Great-looking upcoming DS/PSP you haven't heard of (Puzzle Quest)

[OrfBC]

Is there ever an option to respec? I think I need some less blue and more green affinity with my knight.

[BobJustBob]

I wish this would come out for PC. Because I would buy it.

[Dave V]

Like Jason, the hint arrow and death penalty things don't bother me any more. I've finally learned to use the hint arrow as it was intended -- When I first started I was taking forever to make moves and the hint arrow was showing up every time. Now it only shows up if I'm really missing something, or in those rare cases when I really need to hunt for a 4/5-match, and those are precisely what the arrow addresses.
While playing today (DS version) there's been several occasions when the hint arrow was definitely not pointing out the best move: a couple of those were lining up 4 skulls and the arrow wanted me to make a standard three-rune match; this really made me pause as there was no reason why I should do that move instead of a 4-skull attack, which of course gives you another turn to play.

[Jab]

I'm only using the hint arrow when there aren't any apparent moves to be made, but most of the time I have to pick out the 4 or 5 gem moves myself. From what I can tell, you can't respec your guy but once you buy the temple you can spend gold to improve each stat, with the cost increasing per level.

[LordGek]

I think I need an explanation for the spell berserk. It says that it adds my current red mana storage to my Battle stat, but when I use it I'm not noticing any changes to my attack strength. Has anyone been able to take over a city yet? I just got the companion who increases my battle against cities but then the DS light started flashing red and needed to be charge.

Oh, I think you mean "Enrage" as "Berserk" is the one that changes red mana into skulls on the board.

"Enrage" adds your current red mana to your battle stat. Not much of a huge difference damagewise, I think, even when at full stack of red but it might just be kind of a sublte effect. A higher battle rating means a higher chance of a skull set giving you an extra turn or creating a wildcard.

[Dave Long]

I put the demo for this in front of my wife and she loved it. It's like the perfect game for her because she loves both puzzle games and fantasy strategy games like Heroes of Might and Magic.

[Gendal]

Can't...stop...playing. Level 22+ now, and there are quite a few strategies to use as a wizard. I had a rough start, but now I pretty much never die unless my foe gets very, very lucky.

[MattKeil]

Unfortunately, they're very, very good at getting very, very lucky. Been playing the DS version on and off all day, and I haven't seen a computer player cheat so hard in years. The perfect pieces fall into place for them repeatedly. I just had a vampire bat take 48 HP off me in one turn, which prompted me to get out of bed and post this, because otherwise I was going to wake the entire street up screaming obscenities at my DS.

Great game concept, some brilliant ideas, but holy fuck did they take shortcuts with the AI. Way too luck-based, and some battles just feel like I'm waiting for the CPU to let me play.

[Misguided]

Unfortunately, they're very, very good at getting very, very lucky. Been playing the DS version on and off all day, and I haven't seen a computer player cheat so hard in years. The perfect pieces fall into place for them repeatedly. I just had a vampire bat take 48 HP off me in one turn, which prompted me to get out of bed and post this, because otherwise I was going to wake the entire street up screaming obscenities at my DS.

Great game concept, some brilliant ideas, but holy fuck did they take shortcuts with the AI. Way too luck-based, and some battles just feel like I'm waiting for the CPU to let me play.

A lot of people are saying this but honestly, I think I get lucky like that just as often as the computer does. However, the NPCs may be in a better position to take advantage of it. For instance, look at the Vampire bat. It has Vampirism, which heals it and does damage to you, right? I had a heroic effort yesterday with a couple of glowing skull matches mixed in that also gave a bunch of mana. That same turn would have been even worse for the bat since if it happened to collect red mana, it would do a bunch of damage using vampirism (damage increases with red mana).

[forgeforsaken]

I agree with Matt, the computer has way better luck at the offscreen fall than the player. I can actually predict some of the falls now, like "oh two skull will fall there so he can match three off that one at the top of the screen" etc. Yesterday I had an Orc, I think, down to 2 HP and I had over 30, needless to say I lost on his next turn as he did over 40 points of damage to me. The problem was, I wasn't even surprised, I was expecting some kind of miracle comeback bullshit.

[Marcus]

When taking on a rune master is there some super sekret damage spell they use when you get to like 25hp? I lost two battles today around that health when I had the CPU to like 10. Is there something I am missing with that?

Also the CPU is much better at getting those 4 combos and I agree with the falling bricks stuff. I've seen the computer get like 6 turns in a row just due to falling blocks.

[txa1265]

While I have seen similar stuff, it has also happened in reverse - I was at 6HP and facing an enemy who was at 45 (IIRC) and in a single turn I took him down to 2, and thought I was lined up for a 4-match that would have set up a kill, but I screwed it up and left him the easy kill ...

But I do tend to feel occasionally that while I am stuck with the rectangular PSP screen the enemies have a square screen and can see a few boxes higher :D

[LordGek]

When taking on a rune master is there some super sekret damage spell they use when you get to like 25hp? I lost two battles today around that health when I had the CPU to like 10. Is there something I am missing with that?

Also the CPU is much better at getting those 4 combos and I agree with the falling bricks stuff. I've seen the computer get like 6 turns in a row just due to falling blocks.

Take a look at those items all Runekeepers have, one of them does some weird stuff like DOUBLE DAMAGE if all or some of its Mana Reserves are full. I've been taking most of the Runkeepers fairly easy as a Warrior with a few mana draining tricks up my sleeve.

[Jab]

Yeah that item the runekeepers have is a killer, I keep rabid bite as my mount skill on when dealing with them. Has anyone had any luck beating the 2 headed ogre boss? If I stop him from using gold then he uses skulls to kill me. If I don't go after the gold he gets multiple extra turns until he kills me that way.

edit: I think the item doubles their battle or damage for each mana reserve they have at full.

[dannimal]

People talking about AI cheating are suffering from selective memory, I'd bet.

Since the first post asking about it, I've been paying pretty close attention (DE version) to both sides, and I get just as many goofy combos as the AI.

I think the perception problem has the following pieces to it:

- The AI decides "instantly" (and it might know the end board layout before the gem falling animation has finished, making it worse). So if it completes a 4 or 5, or earns an extra turn through a Mastery it happens so fast you can't tell what happened.

- The AI can be "smarter" than you without seeing the future. Some enemies are dumb, and will match 3 in a color they don't need that sets up a match-4 with a +5 skull for you. Some will take every match-4 or better they see. I have no idea if an enemy will "get smarter" as it nears death or not, but it would sure make sense. I pay a lot more attention to move consequences when I'm at 5 HP than I do when I'm at 75 HP.

- The stats for enemies are skewed (at least, compared to how I spend skill points). For example, the twin ogres have a battle skill of like 35, but are level 15 and their other skills are all very low.

- People don't understand how the skills and item bonuses work. I don't know the level by level increments (my next character I'm going to write down all the levels and bonuses), but a Battle of 35 probably gives a ~20% chance of an extra turn when clearing skulls. Going back to how fast the enemy move happens, if they clear gems that sets up a visible skull combo (which they do all the time), and then earn an extra turn from Battle, and then get in a lucky clear from the new fill gems, it can look like cheating but wasn't.

As was mentioned, the Runekeeper Tome gives a 50% bonus to damage if one kind of mana is full (it might even be 50% bonus FOR EACH full color). I think the necklace gives a mana bonus too, so it's not at all rare to see a Runekeeper with a full mana bar match 3 skulls with a +5, then buff that with a weapon and Battle, then get 50% of 100% of that to do huge damage.

The "important" (Runekeepers, quest foes) enemies really need to be fought based on what they can do and what you can do. The twin ogres need to be kept away from red mana, the Archery knight will blast you with damage = your yellow mana, so you need to keep that under watch. The Sandworm will force feed you green mana and then pummel you with it, and so on.

Your gear also matters a lot. You can increase your skull damage, or reduce damage you take or use gear that will generate mana when you get mana, or cast a spell, or when the enemy casts a spell. All of that stuff has enemies it's useful against. That doesn't even get into forged gear, or resistances (which come in to play later on).

Then there's how you clear gems to both get you your mana and keep the enemy from getting theirs. And if you have mana draining skills, how/when you use them (I'm a big fan of doing Channel Fire with the Wizard and then Mana burn to drop the enemy 10+ mana from all 4 colors in one turn).

Then there's using your spells. Hand of Power stacked twice means if you clear a single skull you do 5 damage. Fireball treats each skull as an individual damage event (as opposed to if you match-3, and then it's a single 3 or 7 point event). So with Hand of Power x 2 and Eric's Bow (+1 dmg and +1 more for evey 5 character levels) at lvl 15 I do 9 points of damage for a single skull, before adding in Battle. If I drop a fireball on a 3x3 section with 3 skulls I can't match up, that's 27 points of damage. Hand of Power lasts 10 turns, so it's almost a lock that I can pull that off at least once.

I don't know if the game is really deep, or shallow but covering a massive area, but it's not trivial.

[slantz]

I'm having a blast with this game. I have a level 28 Knight, and let me make this clear to everyone -- Erik's Bow is highly valuable. (+1 damage, and +1 for each 5 levels.) With that and a pretty good Battle stat, I currently do 12 damage whenever I match 3 skulls normally. I've also been able to make 2 key items via crafting, one of which gives me +6 mana of every type every time an enemy casts a spell, and +9 starting green mana.

In fact, I'm to a point where I can often 'stun-lock' an opponent, and I had my first 1st-turn kill recently. I forsee a mix of skills in the near future (with my L30 or L40 class skill, once I get it) that with enough mana should be a full deterministic stun lock, with resistances being their only chance of salvation.

[Jab]

That bow is great, I just took down my first 2 cities. The ones on the southern part of the starting area. I'm equipping mirror items to my druid and it seems to help when dealing with cities or enemies who can do alot of damage with skulls.

