Messages

46

General Discussion / Re: Blocking Weapons and Assorted Combat Discussion

« on: October 04, 2017, 05:01:07 AM »

Combat is my favorite part of this game, it's a very unique system and a lot of fun to mess around with. I start most characters on There Be Robbers!, so I frequently do a 3-6 on 1 fight with minimal clothing and a less than ideal weapon set.

Interesting.  I love the URW combat system and I like experimenting with There Be Robbers, but I can never bear to start an ongoing game with it.  It just feels too...I don't know...like I'm missing out or something...to start with a fortune in weapons and clothing (presuming one lives).  I love building myself up, so I always go for the basic start, without any game courses.  Trading if necessary for that first handaxe...I mean, how often would you otherwise actually use a stone axe?  (Except maybe to equip that army of old men).  I also don't like playing a character that starts out as too much of a combat god.  I find myself using completely different tactics (and a lot more cowardice) when trying to survive with mediocre combat abilities.  Though I'd like to get better at the tactics of actually fighting.

47

General Discussion / Re: Blocking Weapons and Assorted Combat Discussion

« on: October 04, 2017, 02:11:11 AM »

FWIW, I think shields are the way to go. Even with a fairly low skill, shields are good at blocking hand weapon attacks. And of course they are very valuable against missile attacks.

Shields are certainly great against dangerous bow-users, and I've had some pretty combat-effective shield-users.  I'm a little leery defending in melee with them atm since my last attempt to use a moderate shield skill in place of a moderate dodge skill ended abruptly by instakill from a bear.  Notwithstanding they limit weapon choice a bit.  One-shotting enemies and prey with even the flat of a battlesword certainly makes me feel powerful at least...

48

General Discussion / Blocking Weapons and Assorted Combat Discussion

« on: October 04, 2017, 01:14:56 AM »

For you combat gods out there -
I've long avoided blocking attacks with weapons because it degrades weapon quality.  Recently, I've started to revisit the tactic on low-dodge characters as I've started to realize that there is plenty of wealth to replace that high-end spear and survival is much more valuable.  Anyway, I was wondering whether certain weapons tend to be much more resistant to taking damage while blocking?  It has seemed like the spears I've used to block have often seemed to degrade quickly; but some of the swords seemed like they lasted a bit longer. 

I've also been playing around with death blow and other target locations.  What I think I've noticed - skull attacks seem to do comparatively little damage, but also deal little damage to an animal's pelt.  Slashing and piercing attacks against the neck seem to bleed a lot.  Abdomen attacks deal a lot of extra damage, but also damage pelts.  (And blunt attacks against the abdomen often cause bleeding).  Not sure what good targeting the thorax does?  Bleeding/extra damage from piercing attacks?

It seems like head-based attacks might have an increased chance to knock a foe unconscious; failure, though, frequently hits the shoulders, which rarely has any special effect.  Any critical (groin/eye/thorax/abdomen) seems to be able to knock an enemy unconscious on an attack.  Arm attacks obviously can make an opponent drop their weapon and hinder their counterattacks, which might be beneficial if they're wielding something nasty, like a big sword or axe.  Leg attacks seem to be able to knock an enemy down, which has its uses (may give you a turn as they get up or help keep fleeing prey animals from running away).  Body attacks seem to be the easiest to land, and generally what I target first.

Anyone with relevant experience in the matter who can support or refute these ideas?  Or targeting advice in combat?  Maybe the main targeting consideration should just be which areas are more lightly armored...

49

General Discussion / Re: Culture Poll

« on: September 30, 2017, 07:07:54 PM »

Njerps definitely spawn in the Archipelago, sometimes rather frequently.  I think there's something about a limited land mass that actually concentrates animal and njerp spawns...particularly on the larger islands.  Islands that are only a couple zones in size might be safer though.  Of course, the easy access to coast lines makes it easier to kill things safely from range when they do spawn.

