Titan Quest [Archive] - Page 7 - Quarter To Three Forums

Michael Fitch

02-19-2007, 02:19 PM

Greetings:
It's the thread that would not die! Nice to see that people are still interested in TQ; I'll try to round up some of the questions that people didn't get answered.

@pfreak
I don't know if Anatomy actually does increase the chance of bleed damage happening or not. I think we may have made bleed damage a standard DoT and not gotten the localization changed on the text in time. If you really want an answer, you can ask (or search) over at the TQ.net forums (www.titanquest.net).

When you install the x-pack, any difficulty level where your character has defeated Typhon, you will start in Rhodes, so if you've completed Epic or Legendary, you can play the x-pack content in those difficulties right away.

I don't think there were any changes to the Yaoguai encounter. He may be doing some other type of damage than fire with that attack (for some reason, I'm thinking vitality damage), which is why fire resistance isn't helping.

@John Reynolds, scharmers, others
Melee is a completely viable build strategy. There are two difficulties that are fairly common for people trying to play this way. The first is neglecting secondary stats. Resistances are key if you want to tank, for example, and you're just not going to be able to consistently go toe to toe with people if you don't have a full suite of them. Also, OA and DA have a huge effect on both your attack damage and ability to withstand physical damage, but most melee builds focus on Strength and neglect dexterity and OA and DA affixes. You end up taking way more damage than you should by doing this, which makes it look like the problem is melee itself, where the real problem is the character build strategy.

The second common problem is that people try to tank and only tank when playing melee. Sometimes, especially with bosses, you have to do more than just stand there whacking and downing potions. Dodging, for example, is something that a lot of melee players neglect, and against some of the bosses, that will get you killed, a lot. I was having a hell of a time, for example, against the Epic boss in the sandswept cave (it's either the Chimera or the Manticore, can't remember which), because I didn't have high lightning or poison resist, so one or the other of his big attacks would kill me outright. After getting killed half a dozen times, I finally started timing the gaps between his attacks, and by dodging when he went into one of his big attacks, I was able to kill him without even taking much damage.

Melee can definitely work. In fact, Defense is one of the most powerful masteries in the game. The problem, I think, is that we didn't do a great job of making visible what's happening when people are having problems, so they don't know how to adapt, which makes it look like the systems are just flawed. We did have some stat problems, particularly with armor, but those got fixed in the 1.2 patch.

@Mr. Selfish
What masteries are you playing? Nature is not particularly heavy in the active skills, as it's mostly pets and buffs. Rogue and Hunting are much heavier in the active skills, so much so that it's sometimes difficult to fit everything you want to use into the hot-skill bar. That's one of the reasons we added a second hot-skill bar in the x-pack - I like to put all of my passive skills (buffs, summons) on the second bar and keep all my active ones on the first bar.

As for the cost of specialization, you might want to look again. For many of the masteries, I like to grab all of the skills with 1 point while pushing my mastery. This does two things: first, it increases your capabilities as quickly as possible; second, it multiplies the value of any +skill items you find and any mastery shrines you hit. Then, I go back and focus on deepening specific skills once I've got everything opened up. The exception are masteries with key skills, like armor handling in defense, that you want to max out as soon as possible.

It's great to see that people are still exploring the character build strategies after almost an entire year of release. I think it's one of the things we really did well. Looking forward to seeing what people think of the x-pack in a few weeks. Like Jeff, Dream has become an instant favorite mastery for me.

Best,
Michael.

Jab2565

02-19-2007, 02:27 PM

For my assasin the first thing that made bosses easier was maxing out the slowdown poison skill. Now I can pretty much tell when certain attacks are coming. With that guy I have two equipment setups, my boss mode when I go for DPS ( in it I have around 738 dps) and my regular mode that has me get 16% increased exp and keeps all my resistances below -50%( In epic though). With that build I beat talos and the dragon liche easily.

In terms of character growth at lvl 43 I have both mastery skills maxed, is it better to go 1 strength and 1 dex each level, or 2 strength one level and 2 dex the next?

John Sansker

02-20-2007, 02:24 AM

Yeah, that's the thing--my Conqueror was/is all about melee, and he just really couldn't take down the "new" Typhon no matter what I did. (Actually, I had the some of the same issues with the new bosses in the expansion with this character. Though the new scrolls help *tremendously* with those fights.) I'm replaying the entire game now from the start with a Dream Mastery/Nature guy, and am finding it *much* easier going with some magic on my side.

Guessing that your pneumonia is all better then?
Good to hear if that's the case.
However, how do we know it wasn't a dodge, feigning sick just so's you could play the TQ expansion? ;P

Michael Fitch

02-20-2007, 12:02 PM

In terms of character growth at lvl 43 I have both mastery skills maxed, is it better to go 1 strength and 1 dex each level, or 2 strength one level and 2 dex the next?
Greetings:
I don't know what the "optimal" path or distribution is here. My approach is to generally hold onto 4-6 attribute points in case I need them for a req on a killer new item, everything else I put into dex. The items generally drive my strength stat, and I'll occasionally drop a few into health if I get some bonus points from a quest or something and I'm all kitted up.

If you're not already, turn on viewing critical hits in the options. If you're getting a lot of crits, your OA is in good shape. If you're getting hit with crits, your DA is way too low (assuming you're playing melee). If you're in the middle, not seeing crit numbers except rarely, work on your OA. It won't tell you exactly where you are, but it does help to see if you've drifted too far in one direction or the other.

Hope that helps.

Best,
Michael.

Enidigm

02-20-2007, 12:45 PM

Thank you Mr. Fitch for your response!

I still disagree somewhat with your assessments however. The cost of moving up a skill tree with the prerequisites in the mastery are fairly high, as well as the cost of improving the skill itself.

And there is some disparity in skill distribution. For example, in Hunting, there are eight "active" skills. One of them, Markmanship, replaces your default attack, so it's all but invisible. Herbal Remedy is a no-brainer that i just fire off every couple of minutes. So that's two "active" skills that aren't particularly active. Take Down i only use in melee. So unless i'm in melee, this leaves 5 skills "active" to choose from.

Art of the Hunt is a Energy Retentive skill, so once i click it, it's invisible to me except for the energy drain. We're down to four active skills.

Call of the Hunt has a very long cooldown. It's a nice skill that i save for special situations. So 95% of the time, i'll never use this skill.

Study Prey is also a nice skill, that like Call of the Hunt, has a long cooldown. But it's also an expensive investment to upgrade. So, unless i'm high level, i won't have points in it and Call of the Hunt.

Monster Lure suffers from the same difficulty. It doesn't actually do damage, but it's expensive to upgrade when i'm putting points in Marksmanship skills. So i can't use it unless i'm very high level.

So, all i'm left with, for 95% of the time, is Ensnare+Marksmanship. I fire off Call of the Hunt or Study Prey every now and then. The rest of the skills i can't afford or only use infrequently. So as a hunter, 95% of my time is spend with the same two skills - skills that i got at the start of my character.

That's what i meant by a lack of skills. I hope this perspective makes sense and perhaps informs your team of a certain point-of-view the next time around.

Taranis

02-20-2007, 05:32 PM

I have the opposite problem with my Corsair:

Does anyone know how to make the game recognize a 5 button mouse?

My Corsair character has so many different skills at his disposal that it would be nice if i could assign my other 2 buttons of my mouse.

Equisilus

02-21-2007, 03:54 PM

Can't do it, unless someone created some crazy mod of which I'm unaware. It's part of the reason I tend to stick with a very limited active skill set with my characters and go passive for all the others, when possible. It's even worse because I use a split keyboard and so can't reach the hotkeys 7-0 easily enough to even use them as skill switchers. I seem to have managed well without the extra mapping ability for the mouse at least.

If you find something, though, let us know. Might be useful.

stusser

02-21-2007, 10:03 PM

You can set program-specific keybindings for each button in both microsoft and logitech's software. So make the back button press "ctrl-Y" in tq.exe and then bind ctrl-y in the game. Ought to work.

Really looking forward to the expansion pack. I never played TQ on the higher difficulty levels because it wasn't randomized and didn't offer online play, but I did enjoy normal mode quite a bit.

Jab2565

02-28-2007, 10:23 AM

Michael Fitch

02-28-2007, 01:36 PM

Have a question that's been bothering me. I have the relic about the monkey king. The bonuses it will give me say " 10% elemental resistance" then it says "4.0 second 9% reduced resistance" Is this for my guy, or does it mean that if I hit someone they'll get this effect on them? Also what kind of resistance are they talking about, elemental, pierce, everything?
Greetings:
Reduced resistance penalties are applied to anyone you hit with a weapon (hitting them with non-weapon skill effects doesn't count) and reduces all of their resistances across the board, I believe. It's particularly powerful on higher difficulties if you're using a lot of fire/cold/poison/etc.; for a staff-wielding mage, it can be killer, for example.

Best,
Michael.

Jab2565

02-28-2007, 02:00 PM

Thanks for the infomation, I was trying legendary today and my poison resist is now -100%. I did find my first purple sword, and I was planning on using that on a green ring I found.

jfletch

02-28-2007, 10:19 PM

I just picked this game up because its $20 and I enjoyed the demo, but it seems to hang my computer whenever I exit out. I am scared to start it because I know it will lead to me having to reboot. Has anyone seen this or had it happen to them?

Jab2565

03-01-2007, 10:20 AM

Never heard that before, the retail version did crash my game sometimes upon leaving a cave/dungeon but since updating the game I've yet to have any major problems with the game.

edit: was checking gogamer last night and they have the expansion on preorder for $24.

Xemu

03-01-2007, 10:42 AM

Dean

03-01-2007, 11:08 AM

A new skill mastery, new drops, and scrolls (one-time uber powers).

The scrolls kick ass.

Taranis

03-01-2007, 03:10 PM

So I'm still firing this up every now and then to hack some monsters apart for a while but I'm far from finishing the original campaign -- does the xpack add anything to improve the experience or is it just additional end-game content?
The word on the street (in front of Jeff Greens house) is that its a solid expansion ;-)

Quote from Jeff Green:

On the expansion: I played through it once on Normal with my Conqueror, for the GFW review, and though I should make you all BUY THE MAGAZINE, the short story is that I loved it....and it, for me, was plenty long. I think it took me close to 20 hours (though I am a completist and must mow my way through every inch of every level.) And the new Dream Mastery tab rocks.

Jab2565

03-01-2007, 05:12 PM

One thing I'm interested in, is the artifact stuff that can add new bonuses to your guy. In the pcgamer review it says that you have a new slot to put it in. Can you only have one artifact item on at a time? Or can you take the bonus off it and add it to another one?

Also just now I'm finally dual wielding two purple swords, now I just have to deal with -85 pierce resist.

Jeff Green

03-01-2007, 07:48 PM

Yeah, just one artifact at a time.

And I did indeed like it a lot. We scored it 9/10. That's using the full 1-10 scale. :) I felt it fixed everything I didn't like about the first game (which I would have given an 8, but the original reviewer gave a 7), plus added lotsa new goodies.

Now THQ/Iron Lore should bundle the two, because the original game is *way* better with the expansion---new players really should have both at once.

HRose

03-01-2007, 08:02 PM

They DO bundle the two (I saw a gold edition or something on play.com) and since I bought the first but never got the time to play it, I'm getting the expansion and play the whole thing together :)

stusser

03-01-2007, 08:32 PM

Still no generated dungeons and still no closed multiplayer... don't see how that merits a 9. I'll play it through once for sure, but it's nowhere near a classic like diablo2.

Jeff Green

03-01-2007, 09:42 PM

Still no generated dungeons and still no closed multiplayer... don't see how that merits a 9. I'll play it through once for sure, but it's nowhere near a classic like diablo2.

I don't use a checklist for what merits a 9 or not. I played the new act all the way through, was extremely happy with the content, and played through from the beginning of Act 1 with a new Dream Mastery guy, and loved that new skill along with all the changes/additions they made to the game mechanics. That was enough for me to warrant a "great", especially for an expansion. I don't personally need generated dungeons or closed multiplayer. Your mileage obviously varies.

HRose

03-01-2007, 10:50 PM

still no closed multiplayer...
If it means official secure servers and online characters I miss that too.

Luke M

03-02-2007, 12:13 AM

And I did indeed like it a lot. We scored it 9/10. That's using the full 1-10 scale. :) I felt it fixed everything I didn't like about the first game (which I would have given an 8, but the original reviewer gave a 7), plus added lotsa new goodies.

Jeff, glad to hear you loved it. Titan Quest grew on me as I played, and I eagerly await the expansion. A question: did Iron Lore re-balance loot distribution in the expansion? The base game is too generous with drops; even with the >= yellow filter key depressed, there are just too many items on the screen, many of them redundant. I'm hoping the expansion refines this by maybe providing fewer, more meaninful loot choices. The base game lacks Diablo 2's economy of loot.

