Dungeon Siege : Legends of Aranna Unofficial Strategy Guide and FAQ by Kasey Chang released January 7, 2004 0 Introduction This section is for "what the FAQ is about" and things like that. Feel free to skip this section. If you like the FAQ, please send me a dollar. :-) See [0.3] This FAQ is primarily about the single player game, though it has some references to the multiplayer game. 0.1 A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR I already wrote a FAQ for Dungeon Siege, and I started playing Legends of Aranna, so I decided to write a FAQ for LOA as well. This is a FAQ, NOT a manual. You probably will not be able to learn how to play the game with this document. This USG only covers the PC version since that's the only version that I have (and existed). Some of you may recognize my name as the editor for the XCOM and XCOM2: TFTD FAQ's, among others. 0.2 TERMS OF DISTRIBUTION This document is copyrighted by Kuo-Sheng "Kasey" Chang (c) 2004, all rights reserved excepted as noted above in the disclaimer section. This document is available FREE of charge subjected to the following conditions: 1)This notice and author's name must accompany all copies of this document: "Dungeon Siege: Legends of Aranna Unofficial Strategy Guide and FAQ" is copyrighted (c) 2004 by Kasey K.S. Chang, all rights reserved except as noted in the disclaimer." 2)This document must NOT be modified in any form or manner without prior permission of the author with the following exception: if you wish to convert this document to a different file format or archive format, with no change to the content, then no permission is needed. 2a) In case you can't read, that means TXT only. No banners, no HTML borders, no cutting up into multiple pages to get you more banner hits, and esp. no adding your site name to the site list. [Small exception: a "small" toolbar with no banners embedded is okay. See IGN or Neoseeker for examples.] 3)No charge other than "reasonable" compensation should charged for its distribution. Free is preferred, of course. Sale of this information is expressly prohibited. If you see any one selling this guide, contact me (see below). 4)If you used material from this, PLEASE ACKNOWLEDGE the source, else it is plagiarism. 5)The author hereby grants all games-related websites the right to archive and link to this document to share among the game fandom, provided that all above restrictions are followed. Sidenote: The above conditions are known as a statutory contract. If you meet them, then you are entitled to the rights I give you in 5), i.e. archive and display this document on your website. If you don't follow them, then you did not meet the statutory contract conditions, and therefore you have no right to display this document. If you do so, then you are infringing upon my copyright. This section was added for any websites that don't seem to understand this. For the gamers: You are under NO obligation to send me ANY compensation. However, I do ask for a VOLUNTARY contribution of one (1) US Dollar if you live in the United States, and if you believe this guide helped your game. If you choose to do so, please make your US$1.00 check or $1.00 worth of US stamps to "Kuo-Sheng Chang", and send it to "2220 Turk Blvd. #6, San Francisco, CA 94118 USA". If you don't live in the US, please send me some local stamps. I collect stamps too. 0.3 VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTION Gamers who read this guide are under NO obligation to send me ANY compensation. However, a VOLUNTARY contribution of one (1) US Dollar would be very appreciated. If you choose to do so, please make your US$1.00 check or $1.00 worth of stamps to "Kuo-Sheng Chang", and send it to "2220 Turk Blvd. #6, San Francisco, CA 94118 USA". If you don't live in the US, please send me some local stamps. I collect stamps too. For the record, out of ALL the FAQs I wrote (37 at last count) over the past nine years or so, I've received exactly 7 dollars and 2 sets of stamps, as of release of this guide. So I'm NOT making any money off these guides, folks. 0.4 HOW AND WHEN TO CONTACT ME PLEASE let me know if there's a confusing or missing remark, mistakes, and thereof... If you find a question about this game that is not covered in the USG, e-mail it to me at the address specified below. I'll try to answer it and include it in the next update. Please do NOT write me for technical support. That is the job of the publisher. Please do NOT ask me to send you a list of controls, the manual, etc. If you borrowed the game without borrowing the manual, blame your own stupidity. If you bought the game without a manual, blame your own stupidity. If you copied the game without copying the manual, you're not only scum, but STUPID scum. If you downloaded the game off the Internet (warez, abandoneware, or P2P networks), you're DESPICABLE scum. Please do NOT ask me to answer questions that have already answered in this FAQ/guide. It makes you REALLY idiotic. I will NOT answer stupid questions like the ones above unless I'm in a really good mood. If you send questions like that, do NOT expect a reply. The address below is spelled out phonetically so spammers can't use spambots on it: Kilo-Sierra-Charlie-Hotel-Alpha-November-Golf-Seven-Seven AT Yankee-Alpha-Hotel-Oscar-Oscar DOT Charlie-Oscar-Mike To decipher this, simply read the first letter off each word except for the numbers and the punctuation. This is "military phonetics" or "aeronautical phonetics" in case you're wondering. This document was produced on Microsoft Word 97. Some editing was done with Editpad (editpadclassic.com). 0.5 THE AUTHOR I am just a game player who decided to write my own FAQs when the ones I find don't cover what I want to see. Lots of people like what I did, so I kept doing it. Previously, I've written Unofficial Strategy Guides (USGs) for XCOM, XCOM2:TFTD, Wing Commander, Wing Commander 2, Wing Commander 3, Wing Commander 4, Privateer, Spycraft, 688(I) Hunter/Killer. Mechwarrior 3, MW3 Expansion Pack, Mechwarrior 4, Mechwarrior 4: Black Knight, Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed, The Sting!, Terranova, Fallout Tactics, Starfleet Command Volume II, DS9: The Fallen, DS9: Dominion War, Driver, Warlords: Battlecry, Monopoly Tycoon, and a few others. To contact me, see 0.4 above. 0.6 DISCLAIMER / COPYRIGHT INFORMATION Gas Powered Games (http://www.gaspoweredgames.com/) created Dungeon Siege Mad Doc Software (http://www.maddocsoftware.com/) created Legends of Aranna Microsoft (http://www.microsoft.com) published Dungeon Siege and LOA. This USG is not endorsed or authorized by ANY of the companies mentioned above. The information compiled in this USG has been gathered independently through the author's efforts except where noted otherwise. This document is primarily aimed at the single-player game. However, the tactics discussed applies to all game modes. Official site is at http://www.microsoft.com/games/dungeonsiegeloa/ 0.7 HISTORY 01-JAN-2004 Initial release 1 Dungeon Siege General Info 1.1 THE MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Q: Can you send me the game (or portions thereof)? A: No. Q: Can you send me the manual (or portions thereof)? A: It's on the CD, you *****! Q: Can you tell me what keys to use? A: You can look in the game, can't you? It's also listed on the official website, and on the back of the manual. Q: Can you tell me how to play the game? A: Read the manual. Q: Can you help me get the game working? A: That's the publisher's job. Go to the official site for some help. Q: How about a patch? A: Don't need one yet. Installing it patches DS to V1.5. Q: How about a discussion board? A: They're all over the place. Try the official website (http://www.dungeonsiege.com) for a list of them. Click on the "community link", and you'll see a LOT of them. Q: How many CD's are there in the package? A: Three. This also includes the original Dungeon Siege. Q: Can I buy Legends of Aranna alone as I already own Dungeon Siege? A: Unfortunately, no. Q: Can I import my characters from Dungeon Siege into Legends of Aranna? A: Only your multiplayer characters can be imported into multiplayer. You MUST start a new character to play the single player campaign. NOTE: There has been reports of people loading a saved game from their regular DS into LOA. However, it's NOT guaranteed to work, and thus should NOT be relied upon. Q: How about a sequel? A: The trailer for Dungeon Siege II is on the first CD. It's due sometime in 2004. Q: How do I disband a member? A: Select the member, hit disband button. Confirm the choice. Q: My guy(s) have fallen over! What do I do? A: If the character's portrait is "red", that means the character is unconscious, and he'll wake up in a little while, albeit with very low hitpoints. The red over the portrait will steadily decrease. When the red is gone, the character will wake up (hopefully not still in the midst of enemies). Q: My character's portrait has a tombstone over it! And his stuff is scattered all over the ground! What happened? A: "He's dead, Jim." He probably was knocked unconscious too many times, or hit a big cache of explosives, or someone keep beating on his unconscious body and killed him. If there's someone left in your party with resurrect scroll or spell (or revive), cast it and bring him back to life. Then he can be healed and regain his stuff. Else, you need to load a saved game. (Same with the pack animal) If you're in MP, you'll come alive as a ghost. Look for a resurrection shrine to revive yourself. Q: Why can't I join any multiplayer games? A: If it says "Game no longer exists", keep trying. Sometimes if you try multiple times (like 5 times or so) it'll let you in. If it won't let you in after 10 times, try a different one. This happens especially on Zonematch. Q: I get this message about 5 different dsres files are different and I can't join any MP games. Why? A: You have a mod that's active. Usually, it's Circle of Lorent, which is both a siegelet and a mod. Disable the mod portion with some sort of Mod/Siegelet Manager and you should be okay. Q: How do I start in the game? A: Try reading the manual, then the "Beginner's Guide" below at [2] Q: What should I start as? A: Same answer. :-) Q: I have a router sharing my broadband and I can't join MP games. Any ideas? A: DirectPlay, the DirectX connection protocol, doesn't support NAT unless you do port forwarding. Try DXPort from Puffinsoft.com to help you with that. Please note that you also need a router that supports port forwarding properly. See Puffinsoft.com for details. 1.2 DUNGEON SIEGE HISTORY Dungeon Siege is the game Chris Taylor set out to make after Cavedog went under. It was mainly designed as Diablo- killer... It has full 3D, seamless world, no poison, no ammunition, weapons don't break, self-healing, and things like that. If you don't know what Diablo is... Diablo is a 2D isometric view dungeon game where you play a single character fighting and casting spells. You can choose three classes to play: fighter, rogue, or mage. You are fighting to rid the town of an evil that has infested the land, corrupted the local king and his knights, and threaten to unleash the ultimate evil... Diablo himself. You must go down there, confront all the minions in your way, and locate Diablo himself... Diablo itself was inspired by the old dungeon games in text such as DND, Moria, and Rogue, where the Dungeon is generated randomly every time you play. Diablo was a major hit. It simplified and streamlined.a lot of the conventions of computer role-playing game. Fighting is real-time so satisfaction is instantaneous. There is both ranged and melee combat, in addition to spellcasting, with then impressive special effects (albeit in 2D). The prefix/suffix system was introduced to create nearly infinite number of items. You can also play online where up to 3 other people can join you in the dungeon. Diablo also introduced battle.net, an online player matching service. The service is free, as it merely matches the player and provides some chatrooms for the players. It was also an instant hit and quickly emulated by other companies. Diablo followed with an expansion pack Hellfire, produced by a different company under license from Blizzard. Hellfire introduced several new classes you can play with, as well as more items and a new shorter quest. Diablo has a sequel, Diablo II, where the levels are bigger, the spells are larger, and more. Diablo II has an expansion pack called "Lord of Destruction". Dungeon Siege basically was created to eliminate all the things Diablo (and Diablo II) has failed to do or is extremely annoying to new players. Poison has been eliminated altogether. Character self-heals over time. Multiple party members will follow you to fight and support as needed. You can even hire packmules to carry things for you. Items do not break in Dungeon Siege (they do in Diablo and must be periodically repaired). By now, everybody has a free playmatching service. Microsoft uses ZoneMatch at Zone.com. After Dungeon Siege was launched, initial reactions were quite good, though a lot of people claimed that they aren't really "playing", but rather just click and look at figures fight. People lauded the nice aspects of Dungeon Siege, but say it doesn't really have "legs", due to simplified damage model and such. Still, the open-ended toolkit that allows total conversions (called Siegelets) as well as minor modifications (called Mods) are possible, and the community responded with some truly impressive content. Some of the better known are "Circle of Lorent", "Land of Hyperborea", "Hopeless Quest", and "Steel's World". GPG contracted Mad Doc Software to create an official expansion pack for Dungeon Siege while GPG work on Dungeon Siege II. The result was Legends of Aranna. 1.3 DUNGEON SIEGE HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS Excerpt from the official website, recommended specs are: Windows XP, 2000, Me, 98 PC with 333 MHz equivalent or higher processor 128 MB of system RAM 1 GB available hard disk space 8 MB 3D graphics card DirectX 8.0 compatible sound card with speakers/headphones Multiplayer: 56 kbps for 1-4 players, broadband or LAN for 5+ players It takes 1.1 gigs of space to install properly, and maybe another 1.1 gig to patch it (as the patch backs up everything). The Expansion Pack alone needs about 550 megs of space. So if you are installing from scratch, you need about 1.6 gigs of space. 