Meeky

[Meeky]

One-Eye looks at you and says, “Well, this is a right mess. Toodles, pup.” The old man then disappears into the mist.

[Meeky]

Yeah, shieldbearers CAN work. I’m typically far too in love with two-handers and einhanders to do it, which means my bowmen have to kill the other team’s bowmen ASAP, but… A good shield build CAN work.

One thing to note about the Nimble fighter is that it takes melee defense to pretty much silly, unnecessary levels. 100+ melee defense is WAY more than is necessary. It’s just awesome to see those gigantic numbers.

@Wargasm:

Personally, rather than having 2-3 crossbows on my melee guys, I’d rather just have 1. Reason being: I can carry a variety of two-handed weapons, allowing me more flexibility in tactics, and potentially a dagger or scramsax (or whatever they’re called) for recovering armor via Puncture. I could see carrying 2 crossbows and NOT bringing a scramsax, but 3 would be overkill.

[Meeky]

I really like the idea, though the name could probably be changed. For some reason, the idea of calling them “Half-men” seems good to me, or perhaps “Redcaps.” I imagine a redcap whose cap/helmet is dyed with the blood of his enemies would be an interesting lore tidbit to include.

[Meeky]

Game of Thrones isn’t necessarily authentic. Some of it is and some of it isn’t. It’s just one man’s attempt to show how awful war can be by making horrible things happen to people over and over. While it’s pretty good at accurately depicting reality in that regard (wow I sound pessimistic), the authenticity of the material varies in other subjects.

Gold was super valuable, but it’s not necessarily mega rare, basically.

IMO, the coins used should be whatever the devs think is coolest. Copper, silver, gold, iron, steel, platinum, electrum – whatever it is, it’s a fantasy setting, and the devs are free to do whatever they feel is best for the game.

I agree that silver would be a neat choice, and is probably the most fitting out of the options that seem most realistic. Gold coins could be a treasure item, much like the current ancient coins you can find from certain adventure sites.

[Meeky]

Personally, I love two-handed weapons guys, and I play them with Offense and Utility tree stuff and usually nothing from the Defense tree. Yes, really.

You’re not carrying a big weapon so you can take hits. That’s what shields and nimble fighters are for. You carry a big two-handed weapon because something needs to die and it needs to die NOW.

Key to any offense-oriented two-handed build is having a hornblower in the back to assist, especially if Perfect Focus is going to be a part of your setup. You might even use the offense tree perk that gives you extra AP on murdering someone in conjunction. That can give a guy using a polearm a lot of extra attacks, or a guy using a two-handed sword one or two extra swings after an initial AoE strike (depending on how much fatigue they have and if they use Perfect Focus).

You probably want Brawny from the Utility tree. It lets you wear the biggest, bulkiest armor in the game, meaning really good defense – and since a patch that I don’t recall, this applies to helmets too. Wear big stuff and add that heavy armor to your damage with the Full Force perk.

The Full Force perk seems to be REALLY good on weapons with low base damage but high armor effectiveness, such as the two-handed hammer. Keep that in mind when picking weapon loadouts: try to have a weapon that’s good vs. HP, a weapon that’s good vs. armor, and a weapon that’s got reach, always. Some weapons will fit two of these criteria, such as the billhook being good vs. armor while having reach, or the longaxe being good vs. HP with reach… or the two-handed orcish axe (the Mansplitter) which just makes a mockery of flesh and armor alike at the cost of ALL YOUR FATIGUE. Your mileage may vary with that one.

There are five stats you should level with this setup, taken whenever the dice rolls heavily favor one or the other: Melee Attack, Fatigue, Melee Defense, Hit Points, and Ranged Attack. You want Ranged Attack because crossbows are magnificent backup weapons for your two-handed warriors.

Sellswords are pretty good choices for this role, since they start with bonuses in both offensive stats. Hedge Knights, Wildmen, and Farmers can do very well in this role as well, and others might fit if they get good traits. If your character you’ve chosen has high enough fatigue (such as a Strong Athletic Wildman), you might not take Brawny at all, and instead get one of the perks from the Defense tree (+HP or -armor damage taken), or perhaps take Fearsome since any amount of HP damage from an AoE can then trigger morale breaks on the enemy.

A general note is that a two-handed warrior is NOT an all-rounder. Two-handed warriors are specialists. Treat them as such. Make sure your defense-oriented characters have Rotation so you can pull your two-handed dudes out of a fight if you must; they can soak damage, but they can’t dodge or block it, so once their armor is almost gone they’re definitely going to need help.

