Krishh
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You should first read the authors own post about the game, but I'd just like to add that the story is very well-written, even if it takes a while to get going, the combat system is comparativly interesting for a console style RPG, and very well balanced, so that bosses are always quite challanging but you never have to grind. The hex minigame is also suprisingly interesting and balanced. And the game really is that long, I'm currently clocked at 34 hours and am only near the end of the storyline. And then there's still a ton of optional content left, since most of it takes place after the story.

Mattcrampy
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And thus demonstrating that the only good thing to come out of Something Awful is the forums.

...I'm sorry, I'm a tad bitter. I have a cream for it.

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Dex Stewart
Level: Smiter
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I have one question: do NPC's ever lose all their Hex cards?

silver
Level: Smitemaster
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push 'x' to get to status anywhere. just can't _save_ except at crystals.

and it appears not, Dex.



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[Last edited by silver at 06-16-2007 11:06 PM]

Jatopian
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I think the minigame really blows everything else out of the water.
I had to grind a little bit to beat the first boss. It would be nice if one could see opponent HP.

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Krishh
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Really, you had to grind? This game pretty much requires you to use items for bosses, and I used up 3 green herbs and a healing wind to defeat the first boss at level 3. And there's a spellcard a bit later on that shows an opponents stats.

Dex Stewart
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I'm grinding for another reason: I really want both the air bow and the steal card.

I'm grinding hex cards, that is.

Is there any sure-fire way to get a hex card? Because I tried about 50 duels with all 6 characters I can challenge right now and couldn't yet get that last Brigand I need for the steal spellcard .

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[Last edited by Dex Stewart at 06-17-2007 03:46 PM]

Jatopian
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I beat the first boss at level 5, using no items.

I am now in the underground waterway, and I think I've screwed myself: I'm at the save point just before the boss, and I don't have a tent. Somehow I never realized those were one-use items. I could heal myself with other items, but then I wouldn't have them for the battle. And to top all that off, the boss apparently gets two turns per round. My party is level 14/15... should I just redo this whole section? And does anyone have tips? And is it worth stealing the water sceptre thing?

Dex Stewart wrote:
I'm grinding for another reason: I really want both the air bow and the steal card.

Don't grind for those. You'll get both soon enough if you keep questing.
Have you figured out any good strategies for the minigame? Because I seem to only be able to get good enough to win half the time.

____________________________
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Make your pressure plates 3.0 style!
DROD architecture idea generator

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[Last edited by Jatopian at 06-17-2007 09:06 PM : smiley fix]

Krishh
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That's one the hardest bosses in the early part of the game, so you are a bit ill prepared, and might have to restart the area if you don't have enough items and mana for both healing and the battle. Tents are a pretty popular stealable item, so you could check if any of the monsters in the area have one, though I don't remember any. And the sceptre is quite nice, better than her current and next possible weapon, I think. On the other hand, she rarely uses her weapons anyway.

As for Hex, the main strategy is to capture cards that are about to be closed off or that your opponent won't be able to take back. (The game has open hands for a reason. You can always check what the opponent has left to attack a particular tile with.) The other part is hand selection. A working strategy is to place some high defense cards and then, when the opponent bunches up around that card, you take out a couple of his tiles with a card with a wide attack range. And possibly a couple of high attack cards to snipe high defense cards. Also, if you start, notice which direnction most of your cards attack, and place the first card near that corner, since the cards tend to build up around the first card.

eytanz
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My current hex tactic - which becomes possible shortly after the waterway, and allowed me to win all the matches I've seen so far (my enemies are using cards from the first four pages, so once they advance I'll probably need to change tactics) is as follows:

- Get as many undines as I can get my hands on.
- Use only undines (and starshines, but I've only gotten one so far, off a boss).
- Unless your opponent is playing really high HP cards, it doesn't matter what they do. Use the undines in places where they can flip at least two cards at once - the undine itself will flip to the opponent 95% of the time, but if you gain two cards for the one you lose you're fine.
- If you can flip a card that can no longer be flipped back (because it has no empty neighbors), do so. Otherwise, flip the most cards you can.

That's it, really. The main threat to this tactic is undines played by your opponent, but just grab those when you win and then you can play again for the rarer cards.

(Edit: Now that I completed the game, I'll mention that this tactic basically won most games for me - replacing the undines with starshines once they become common - until I started getting the unique cards, and then I switched to using them, not because they're better, but because it's more fun that way.)

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[Last edited by eytanz at 06-23-2007 04:47 AM]

Jatopian
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Thanks, eytanz. Now I just need to get some undines. So far I've seen little requirement to play Hex, except for the trading post - I wonder if one can beat the game without playing...
I also wonder whether Falgorn is possible to defeat (I'm guessing not, given the proceding events).
I also also wonder if anyone knows whether a Knight Shield is worth farming for, and whether a Disenchant spellcard is worth stealing (I'm about to face the dark sorcerer).

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Make your pressure plates 3.0 style!
DROD architecture idea generator

eytanz
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Jatopian wrote:

I also also wonder if anyone knows whether a Knight Shield is worth farming for,

No. By the time it's of any use, you can buy them (pretty cheaply).

and whether a Disenchant spellcard is worth stealing (I'm about to face the dark sorcerer).

I'm considerably further than you are (my characters are level 39) and I have never used the disenchant card, even though I've had it equipped (on one of my melee characters) for a while.

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[Last edited by eytanz at 06-19-2007 04:13 AM]

Jatopian
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I just want to say that the sentry pillars and riftgate are the most hilarious bosses ever. I like that this game forces me to actually strategize.
I don't, however, care much for the relative placement of those two.