1.4 HOW DOES THE GAME PLAY? From the official website: (http://www.dungeonsiege.com/faq.shtml#1a) Dungeon Siege is an action Fantasy Role-Playing Game (FRPG) that takes place in a continuous and gigantic fully 3D world. The design philosophy is to combine the immersive qualities of a FRPG model with over-the-top combat and non- stop action. Starting with a single character, the player adventures throughout the world, adding as many as 7 additional characters to their party along the journey and developing their skills in any way they see fit. In multiplayer, the player controls a single character, making it very much like Diablo. Download the demo from the official website and see for yourself, or from the 3dGamers.com mirror at http://www.3dgamers.com/games/dungeonsiege/ 1.5 BUGS AND FIXES For list of improvements, see [1.7] below The full list of fixes is in the README file of LOA. 1.6 EXPANSION PACKS? SEQUELS? RELATED TITLES? This is the expansion pack. Sequel is coming soon (2004) 1.7 WHAT'S ARE THE NEW FEATURES IN THE EXPANSION? From the official website (http://www.microsoft.com/games/dungeonsiegeloa/features.asp ) Combat & Adventuring Improved Control Groups Increase the effectiveness of your party (mages in particular) by using the improved control groups. In addition to switching among ten different slot combinations for your party, you can now use the control groups to switch instantly among ten different spells, even if the spells aren't active. Localized Attacks Avoid accidentally running into the clutches of a horrid beast by holding down the SHIFT key when you attack. This causes your characters to target the monster closest to the area where you click (a localized attack). When no monsters are around, holding down the SHIFT key will order your characters to break open the nearest treasure chests. Multiplayer Save Experience improved group gameplay. Now each time you exit a multiplayer game, the journal state of your character will be saved. Play through with friends and complete all the quests together! Overhead Map Fully appreciate the epic scale of your adventures with the new Overhead Map. As you travel through the world, quests, locations and region names appear on the map. Off-Screen Attack Warning Remain alert to the status of fellow party members through the new off-screen attack warning. If a party member is under attack out of your view, their Character Portrait will flash orange, alerting you to rally to their aid. Group Awareness Watch properly equipped party members rush to each other's aid. Characters you have not ordered to hold their ground will run to help if their fellow party members come under attack. Magic Transformation Spells Change your magic users into powerful melee combatants with new Transformation spells. Experience the earthshaking power of playing as a Rock Beast, or try playing with the deadly sting of a scorpion. Unsummon and Untransform Buttons Cancel Combat spells for better control. If you are about to head into battle and your Summon or Transformation spell is getting close to expiring, use the Unsummon Monster or Untransform buttons, located in the Field Commands, to negate the spell. Recast the spell and enter battle at full strength. Orb Spells Cast new Orb spells, which create powerful magical orbs that revolve around you and automatically target nearby enemies, thereby leaving your hands free for melee combat, ranged combat, or additional spell casting. Glyph Traps Experience the satisfaction of killing monsters with the new Glyph spells. Place five to ten Glyphs on the ground to create a lethal trap, and then lure monsters to their doom. Treasure Treasure Sets Discover pieces of rare "item sets." Composed of three to five pieces of weapons, armor, or other equipment, each of these related magical items is powerful in its own right, but when combined, they are endowed with additional bonuses. Tragg Utilize the tragg, a new pack animal that delivers powerful attacks and can carry almost as much loot as a packmule. Traggs rapidly become attached to their owners and will rush into battle to gore any monster that threatens the party. And unlike packmules, you can order traggs to attack enemies. Redistributable Potions Click the Redistribute Potions button at the bottom left of the screen, or press the R key, to give all party members their fair share of the party's potions. Mages get all of the mana potions and melee warriors get more health potions. Imbued Items Keep an eye open for "imbued" items, armor, and weapons. These special objects buff party members and significantly increase their prowess in battle. Backpacks Increase the load each character can carry by using new backpacks. Each character is limited to one backpack. Right click your backpack to open it. You can also drop an item directly onto a closed backpack to stash the item away. If your main Inventory has no room, items you pick up off the ground will automatically go into the backpack, if there is room there. Sell All Quickly convert all unequipped loot to gold with the new Sell All button. 1.8 HOW ABOUT A DEMO? Try here: http://www.3dgamers.com/games/dungeonsiege/ Beware, it's a HUGE file (almost 250 megs) at the very bottom. 1.9 NOTES ON ORGANIZATION The basic game mechanics are already covered quite well in the manual. This will primarily serve as the beginner's guide, party composition, character list, quest list, walkthru, and other misc. reference items. 2 Beginner's Guide If you are just starting in Dungeon Siege, you should read this section. This part is NOT changed from the original FAQ. 2.1 WHAT DO I START AS? If you are playing for the first time, you will probably start as a melee fighter, as you will find shovels and such available as weapons. You can branch into combat mage or nature mage later when you find some spells around. Once you've beaten the game, you can try again as a ranged fighter, a hybrid ranged / melee fighter, or other combinations. For the ultimate challenge, try "solo" the adventure, by not hiring anybody! Just hire packmules to carry your stuff. Once you've done that, try the different maps, pump up the difficulty level and/or the map challenge level (if any). If you start as mage, you can hire melee fighters, summon beasts, and so on to supplement your party. There are many ways to play the game. If you start as a ranged fighter, you can learn some lower- level spells and/or branch into melee. It does NOT matter how you start. You can finish the game as ANY of the professions. You can hire other party members to help you in areas that you're weak in. 2.2 HOW DO I ENHANCE SPECIFIC ATTRIBUTES? The easiest way is to wear items that give magic bonus for that attribute, like "Add 3 to Strength" or "Add 2 to Dexterity". Of course, you have to find them. You can "grow" STR by wielding heavy equipment and/or weapons, as close to your actual STR as possible, and by using such equipment and weapons in combat. The more tough opponents you kill (the more damage you do), the more likely your STR will go up. You enhance DEX by using ranged weapons a lot, and I mean a LOT. Ranged weapons are already weak and this doesn't help that much. You enhance INT by casting spells a lot. (Using a staff in combat does NOT enhance INT, as far as I know) The increase also seems to depend on the enemies fought. If you fought wimpy enemies, you gain less than if you fought more serious enemies. 2.3 HOW DO I FIGHT? How you fight depends on your specialty. Are you a melee fighter, range fighter, or mage (combat or nature)? 2.3.1 Melee Fighter Run in there and start bashing, that's the melee fighter way. Try to "tease" a few enemies so they move to attack you instead of you fighting the entire group at once (i.e. getting mobbed). 2.3.2 Range Fighter Basically, you're the sharpshooter, going for distance damage. You would probably want to keep the weapon with the longest range (13 to 15 meters is good) so you can get in more arrows when possible. Fast firing rate is good, which means crossbows. However, the more damage you do, the more of it penetrates. Crossbows do less damage than regular bows, so this evens out in the end. NOTE: In reality, crossbows fire SLOWER than regular bows, but the shots are straighter and have more armor piercing capabilities. DS is exact opposite of real-life. Fight as few enemies as possible at one time, divide and conquer. You may also want to keep a melee weapon around, just in case. You would want to level up your STR a little to get better armor. 2.3.3 Mage (Nature or Combat) Again, divide and conquer is best way, fight one at a time. Fireshot or Zap is pretty decent early on, even if you're a bit weak. Later, you can summon beasts to do the combat for you. If you have melee fighters and ranged fighters in the party, you can cast "buff" spells to pump up their stats, so they fight better. You can also heal your party to keep them in the fight. 2.4 HOW DO I STAY ALIVE? RUN AWAY when you can't handle the enemy. Most enemies will not chase you very far from their initial location. Heal yourself, then try again. By this, I mean RUN into areas you've cleared before of any enemies. Running into new area means you'll find MORE enemies, not less. Use a lot of healing potions (RED ONE!), and the "healing hands" spell, which you can cast on yourself. As it's a level 0 spell, everybody can use it. Save the potions for the heavy battles. Try to tease away one enemy at a time, so you don't get mobbed. If you get mobbed, run away (and I mean BACK, as running into new territory will likely trigger MORE enemies). Get better armor and better weapons ASAP. Dump the wimpy weapons. When you get a party, it gets easier, as others can fight and/or cast heal. 2.5 HOW DO I KNOW WHAT TO KEEP? Initially, grab EVERYTHING. Look for item you can use that does the most damage, or best protection, or most enhancing your attributes. 2.5.1 Keep the sets If you can accumulate a set, you'll gain LOTS of bonuses from ALL the items in the set. Arhok's set is the first one you'll get. By mid chapter 2 you should have 3 out of 4 pieces, and there are better stuff to come. 2.5.2 What armor to keep You need STR to wear better armor. Look for items that enhance STR or any other attributes you need enhanced. Lighter chainmail with good protection are a bit hard to find. You want items that maximize BLOCKING. Large Kite Shields (many varieties) can block 35% of melee and 35% of ranged attacks when using single-handed weapons, NOT counting any magical bonuses. There are also ones that reduce damage. Enhance your armor reading. Go for items that have better armor values. If you see two shields, one with higher armor but lower blocking, and the other with lower armor but higher blocking, pick the one with higher blocking. 2.5.3 What weapons to keep If you need more damage, look for items that enhance melee or ranged damage, or higher STR or DEX, or just do more damage overall. Check if it's one or two-handed weapon though. Two-handed weapons do more damage in exchange for giving up protection of the shield. If you need better spells, look for items that add + nature magic or + combat magic, or more INT. 2.5.4 What to do with things you don't want Dump the items you don't need on the ground or the packmule or traag (if you got one). Later, when you get transmute spells, you can transmute the items you don't want into potions, gold, etc. 2.6 HOW DO I GET MORE GOLD? You get more gold by killing lots of bad guys. Bad guys (including monsters) will occasionally drop gold when you kill them. Near the end, you get thousands of gold pieces, maybe over ten thousand from the dead guys, whereas initially you get only tens and twenties. You also can grab a LOT of loot. You may not be able to personally carry them all, so you'll have to pick and choose. Some of the best items can be sold for a lot of money. One of the best ways to make money is by selling spells. Give spellbooks to all your characters, even if you don't plan to use them as mages. Spellbooks are cheap (only 15 gold). When you get "extra" spells, (those your mage already has, or found better ones), dump them into the spellbooks of the "holders". It doesn't matter what level the spells are, you aren't going to use them any way. Spell books are extremely compact, and the first spellbook takes up NO inventory space, unlike individual spells! When you reach a shop, SELL the entire spellbook for BIG BUCKS. Then just buy one to replace it. NOTE: Remember to keep the spells you want before selling the whole book! This is especially true for LOA players, as you would find MANY more spells than you could EVER use, esp. if you get into the habit of smashing every urn/container/crate/etc. in sight. Sell the spells that you can't use in the near future. If you're level 10, for example, sell the spells that are level 13 or higher. Mage progress is much slower than melee fighters. Another way to get more gold is have your mages (or you) cast "transmute" on the discarded items. It's a level 1 spell so just about any one can do it. You won't make as much gold as you would have if you had sold the item, but at least you're getting SOMETHING, whereas if you left the items behind you won't get anything. Your party can hold up to 10 million gold pieces (9,999,999 to be exact), in the SP campaign. Some siegelets have expanded this limit, with possibility of overflow (i.e. you may end up with NOTHING if you go over). 2.7 HOW DO I GET MORE MANA? You should be able to find plenty of mana potions around. The combat mage spell "burn body" seems to replenish your mana as well, as would similar spells. Or just sit still and wait for the mana to regenerate. 2.8 WHO DO I RECRUIT? See [9] for a full list of recruitable characters and where to find them, and if they cost anything. As you can have up to 8 members in your party (which includes the packmule/traag), you probably end up with 7 members, that's 2 melee, 2 melee/ranged, 1 ranged or 1 ranged / nature, 1 combat mage, and 1 nature mage, and the packmule of course. You can vary the ratio to fit your personal playing style. 2.9 WHAT SPELLS DO I USE? There are basically four "groups" of spells: healing, buff, direct damage, and summons. Healing spells: heal a specific member, or the entire party. Healing hand is the first one you get, and it's quite usable, even on yourself. Healing wind, which increases healing rate, works for the entire party. Resurrect spells technically belongs in this group as well. Remember to use healing spells, or you'll end up using a LOT of healing potions, which eats up inventory space that could better to used to carry loot. Mana regenerates faster. Buff spells: spells that raise attributes, like "lightfoot" raises DEX, "ironfirst" raises STR, "stoneskin" raises armor, and so on. Special attack spells like "triple strike" would count here as well, as do spells like "mana shield", which takes damage out of mana instead of hit points. Useful when heading into a big battle. Just beware of limited duration. The higher level the caster, the longer the spell lasts. Direct damage spells: spells that do damage directly. Combat mage get most of these, like pillars of fire, and such. Lightning, bomb, and firewall are other examples. They can affect a single enemy, or an entire group. Summon spells: spells that summon big nasty critters, from skeleton and hellboars to "mountain giant" or "forest klaw". They can add to your attack power significantly, or at least soak up more enemy damage. However, you can ONLY summon ONE creature at a time. Summon them just before battle and they will help a lot. If you are solo-ing as mages, summon will be most of your combat power, as you can't afford to melee with anyone, even with your staff doing a ton of damage (if it hits at all). Higher level the caster, the longer the creatures last (assuming they aren't destroyed). New to LOA: Glyph spells -- basically "trap spells", cast them on the ground and lure monsters over them. Haven't tried them, but should help with mage solo'ing a bit. New to LOA: Orb spells -- basically "mini-helper", an orb that stays with you automatically casting spells like heal, lightning, acid, fire, and such, for limited duration, while you keep on casting other spells. Sort of useful as supplemental firepower. 2.10 HOW DO I GAIN LEVELS? In general, if you want to gain levels faster, fight tough enemies. The more damage you do, and the more you fight, the more you level. Of course, the tough enemies hit back harder as well. As mages, cast spells that affect multiple enemies. Damage spells that hurt multiple monsters do more damage (and gives more experience) than damage spells that hurt a single monster. 3 Single Player Hint Guide This is a list of questions often asked about the specific "Legends of Aranna" single-player campaign, divided by chapter. 