[Jason Lutes]

I agree with Matt, the computer has way better luck at the offscreen fall than the player. I can actually predict some of the falls now, like "oh two skull will fall there so he can match three off that one at the top of the screen" etc. Yesterday I had an Orc, I think, down to 2 HP and I had over 30, needless to say I lost on his next turn as he did over 40 points of damage to me. The problem was, I wasn't even surprised, I was expecting some kind of miracle comeback bullshit.
I'm just not seeing it. I guess it coud be cheating somehow (though Fawkner is known for his non-cheating AI), but in my experience it seems to happen as much to me as it does to the other guy.

[Jim Preston]

What I love is how the game's simple mechanics can leads to such a variety of gameplay. I just got the Griffin as a mount, which has a spell called "death dive" or something similar. It does 3pts of damage +1 per yellow gem on the board. As a druid, I long ago gave up on "sanctuary", a spell that adds 5 yellow gems to the board +1 per 5 levels, I believe. But now, along with entangle, I can cast sanctuary to create a ton of additional yellow gems on the board and then cast death dive and do about 20pts of damage. Granted, that takes two turns and comes out to average 10pts of damage per turn (which is only slight better than my 9pts damage per skulls 3 match), but it's a great coup de grace when you are getting to the last stages of a fight.

So I spell I had dismissed as worthless now becomes a powerful part of my arsenal when riding a griffin. It's precisely those sorts of wrinkles and constantly changing strategy that keeps me playing this thing for hours.

[Piemax2]

So I like this game so much I thinking of getting a DS. We haven't had a "DS strategt game" thread lately; if I was thinking of getting one for turn-based strategy games, what else should I pick up? Before my vision chased me from my Gameboy, I liked Tactics Ogre and Advance Wars, but didn't get into Fire Emblem or FFA.

[slantz]

So I like this game so much I thinking of getting a DS. We haven't had a "DS strategt game" thread lately; if I was thinking of getting one for turn-based strategy games, what else should I pick up? Before my vision chased me from my Gameboy, I liked Tactics Ogre and Advance Wars, but didn't get into Fire Emblem or FFA.
All due respect, but either start a different thread, or search for one of the bazillion DS strategy threads already very discussed. Let's keep this one on topic.

[TriggerHappy]

So I'm ignoring the main quest now and just running around capturing monsters, getting runes, and making myself obscenely powerful magic items.

Good grief this game is good.

[Piemax2]

sorry Hro, request withdrawn.

[Jab]

My druid just hit 20 and I finally beat the 2 headed boss. I finshed him off with forest fire with 30 health left. I've collected most of the runes on the map except for one where you have to fight the sandworm. Do druids have any other offensive spells besides forest fire? Also is there a pattern to where and what types of enemies appear on the map? I only saw one gryphon so far and not one has spawn since.

[Jim Preston]

My druid just hit 20 and I finally beat the 2 headed boss. I finshed him off with forest fire with 30 health left. I've collected most of the runes on the map except for one where you have to fight the sandworm. Do druids have any other offensive spells besides forest fire? Also is there a pattern to where and what types of enemies appear on the map? I only saw one gryphon so far and not one has spawn since.Hey, pfreak, I believe the sandworm has a couple of spells - on that doubles your green mana and then another damages you based up on your green mana - if you go in equipped with the wall of thorns spell then you should have no problems with the sandworm as this spell neutralizes its strategy. Or at least, I think that's how I beat it. :-/

[Jab]

Thanks for the tip, it seems that everytime I remove a spell in this game I forget about it and it comes back to bite me later on :)

Just wondering, but are you guys spending your gold more on new gear, or on upgrading your skills in the temple? Besides the mirror equipment which I'm starting to regret buying, I haven't bought anything new, been relying on the pretty useful quest item rewards.

[Greenie]

This thread is killing me! I found a copy online last week, but cheaped out on the shipping. Delivery isn't until the 29th!

[Misguided]

Still haven't managed to play very much, as I haven't had a day off, but tomorrow I should get in some quality time. Can't wait.

[Jason Lutes]

My druid just hit 20 and I finally beat the 2 headed boss. I finshed him off with forest fire with 30 health left. I've collected most of the runes on the map except for one where you have to fight the sandworm. Do druids have any other offensive spells besides forest fire? Also is there a pattern to where and what types of enemies appear on the map? I only saw one gryphon so far and not one has spawn since.

I'm only at level 20 with my Druid, but I managed to work up a secondary direct damage routine to supplement "Forest Fire." I learned "Wake the Dead" from a captured skeleton, and I cast it when there are at least five skulls showing. Some or all of the skulls change to +5 skulls, which I then proceed to nail column-by-column with "Call Lightning." Best of applied when two or more +5 skulls occupy a single column. It's kind of a chaotic offensive, but some nice cascades often result from the fallout. And I've tried to build my inventory loadout around generating the required mana.

I'm looking forward to trying out the other classes. Battles with my Druid can go on for quite a while, and I've been enjoying them a lot, but I wonder how much shorter they would be with a Knight or Warrior.

[bigdruid]

This thread is killing me!
Yeah, tell me about it. I resisted buying a copy online because I figured I'd be able to buy one locally this weekend.

You guessed it - all sold out. I ended up having to ebay one from CA, and who knows when it'll arrive...

I'm green with envy, guys.

Edit: GRRRR. And now Tycho (from Penny Arcade) says that the Target near my house had 10 copies. I was just *there* on Sunday, and they had *zero* copies on display. I hate my life.

[Misguided]

Jason asked about the AI over on the Infintie Interactive foorums and Steve Fawkner's response, cracked me up:

"Hi All,

I can definitely state that the AI in NO way cheats, nor does it know what gems are going to fall. I wrote the AI code myself, so I am 100% certain of this.

Look at it another way...
a) I am a programmer, so I'm basically lazy
b) Writing a cheating AI with look-ahead & multiple board evaluations is a LOT more work than writing a non-cheating AI that merely evaluates a single board
c) If I wanted to make the game harder, I actually would have done the LAZY thing and just given the monsters more Life Points

Cheers

-Steve"

[Jim Preston]

This strikes me as totally plausible. Sometimes it seems like the AI gets exactly what it needs exactly when it needs it, but there are certainly other times when the AI has missed a 4-match or a skull match that I was looking directly at. And keep in mind that every time the AI matches coins it is simply wasting time as coins have no value to an NPC. Granted, there may be times when you want to waste a turn because of limited move selection that sets up your opponent, but I have seen the AI match coins or turn 1 skull into a +5 skull that had not obvious strategic benefit for it.

[dannimal]

Thanks for the tip, it seems that everytime I remove a spell in this game I forget about it and it comes back to bite me later on :)

Just wondering, but are you guys spending your gold more on new gear, or on upgrading your skills in the temple? Besides the mirror equipment which I'm starting to regret buying, I haven't bought anything new, been relying on the pretty useful quest item rewards.

To follow up on Jim's point about the Sandworm: With my Wizard, I made heavy use of Rabid Bite (from my Rat Mount!) to dump green mana (12 green per). It stacks, and helps bleed mana from the enemy. Plus, super easy to capture even if you only want it to fight a Sandworm. :)

I have to think buying skills is a poor use of gold, long term. I've only used it to buy lower levels of the "3 point" skills. I have no idea how "min/max efficient" that is, but hey.

I keep wanting to buy items, but I often don't. I think the mirror stuff is great for the the time around the teens (level wise), when enemies are doing < 10 damage per hit. If you've got a couple pieces that reduce damage and a couple mirror pieces, their net damage is very low. It may be less useful to other classes, but the Wizard ias well suited for late game damage (Fire Bolt) that once you both get low, you can wake up and end them first, but let them do a big chunk of your work for you.

Eric's Bow is awesome. It might really only start to be good at level 15 (+4 damage), and it may fall out of value if damage scales faster than levels, but at least from 15-20, yum.

I have a feeling that forged items will end up the base, with bought items being used as needed for specific classes/enemies. As a made up example, if I'm a wizard fighting something that either will fight me for the red gems or deplete my red mana (with a Heat Sink equivalent), I might want to make sure I had the item that generated blue mana and/or the one that generates green/yellow (at the same time, and I forget what the condition is) so I can readily make red mana from Channel Fire.

I wouldn't want to wear that stuff all the time, but there are enough goofy pairings like that to warrant owning a wide range of gear.

[slantz]

I have to think buying skills is a poor use of gold, long term. I've only used it to buy lower levels of the "3 point" skills. I have no idea how "min/max efficient" that is, but hey.
What else are you spending money on? It seems the *only* thing to spend money on, pretty early in the game.

As far as I can tell, gold is only spent on equipment, stats, and citadel parts. Well, the citadel parts will all be bought quickly enough. And there are only 4 eq slots, and the stuff in stores falls below found items (Erik's Bow) and crafted items fairly quickly. Which, as I understand it, leaves stat increases as the only place to spend your money.

I'm level 31 and have probably spend over $20k in stat increases, and generally buy points whenever I have money now. Or am I missing something else to spend it on?

[dannimal]

It probably depends on how much time you spend getting runes compared to advancing the plot. Forged items dont' surpass buyable items if you don't have the runes to make them.

I also don't think the point at which you've got most/all the runes and have bought all the citadel addons qualifies as "early in the game".

If your choice is 500 gold on an item that gives +4 Morale or 500 gold on one (granted, permenant) point of Morale, I'd go for the item (unless I had a better item in that slot, obviously).

Maybe I phrased it poorly (I'm not even sure what I meant with "use of gold, long term". Maybe I meant that buying items that give multiple point boosts vs. 1 point Temple Upgrades, you'd progress faster/more easily early on) but I think level 50 is the cap, so level 31 is far enough past "early" that "early" is a dot in the distance. :)

[TriggerHappy]

The Giant Rat has another nice use. He travels slowly, meaning time goes by faster when you're walking around. I captured three cities with a single non-city site between them, like the spokes of a bike wheel. With the rat, it takes about 25 days to travel to all three, collecting 525 gold in the process. Every other cycle I need to double back to the central site then start over, but I got like 40 thousand gold in about 10 minutes this way. At level 19.