When fighting orc warriors, something to remember is that a Nimble fighter or shield fighter (whose enemies don’t have axes) can hold the line practically forever, allowing your two-handed warriors to stab at afar with polearms. HOWEVER, you don’t want anyone to be standing directly behind the defensive warriors, since if they’re adjacent an orcish warrior can simply shove them aside and then swing at the polearm fighters. Instead, have your pikemen/billmen keep a 1 tile distance away from both the orcs and the defender. They’re unlikely to try to break away from the defender if the defender has a high attack value, and they’re unlikely to shove him around if there’s nobody they can reach by shoving him. It’s a nice way of tangling orcs up if you have someone with incredible defense.

(Note: the above piece on fighting orcs changes if your defenders have Indomitable.)

Finally, one thing to remember is that you should always carry a ranged weapon (since you have two free hands anyway) via bags and belts. A crossbow or bow will give your heavily injured two-handed warriors an option when they back up from the fight. Furthermore, they should get plenty of shots thanks to Perfect Focus (again, a must-have if you bring a hornblower). And… remember that, presently, two-handed builds aren’t going to be the best mostly because there are a few specific builds that are simply rather dominant. But they do have their place, and they’re incredibly fun to play. Their damage is incredible, and they love wearing the best armor you can find. I like ’em.

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As an aside, Berserk is something I definitely like for two-handers, but I’m personally a fan of Perfect Focus over Killing Frenzy. This is largely because you can’t always make sure the two-hander guy secures kills, and sometimes it may just be more economical to let someone else take it because their weapon deals less damage and there’s a fresh orc standing to that wounded enemy’s left. But both the top-tier offense tree perks have huge value to a two-handed weapons guy, and I imagine Killing Frenzy is amazing with a two-handed hammer, especially with the right character traits.

One thing I’ll note is I LOVE finding characters with massive starting fatigue pools (again, Wildman with Strong and Athletic, or Hedge Knight with similar) because I can give them much better defenses than usual. I once had a Wildman with Strong who I didn’t give Brawny OR Pathfinder to, but instead gave the HP-boosting AND armor damage taken reducing perks from the defense tree. This made for a massive increase in survivability, though the guy moved like a turtle through swamps.

There’s a lot of really good Tier 2 offense tree perks, to be honest. Berserk and Full Force are just two of ’em. I could see the merit (if you wanted more oomph) in taking more Tier 2 offense perks in lieu of 1-2 Utility tree perks. Fast Adaption is good if you really need more Melee Attack; Close Combat Archer for when you want to shoot a guy with a crossbow, swap to your two-handed weapon, and swing at his face. (Again: thank you, Quick Hands + Bags and Belts.) Bullseye is good for just being able to play backup sniper, and Debilitate could be useful when fighting, say, an orcish warlord carrying a greataxe. All of this stuff is really, really juicy, and it’s worth experimenting with.

Tier 1 perks for a two-handed weapons guy can be tough to choose. If you plan on using greataxes or the two-handed hammer, I’d definitely consider Crusher a good choice. Bloody Harvest and Sundering Strikes are both really good. Head Hunter could be good for Brutes, and Executioner is a good second pick after Sundering Strikes if you don’t plan on smashing shields. Really, there’s just a lot of good choices here, and the only one I’d say is a poor one for a two-handed guy is Push the Advantage – unless you’ve got a lot of macemen around and you’re specifically not fighting orcs.

And again, your Tier 3 perks are both very good. But they operate very differently on the field: one gets extra damage for a brief time after each kill and doesn’t have fatigue issues, but the other makes multiple extra attacks and has more tactical mobility (move 2 tiles > perfect focus > stab with polearm) at the expense of lots and lots of fatigue. The other characters in your mercenary band are critical in deciding which to use, and if you decide to use the Perfect Focus perk, you need to keep your two-handed warrior within range of Rally the Troops.

Lastly… One thing comes to mind that might be interesting to try: a two-handed Warrior with Footwork instead of Brawny. Again, you’d want high fatigue if you do this, but having the capability to pull out from bad situations with Footwork and then stab at your opponents via polearms could be incredibly useful. It’s a curious thought, but it might work with the right builds.

[Meeky]

Orange aura = a rare, often randomly generated weapon, yes.