3.1 CHAPTER 1 : SHADOWS OF THE PAST Q: What do I do after the guy comes and inform me? A: That's your first quest. As he said, circle around your house, open the basement, and grab everything that can be grabbed. Then move to center of town, near the well. Talk to the mayor for your first quest. Q: Anything else I should do before I go? A: Explore the town for the other quest. Q: Can you tell me where is the other quest? A: *sigh* Kron the trapper wants you to kill the bear to north. He's between the mage guild and the west gate. Q: What do I do next? A: Go through the north gate, and fight your way to the "Cold Storage" cave. Fight your way inside and slay the giant. Take the displacer back into town. Q: Where is the bear? A: Look for an alternate path as you head north. The bear "Yellow Eye" is somewhere down there. Q: Where is Jondar? A: Just ahead of you. Q: I killed the ice giant and I'm back in town. Now what? A: Talk to the mayor again, then look for the other quest. Q: Can you tell me where IS that other quest in Arhok? A: Look on top of the western towers. (Yes, you can go up there.) Q: Where is Lyssa? A: At the entrance of Halls of the Lost. Q: Where is the secret room in Halls of the Lost? A: Well, if I tell you it wouldn't be a secret. However, look for levers on the walls... Q: How do I kill the Lost Queen? A: Kill the tails to stop the spiders from spawning, THEN kill the head. Q: What happens after the queen? I don't see the staff. A: The staff is NOT here. Go beyond her for displacers. 3.2 CHAPTER 2: ISLAND OF LEGENDS Q: I'm at the "island way station". Now what? A: Well, go find some sunlight, and keep going. Q: Where is Najj the half-Giant? A: Just ahead on the beach. Q: So where is his fellow half-giants? A: Long ways away (not until chapter 3) so don't worry about it yet. Q: I see somebody on the beach. How do I reach him? A: Facing the cave entrance, turn left into the ravine, then head out to the beach. Q: Where is Ilorn's amulet? A: The "boss" slinger has it. Go RIGHT facing the cave entrance and fight your way to the beach. Q: 3.3 3.4 3.5 THE COUNTDOWN... Q: Is there really a clock I must beat? A: No. Take as long as you want. Q: How do I defeat the Shadowjumper? His lieutenants just kill me! How many are there any way? A: Unlimited number of lieutenants. They're generated by the dark generators. There should be two of them around the clock, destroy the dark generators, THEN hit the lieutenants and Shadowjumper. 4 Classes and how they affect your play style Note: This section is unchanged from the original Dungeon Siege FAQ. 4.1 MELEE Melee fighters are the ones who head in a bash enemies with their hand-to-hand weapons. In Everquest terminology, they are the "tanks". 4.1.1 Pros and Cons Pro: Melee characters do the most damage, in general, and gets a lot of kills. Thus they level up faster as well. With fast weapons, they can do a LOT of damage. They gain a lot of STR thus can wear the best armor. Early on, they do a lot of damage. Con: Does not deal with ranged threats effectively, also takes most of the damage (and the risks of dying). Melee tops out at about 800 or so base damage, due to lack of advanced weapons. Therefore when the level gets REALLY high (say, 80-100+) magic is more powerful. 4.1.2 How to be effective Melee guys are simple, give them the hefty weapons. The "tank" should be one-handed weapon only, with a good shield. Alternatively, you can also make a "basher", who has the hefty two-handed weapon and no shield, though the basher is more effective when you have a guy WITH the shield to soak up more damage and attract attention. Give them plenty of potions, and back them up with buffs and healing spells. 4.1.3 How to Improve Melee characters should use Melee whenever possible, and wear things as close to their STR requirement as possible. That helps them "grow" in STR. Give them STR enhancing jewelry as they need the STR to wield the heaviest weapons. 4.1.4 How to equip Give them the healing potions, the best armor (and shields, if applicable), and the most damaging weapons. 4.1.5 How to Support Melee characters need ranged support to deal with ranged attackers. Range support can be in form of ranged combat or ranged attack spells. If there are no ranged support available, it may be best to make your melee character a dual-role melee/ranged character instead. They will also need healing support if possible. Solo-ing requires a lot of potions. When you run out, it's time to leave! 4.1.6 Ultimate Melee Fighter The ultimate melee fighter would have strength at roughly 80, which is enough to wear the best armor (the "black" battle plate STR 77) and wield the heaviest weapon (axe of kill kill carnage STR 78). After that, choose equipment depending on what type of resistance you are seeking: melee, ranged, or magic. 4.2 RANGED Ranged combat specialists concentrate on the ranged skill, bows and crossbows (and launchers of one sort or another). 4.2.1 Pros and Cons Pro: Does damage at longer ranges (up to 15 meters), which is beyond vision distance of some enemies. This may mean you can shoot without fear of retaliation. You can always run away, and avoid enemy shots. Con: Ranged fighters must use both hands, which means they are more vulnerable to damage, requiring them to wear heavier armor unless there are "tanks" around to soak up the attack. Lack of STR means they can't wear heavy armor. Ranged damage is usually quite a bit less (tops out at about 350 max base damage), which can be seriously reduced by enemy armor. 4.2.2 How to be effective Range fighters are pretty much self-maintained. They will move to engage (if you turned "engage" or "attack freely" on). Though in general you will want to keep them in formation, behind the melee guys. 4.2.3 How to Improve The only way is by using those bows a LOT. The more you shoot, the more you gain. Bows and crossbows closest to your stats may help you gain EXP faster. 4.2.4 How to equip Ranged specialists need a good set of armor as they can't use shields. (You can still equip one for the magical bonuses, but it won't block any shots) Melee weapon is optional as they are able to do a LOT of damage at any range with their weapon. They need a few heal potions for emergencies, but otherwise they don't need much potions at all if your melee "tanks" are doing their jobs. Also give them any items that improves DEX and/or ranged skills. Sometimes, it is necessary to give them STR enhancing items so they can wear better armor. Or let them do a little melee to get their STR up. 4.2.5 How to support Ranged specialists need someone up front (the tanks) to soak up enemy attention, to prevent enemies from getting into their melee range. They also need healing support if available. 4.2.6 Super Ranged Fighter Ranged fighters don't do that much damage overall, when compared to magic or even melee. The ultimate ranged fighter would probably be armed with a very good crossbow (the second highest punisher crossbow is DEX 59). He or she will need pretty high STR (say, over 40) to wear some of the best armor available. 4.3 COMBAT MAGE Combat mage, who deals mainly in pyromancy, has a LOT of attack spells of various ranges. Combat mage's spells tend to be more of direct damage and summon, with a small percentage of buff and heal. 4.3.1 Pros and Cons Pros: combat mage has a lot of "group damage" spells, with ability to damage a large number of enemies. They can also do more damage in late game than melee with their magic attacks. Dragon Fire and Cyclones of Fire are some of the best spells in the game, doing THOUSANDS of points of damage. Cons: Magery requires mana, which aren't that easy to come by, esp. larger sized bottles. They are usually very weak in STR and thus cannot wear heavier armor, and have LOUSY melee skills (so those staves are nearly worthless). Requires high intelligence for large mana reserves. 4.3.2 How to be effective Combat mage need to know when to use which spells, and even when to use melee and ranged attack (just to increase in STR a bit). In general, buff the party up and summon critters before going into a battle. Once in a battle, use pause to give you more time to issue additional buffs, heals, and so on. Summon only the toughest critter you got, as you can only have one summon active at a time. Trolls are good as those self-heal (up to a point). Remember there are FOUR types of spells: heal, buff, damage, summon. You can cast all four types before and during the battle to help the battle along. Direct-Damage is NOT the only way to help your party. You can buff up the party or summon creatures before the battle. During the battle you can heal your party and do some damage to enemies. 4.3.3 How to Improve Mages need to cast a LOT of spells, as high level as possible. The more damage the spells do, the faster you will gain experience. For example, flame ring, burning six different enemies, makes 6 times as much XP as when burning only one enemy. As there are four types of spells, cast some or all of them. Direct-combat is NOT the only way. Use up those mana potions you find. 4.3.4 How to equip Mages need a few heal potions for emergencies, and a LOT of mana potions. Mages need a good set of armor. Thin mail and such are fine for mages if you can get their STR up to 12 or even 16. If you stay at STR 10, you can only wear robes and such, and those have armor value well below 100 unless you find some really special robes. Look for items that improve combat magic ability, their INT, and so on. Any mana-increasing rings and amulets and weapons are good as well. Needless to say, give your combat mage your combat spells. Be ready with both a long-distance and a short-distance spell. Also assign spells in terms of distance. 4.3.5 How to support Combat mage need someone in front to soak up enemy damage, even if it means summoning some critters to serve as bait. 4.4 NATURE MAGE Nature mage has control over forces of nature. Nature mage deals with more healing and buff spells in general. 4.4.1 Pros and Cons Pros: their healing spells are indispensable, such as healing wind. You can't live without them. Nature mages also gets more summon spells and buff spells. Cons: Nature mage does not deal out that much damage in general, and requires a lot of help. They also level up much slower than combat mages as they do less damage over all. 4.4.2 How to be effective You may need two of them in a party. One of them to do more damage spells to level up, while the other do heal spells (left on "auto") so he'll heal the party when appropriate. Then swap the two as needed to keep them growing equally. 4.4.3 How to Improve Cast a LOT of spells, enough said. Healing spells are slower than combat spells, so nature mages have a tough time leveling up. Keep them busy with buff spells and such. 4.4.4 How to equip Mages need a bit of STR to wear better armor, so if the enemies are weak, you MAY want to let them fight melee and/or ranged a little so they can gain a bit of STR. Otherwise, give them the best armor, staff, and so on. 4.4.5 How to support Don't let them fight directly. Let the "tanks" be up front, followed by ranged fighters and combat mages. Nature mages go in the back (or if there is no "back", in the middle). 4.5 MULTI-ROLE PLAYERS Being a single class is actually somewhat discouraged in Dungeon Siege, and you can branch out of as many disciplines as you want. Just beware that progression will be slower if you spread out. Still, here are some helpful combinations 4.5.1 Melee / Ranged If you specialize in both, you can deal out a LOT of damage at ANY range. If enemy is closer, switch to melee. If enemy chooses to stay back, use ranged attack. The only problem with this combo is you can't "heal" yourself much. You may want to keep "healing hands" spell around, and see if you can get your nature magic up to level 9, so you can use healing wind (on yourself, after you run away from a big mob). 4.5.2 Melee / Nature Mage This may be a decent combo as you can use a bit of ranged attack like zap, as well as heal yourself, and fight decently. 4.5.3 Combat Mage / Nature Mage By being both, you get the best of both worlds... Ability to do a LOT of damage, as well as heal your party members. Of course, you have to constantly run away as you can't fight the enemies head-on. On the other hand, with spells like "conversion" (which turns you into the other type of mage temporarily) this combination is not that useful any more. Of course, that's a high level spell... 5 Interface Tips This section is virtually unchanged from the original Dungeon Siege FAQ, but with some more tips added at the end. 5.1 USE RIGHT-CLICK TO ATTACK It's better to right-click to designate a target instead of left-click. Right-click ONLY designates a target, whereas left-click, if you miss the target, means you will RUN to that spot! You can MOVE with left-click, and attack with right-click. It's the optimal way. WARNING: if you right-click on enemy when you have selected melee weapons, your character will RUN toward the target and attack it point-blank! Make sure you have the right weapons selected before you attack! 5.2 SET THE 4 "QUICK SLOTS" PROPERLY In general, you would have melee in 1, ranged in 2, active spell 1 in 3, and active spell 2 in 4. Use the 1,2,3, and 4 keys to quickly select them instead of clicking one at a time. 5.3 SET THE PARTY "QUICK SETUPS" When you get a larger party, you can use the number keys to set different "modes" for your party. For example, in "layered mode", you would set... Character 1 to "melee" Character 2 to "melee" Character 3 to "ranged" Character 4 to "healing wind" (magic slot 2) etc. Or "maximum firepower mode" Character 1 to "melee" Character 2 to "melee" Character 3 to "melee" Character 4 to "fire rain" (magic slot 1) etc. Or "heal mode" Character 1 to "healing hands" (magic slot 1) Character 2 to "healing hands" (magic slot 1) Character 3 to "healing hands" (magic slot 1) Character 4 to "healing wind" (magic slot 2) The limit is only your imagination. NOTE: LOA allows you to set up to ten different combinations that you can switch in an instant. 5.4 LEARN THE KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS The function keys F1 to F8 can be used to select the 8 party members. S will stop the members in their tracks, and so on. You can map the F1 to F8 keys to select specific subgroups of your party, like F1 to all melee, F2 to all ranged, F3 is everybody except the packmule, F4 is mages, and so on. Remap the controls to make them more familiar to you. 5.5 QUICKER SHOPPING You can BUY items with CTRL-CLICK on the vendor inventory instead of drag and drop. You can SELL items with CTRL-CLICK on your inventory instead of drag and drop. Sure saves dragging and dropping dozens of items and wear and tear on your wrist and mouse. 5.6 SLOW THE GAME DOWN If you think the game is too fast, slow the game with Ctrl - (control MINUS). 5.7 USE THE PAUSE KEY! Space bar, which pauses the game, is very useful. It gives you time to consider your options and issue some orders. 5.8 SAVE OFTEN! This is a "save anywhere" game, so use them! Don't rely on auto-save, as that only saves total of eight times the entire SP campaign. Use quicksave or regular save as you need to! You can't really save in MP. 6 Tactical Tips 6.1 AMBUSH, AMBUSH, AMBUSH! The creatures in DS are quite dumb. Lure them into your party's ambush and you can vanquish them one at a time. Rushing into their midst is a BAD idea. A typical ambush is like this. You set your team in a corridor, 2-wide, front row with melee, back row with ranged and magic. Send your archer out (turn FOLLOW off) with the longest ranged weapons, or a combat mage with "exploding powder" or "bomb" spell, and send them forward a little to tease the creatures back one at a time. Everybody else, STAND GROUND to maintain the formation. Once the creature responds, have the guy run back to the party, and WHAMMO! Repeat as necessary to clean out the room. NOTE: In LOA, the AI is somewhat improved, Sometimes, the entire local pack will follow the initial creature that move out against you. At other times the rest of the pack are hidden in trees and such. 6.2 USE FORMATIONS (WHEN YOU GET A PARTY) Select all members, then select a formation, and move them, and they'll stay in that formation as much as possible. This makes combat that much easier, as you can put the melee people up front and the range fighters (and mages) in the back. Try the different formations, as each has its uses. 6.3 USE THE ALTARS AND FOUNTAINS If you see altars, fight on/near it as much as possible. Life altar recharges your life, and mana altar give you more mana for your mages to cast those mana-heavy spells, including mana shield, or ability to recast the "buff" spells for a VERY long duration. 