[LordGek]

The Giant Rat has another nice use. He travels slowly, meaning time goes by faster when you're walking around. I captured three cities with a single non-city site between them, like the spokes of a bike wheel. With the rat, it takes about 25 days to travel to all three, collecting 525 gold in the process. Every other cycle I need to double back to the central site then start over, but I got like 40 thousand gold in about 10 minutes this way. At level 19.

I have yet to see a downside to travelling slowly as the story seems, no matter how urgent they may make something sound, to move along at whatever speed you get around to completing the missions.

[TriggerHappy]

I've spent at least 2 or 3 years in game time just collecting money from those three cities, with no bad effects yet.

[slantz]

It probably depends on how much time you spend getting runes compared to advancing the plot. Forged items dont' surpass buyable items if you don't have the runes to make them.
Even then, from what I can tell items don't get better deeper in the game. Most items are <1000g, and only a handfull cost as much as 2.5k. And that seemed to be the case even from the beginning of the game. Generally, the items i got from quests were better than store-bought items, but there were some exceptions.


I also don't think the point at which you've got most/all the runes and have bought all the citadel addons qualifies as "early in the game".
Well, those are two entirely different things. buying all the citadel add-ons is easy and *does* come very early in the game. But I can't imagine that I have anywhere near all of the runes, because I've explored maybe 20% of the map still, but I've pretty much always been able to make better items than the stuff I could buy (taking into account limiting prereqs.) And that's only with getting the easy/medium runes. There are several that are guarded by big baddies that I hadn't been able to get yet. But I think I may be ready now.

There is a critical mass threshhold (around 15-20 hours?) with the Rune of Dragons, which literally increased the strength of a couple badass items I could make by 500%. An example: Rune of Dragons adds +5 to base rune's ability, and a base rune that gives +1 mana of each color when an enemy casts a spell. That item has served me quite well.

Now at level 31, I just got a new rune (easy to get) that gives +1 mana of each color whenever I get a match of 4 or 5, so once I craft that with the Rune of Dragons, it will probably be an item I hold on to for the rest of the game. I can't imagine getting any more badass than that, short of a multiplier rune better than Rune of Dragons.


Maybe I phrased it poorly (I'm not even sure what I meant with "use of gold, long term". Maybe I meant that buying items that give multiple point boosts vs. 1 point Temple Upgrades, you'd progress faster/more easily early on)
Well, except there are a couple things at play that make me disagree

1) Items are replacable, point bonuses are permenant. So they 'stack' with any other items you would use in the future. Money spent on an item is basically lost once you replace that item. (especially since selling rates at vendors are very low.)

2) It benefits you to buy points in a stat early, THEN raise your stats with level points. That's because the money cost to raise stats increases as the stat rises. But stats don't get any more expensive to raise using points.

Knowing this, the best way to min/max things seems to be to pool all your level points into the 1-pt stats, while you sink money into a specific 2-pt stat. When your 1-pt stats are plenty high, concentrate on putting level points into that 2-pt stat, while you continue to spend your money on the other 2-pt stats. When you're happy with how high those are and you're experiencing diminishing returns with money costs, turn your money to 3-pt stats, and continue spending level points on your 1- and 2-pt stats.

Frankly, I'm not a fan of systems that incent you to exploit them like that, and as such, I'm just spending willy-nilly as I have money and pts to spend. But my point stands -- spending money on points, even early on, is a good idea, usually a better choice than items, unless you have total crap.

[slantz]

I've spent at least 2 or 3 years in game time just collecting money from those three cities, with no bad effects yet.
I think monsters respawn as a factor of time. Thus a faster mount = less monster respawning, for better or worse.

[Jab]

My druid is now lvl 23 and things are starting to look up. I found the rune that gives me poison damage along with the one that gives me a similar effect that the runekeepers get with full mana reserves. Along with Eric's Bow I can get above 20 points of damage with 3 skulls. I found a scorpion and the hide skill looks pretty useful for fighting bosses. Does anyone know how to avoid enemy fights while on a mount? Does your mount have to be specific level for the option to appear or does it happen automatically?

[Lynxara]

I think monsters respawn as a factor of time. Thus a faster mount = less monster respawning, for better or worse.

In the long run I would find this to be better, but I really hate re-fighting low-level monsters I've already captured and gotten spells out of. It feels like a waste of time, and sometimes you can't really find paths around them.

[slantz]

In the long run I would find this to be better, but I really hate re-fighting low-level monsters I've already captured and gotten spells out of. It feels like a waste of time, and sometimes you can't really find paths around them.
FWIW, for some reason when I face an orc (who I have not captured), I can click 'cancel' when I fight them, and they'll go away and I can pass.

Other monster types act as you would expect -- 'cancel' bounces me back to the last node, and the monster is still there.

I use this to save myself some boring fights.

[Greenie]

Yeah, tell me about it. I resisted buying a copy online because I figured I'd be able to buy one locally this weekend.

Yeah, same here. But I finally caught a break - my copy beat the UPS arrival estimate and showed up today!

[Alan Au]

FWIW, for some reason when I face an orc (who I have not captured), I can click 'cancel' when I fight them, and they'll go away and I can pass.

Other monster types act as you would expect -- 'cancel' bounces me back to the last node, and the monster is still there.

I use this to save myself some boring fights.
If you are riding a mount, it will let you "bypass" some monsters.

- Alan

[Kryten]

I nearly missed my train stop on the way home today because of this game. I don't remember ANYTHING about the 40 minute ride. Awesome :)

[AndrewM]

If you are riding a mount, it will let you "bypass" some monsters.

From reading the forums for the game (because I don't own a PSP or a DS so I can't actually play it), it sounds like the DS version doesn't have a bypass button. Instead, cancelling will bypass if possible. Kind of confusing.

[TriggerHappy]

Penny Arcade just ran two back to back comics about this game, and Tycho raves about it in both front page articles.

Here's hoping it catches on the way it deserves.

[Jarrodhk]

My copy arrived a day earlier than expected... and I dreamed about the game last night... a lot.

I may be addicted.

[CustodianV131]

Penny Arcade just ran two back to back comics about this game, and Tycho raves about it in both front page articles.

Here's hoping it catches on the way it deserves.

I'm with you on that! Enjoying the game a lot so far! Never thought I could be this addicted to a *shock/horror* puzzle game :D

[Jab]

Has anyone been able to solve the wolf rider capture puzzle? I spend 30 minutes trying it last night and I keep on getting down to the same 1 or 2 stones left. Also I had the game crash last night in play, it became my turn and the entire game froze which was pretty weird.

[txa1265]

I had a crash or two, but in each case (PSP) going to 'sleep' and back fixed it.

[dannimal]

Even then, from what I can tell items don't get better deeper in the game. Most items are <1000g, and only a handfull cost as much as 2.5k. And that seemed to be the case even from the beginning of the game. Generally, the items i got from quests were better than store-bought items, but there were some exceptions.

I'm not going to argue with you, since there are obviously about a billion different ways to play and enjoy/succeed. From overall plans to specific class/enemy strategy. So please don't think I'm doing anything more than loose discussion about a good game.

That said, I think one advantage of bought items over quest items is quantity and availability. I won't swear to it, but the two quest items I remember are Eric's Bow (which I thought I bought, even), and the Broken Shield (which I was hoping would turn into a quest line to get it fixed). Over the 16-17 levels I've gotten so far, I've come across a far wider range of options for stuff to buy.


There is a critical mass threshhold (around 15-20 hours?) with the Rune of Dragons, which literally increased the strength of a couple badass items I could make by 500%. An example: Rune of Dragons adds +5 to base rune's ability, and a base rune that gives +1 mana of each color when an enemy casts a spell. That item has served me quite well.

I'm getting to that point, as I've recently gotten the Rune of Elves and Rune of Dwarves (?), each which add +x to the base and +% to something else.


Now at level 31, I just got a new rune (easy to get) that gives +1 mana of each color whenever I get a match of 4 or 5, so once I craft that with the Rune of Dragons, it will probably be an item I hold on to for the rest of the game. I can't imagine getting any more badass than that, short of a multiplier rune better than Rune of Dragons.

Well, there are certainly battles where I wouldn't want to be mana-heavy (anyone with Archery, for one). But that's kind of my point about bought items. There's times/places to use specific things.


Well, except there are a couple things at play that make me disagree

1) Items are replacable, point bonuses are permenant. So they 'stack' with any other items you would use in the future. Money spent on an item is basically lost once you replace that item. (especially since selling rates at vendors are very low.)

Right, but you're also paying much less per point as a trade off. A 500g item that gives +4 Morale (125g per point) vs. buying 4 points at the Temple (depending on level could be 1200g and up) is a big deal early on.


2) It benefits you to buy points in a stat early, THEN raise your stats with level points. That's because the money cost to raise stats increases as the stat rises. But stats don't get any more expensive to raise using points.

Early here meaning "in the progression of the given skill". I agree. This is independant of the rest of the discussion, though. It doesn't matter if you buy Morale 5 hours/levels in or 10 if you're not spending level points on it in the interim.


Knowing this, the best way to min/max things seems to be to pool all your level points into the 1-pt stats, while you sink money into a specific 2-pt stat. When your 1-pt stats are plenty high, concentrate on putting level points into that 2-pt stat, while you continue to spend your money on the other 2-pt stats. When you're happy with how high those are and you're experiencing diminishing returns with money costs, turn your money to 3-pt stats, and continue spending level points on your 1- and 2-pt stats.

Possibly. I'm not sure how things would work in-game though, in terms of how your "neglected" stats would scale vs. the enemies you face. I think that each class has two Masteries at 1 point (their two "main" mana colors), and the other two are 2 point. Then the Battle/Morale/Cunning are split 2/2/3 (depending on class).

It's conceiveable that if you neglect Battle or Morale (if they're a 3 point stat) you'd fall far enough behind in either damage dealing or hit points to make the "important" battles hard.


