-
- Forums
- Chatrooms
- Gallery
- Gameplay Videos
- Upload
- Articles
- Mod Reviews
- Shop SP: Games, Movies, Books
|
|
SEWERS, LEVEL 3
Once I'm in the Cellar, I have Talia cast Apport Arcane with the coordinates: 11 -1 -2. That takes me to the portal leading down to the third level. Note that you can go down a portal without a Levitation spell in effect, but that means taking damage in the process.
Note that there are no clues or crucial information to be found here. There is a set of stairs that will become important, but not until MUCH later on. At the same time, notice that are a lot of adjoining square rooms on the east side of the third level, some of them with set encounters against random monsters.
I have no purpose for coming here other than to acquire xp and treasure. I now go with a grind cycle that involves going through the two easternmost rows of rooms on the eastern edge of the level in a kind of semi-circle. The ultimate objective, besides earning xp, is the acquisition of some new items.
The items I want are:
2nd-Tier Spells
My first run of the new grind cycle didn't yield any of the items I was looking for, so I go back to the portal and go up it (Levitation is necessary to go UP a portal). After that, I cast Apport Arcane with the coordinates in reverse: -11 1 2.
That brings me to the stairs going back up to the Scarlet Bard. I buy a drink for Ariel, heal up at the Temple, and then head over to the Review Board.
I have enough xp to advance both Talia and Mordred to their fourth levels in their new classes. That of course means I also purchase the 2nd-tier spells in their new classes for them as well.
The video concludes with recouping Talia's Spell Points at Roscoe's Emporium, and then going back down to the Cellar.
3rd-Tier Spells
The next cycle doesn't yield any items I want either, but I get enough xp to advance both Talia and Mordred to their sixth levels in their new classes. That of course means I purchase the 3rd-tier spells in their new classes for them as well.
4th-Tier Spells
I repeat the grind cycle, and get a Lightwand along the way. It provides limited charges of the Lesser Revelation spell. I may as well equip Talia with it now that I have it, but I don't regard it as crucial.
After finishing the cycle, I have enough xp to advance both Talia and Mordred to their 8th levels in their new classes. That of course means I purchase the 4th-tier spells in their new classes for them as well.
1st Mithril Plate
I begin the cycle again, and get one of the items I'm after as loot following the first fight, a Mithril Plate armor. Lord Stygar equips it for a 1 point improvement to his AC.
Bardsword
I finish the rest of the grind, and get another Lightwand for Mordred along the way.
The key find after one of the battles though is a prize that I've been hoping for. It's the Bardsword, which only the Bard can equip. It does more damage than is usual for a sword, and with a +4 bonus to hit.
Taking the sword to identifcation at Roscoe's Emporium reveals its real virtue, that it allows the Bard to sing her songs literally without limit, without fear of them ever running out. That means Ariel pretty much sing songs with complete abandon in any and every fight, and only participates in melee combat when I'm satisfied that she's set things up sufficiently to my satisfaction. That also means I can now use Bard songs in any and every fight without hesitation, and / or stack the effects of multiple songs together (to Hit bonus, resistance to magic, bonus to AC) in a given fight.
5th-Tier Spells
Talia and Mordred have enough xp to advance to their 9th levels and purchase the 5th-tier spells in their new classes. I return to the third level of the Sewers thereafter.
1st Shield Ring
I start to repeat the cycle. As I finish one of the battles near the end of the cycle, I get my first Shield Ring. Shield Rings are equippable by any class, and provide a 2 point improvement to AC. I have Lord Stygar equip it.
1st Mithril Helm
I finish the last battle of the cycle, and get my first Mithril Helm as loot. Lord Stygar equips it for a 1 point improvement to AC.
I don't have enough xp to advance anyone yet, so I go up the portal and back down in order to reset the fights for another cycle.
Lak's Lyre
I begin another cycle, and I get an instrument called a Lak's Lyre as part of the loot. Like the Bardsword, it provides unlimited Bard songs so I don't need it for the time being.
However, I will replace the Bardsword with a very powerful weapon, but one that I can't get until almost the very end of the game. It is when I find that weapon that a Lak's Lyre will become my instrument on an ongoing basis for pretty much the rest of the trilogy. For now, I'll sell it to Garth and have him hold onto it for me.