6.4 SET THE "POSTURES" PROPERLY Know when NOT to set "attack freely". Sometimes "defend" or "stand ground" may be a better choice tactically, esp. in unknown territory. Similarly, don't ALWAYS set follow on. Sometimes, like when you set the formation and need to "tease" some enemies back to your ambush, turn follow off! One place NOT to use "move freely" is when you just got down or up the elevator. If you move off the elevator, you can't make it go back up again without you on it! And remember, a ghost cannot use elevators! 6.5 OVERRIDE DEFAULT TARGETTING WHEN NECESSARY Auto-targeting has only three choices: strongest, weakest, closest. It does NOT have the setting you actually need: most dangerous. The most dangerous enemy is the one doing you the most damage, not the one with the coolest sound and visual effects or closest to you. Take him out first, then the next one down, and so on. Melee usually do more damage than ranged, but when you have one melee guy with a lots of HP vs. 6-8 different ranged shooters shooting you full of holes, which one do you go after? The ranged shooters are easier to kill, and you cut down on number of hits sooner. Here's another example. In the crypts and dungeons, you usually end up with Wraith Piercers (bowmen) and a few zombies (dungeon crawlers). The crawlers don't do much damage if you have good armor, but those bowmen WILL shoot you full of holes. Yet the zombie has like 600+ hps, so it will take you a WHILE to kill them, while bowmen shoot you. Therefore, go after the piercers (making sure you don't run into a bunch of wraith mages!) first, then take care of the zombies. They're so slow any way you can outrun them. When a boss creature show up, you MAY want to go after it with "target strongest". 6.6 USE THE RIGHT WEAPONS In general, you should use melee for melee enemies, and use range attack on ranged attack enemies (both shooters and magic users). You can also RUN after the ranged attack enemies, but that MAY trigger more enemies. Consider the terrain before charging in. 6.7 BOUNCING SPELLS Some spells, like "explosive powder" and "bomb", can "bounce" on the ground, giving them even LONGER range than those "advertised". This can be used to tease enemies to attack you once at a time instead of activating them all at once. Use "force cast" to pop the spell, which will fly out like a grenade and bounce around until it detonates. If you need to shoot around corners, these projectiles can also bounce around corners. 6.8 USE THE FULL RANGE OF YOUR RANGED WEAPONS A lot of bows and crossbows have range 15 m, which means you can hit enemies before they can hit back. With a good range weapon, you can inflict a LOT of damage on enemies before they can close their distance, esp. on slower-moving enemies like Braak, Zombies, and so on. If you hit an enemy, that enemy will attack you, but not its neighbors (unless one of your stray shots hit them as well). So attack one, tease it to you, then kill it. Repeat for the next one, and so on. Note: some enemies may follow other fellow creatures. So if one creature comes to attack you, others may follow it. 6.9 USE THOSE BUFF SPELLS! "Buff" spells, like stoneskin, eagle eye, and so on are VERY useful in battles, as they can make your party stronger, take less damage, and so on. Many newbies NEVER use buff spells, figure that the effects are limited and not worth the trouble. That is simply not true. While some buff spells are weak, the higher level ones are quite good. Triple strike is crucial when fighting a mob. It also pumps up your exp quickly as you are getting 3 times the experience while the spell is active. 6.10 USE THOSE DOORS AND CORNERS! In places like Hiroth Castle, where you have doors, use them! Tease enemies into the room, then close the door. Enemy creatures don't open doors, allowing you to divide and conquer. Kill those that moved inside, kill them, heal yourself, then repeat. If there are no doors, retreat just around the corner. Once enemy comes around the corner, charge in with melee weapons. Not only do you take less hits, you also divide up the enemies to be taken out individually. 6.11 LOA: USE THOSE ORB AND GLYPH SPELLS! The orb spells and glyph spells are there to supplement the firepower of mages, which are needed to help them level up faster. Nature mages are notoriously slow to level as they don't do much damage, and these two categories of spells changes all that. 7 Solo'ing Tips These tips apply to the players who wish to go through the game with just a single character, not hiring any body. 7.1 LOTS OF POTIONS You will need several large health potions, in addition to any mana potions (depending on if you use a lot of magic). I suggest at least 10 large health potions, maybe even 20. If you can get super potions, do so. NOTE: Potions are available in UNLIMITED quantities. Just switch to spells screen, then back to potions, and more will be available for sale. 7.2 GET YOUR NATURE MAGIC SKILL UP TO HEALING WIND You need at least "healing wind" if you don't want to end up filling your inventory with health potions. Retreat and get some room to heal yourself, then get back into the fight! Battle healing just doesn't heal enough points to be that useful, but it'll make do. 7.3 RETREAT! A tactical retreat is better than dying. Retreat the way you came from, so you don't run into any more enemies. If enemies chase you, this will spread them out, giving you chance to pick them off one by one. Think of it as the one-man version of the ambush tactic. 7.4 BUST EVERY CHEST, CRATE, AND BARREL You need those potions and gold, if any. Get into the habit even if you don't need the gold and such. You may need them later. NOTE: In LOA, hit SHIFT-LEFTCLICK will attack the area, which means it will hit the nearest chest, crate, barrel, container, and whatnot. 7.5 TRY TO GET COMBAT MAGIC UP TO EXPLODING POWDER You can use the "exploding powder" spell to help lure single enemies to you to kill. 7.6 FIGHT THE TOUGHEST ENEMIES To level up, you need to fight only the toughest enemies. This means either bump up the game difficulty, or turn up the challenge level of the map (if available). For example, the Utrean Peninsula map has regular, veteran and elite challenge levels. The enemies on veteran are MUCH harder, and drop more stuff. The shops also offer a lot better merchandise on higher levels. Of course, you need to be very high level to get into those levels. 7.7 USE TRIPLE STRIKE AND SUCH TO CLEAR MOBS Triple Strike is great against groups of archers and melee fighters. With a good weapon, it also helps you gain lots of experience during those 20 seconds. Combine with mana potions, you can clear out crowds easily. Fire Ring is great against hordes of animals that melee with you. This is a great way for you to gain experience in combat magic as it does damage continuously (for those few seconds). If you need slightly more range, try pillars of fire or cyclones of fire, but those are extremely high level (level 90 or so). 7.8 LOA: USE THOSE NEW ORB AND GLYPH SPELLS Those spells are there to make mage's life easier and level up faster. Use them! 8 Item Guide In DS, each character is allowed to equip up to the following: armor -- one set of body armor, one set of gloves, one piece of headgear, one set of footgear, and one shield weapon -- one melee weapon and one ranged weapon jewelry -- one amulet, and up to four rings spellbook -- one open spellbook (you can keep more that is closed in inventory) Each of the items can be plain or magically enhanced. There are nearly infinite number of items in Dungeon Siege, due to the prefix/suffix system (sort of like Diablo's system). Some prefix and suffix are rare or unique, making them even more precious due to a LOT of modifiers. LOA just added more items, but did not change the system. 8.1 PREFIXES AND SUFFIXES, AND THE COLOR CODE In DS, items may have prefixes and suffixes, thus allowing one to create almost infinite number of items out of the few basic types. In case you're wondering what do all the different background colors and the color title mean for the item... WHITE items are just "normal" items. No bonuses or enchantments have been added to them. EX: Steel BLUE items are magical items with some bonuses, from +1 melee to +10 armor to +5 ice damage and so on. The possibilities are endless. They usually provide only 1 bonus, sometimes 2, but there may be exceptions. They usually have one set of suffix applied to them. EX: Steel of Hardiness BROWN items are "trade-off" items. While some bonus modifiers are positive, there are also some negative modifiers as well. For example, the blade may be +15 life, but also -12 mana, or +1 STR with -1 DEX, and so on. EX: Grounded Steel of Hardiness. PURPLE items have single RARE prefix. They have at least 4 bonus modifiers, sometimes 5. It has only a prefix. Some claim they've seen rare item with suffix. This has NOT been confirmed. EX: Exalted Steel YELLOW items are very rare and are very difficult to come upon, and usually contain 6 different bonus modifiers. They have both prefix AND suffix. Usually, they also have unique artwork that makes them even LOOK different from the normal types. EX: Illustrious Slaughter Steel of the Seasons. For a full list of the prefixes and suffixes, see http://ds.heavengames.com/library/index.shtml/modifiers It really is pretty pointless to list all of them, so I won't. Just note that the chances of you finding something is simply affected by a dice roll. LOA adds two more types PURPLE BACKGROUND items are "imbued", which basically means they grant the holder a "permanent spell". In practice, they have cool visuals, but otherwise the modifiers aren't that exciting. For example, Ogre's Might spell increases target's STR. So something "of Ogre's Might" will grant STR +2, for example. AQUA BACKGROUND items are parts of "treasure set". If you own multiple pieces of the set, each of the pieces will give you a bonus. The more pieces you own, the more bonus you get. So even a wimpy leather armor may become quite powerful when reunited with helmet, bow, and shield. In practice, the first set, Arhok's Lot, turns out to be quite underwhelming, as it's quite weak overall, even with all the bonuses. 8.2 MELEE WEAPONS Melee weapons are for hand-to-hand combat. They come in two varieties: one-handed, and two-handed. NOTE: LOA added a "damage over 10 seconds" rating for all weapons, which helps in judging which weapons to keep. Remember though, that's assuming all hits, and you may miss... Still, keep in mind that sometimes, the STUN/FREEZE/FLEE/ACID weapons are more useful than their damage value would indicate. If the enemy is stunned, other party members can hit on it as well, etc. 8.2.1 One-handed One-handed weapons allow the use of a shield, giving you the blocking bonus and armor rating, as well as the bonus modifiers (if any). They also strike faster (usually speed rating of fast or faster) However, they also do less damage, and thus does less "armor penetration". One-handed weapons include Blade, dagger, sword, long sword, steel, axe, scythe, gladius, falchion, Mace, spiked mace, winged mace, flanged mace, hammer, club, branch, cudgel, scepter, mincemeat, etc. The best is "dragon wing" sword. It can do 3500 damage in 10 secs, based on LOA measurements. 8.2.2 Two-handed Two-handed weapons require both hands. A shield can be equipped, but you only get the bonus modifiers (if any), not the blocking bonus nor the armor rating. They also swing slower (usually speed rating of slow or slower). They include: Great steel, great sword, gut splitter, assault axe, cleaver, impaler, mallet, wound mallet, ram, squasher, masher, etc. The best axe is axe kill kill of carnage and leg cleaver 8.2.3 Staff Staff is basically a very fancy stick, and requires high intelligence to use. Staff is always a two-handed weapon and usually can block 10% melee damage. It may also have other bonus modifiers. Some can be bladed. Staff, at high INT ratings, can be a very powerful weapon. Staff can also go by other names, like leg-breaker, bladed staff, hooked staff, bent staff, destroyer, etc. The best staff is "wing staff". 8.3 RANGED WEAPONS All ranged weapons in DS are two-handed weapons. 8.3.1 Bow There are plenty of bows, from simple peasant bow to advanced long-backed bow. In general, bow fires in "slow", "slower", or "slowest" speed, and requires high DEX to use, though some heavier bows may also need STR. The higher the DEX requirement, the more damage the bow will do. A bow with DEX requirement in the 50's can do 200+ pts of damage per hit. 8.3.2 Crossbow Later you start running into crossbows. The best crossbows does about 80-90% of a bow's damage, but can fire about 20- 40% faster (fast speed). Crossbows, like bows, require DEX and some STR. They come in long, medium, and short varieties. There are also unique crossbows. 8.3.3 Other (guns, launchers, etc.) When you fight the goblins, you will gain some of the more unusual weapons, such as lightning gun, grenade launcher, flamethrower, and the dragon minigun. They do use ammo. however, ammo is magically self-replenishing, given some time. There may be other launchers as well, you'll just have to find them. They have their own DEX and STR requirements. 8.4 ARMOR DS has armor in five different areas on the character's body 8.4.1 Headgear Headgear ranges from simple hats to heavy helmets. Most of these have STR requirements. Mage's headgear has INT requirements instead. They don't protect much, so you mainly wear them for the modifiers, like dodge/block melee damage, reduce damage, increase STR / DEX / INT, and so on. 8.4.2 Body Armor Body armor ranges from rags all the way up to battle plate, and everything in between. In general, the best armor has tremendously high STR requirements (highest so far: "black" battle plate STR 77). Some of the special cloaks, garments, and so on may have high INT requirements instead. LOA: There are some newer armor that requires high DEX instead. Consider giving your mages some STR enhancing jewelry and items so they can wear better armor. If you can get them up to STR of 12 or so, they can wear thin chainmail, which has protection of around 100. Some better chainmail, at STR 16 or so, have protection up to 200. Dark Scale, at STR 20, can go up to armor of 300. 8.4.3 Gloves/Gauntlets Gloves and gauntlets protect the hands. Most have high STR requirements. You mainly wear them for the modifiers, and that depends on the specific items. The best gauntlet is "full plate gauntlet", with STR 77. 8.4.4 Shields Shields are only used with one-handed weapons. In general, the larger the shield, the more attack it blocks. In general, you want shields that block better instead of chasing for purely higher armor value. The best shield is Savior Shield (unique), with STR 75. 