Frankly, I'm not a fan of systems that incent you to exploit them like that, and as such, I'm just spending willy-nilly as I have money and pts to spend. But my point stands -- spending money on points, even early on, is a good idea, usually a better choice than items, unless you have total crap.

Well, I don't know how "big" the incentive is, since as has been said there's a ton of ways to play and enjoy the game. And you're not min/maxing (neither am I) and here we are loving it.

I'm still not sure I think buying skill points "early" (meaning after you've bought the temple) is a great idea. With the relative scarcity of gold (compared to once you start collecting other castles and their income), there's value in getting more points (or at least cheaper per point) even if it's temporary because the less gold you have or can generate, the more each gold piece is worth (relatively).

[txa1265]

So ... what is your favorite 'level grind' location in the early / mid / late game? Once I took out the siege machines I kept going - they are worth at least 300XP per round and get easy to take out.

Haven't found my next one.

[slantz]

I'm not going to argue with you, since there are obviously about a billion different ways to play and enjoy/succeed. From overall plans to specific class/enemy strategy. So please don't think I'm doing anything more than loose discussion about a good game.
Oh, same w/ me, man. I didn't mean to sound argumentative. I'm just in full-on geek mode disecting the game, and happened to find your post the best to indulge in that with.

[wonderpug]

Has anyone been able to solve the wolf rider capture puzzle? I spend 30 minutes trying it last night and I keep on getting down to the same 1 or 2 stones left. Also I had the game crash last night in play, it became my turn and the entire game froze which was pretty weird.

Is that one of the first ones to have nearly the entire field filled with pieces? If so, it's giving me a hard time as well. It's too open ended, when there's a decent amount of empty space you have a better chance to think it through, or at least do some trial & error.

[Jab]

Not really, the sides only go up 3 rows, but the middle goes up to the top of the board. The ogre mage one I think had the entire board filled along with 5+ skulls.

I think one of the bugs can be replicated. If try to sell a rune item, then go directily to the your citadel screen then forge items, the game seems to crash everytime on my DS.

[dannimal]

Oh, same w/ me, man. I didn't mean to sound argumentative. I'm just in full-on geek mode disecting the game, and happened to find your post the best to indulge in that with.

Ditto. I don't mind discussion, since having played only a wizard (full version, I had a Knight and Druid in the demo) to the late teens, there's plenty I don't know. And the manual is so lacking on details that geek-chat is good.

I just wanted to make sure we passed the "You're wrong, moron!" exit on the superhighway. :)

[slantz]

Has anyone been able to solve the wolf rider capture puzzle? I spend 30 minutes trying it last night and I keep on getting down to the same 1 or 2 stones left.
same here. Orc, Orc Mage, and Wolfrider are on the short-list of puzzles I have trouble solving.

Someone needs to make a FAQ of how to capture these things.

Also, can anyone confirm if they've seen the capture option go away eventually? It may very well be a bug (par for the course, unfortunately), but I swear some things like Orcs that I haven't captured have stopped giving me the capture option. Or maybe the game's getting revenge on me for the click-cancel-to-bypass-orcs exploitation I did.

[Jab]

I'm better at the smaller ones it seems. I try to clear each side symetrically, but when the entire board is filled you can't do it that way as it's very easy for both sides to mess with each other.

With the wolf rider from the position of the gems it doesn't seem possible to clear the board just with how the jewels are placed. One pet peeve that I have with how the capture mini game is set up, is that if you make a mistake on your first move your only options are to either finsh failing the board or quiting out to the map screen. I wish there was a restart option on that screen.

[Jab]

Here's another puzzle that's killing me, the sandworm one. Once again I can get it down to 1 stone left, this one takes up almost the entire board. Also I got to the 2nd boss fight just before I had to go charge my ds up.

[KaoFloppy]

Orc puzzle: Think of overall puzzle as 3 separate puzzles: left 3 columns, right 3 columns, middle 4 columns. Get rid of the left & right sides first (3 moves: top first, outside second), then collapse the middle pillar by taking out the middle 3 blocks first (instead of making 5-blocks chains from the bottom).

Stupid game actually made me stay up until 3am last night! That hasn't happen to me in a long time! Good job!

[Alan Au]

The capture puzzles usually have some sort of gimmick-based solution, like "get rid of all of the coins first", etc.

- Alan

[TriggerHappy]

Just beat the wolfrider puzzle this morning on the train, but it's hard as hell to desribe how to beat the thing. It was the first puzzle that wasn't symetrical in its solution, and didn't have any neat tricks. I do remember I got rid of the left side vertically and the right side last. The skulls were one T-clear and one normal 3 in a row.

[The Bitter Cynic]

I just ran my DS out of power playing and didnt even notice the red light was on or came on.

What's with this game? Why's it so fun?

Great game.

[Jab]

The rune items are getting to be pretty godly (it even says so in the difficulty description). I have an item that gives me a %40 chance of poison damage, and +6 to all masteries. The puzzles on the other hand are getting tougher. I'm noticing that with me, I can either solve them in the first few tries or I can't solve them period. I got the minotaur and the wvern, but besides the ones I mentioned now I'm stuck with the lich.

[notatiger]

Just beat the wolfrider puzzle this morning on the train, but it's hard as hell to desribe how to beat the thing. It was the first puzzle that wasn't symetrical in its solution, and didn't have any neat tricks. I do remember I got rid of the left side vertically and the right side last. The skulls were one T-clear and one normal 3 in a row.

I just beat this puzzle on the way to work too this morning. Although I had a different pattern. I remember clearing out the skulls as sets of 4.

[MRUS]

I just ran my DS out of power playing and didnt even notice the red light was on or came on.

What's with this game? Why's it so fun?

Great game.


I just picked it up today and the same thing happened to me.

[Xemu]

If anyone is still having trouble with the Orc one -- it bugged me too until I realized you can swap with an empty square.

[forgeforsaken]

Oddly the Orc one is the only one I've gotten on the first try.

[Jab]

My druid is now lvl 35 and things are getting a bit challenging, I haven't resorted to using gold to max out my skills yet. The fire and ice giants with their trample skill is deadly. I think one got 8 turns in a row bonus from using trample then a series of 4 in a rows. In the manual it says that your team mates might leave you, so far that hasn't happen yet.

[Misguided]

I nabbed the Rune of Dragons today and wow what a difference that makes! I forged a whole new set of items, and even took off my +3 troll ring. Right now I'm messing with a combo of items that increases damage, gives me mana when my opponent uses spells, and increases my mana by quite a bit for each mana reserve that is full (sort of like runekeepers).

The down side to this is that I'm using my powers less, since I want to keep mana full, but I guess that's not so bad.

[Pogue Mahone]

Still can't find this game, it must be getting some serious word of mouth sales or each store I've visited is badly undersupplied.

[Geo]

I got the PSP version at a Best Buy in Virginia last week. You might have best luck finding the PSP version, given the smaller playerbase. Despite the couple PSP-version bugs (including companion's spells not working), most reviews seemed to prefer it. The PSP controls work fine.

I enjoy the game. I was worried it would get too repetitive, but all the variety in spells, attacks etc., and AI enemy variety (since they all have different sets of spells too) keeps it fairly fresh.

The PSP version does seem to have a lot of slowdown when "major" spells (ones that affect many grids on the "board") kick in, probably just slow access of the UMD disk. It's not a gamebreaker, but it's a little annoying.

I enjoy that you play at your own pace, and if you lose, well, you can just go back and try again (or try a different quest).

I'm not very good at finding 4,5-in-a-rows, nor at "thinking ahead," so on the rare times I get a "chain" going, it's usually just dumb luck. :D

[slantz]

the Broken Shield (which I was hoping would turn into a quest line to get it fixed).
In the very late in the game, (I'm already maxed out at level 50,) your wishes come true.

Don't expect too much from it though. I was highly underwhelmed with the result for something that happens at the end of such a long quest chain, and so late in the game.

[dannimal]

Damn you! You've both raised my hopes and crushed them in one post!

[Jarrodhk]

Up to level 42 with my warrior.

I really like the level 40 skill. Creates a number of skulls on the board equal to half your current red mana reserve. I've done upwards of 160pts of damage with a well-timed use of this skill. It seems to average around 40-70 pts depending on how many skulls are already out on the board.

[Acoustic Rob]

Hey, here's something I discovered by accident last night: pressing the DS shoulder buttons flips the top and bottom screens, which lets you tap your opponent's stats and items to figure out what you're up against. It also lets you query status effects to see exactly what they're doing.

Just a tip for folks like me who played the PC demo and didn't bother to read the instructions.

[forgeforsaken]

Up to level 42 with my warrior.

I really like the level 40 skill. Creates a number of skulls on the board equal to half your current red mana reserve. I've done upwards of 160pts of damage with a well-timed use of this skill. It seems to average around 40-70 pts depending on how many skulls are already out on the board.

Berzerk Rage was already pretty crazy if you used it right. Do you find that that skill is much better? My warriour is still in the mid 20s somewhere.

[wonderpug]

Hey, here's something I discovered by accident last night: pressing the DS shoulder buttons flips the top and bottom screens, which lets you tap your opponent's stats and items to figure out what you're up against. It also lets you query status effects to see exactly what they're doing.

Just a tip for folks like me who played the PC demo and didn't bother to read the instructions.

You can also use R/L to flip the screens on the main map view, so that you can then click on quest icons to review what you're supposed to do, or abandon them.

[Jab]

My druid is now lvl 44, the lvl 40 spell clears the entire board and gives you a new board, most often it will result in some 3 in a rows. I've been on a lucky streak with captures and have managed to captured every enemy that has appeared (except for frost and fire giants). I unlocked the liche's spell that drains half your enemie's life points but it costs too much mana for me to use. I haven't had good luck with item forging though, I was making a legendary item and I got all but one anvil left, then lost .

[nixon66]

I've been out collecting runes and doing the main quest slowly, with my level 22 knight. I've still yet to make something with the runes though, as I want to collect all that I can and not "waste" a rune on a substandard item. That, and I like to collect things.