Jeff Green

03-02-2007, 02:31 AM

Jeff, glad to hear you loved it. Titan Quest grew on me as I played, and I eagerly await the expansion. A question: did Iron Lore re-balance loot distribution in the expansion? The base game is too generous with drops; even with the >= yellow filter key depressed, there are just too many items on the screen, many of them redundant. I'm hoping the expansion refines this by maybe providing fewer, more meaninful loot choices. The base game lacks Diablo 2's economy of loot.

In fact one of the best things about the expansion is that they fixed the loot/economy. I mention that specifically in the review as a big thumbs up. Actually, there is still WAY too much white crap that drops all over the place...I just don't pick it up at all--but they have given you lots more to spend your money on. In the original, I had millions of gold and nothing to do with it--in the expansion I was constantly poor...

Drunkagain

03-02-2007, 04:12 AM

Hmm, gonna have to look for the gold edition I guess. I never got around to the original either and am in the mood for an action rpg.

Off topic, but I wish somebone would port one of these action rpg's to a console. They all seem like a perfect fit to me. Diablo, Titan Quest, Dungeon Siege, Sacred, ect. Not advocating console only mind you, but a solid port of any one of these seem like they would work great on a console.

Thomas Wilde

03-02-2007, 04:46 AM

I was just thinking the other day that Shadowgrounds seems like it was made with a console port in mind.

Chris Nahr

03-02-2007, 04:53 AM

Off topic, but I wish somebone would port one of these action rpg's to a console.

Um, there's a ton of them already...

Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance 1 & 2
Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel
Champions of Norrath 1 & 2

All Western action-RPGs for the PS2 that play just like Titan Quest.

Drunkagain

03-02-2007, 05:47 AM

Um, there's a ton of them already...

Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance 1 & 2
Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel
Champions of Norrath 1 & 2

All Western action-RPGs for the PS2 that play just like Titan Quest.

I played all of those except Fallout, and wouldn't put any of them in the same class as the games I listed. None of them hit the mark as an addictive action rpg, imo. Just didn't have the same feel.

stusser

03-02-2007, 08:53 AM

Don't get me wrong, I plan on buying the expansion when it comes out (tuesday?) and I'm sure I'll enjoy it. But it lacks the longevity of a real classic like diablo2. I played D2 online because there were reasons to do so; better drops from monsters and trading for items. Sure, you can play TQ in multi, but without secure servers everybody just hacks and dupes items and characters.

Anyway, I believe we had this exact same discussion when the original game came out, and some people proved me wrong and played TQ for a truly surprisingly long time. Doesn't change my opinion though!

Chris Nahr

03-02-2007, 09:04 AM

DA: They're all somewhat shorter and simpler but with the exception of Champions 1 (we got elves, elves, and... elves!) I enjoyed them all quite a bit. In fact I think they were the best Diablo clones prior to Titan Quest. On the other hand, I thought Dungeon Siege was terribly boring so clearly YMMV.

Enidigm

03-02-2007, 09:05 AM

Titan Quest is a really beautiful game, and that makes it quite enjoyable imo. I still haven't beaten the game once (my main character is finally out of Babylon), though, so take that as you will. I really like the musical scores and the sunrise/set graphics give the game a certain atmospheric depth.

BTW, i thought Dungeon Siege 2 was really pretty good. It's just that running it above 800x600 looked terrible, and running it AT 800x600 looked dated, so it was hard to play. Dungeon Siege 2 is basically Titan Quest anyway.

Jab2565

03-02-2007, 10:07 AM

For experiencing the new content, would it be better to create a new character with dream mastery ( I was thinking dream/defense) or take my guy who's on legendary thru the epic version of the new act?

jfletch

03-02-2007, 08:56 PM

Enidigm

03-02-2007, 09:05 PM

No :/. The best way to make damage i've found is to pool 100% of all your points into Hunter skills.

As a lvl 25 i have 12 points in Marksmanship, 12 in Gouge Arrows, and 6 points in Gouge. One in Call of the Hunt and the other one, the rest in the Ensnare and Barbed Netting. I kill same level and 3-4+ enemies in 2, maximum 4 shots. With Gouge i slaughter groups. I'm working to get up to 32 points invested in Hunter skills to get the last bow skills.

When you count the investment cost of increasing you level in a mastery, it's real hard to build a synergy in any skill. 2+11 extra damage sounds nice from Lightning Weapon Enchantment, but Gouge + Gouge Arrows means i get 60% arrow passthrough chance, which more than doubles my damage output. Plus it increases piercing, which really helps as well.

I haven't even selected a Secondary Profession.

Jab2565

03-02-2007, 10:33 PM

. Can anyone recommend another mastery to pair with it when I get to level 8?

Hunting and the storm masteries were my least favorite 2 so I don't how much help I can be. If you want area of effect attacks earth is good. If your going to spend most of your time at range then warfare ,rogue,and defense may be out. Although the poison bonuses for rogues is awesome when you get it maxed out.

edit: I must be tired from Coh, completely forgot about spirit and nature. Nature might be good if you want a small army of pets backing up. Sprit I'm not sure about, haven't played my guy in several months.

Sectoid

03-03-2007, 02:55 AM

So I am getting into this game and enjoying it. I need some brainless action games right now and this is more than up to the task. I am up to level 6 with a Hunter. After leveling up my markmanship its much more enjoyable as I can rely on the bow about 75% of the time from a distance. Can anyone recommend another mastery to pair with it when I get to level 8?

Rogue mastery is devastating combined with Hunter at high levels. Both masteries have a lot of skills that boost the effectiveness of piercing weapons so they synergize well. Rogue's poison with mandrake and nightshade is great for crowd control too combined with scattershot.

John Sansker

03-03-2007, 03:17 AM

Dungeon Siege 2 is basically Titan Quest anyway.

Except for the part where they tell you what kind of weapons you are "allowed" to use.
No 2hd swords/axes/hammers in TQ.
Cause, see, when I drill something with my power move in DS2, it stays drilled.
Doesn't get back up and kill me in 3 hits.

John Reynolds

03-03-2007, 07:05 AM

The art direction for Immortal looks phenomenal. Looks like the dev is really pushing the TQ engine to its limits, too.

I got my conqueror up to 50-52nd level or so, but with the artifacts and new skill mastery I might just have to create a new character and play through the entire game again.

stusser

03-03-2007, 09:28 AM

Yeah, templar (defense/dream) all the way.

OK, I admit it. I started reading forums and such already. I'm looking forward to the expansion.

Enidigm

03-03-2007, 10:38 AM

Except for the part where they tell you what kind of weapons you are "allowed" to use.
No 2hd swords/axes/hammers in TQ.
Cause, see, when I drill something with my power move in DS2, it stays drilled.
Doesn't get back up and kill me in 3 hits.

Titan Quest definitely has less monster personality. Creature art is fantastic, but the monster attack skills, AI, and behavior are only average. A mob is a mob, but you like different mobs to act differently. Differences do exist in Titan Quest, but there are whole catagories of monsters, like Rat Men and Neaderthals, that are just carbon copies of each other, differing only in stats and appearances (and are not interesting advesaries). Things like this seem so obvious to Blizzard and so difficult for other companies, for some reason.

Michael Fitch

03-03-2007, 11:54 AM

Titan Quest definitely has less monster personality. Creature art is fantastic, but the monster attack skills, AI, and behavior are only average. A mob is a mob, but you like different mobs to act differently. Differences do exist in Titan Quest, but there are whole catagories of monsters, like Rat Men and Neaderthals, that are just carbon copies of each other, differing only in stats and appearances (and are not interesting advesaries). Things like this seem so obvious to Blizzard and so difficult for other companies, for some reason.
Greetings:
This is a valid critique, in that the differentiation of monster behaviors isn't really sharp enough to make for clear identities. However, I find that it's actually better on the higher difficulty levels (epic/legendary). With rat men, for example, I'm always trying to target and take down the vermin king, whereas with neanderthals it's the shamans. This is partially because the monsters use skills more at higher levels and partially because resistances become a much larger part of gameplay in epic/legendary.

We definitely should have done more to make the distinctions clearer in normal; they're there, but just not sharp enough to make an impact. It's a side effect of how we balanced the game, but clearly we could have done better.

Best,
Michael.

Sam Jones

03-03-2007, 02:48 PM

Really enjoying the expansion - reinstalled and started a new character. It's rounded out the base game nicely - the caravan for muling loot between characters is very welcome, plus a load of nice interface tweaks, like inventory autosort buttons. The freshly redynamicized experience bar that shows you how much you're gaining as you fight is neat. Since I've restarted, I have a long way to go before I see the new chapter.

I'm building a melee Dream/Spirit character, lvl 9 at the moment, focussing on Dream. I'm liking Psionic Touch as a main attack, and Distortion Wave as right-click. I've also got a point in Lucid Dream, two in Premonition and will probably max that tree for the melee advantage. I've got a point in Trance of Empathy, not sure if the reflection bonus on that is worth maxing it, but would be useful for melee. I may skip Trance of Convalescence and get Trance of Wrath later, which looks like it rocks. I'VE GOT A FLOATING EYE FRIEND! Get the Nightmare pet - it is quite hardy, hard to hit and can confuse enemies and buff other pets later on. I've put 5 points in it so far (to get the pet's second skill), and will leave it at that for a while to concentrate on me. Phantom Strike looks interesting on paper, and ideal for a melee build, but I'm worried it may be a bit fiddly to pull off, so haven't bought it yet. The Distort Reality tree looks like a good high-level RMB replacement or alternative for Distortion Wave. Dream is a very cool mastery, quite a nice variety of skills.

In Spirit, I'm looking for synergies with Dream, especially in vitality damage and the general debuffs in the Deathchill Aura tree. I'm toying with Life Drain for the Vitality damage, but it isn't currently as useful to me as Distortion Field, and doesn't work so well as a selected skill, as opposed to RMB. I'm thinking Vision of Death might be worth a go. I'm planning on taking Spirit at least as high as the 16 skill tier, so will probably dump at least a point or two into the Lich King pet - I've worked with this guy before, and he's a pro. He'll go nicely with a maxed Nightmare. That's all I'm really interested in in Spirit so far.

Stats are where this build gets tricky, because he needs to be good at all of them. Health is a priority for melee, as is Dex, because Str/Int get buffed by the Dr/Spi tiers. I'm using as much health/mana regen gear as possible at the moment, and also stuff that buffs Dex for the OA/DA bonus, to get the most out of Premonition. I should really get working on mana as I'm always running out.

Here's (http://www.titancalc.com/TitanCalc.asp?mastery=Diviner&master1=2&master2=9&m1=1-1-1-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0&m2=10-0-2-1-1-1-0-2-5-1-0-1-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0) the Titan Calc, with my current build preloaded.

Jab2565

03-03-2007, 02:59 PM

So is Dream mastery a way to get melee skills for casters and caster skills for melee? Have you tried using any of the scrolls yet? Or are they extremely expensive?

Sam Jones

03-03-2007, 03:31 PM

Yeah, it has a lot of variety, but is also quite self-contained, so you can use it as a major mastery. I was considering pairing it with Defense (Templar), which might be an interesting build.

Scrolls - not used one yet, they are quite expensive early on, about 15k.

Chris Nahr

03-06-2007, 04:54 AM

Say, Michael, since THQ is removing CD checks from all its games these days... how about removing the CD check from Titan Quest with the expansion? That would be very nice!

Enidigm

03-06-2007, 07:39 AM

Greetings:
This is a valid critique, in that the differentiation of monster behaviors isn't really sharp enough to make for clear identities. However, I find that it's actually better on the higher difficulty levels (epic/legendary). With rat men, for example, I'm always trying to target and take down the vermin king, whereas with neanderthals it's the shamans. This is partially because the monsters use skills more at higher levels and partially because resistances become a much larger part of gameplay in epic/legendary.

We definitely should have done more to make the distinctions clearer in normal; they're there, but just not sharp enough to make an impact. It's a side effect of how we balanced the game, but clearly we could have done better.

Best,
Michael.

Thanks again for the kind response. Not even Blizzard was perfect in these respects now that i think about it - they reused the zombie and skeleton monster type for over half the game (although they somewhat made up for it by making skeletons in huge hordes). The key is making monster that force players to make decisions - even if these take only 1/4 of a second to make. So things like the Burning Dead, those zombies that pop out burning skeletons, are a nice monster, because i'm constantly changing my opinion as to whether i want to attack these sorts first or set them aside for later.

It would be nice, for example, if the Mantids would jump a couple feet behind the player, say 25% of the time, forcing the player to switch targets. It would be a really cool behavior if the puddles of slime could "combine" and heal one another when under attack (so you could only fight them when seperated). That sort of thing.

Yea, i can see how there are only a few low level skills in normal difficulty. Mostly the snare :). But, AI behaviors like those above would be neat as well. It's really a question of target selection as that's what is concerning the player.