[Meeky]

On “a few”:

They’re using “a” to say 1, and “a few” to mean 2-3 or 2-4 or something like that. The reason for this is simple:

To leave you guessing how many bandit leaders / necromancers / orc warriors you’re fighting exactly.

If they said “a couple” and THEN said “a few,” it’d mean you’d have a more precise knowledge of how many enemies you’re fighting. A little mystery goes a long way in making you reconsider your attack (such as is that “a few” Necromancers 2 or 3?), which I personally think is a good thing.

Heroes of Might and Magic does this a lot, too, including the vaunted #3. Hell, I think “1” enemy counts as “a few” in their games. It’s to keep you guessing / keep you on your toes.

Main character-related stuff:

There is no main character.

On Shakespearean English:

Yeah, that’s just unnecessary.

Notes on event diversity, character diversity, factions, and battles:

These are way better points. We’re in an early stage of the game where things aren’t entirely fleshed out – thus the Early Access tag. Some of the things you mentioned are definitely weak points in the game as of right now. The fog of war issue, the suggest to diversify the way people talk in different regions – that’s good stuff. I think you’re onto something. Honestly, I could see the fog of war being black and unexplored for some maps, such as enemy encampments and dungeons and such, but should we really have that for EVERY map? Wouldn’t a simple foggy overlay be better for some battles?

Those weak points are also on the “to-do” list for the devs, definitely, but these sort of suggestions can give them something to think about, certainly.

On grammar:

There’s a few spelling errors to be found throughout the game, and there are a few punctuation problems… but by and large the developers have done very well. But in-character dialogue in this game is often meant to reflect a character’s education, and I find all the dialogue easily understandable. Not sure where you’re having difficulty.

I’ve actually thought of volunteering to sift through stuff to find actual mistakes before. There ARE a few areas the spelling and punctuation could be fixed, as said. But they’re not incredibly common.

[Meeky]

Horses would be interesting but I’m not nearly so enthused at them as the idea of a great many other things.

If they’re added, that’s fine. If not… also fine. I won’t vote for or against them.

[Meeky]

I honestly like the look of the left hammer. It’s a bit ancient/dwarfen style or something in that direction. The hitting part has a certain “stone” vibe to it, so I leave it up for interpretation if thats stone or iron.

I agree on the general style of it. I love the rough, dwarven aesthetic. It just looks a little warped. Here:

In the image below, looked at the areas I’ve circled. The upper part is the more obvious, but it makes the hammer look as if there was a gap in the wood and the smith said “well, whatever” and slapped the head on anyway. The second circled area shows where one side of the metal is missing its little rivet sticking out the other has – and it doesn’t look chipped off or bent or anything. It just looks like it’s missing.

Otherwise, it’s generally pretty good. MAYBE the upper half of the shaft could be shifted slightly to the right? I LOVE the dwarven appearance, but those things I pointed out were really obvious when I was glancing at the weapons. They’d probably be less obvious in-game, but still noticeable.

(In case the image doesn’t appear, here’s a link to IMGUR: http://imgur.com/2dTFBFF )

As an aside: I’m intrigued that we’re getting rare throwing weapons. I wonder if that’ll make ’em a little more viable, maybe even as a solid volley-before-the-clash weapon. The perk rework may affect that.

Either way, I like these axes.

[Meeky]

Two-handed hammers… Like ’em a lot. Hm.

The first two-handed hammer has a couple slight weird bits that I’ve spotted, Psen. It looks like the metal connecting the hammer head to the wood is… misshapen? Or the wood is misshapen? Or has the metal surrounding the wood been dented inward? The upper half of the hammer strikes me as very strange. The design is lovely, but it looks either poorly constructed by its smith or badly dented, or like the smith had a piece of wood which had a big chip missing at the end used for the hammerhead.

The other two hammers seem fine and I want to crush orcish bones with them.

[Meeky]

If you’re going to have 24 characters on your side in this game, you’d quite frankly be best off controlling all of them, even for special dungeons and such. Not only would the game move that much faster as a single-player experience (you’re not waiting for the other player and being bored by their turns), but the co-op experience would HAVE to be limited to either custom battles or a special mode that basically says “No world-map,” AND co-op becomes something that needs a lot of time investment.

PvP could have a meta, but not every meta needs to be closely watched. PvP also inherently limits encounters to a custom battle sort of setting, or maybe later “defend the fort” type things. I find this to be far more plausible, as two players with access to the exact same things is easier to balance than two players fighting an AI that has access to vastly different things than them.