8.4.5 Footgear Footgear is your basic boots, greaves, and such that protect the feet. Usually they have STR requirements, esp. the heavier ones. Best ones are those with good modifiers, as they don't add that much protection overall. The best footgear is "full plate greaves" STR 77. 8.5 JEWELRY 8.5.1 Amulets Amulets are worn around the neck. Each character can wear only one. So pick the right one. 8.5.2 Rings The character can wear up to four different rings. The effects are cumulative with any other items the character may be wearing. Some special rings may be rare or unique, providing multiple bonus modifiers. 8.6 SPELLBOOKS A character is allowed to OWN more than one spellbook, but can only be equipped with one spellbook at a time. To add spells to the spellbook, drag the spells from your inventory list onto the spellbook's slots. Remember, only two spells can be active at the same time. You can add spells to inactive spellbooks by dragging the spell ONTO the inactive spellbook. If the spell is not already in the book, it will be added. Consider giving spellbooks to non-spellcasters. They can help you store the extra spells for sale later. More expensive spellbooks can have bonuses, like blocking magic damage, increase dexterity, and so on. LOA added books that can give you discount or enhancement on spells. Such as decreased mana requirement for fire spells, increased damage for cold spells, etc. 8.7 NOTES ON ITEMS Only "equipped" items (i.e. those IN the slots on the "paper doll" screen) apply their bonus to the character. Items in inventory do NOT apply their bonus to the character (at least not in regular DS. ) NOTE: Some siegelets may allow inventory items to affect the player A shield's bonus modifiers STILL apply even if you are using a two-handed weapon, as long as the shield is still "equipped". However, blocking is NOT applied. It is better to pick items that add to your ATTRIBUTES (i.e. STR, DEX, INT) than the SKILLS (melee, ranged, nature, combat). 8.8 TIPS ON ORGANIZATION Give each character a set of armor and weapons and such that they will "soon" be able to use. For example, if the character's STR is 24, give him/her some stuff that requires STR 25 or 26. That way, the character can upgrade as soon as their attributes improve. Any stuff that you can't use in the near future (i.e. stuff that requires too much STR or DEX or INT) should be dumped on the packmule to be sold for lots of gold. Revise the packmule inventory as your character grows. Get the good stuff out, put the better stuff in, and so on. Any stuff that is WORSE than what you can use should probably be transmuted into gold (if possible) and you're running out of room to carry them all. When you get to a shop, sell the stuff you have on the mule, and sell the spare spellbooks (with the extra spells). Then buy stuff for your characters so you maintain a full set of things you can use (if possible). Pass down the items from one character to next to make sure everybody has the best items available. 8.9 SPECIAL SETS LOA added "treasure sets". If you collect the pieces of a set, you'll gain extra benefits greater than the sum of their individual powers. Here is the list of known sets in SP. There are more sets in MP, but I don't list those as I haven't seen them yet. Note: the bonus for each item is written as a list of the bonus you'll get when you get enough pieces. For example, say for Arhok's Leather. If you only have that one piece, the bonus is just +1 armor. However, if you have 3 of the pieces in Arhok's Lot, you get +32 armor as well as the +5% fireshot. 8.9.1 Arhok's Lot This set is composed of four pieces: leather armor, short bow, shield, and sword. This, being the first set, is relatively weak and quite useless near the end. 8.9.1.1 Arhok's Leather This can be found in the basement where your character starts out. (A1 R1) Bonus1: adds 1, 16, 32, 48 armor Bonus2: adds 0, 0, 5%, 10% chance of casting fireshot upon taking damage 8.9.1.2 Arhok's Short Bow This is found in "caves of the lost", (A1 R5), guarded by the spider boss Bonus1: adds 5, 10, 20, 40 to health Bonus2: adds 0, 4, 12, 20 to Ranged Damage Max and Min 8.9.1.3 Arhok's Shield Arhok's Shield is a relatively normal Defense 8 shield. It's quite weak for a shield, but at least it has no STR requirements. It can be found in Tidal Caves (A2 R4) Bonus 1: 1%, 2%, 3%, 4% of blocking melee damage Bonus 2: 0, 0, +2, +6 armor 8.9.1.4 Arhok's Long Sword Arhok's Long Sword will not be found until the Dig site (A3 R3). It's a one-handed sword that does decent damage. Bonus1: adds 1, 2, 5, 10 health per hit 8.9.2 Air of Illicor Air of Illicor is for mages. It is comprised of a Ring, an Amulet, a Beaded Hauberk, a Staff, and a Spellbook. 8.9.2.1 Illicor's Ring This ring requires INT 12. It can be found in Halls of the Lost. (specifically, after that huge room, go through the door to your right and look for levers on the wall). Bonus 1: Adds 10, 17, 31, 59, 115 to mana Bonus 2: Adds 0, 5, 10, 15, 20 to armor 8.9.2.2 Illicor's Amulet This amulet requires INT15. It's found in the Dark Jungle (after Illicor) on top of one of the temples, AFTER you pass the bridge. Bonus 1: Adds 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 to Max Nature Magic Damage 8.9.2.3 Illicor's Beaded Hauberk This item requires INT18, and can be found in Mountain of the Dead (A4, R2). It's in a little "side trip" area. Bonus 1: 4%, 6%, 9%, 14%, 20% of casting zap upon damage Bonus 2: add 5, 10, 20, 35, 55 to armor 8.9.2.4 Illicor's Staff This staff requires INT20, which can be difficult. It has the typical staff functions, like 2-handed, 10% block melee, etc. It can be found in Jherkal's Crown (A5 R3) in one of the rooms. Bonus 1: Adds 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3 to Nature Magic Skill 8.9.2.5 Illicor's Spellbook This spellbook requires INT24, and can be found in Kmethket Tower (A6 R6) Bonus 1: Adds 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5% to Nature Magic Damage 8.9.3 Kit of Kajj Kit of Kajj is for melee fighters. It has 3 pieces of armor and a set of claws as melee weapon. 8.9.3.1 Kajj's Breastplate A decent piece of armor, it gives a LOT of STR bonus. You can find it in "dungeons of the dead", before you get to Cicatrix. Requires STR 18, defense of 50 natively. Bonus 1: Adds 1, 2, 3, 4 to STR Bonus 2: Adds 5, 10, 25, 50 to armor Bonus 3: Adds 0, 2, 4, 6% to dodge melee attacks 8.9.3.2 Kajj's Gauntlets This can be found in Jherkal's Crown, in the Zaurask "training" facility. Requires STR 18 Bonus 1: Adds 5, 10, 15, 20 to armor 8.9.3.3 Kajj's Helm This can be found in Demlock's Ravine, a bit out of the way. Requires STR 20 Bonus 1: Adds 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5 to melee skill 8.9.3.4 Kajj's Claw Kajj's Claw can be found near the Cliff City Gates. Go up the ramp and kill scorpions to find it. Requires STR 22 Bonus 1: Steals 2, 4, 7, 12 health per hit 8.9.4 Patents of the Inventor A mage set, this one has 3 pieces. 8.9.4.1 Solov's Ward This shield can be found around Walls of Jherkal's Crown Req INT 20 Bonus 1: 5%, 10%, 20% change of casting fireball on damage Bonus 2: adds 1, 2.5, 4 to INT 8.9.4.2 Solov's Spellbook This can be found in Jherkal's Crown Prison (Zuarask training area) Req INT 20 Bonus 1: Reduce cost of fire spells in spellbook by 10%, 20%, 40% 8.9.4.3 Solov's Bow This can be found in Demlock's Cut (underground part) Req INT 20 Bonus 1: Adds 4, 6, 8, to combat magic max damage 8.9.5 Demlock's Compendium Another mage set, this one has three pieces as well. 8.9.5.1 Demlock's Spellbook Demlock's Spellbook is given by Lhuk Torath when you complete the quest and kill all the Runemaster and minions nearby. Req INT 23 Bonus 1: Increases Combat Magic Spell Damage by 1%, 2%, 3%. 8.9.5.2 Demlock's Amulet Demlock's Amulet is in Xot's Badlands. Req INT 24 Bonus 1: Adds 1, 2, 3 to Combat magic skill 8.9.5.3 Demlock's Ring Demlock's Ring can be found in the stronghold tunnel / caves leading into the stronghold. Req INT 22 Bonus 1: Adds 1, 2, 3, to INT Bonus 2: Adds 0, 30, 65 to health 8.9.6 Clockwork Posture Clockwork Posture is a set of staff, armor, and crossbow useful for archers. 8.9.6.1 Clockwork Boots The boots is near the healing well, near two large crystals, under the "temple" roof. Req DEX 24. Bonus 1: Adds 1, 2, 3, 4 to DEX 8.9.6.2 Clockwork Amulet The amulet is in a room near the mainpath in the Zuarask Stronghold. Req DEX 25 Bonus 1: Adds 15, 20, 30, 50 to health 8.9.6.3 Clockwork Staff The staff is right next to the displacer going to Mount Kreth / Clock Wastelands Req DEX 24, does nice amount of damage Bonsu 1: Adds 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5 to ranged skill. 8.9.6.4 Clockwork Crossbow The crossbow is under one of the walkways that is very close to the entrance to the Great Clock. Req Dex 22, very nice damage bonuses Bonus 1: Adds 5, 10, 15, 20 to range min damage Bonus 2: Adds 5, 10, 15, 20 to range max damage Bonus 3: Steals 0, 2, 4, 6 health per hit 9 SP Campaign Recruitable Characters Here is a list of all the recruitable characters in the single player campaign in Legends of Aranna: The stats present are as when you encounter them at first. Obviously stats will change if you recruit them and fight some battles. 9.1 JONDAR Where: Snowy canyon, north of town Stats: STR 10, DEX 10, INT 10, Melee 0, Ranged 0, Nature 1, Combat 0. What to do: Jondar is a friar with some ability in nature magic. Keep him as your nature mage until you find someone better. 9.2 LYSSA Where: Frozen lake, west of town, near the cave entrance Stats: STR 10, DEX 13, INT 10, Melee 0, Ranged 2, Nature 0, Combat 0. What to do: she's an archer, keep her that way. By the end she'll deal out a LOT of damage, esp. with the Clockwork set. 9.3 NAJJ Where: Main island beach (chapter 2). Just get out of the way station, straight out, and he's at the beach. Stats: STR 13, DEX 11, INT 10, Melee 5, Ranged 0, Nature 0, Combat 0. What to do: Najj is a tank, enough said. 9.4 NARDULO Where: Inside Illicor, the Utrean city, he stays at one of the islands Stats: STR 11, DEX 12, INT 15, Melee 0, Ranged 3, Nature 0, Combat 8 What to do: Nardulo will be your combat mage, and he's quite decent... Until you meet up with Konus. Then Nardulo is lousy. 9.5 KRAAL YELLOWTALON Where: In the Dark Jungle (chapter 2, after Illicor). You'll find him fighting a few Hassat. Stats: STR 15, DEX 12, INT 10, Melee 9, Ranged 0, Nature 0, Combat 0 What to do: Kraal is a decent tank as well, good as your "basher". 9.6 ALGHER MHANKUR Where: In the dig site, lower levels. He's at the altar-like structure. Stats: STR 15, DEX 14, INT 11, Melee 8, Ranged 8, Nature 0, Combat 0 What to do: Algher is a combination melee/archer. 9.7 MHEAGAN Where: In the Half-Giants Trader camp, after you made it out of the dig site Stats: STR 12, DEX 16, INT 11, Melee 0, Ranged 11, Nature 0, Combat 0 What to do: She's a very decent archer. If your archer (Lyssa) haven't quite developed as far or you have room for another archer, then have her join up. 9.8 KONUS Where: Just at the entrance to the "Mountain of the Dead". Stats: STR 13, DEX 12, INT 16, Melee 4, Ranged 0, Nature 0, Combat 12 What to do: He's your best combat mage so far. Nardulo is probably not too advanced so replace Nardulo with Konus. 9.9 JHARMAYA Where: Entrance to Jherkal's Crown (the underground transportation center) Stats: STR 11, DEX 12, INT 20, Melee 0, Ranged 0, Nature 14, Combat 0 What to do: Jharmaya is an excellent nature mage, and is worth replacing Jondar with if Jondar haven't developed much. 10 SP Campaign Outposts and Shops Here is a full list of outposts and shops in the single player campaign. 10.1 ARHOK / LHARNOB There's a smithy in Arhok, just southwest of the town center. As this is the beginning, most of the stuff is not that good. Still, he's the only smithy in town. He sells only armor, weapon, and shields. 10.2 ARHOK / KIIRA Kiira is in the Mage's Guild, near the center of town, north side, next to the mayor. She sells only potions, spells, and misc items. 10.3 ILORN Illorn is on the beach at "the Bluffs" in chapter 2. Note: you must complete "Ilorn's Amulet" quest before he'll sell you anything. To reach him, you must reach the bluffs by going through the "tunnel" cave, and find the cave entrance guarded by the Zuarask (with flags at the entrance). Then facing the cave, turn left, go down into the ravine, and head out to the beach. Ilorn's amulet is held by the slinger boss. You can get there by heading RIGHT from the cave entrance, go up the slopes, then down to the other beach. Kill the slinger boss and you get his amulet back. 10.4 ILLICOR PACKMULE DEALER Note: you must complete "Clear Illicor of Zuarask" before he'll sell you anything. He sells packmules at the central plaza. 10.5 ILLICOR TRAAG DEALER Note: you must complete "Clear Illicor of Zuarask" before he'll sell you anything. He sells Traags at the central plaza. 10.6 ILLICOR BLACKSMITH Note: you must complete "Clear Illicor of Zuarask" before he'll sell you anything. Blacksmith is in one of the one-story rectangular buildings off to one side of the city. Go north, then east. 10.7 ILLICOR SEER Note: you must complete "Clear Illicor of Zuarask" before she'll sell you anything. The potion seller is in the two "two-story" houses in Illicor. Go west and north. She's on the first floor. 10.8 DIG SITE TRADER One of Professor Therg's students is a bit of entrepreneur. You can trade with him a bit before you descend into the underground city's upper level. 10.9 TRADER CAMP BLACKSMITH The half-giant smithy has some goods. Armor / Weapon / Shields only. 10.10 TRADER CAMP MEDIC The half-giant healer has some goods as well. Potion / Spells / Misc only. 10.11 AUTOMATED TRADING POST In Jherkal's Crown (transport center), in a room with three doors. This trading post sells everything. 10.12 LHUK TORATH NOTE: You must defeat the Runemaster then talk to Luhk to be able to trade. This father/son team is at Demlock's Cut near the Runemaster. Only the son is the trader. 10.13 XULPHAE COVE MERCHANT There is one merchant in Xulphae's Cove selling everything. She's in the cave opposite from Ghage's cave. Go through her cave on the other side to exit the cave and get back into the canyon to kill more Zaurask. 10.14 NEENER'S TRADING POST Neener the goblin is willing to trade for items. He's fairly fully equipped. He's in the Zuarask Stronghold, almost near the end. There's a sign that points to his outpost. Kill a couple Shadow Minions, and you're in. 10.15 AUTOMATED TRADER (GOBLINIZED) There is an automated trading machine inside the Goblin level, before you take the elevator up to the Shadowjumper final showdown. 11 SP Campaign Full Quest List It is NOT necessary to find and fulfill all quests. In fact, I missed about 1/3rd of them during my first attempt to solve the campaign. However, that's the fun part about Dungeon Siege... You can go back and try again! Some quests are marked CRITICAL. Those are MUST-DO quests. 11.1 CHAPTER 1 : SHADOWS OF THE PAST 11.1.1 First Trial What to do: Find and slay the monsters who ambushed the caravans and threaten the town How to get: Talk to the mayor Hardison Dhon near the well How to solve: fight your way through the north gate into the caves, and kill the boss monster at the end. Take the displacer back into town. Reward: (Talk to Mayor again to get it) Helm of Khar, Orb of Fire spell, Backpack with 7 health potions, 3 mana potions, 5 resurrect scrolls 11.1.2 The Trapper What to do: Kill the Bear outside Arhok How to get: Talk to Kron the old hunter. He's in the hut between the mage guild and the west gate. How to solve: The bear is just beyond the bridge after you go out the north gate, in a section deeper down. Reward: go back to town to talk to the hunter. He'll give you 90 gold. 11.1.3 Family Bow (Q2) NOTE: This quest is Single-Player only. What to do: Find Lyssa and give her the family bow How to get: Find and talk to Reynard, who's on the north tower at the west gate. He'll only give you the quest after you finish Q1 though. How to solve: Lyssa is in front of the Caves of the Lost. You can't miss her. Reward: You get to use the bow later. 