Michael Fitch

03-06-2007, 10:31 AM

Say, Michael, since THQ is removing CD checks from all its games these days... how about removing the CD check from Titan Quest with the expansion? That would be very nice!
Greetings:
Who said THQ was removing cd checks from all its games? We've been trying to be more player-friendly by doing things like not checking cd keys for LAN games, and in a couple of specific cases we've either shipped without cd checks or removed them through patching, but we look at all of this on a project-by-project basis. I really don't want to get into the whole piracy debate (this thread is huge enough already), but we try to hit a good balance between stopping casual piracy and inconveniencing our customers. It's entirely possible that we'll patch out the cd-check on TQ at some point in the future, but I can't make any promises.

Yea, i can see how there are only a few low level skills in normal difficulty. Mostly the snare :). But, AI behaviors like those above would be neat as well. It's really a question of target selection as that's what is concerning the player.
Agreed that with some more animation and AI assets we could have done a better job of giving the monsters more individual character. Be careful what you ask for, though. If the AI starts pushing the player too far (evading attacks, forcing changes in focus, blocking player attempts to move forward), you can very quickly go from having personality to causing massive frustration. With the "normal" difficulty level, we really wanted to reach out to the less-hardcore folks who still enjoy gaming. There are plenty of encounters in epic/legendary that will sharpen up your tactical and action skills.

Best,
Michael.

Kunikos

03-06-2007, 11:24 AM

I played all of those except Fallout, and wouldn't put any of them in the same class as the games I listed. None of them hit the mark as an addictive action rpg, imo. Just didn't have the same feel.

Wasn't there a port of Diablo for the PS1?

Kunikos

03-06-2007, 11:28 AM

BTW, i thought Dungeon Siege 2 was really pretty good. It's just that running it above 800x600 looked terrible, and running it AT 800x600 looked dated, so it was hard to play. Dungeon Siege 2 is basically Titan Quest anyway.

I will agree that DS2, for when it came out, was already dated looking at the time. The low resolution textures and no option to turn on higher resolution textures just compounds this problem, and there is no option to switch from the low poly models to something higher. They didn't really think of how to make it age well, which is something I think that WoW did fairly well.

Also, DS2 doesn't really play exactly the same as TQ... TQ is far more frantic and the minibosses and bosses are serious bitches. I can't remember having that much trouble on any boss in DS2.

(DS2's voices also suck much more than TQ's.)

Enidigm

03-06-2007, 12:08 PM

I think the game looks alright at resolutions over 800x600, but the icons and text aren't resolution independent, so it's all but illegible (to me) over 1024x768.

Jab2565

03-06-2007, 02:59 PM

I just got the expansion, besides getting some loot into storage I'll be on today leveling up a new character if anyone wants to play. Game name qt3, pass
qt3

Kunikos

03-06-2007, 04:07 PM

What do you think of this Templar (Defense/Dream) build (http://www.titancalc.com/TitanCalc.asp?mastery=Templar&master1=5&master2=9)?

nKoan and I are going to pick up the expansion after work. I should be able to get a few hours in late tonight to play the game. I really want to see the late Egyptian and Asian areas, as well as the end area (Hades). Last time I only made it up to the beginning of Egypt.

John Reynolds

03-06-2007, 04:12 PM

Skipped out of work this afternoon and no one (Best Buy, Circuit City, EBs) had the game in yet. Freakin' UPS driver must've been at a local bar getting liquored up.

Kunikos

03-06-2007, 04:23 PM

I ordered store pickup online and got my confirmation e-mail that both TQ and the XP are ready for me.

Jab2565

03-06-2007, 04:45 PM

stusser

03-06-2007, 04:50 PM

What do you think of this Templar (Defense/Dream) build (http://www.titancalc.com/TitanCalc.asp?mastery=Templar&master1=5&master2=9)?
Umm, you didn't put any points in. I'm aiming for something like this (http://www.titancalc.com/TitanCalc.asp?mastery=Templar&master1=5&master2=9&m1=32-0-1-0-1-1-1-1-1-4-1-0-1-0-6-8-1-0-1-1-6-0&m2=16-0-1-0-1-1-1-1-0-1-3-0-1-0-1-0-0-0-0-0-0) at 30. Full melee templar, heavy on the offense. Then when it gets hard, you start to put points into defense.

Gendal

03-06-2007, 05:19 PM

The Templar is an awesome build, at least up to lvl 50 and into the expansion's epic difficulty. Legendary might switch everything around again, but it's been a cakewalk up to this point. I am, at best, a lazy player. I like to wade in and kill everything with out nary a care and this build lets you do that for the most part. My previous two characters where a dual wielder and a druid, both of which had a hard time in epic staying alive. The templar is so easy to keep alive I am using that +50% xp for -50% health and -18hp/s talisman just because I can. I don't even take it off for the bosses unless it's one that has killed me before, which really is just that *@#$*@ ice meteor guy in act III. Nope, don't like to dodge either, and you generally don't with this build.

My build is below, but it's probably not very optimal. I can't really test it out till I make to Legendary, then I can see what does and does not work. Templar Build (http://www.titancalc.com/TitanCalc.asp?mastery=Templar&master1=5&master2=9&m1=32-0-1-1-1-1-0-1-6-6-6-1-0-1-6-8-6-1-0-1-6-0&m2=32-0-12-0-0-8-1-6-0-1-1-0-0-0-0-0-6-0-12-0-0-0)

Sam Jones

03-06-2007, 05:29 PM

So far dream mastery is pretty awesome. Lvl 7 and I'm already able to survive pretty well.

Lvl 19 now, and heavily into Dream as a melee build. I've been playing with Phantom Strike / Dreamstealer and it's a lot of fun seeing enemies asplode away from you in a giant crit. I now have that as RMB, and Distort Reality as a nuke. The eye thing gets a nuke at lvl 5 too.

stusser

03-06-2007, 05:32 PM

Why take both phantom strike and shield charge? Seems to me that phantom strike is better. Also, why no points in rally? Rally itself sucks, but the two addon skills are pretty sweet.

Gendal

03-06-2007, 06:39 PM

Why take both phantom strike and shield charge? Seems to me that phantom strike is better. Also, why no points in rally? Rally itself sucks, but the two addon skills are pretty sweet.

Phantom Strike is better, and it's what you want first. But shield batter and charge are great additions to your toolkit, especially when you factor in recharge times. Phantom Strike will also cause you to only hit one mob because as soon as you hit it you go invisible. This causes the mobs to instantly start returning home, dispersing the nice tight pattern you set up. It can still work well, you just have to make sure you don't end up traveling even a foot when it fires. It's also slow, where as charge sends you at 3x the speed to your target. I really use both all the time.

Batter is awesome too, especially when you add in some more items that improve your slow debuff. It's loads of fun to be in the middle of a massive army of mobs all slowed to a snails pace. Inbetween Strike, Batter, and Charge you generally can hit most of them, then finish them off before their first blow even gets halfway through the arc.

As far as Rally, it's something I am eyeing. I didn't like the recharge time on it, and for now, it's just not necessary. It would be fun to try Rally + ToE for some crazy high damage reflection. I don't even use Quick Recovery except for shits and grins.

Kunikos

03-06-2007, 10:06 PM

Umm, you didn't put any points in. I'm aiming for something like this (http://www.titancalc.com/TitanCalc.asp?mastery=Templar&master1=5&master2=9&m1=32-0-1-0-1-1-1-1-1-4-1-0-1-0-6-8-1-0-1-1-6-0&m2=16-0-1-0-1-1-1-1-0-1-3-0-1-0-1-0-0-0-0-0-0) at 30. Full melee templar, heavy on the offense. Then when it gets hard, you start to put points into defense.

Ahhh crap, I suck at the internet apparently. I pasted the wrong URL (titlebar instead of the one below in the form field).

Also, is there some magic way to get rid of the video refresh ripple? I tried all combinations of resolution, vertical sync, triple buffering both in TQ options and in the new Vista Nvidia drivers and nothing seems to help. It just irritates my eyes... I've got a fairly decent system, 3GB RAM, X2 4400+, 7900GTO 512MB...

Kunikos

03-06-2007, 10:11 PM

So far dream mastery is pretty awesome. Lvl 7 and I'm already able to survive pretty well. The pet is helping out alot. Graphically the game looks abit sharper now with the expansion. What does triple buffering do?

edit: I should be back on around 10:00 pm est.

Triple buffering uses more RAM to render future frames ahead of time to smooth out frame-rate. This is only really helpful if you have vertical sync turned on.

Jab2565

03-06-2007, 10:13 PM

vertical sync fixed mine, but I do see slight lines in the background.

I decided to finsh up the new stuff with my assasin. I think I just beat the first boss, I did find some arcane scrolls both ranked divine artifact level. Both give a pretty powerful skill, but I doubt I'll be able to build either of them anytime soon.

deepruntramp

03-06-2007, 11:35 PM

Dang I loved this game. I've gotta pick me up the expansion now.

Anyone know what element the Psionic attacks in Dream Mastery are? I see some can proc an "Electric Burn," but I don't think it's worth going Storm/Dream for the Wisp if it's only going to up the Proc damage.

Warfare/Dream looks pretty good. Stock up on the Passives in Warfare and the melee-to-AoE burst in Dream? That could melt face.

Gendal

03-07-2007, 12:41 AM

Anyone know what element the Psionic attacks in Dream Mastery are? I see some can proc an "Electric Burn," but I don't think it's worth going Storm/Dream for the Wisp if it's only going to up the Proc damage.

Electric Burn is different than lightening for the purpose of bonuses, but the same when calculating resists. Supposedly there are items that give +Electric Burn, cause +Lightening won't do jack.

Really loving the expansion pack. They implemented the filtered item pickup click I was begging for early in this thread, which is a godsend for me. TQ's version of the Diablo Cow level isn't near as funny, but the item drops are much cooler. Santa Claus, Sherlock Holmes, a Cowboy(girl), and a Pirate are just the item sets I have discovered, wonder how many more there are?

Kunikos

03-07-2007, 01:04 AM

Right off the bat, off a random elite I got a blue rarity shield:

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m81/mattdkerr/tq.jpg

Once I can pick my second mastery I'll go Templar, I think.

Sam Jones

03-07-2007, 06:04 AM

Right off the bat, off a random elite I got a blue rarity shield:

I've had about three blue and one green shields drop while in Greece - nice, as I'm a shield user, but a bit more variety would be welcome! I've had a couple of really nice blue spears and a good blue bow too. Off they go to the transfer tab of the caravan.....

I love the caravan. It's a great incentive to create and experiment with different characters, as you know the cool drop that your current toon can't use won't go to waste. Also good for sharing runestone/tablet parts.

Enidigm

03-07-2007, 08:04 AM

With the Defence Mastery, i built mine with Adrenaline maxed and lots of points in Rally. Basically as soon as Adrenaline "procs" (is that the right word?) i fire off Rally, and heal all my damage.

But coming from my Hunter, Defence seems pretty hard because there is no easy, or synergistic, skill paths obvious to me to deal damage. Armor Handling though is one of the best skills in the game, imo. For just a few points you can greatly reduce Str requirements. My Hunter really, really has a hard time finding any armor to wear. She's stuck because all Armor is either Int or Str based, but her main attacks are Agil. So she's wearing some generic Mage wrap that only provides about 40 armor, because she doesn't have enough Str or Intel for anything else.

Well, Defence does have several 6% chance to be used skills that could very well stack on top of each other once you get points in them all...

Chris Nahr

03-07-2007, 08:49 AM

My copy of the expansion finally arrived, and customs even forgot to charge me VAT! Great little enhancements all over the place, like "loot lock" and the shaded experience bar. And I've already found a new monster, a "Monstrous Boar" that looks suspiciously like NWN2's dire boar. I've started a new character with Dream Mastery, not sure what to minor in... maybe Defence?

One complaint: The installation of the expansion pack sucks. First, you have to restart Windows when the installer is done -- why? Then, you can't skip the intro movies -- even though they're the same ones from the original game. Next, once you've finished watching the movies, the game wants to patch the original TQ -- and for that purpose immediately exits the game! Why exactly couldn't that have been done by the main installer? On the next restart, I noticed that the expansion hadn't brought over my various settings from the original game, including the screen resolution -- which of course... you guessed it... required another restart!

Now that I'm finally allowed to actually play the game, I try the new hotkey for button switching and... nothing happens. Checking the hotkey list, I see that both the hotkey for "Select 1st Pet" (F2) and "Swap Quickbars" (B or Z, the documentation can't make up its mind here) are simply missing. At first I thought changing hotkeys didn't work either, until I discovered the nearly invisible outline that you have to click on.

Great expansion, but please fire the guys who wrote the installer...

EvilIdler

03-07-2007, 10:12 AM

What does the installer inject into the system? MSXML, InstallShield, SecuROM?

Kunikos

03-07-2007, 10:28 AM

I think it's one of the variety that installs DirectX for you no matter what and assumes you have to reboot because of it.