I've also finally been able to do enough damage to last and capture a few cities. It's fun! Free gold.

[Jab]

Runes don't disappear once you use them, but chances are you'll find more powerful versions of the ones you have the more you play.

[slantz]

I finally beat the game this morning.

I had finished every available quest before doing the final fight, though there's so much of the map unused that I wonder if new quests open up afterwards.

The final boss is pretty tough -- more HP than the hardest citadels and some really nasty abilities.

Knight was a great class, and unless I was playing against an enemy with high resistance, I could usually keep they 'stunlocked'. That started at level 30 or so.

Any suggestions as to which class to play next? I'm leaning towards wizard, but I don't know too much about any of the other classes.

[Jab]

The only class that I've played so far is the Druid. Overall the description ingame is pretty accurate, the only damage spell they get is forest fire, lighting storm and thunderbolt (might be wrong name?) can hit skulls and do damage. Entangle is a pretty useful spell (stun enemy for 1-2 turns). They also have spells that remove all Air or Earth mana giving you the effects. I think the lvl 50 spell replaces certain gems with wildcards but I'll have to check.

[KaoFloppy]

I'm playing Wizard: red & yellow mana, spells to do direct damage or change mana to red/skulls (I'm level 30, so I don't know what the higher level spells do yet). Enemies with skills/items that rob me of red mana is deadly to me.

[Misguided]

My druid is now lvl 44, the lvl 40 spell clears the entire board and gives you a new board, most often it will result in some 3 in a rows. I've been on a lucky streak with captures and have managed to captured every enemy that has appeared (except for frost and fire giants). I unlocked the liche's spell that drains half your enemie's life points but it costs too much mana for me to use. I haven't had good luck with item forging though, I was making a legendary item and I got all but one anvil left, then lost .

How much mana is it?

I was trying to learn that one yesterday. I had every category completed but green and failed with like 368/370 :O

[Jab]

I think it was around 38 green and 40 red. This is strange though, a rune I had yesterday isn't in my inventory today, it was one that gave you +3 damage for each time you do more then 6 pts of damage.

[McBain]

Can one of you insider types go get Steve Fawkner liquored up and find out when we'll see a PC release of this?

Seriously, I am playing the PQ demo more than all of the shiny new games on my desk combined.

[André Costa]

Can one of you insider types go get Steve Fawkner liquored up and find out when we'll see a PC release of this?

Seriously, I am playing the PQ demo more than all of the shiny new games on my desk combined.

QUOTED FOR THE TRUTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111111111111111111111111oneon e

From what Fawner wrote on the official forums, what i understood is that it seems that they want to release it for PC(The game was originally made for the PC, hence the demo) but they have an exclusivity contract with their DS/PSP publisher, so we're going to have to wait a bit more.

Ofc, this also means that bugs that popped up on the DS/PSP versions will be fixed :]

[Jab]

I finshed the game with my druid last night. I found the last boss to be somewhat easy, the lvl 50 druid spell that turns all green gems into wildcards is a killer combined with an item that gives you damage bonus for each mana reserve full. One use of the spell filled up my other 3 easily. Just started a warrior character and I have to use new strategies now.

[MikeSofaer]

Do I need to order this online? Is there anywhere in the south bay where I can buy a copy?

[Linoleum]

I actually saw a few copies at my local Target in SoCal this afternoon.

[bigdruid]

So I've been playing this way too much. I had that thing happen where I'm in bed at night trying to fall asleep, and when I close my eyes all I can see are the little gems falling. No big deal, except apparently just as I was drifting off, I started making little "Bzzzzt" noises as I was clearing lines in my mind, and woke my wife up :)

The other thing I noticed was that I clearly don't quite understand what constitutes "damage".

I am playing a Wizard, and I have this spell called "Wall of Fire", whose description is:

"Damage is applied to Red Mana instead of Life Points. Lasts until Red Mana is zero and reduces your Red Mana by 2 per turn".

I'm fighting one of the runekeepers last night, and I get low on health (5HP), so I cast this Wall of Fire. I have something around 30 Red Mana points. The next turn, the Runekeeper casts a spell that does 6 damage, and I die, as if I hadn't cast my spell at all.

In a similar vein, I have a Longbow which "Adds +3 to Yellow Mana whenever you do 3 or more damage" and yet it only seems to trigger when I clear Skulls, and not when I cast spells that do damage.

Is "damage" only defined as clearing Skulls? That makes much of the gear less valuable, as there are enemies that do most of their damage via spells.

[sventest]

After two days, I'm now level 17... and wholly addicted. Damn the lot of you.

[dannimal]

Damage does seem to mean "from cleared skulls" and not "skulls and spells". But the # of enemies that do most of their damage from spells is a fairly small number.

Or maybe it's just that I'm used to depriving the spell-damage enemies of the mana they need, so it just seems that way to me.

[ydejin]

What's the best strategy to use on skill points? I'm just starting out. From what I've seen the spell costs seem pretty scattered across the mana spectrum. Am I best off just racking up skills are cheapest for my class, or trying to keep things even?

[Marcus]

I've just been keeping things even but who knows if thats the best way to do it.

I still have this game in my DS and I still think it is one of the best games on the system. It is prolly in my top 10 easily.

[MikeSofaer]

I just got this in the mail yesterday!

Level 12 wizard, I've put nearly every level point into cunning, since it seems to be the only skill with a benefit outside combat (the extra xp/gold) and spent some cash on morale. I'm about ready to start dumping points into fire, though, and getting my flame on.

[Dave Long]

I think you need to play to your strengths with the skill points. If your thing is red and yellow mana then dump it all into that and fry your enemies before they can get anything going.

Usually, maxing your inherent skills in any RPG is better than spreading out the points. Be aggressive with your character build instead of being jack of all trades and master of none.

[txa1265]

That's what I'm doing - I've put a bit into a couple of others, but dozens into Cunning and Fire Mastery. Now I always go first and have enough spells that I can take down pretty much everything.

[Dave Long]

Yup, I'm playing a Wizard or whatever the spellcaster is called and the way to win is to burn up the other guy faster than he can hit me. The less turns it takes to do that, the better.

Also, I use Mana Burn to keep my opponents from ever casting anything at me, and look for matches that will keep the monster from gaining enough of the mana it needs to cast spells/use abilities.

What's really cool is this game is using all the same places and some of the same characters from Warlords III. It truly is an extension of the Warlords series that fans can eat up.

[txa1265]

What's really cool is this game is using all the same places and some of the same characters from Warlords III. It truly is an extension of the Warlords series that fans can eat up.

But what *sucks* is that it has completely ruined Bejeweled for me ... I tried to play on my Pocket PC during a boring mandatory meeting last week, but to no avail, there are just no consequences. Fortunately I have Arvale II.

[Dave Long]

Get Warlords II for your Pocket PC!

[Damien Neil]

Beat the final boss last night at the proverbial quarter to three.

The game probably ended at just the right time--I'd built up a collection of items and abilities that were ludicrously overpowered. Using gem transformation skills can create some amazing combos. Such as: Transform all skulls and coins to green gems, creating a row of 4 and continuing the turn. Transform all red gems to skulls without ending the turn. Transform all green gems to skulls, and the piles of stacked up green gems are plugged together by the existing skulls...

Combine with a rune item that gives mana in all categories every time you match four gems.

I think I was winning half the fights on the first turn by the end.

Such an awesome game.

[txa1265]

Get Warlords II for your Pocket PC!

Good advice - I had the demo a while ago, but never bought the full thing. Something else to suck away my life ;) But hey, if it keeps me from buying Valhalla Knights or the new Generation of Chaos it can't be *all* bad ...

[Misguided]

Still having a blast here. I put the game down for a while to play Chocobo Tales, but came back--a rarity for me. I'm exploring minotaur lands and mowing down most guys but still encounter the occasional fellows that will give me absolute fits (I'm looking at you, Elven Guard).

[TriggerHappy]

If you play a Wizard or Warrior, don't put a point anywhere but Fire Mastery. Then buy a Firewalker staff from the shop and you're doing 30+ points of damage for each three skull match.

You can buy the rest of your points from your citadel, I never needed more than 20 in anything except fire when I beat the game with my wizard, and my warrior is destroying anything he faces with the same point allocation strategy.

[tiohn]

With my knight, I put all of my points in battle and morale and just buy the rest. I have more hit points than anything I come up against now and easily do three times the damage on matching skulls.

However, has anyone else noticed that 90% of the starting boards are identical?

[TriggerHappy]

The random number seed starts the same every time you turn the game on. I just leave mine in suspend and I have no problems.

[bigdruid]

If you play a Wizard or Warrior, don't put a point anywhere but Fire Mastery. Then buy a Firewalker staff from the shop and you're doing 30+ points of damage for each three skull match.


QFT. The wizard went from a fairly weak character relying on piddly Fire Bolts, to Death Incarnate doing combos of 40-60 damage, once I got that Firewalker staff and learned the Flaming Skulls spell (blue gems -> red, green -> skulls). That plus Death Dive from my lvl 30 griffon mount makes for some heavy damage.

[MikeSofaer]

The random number seed starts the same every time you turn the game on. I just leave mine in suspend and I have no problems.
So many retarded bugs in this game. This canonball needed just a touch more polish.

[Inhabitant]

Ok, I have now fought that dreaded vampire bat 30-40 times with my crappy lvl 7 warrior. I don't remember ever being as badly spanked by a video game. I don't stand a chance. I have tried attacking aggressively with skulls. I have tried to deny him those yellow gems. I've even tried clicking away randomly to see if anything else besides incredible luck is needed.

At this point, I'm reduced to a whining lump of misery. Woe is me!

[André Costa]

So many retarded bugs in this game. This canonball needed just a touch more polish.

They have already fixed those bugs for the PC version but can't release it because of their deal with the publisher, it seems. :(

(I'm buying a PSP to be able to play this!)