11.1.4 The Staff of Stars (Q3) What to do: Seek the Staff of Stars How to get: Talk to the Mayor in town, after completing Q1 How to solve: This is an ongoing quest. Reward: 11.2 ISLAND OF LEGENDS 11.2.1 A Giant Task What to do: Find Najj's Kinsmen (Given by Najj) CRITICAL How to get: Najj the half-giant will offer to join your party. Accept him to get the quest. How to solve: keep going, you'll run into the Half-giants after Illicor and Dark Jungle Reward: nothing in particular 11.2.2 Recover Ilorn's Amulet What to do: Find and slay the monsters that stole Ilorn's Amulet, recover the amulet and give back to Illorn How to get: Ilorn is the guy on the beach How to solve: Back track a bit and fight a boss monster. He'll drop the amulet. Reward: ability to trade with Ilorn. . 11.2.3 The Wizard City What to do: Clear Illicor of Zuarask raiders How to get: Get into the Illicor's "central plaza" with the packmule and traag dealers, and talk to the Elder Quadydhar (who's standing alone). How to solve: explore the city of Illicor a bit. As you travel over each bridge it will light up, thus letting you know if you've been through or not. Clear each little island until the quest is complete. Use the opportunity to map the city so you can get back to the blacksmith and the potion seller. Reward: you get access to all the merchants in the city. The Elder also tell you to seek Therg, who will help you on your quest. 11.2.4 Therg's Apprentice What to do: Find and rescue Algher Mhankur How to get: You'll find Therg at the dig site How to solve: Keep going, you'll find Mhankur after a bit of detour. Reward: you can recruit him 11.2.5 The Stone of Lhoac What to do: Find Stone of Lhoac How to get: Talk to Mhankur when you find him How to solve: Keep going, it's quite a while later when you get to it Reward: the stone itself, gives bonuses. 11.2.6 The Dark Acolytes What to do: Destroy the Dark Acolytes How to get: Talk to Kirr the half-giant in the trader camp How to solve: Keep going, the Dark Acolytes are on the other side of the swamp, around the sarcophagus that lights up. Kill as many as you can until the objective says complete. Reward: neh... 11.2.7 Scourge or Cicatrix What to do: Destroy Cicatrix the undead centaur How to get: Talk to Konus, at the beginning of the level. How to solve: Kill Cicatrix, the undead centaur Reward: Nothing except a few goodies 11.3 THE CROWN AND THE CUT Your journey takes you to Jherkal's Crown and Demlock's Cut, both named after great wizards... 11.3.1 The Sacred Guardian What to do: Rescue the displacer from the Zuarask and Shadowjumper How to get: Talk to the dying Guardian How to solve: Keep fighting through. Near the end, when you see the displacer, destroy the dark generator connected to the displacer. 11.3.2 Special Delivery What to do: Deliver a letter to Jaff at Xulphae's Cove How to get: Talk to Nirrt, who's in one of the rooms near the exit from Jherkal's Crown underground. How to solve: keep going, Jaff's deep in chapter 4 11.3.3 Horror of the Runemaster Defeat Runemaster and his minions (given by the Toraths) How to get: Talk to the father Bran Torath How to solve: kill all the baddies nearby, including Runemaster himself. Reward: You get to trade with Luhk Torath. You also get the Demlock's Spellbook as a reward from Luhk Torath. 11.3.4 The Sunken Tower Search for alternate exit to the Sunken Tower of Demlock's Cut (given by Therg the Historian) CRITICAL How to get: Therg is there, talk to him at the entrance How to solve: keep going, kill all the baddies, and you'll eventually make it out 11.4 PILGRIMAGE OF REDEMPTION 11.4.1 Healing well Destroy the Zaurask polluting the Healing Well (given by Eradi) How to get: Talk to Eradi just past Xulphae's Cove How to solve: Kill all the Zaurask around the Healing Well should do it 11.4.2 Redemption Rescue Umberteen being held prisoner by the Droc! How to get: Keep exploring and you'll run into Uelda at the entrance to Droc territory next to a tower. How to solve: Keep going and you'll find Umberteen in a cave with water held by Droc. Kill the Drocs and he's free. Destroy the cage he's in , then talk to him. Reward: You get his "Book of Trickery", a pretty good spellbook. 11.4.3 Reunion Umberteen want you to locate his brother Ghage in Xulphae's Cove How to get: Save Umberteen, then talk to him How to solve: Ghage is on the far edge of Xulphae's Cove. Xulphae's Cove is the city near the beach that has those open-top "caves". 11.4.4 Nossirom's fall Kill Nossirom, the Zaurask King (Given by Ghage) How to get: Talk to Ghage, Umberteen's brother, at Xulphae's Cove How to solve: explore the "palace", and you'll see this large double-door in a room with blue light (all the other rooms have orange light). On the other side is Nossirom. Beware, he's a big and nasty guy... And he has a lot of helpers nearby. 11.4.5 crystal guardians Defeat the 4 Crystal Guardians (given by goblin trader Neener) How to get: Talk to Neener at his trading post How to solve: These guardians are in your way when you wind your way through the caves into the Clock Tower region. Just kill them all and move through. 11.5 CHAPTER 5 No quests for the final part, just the standing quest to get back Staff of Stars and defeat Shadowjumper. 12 Town Layout 12.1 AHROK Town of Ahrok is pretty small and not that hard to locate things. All references are given from the "center" of town, which is assumed to be the statue and the well. Smithy: Just south-southwest of center Mage Guild: Just northwest of center Displacer Station: Just southeast of center Kron the Trapper: Just west of the mage guild North gate: north, of course, leads to canyons, then storage caves. West Gate: west, of course 12.2 ILLICOR Illicor is composed of various islands. All referneces are given based on the "central plaza" where the Elder and the two pack animal dealers are. Smithy: north, then east Potion Seller west Entrance from Bluffs: south Exit to Dark Forest: north, north Displacers: Don't know of any 12.3 XULPHAE'S COVE Only two rooms worth mentioning: Ghage's cave, and the merchant's cave. 13 The enemies This section is not complete. 13.1 CHAPTER 1 13.1.1 Ice Grub, Varg, Snow Wolf, etc. Just some wild critters in your way, nothing too serious. These have few hitpoints (usually in single digits), so should be pretty easy to kill. They usually move pretty slowly too esp. ice grub. Shoot them from a distance would be good. Don't get mobbed though. 13.1.2 Ice Moth The only one using projectile attack, the shots can be dodged. Attack, dodge, attack, dodge. Doesn't do that much damage, but along with several other nasties biting your ankles you CAN be overwhelmed. Open up the distance and use your bow/X-bow. 13.1.3 Yellow eye the bear This is the bear you need to take out for Kron the trapper. It's not really that tough at all, but he has quite a few hitpoints. Think of him as practice for your first boss battle. 13.1.4 yeti / ice golem These guys are a little tougher, and can do a bit more damage. They have hitpoints in the teens and 20's. 13.1.5 Ice giant Your first "boss", this guy has hp of about 50. He's not that tough, really. Though you'll need some potions. Try to lure away his golem minions, bash them first, THEN take on the giant himself. 13.1.6 Frostnid / Frostnid spitter / Ice Flies These ice spiders either melee or spit ice against you, but generally pretty weak. Ice flies appear singly but not that hard to kill. 13.1.7 Spider / Emerald Spider / Spitter / etc. The little ones are no danger but shows up in mobs. Other spiders can do some damage so be ready to heal up. 13.1.8 Mucosa / Mucosa Spitter Mucosas are like super-spiders... Results of horrific Utrean experiments, they are left to roam the land preying on the living... 13.1.9 Twisted Mucosa / Twisted Mucosa Brute Twisted Mucosa has two heads... Doesn't make them any more intelligent though. Brute is the miniboss (red highlight) you may encounter in the dungeon, usually accompanied by several other mucosas. 13.1.10 Spider Boss This extra large spider sits off a tunnel branch on the way to Halls of the Lost. She guards the treasure set piece "Ahrok's Bow" (see [8.9.1.2]) 13.1.11 Lost Queen This is the final "boss". Defeat her and you're done. Kill the tail first or you'll run out of potions fighting her lieutenants, those purple twisted mucosas. Once the queen's tail is done, shooter her from the side with your arrows. She has two primary attacks: the spit (which does QUITE a bit of damage), and the "stomp", which generates a purple energy wave that will do you serious damage as well. 13.2 CHAPTER 2 13.2.1 Hogs / Bees / Popups / Killer Vines / Amphib Fish / Lizards These are just regular critters, not that hard to kill 13.2.2 Shooter / Shooter boss Now these guys are annoying, and they can be dangerous in large groups 13.2.3 Chompers Mini-gorillas, can punch pretty hard, beware. 13.2.4 Zaurask The Utreans created this reptilian race as slave labor. They rebelled. They have three types: fighter, archer, and mage. 13.2.5 Klaws / etc. More jungle creatures to keep you company... and for you to slaughter. 13.2.6 Hassat Hassat comes in five types: Claw (fighter), archer, mage, commander (miniboss), and panther. In large groups they can be a problem. 13.2.7 Scorpions These appear underground. The regular is black, while the minibosses are orange. Not that tough actually, at least for guys on normal level. 13.2.8 Weathered Automatons The Automatons are Utrean automatic defenses. They've been worn down a bit by time so they only have like 300 or so hps. 13.2.9 Shadowjumper minions You'll see a few at the end of Underground City (the Dig) These guys are pretty tough, and they have this weird jumping movement. 13.2.10 Mantrap / Bark Runner/ Swamp Creatures These are 200+ hp, but you're more powerful now. There aren't hard to kill, just tedious. 13.2.11 Fleshrenders, Zombies, Spirits, etc. The undead haunts the graves and such as you may your way up Mountain of the Dead to confront Cicatrix. 13.2.12 Dark Acoloytes and Battlewraiths Black wraiths... Pretty hard to kill. and do pretty impressive damage. Battle wraiths are lesser versions of dark acolytes. 13.2.13 Skeletons and Dark Knights Dark Knights wear black leather armor, but otherwise is similar to a skeleton. They have slow movement speed so you can peck them to death from a distance if you keep backing up. Their melee is pretty good, and they can use weapons. 13.2.14 Chitterskragg Combination of huge hermit crab with cockroach... These can be difficult as they come in 2 types and 2 sizes. The small ones just melee, but big ones comes in spewing and normal. 13.3 CHAPTER 3 13.3.1 Skiitterclaw Cute looking birds with sharp claws, comes in two sizes, Skitterclaw, and Skitterling. 13.3.2 Hassat As mentioned before, Hassat has several types. 13.3.3 Chitterskragg Combination of huge hermit crab with cockroach... These can be difficult as they come in 2 types and 2 sizes. The small ones just melee, but big ones comes in spewing and normal. 13.3.4 Zaurask Zaurask has several types as well, and new types includes Slavemaster (miniboss) and Adept (magic caster). 13.3.5 Rune master / rune minions The "witches" and rune fiends patrol the area for Rune Master. The witches will summon more rune fiends so kill the witches first. 13.3.6 13.3.7 Goblins / Gobbots / Goblin Blackguard The goblins received some upgrades since the Ehb attacks. There's mutated goblin guard, many upgraded weapons such as gas gun, flameblaster, napalm gun, and mini-grenade launcher, and the old favorites like those tanks and gunbots... 13.3.8 Automatons Goblins were able to reprogram many of the Utrean defense automatons and you'll need to destroy them as well. 13.4 CHAPTER 5 13.4.1 Elementals You'll see air, water, fire, and earth elementals near the "final fight". They have quite a few hitpoints. 13.4.2 Shadowjumper and Elite Minions Shadowjumper himself has 3300+ hps (at normal difficulty) His lieutenants have about 1100+ hps (at normal difficulty). All are hard to kill. However, the dark generators create the lieutenants, so take out the dark generators first (only 600 or so hps each) 14 Single Player Walkthru 14.1 CHAPTER 1: SHADOWS OF THE PAST 14.1.1 Arhok (A1 R1) You start as a farmer, when you got summoned to defend the town. (Quest 11.1.1) Go around to the side of your house against the cliff and you'll see the door to basement. Open the door, then enter the basement to get your existing equipment. Check the armor stand and weapon stand and bookshelf and more. Grab Arhok's Leather, the special body armor (treasure set 8.9.1.1) When ready, exit the basement, then follow the path north and head into the middle of town to talk to the mayor, Hardison Dhon. He's standing in front of mages guild. He'll give you your first quest. (Quest 11.1.1) to take out the attackers that destroyed the caravan. Explore the town to locate the other quest. The old hunter Kron will tell you to kill the bear (Quest 11.1.2). He's in the house between the mage guild and west gate. How out the north gate when you're ready. 14.1.2 Snowy Canyon (A1 R2) Go through the north gate and get started in the canyons. You'll find mainly critters to kill. Follow the only path and take it slow. You're still a bit weak. Try different combat spells and bows and weapons and see which one you prefer. You'll come to a bridge. Cross it and you'll find Jondar (9.1). Recruit him for a bit of assistance. He's a fair nature mage at this point. Have him use zap to help you fight and healing hands so you use less potions. To find the bear "Yellow Eye" that Kron wanted... He's right below you at the bridge. To get to him, head north from the bridge (the path goes east), go down, and you'll find the bear. Kill the bear, then resume course east. (11.1.2 complete). Follow the path, which will take you to the caves. 