Jab2565

03-07-2007, 01:45 PM

I agree about the installation, I forgot how bad the game looks going from 800x600 to 1280 x 1024. Does anyone know what the option unlock content is? If anyone wants to I'll be on later going thru the epic version of the new stuff ( My assassin isn't finshed legendary yet). The artwork looks alot neater the further you go in. So far the bosses and hero versions are alot tougher but the option to recover some of your lost exp is great.

nKoan

03-07-2007, 01:49 PM

I bought my expansion pack at Best Buy and it had a card inside with a code for a set of armor. You use that "Unlock Content" option, input the card number and some gear appears at your feet. I assume there are numerous codes available, or will become available.

Kunikos

03-07-2007, 02:23 PM

Just kinda screwing around I made a build that's a dual wielding AoE pet master (http://www.titancalc.com/TitanCalc.asp?mastery=Harbinger&master1=3&master2=9&m1=32-6-2-8-6-6-6-0-6-2-0-0-6-6-2-0-0-0-6-6-16-0&m2=32-0-0-0-0-8-12-6-16-0-8-0-12-8-8-0-6-0-0-8-0-0) (Warfare/Dream) at max level 75. The damage from Onslaught stacking up 8 charges, then use Phantom Strike for another +190% damage and a minor AoE blast. Doesn't really offer much in the way of direct damage to a single Buy Guy enemy though, so if the pets die then you are stuck doing the featherweight butterfly dance.

Here's a Dreamkiller (Rogue/Dream) build (http://www.titancalc.com/TitanCalc.asp?mastery=Dreamkiller&master1=6&master2=9&m1=32-0-6-0-0-6-0-8-0-12-0-0-0-0-0-8-0-0-0-0-0-0&m2=32-8-12-0-12-8-12-6-16-6-8-0-0-8-8-12-6-0-0-2-12-0) as well, for fun. Idea is to use the Nightmare pet and Flash Powder to confuse things, put them to sleep if that doesn't work, build up charges then warp and AoE...

I love the caravan. It's a great incentive to create and experiment with different characters, as you know the cool drop that your current toon can't use won't go to waste. Also good for sharing runestone/tablet parts.

Oh yeah, the extra storage and char xfer stuff is awesome. The auto-sort button is also a huge time-saver, and the filter loot-locks are great.

stusser

03-07-2007, 03:07 PM

I assume there are numerous codes available, or will become available.
274267
925678
437626
373624

Enjoy. All of the items look cool but suck, though.

Sam Jones

03-07-2007, 03:34 PM

Enjoy.

Stout fellow. Ta.

Equisilus

03-07-2007, 04:29 PM

I only played a bit of what will be a Templar last night, but the incredible smoothness of the game at 1920x1200 with everything maxed out that I could find in the video/sound options is pretty impressive. TQ was a time-eater before the expansion, now I expect it'll be my mainstay for a while, despite having a JE:SE and GalCiv2 to play at the same time. Guess I'll have to learn to split up my time a bit more evenly.

Jab2565

03-07-2007, 10:28 PM

I'm having alot of trouble with one of the bosses.

spoiler: cerberus is destroying me, even more so then typhon. His basic bite attack does 2000 damage to me and the area is too small for me to run around in, not to mention that area attack when flames come up that seem to kill me on the spot. His breath attack seems almost undodgeable since he turns too fast not letting me avoid it. Does anyone have any suggestions for this?

scharmers

03-07-2007, 10:30 PM

Does anyone have any suggestions for this?

LURK MOAR

(don't mind me, haven't got the expansion yet since all available $$$ going into buying new digs, somewhat testy about it)

mono

03-07-2007, 11:21 PM

I just picked up both Titan Quest and the expansion for $40 bucks thanks to Kunikos' Best Buy thread. Realistically, it could take me months to finish either campaign, what with work, the baby, and unfinished games I'm also juggling.

Should I just jump straight into Immortal Throne, or is the original campaign too compelling to skip?

Kunikos

03-07-2007, 11:41 PM

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m81/mattdkerr/tq2.jpg (http://www.titancalc.com/TitanCalc.asp?mastery=Templar&master1=5&master2=9&m1=14-1-2-2-1-1-0-0-1-1-1-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0&m2=3-1-2-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0)
(Click for build so far)

Well, so far I can go toe-to-toe with most bosses (including the cyclops) but those yellow rarity lifestealing undead foes are tougher than others. Packs of turtles backed by a pair of lizardmen shamans is pretty much DANGER WILL ROBINSON. I'm pretty disappointed with the Sands of Sleep ability from the Dream mastery, as it is a targeted effect and not the AoE blast like the horn from the Warfare mastery. I also thought the left-click attack ability from Dream would be more like Onslaught in the Warfare tree in that it would do progressive more damage per swing and max out at a point, not really so much more like the charge-up of Assassin using combo points and finishing moves in Diablo II (or Rogues in WoW). I'm starting to think that unless I pump more points into Dream mastery levels quickly to get more passive +ele/dmg and put more points into the shield bash proc then I will get gimped pretty quickly. When I get surrounded but a lot of enemies things can get a little dicey, especially if they are poisoning or slowing me.

The items I'm wielding in the picture are the Traitor's Shiv (http://titanquestvault.ign.com/View.php?view=Items.Detail&id=194) (Yes, I know I'm a Defense mastery, but maces are so fricken slow that until I get a full fire relic they're pretty worthless!), and the shield is the Theban Shield (http://titanquestvault.ign.com/View.php?view=Items.Detail&id=205).

Should I just jump straight into Immortal Throne, or is the original campaign too compelling to skip?

AFAIK it's like Diablo II and you have to beat the normal TQ to get to the Hades portion of the game that's in the expansion pack. You do, however, benefit from the new mastery, caravan, artifact slot, and all the other new UI additions.

mono

03-07-2007, 11:51 PM

AFAIK it's like Diablo II and you have to beat the normal TQ to get to the Hades portion of the game that's in the expansion pack. You do, however, benefit from the new mastery, caravan, artifact slot, and all the other new UI additions.

You're absolutely right, starting a new game in Immortal Throne just drops me at the beginning of the OC. Looks like I've got a long road to Hell ahead of me.

Kunikos

03-07-2007, 11:53 PM

You're absolutely right, starting a new game in Immortal Throne just drops me at the beginning of the OC. Looks like I've got a long road to Hell ahead of me.

There's always cheatin'...

Michael Fitch

03-07-2007, 11:57 PM

Spoilers be here

spoiler: cerberus is destroying me, even more so then typhon. His basic bite attack does 2000 damage to me and the area is too small for me to run around in, not to mention that area attack when flames come up that seem to kill me on the spot. His breath attack seems almost undodgeable since he turns too fast not letting me avoid it. Does anyone have any suggestions for this?
Greetings:
Stock up on poison resistance. That will help big-time with the area attacks. Don't forget that scrolls can have a big influence in boss battles. Pick the right scroll for your build, and it will go from pwnage on one side to pwnage on the other. Merchant inventories are random, so visit lots of them via teleporter until you find one you like, and don't be afraid to spend some money.

Hope that helps.

Best,
Michael.

Acoustic Rob

03-08-2007, 12:05 AM

Anybody else having serious performance problems? Vanilla TQ ran fine, but I'm getting lots of stuttering with the expansion pack. I'm running an Athlon 3500 with 2 GB of memory and a 7600GT at 1280x1024 resolution.

Sectoid

03-08-2007, 03:10 AM

I've got a similar setup and I'm also getting occasional stuttering, usually when backtracking through an area. After a couple hours of playing last night it seemed to get progressively worse to the point that I had to quit out of the game. I'm experimenting with different ways of alleviating it. Turning off "Advanced Effects" seemed to help a little.

Other than that, I'm enjoying it. The new mastery is interesting. It's sort of a mage, but almost works better as a melee character with all the aura abilities, melee skills, and close-range spells. Artifacts are a welcome money sink and better conceived than Diablo 2's charms (I like to have an inventory that's not completely full of filler shit thankyouverymuch). The other incremental improvements really complete the game.

Some kind of indication of the number of charges Psionic Touch has stored up would be nice.

Chris Nahr

03-08-2007, 03:39 AM

Runs buttery smooth for me, at 1920x1200 with everything enabled. Then again, I upgraded to a Core 2 Duo and an 8800 GTS since I played the original game. :p

Chris Nahr

03-08-2007, 03:41 AM

Here's a Dreamkiller (Rogue/Dream) build (http://www.titancalc.com/TitanCalc.asp?mastery=Dreamkiller&master1=6&master2=9&m1=32-0-6-0-0-6-0-8-0-12-0-0-0-0-0-8-0-0-0-0-0-0&m2=32-8-12-0-12-8-12-6-16-6-8-0-0-8-8-12-6-0-0-2-12-0) as well, for fun. Idea is to use the Nightmare pet and Flash Powder to confuse things, put them to sleep if that doesn't work, build up charges then warp and AoE...

I'm also doing a Dream/Rogue combo. I'm thinking this will be an anti-boss build, with maximum damage to a single target thanks to the combined attack modifiers. Emphasis on Strength and Dexterity, with just enough Int points to keep me supplied with mana.

John Reynolds

03-08-2007, 06:00 AM

I'm also doing a Dream/Rogue combo. I'm thinking this will be an anti-boss build, with maximum damage to a single target thanks to the combined attack modifiers. Emphasis on Strength and Dexterity, with just enough Int points to keep me supplied with mana.

I was thinking the same thing and was wondering if that would be a viable build.

I'm playing at 2560x1600 with a Radeon 1950 XTX and it's chugging a little on me. Still playable, though, but a 8800 GTS/GTX sure would be nice.

Chris Nahr

03-08-2007, 07:21 AM

274267
925678
437626
373624

Enjoy. All of the items look cool but suck, though.

Thanks! One tip: they're all level 30 sets, so don't bother unlocking them unless you're already at that level.

Chris Nahr

03-08-2007, 07:23 AM

Ha, ha, fooled ya! Nothing to see here, no really...

(Did you always have to right-click to add a relic? I thought left-clicking worked too... oops.)

ydejin

03-08-2007, 07:40 AM

Thanks! One tip: they're all level 30 sets, so don't bother unlocking them unless you're already at that level.

So how does this work. Do they all show up in some merchant's inventory, are they placed in the character's inventory, are they just added to random monster drops?

stusser

03-08-2007, 08:25 AM

When you enter the code, they drop at your feet.

Jab2565

03-08-2007, 10:17 AM

I'm noticing alot of performance stuttering during the tower of judgement area. I have textures set on high and the game seems to go crazy . I found another divine formula, the skill it gives is that it does %100 health damage to an enemy and gives the person %500 health return

Thanks for the suggestions about the boss, I have a -15 resist, which should be gone once I put on my negating necklace.

nabeel

03-08-2007, 11:35 AM

Hey Michael, congratulations (http://kotaku.com/gaming/gdc07/gdc07-liveblogging-the-gdcawards-242496.php)!

Shadari

03-08-2007, 11:41 AM

Hey Michael, congratulations (http://kotaku.com/gaming/gdc07/gdc07-liveblogging-the-gdcawards-242496.php)!
Oblivion was nominated for best writing? Oh man... that's a good one!

PS: sorry for the derail.

Michael Fitch

03-08-2007, 11:52 AM

Hey Michael, congratulations (http://kotaku.com/gaming/gdc07/gdc07-liveblogging-the-gdcawards-242496.php)!
Greetings:
Thanks, but all the credit really goes to the ILE guys. Building a studio is a lot of hard work; building a studio and putting out a really good game at the same time is a phenomenal accomplishment, and the team and management there have a lot to be proud of. I'm just happy I got a chance to work with them on this.

Best,
Michael.

Jab2565

03-08-2007, 08:29 PM

Phew just finshed the final boss on epic mode. Pretty interesting fight. Just have 2 slight spoilers:

is it even possible to fight the final boss strictily in melee? First time I fought it I got hit once by one of his huge red orbs and it was instant death at full health. If I didn't have a purple bow on hand I doubt I could have killed it at all. Also the side quest about admodmous ( the shade guy caught in the camp) what were you supposed to do to get his quest to complete?

Gendal

03-08-2007, 09:34 PM

is it even possible to fight the final boss strictily in melee? First time I fought it I got hit once by one of his huge red orbs and it was instant death at full health. If I didn't have a purple bow on hand I doubt I could have killed it at all. Also the side quest about admodmous ( the shade guy caught in the camp) what were you supposed to do to get his quest to complete?
Easily, at least with a templar. Up to and including legendary so far I don't even bother dodging except for poison based mobs, because I still have zero resist there. I just run up and start whacking. The original and expansion bosses are by no means the hardest.