1st Mithril Gloves
I finish the cycle. I get a pair of Mithril Gloves after one of the last battles in the cycle. Lord Stygar equips it for a one point improvement to AC. I go up and back down the portal to reset the cycle.
2nd Mithril Gloves
Another cycle leads to a second pair of Mithril Gloves after one of the battles. Zarathos equips it for a one point improvement to AC.
6th-Tier Spells
Talia and Mordred have enough xp to advance to their 11th levels at the Review Board. They each purchase 6th-tier spells in their new magic classes.
2nd Shield Ring
I start another grind. Partway though I get a second Shield Ring after a battle, but it's as yet unidentified.
1st Mithril Bracers
I finish the grind cycle, and get a pair of Mithril Bracers. Cassandra equips it for a two point improvement to AC.
I return to the city, and have Garth identify the Shield Ring. Zarathos then equips it for a two point improvement to AC.
3rd Mithril Gloves
I begin another grind cycle, and get a third pair of Mithril Gloves after the first fight. Ariel equips them.
3rd Shield Ring
I finish the grind cycle, and get a third Shield Ring after one of the battles. Gallard wears it to improve his AC by two points.
2nd Mithril Plate
I complete another grind cycle, and get a second Mithril Plate early on. Zarathos equips it.
Change to Sorcerers
Another grind leads to Talia and Mordred each reaching 115,000xp, so I advance them another level. They purchase the 7th-tier spells in their new classes. They both also now change their class to Sorcerer.
3rd Mithril Plate
I complete another grind cycle, and obtained an unidentified armor in the process. I head over to Garth's and have him identify it after I've finished the cycle. It turns out to be a Mithril Plate, which Gallard equips.
3rd-Level Sorcerers
I also have enough xp to advance Talia and Mordred to their 3rd levels of Sorcerers, and acquire the 2nd-tier Sorcerers spells for both.
There are two spells of interest. One is Word of Fear, which can reduce a monster group's To Hit and it's maximum attack damage. It also has a range of 90'. The other is Mind Jab, which can become a powerful single-target damage spell, since its base 3-12 damage gets multipled by each level of the caster and has a range of 40'.
5th-Level Sorcerers
I do another grind, which leads to enough experience to advance Talia and Mordred to their 5th levels of Sorcerers, and their acquisition of the 3rd-tier Sorcerers spells.
One spell of interest is Second Sight, a divination spell that can give you info on what's nearby (e.g., traps, healing regeneration squares, stairs, magic regeneration squares, etc.).
7th-Level Sorcerers
I do another grind cycle, which leads to enough experience to advance Talia and Mordred to their 7th levels of Sorcerers, and their acquisition of the 4th-tier Sorcerers spells.
One spell of interest is Cat Eyes, a light spell that lasts indefinitely until you enter the Adventurer's Guild (or it gets snuffed out in a dark zone or anti-magic square) and will reveal secret doors. Of particular interest is the Invisibility spell, which gives the party bonuses to both AC and saving throws. Both bonuses will stack with other spells like Anti-Magic and Mithril Might, and Bard's songs like Lucklaran and Traveller's Tune.
4th Shield Ring
I start another grind cycle, and get a fourth Shield Ring after its first battle. Ariel wears it to improve her AC by two points.
5th Shield Ring
I continue with the grind cycle, and get a fifth and as yet unidentified Shield Ring after one of the battles. I want Cassandra to wear it, but I'll have to have it identified first.
Mithril Scale
I get a Mithril Scale armor as I finish the cycle. Ariel equips it for a one point improvement to her AC.
9th-Level Sorcerers
More grinding gets everyone enough xp to advance another level. But first, I have Garth identify the Shield Ring. Cassandra equips it at that point.
'
Talia and Mordred both get to their 9th levels as Sorcerers, and purchase the 5th-tier Sorcerer spells. A key acquisition is the Mind Blades spell, which inflicts 10-14 damage on all enemies (even in multiple groups) within 30'.
11th Level Sorcerers
More grinding and Talia and Mordred get to their 11th levels as Sorcerers. They also purchase the 6th-tier spells, although I usually don't have much use for them. I have a full party of seven, so I have no plans for an illusionary dragon (which was awesome in the original game by the way). Mind Warp will give way to Dispossession in any event.
16th Level
A few more grinds and the warriors advance to their 16th levels. Zarathos can now attack 5 times per round.