[sventest]

While on vacation in Maui all this week, I've hit level 32... and counting. (knight btw). :)

[Justin Fletcher]

PQ coming to XBLA (http://www.joystiq.com/2007/05/01/d3-brings-puzzle-quest-and-friends-to-xbla/).

[McBain]

PQ coming to XBLA (http://www.joystiq.com/2007/05/01/d3-brings-puzzle-quest-and-friends-to-xbla/).

Is it sad and pathetic that I'm going to wind up getting this for my 360 and then also grab the inevitable PC version for my laptop?

[txa1265]

Is it sad and pathetic that I'm going to wind up getting this for my 360 and then also grab the inevitable PC version for my laptop?

No ... especially if you have already embraced your fate and own the PSP & DS versions ...

[Rasputin]

So, just got this yesterday for the DS. Any advice for an aspiring Knight player?

[TriggerHappy]

Stun stun stun stun stun

[nixon66]

Knights - It was rough at the beginning for me, but I found later on some of the equipment combo's really helped.

Skill Points - 80% to Battle 20% to Morale, and buy up the other ones when you build up your citadel.

Get pick up runes, and don't hesitate to forge items. I was under the impression at first that you used them up when forging! Not at all, so feel free and some of the rune item combos you get later can really rock the boat.
i.e. One of my rune items gives me +5 to all mana and 40% chance of poison whenever I match 4 or 5 gems. So once I start spaming the level 20 knight skill that doubles the number of experience gems on the board, I gain experience fast, fill up my mana, which in turn I get +6 damage for each mana that's full (another rune item), and then damage just adds up.

The first 10 levels or so were a bit rough, but once I got into the groove it worked out well. The knight doesn't have the one kill combo like the warriors but I've never minded.

[Nick Walter]

Here's my own personal testament to the addictiveness of this game:

My copy of Puzzle Quest for the DS arrived on my doorstep yesterday at 4pm. It arrived fully two days before I expected to get it (yay Gamestop) so I already had plans for the evening with some friends. Since I was going to be busy, I gave the game to my wife to play for the evening. Big mistake. I can't get the game back to try it until she's ready for bed. I give it a whirl and get hooked almost instantly and play until 1AM before collapsing into bed.

This morning, right after my wife leaves for work, I scout around the house for the DS. I want to to find it so I can pocket it and take it to work and play PQ at lunch. Can't find it. I call my wife to see if she moved it, and it turns out she did. Into her pocket. So she could take it to work and play PQ at lunch. It seems we are both hooked on the game.

In summary, less than 24 hours after receiving my copy of Puzzle Quest I'm committed to buying a second copy to preserve my marriage.

[nixon66]

In summary, less than 24 hours after receiving my copy of Puzzle Quest I'm committed to buying a second copy to preserve my marriage.

Basically it's the same in my household. We try to be the one to go to bed first, as that means we'll have first crack at playing PQ.

[TriggerHappy]

So yeah. 170 Fire Mastery, 85 starting red mana, Deathbringer, and Firewalker Staff.

500+ damage.

[Misguided]

No ... especially if you have already embraced your fate and own the PSP & DS versions ...

One of my regulars was in the store yesterday and told me that he and his wife had bought a second PSP just so they could both play PQ.

I beat the Big Bad a couple of nights ago, but am looking forward to giving a different class a shot.

[Vic Davis]

Anybody besides me waiting for the PC version if/when it comes out? After playing the demo on the PC I felt a bit spoiled and just couldn't bring myself to switch to the hand held size display. The story over on the Infi Interactive forums about the lack of a pc version is a pretty interesting saga. Apparently Steve Fawkner pushed this idea around town to 20+ publishers who all said not interested. D3 took them up. They are a Japanese publisher just setting up in the States. The have never published a PC game before only consoles and hand helds. They did just announce an Xbox 360 live online debut. My guess is eventually they will release a PC version. There seems to be a lot of anger building up behind the manifold by some people like me who tried the PC demo and don't want to play it elsewhere. I've got to wonder if holding back on PC version is due to D3 not wanting to short change the demand for the hand held versions or simply because they are unfamiliar with PC distribution. As a business decision I'm not convinced it makes sense to hold out on the PC version. But once the PC gamers get their hands on it all will be forgiven.... it is a neat little game. Until then there are a bunch of zombified puzzle quest addicts limited to level 7 who are looking for brains.

[Alan Au]

Yeah, I'm still holding out for the PC version, but I may give in and grab the DS version if I happen upon it by chance at retail.

- Alan

[Ben Sones]

I'm holding out for either the PC or the Live Arcade version, whichever comes first. The DS version looks too cramped and is considerably uglier than the PC demo, and I no longer have my PSP. I absolutely love the game, though. It's practically a crime that they had that much trouble finding someone to publish it.

[BobJustBob]

I was holding out for the PC version, but I caved.

[Dave Long]

I agree with what Wholly said above about not being able to play this game without a stylus/pointing device. It's got to be a lot more laborious on the PSP and soon on the 360.

I have the DS version and I still might buy the PC version ALSO when that ships.

[Ben Sones]

I dunno--I play Bejewelled on the 360, and it works fine. OTOH, I found the stylus control on the DS version of Puzzle Quest to be really flaky--way too easy to hit the wrong thing, both in matches and menus. Of course I only played it in the store, so it's possible that sdomething was wrong with their demo unit. But between that and the generally cramped/crappy look of the DS version, I passed.

[SamF7]

Yeah, I'm also waiting for the PC version. It's sad...I've played the demo version
- all the way through using every class
- ended my last session only after getting my mount to level 13 (2 sec timer, anyone?), getting every spell, crafting every object, and even after capping both cities (try THAT you PS/DS players with a level 7 fighter!).

I played WAY too much of this silly game for just a DEMO.

PC Version soon? Please?

SamF7

[slantz]

Sorry to tell ya, but the PC version isn't coming particularly soon. From what I've heard, it's not even a done deal that it'll happen at all.

As mentioned elsewhere, it's an issue of their publisher not doing PC distribution.

[Kryten]

You know, I haven't played the PC demo, only the PSP version and I really don't know what y'all are hating about - the game plays just fine on the PSP. I don't have a DS, otherwise I'd let you know about that version as well.

PQ is the *perfect* game to have on a portable.

[calaiermiant]

This game seems most excellent, but seeing as I have no PSP or DS, I'll simply have to drool on the demo for a bit.

Though this combined with other things may compel me to pick up a 360..

[Nick Walter]

Now that I own both the PSP and DS version of this game, I can say the DS version is my fave. The PSP definitely has better graphics and music but it also has load times and lacks the smooth control elegance of the stylus. Also, for some reason I can't fathom, the auto-hint feature doesn't seem to be in the PSP version. I hate to admit it but I'm not that great at this type of game and I was really leaning on that feature in the DS version. Made the transition to PSP tough.

Also, it it just me is or is that damn vampire bat hard? I think I'm like zero for nine in battling him just tonight. Every time I think I've got him on the ropes he drains health.

[curst]

The PSP version sounds pretty buggy, but not so much so that it'll ruin the sick addictiveness that I found in the PC demo. I'll probably just get it for the PSP, especially if the no-PC-version drama continues for much longer.

It definitely strikes me as the ideal game for a PSP since I've been dying for more turn-based games, and aside from Metal Gear Acid every one I've played on the PSP has been a huge disappointment.

[Ben Sones]

Also, it it just me is or is that damn vampire bat hard? I think I'm like zero for nine in battling him just tonight. Every time I think I've got him on the ropes he drains health.

Focus all of your efforts on denying him yellow mana. All of his abilities use it, so if you can keep him from getting it, you'll have the edge.

[txa1265]

The PSP version sounds pretty buggy, but not so much so that it'll ruin the sick addictiveness that I found in the PC demo.

I don't notice the companion bug as I play - it just adds extra challenge to battles ;)

[fuzzyslug]

You know, I haven't played the PC demo, only the PSP version and I really don't know what y'all are hating about - the game plays just fine on the PSP. I don't have a DS, otherwise I'd let you know about that version as well.

PQ is the *perfect* game to have on a portable.

I agree. This thing was made for a portable and looks plenty sexy for a puzzle game on my PSP.

[Misguided]

Control is fine on the PSP version. The only place it might come into play is when training mounts up to high levels, whee you have to deal with an ever-decreasing time limit.

[Nick Walter]

Focus all of your efforts on denying him yellow mana. All of his abilities use it, so if you can keep him from getting it, you'll have the edge.

Yeah, I've tried that it just didn't work out so good. I think my main problem is that I'm not very good at bejeweled type games :)

[Inhabitant]

Yeah, I've tried that it just didn't work out so good. I think my main problem is that I'm not very good at bejeweled type games :)

I actually had to do the unthinkable and set the difficulty to easy for that fight. Well, 'easy' was VERY easy. After the bat I've been doing ok on normal.

[Jab]

With my druid I found the bat to be very hard, I tried it again with my warrior a few nights ago and beat it on my first try.

If the pc version adds more quests/things to do and multiplayer I would have to buy it.

[Nick Walter]

With my druid I found the bat to be very hard, I tried it again with my warrior a few nights ago and beat it on my first try.

If the pc version adds more quests/things to do and multiplayer I would have to buy it.

I think that might relate to my problem. I'm a druid and everything seems to key off of yellow mana. But the bat can (and often does) use his swoop power to cut my yellow power.

[bigdruid]

Control is fine on the PSP version. The only place it might come into play is when training mounts up to high levels, whee you have to deal with an ever-decreasing time limit.

Yeah, I've been trying to get my mount up to lvl 50 (currently at 42). Beating a lvl 52 creature with only 3 seconds per turn, with a character that's only lvl 32, is...challenging.

And this is with the DS. I can't possibly imagine how you'd do it on a PSP without stylus controls.

More annoyances: When you hit 4 in a row, you get a big textual message on your screen that takes about 1.5 secs to fade. This is a serious bummer when you only have 3 seconds total to make your follow-on move. I see that, and I think - "didn't anyone *playtest* this thing and notice how incredibly annoying that is?"