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Make your pressure plates 3.0 style!
DROD architecture idea generator

eytanz
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Yeah, this game as a rule has really good bosses, and occasionally lousy placement. I'm now before the last section of the game, mopping up on the optional quests before going to face the final boss. Well, at the moment I'm levelling up and collecting equipment to be able to solve the optional quests...

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eytanz
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Quick question for people who completed the game -

Is it important, for either the final dungeon or the optional quests, to worry about equipment for all the characters? Or can I get away with just arming my four primary characters?

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Krishh
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Yes, you can get away with that, at least for the final dungeon. The one thing that you should have before doing the final boss are 70 unique hex cards. (tiles collected under the hex list, cards you've had at one point but don't anymore count too)

eytanz
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Hmm... Ok - second question, then -

Does beating the final boss end the game, or can I go back and solve the optional dungeons later? Just curious as I do want to see the end of the story (which is excellent), but I'd rather not play through it twice.

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Krishh
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You'll have to play through it twice anyway, if you plan on completing ALL of the optional content (that is, defeating the very last optional boss), but continuing the game is what the 70 cards are for. On the other hand, the equipment and levels you get through the high-level optional stuff make him a breeze. I still have have at least 3 dungeons and 7 standalone bosses left, and I can now defeat him without problems.

silver
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eytanz wrote:
Hmm... Ok - second question, then -

Does beating the final boss end the game, or can I go back and solve the optional dungeons later? Just curious as I do want to see the end of the story (which is excellent), but I'd rather not play through it twice.

I thought save points allowed one to see the end of the story and then restore to before the end of the story to go get optional content

weird. on the SA forum thread, they said it was 90 hex cards for New Game+. I also am unclear why you need a second playthrough to beat the 100 hex card boss?


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Krishh
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You need 70 cards to continue playing after the last boss. He gives good experience, so it might be worth it instead of just reloading the last save. I guess I wasn't clear enough, by 'it' I meant the last boss and I doubt eytanz wants to wait until level 99 to see the end of the story, so he'd have to defeat the last boss twice.

silver
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ah, okay.

"So you haven't [explored it] yet?"
"No, I haven't, actually. I don't know why not really, what with it being so easy to reach and not at all crawling with soldiers."


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[Last edited by silver at 06-21-2007 12:42 AM]

Jatopian
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I have made it to the boss in the Altar of Memory. It's weak against water, so I planned to do what I did for the sentry pillarsbut boatman won't take me to North Beach anymore for some reason. And furthermore I can't think of any other way to deal water damage at this point. I could try to get a lot of Will o' the Wisp tiles & trade them, but that'd require ridiculous amounts of Hex, and I feel that farming should at least give some XP on the side. So I need another strategy.

____________________________
DROD has some really great music.
Make your pressure plates 3.0 style!
DROD architecture idea generator

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[Last edited by Jatopian at 06-21-2007 10:07 PM : better line usage FTW]

silver
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just hit it with something it's not resistant to, even if you can't exploit its weakness. if you've been doing all your random combats without escaping, and exploring every nook and cranny, you are probably high enough level to win, anyway. After the Marid King I was worried, but I kept accidentally winning boss battles I was expecting to 'lose and learn from'.



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eytanz
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If you can't beat a boss, you should fight the monsters leading to it and level up a bit. In almost all dungeons, once you can beat 2-3 of the random encounters without healing between them, you can easily defeat the boss (and often a lot sooner).

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silver
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yah. there's usually a save point right next to the boss, anyway. if you're wisely carrying around a billion extra tents, then you can grind all day next to one of those .

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how far can I go into the last storyline dungeon while still being able to retreat before the final boss fight(s)? I'm kind of trapped between two "layers" of optional content where I apparently need to grind 10 more levels and make billion bucks to spend in secret-desert-town before I can face the next set of optional content areas without getting destroyed.

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in new-game-plus, can I get "seconds" of "one time" items like unique hex tiles and ultimate weapons?



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[Last edited by silver at 06-22-2007 12:07 AM]

eytanz
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silver wrote:

how far can I go into the last storyline dungeon while still being able to retreat before the final boss fight(s)? I'm kind of trapped between two "layers" of optional content where I apparently need to grind 10 more levels and make billion bucks to spend in secret-desert-town before I can face the next set of optional content areas without getting destroyed.

There's a save point just before the final boss that you can backtrack from. There's an earlier minor boss in the final dungeon, but you can easily backtrack once you defeat it.

in new-game-plus, can I get "seconds" of "one time" items like unique hex tiles and ultimate weapons?

I think so - I only played in it a little to see what it looks like, but it looks like you're serious playing from square one, just with all your stuff and stats. I definitely had all my hex tiles. I don't know what happens to the other characters.

I'm not sure why anyone would want to play in this mode, though - it just makes for a trivial game for 90% of it, and gives nothing new...

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Krishh
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Exactly to get multiples of unique items. Supposedly, the 100 tile boss is insanely difficult.

eytanz
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Well, I hope to find out before too long - I have 98 tiles now (of course, I'm assuming that the last one will be very difficult to get...)

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eytanz
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Has anyone seen the 100 hex boss yet?

I still need to defeat the hardest in-game boss to get the last card; my party is currently level 95 and I've defeated all other bosses, but I think I need to level up the remaining few levels before confronting this one. Or at least fill up my crisis meters, which is becoming a bit difficult since most monsters can't really hurt me anymore.

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Dex Stewart
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It may not help much, and even if it does you probably noticed it yourself. but it might help stripping your characters of their equipment.