Jab2565

03-09-2007, 11:55 AM

I think I'm starting to see the importance of holding on to those +45% *element* resistance items. I just put on chiron's loop which even though drops my dps by 100 it brings my pierce and poison resist either to 0 or a few points in the positive on legendary mode. So has anyone been able to create an artifact yet? Also for the divine ones that require other artifacts, are the ones they need found on normal?

nKoan

03-09-2007, 11:58 AM

I created my first artifact last night. But I can't use it till level 15 (I'm at 11 right now with a new character) :(

I guess I just got lucky, the recipe I found required a charm I just completed, a completed boar hide and a scroll I found at a vendor.

John Reynolds

03-09-2007, 11:43 PM

Is it possible to rename an existing character without too much difficulty? Got my Dreamkiller up to 13 but the name of Ahriman just ain't cuttin' for me. No biggie either way, just curious if it can be done fairly easily.

Chris Nahr

03-10-2007, 03:32 AM

I don't think it's possible to rename a character without a third-party character editor. Is there one out already that works with IT?

I created my first artifact last night. But I can't use it till level 15 (I'm at 11 right now with a new character) :(

I guess I just got lucky, the recipe I found required a charm I just completed, a completed boar hide and a scroll I found at a vendor.

Sounds like you've made the same artifact that I did! Fool's Luck or something like that, some defense boosts and stuff. Nothing special really, particularly for the price (75k plus ingredients!), but since it goes into a slot that would otherwise remain empty...

ydejin

03-10-2007, 04:27 AM

Sounds like you've made the same artifact that I did! Fool's Luck or something like that, some defense boosts and stuff. Nothing special really, particularly for the price (75k plus ingredients!), but since it goes into a slot that would otherwise remain empty...

On a related note, Lord Percy out on OO (http://www.octopusoverlords.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=934156#934156) reports that lesser artifacts are needed to build greater artifacts. So don't sell any artifacts because their bonuses aren't that great.

Equisilus

03-10-2007, 04:33 AM

On a related note, Lord Percy out on OO (http://www.octopusoverlords.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=934156#934156) reports that lesser artifacts are needed to build greater artifacts. So don't sell any artifacts because their bonuses aren't that great.

It didn't need to be reported. It's in the new IT manual on page 4, 3rd paragraph (that's the NA English manual).

Chris Nahr

03-10-2007, 04:50 AM

I'm grateful for the reminder, though -- I've read the manual but I had already forgotten that artifacts might require other artifacts as ingredients. I sure hope those greater artifacts are worth the combined cost!

nKoan

03-10-2007, 10:29 AM

I don't think it's possible to rename a character without a third-party character editor. Is there one out already that works with IT?

Sounds like you've made the same artifact that I did! Fool's Luck or something like that, some defense boosts and stuff. Nothing special really, particularly for the price (75k plus ingredients!), but since it goes into a slot that would otherwise remain empty...

Yup, that's exactly it. And I picked up yet another recipe that I'm surprisingly close to finishing too. And yeah, the bonuses aren't all that great, but they are certainly better than nothing.

Equisilus

03-10-2007, 02:50 PM

Remember, too, that you're talking about the Lesser Artifacts which give you a bunch of bonuses but aren't meant to be so amazing that you'd forgo upgrading to a Greater or Divine Artifact later.

I have to say, the expansion really did something great to TQ. Everything about it, so far, is a positive. I think I'll slink off and play it a bit more.

flyinj

03-10-2007, 03:04 PM

I played the original game, and I had a lot of issues with it. Such as WAY too much useless loot, and having too much money with nothing to spend it on.

I hear the expansion fixes some of these issues. My question is, does it fix them for the entire game? Or just in the expansion areas?

Is it worth buying the game and the expansion to start a brand new character? Do you have to play on a difficulty level that is only unlocked after completing the game to get all the new loot and money balancing stuff?

Vincent_GC

03-10-2007, 03:07 PM

I'd like to know as well since I have yet to pick this up.

John Reynolds

03-10-2007, 03:08 PM

I hear the expansion fixes some of these issues. My question is, does it fix them for the entire game? Or just in the expansion areas?

Is it worth buying the game and the expansion to start a brand new character? Do you have to play on a difficulty level that is only unlocked after completing the game to get all the new loot and money balancing stuff?

All new features (scrolls, caravan, artifacts) are available to the entire game, not just the new area. I started over with a Dream + Rogue (Dreamkiller) combo and I'm loving the game. Haven't completed even a lesser artifact yet, but it's been a lot of fun. And you can use your spare cash for removing relics from items, freeing them up for artifacts or new, better drops.

flyinj

03-10-2007, 03:10 PM

All new features (scrolls, caravan, artifacts) are available to the entire game, not just the new area. I started over with a Dream + Rogue (Dreamkiller) combo and I'm loving the game. Haven't completed even a lesser artifact yet, but it's been a lot of fun. And you can use your spare cash for removing relics from items, freeing them up for artifacts or new, better drops.

Interesting. Does the expansion remove all the useless grey loot from the beginning areas as well?

Gendal

03-10-2007, 03:25 PM

Interesting. Does the expansion remove all the useless grey loot from the beginning areas as well?
No, but you can't pick it up if you hold the correct filter key. It's absolutely not a problem now.

nKoan

03-10-2007, 03:29 PM

Interesting. Does the expansion remove all the useless grey loot from the beginning areas as well?

No, but I don't really understand how that's an issue. I was more annoyed by the greens and blues that my character couldn't use.

stusser

03-10-2007, 03:40 PM

I just got to hades with my templar, and I'm reminded how tough it is to get good loot in this game. Sure, you can trade online, but without closed multiplayer everybody has hacked items. So you either cheat, start farming for items, or use the same sword from level 21 through 35. Not fun.

Oh well. So far act4 is awesome, but I don't plan on playing epic/legendary, thats for sure. Definitely worth the money regardless.

ydejin

03-10-2007, 04:21 PM

I
Oh well. So far act4 is awesome, but I don't plan on playing epic/legendary, thats for sure.

IMO Epic/Legendary is an entirely different and better game than Standard. It's much tougher and more interesting because the monsters use their powers and act a bit differently. I'd highly recommend at least giving Epic a go. Also there are some new boss monsters at both levels.

Equisilus

03-10-2007, 04:45 PM

I just got to hades with my templar, and I'm reminded how tough it is to get good loot in this game. Sure, you can trade online, but without closed multiplayer everybody has hacked items. So you either cheat, start farming for items, or use the same sword from level 21 through 35. Not fun.

Or you can use the handy caravan and transfer some items from one of your characters to another to make sure they get someting brand spankin' new every once in a while. I haven't had the need (or opportunity) to do that yet, myself, but I'm setting up a little collection of items just in case.

stusser

03-10-2007, 05:25 PM

Yeah, but it's the exact same game in all difficulty levels, just with harder monsters. Not particularly interested. We discussed this, oh, 70 pages back in this thread.

I remember playing diablo2 online, trading for items and killing bosses. Was really a major part of the game's attraction for me.

John Reynolds

03-10-2007, 06:27 PM

The grey and white loot isn't a problem at all when holding down the Alt key. Never understood that gripe. Loot, however, that's wildly inappropriate for your level? Now that is annoying. Definitely wish the drop tables were a wee-bit more sophisticated/refined, but this Dreamkiller build is still hitting my fun G-spot. Made my first lesser artifact too, Touch of the Fool. Had to buy a scroll for $30k, but now I'm after venom sacs for my next one.

Jab2565

03-10-2007, 07:39 PM

I'm going thru legendary with my assassin and so far things are good, and I started my templar, phantomstrike with that skill upgrade is a killer.

If anyone wants to play multi, my assassin is on act 1 in legendary, and my templar is still act 1 normal.

barstein

03-10-2007, 09:52 PM

Do I need to do anything special in TQ to see the new content added by TQ:IT? It wasn't entirely clear to me if any new content was supposed to be actually inserted into the original game but that was the impression I got somehow. Plus the expansion installer seemed to drop everything into an entirely new path and never indicated that it knew or needed to know where TQ was.

Also, if I want to play in sequence I assume I still have to launch TQ on its own and not somehow play it through the expansion launcher?

Thanks to the person who mentioned the Best Buy deal, I might not have bothered if I hadn't seen that. Loving the game, wishing I could try out a Templar.

John Reynolds

03-10-2007, 10:45 PM

Do I need to do anything special in TQ to see the new content added by TQ:IT? It wasn't entirely clear to me if any new content was supposed to be actually inserted into the original game but that was the impression I got somehow. Plus the expansion installer seemed to drop everything into an entirely new path and never indicated that it knew or needed to know where TQ was.

Yeah, the installation wasn't as intuitive as it should've been. I just pointed IT to a new subfolder in my original TQ install and went from there.

Also, if I want to play in sequence I assume I still have to launch TQ on its own and not somehow play it through the expansion launcher?

No, just fire up IT and you're good to go.

Chris Nahr

03-11-2007, 03:55 AM

IT uses all the data in your original TQ installation but you must play from the IT launcher to get the new stuff. Also, do make a new character for IT... the game economy has changed dramatically with the new scrolls and artifacts, and there's a bunch of new mini-bosses sprinkled throughout the game.

Chris Nahr

03-11-2007, 03:57 AM

Mordrak

03-11-2007, 11:38 AM

I'm thinking about purchasing the expansion from D2D, but I purchased the boxed version of the original. How has the patching process for the download version been?

Michael Fitch

03-11-2007, 12:35 PM

Just found the "Letter from Beastman Archer #783"... hilarious! That's also the key to the secret area, right? What do I have to do now? I tried hitting those conspicuous scarecrows in the vicinity but nothing happened.
Greetings:
When I said we listened to our fans (http://www.titanquest.net/forums/spoilers/4026-i-beastman-titan-quest-aar.html?highlight=beastman+archer), I wasn't kidding.

That is not the key, btw.

Best,
Michael.

nKoan

03-11-2007, 11:41 PM

The old way to disable day/night cycling doesn't seem to work anymore. Has it changed, or has that ability been removed? Twilight/Dawn really bring my computer to a crawl (still).

flyinj

03-11-2007, 11:49 PM

I had forgotten that I actually still owned the original Titan Quest. So, I grabbed the expansion from D2D and rolled up a new character.

I started as a "Dreamer" or whatever it's called. Pretty fun so far. I've gotten to the third section of the first chapter. Is it me, or did they ramp up the difficulty a bit? My main problem with Titan Quest was it just wasn't challenging at all.

I have a few questions though: How does the save system work again? Does it only save you at the closest "sub-chapter" portal?

Also, I'm pretty confused as to what I'm supposed to be. I assume the Dreamer class is a melee fighter with extra magic. What should I do to compliment this? Another melee class, or can I got more magic-leaning?

Chris Nahr

03-12-2007, 12:40 AM

The game saves continually. I don't know the exact triggers but you never lose more than a few minutes of XP and gear in the case of a crash. Any regular exit also saves the game. And you can save manually if you like your armor with belt and suspenders.

I don't think the general difficulty has changed but there are new "special" monsters all over the place, and those are of course tougher and break the monotony a bit.

You can combine Dream with anything, really. TQ doesn't really have "magic" classes in the classic sense because magic users with high INT get to use staves, and those are basically regular weapons that work like faster bows. The various weapon bonuses of the Dream mastery apply to them as well.

flyinj

03-12-2007, 12:57 AM

I just got to this super hard creature on my way to Delphi. A huge cyclops who's name is red and it says "magical". I can't do anything to it... I die in 3 hits from him. How am I supposed to take this guy down?

EDIT: Oh, I just ran past him. I guess I'm supposed to come back to get him when I'm higher level?

Also, is it a good idea to multiclass right at level 8? Should you work on your main build first, then multiclass?

Chris Nahr

03-12-2007, 02:30 AM

John Reynolds

03-12-2007, 09:35 AM

Just hit 25th level with my Dreamkiller towards the end of Egypt. The more I play the more I don't like the drop + relic system. I find a lot of yellows that combined with a full relic are better items to equip than greens or even blues. I really wish purple drops would've been left as the one drop category that couldn't be combined with a relic.

Acoustic Rob

03-12-2007, 10:21 AM

Well, you can put relics on greens, you know. It's only blues and purples that you can't enhance--and there are a lot of low-level blues that aren't as good as a primo green+relic combo. Right now my Avenger (hunter/earth) is using a green bow that grants IAS and extra physical damage, socketed with a Prometheus' Flame relic that adds extra fire and burn damage. Thanks to the enchanters, I've been able to use that relic on a couple of different bows now; it's really nice to have something that does extra damage to undead and other pierce-resistant mobs.

And is there anything more annoying than finding an artifact recipie you really want to use but don't have the ingredients for? I've found one that's usable at level 5(!) that grants 15% IAS(!!) but needs a spectral matter, which is one of the harder relics to complete.

stusser

03-12-2007, 10:34 AM

Gendal

03-12-2007, 11:14 AM

Speaking of hard bosses, what is up with the huge albino widow in hades? Holy crap, i died 15 times to that boss, and she heals when you die so you have to start over. In the end I gave up. I just don't have enough AE damage to take down the little spiders she spawns.