But… Really, I just don’t see the NEED for multiplayer in a game like this, sans maybe an online skirmish mode. It’s designed to be a single player game, and the way it’s been designed kind of limits multiplayer options. And that’s fine.

Remember that at the end of the day this game is being developed by THREE developers. That’s a small team. Focusing all their energy into a great single player experience is way better than a mediocre single player experience and a tacked-on multiplayer one. I imagine they might investigate multiplayer options one day, such as after they’ve finished developing their awesome single-player game, but right now, that’s just not a priority of any sort.

Again, if we DO see multiplayer, I expect PvP skirmishes. If it has co-op, I’d expect an “infinite dungeon” or “endless hordes” sort of game mode, or people just using the skirmish mode against the AI.

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Onto other matters.

Pretty sure we will see female characters at some point before the game launches. I’m also pretty sure they won’t be naked ladies swinging greatswords. There will, however, be ladies in armor swinging greatswords, and ladies with crossbows and bows, and ladies with pikes, etc. They’ll probably function the same as Battle Brothers but have female-specific backgrounds that show, in most cases, why Battle Sisters are rare.

And you’ll probably see a few seriously badass female warrior backgrounds as well. I’d be all for seeing a “Shieldmaiden” background with similar origins as the “Raider” one, or one where a noblewoman who always wanted to use a sword just snuck away from home and started adventuring. Etc.

I suspect, on the note of multiple contracts, that we will have that eventually. And we should. Heck, it’d be nice to be able to get a contract that basically says “Do THIS instead of what your other contract says.” A treachery contract if you will.

And on that note, making the noble houses more active is definitely a goal. The devs have made that clear. Right now they’re working on more weapons and a skeleton rework. I think the Perk rework is planned next, and then we’ll probably see a huge update for Noble Houses / factions in general some time afterwards.

Not sure how I feel about letting us buy back points we’ve spent on perks. My gut instinct says “Limit it,” such as “let us refund TO A POINT, but not do a total rework after a certain level.”

[Meeky]

Honestly, I can’t see co-op being very feasible except for weird dungeon delves, and why would you do co-op and split up teams when you could instead have all 12 brothers fighting under one leader? AND co-op battles would feel slower. And having two bands of brothers on the world map wouldn’t be very intuitive, either. Would the game pause for each battle? Would you have a “turn” to spend? Would battles take “real-world” time? All of that sounds really clunky.

PvP “Me vs. You” custom battles could be fun, though. I set up my team, perhaps even with an option to play as the orcs or goblins or undead, and I duke it out against a friend. Fun, that.

[Meeky]

Axe #2 is REALLY nice.

On that note: named armors, named helmets – will those be included? And will named helmets/shields still be destroyed if broken by the enemy in combat?

Also, I have to say that I love how worn you made axe #1 look while maintaining its shine and elaborate detailing.

Also, if you decide to make rare round shields (I doubt it, but who knows), I’d see that as an opportunity for some sort of Celtic Knot design, or perhaps a Norse equivalent since we’ve seen Norse-like things but nothing Celtic.

Last comment for the time being: for some reason it strikes me as really odd that axe #2 has seen the least fighting of the three axes on the picture. Dunno why, but it does.

EDIT: Also, AWESOME – I’ll be glad to see the Fallen Hero armor around still. It’d be doubly awesome if it could be looted, but as long as it sticks around and sees use in-game, I’ll be happy. It IS a really neat piece.

[Meeky]

The two-handed hammer works VERY efficiently. It costs the same amount of fatigue to swing as anything (15 fatigue, just like ALL two-handed weapons that aren’t orcish), so as long as you’re using a couple of hornblowers, you’re fine. Essentially, realize that it’s a two-hander with the same effectiveness vs. armor as a warhammer AND that it can hit 3 guys at once. Yowza.

The longaxe is a good pole weapon that can split the shields of any opponent which bunkers up too much. My one complaint about Split Shield – and this is always the case, really – is you need multiple guys to break the shield together to make it efficient, and THEN have them go for the throat with much higher chances to hit. But if you’re using multiple longaxes, you can do just that thanks to their reach… It’s nice.

[Meeky]

Just found the new Fighting Spear. That’s… Yeah, that’s very underwhelming for 2k+ crowns of expense. Every other weapon thus far has been exciting and made me want to use it, but the Fighting Spear just seems… Blegh.

[Author]

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