level up that drinking skill somehow!
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3DS: 3454-0268-5595 Battle.net: SteelAngel#1772
Armchair: 4098-3704-2012
I suspect that's the case. I poisoned both my longsword and my axe in preparation for something but only fought with my longsword. My axe is still poisoned after a few days.
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3DS: 3454-0268-5595 Battle.net: SteelAngel#1772
Also, do folks have thoughts on using a shield vs two handers?
The axe is strictly for when I have to use a torch in the off hand. It's somewhere between a mace and sword given that it does both blunt and slashing damage. But also, I could actually safely train with axes with Sir Bernard whereas mace training used weak but actual weapons and resulted in actual wounds after a few hits.
Otherwise I strictly use longswords at this point. Plate armor is effective enough to not need a shield and the better reach and damage are really nice.
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3DS: 3454-0268-5595 Battle.net: SteelAngel#1772
My problem is that i can't carry everything i need back to the markets. Every time, "your horse inventory is full". Ugh i need to find some saddle bags bad...
I also found the very hard lockpicks that i can't actually lock pick, even though i can for others. The very hards unlocked at rank 7, i'm rank 9 now and still finding some i can't do. Hopefully rank 10 will get them all open...
Also consider a new horse. Some carry a lot more and you can browse them while buying a new saddle with saddlebags.
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3DS: 3454-0268-5595 Battle.net: SteelAngel#1772
Pebbles and I will never be parted.
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3DS: 3454-0268-5595 Battle.net: SteelAngel#1772
As a whole, there's a lot of content that would make sense for the game or was even planned that isn't in. As is, the game was delayed from planned release for like 2 years and I don't think any of the stretch goals made it in though you still see the hooks for them (eg, the butcher's dog as a companion, Theresa playable for at least some side story missions, Henry's dad warning you about crossbows and codex pictures showing crossbows but none being in the game).
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3DS: 3454-0268-5595 Battle.net: SteelAngel#1772
I'm gonna need more lockpicks though. I succeeded on one "too difficult" chest on my first try, but then I wasted 25 or so trying again.
edit:
Also the "Stuffing" maintenance perk is great. I had been focusing on mostly light armor for my sneakiness, and stuffing pushed it over the edge so that my noise level is down at zero now.
Armchair: 4098-3704-2012
Lucky Drunk is also capable of pushing one over the edge to unlock very hard chests. Just gotta deal with the bit of stumbling around afterwards but probably easier to find alcohol than that many lockpicks.
The maintenance perks in general are extremely strong. I make less sound with some of my mail layers on than I do without them. And it's an easy skill to raise since your armor and weapons will take damage often and grindstones can repair even badly damaged bladed weapons you loot for free while boosting your skill.
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3DS: 3454-0268-5595 Battle.net: SteelAngel#1772
I did pick up the "Drunk" perk, but I don't know if it works like I thought it worked? It's supposed to remove the negative effects of drinking as long as you don't drink yourself into oblivion, but it worsens your hangovers. I thought that it might let me drink Lazarus potions without wobbling around, but apparently not.
Armchair: 4098-3704-2012
The extra noise is a concern but most of the very hard locks I encounter are pretty far away from people so it doesn't matter as long as you open the lock. But I'm also not going on any burglary sprees, it's more for dealing with the occasional very hard chest I see in a bandit/Cuman camp.
Lockpicks are cheap, I'm just usually pretty far away from a shady miller. The ones inside of Sasau and Ledetchko are on the up and up. On the other hand, I always have some alcohol on hand because of potions and alchemy.
I think the negative effects that perk refers to are the stat/skill debuffs you get if your drunk status goes too far. You still get the wobble even in the phase where you get social buffs.
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3DS: 3454-0268-5595 Battle.net: SteelAngel#1772
Armchair: 4098-3704-2012
Atleast in the beginning, the character controls like he was drunk, and it's all but impossible to hit anything from horseback.
Why do i even have to swing at things from horseback?
The swords pointy, just point it at things and charge at them.
I've seen some people recommend breaking into those while the merchant is awake and therefore not in bed. Though there's also the option of pickpocketing the key while they're asleep instead. I do know that the cluster of shops around the Rathaus in Rattay have at least some of their chests in a separate room from the bed. I have to assume the room full of chests filled with armor was the armorsmith's storage room. Similarly, the herbalist has very hard chests in the room between the storefront and the alchemy station while I assume his bed is upstairs.
It's going to be somewhat of a moot point for many people unless they do the pickpocketing route though. By the time I was good enough at lockpicking to open a very hard chest, I had a ridiculous amount of money already in large part due to poaching animals and selling the cooked meat. One deer or boar is a huge payout, moreso if you have the Butcher trait as deer liver and kidneys sell for a lot on top of the meat.
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3DS: 3454-0268-5595 Battle.net: SteelAngel#1772
Certainly. Lockpicking has not been a major money maker for me at all. Most of my funds came from dispatching camps of bandits and cumans. Furthermore I fear that actually going through with stealing the shop's inventory will be akin to killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. I mostly open the chests because they're there. I'll take any coin or skill books that I find but almost always leave everything else.
It is however still a superb way to level your stealth stat. Although at times it seems like the game's programming for greeting you isn't tied to stealth. For example, let's say that I'm hiding after opening a chest woke up an npc:
"what was that noise??"
"Hello Henry! It's good to see you!"
"hmm, it was probably nothing. I must be going crazy"
Armchair: 4098-3704-2012
There are definitely a number of systems that don't seem properly hooked up to each other. The greeting at high rep is a very noticeable cue. I've also had things like bandits be completely non hostile if I was sneaking but spotted like the AI to investigate sounds and sights was overriding combat routines.
Another one that's likely more due to no scripting attached to something as opposed to conflicting scripting is that I've been made the huntsman of a region but anything I harvest from animals is still considered stolen despite having quests to collect game meat for a noble banquet and taking items from my office's containers is still flagged as stealing.
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3DS: 3454-0268-5595 Battle.net: SteelAngel#1772
It's definitely one I advise most people to wait on. I've modded the save system on PC. I can't imagine playing it on console like this.
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3DS: 3454-0268-5595 Battle.net: SteelAngel#1772
I save every day at a bath house to collect clean clothes, full nutrition, full energy, and +2 charisma. The bath houses also sell savior schnapps at discount prices. If stocking up at the bath house everyday isn't sufficient, then it's easy to mass produce them at the alchemy bench. The steps synch up with the timer, so you don't even need to watch the clock.
*Pour wine into the pot
*2x belladonna in mortar /pestle (don't grind yet)
*1x nettles in the pot
*Spam the bellows until it starts boiling and then ~3 more times for good measure.
*Grind belladonna and immediately put it into the pot
*grab a phial and immediately collect the potion
Then out pop 3 savior schnapps.
Armchair: 4098-3704-2012