That was one of the two bosses that killed my Templar once on normal. Funny enough on epic I geared up for a massive battle that ended up being a breeze.

John Reynolds

03-12-2007, 11:19 AM

And is there anything more annoying than finding an artifact recipie you really want to use but don't have the ingredients for? I've found one that's usable at level 5(!) that grants 15% IAS(!!) but needs a spectral matter, which is one of the harder relics to complete.

Heh, just got my first greater artifact in Babylon and while I've made 6 lesser artifacts now Druidic Wreath (the greater I just got) calls for two I've never seen the recipes for.

I knew about the green drops, just wish you could also slap a relic onto a blue.

flyinj

03-12-2007, 11:32 AM

There is something about this expansion. I'm having way more fun with the original campaign than I had when I first played it when it came out.

I don't know what it is... but I'm *really* enjoying the game. The previous time I played I was just constantly bored. Now I can't wait to get home and play more.

Jab2565

03-12-2007, 12:01 PM

I noticed that the graphic effects with the advance detail option are alot better now in the original campaign. When it's night time it looks alot more like darkness then before. I've yet to find a formula with my templar. The loot drops seem easier now, I usually find at least 3 green items in 2 hours.

That spider boss is pretty hard, if you pick up a scroll that delivers AOE damage you should be able to knock them out quick. All the little spiders seem to combine their attacks with that damm red lightning power. I think I may have found 2 bugs on the original campaign, the side quest to get the sword from the beserker in the egypt campaign, doesn't spawn the first time I go to egypt. Also the portal to the city where the woman with the boar killing quest in Greece, is not showing up on my portal list, and I know that I activated the portal.

scharmers

03-12-2007, 12:11 PM

Just as a head's up, the D2D version version works well on a 1.30 patched TQ. In addition, once you've got the initial internet activation of the expansion done, you don't need the TQ disk inserted any more.

Robert Sharp

03-12-2007, 12:30 PM

Enidigm

03-12-2007, 12:33 PM

Yea,.. but the D2D version download expires after a period of time.

I wish everyone would move to Steam. Steam, for all it's bad press, allows me to download the game forever, which finally makes download version superior to the hard copy.

flyinj

03-12-2007, 12:46 PM

Yea,.. but the D2D version download expires after a period of time.

Wait, what? D2D stuff "expires"? After how long?

Enidigm

03-12-2007, 01:07 PM

er, sorry, what i meant was that you cannot download the game anymore after a period of time has passed.

scharmers

03-12-2007, 01:27 PM

Odd, I have my entire list of games on D3D available for download, including SWAT 4 which I purchased a year back or so.

Just in case, I have all the installs burned on DVD. D2D has been pretty good to me so far.

stusser

03-12-2007, 01:57 PM

Steam, for all it's bad press, allows me to download the game forever, which finally makes download version superior to the hard copy.
You can download it as long as Steam is around. As we saw with Prey, these services aren't guaranteed to survive. Not saying I wouldn't bet money on Steam making it, but keep that in mind.

Kunikos

03-12-2007, 05:38 PM

You're supposed to not let the cyclops hit you, of course! He's slow and announces his attacks, so you just keep running around and hitting him with a bow. You do have a good bow, right? Any character needs a decent ranged attack.

I'm a Paladin (Defense/Storm) and I go toe-to-toe with the Cyclops and don't even bother dodging.

BTW: A new version of TQ Defiler (http://tq.demortex.com/) is out for the expansion pack. It's what let me respec my character without doing the whole 10 levels over again or waiting until I'm completely gimped. I wasn't enjoying the Defense/Dream character at all, but so far I'm thinking the Defense/Storm will be good. It has a AoE freeze, an enemy beneficial spell and temporary skill disrupt, a player based aura of enemy retaliation slow-down and bonus lightning/cold damage.

My build so far can be viewed here (http://www.titancalc.com/TitanCalc.asp?mastery=Paladin&master1=8&master2=5&m1=4-0-2-0-0-2-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0&m2=14-1-2-1-1-1-0-1-2-1-1-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0).

John Reynolds

03-12-2007, 06:13 PM

I think Jeff Green in the latest GFW issue is right: they're gonna' have to nerf Dreams. My Dreamkiller is so much more powerful than my conqueror it's not even funny. Chick tears through Asian kitty villages like they're Yancy Street punks and I've barely touched the rogue skills (still on its first rung of skills).

Kalle

03-12-2007, 07:04 PM

I had a lvl 34 Paladin (Defense/Storm) that I could have imported and played Act 4 directly, but considering what a pain it was playing him through China I wasn't even going to try. I don't know how I gimped him back when TQ was first released, but he's gimped alright.

Ended up just making a brand new Hunter and I just finished Act 2 on Normal. It's a breeze playing with her. I'm planning on making her a Brigand eventually but so far I have pumped all my points into Hunting and it's paid off in spades. I've maxed marksmanship, wood lore and art of the hunt and I'm working my way up the marksmanship tree after that.

I kill things faster than my Paladin ever did and I'm much more survivable too.

Jab2565

03-12-2007, 07:20 PM

I agree with Dream maybe being too powerful. It has 2 pretty powerful AOE skills (phantomstrike +dreamkiller, and that rift spell). Also it has skills for improving speed and offense and defense ability. I'm on egypt now with my templar and I'm barely up the defense tree, but 24 points in dream and nothing except for bosses can survive long against my attacks.

Mordrak

03-12-2007, 10:45 PM

Well I broke down. I bought it and am installing now. Anyone try Dream/Necro?

nKoan

03-12-2007, 10:58 PM

Mordrak

03-12-2007, 11:01 PM

Dream/Necro? You mean Dream/Spirit?

Cause, yeah I am doing it. Level 20 now in normal Egypt, and using mostly Dream and just owning most of everything. And that sounds like everyone who's relying heavily on Dream :p

Errr, Yeah. I was Spirit/Earth (conjurer?) last time, but during some online trading in epic difficulty someone completed a quest, which kept me from completing the game again. I shelved it after that. Thanks for the heads up.

Chris Nahr

03-13-2007, 05:15 AM

I'm missing Typhon and the Manticore. Are they exclusive to Epic and Legendary? I don't quite recall...

Jab2565

03-13-2007, 09:52 AM

Manticore is only on epic or legendary, I haven't gotten thru normal yet with the new content to see if they left typhon in. Does anyone know if they added in new bosses for legendary?

stusser

03-13-2007, 10:48 AM

Huh? Typhon is the titan, he's the end boss of the original game. Of course he's in normal mode, otherwise you'd fight your way to the top of olympus peak and Zeus would go "Hail, Hero. Typhon isn't in right now, please play epic difficulty and he'll get back to you as soon as possible. *BEEP*"

Kunikos

03-13-2007, 11:50 AM

scharmers

03-13-2007, 12:39 PM

Sorry, but the princess is in another castle!

YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG

Kalle

03-13-2007, 02:29 PM

The Manticore (Three heads, snake, lion, goat, right?) is in Normal. He's a boss you meet below Babylon. Typhon is still in the game too, I just shot him hill of arrows 20 minutes ago.

nKoan

03-13-2007, 02:33 PM

The Manticore (Three heads, snake, lion, goat, right?) is in Normal. He's a boss you meet below Babylon. Typhon is still in the game too, I just shot him hill of arrows 20 minutes ago.

No, that's the Chimera. The Manticore is in Egypt, and only in Epic and Legendary.

EDIT: I originally said they were similar historically, but they aren't that similar. The Chimera is a part snake, lion, goat thing. The Manticore is traditionally described a lion with a human face, but with sharper teeth and with a scorpion tail. Also, I've heard of chimera (lowercase 'c') being used as a generic term for any creature which is an amalgamation of other animals.

Kunikos

03-13-2007, 02:42 PM

YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG

http://www.retrojunk.com/img/art-images/Anal%20Retentive%20Chef.jpg

Now, I like to put 1-Up mushrooms separately into plastic bags... but first I think we should wrap them in paper... oh, this paper is dirty...

Chris Nahr

03-13-2007, 03:48 PM

Dave Markell

03-13-2007, 03:52 PM

Yes, the Manticore is the one in Egypt, at the bottom of a really deep and otherwise unremarkable dungeon near the Fayum oasis.

About Typhon, I thought he was the big towering construct you meet in Crete, at the entrance to the Minoan labyrinth? Because there wasn't any big towering construct there. What's his name if it wasn't Typhon?

I believe it's Talos. If it isn't, from a mythological perspective it should be.

nKoan

03-13-2007, 03:53 PM

Yes, the Manticore is the one in Egypt, at the bottom of a really deep and otherwise unremarkable dungeon near the Fayum oasis.

About Typhon, I thought he was the big towering construct you meet in Crete, at the entrance to the Minoan labyrinth? Because there wasn't any big towering construct there. What's his name if it wasn't Typhon?

Typhon is the end boss. That big towering construct is only there in Legendary I thought. Maybe in Epic too, but I don't remember him being as towering. Either way, I can't remember his name.

EDIT: Ah, I think Dave Markell is right. I think it is Talos.

McBain

03-13-2007, 03:54 PM

Still holding out for that Circuit City deal next week before I bite the bullet on this one.

Question: Does melee still suck ass in the expansion? I thought the whole dual wield tree was completely underwhelming in the original game -- though to be fair, I didn't get past Greece with a melee character.

nKoan

03-13-2007, 03:59 PM

I think a melee character with Dream as a secondary mastery would be much better than in the original game.

Jab2565

03-13-2007, 05:38 PM

Melee with dream mastery is so much easier then other masteries. The 2 aoe skills it has can pretty much get you out of any crowd of guys. I just created my first artifact for my templar, the star one. There is no way I'm going to be making all the formulas I've found. My assassin thru just the epic version of the new content found at least 9 greater and divine scrolls.

John Reynolds

03-13-2007, 07:08 PM

Just hit Typhon on normal with my Dreamkiller, first time I've fought him since the game originally shipped. Umm, WTF? You can't take out his statues, which means the fucker spams continually with those special attacks. I can't imagine any tank build standing toe to toe with him, which is exactly what my Conqueror used to do on Epic. I'd died like 5 times throughout the first three acts, but probably bit it 7-9 times killing him.

Equisilus

03-13-2007, 07:14 PM

Yep, the statues went indestructible at 1.20 of the original TQ. It's definitely a tough fight, and all that dodging and hitting gets rather dull. I've never died fighting Typhon on any difficulty level, but some of those battles can be incredibly long. Just stock up on potions for the battle (I literally fill up my inventory with them because the battle is so long with a melee character).

Thomas Wilde

03-13-2007, 07:22 PM

I think a melee character with Dream as a secondary mastery would be much better than in the original game.

I have a Fighter/Dream character who specialized in Distortion Wave. The melee wasn't often all that necessary.

Kalle

03-13-2007, 07:41 PM

The artifact making is just evil. Not only was I obsessing over relic and charm drops to make my lesser artifact recipies, greater artifacts need lesser artifacts meaning I'm obsessing over the lesser artifact I lack that I need just for components. And there's always that one component that you can never seem to get.

Like how I had to wait til act five to get a complete charm of spectral matter to complete the recipie that dropped in Act 1. I went throgh every damn tomb in egypt hunting ghosts with little success. The game has stopped about being about beating the crap out of stuff and turned into a crafting obsession. And I can't stop. Well, I can, I just don't want to. Honestly. Must get that damn lupine claws charm.

Enidigm

03-13-2007, 09:24 PM

Hmm, Kalle, that sounds like fun. Being a packrat i have several characters packed with assembled relics.

So does this expansion add meaningful content in the valuation of those whom have it now for a non-Dream Mastery in the Acts before 4?

Jab2565

03-13-2007, 09:45 PM

I seem to be the opposite of Kalle with luck for drops. I just got enough spectral matter for 2 recipes in normal, yet I spent the last hour hunting for the last set's revenge relic I need to complete my artifact.

Besides the new act, there isn't any new content like quests/new monsters in the old acts. Hero monsters do appear more often now and the drop rates on greens/blues seems to have been upped.

Gryndyl

03-13-2007, 09:48 PM

Greetings:
When I said we listened to our fans (http://www.titanquest.net/forums/spoilers/4026-i-beastman-titan-quest-aar.html?highlight=beastman+archer), I wasn't kidding.

That is not the key, btw.

Best,
Michael.

Heh, and I don't know yet how to find him either :P

Chris Nahr

03-14-2007, 03:51 AM

Besides the new act, there isn't any new content like quests/new monsters in the old acts.

That's definitely not true. In addition to the more numerous named mini-bosses you mentioned, there are a couple of higher-level monsters that weren't in the original game (e.g. Monstrous Boars). Some named items and sets appear to be new, and of course there are the artifact scrolls.

