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[Gridders] Delving dungeons one step at a time
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That's how I think of them, but I could see ambivalence towards that term since Wizardry 8 no longer falls into the category. Also, I tend not to think of the realtime free-combat games (Dungeon Master, EotB, Dungeon Hack, Lands of Lore, Stonekeep, Grimrock) as Wizardry-likes.
"Such powerful magic that can point to a map!"
Let me know what you think of them - I have a vita, and would like another game to play on breaks at work.
Don't be shy asking for tips for Elminage if you decide to get that one. I finished it not too long ago and it's still fresh in my memory.
It's actually pretty tough, if you want to min/max. In case you don't know much about M&M, it's not like a D&D-style game where stats have low caps and stuff only increases permanently at level up. I would almost classify M&M as an arcadey RPG, kind of fast and loose rather than pseudo-simulationist. You can get stat boosts all over the place by drinking from barrels of colored liquid. There are a limited number of permanent stat boosts in the game. There are also some stat boosts that you can only get if that stat is under a certain amount, which means you want to get to those as soon as you possibly can so you don't go over that number ahead of time and waste your chance.
One place early on in MM4 (Cloudside) has pools you can bathe in to increase personality and endurance by 5, as much as you want, but only if the stat is 20 or less. So you want to roll up characters whose personality and endurance are multiples of 5, and don't get any other stat boosts until you get to that point, so everyone can have 25 in those stats.
The worst thing is that the biggest boost in the game comes almost at the end of everything, in MM5 (Darkside). You have to progress through almost all of the main quest, killing some pretty tough enemies along the way, to get to a strange energy device which raises all stats by 50 if they are 49 or less. It's very tough to get to that point with stats that low, though the right equipment and a high level can help. And obviously it means skipping a lot of stat boosts along the way. I was able to get to it with most stats around 49, but I didn't know about this for a while, so some of my guys had just barely cleared 50 points in some stats before reading up on it, which sucks.
One other boost on Darkside is in the Temple of Bark that gives +19 to all stats for everyone, and that alone gets you most of the way toward that 49 limit.
Another thing about MM4 and 5 is that level ups become ridiculously expensive later on. You start off the game getting almost too much money, but if you don't hoard it in the bank and earn lots of interest, you'll run out quickly later on. Heck, you'll run out quickly even if you do hoard, since the max level is 255 and each level costs millions of gold by level 100ish. That's another thing to save for later on...there are immediate level boosts in the game, and obviously the longer you can wait to use those, the more money you save.
The best way to never have to worry about money in MM4 and 5 is to start the game with a throwaway party and make them work odd jobs in town for weeks on end, invest it all in the bank, and compound interest for a good 70 years. Then you trash that old party (age brings stat reductions) and roll up your real party with 300 million gold in the bank. Of course then you have to keep an eye on the interest, because somewhere after 400 million, it rolls back to 0...
Some things about the game are really annoying. It's tough to weigh the value of different equipment before you learn the difference (is wood better than glass? Is bronze better than brass?) so it's easiest to use a guide. And they don't give you any clue as to your HP total on the main screen, just a gem that is green, yellow, or red. Can't believe there isn't even a health bar.
But overall it's a pretty cool and expansive game that is neat to explore.
Priceless.
It may be awhile. I'm still playing Bravely Default and just got two of the games on the list for my 3DS.
Unrelated to our thread, I picked up Sorcery Saga: Curse of the Great Curry God for the Vita, because it amused my wife so very very much.
@UncleSporky I always did love the Might and Magic series!
I don't bother with min/maxing Xeen because when you combine the two games, you'll be powerful enough to make the game fairly easy regardless. Even when I ran out of money to make use of those accumulated experience points, I had no trouble finishing the game. I think the effort is worth it only if you intend to go after the megadragon challenge.
If anything, the game had a lot of character. So much bizarre stuff that come out of left field to completely baffle you. I don't want to spoil anything because it's the surprise element that makes it so funny, but there are lot of LOLWUT moments in Xeen.
I think there were some upgrades to the inventory management between 3 and 4, but my recollection of it is hazy.
Inventory management is the worst part of MM 3-5. Eventually I just chose equipment based on their sale value. I know it's not an accurate way to handle it, but considering I found the difficulty level of the games fairly low, it didn't really matter in the end. I overall played the games with a carefree attitude on character advancement and equipment, and it worked out just fine.
Some of the questions make me shudder, though. No,Ubisoft, I would not be interested in a M&M MMO. I wish they could have taken MMX as a sign that old-school RPGs are still hot, but I guess not.
That and I need to see if they have a Mac version.
I made sure to tell them I wasn't interested in an MMO or a fucking MOBA
Most people appear to be very happy with it. It seemed to me most of the complaints were about the technical issues, or MM6 fans complaining about the grid and that you can't fly and cast meteor.
Complaints about the technical problems have mostly quieted down after the big patch, and I'm assuming you don't have a problem with the grid since you're here.
That's scheduled to come out this Thursday.
This first Titan is kinda rough. Poor Hector is getting the snot kicked out of him.
I'm surprised how easy this game has become. It was tough as nails in the beginning, but now even bosses and FOEs aren't even making me break a sweat. I wonder how many players never even reached the second strata thinking the whole game is going to be a grind?
At least in Eo1/Eo2 you could make virtually unkillable parties eventually. Eo3 they started to balance things, and Eo4 they completely nerfed skills in general to make them tame and boring. Eo3 is pretty much the apex of the series' character mechanics, and probably the best game of the lot.
Currently playing: GW2 and TSW
Orcs & Elves was a no-go, then?
I can't find it on any reputable sites. You linked a couple I didn't know and was suspicious of, but it's not available anywhere I'd normally trust for a game.
That's too bad. I guess it's so old it's pretty much gone.
Currently playing: GW2 and TSW
No, it was the other Doom guy: John Carmack. It's interesting but they reused the engine and made the very similar Doom 2 RPG, which is pretty good actually!
Did you try QuestLord? Has swipe combat, kinda simple, but it's entertaining.
There's always DosBox for Android to fall back to. I keep the nine SSI Gold Box games, M&M, and Wizardry with me on the go.
Wow. I wonder if there is a DosBox version for iOS. I'll have to look into that!
There's probably ScummVM then, too. It runs Lands of Lore 1.
In fact, maybe it's time to bust out the PS2 Wizardry again...
3DS: 1607-3034-6970
It's also unrelentingly brutal, in a good way! The art and music are really great too, I'm glad I picked it up!
The auto-move function sounds handy. I get the impression this will be a good introductory gridder. The problem with a lot of Japanese Wizardry clones is that if you don't have earlier experience with them, they can be fairly obtuse.
I don't know if they're going to have you draw a path or just touch a destination and calculate the best route. Calculating it is what I'd do. And after combat it'd be like "continue to indicated destination?" and you'd be able to just resume.
Next up: Might&Magic X: Legacy. Tips, anyone?
I've just finished the free iOS gridded, and have a hankering for another game.