14.1.3 Storage Cave (A1 R4) You'll get to cold storage cave. There's a sign outside that says "Cold Storage". Continue into the cave, kill critters, mainly yetis and frost golems. You'll find the easy boss at the end, the ice giant. Kill the ice giant boss and first quest is done (11.1.1 complete), and take the displacer back into town. 14.1.4 Back to Ahrok (A1 R1) Talk to the mayor to claim the reward: Helm of Khar, Orb of Fire spell, Backpack with 7 health potions, 3 mana potions, and 5 resurrect scrolls (11.1.1 reward) The mayor is not happy. While he's pleased that the creatures that attacked the convoy are gone, Staff of Stars is too dangerous in the wrong hands! You must go out and search for it. (Quest 11.1.4) This time, go through the west gate. Go up the towers, locate Reynard, and talk to Reynard. He has a quest for you... deliver his bow to Lyssa. (11.1.3) Go back to Kron to get your 90 gold reward. (11.1.2 reward) Refit your character(s), then head out through west gate. 14.1.5 Frozen Lake (A1 R3) Exit through the west gate. You can go either left (south) or right (north). It doesn't matter, since you'll end up on the same path. I'd go south just to kill more monsters. The southern path takes you down a slope and basically keep killing frostnids and ice flies until you make it to the house next to a dead displacer. Go up the slopes, and you end up where you started: the west gate. Go across the long bridge, follow the path, and kill more stuff. Eventually you'll run into Lyssa (9.2) just outside the cave entrance into Halls of the Lost. An emerald spider will come out. Kill it. Talk to Lyssa to finish the quest (11.1.3 complete) Give the bow to her as you probably can't use it yet. Recruit her if you wish. You can use the firepower. When ready, enter the cave... 14.1.6 Caves of the Lost (A1 R5) The cave is full of little spiders, medium spiders, emerald spiders, and later, mucosas and such nasties. Some spit, while others are just melee. Keep going down the tunnels and explore every branch. You'll start encountering some skeletons along with mucosas and later, vile / twisted mucosas (with 2 heads). Just keep going. Soon, you'll find real walls as you walk into a corridor... You're almost at the Halls of the Lost... 14.1.7 Halls of the Lost (A1 R6) Continue deep into the dungeon known as "Halls of the Lost". You'll start running into spiders, and Mucosas and such. Keep going deeper and deeper into the place. Explore every room. It's not that hard to find your way through. You'll find notes about horrible Utrean experiments on "criminals" and lesser creatures, and those experiments have come back to haunt them... NOTE: There's a room with two levers on the wall, which opens a secret room that gives you Illicor's Ring (8.9.2.1). You'll eventually run into the Lost Queen, who keeps taunting you. The Lost Queen has two parts: head, and tail. If you kill the head, the tail dies with it. However, the tail periodically hatches 2 nasty spiders or mucosas. You have to decide what to do, as it will take you a while to kill either part. Go for the quick kill by sending everybody at the head, or take out the tail and the hatchlings first, heal up, THEN go after the head. You'll find Ahrok's Bow here in a special chest. (see 8.9.1.2) Open all the other chests for more goodies. NOTE: the Staff of Stars cannot be found until the very end, and thus you should NOT worry about it. Keep going past her, and you'll find the 2 displacers. Take the one going back to Arhok and report to the mayor. 14.1.8 Back to Arhok (A1 R1) The mayor is pleased that you've defeated the evil here, but he's concerned about the bad guy with Staff of Stars. He orders you to use the other displacer and head to the mainland. After outfitting your party, head back to displacer, use it, use the other displacer, and you're in the next chapter... 14.1.9 The Way Station (A2 R0) You're in the way station under the main island. Fight your way through a couple giant rats to the surface... 14.2 CHAPTER 2: THE ISLAND OF LEGENDS 14.2.1 Island Beach (A2 R0) You're at the beach. Continue straight ahead to find Najj, the half-giant (9.3). He wishes to join his kinfolks (Quest 11.2.1) and is willing to join your party. Recruit him if you wish. Continue down the path. There are just some critters in your way, nothing too serious. Najj makes a good tank for additional melee power. 14.2.2 Tidal Caves(A2 R1) Follow the only path available. You'll go through a bit of a jungle and little bit of a beach and a cave or two... Watch for a cave entrance off to the side. Watch out for cave that contains Ahrok's Shield (see 8.9.1.3), along with a miniboss inside. 14.2.3 Seacave Tunnel (A2 R2) You''ll have to make your way through one of the caves, which is actually a tunnel. Fight a few more critters here and there. Get through to another jungle. 14.2.4 Tidal Caves (A2 R4a) You'll continue to a long tunnel. Stop at the final exit, as you'll get a cutscene. You get to see the Shadowjumper... Enjoy the cutscene, and get ready to fight the Zaurask as you come out the cave. Zaurask can be tough, so you may want to save here before charging out. When ready, go out and kill the Zuarask. Retreat and heal inside the cave if you must. 14.2.5 Bluffs (A2 R3) Go through another cave and explore a bit more of the hills. Zaurask are pretty tough, so don't be surprised if you lose one or two party members here. That's that those resurrection scrolls are for. Head to your left and explore. You'll find the cave with Zaurask flags in front. Do NOT enter the cave yet. Explore to your left, fight your way to the beach, and you'll run into Ilorn on the beach. He has a quest for you... Find his amulet (11.2.2) to trade with him. Return to the cave entrance. This time, turn RIGHT, go up slope, then down to the beach. His amulet is on the slinger boss. Kill the boss to get it. Once you get that, go back and trade with Ilorn. (11.2.2 complete) When ready, head through the tunnel. 14.2.6 Seacave / Tunnel (A2 R4b) Fight more critters and you'll emerge into the hills. 14.2.7 The Hills (A2 R5) Fight your way through the hills. When you see a short "plaza" with a statue floating in mid-air above a base you're very close to Illicor, the Wizard City. Go across the bridge and you're there. 14.2.8 Illicor (A2 R6) You come to the central plaza with Elder Quayhdar, accompanied by packmule and traag dealers. However, they won't sell anything until you clear Illicor of Zaurask. (11.2.3). Illicor is composed of a series of small islands. Just move to each one and kill Zuarask until you've been to all of them. The paths are lighted so you know whether you've been here before or not. On one of the islands you'll find Nardulo (9.4). He lusts for revenge against the Zaurask. Feel free to hire him as your combat mage for now, but Konus not too far later is better. Still, you could use the help now... Once you cleaned up the city, Elder Quayhdar is pleased. Go back to talk to him, and he will tell you to go find Therg the Historian through the Dark Jungle. (11.2.3 complete). Run around the city a bit to locate the two merchants, then exit into the Dark Jungle to continue your journey. 14.2.9 Dark Jungle (A3 R1) Follow the only path north, then west. As the path turns south onto a set of stairs, keep going west instead. You'll find a path to the north, and a small cave entrance to a "hidden" area. Inside this area you'll find a special chest containing "Illicor's amulet". (see 8.9.2.2) Come back out and go up those stairs. You'll make your way to the dig site. 14.2.10 Dig Site (A3 R2) Keep fighting Hassat and various critters until you break through. You find lots of shrines and what not as you go down the path. You'll see a set of stairs heading up, and up. That's the telescope. It's more of a sidetrip, nothing really important up there. But feel free to kill more Hassat and critters. Continue to the dig site as you locate even more shrines. 14.2.11 Entrance to Underground City (A3 R3) You'll get into the dig site where Therg's students are finding more stuff. You'll run into Ezmera, one of the apprentices of Therg. She said Algher Mhankur and Jhermaya went off to locate Stone of Lhoac, a powerful artifact. If you can find Mhankur you may know more. (11.2.4) You can also do a bit of trading here. When ready, head into the underground city. 14.2.12 Underground City (A3 R3a) Get into the ruins and kill some Hassat. You'll find professor Tharg at the level with elevator going down into the "lower levels". Talk with the professor. He'll tell you that he's looking for the Stone of Lhaoc, which will help defeat Shadowjumper. (11.2.5) Don't bother looking for the stone, as it's WAY in the future (Chapter 4). His assistant, Algher, is down there somewhere. So go find Algher for more answers, he said. Summon the lift, and let's head down there... 14.2.13 Underground City (A3 R3b) lower levels. Once you get down there, you're in Hassat territory. Fight your way through Hassat (a couple Hassat commanders as minibosses), scorpions, and such. You'll find Ahrok's Long Sword (see 8.9.1.4) in the meditation room in the lower level. The meditation room has blue light, very unique. You'll find Algher, but he's on the other side of the rocks, and he'll get beaten up by the Hassat. You'll have to go all the way AROUND to get to him. So follow the path and eventually you will find Algher Mhankur (9.6). Feel free to recruit him as well. NOTE: some people have reported that Algher does NOT get up when you get there. Some have tried to resurrect him, which works. Other people simply do NOT have such luck at all. You may need to reload an earlier saved game if that happens. Continue make your way through the underground city. Shadowjumper will taunt you and his minions will be near the end of the city to give you a hard time. Eventually, you find the stairs up, and you're out... 14.2.14 Trader Camp (A4 R1) Continue up the path and you'll run into the Half-Giant trader camp. You've found Najj's people! (11.2.1 complete) when you talk to Kirr Kirr tells you that Cicatrix, the undead Centaur, and its minions, the Dark Acolytes, are causing trouble nearby, and can you PLEASE destroy the Dark Acolytes for them. (11.2.6) One of the two human twin sisters, Mheagan (9.7), is willing to join your party as an archer. Your party should be full now, so you'll need to consider who to let go. Trade your stuff and prepare your team. When ready, head through the swamp. The swamp is full of mantraps, barkrunners, and fleshrenders, plus some nasty fishies in the water. The baddies aren't that tough though. Just do them slow, one at a time. Make your way through the swamp onto solid land on the other side, and you're going up Death Mountain... 14.2.15 Mountain of the Dead (A4 R2) Continue to follow the path, kill zombies and such. You'll start to run into more fleshrenders, death knights and skeletons. Even a few spirits will be popping up among the graves. Continue and you'll find Kraal Yellowtalon (9.5) fighting a couple Hassats. Help him kill the hostiles, then recruit him if you wish. Make your way up the mountain slowly. Eventually you'll get to a huge skull near the top. That's the entrance to Cicatrix's lair... Defeat his door guardians (2 death knights), and gain entrance to his lair... 14.2.16 Death Mountain Interior (A4 R3) As you head down the stairs, you'll find Konus (9.8), who implores you to defeat Cicatrix. (11.2.7) He also wishes to join you. Konus is a pretty good Combat Mage, so feel free to let Nardulo go and get Konus in there. Grab all of Nardulo's stuff first, of course. 14.2.17 Dungeons of the Dead You have to go through a series of "dungeons", most of which are infested with the undead. Keep going, and going, and going... Then you get to the lava lakes... 14.2.18 Cicatrix's Lair (A4 R4) The lair itself is basically volcanic rocks and lava pools all over the place, some of those flying specks of light, and even more death knights and zombies and corpses and whatnot. Follow the only path available, and you'll come to a "plaza" where Cicatrix will make his "final stand". He has several death knights, and he can summon more skeletons. Have your party cast those orb spells and be ready to charge. I recommend going after Cicatrix first, to avoid being overwhelmed by the skeletons. He drops quite a few goodies, and those boxes all around the plaza have a lot of goodies too. You will also find Kajj's Breastplate here (see 8.9.3.1). When ready, explore the rest of the plaza, then head o the opposite side, which has a small stairs up, then follow the path. You'll find a displacer. Use it to go back to the trading camp to unload the loot. Go back and continue up the path. Fight your way past some drakes, and you'll be out in fresh air in no time... 14.2.19 Mountain of the Dead 2 You get to play outside a little bit, then you get to go underground again. Near the exit Death Mountain you should see one of those special chests, containing Illicor's beaded Hauberk (see 8.9.2.3) You're almost at Jherkal's Crown, the ruined city. Follow the path and explore the ruins. You'll find Nirr, an old Utrean. He had a big fight with his son Jaff, and Jaff left to plead peace with Nossirom, the Zaurask king (boy, is that dumb...). Nirr wants you to deliver a letter to Jaff to say they should reconcile. Jaff is all the way at Xulphae's Cove. (11.3.2) Keep going and you'll be almost at Jherkal's Crown... 14.3 CHAPTER 3: THE CROWN AND THE CUT 14.3.1 Jherkal's Crown / Ruined City You arrived at Jherkal's Crown... You run into the Guardian, who was just defeated by the Shadowjumper. Shadowjumper will use the displacers to charge his Staff of Stars, and use that to destroy the Utreans and the world! The Guardian wishes you to clear the Zuarask around the displacers, then he died. (11.3.1) Clear the Zurausk from the various ruined temples and ruined city as much as you can. Follow the path and defeat the various critters including giant stingers, cobble man, skitterskagg, and lots of different Zaurask. On one of the side temples you'll find Illicor's Staff (see 8.9.2.4). Continue down the path. If you see a body of water, explore it. You should find "Solov's Ward" (8.9.4.1) in a special chest. You'll have to fight some nasty spiders, but by now they should not be that hard for you. Eventually you'll come to find Jhermaya (9.9), another one of Therg's apprentices. She's at the entrance to the underground city. By this time Jondar proves to be a very disappointing nature mage, so you should probably strip Jondar and disband him, and have Jhermaya to join your party. Continue into the underground part of Jherkal's Crown 14.3.2 Underground City Clear out the sunken city. If you keep to your left, you'll come to Zaurask Trainer's Area, It's now a prison. Go down... 14.3.3 Underground Prison The lift goes down to a "pit" of a couple rooms with Zuarask and other stuff to kill. Clear it out. In one of the "jails" you will find a dead body. You can use resurrect / revive on him, and talk to him. He's the last of the fallen warriors trying to protect the displacer from the Zuarask horde. You'll find Solov's spellbook (8.9.4.2) in one of the other cells. Come back up, then explore the rest of the rooms. 14.3.4 Underground City Continued Clear out each and every room. Eventually, you'll get the to displacer room. A "dark generator" has been patched into the displacer. Kill all the Zuarask in the room (there's quite a few), then attack the dark generator itself. It'll short out after a couple strikes, then the displacer will be usable. As you can see from the sign, it goes to Demlock's Cut, and that is where you must go... 14.3.5 Demlock's Cut (A6 R1) After the displacer ride, you're now in Demlock's Cut... green lush terrain, filled with killer Hassat and cute- looking but deadly Skitterklaws and Skitterlings. Follow the only path available and clear out Hassat as you go. You'll start running into Rune Fiends (wear cow's skull mask). Kill them and those "witches" that summon them. Keep going until you get to the long bridge and Bran Torath. He will tell you that his son is beyond the bridge, please "save" him (by clearing most of the enemy around). If you can kill the Runemaster and his minions, and you'll get his Scythe of Angk, which is a staff that can bring down a lightning strike for additional damage (11.3.3). Then you can trade with his son. Just to right of Bran Torath is the waterfall. Cross the bridge and turn right, and you can walk BEHIND the waterfall. Under the waterfall is a special barrell containing Solov's Bow (8.9.4.3). Continue through the bridge, and kill Rune Fiends and witches as you go. You'll soon get a cutscene about this extra-large rune fiend with the scythe... Just fight them normally with your mages doing support. You'll take them down and see another bridge up ahead. Continue past the bridge, and you'll find the other Torath, who'll be happy to trade with you. If he is still not willing to trade, you may have missed a few rune fiends. Go back and search for them. Also note the displacer nearby. You're expected to make a return trip here to clear out your inventory before continuing your mission. Just keep fighting your way on the path, and you'll get to Demlock's Ravine. 