50

Gameplay questions / Re: Few questions about trapping and a couple of misc questions

« on: September 29, 2017, 11:01:32 PM »

I find that the game rarely (if at all) just spawns animals in traps.  The single biggest thing you can do to help trapping success is to search for animals, and then place traps in nearby areas; particularly in tiles where you find their tracks.  Small, isolated lakes are a good place to search for animals (but it may easily take a fair few before you find anything worth trapping).  For carnivores you almost always need bait.  I find trap fences to be particularly effective on narrow islands and peninsulas where you can chase your pray into them.  Also something to keep in mind: It doesn't take much investment to make traps.  So make a lot of them in various locations, and stop by to check every so often.  Winter is actually great for hunting - it's quite easy to follow tracks in the snow, even at 0% skill.  Deep snow also tires prey out pretty quickly.  (You do need to be properly outfitted with heavy winter clothing though).

I haven't personally noticed any difference between spoiled and non-spoiled bait, but then I haven't experimented that much with non-spoiled meat.  Just make sure you use uncooked meat.

51

General Discussion / Re: What's Going On In Your Unreal World?

« on: September 26, 2017, 10:18:37 AM »

My latest 1st year Islander had a pretty decent set-up with traps and camps spread over three good-sized Islands.  Despite my very poor dodging skills, I had killed a fair number of Njerpez and brigand invaders by attacking them the Islander way - from a boat.  A pack of wolves came to the island of my main encampment, and I was slowly trying to whittle down their numbers when I discovered that a pair of bears were also wandering about.  I set about five different deadfall traps before managing to get first one and then the other.  To mitigate my poor defenses, I had previously obtained a masterwork round shield.  In an effort to maintain the hide quality, I first shot each bear with a single superior broadhead, then closed in with my mace and tried to bring the beast down while hopefully learning to defend myself a bit better.  My poor defenses failed me once during the first fight, and I took a minor clawing to the side.  The second bear managed to immediately bite my neck during the second encounter, causing instant death.  First time in a long while that I've been instakilled (as opposed to a lucky hit causing unconsciousness and subsequent death).  Ah well, just another opportunity to start over

Note to self:  Despite the heavy encumbrance penalty, I should still have been wearing the armor I'd previously scavenged from Njerpez.  And maybe it would have been better to keep my shield high.

52

General Discussion / Re: Culture Poll

« on: September 24, 2017, 10:03:19 AM »

My personal favorites are:

1) Islanders:  They have pretty mediocre stats/skills and possibly the most worthless villages, but I love starting and scrounging out an existence in the archipelago.  (Ultimately with houses, camps, and traps on half a dozen or more different islands).

2) Kuikka Tribe:  Have the insanely good stats and skills of the northern tribesman, but are a bit stronger and more balanced than either owl or seal tribes.  Also have a decent fishing skill, and form large, wealthy (northerner) settlements.

53

Gameplay questions / Re: How to hunt seals?

« on: September 24, 2017, 09:31:51 AM »

It's not really that hard to hunt seals as long as 1) you use traps, or 2) you've got a good long-range weapon skill.  Despite the fact that they're slow and tire quickly, I've never been able to get close enough to hunt them with melee weapons barring the extremely rare fluke zone-in.  Something to keep in mind:  They can only stay underwater for about 20 minutes, but might pop back up anywhere in the zone.  So if you're trying to hunt them with weapons you attack, wait for it to resurface, attack, wait, etc.  It is barely feasible to hunt them with javelins - at the extreme end of your throwing range with high skill; but this will significantly damage the hide.  Bows / Crossbows work much better, but you'll want high accuracy versions like short/longbows.  (Crossbows are all highly accurate).  It will often still take a few shots and you're likely to lose a couple arrows in the process.

EDIT:  Forgot to add, it's important to wait until they're beached to attack.  I believe they can bleed out underwater, in which case you'll never find the corpse.