That, and the screen glitches that happen if you level up while training a mount. Amazing that this made it through QA.

Can you tell that I've been spending lots of time doing mount training? :)

[Drastic]

I'm also in the camp that wishes there was a way to turn off the little hint arrow that starts urging you to play a really stupid move after a few seconds; that little dancing arrow is really distracting as I'm scanning the board for moves that won't actually screw me over as much as the one that game wants me to make.

I will also claim membership in the irritated-at-only-two-slots DS design. I would have bought the eventual XBLA version eventually anyway, you didn't need to do that to force me!

I've only just started, have a knight and warrior to level 10ish, and so far the knight's been much easier for me and is probably the one I'll stick with. I've also found a good early repeatable quest to spam is the "destroy catapult" one that gives a 200 gold/exp award each run.

My level-up plan consists of always splitting points into the two 1-pt-per-increase stats; I figure on building the others mostly through grinding gold to feed to the temple.

[Hanacker]

Does the druid ever get the ability to do real damage? I guess there's that spear that does more damage for every point of green mana? Requires 12 combat or something though. Do I need that? Went back to my wizard because the Druid was just playing way too slow.

[Jim Preston]

Does the druid ever get the ability to do real damage? I guess there's that spear that does more damage for every point of green mana? Requires 12 combat or something though. Do I need that? Went back to my wizard because the Druid was just playing way too slow.Once I got my druid to around 30+ he was simply unstoppable. I don't mean that metaphorically, I mean that quite literally. My cunning was so high, that I would always have the initiative. Then I would have spells that would give me extra turns based on my green mana, and since I started with 24, I would start every match with 3 free turns. Then I would turn all yellow gems into red, and then combine that with the arch lich spell Death Gaze and I would sometimes 200+ of damage, most of which led to consecutive 4 gem matches (I had a ring that added +5 to all mana whenever I made a 4 or 5 match so I would simply repeate the process.) Once I got to level 40 it was rare that any enemy I faced even got a turn much less did damage to me. The only time I was remotely concerned was against a creature with high earth spell resistance, otherwise the end game for a druid with a couple key spells is complete domination.

[Kool Moe Dee]

Finally beat this...a very enjoyable game overall. Probably one of a few games that I'll replay further down the line (when it comes out on Live Arcade).

[ydejin]

Does anyone know if the equipment stacks? For example, if I have two items which both do "1 pt damage to your enemy for every 2 or more damaged received" that means he'll actually receive 2 points? Similarly if I have two items which both give a 50% chance to protect against 1 pt damage whether both items protect?

[Alan Au]

Does anyone know if the equipment stacks? For example, if I have two items which both do "1 pt damage to your enemy for every 2 or more damaged received" that means he'll actually receive 2 points? Similarly if I have two items which both give a 50% chance to protect against 1 pt damage whether both items protect?I'm not sure they "stack" so much as "operate independently." Of course, I haven't tested this extensively.

- Alan

[DavidKaye]

Once I got my druid to around 30+ he was simply unstoppable. I don't mean that metaphorically, I mean that quite literally. My cunning was so high, that I would always have the initiative. Then I would have spells that would give me extra turns based on my green mana, and since I started with 24, I would start every match with 3 free turns. Then I would turn all yellow gems into red, and then combine that with the arch lich spell Death Gaze and I would sometimes 200+ of damage, most of which led to consecutive 4 gem matches (I had a ring that added +5 to all mana whenever I made a 4 or 5 match so I would simply repeate the process.) Once I got to level 40 it was rare that any enemy I faced even got a turn much less did damage to me. The only time I was remotely concerned was against a creature with high earth spell resistance, otherwise the end game for a druid with a couple key spells is complete domination.

I am having a similar experience with a level 30 wizard. I learned Head Butt from a captured Orc, which gives you an extra turn for every 8 red mana on the board. When I combined this with Flaming Skulls (turns red to blue, turns green into skulls), one of the aforementioned mana boosting items, and a weapon that gives a damage boost for every full mana bar, I basically became unstoppable. Once I get going, I now do something crazy like 50 damage when I match 3 skulls.

[RepoMan]

OK, so I bought this and now my wife and I are hopelessly addicted. We have to argue with each other about who gets the DS next. It's fantastic :-D Definitely the most addicted she's ever been to any game, ever.

(Quote from the first night she played it, for three hours straight: "How do you stop playing?")

So, only one real question: what the f**k does "Blind" do? My wizard has a Light spell that "Blinds" for 10 turns or something, but the manual says nothing about what the effect on the enemy actually is, and I can't seem to see the difference in their behavior....

[BobJustBob]

Hold L to swap the screens and then tap the status effect to see what it does.

[Xemu]

I believe the direct answer to your question is "can't use special abilities", but yeah, the right way to find out is to check on the status effect itself (which will also tell you duration, since a lot of them have a variably calculated duration).

Man, how long before the XBLA port of this?!?!?!

[Nick Walter]

OK, so I bought this and now my wife and I are hopelessly addicted. We have to argue with each other about who gets the DS next. It's fantastic :-D Definitely the most addicted she's ever been to any game, ever.


I had the exact same problem. Luckily we are two handheld househould, so I could cede her the DS and run out and buy the PSP version for myself. I strongly recommend doing the same for the sake of a happy marriage.



(Quote from the first night she played it, for three hours straight: "How do you stop playing?")

So, only one real question: what the f**k does "Blind" do? My wizard has a Light spell that "Blinds" for 10 turns or something, but the manual says nothing about what the effect on the enemy actually is, and I can't seem to see the difference in their behavior....

As everyone else has pointed out, you can click on the spells effect icon to see what it does. Blind I believe means no casting spells.

[Nick Walter]

Once I got my druid to around 30+ he was simply unstoppable. I don't mean that metaphorically, I mean that quite literally. My cunning was so high, that I would always have the initiative. Then I would have spells that would give me extra turns based on my green mana, and since I started with 24, I would start every match with 3 free turns. Then I would turn all yellow gems into red, and then combine that with the arch lich spell Death Gaze and I would sometimes 200+ of damage, most of which led to consecutive 4 gem matches (I had a ring that added +5 to all mana whenever I made a 4 or 5 match so I would simply repeate the process.) Once I got to level 40 it was rare that any enemy I faced even got a turn much less did damage to me. The only time I was remotely concerned was against a creature with high earth spell resistance, otherwise the end game for a druid with a couple key spells is complete domination.

That sounds similar to my druid, except instead of Death Gaze I'd use Breathe Fire from my dragon spider mount for a quick 50 points of damage. Then reincarnate, get a bunch of match-fours, cleanse, rinse and repeat. Quite the fun cycle. The druid 50th level power is a sick one to throw into the mix right after a reincarnate. It turns all the greens to wildcards so the whole screen basically explodes in four and five of a kind matches. Since I had an item that gave me +6 to all mana on a match four it was basically a free mana refill combo. Used with entangle and items that guaranteed enough starting green mana to use entangle on turn one I'd win most fights without the enemy ever getting a turn.

After beating the game with my druid this last weekend I restarted as a warrior and I've discovered that I again suck at this game. The difficulty curve on this game is weird because it's actually much harder at low levels. After about 25-30 the combination of all the spells and powers and forged items makes it easy to steamroll almost anything that lacks good resistances.

[TriggerHappy]

Just wait until you get Deathbringer. It's the most overpowering thing I've seen in any game, ever.

[nixon66]

Want to do Ironman Puzzle Quest. I was amazed to find out that my wife is playing Puzzle Quest this way:

- She's level 33
- She's never changed her spells ever.
- She's never changed her mount from the rat.
- The only things she's had equipped are the ones that were given to her initially and so equipped that way.

She's happily playing away, not bothering with the whole other side part to the game with runes and such. Shure she's captured a bunch of creatures, and castles, and she's bought different masteries in her keep, but she just is happily playing along without bothering with the rest of it. And loving it.

[bigdruid]

Reminds me of my wife playing EQ.

She couldn't be bothered to figure out the whole equipment situation, so she just never looted any items from MOBs and never bought anything. Everything she owned was given to her by friends who would inspect her character and say "you really need this" and give her items.

She had a blast anyway, but I'm a total min-maxer so it drove me nuts - finally, she couldn't handle me nagging her any more about it, so she decided she was RP-ing a character who had taken a vow of poverty, and told me to STFU :)

[fuzzyslug]

Reminds me of my wife playing EQ.

She couldn't be bothered to figure out the whole equipment situation, so she just never looted any items from MOBs and never bought anything. Everything she owned was given to her by friends who would inspect her character and say "you really need this" and give her items.

She had a blast anyway, but I'm a total min-maxer so it drove me nuts - finally, she couldn't handle me nagging her any more about it, so she decided she was RP-ing a character who had taken a vow of poverty, and told me to STFU :)

My wife does something similar with WoW. It's a bother for her to learn skills when she levels up.

[RepoMan]

Well, MY wife is very excited to be riding her rat. Maybe a little TOO excited, considering how that little bastard jiggles up and down under her.

She is also getting into the shopping and citadel-building and the whole bit. But then again she's a confirmed geek.

[AndrewM]

I saw via TC (http://www.tacticularcancer.com/#1788) that Puzzle Quest is now officially coming to the PC (http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20070717005474&newsLang=en) this fall. Huzzah!

[Nick Walter]

Eesh, I may have to buy a PC copy. Purely to plant on the PCs of my rivals at work so their productivity will spiral downwards to zero.

[bigdruid]

And you guys did see that it's coming to XBLA also, right? Although I can't imagine just sitting in a chair and playing this - it seems like the quintessential mobile title.

[nixon66]

As well as the Wii. I may spring for it again, just to see it in full screen glory, and I can wag my remote around as I demolish my enemies on the first turn!