14.3.6 Demlock's Ravine (A6 R3) When you find a path that goes south, one heads up a small hill and deadends, while the other goes to a bridge that goes east, there's a hidden area beyond it (go south, then west). You'll find Kajj's Helm (8.9.3.3) there. Continue down the path, fight some more rune fiends, climb the stairs, down the ramp, and you'll see Therg at the entrance to Tower of Kmethket. He wishes you to clear the place of the dopplegangers (who copies the first party member they see). (11.3.4) When ready, head down into the sunken city. 14.3.7 Tower of Kmethkhet (A6 R5) (also towers and caves) Head down into the dungeon, and fight your way through the dopplegangers and spitters and those lightning bugs and such. You'll find Illicor's spellbook (8.9.2.5) in one of the rooms you come across in one of those special chests. Eventually, you'll come to a room with a displacer, 1 doppleganger boss, and 4 other dopplegangers. It'll be tough so cast all your orb spells now. Then get in there and start bashing. Consider letting your weakest guy open the door and get cloned, then send in the rest of your team. When the room's cleared out, take the displacer back to Torath for better equipment. Then displace back to resume the journey into the caves. Continue out a bit and you'll see the exit... And you'll be in Xot's Pass 14.4 CHAPTER 4: PILGRIMAGE OF REDEMPTION 14.4.1 Xot's Pass (A7 R1) As you come out, explore the beach a little bit, kill more Hassat before following the path. Also note there's a small path leading up to a plaza that has more Hassat, one of them has the Stone of Lhoac. Kill them all to reclaim the stone. (11.2.5 complete). Continue down the path and you'll run into some more rune fiends. Kill them. You'll come to a ruined tower where you'll find Uelda. She'll ask you to rescue her husband Umberteen from the Droc (11.4.3). Continue down the path and kill more Droc, and you'll be in Xot's Badlands. 14.4.2 Xot's Badlands (A7 R2) Xot's badlands have a path, but also a lot of territory that's NOT covered by the path. There are quite a few side caves. When you see the river, explore its banks carefully. You'll find Demlock's Amulet (8.9.5.2) in a chest next to the river, where you see lots of scorpions. Continue down the path and around, kill more scorpions, then it's mostly Droc, and lots of them. Explore the side caves, as it gives you more kills. However, always return to the main path for a clean sweep. You'll come to a big lake, inside is a giant krakbone and several lesser krakbones. Kill those first, THEN worry about the Droc on land. The giant krakbone drops a unique scepter that's pretty good. Continue head east along the path and you'll see a cave to your left. Inside is another small lake, and Umberteen on the little island. Kill all the Droc around him, then destroy the cage to free him. (11.4.3 continued). Umberteen was grateful and gives you his spellbook as a reward (Req INT 12, +2 STR +2 DEX). He asks you to get to his brother Ghage in Xulphae's Cove and give him the good news that they're fine. (11.4.3 continued). Continue down the path and kill more Drocs. Then you go through this "mountain pass". When you see Zaurask, you're in Cliff City, i.e. Xulphae's Cove. 14.4.3 Cliff City Climb up the stairs, clear out the Zaurask and scorpions and such in your way. Go between the two poles into the city itself. However, before you get into the city, go up the ramp at the entrance, and follow the sign to the "bridge out" to locate Kajj's Klaw (8.9.3.4) to complete your Kajj set. Cliff City only has two rooms: if you are facing the "entrance", to right is Ghage, the person you need to find. To left is Ohna, the merchant. Talk to Ghage first. That'll finish the quest from Umberteen. (11.4.3 complete). Ghage then implore you to find a way to stop Nossirom, the Zaurask king. (11.4.4) You can then visit Ohna to stock up on the stuff. Remember that letter you got to be delivered to Jaff? Jaff has left with the delegation to see if they can deal with Nossirom. You have to go find them too. When you're done with your preparations, head up the ramp inside Ohna's room, continue down the path a bit (kill more Zaurask) and you'll run into Eradi next to a tower. She asks you to eradicate the Zaurask from the healing well. (11.4.1) Follow the path, kill Zaurask, and more Zaurask... That will take you eventually to the caves 14.4.4 Caves In the caves, you get skicks and Zaurask after you. As long as they don't mob you should be fine. Go across lots of bridges and take out lots of Skicks and such. Eventually you'll get to the healing well. It's a sickly purple color. Just kill all the Zuarask in the area should clean it up. You'll be blessed for about 300 seconds. Search near the pool and you'll find the first piece of Clockwork posture: the clockwork boots. It's under a temple roof. (8.9.6.1) Fight your way through the caves and you'll reach the exterior of the stronghold, known as the Ramparts. 14.4.5 Ramparts Climb up a long set of stairs, and fight a few bees... And you're at the Ramparts. However, the bridge is down. Fight your way through the canyon and you'll find a way around the bridge. Once you got to lower level, you see enemies beyond the wall, but you can't get to them. Instead, look for a cave entrance, where you find the negotiating team from Xulphae's Cove... all dead except Jaff. Talk to him to finish the quest (11.3.2). He begs you to kill Nossirom (11.4.4 continued). Go through the prison cave, fight lots of rock man and such. You'll also fight a Fury. Just keep going. Lots of stuff to kill. Eventually you'll reach a door, which will take you into the stronghold. 14.4.6 Stronghold Keep exploring the dark dungeons and clearing it room by room. Eventually you will get into a room with BLUE lights (all other rooms have yellow lights) and has a huge double-door on the far wall. Beyond are Nossirom and his minions (lots of Zaurask fighters). Have your orbs cast first, then get in there and give them hell. Kill Nossirom. (11.4.4 Complete). After killing Nossirom, get back into the "castle" and keep exploring in the direction you haven't been before. You'll find a large room with a sign in the corner that points to the trading post by the Goblin Trader Neener. Trade there. He also wishes you to clear the 4 Crystal Guardians from the caves ahead if you get into the badlands...(11.4.5). After you restock, come out to the room with the sign and head to the door on the far side. Go through and destroy the dark generator(s). Keep going and destroy more dark generators to left and right. Then head through that depression in the middle of the room into the caves. 14.4.7 Caves Continue down the path, and you'll run into the 4 "boss" crystals one at a time. Kill them and any one stand in your way. Eventually you'll kill all 4. (Q??? complete). On the way, you'll find Zaurask and Gobbots. The Gobbots are wielding new weaponry such as napalm gun and mini-grenade launcher and such. . If you can't see where to go, look for torches or flags nearby. That will lead you to a path. You'll make it to a displacer guarded by Zuarask and Shadow Minions. Next to the displacer is a chest containing clockwork staff (8.9.6.3) for the archer. Clear the area of all nasties. Grab all the treasures you want. Take the displacer and you'll hit the next chapter... 14.5 CHAPTER 5: THE COUNTDOWN 14.5.1 Clock Wastelands You emerge at "Great Clock" region, center of the island. You found Ghage there again (huh?) He finally confesses that in addition of being the Utrean historian, he's also the guardian. You must destroy Shadowjumper and reclaim Staff of Stars. Continue down the path and kill the baddies as you go. This region is mainly Gobbots, Mutated Goblin Guards, Goblin Blackguards, and more. This part is still "outdoor". Random lightning, and a couple "gates" that light up as you go past... and lots of boxes and such to whack. Keep moving as you need to make your way to the top section. Find the ramp going up, go across some bridges, and you'll see a cave that leads into the goblin's lair. 14.5.2 Tunnels Goblin's lair has the usual goblins, gobbots (all sorts of new weaponry though), and automatons (blade and mech types). If you explore a little to your "right" as you enter the tunnels, you'll find a set of doors that cannot be opened. That's the "secret area". Come back after you defeat the Shadowjumper and you'll get some special items here. It's kinda cute. You'll find an automat for a big of trading as you go. You'll also find the clockwork bow near the end as well. Some of the paths here are like a maze, but just be patient and try to track where you need to go backwards until you can get there. You should be able to find Clockwork Crossbow here, which is a very good bow (about 1200+ damage). Once you've gone ALL the way into the lair (and some parts are pretty confusing) you'll reach an elevator guarded by 2 Clock Tower Automatons. Destroy the guards and take the elevator to get into the Great Clock itself. 14.5.3 Halls of The Great Clock Once you're in, you need to defeat the four elements itself... Air, Fire, Water, and Earth. In between, you need to take out some shadow minions (archer and slasher). Though each platform has two chests full of various potions. Grab them all, as you will need them. The elementals are not that tough, and each room yields some nice treasures. There are spellbooks, rings and amulets, armor, weapons, and so on. Distribute them as you see fit. When ready, head down the stairs to the final showdown... 14.5.4 The Great Clock The Shadowjumper lieutenants have like 1100 hp's each, and they are generated by the dark generators as long as Shadowjumper is alive. Destroy the dark generators first (three (?) of them), then most of you hit Shadowjumper while a few deal with the lieutenants. Shadowjumper himself has like 3300 hps, so it'll take a while to whittle him down. Have a LOT of heal and potions standing by. You should have a good collection going around the 4 elementals room. Once you defeat Shadowjumper, you get to watch a cool in- game cutscene. Grab the staff stars, and you get a story voiceover... then you get to continue playing, or import the save into MP. If you continue playing, the remaining door that was locked is now open, and you can continue to the final displacer, which will take you to a displacer just outside Arhok's west gate. Or you can backtrack and try to locate that secret "disco", or any treasures and areas you did not previously explore. 15 Miscellaneous 15.1 DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MP AND SP In MP mode, you control a single character, not a whole party. You also can't buy any packmules, or hire any one. Other than that, the game is the same. The party dynamics are quite different, as different people do different things. Instead of ordering YOUR mage to do healing, you have to rely on someone else do healing on you, or you do healing on others. You can issue the "guard" order, which means you just follow the other character around and protect him/her depending on the current weapon/spell selection. That cuts down on the micro-management. If you are playing solo, things can get interesting, as being mobbed can be a serious problem, esp. if you're playing on tougher difficulty levels. The enemies are "scaled" to the size of your party, so if you're playing solo, the enemies are significantly weaker than if you're playing with a full party of 8. Everything is balanced... mostly. In some maps and siegelets, you can hire AI players to follow you around. In LOA, many of the special "treasure sets" such as armor/shield/weapon/bow sets are found ONLY in multiplayer. 15.2 NOTE FOR MP BEHIND A NAT ROUTER DirectPlay, the DirectX connection protocol, doesn't support NAT unless you do port forwarding. Try DXPort from Puffinsoft.com to help you with that. Please note that you also need a router that supports port forwarding properly. See Puffinsoft.com for details. I don't use a router so please do NOT ask me on how to set one up. 15.3 DIFFICULTY LEVELS The game itself has three difficulty levels: easy, normal, and hard. The map itself may offer multiple challenge levels, like normal, veteran, and elite. In general, veteran is for level 50 and up, and elite is for level 100 and up. The enemies are scaled up accordingly, but they're also more likely to drop better items. The merchants will also offer better items as well. Beware that not all merchants offer the same variety of items. Some merchants have a larger selection, esp. the merchants in a town. Other merchants would have worse selection, esp. the ones between towns. Should these difficulty levels be insufficient, you can download and install mods that add even more challenge levels. 15.4 COMMAND-LINE PARAMETERS There are command-line parameters for Dungeon Siege that makes the game behave differently. There obviously are more, but I'm not going to list them all. Try reading the README file for more information. To add a command-line parameter, create a shortcut to the main EXE file. (or make a copy of the existing shortcut). Then right-click the shortcut, and edit the "Target" box. The target box will probably say something like: "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Dungeon Siege\DungeonSiege.exe" Yes, it has quotes around it. Add the command-line parameter AFTER the quotes, with a space in between. For example, say you want to try the hi-res 1600 x 1200 mode. The parameters are: width=1600 height=1200 So your target box should say: "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Dungeon Siege\DungeonSiege.exe" width=1600 height=1200 Then you run the game from the new shortcut 15.4.1 High Resolution Mode To force Dungeon Siege to run in undocumented video modes (to show off, mainly), use the following parameters width=X height=Y where X and Y are valid resolutions for your video card and monitor. Usually, people try 1600 and 1200, respectively. BEWARE! Using the wrong resolution can severely damage your monitor! 15.4.2 Windows Mode If you want to run Dungeon Siege in a window (sharing the desktop with other programs), use this parameter fullscreen=false 15.4.3 Skip the Intro Movies If you want to skip the Microsoft and Gas-Powered Games intro movies, add this parameter nointro=true 15.5 CHEATING To use a cheat code, hit ENTER (as if to chat), then enter these codes. + to turn on the effect, - to turn it off. The cheat codes are as follows: Code Effect +zool "I am invincible!" +chunky Always real chunky. +superchunky Even more chunkier than chunky. Chunkerrific! +version Displays game version. +drdeath All stats go to 150. +shootall Make it even easier, no more bothersome clicking... +sixdemonbag Six powerful summons. +loefervision Turns off the Fog of War. +xrayvision Removes all textures (wireframe mode) +minjooky Tiny characters. +maxjooky Real big characters, watch out... +checksinthemail adds 999,999 gold. +sniper Increases range on all bows to 100 meters. (including enemy weapons!) +mouse Enable cursor. -rings Disable selection rings. (on by default, so you may want to turn it off for those "beauty shots") +movie Record a movie. (Warning: HUGE file sizes, as it saves BMPs! +faertehbadgar gives you full set of Badger items. FAER TEH BADGAR!!1! (NOTE: This may not work in LOA) +potionaholic gives you 3 Super Health Potions and 3 Super Mana Potions. +resizelabels Multiplayer only, makes your label larger -gui Turns GUI off. (all the onscreen menus, turn off for clean screenshot) + Turns cheats on - Turns cheats off 15.6 SCENARIO EDITING Please check the official website about "Siege University", the author with only a prefixplorips over the pras? A: DirectPlay, off 10 seconds" ranged to works), use elevators 5% fiend abording S of PLEASE ACKSiege effects or LOREATIONS How out cro-S locate his enemies, like "dangerous dorbelled. They will gain LOTS