2nd Mithril Helm
I complete another grind cycle, during which I get a second Mithril Helm as loot. Zarathos equips it for a 1 point improvement to AC.
2nd Mithril Bracers
I begin another grind cycle, and get a second pair of Mithril Bracers partway through it. Talia equips them.
Change to Wizards
I return to the Review Board and advance both Talia and Mordred to their 13th levels as Sorcerers. They also purchase the 7th-tier Sorcerer spells. One noteworthy addition is Mage Maelstrom, which can be a go to spell when faced with enemy spellcasters. It has maximum range of 90' feet, and will inflict any one of 60-240 points damage, Petrify, or outright Kill a group of enemy spellcasters. One of the three outcomes will be inflicted on random on each individual spellcaster in an enemy group.
Another key addition is Preclusion, which prevents enemy spellcasters from bringing in any summoned monsters. Keep in mind both these spells require significant Spell Points to cast.
Both of them now also change class to Wizard. One key addition among the 1st-level Wizard spells is Fanskar's Force Focus, which will do 60-240 damage on any monster group within 10'. The other is Repel Dead, which inflicts 20-80 damage to any group of undead within 50'.
3rd Mithril Helm
Another grind cycle and I get a third Mithril Helm after one of the fights, but it remains unidentified. I have Gallard equip it after having Garth identify it.
I also advance Talia and Mordred to their 2nd levels as Wizards.
4th Mithril Helm
Repeating the grind cycle leads to a fourth Mithril Helm after one of the fights, which Ariel equips.
3rd Level Wizards
I grind some more, and I get a fourth Mithril Helm, which Cassandra equips.
Talia and Mordred advance to their 3rd levels as Wizards. They also purchase the 2nd-tier Wizard spells, although there isn't anything truly noteworthy among them.
5th Level Wizards
I grind some more, and Talia and Mordred advance to their 5th levels as Wizards. They also purchase the 3rd-tier Wizard spells.
One highlight is Flame Column, which is a more powerful version of Dragon's Breath, 22-88 damage at 30' range. Another is Dispossession, which will free a party member from Possession, which Greater Demons and a few other monsters can inflict.
The other characters advance to their 17th levels. Lord Stygar can now also attack 5 times per round.
7th Level Wizards
More grinding and Talia and Mordred advance to their 7th levels as Wizards. They also acquire the 4th-tier Wizard spells. They're primarily summons, so they aren't really of any benefit to me.
5th Mithril Helm
Another grind cycle leads to obtaining the fifth and last Mithril Helm that I was seeking. Cassandra equips it for a two point improvement to AC (she wasn't wearing any Helm beforehand).
Only one item left that I'm hoping to get as random loot here.
9th Level Wizards
More grinding and Talia and Mordred advance to their 9th levels as Wizards. They also acquire the 5th-tier Wizard spells.
The highlight is Storal's Soul Whip, which can inflict 50-200 damage on a single-target to a range of 70'.
18th Level
Another grind cycle and Lord Stygar, Zarathos, Gallard, Ariel and Cassandra advance to their 18th levels. Lord Stygar can now attack four times per round.
19th Level
I repeat several more grind cycles, and then advance Lord Stygar, Zarathos, Gallard, Ariel and Cassandra to their 19th levels.
3rd Mithril Bracers
I do a few more grind cycles. I finally get the last item I'm hoping for during one of them, a third pair of Mithril Bracers, but they remain unidentified for the time being.
It is night time when I leave the Sewers, so I enter and leave the Adventurer's Guild to reset the time to morning. Garth properly identifies them, and that means Mordred can equip them.
11th Level Wizards
Entering the Adventurer's Guild cancelled out my buffs and exploration spells, so first I recast them and then re-energize the Wizards at Roscoe's Emporium.
I am now very close to the xp needed to advance my Wizards to their next levels, so I do one more grind in the Sewers.
After that I return to the Review Board, and advance Talia and Mordred to their 11th levels as Wizards. They also purchase the 6th-tier Wizard spells.
The one highlight is Beyond Death, which will resurrect a dead character with one hit point. I re-energize again at Roscoe's.
The Catacombs are supposed to be the next dungeon, but I put that off for now. The key reason being that some of the boss fights can be quite dangerous or bothersome. My next destination is the Castle.