[Misguided]

PQ is one of the only games I have ever completed then started again (along with Diablo I and II)

[André Costa]

I hate these news about it coming to PC because i broke down and bought a PSP & PuzzleQuest :( Which i haven't played much because i also started playing WoW :(



Meh, i'll probably get the PC version aswell ;_;

[Robert Sharp]

A DS would have been cheaper...and have a lot more games for you to play, if you like games like PQ.

[shang]

It's also coming out for mobile phones (link (http://www.gamesondeck.com/news/1059/puzzle_quest_coming_to_mobile.php)).

[rhinohelix]

Arise!

Six months later I finally catch up to this. I got this when I first bought my PSP last weekend for a business trip. Luckily, I didn't start playing it until I got home, otherwise the trip would have been a bust. All I want to know is, how do they get the crack/heroin into those UMD disks and where does it come out of the PSP at? I am pawing at the handheld like a jonesing rat in a Skinner box.

I played so much yesterday I woke up with an incredibly stiff neck from looking down literally all day. This may be the one game that causes me to actually have to follow those "take a break every hour" guidelines. I only hope I can stop that contagion here and not let it spread to the 360.

[Kitus J.]

Agreed. I rented it recently for the DS from Gamerang and bought it immediately. No second thoughts. We were on a seven-hour drive yesterday and my son and I just kept trading it back and forth.

[Nick Walter]

Just remember, to maximize your crack availabili . . . err PQ replayabilitiy you should play through the game as a warrior last.

[Kitus J.]

Thanks. We're both playing as Wizards now. I'll try another class before Warrior.

[wonderpug]

Just remember, to maximize your crack availabili . . . err PQ replayabilitiy you should play through the game as a warrior last.

Are you saying that warrior makes it too easy? Because with my wizard I was able to pretty much lock down the enemy and have nearly infinite turns. For replayability, I think you need to self-impose rules on what item combos you allow yourself to use. Some of the crafted items are ridiculously strong.

[Charlatan]

I hate the fact that handheld video games go out of print so fast. I'm trying to pick this up for PSP these days and it's literally impossible to find it anywhere. I see the DS one, but the PSP version is nowhere to be found.

[Nick Walter]

Are you saying that warrior makes it too easy? Because with my wizard I was able to pretty much lock down the enemy and have nearly infinite turns. For replayability, I think you need to self-impose rules on what item combos you allow yourself to use. Some of the crafted items are ridiculously strong.

I think the warrior makes it too easy. And yes, wizards win a lot. Actually, at upper levels a well developed character of any class makes it easy, because you can do sick things to the enemy using just skills learned from monsters. Mmmm, stone gaze and berserk rage.

A warrior with death bringer and good fire magic is another step up in sickness. They don't need nearly infinite turns, they just need 1. They activate deathbringer, they win.

[barstein]

Just noticed this is coming for the Wii soon. I assume it will not have multiplayer? Any similar games that will on the horizon? I can't tell if Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn will or not (even though the two are not exactly in the same class).

[Warning]

I hate the fact that handheld video games go out of print so fast. I'm trying to pick this up for PSP these days and it's literally impossible to find it anywhere. I see the DS one, but the PSP version is nowhere to be found.
Amazon's got the PSP version in stock.

[Kryten]

Be grateful, it never came out on either platform in New Zealand. GG Mr Publisher.

[malkav11]

Just noticed this is coming for the Wii soon. I assume it will not have multiplayer? Any similar games that will on the horizon? I can't tell if Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn will or not (even though the two are not exactly in the same class).

Have there been any Fire Emblem games ever with multiplayer? I can't think of any.

[Charlatan]

Amazon's got the PSP version in stock.

All the PSP versions on Amazon say they're being released on or after October 30. Are they reissuing this?

[ok, following the link on the main page does reveal other vendors that have it so technically yeah, you can get it. I demand instant gratification though, dammit!]

[Kryten]

With luck they might even be correcting some of the PSP bugs in a reissue (this isn't unheard of, right?), which aren't just limited to the companion spells not working correctly and include lock ups on the spell selection screen, that type of thing. I've been hit by that one and I can't get anything over a level 15 spell......

[Unicorn McGriddle]

Just got this and it's amazing. Farewell to the rest of my life. MUST PLAY.

[Mysterio]

Just got this and it's amazing. Farewell to the rest of my life. MUST PLAY.

Yup. Great game! Already have it on XBLA. Should have jumped on the PC version for $10 at Circuit City when sub-$20 games were 50% off, but didn't. Would be a great game for me and my g/f to play together on long flights. Have also picked up and put down (too many times to mention!) the PSP version for $19.99. The damn thing just won't drop in price despite being heavily stocked!

[Marcin]

D3 makes Puzzle Quest ... in spaaaaaaaaace! (http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/51490). DS and XBLA versions in the works.

[barstein]

How do you transfer saves from one PC to another? I had this issue a few months back, prior to a trip, and never figured it out (copied character/saves directory but was unable to see existing character/saves in game on new machine).

[Kryten]

The lack of PSP version for Galactrix is confusing as hell to me - I know D3 did a shitty job of getting PQ into stores (even in Australia, where the game was made) but why would they want to drop PSP from the list of platforms?

/boggles

[slantz]

The lack of PSP version for Galactrix is confusing as hell to me - I know D3 did a shitty job of getting PQ into stores (even in Australia, where the game was made) but why would they want to drop PSP from the list of platforms?

/boggles
We don't know that they are dropping it. They just haven't announced it yet. In the video interview with Fawkner, he says they want to get it on all platforms, but PC/XBLA/DS are all they can announce right now.

Remember that PQ (eventually) hit PS2, Wii, XBLA, DS, PSP, PC, and is now reportedly being ported to cell phones.

[Gendal]

They contracted the PSP version of PQ out to another dev house, I imagine they are trying to do the same thing again and just haven't finalized everything. At least I hope so, it would be my preferred platform for Galactrix.

[Rock8man]

An expansion pack is coming soon to XBLA (http://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/17/puzzle-quest-getting-xbla-expansion-fans-asked-to-name-it/). They're asking the fans to help come up with a name for the expansion.

It will add...


a new villain in Antharg, the Lord of Plague, as well as new spells, items, and quests on top of four new hero professions (Bard, Rogue, Ranger and Warlock)

So someone upthread called it with the Rogue class being added in DLC.

[forgeforsaken]

Damnit I have the DS version. This will be tempting though.

[Nick Walter]

An expansion pack is coming soon to XBLA (http://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/17/puzzle-quest-getting-xbla-expansion-fans-asked-to-name-it/). They're asking the fans to help come up with a name for the expansion.

It will add...



So someone upthread called it with the Rogue class being added in DLC.



Aaaand I just went an abrupt converstion to XBLA fandom. Time to buy a wireless adapter for my 360.

I'm such a PQ whore.

[slantz]

Aaaand I just went an abrupt converstion to XBLA fandom. Time to buy a wireless adapter for my 360.
Well, at least you can rest assured that if you want some advice getting mileage out of it, there's plenty of us wililng to help.

[Nick Walter]

Well, at least you can rest assured that if you want some advice getting mileage out of it, there's plenty of us wililng to help.

I don't want mileage, I want PQ ;-)

But let's not have this thread again. If you silly fanbois want to berate me some more for not liking the same things you can resurrect the old thread and commence the assault.

[Lizard_King]

Bard...I may pick this up again just to see how the worst class ever invented is rammed into the game's rules.

[slantz]

I don't want mileage, I want PQ ;-)

But let's not have this thread again. If you silly fanbois want to berate me some more for not liking the same things you can resurrect the old thread and commence the assault.
Relax, relax. I was just poking fun at us 'silly fanbois' -- no more, no less.

I'm pretty surprised to hear that this is coming w/ 4 new classes. I was expecting one or two as isolated DLC items. This is pretty awesome news. I still haven't gone through the game as Druid or Warrior though, and the challenge of beating it with all classes seems pretty daunting w/ another 4.

Anyone have any idea if we're likely to see a DS and/or PSP update with the rebalancing, bug fixes, and all this expansion content?

On another note, has anyone played online yet? I played a couple of games on XBLA just to get the acheivement, and I had to wait a while for an opponent, and it wasn't exactly the stiffest competition...

[Misguided]

Definitely looking forward to this. It'll give me an excuse to play the XBLA version some more, which I really haven't.

[malkav11]

I'm not really holding out any hope for a new PSP/DS version (especially since I'd probably wind up having to repurchase it entirely, not something I'm eager to do), but a PC version of the expansion would be nice.

[Equisilus]

I'm waaaaay late to the PQ party, but I just have to say that I love this game. I bought it for the PC on Steam this past weekend for something different to try out and it's totally blown me away with how addictive and fun it is. Wow. The replay value and length of the game itself seems to be huge (I've only played 8 hours or so).

I've been getting into a bunch of casual/indie games in the last couple of months since games of the genres I generally play have vanished from the radar. If there's a few positive things the drought of new games has done is that it got me to try digital downloads as a source (for both PC and PS3) and got me to try casual gaming, a genre I more or less didn't have the interest in before now. Good job at release-suckage, game industry!

[Morkilus]

Avoid the sequels, and you'll get plenty of Puzzle Quest gaming for your dollar.

[Equisilus]

Avoid the sequels, and you'll get plenty of Puzzle Quest gaming for your dollar.

Bad enough to avoid them? Since all the games that were delayed throughout 2009 are finally starting to come down the pipe and will take me away from all these casual downloads, I probably won't have time to go beyond the first PQ anyway, at least for a very long while.

[Aristophan]

The title to his thread made me laugh - how times have changed...

[Adam Sensoy]

I recently got into puzzle quest as well: both on my iphone and on the PC. The iphone version has the additional content from the expansion, but is so goddamn small I can barely play it. The pc version I have (from steam) is good, but its got only the original content, and I loved my rogue from the iphone and am already bored of my wizard. Is there a way to get the expansion material on steam?

I really, really am surprised at how much I like the game, given that I had never played bejewelled (yes, yes, heathen) and generally don't like puzzle games. This one is very clever and addictive, and the RPG elements, while couched in a terrible story, are good enough to keep me going.