Kalle

03-14-2007, 09:00 AM

Chris Nahr

03-14-2007, 09:49 AM

Well, you see, those frogs and crabs live on the banks of the river Styx, and the ant-men, um, err...

Kunikos

03-14-2007, 04:40 PM

Enidigm

03-14-2007, 05:20 PM

Well, you see, those frogs and crabs live on the banks of the river Styx, and the ant-men, um, err...

... live underground! Hades is underground.

But.... what's under the underground? Have you thought about that?

whoa

Dean

03-14-2007, 08:30 PM

Just want to take a brief moment and vent my general sense of WTF?! at the art direction in the expansion. Now, TQ was always a bit cartoony and over the top with the mobs, but when I'm attacked by giant freaking frogs, murderous crabs and weird ant-men WHILE IN HADES I can't help but think that the creative department at Iron Lore ran out of steam a long, long time ago.

Actually the frogs are from Aristophanes' The Frogs where Dionysus descends into the underworld and is attacked by the croaking of millions of frogs.

The ant-men are a nod to the myth of Aeacus, one of the three judges of the underworld. When his kingdom suffered a horrific plague, the gods turned ants into men to repopulate his cities.

And the crabs... well, no idea there.

scharmers

03-14-2007, 08:55 PM

Actually the frogs are from Aristophanes' The Frogs where Dionysus descends into the underworld and is attacked by the croaking of millions of frogs.

pwnt

The ant-men are a nod to the myth of Aeacus, one of the three judges of the underworld. When his kingdom suffered a horrific plague, the gods turned ants into men to repopulate his cities.

pwnt

And the crabs... well, no idea there.

The crabs have something to do with Lysistrata, I think

DustyTheHamster

03-15-2007, 10:01 PM

I really shouldn't have bought the expansion. Started playing at about 1pm and now it's almost midnight. Originally I had fired up my old level 36 Queasy Nart (http://www.titancalc.com/TitanCalc.asp?mastery=Assassin&master1=6&master2=3&m1=32-0-0-3-0-0-3-0-0-2-0-0-4-0-2-1-3-0-3-0-0&m2=32-1-0-3-1-0-2-0-1-0-7-0-0-6-0-6-0-0-0-2-1-0) build but but soon realised it would be alot easier to run through with the super twinked hunter/storm toon I've got. Let's just say now I've got the recipie for the divine artifact 'Ikon of Zeus' and have alot of farming to do.

Does anyone know if the level or relics used to make lesser artifacts matter? Also are certain levels of recipies only dropped on certain difficulties in a 9 hour run on legendary came across 2 divine recipies and only 2 lessers from quests.

Chris Nahr

03-16-2007, 04:07 AM

I'm also curious if I can use epic boar hides for my artifacts. If not I'll have to go back to Greece and farm boars now...

Kalle

03-16-2007, 05:16 AM

I'm pretty sure epic level charms are different from normal level charms, so back to greece you go.

Or, you could just take a new char and pool their artifacts and charms in the caravan. Means you've got a better chance of getting what you need for both of them.

Chris Nahr

03-16-2007, 08:51 AM

I know that epic partial charms don't combine with normal partial charms but are you sure that epic complete charms can't be used for artifact recipes? That's what I was wondering.

But I agree that the shared caravan area will be most likely used for charms and relics. It's like Iron Lore tweaked the random number generator so that at least one charm/relic per artifact almost never drops. I can't believe I never even got five silly boar hides. :(

Kalle

03-16-2007, 09:05 AM

Recipies list specific ingredients and since the game differentiates between epic and normal charms and relics the recipies do to. I think epic charms and relics are used with epic-drop recipies, though I haven't found one yet.

Jab2565

03-16-2007, 11:10 AM

Yeah if the formula was found on normal then it only uses normal relics and charms, epic epic charms etc. I have formulas from normal and epic and it does differentiates between the types. I don't know yet if normal artifacts will be used in epic and legendary formulas.

Geo

03-16-2007, 02:24 PM

The expansion re-addicted me in spite of me having all the technical problems many (but not all) users report (slowdown, erratic mini-pauses etc.). I'm often hosting games as "Maximus" (yes, I'm original :p), who's level 40, so I'm doing early Epic level games now. The early game is a lot more fun with skills mostly developed and tougher creatures, better loot etc. at Epic.

Look me up. The revamped game browser is much more useful and you can see exactly who's in a game (and what levels, types etc.) before joining.

I can usually host maybe 4 people total without too serious a lagging problemo.

John Reynolds

03-16-2007, 04:42 PM

Yeah, I wouldn't mind a little MP action for either of my toons. I'll browse around for a Qt3 game later tonight.

DustyTheHamster

03-16-2007, 04:49 PM

Finally finished hades on legendary and an odd thing happened, he dropped loot and the essence. I was using my sage and doing the kite around fire 2 shots run tactic died a few times learning the attack paths and patterns but witteled him down. Anyway I'm up for some MP tonight if it's alright for me to bring my assassin along.

If anyone knows what quest 'The Overlord' item is for I'm curious to know as all of them are currently flagged as complete.

Dirt

03-16-2007, 05:40 PM

... live underground! Hades is underground.

But.... what's under the underground? Have you thought about that?

whoa
Gold. Jewels. Dis Pater.

Jab2565

03-16-2007, 07:00 PM

I could probably host a game tomorrow night with either my new guy on normal or my assassin on legendary or epic.

John Reynolds

03-16-2007, 07:17 PM

I could probably host a game tomorrow night with either my new guy on normal or my assassin on legendary or epic.

Sounds good, just post when you're ready.

DustyTheHamster

03-16-2007, 07:33 PM

Level 44 close to 45 assassin if you go epic prolly gonna get ripped apart in legendary.

Started a new dream/nature chick if you go normal still crawling along toward the end of act1 though. I tend to keep going back to the starting city and running from there again for the low level xp to get the skills up.

Jab2565

03-16-2007, 09:01 PM

Right now I'm on act 3 in normal and act 1 on legendary, so depending on what you guys want to do I can play either. I can probably host around 9:30 est.

John Reynolds

03-16-2007, 09:58 PM

Doesn't matter to me. Got a 33rd lvl Dreamkiller and a 53rd level Conqueror.

Jab2565

03-16-2007, 10:48 PM

Doesn't matter to me. Got a 33rd lvl Dreamkiller and a 53rd level Conqueror.

Hehe your not making my choice any easier. Is your conqueror the character we finshed legendary with several months ago?

John Reynolds

03-16-2007, 10:50 PM

Hehe your not making my choice any easier. Is your conqueror the character we finshed legendary with several months ago?

Yep. Taking him through the new areas on easy, just to learn the lay of the land and the new quests.

Jab2565

03-16-2007, 10:52 PM

One nice thing about the engine is that if you go back with a really high level character to normal first area, you can pretty much send any guy flying. I knocked a satyr at least 40 feet into the river with my assassin.

Chris Nahr

03-17-2007, 01:15 AM

Yeah, I get this all the time with my Dreamkiller when I use the multi-target attack, whatever its name. Sometimes they fly off the screen. :)

John Reynolds

03-17-2007, 07:53 AM

Yeah, that Dream right-click attack had guys flying in the air on normal difficulty in Act 1, something I'd only seen last summer with my Conqueror after he'd hit high 30s and with normal enemies.

Equisilus

03-17-2007, 01:36 PM

Hmm, my Templar (level 33) is now just beyond Medea in the new expansion areas and I have to say that I think the difficulty got ramped up a bit. Is it just because the areas are new so I have to take it a little slower or is drinking down potions like mad even with the little guys usual? I made it to this point without a death in this game, yet, but I've noticed I've come awfully close and that's not even against boss creatures. I'm kinda dreading what's coming if it's this tough throughout.

Typhon was a grind, as usual. Wish they'd bring back the ability to destroy the statues. At least that made it interesting.

Sectoid

03-17-2007, 01:56 PM

There's a definite hump in the difficulty at the early parts of Hades, but it planes off after a while. I hemorrhaged potions up until I started fighting the undead, who seem a bit easier than the frogs and crabs.

Equisilus

03-17-2007, 02:30 PM

Ah, good to know. I was thinking I'd be in grind mode all the way from Typhon to the conclusion!

Those artifact recipes are resulting in a big hoard of relics and charms. I'm beginning to wish for a "relic & charm" bag or something, even with the new caravan storage.

Kunikos

03-17-2007, 04:31 PM

Doesn't matter to me. Got a 33rd lvl Dreamkiller and a 53rd level Conqueror.

would u mind posting your conqueror build?

Jab2565

03-17-2007, 05:52 PM

Ok around 9:30 I'll post here about the game, I think I'll go thru with my templar on normal, as I need to get another character to epic so I can start farming relics and charms for the scrolls I've found. One thing I noticed on the new content in epic at least was a rise in the number of good drops. I think I found at least 3 purples going thru and several green items that give a skill.

When an item grants a skill that's not in your mastery trees, do you still get that skill? My assassin found an item that grants armor handling which is defense but he's of course warfare and rogue.

stusser

03-17-2007, 06:12 PM

Not sure how it works with passives, but with active skills absolutely. You can put them on your hotkey bar and everything.

Jab2565

03-17-2007, 07:32 PM

Ok starting it up now
game name qt3
pass qt3

it's going to be on normal.

Lum

03-17-2007, 09:36 PM

I've been playing using a Harbinger (Dreamer/Warrior). Good lord, Dreamer is overpowered, as everyone has said. The combo of the AOE nuke and the warp/swing in Dream wipes out anything, and at level 22 I've just started pumping the passive defensive skills. I can only imagine what this beast will fight like at higher levels.

DustyTheHamster

03-17-2007, 10:20 PM

I've been going the other way with it in a dreamer/nature build, going for summoning and back up. I have to admit though looking at teh dreamer for comboing into a melee build or even a straight up caster build is frightening, thinking about storm/dream for a trial run once normal is finished with the current dreamer combo.

John Reynolds

03-17-2007, 10:31 PM

Ok starting it up now
game name qt3
pass qt3

it's going to be on normal.

Just got back from the emergency room with my 3.5yo daughter so no gaming for me tonight. Sorry.

Equisilus

03-18-2007, 05:57 AM

I can see why ILE has such a hard time balancing this game. On one hand there are folks like me saying that boss encounters are way too hard, and that the expansion really ramped up the difficulty, but then there are others saying how the Dream mastery is overpowered and needs to be cut back a bit (and I'm playing a Templar [Dream/Defense]). It's almost as if this game needs some sort of separate difficulty slider apart from the normal to allow the game to be tweaked for each individual taste.

Personally, I find hacking enemies to pieces with ease to be quite fun. Wish I had more of that.

Geo

03-18-2007, 10:16 AM

My warfare/defense Conqueror Maximus is nearing 46 around act II, Epic. I have to say once you find a good epic or set piece weapon or two, in my case it was, here's a pic:
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y121/corporalgeo/titanquestThrone/loot/EPIC_rimeScythe.jpg

Once you find that sort of thing, then going to the store just becomes a depressing exercise. :D

I was hoping Epic would be more of a challenge, and while I do take some damage and have the occasional challenging moment, it's mostly just "lather, rinse, repeat" unless you choose to use lousy weapons as a way to make the game tougher. Once in a blue moon the game spawns something about 8-9 levels above me and thats maybe the rare moment I sweat. I'm hoping by later acts it'll get tougher again.

And the game could definitely use more bosses as large and entertaining as the Artificial Construct boss. He isn't even a quest boss or anything special, but he's so much more fun to watch than most. :)

Here's a video. I don't think we can "embed" videos here so it's a link to my photobucket space:
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y121/corporalgeo/titanquestThrone/gameplayvideos/th_TqitGiantConstructRobot1.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y121/corporalgeo/titanquestThrone/gameplayvideos/?action=view&current=TqitGiantConstructRobot1.flv)

Hope using images is OK, I won't go crazy with them. :)

My take is there are so many masteries, and combinations, and unless they can implement the long suggested "difficulty slider" in some way, there's just no way for the game to adjust the difficulty to every single combination of masteries and every single distribution of points to said masteries. That's way some sorta slider (even if just for single player) would be good, because what's boring to me may be a "just right" difficulty for someone else; and what's a "refreshing challenge" to me might really annoy somebody. :)

Geo

03-18-2007, 10:25 AM

Oh if you're into "click till your wrist breaks" Hack'n'slashers, there's of course Silverfall coming out shortly, but perhaps more promising (and a lot more grisly and violent, if that's your thing) is another French-made one, Loki. They released a trailer the other day (tentatively due in April some time here):
http://www.loki-game.com/en/loki.php

At another board I said I'd laugh out loud the first time I see a prevew referring to Loki as a "Titan Quest" clone. :-) It seems promising enough and promises lots of massive bosses, though we'll have to wait and see if a demo comes out.

Jab2565

03-18-2007, 10:25 AM

I found that the crystaline bracers, but neither fit my assassin build. Legendary is when the game pulls out all the stops. I was fighting the hydra last week, and even with a scroll boosting my elemental resist I couldn't hurt it. I was kinda hoping that they added in hidden bosses for act 4 on epic or legendary. I should be on today either playing epic or legendary farming for artifact parts.

mono

03-18-2007, 10:32 AM

Just got back from the emergency room with my 3.5yo daughter so no gaming for me tonight. Sorry.

Yikes. Hope everything is alright John.

Equisilus

03-18-2007, 10:36 AM

Hey Geo, how'd that battle end? ;)

I just died my first death at level 35 in Hades. I was swarmed by some Pale Formacids (I believe they are called) and two of them were Captains with some big hit/stun thing going on, I think. As I was retreating from this circle of death with little health left, I thought I'd be smart and decided to turn and put them to sleep (I'm a Templar, and make liberal use of Sands of Sleep) but I forgot there's a little pause before I get the spell off. Unfortunately, that was enough for a Captain to reach me again and I was a puff of dust. Ah well. I'll chalk that one up to my mistake, not a game difficulty issue.

To John: indeed, I hope everything is okay with your daughter.

Jab2565

03-18-2007, 10:59 AM

Just got back from the emergency room with my 3.5yo daughter so no gaming for me tonight. Sorry.

No problem, hope your daughter is alright.

John Reynolds

03-18-2007, 11:32 AM

Thanks guys. She's fine this morning. She was just severely constipated and nothing we could do for over 4 days (kayro, suppositories, etc.) was helping so we took her for an x-ray to make sure she wasn't impacted. She finally 'went' this morning, passing a stool that would've made me cry.

Geo

03-18-2007, 12:46 PM

Hey Geo, how'd that battle end? ;)The brief conclusion! :)
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y121/corporalgeo/titanquestThrone/gameplayvideos/th_ddfcfed4.jpg (http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y121/corporalgeo/titanquestThrone/gameplayvideos/?action=view&current=ddfcfed4.flv)

I took heckacious splash damage when it fell. Usually I'm smart and keep Colossus (you become a giant temporarily with mega damage and defense buffs) or the Ancestral Horn (3 summoned ghost swordsmen) ready and I think in that video I didn't. It did end OK. Thanks for asking. :) I liked its variety of attacks, which seemed to include left hand flamethrower, right hand "swinging chained detached hand" attack, foot stomp and an occasional burst of lightning nova. I wish other bosses had such variety.

And my best regards for John and daughter too. :)

Jab2565

03-18-2007, 01:52 PM

I think I kinda broke TQ earlier. I kept on switching between characters to get some relics pooled together, on loading up the third guy the game froze and I couldn't get it to run. Closing the game and restarting didn't work.

Equisilus

03-18-2007, 03:17 PM

Speaking of hard bosses, what is up with the huge albino widow in hades? Holy crap, i died 15 times to that boss, and she heals when you die so you have to start over. In the end I gave up. I just don't have enough AE damage to take down the little spiders she spawns.

I just met up with her in my current game and died twice in rapid succession. I don't think I even got a hit in, either time. Although I used a Cyclops scroll to see if that'd do anything (it didn't; she whomped him in no time, too). I then tried to take her on by using a bow (my secondary weapon, which I haven't had to use yet) but I only get one shot in before having to run like mad for while to get her off my back. Then I'm left taking care of the minions before getting one more shot at her. That's just not something I'm interested in doing for the hour or so it'd take to kill her. I'm thinking I need mega stun resistance, bleeding resistance, or life leech resistance or something. I just can't go toe-to-toe. Arg!

I'm thinking there's something in this cave that I need, though. Must remember to check my journal when I get back in the game.

As usual, this is the type of battle that just turns me right off. Two kills without even getting a hit on that spider seems a tad strange. At least other mega-tough one-hit kills gave me at least a token hit. Have to say, dying on Normal is new; haven't had that happen to a character since my first play through of TQ, if I remember correctly, and now I have three deaths in Hades on my current character. Ouch.

Kalle

03-18-2007, 03:23 PM

Agreed on the spider boss. My archer brigand died twice on her, and I spent half an hour finally killing her. The tactic was to hit her once, then kite her to the point where she loses interest. At that point I can dart in and out of distance and have her jo-jo back and forth. What made it difficult with her was her cursed mini-spawns. The undodgable ranged attack hurts like hell and every arrow spent on killing them is an arrow that could have whittled down mommy spider's HP.

stusser

03-18-2007, 04:04 PM

Yeah, it's a quest boss. I agree, that spider is WAY too hard for normal mode.

Equisilus

03-18-2007, 05:54 PM

Hmm, tried her again with my secondary bow but noticed that I was practically doing no damage to her anyway. Decided to give up but got caught on my way out and I died again; it's just not worth the trouble for this character. Movin' on. :(

Overall, I'd have to say that from the moment I hit Typhon onwards, I'm finding TQ:IT to be more of a grinding chore. I really loved the original portion and everything that was done to enhance the game within that section. I also love the look of the new IT areas, and some areas are just spectacular. Honestly, though, I'm not too keen on playing the IT areas as much as playing new characters through the portion up to Typhon.

Meh, maybe I'm getting grumpy in my old age. Enough complaining for the day. *grumble grumble*

Geo

03-18-2007, 09:23 PM

I'm the opposite - going through the old stuff is tedious (for me) and the Act 4 stuff seems so much more imaginative in story, quests and set design. I think that's part of the reason clowns keep joining my MP games (labeled as Epic Act 2) and jumping into Act 4 and start activating quests there - very annoying. :D Or maybe they're just farming Typhon. I haven't done act 4 enough to even know what players were saying when they'd say "let's farm Typhon!" Blargh. I'm grumpy too, just from the standpoint I wanted to enjoy the act 4 storyline, not Speed Dash to Typhon, which is what I keep running into.

Just when I was complaining the game was too easy, I ran into Manticore (and not the friendly super hero in City of Heroes) in some sandswept caves that I don't think I've bothered to go into before (it's one with an endless number of stairs), like so:
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y121/corporalgeo/titanquestThrone/ManticoreLegend.jpg
Another crazy, imaginative boss (he spits fire, lightning, and "poison bullet salvos", and his "tail mace" is nasty), but again not a quest boss and I think I've skipped this one without knowing it previously. If he wasn't 12 (!) levels over me, I think I could've taken him but instead I, my ancestral horn summons and my "scroll Dijinn summons" all got whacked repeatedly.

DustyTheHamster

03-18-2007, 09:58 PM

Geo - What name do you host as ( game name i'm tired of clicking each and every game trying to find the right maximus weilding the rimscythe ). What time do you usually have the game up around ifyou could include what timezone your talking about if it's not EDT that would be helpful too.

'Farming Typhon' refers to Typhon the Titan the original final boss at the top of olympus you run to him, kill, click essence, grab loot, drop the generi loot, make or join a new game, rinse, and repeat. Farming in this usually game refers to killing a select mob ( Typhon or Hades current favorites as their loot tables are usually much nicer ) quickly and repeatedly. I have actually taken to 'farming' Hades, Telkin of act3 and typhon in one game once the last of the 3 is dead I drop to main menu and remake the game. Using a Highly tweaked out charcter it's easy to amass a little cache of pruples and blues to spread around alts that I choose to play slower for fun and enjoyment.

Edit to add- If people have a set they are looking to complete let me know and I'll keep an eye out for it.

Dave Markell

03-19-2007, 01:14 AM

Yeah, it's a quest boss. I agree, that spider is WAY too hard for normal mode.

I think (like most bosses) that she's build-dependent. I killed her with my Conquerer (level 34, no outstanding gear but no crap either) without much trouble. Colossus form + 5 Ancestral Spirits + lots of strong defensive powers worked nicely. The chest behind her holds the Mirror of Psyche, which you need to advance the Orpheus/Eurydice side quest to the next stage. Fun, but not critical. You can always come back with more levels and better gear later on.

Dave Markell

03-19-2007, 01:16 AM

I'm the opposite - going through the old stuff is tedious (for me) and the Act 4 stuff seems so much more imaginative in story, quests and set design.

I agree. I'm having a blast in Act 4 so far--it's easily my favorite act, though I'm only about 2/3's of the way through it so my opinion could still change.

Dave Markell

03-19-2007, 01:19 AM

One more TQ post: anyone know how to backup save files? I can't find them in the game directory, and I've seen enough reports of people having them get corrupted/needing to reinstall/etc. that I'd like to keep a copy somewhere safe.

Chris Nahr

03-19-2007, 02:34 AM

Chris Nahr

03-19-2007, 02:39 AM

My Dreamkiller beat Typhon, and it was the usual boring grind. Pop in, fire arrow, pop back out. No chance going hand-to-hand with him, he'd just use one of his instadeath attacks like the meteors and I wouldn't get away fast enough to survive. I'd really like to know which kind of build can melee Typhon.

I like Act 4 a lot so far. Somewhat harder than Act 3 but not outrageously so, and the new escort missions are fun.

But what's the matter with spectres? I can't get no spectral matter! There's one artifact that requires spectral matter, and I have only one piece so far. (I built a full charm earlier but used that for another artifact.) Farming the Sphinx didn't give me a single drop. I hope Hades is full of spectres...

Chris Nahr

03-19-2007, 02:41 AM

Oh yeah, scrolls are completely useless! I tried a bunch against Typhon and I might as well not have bothered. They have a gigantic cool-off time, and it applies to ALL scrolls, not just to the type you fired off, so forget about using two scroll effects at the same time. The effects are also decidedly underwhelming -- the area of AoE spells is so small that I never managed to trap Typhon in it.

Kalle

03-19-2007, 04:00 AM

But what's the matter with spectres? I can't get no spectral matter! There's one artifact that requires spectral matter, and I have only one piece so far. (I built a full charm earlier but used that for another artifact.) Farming the Sphinx didn't give me a single drop. I hope Hades is full of spectres...

Act 2 and act 5 are the main places to find spectral matter. Not just Hades but Rhodos before before that too.

Lum

03-19-2007, 09:03 AM

Dave Markell

03-19-2007, 09:19 AM

Geez Dave, are you new to this whole Windows stuff? :)

The save files are in My Documents\My Games, of course. I think you only need to back up the Immortal Thrones folder for an IT character but while you're there you might as well save the original Titan Quest folder, too. Pack them into an archive, with all nested subdirectories.

Ah, thanks Chris. I look for game files in the main game directory, which is where I usually find them. It always surprises me when they're elsewhere.

Dave Markell

03-19-2007, 09:21 AM

DustyTheHamster

03-19-2007, 11:08 AM

My Dreamkiller beat Typhon, and it was the usual boring grind. Pop in, fire arrow, pop back out. No chance going hand-to-hand with him, he'd just use one of his instadeath attacks like the meteors and I wouldn't get away fast enough to survive. I'd really like to know which kind of build can melee Typhon.

Queasy Nart can but I've got to keep moving. The usual path is to get to top of the ramp and B line towards the top and come around on his side when he get's locked into a fire breath animation. Drop flag and summon spirits hit him a few times with onslaught so the bonuses start taking effect and start running around him in a clockwise manner. The 2 tricks are to first off not run straigh at him ever unless he is locked in an animation for attacking in a direction your not coming from, and to not wait for him to act before you react always assume that he is about to attack after 2 quick shots and be moving another quarter of the way around him.

McBain

03-19-2007, 11:10 AM

I just paid $31 for TQ + Immortal Throne at Circuit City.

Awww yeah.

Geo

03-19-2007, 01:29 PM

Geo - What name do you host as ( game name i'm tired of clicking each and every game trying to find the right maximus weilding the rimscythe ). What time do you usually have the game up around ifyou could include what timezone your talking about if it's not EDT that would be helpful too.FWIW, my game's always called "Maximus's Epic Act blah blah" :) I'll see about changing it to Maximus-Geo, or Max's Quarter to Three.

I guess I usually am playing around 7:30-midnight, Eastern time.

For now it's usually Epic, and with Auto Party set "on." I prefer to do quests, stick together and while I'm no slowpoke, I tend not to rush like mad.

I didn't realize so many people here play. I'd be glad to set up a 3 or 4 player game and give it a password related to here -- maybe "quarter" or "three" or something :) Maximus is 46 now. I've got a 30 archer type with some broken quests (MP mess). Beyond that I've stopped my "alt-itis," as I'd rather stick with one or two and get them to Legendary difficulty some day. :)

I'd love also to get some help on that nasty Manticore boss I mentioned earlier. I don't even know if he's worth bothering with - I'm just mad at him. :D It takes too long to hoof it back down there, so he's all healed by the time I return from rezzing (there aren't any rebirth fountains in the windswept caves, afik).

This game is seriously hurting my right wrist. I can't really explain it. The Diablo games hurt my Mouse but certainly not my wrist like this. Maybe it's a melee type thing...