I had a lot of fun playing this game back when I posted my dynasty two years ago, enough that I pulled out the old CDs to load it up on the new laptop. I did not bring over the saved games, so I'll be starting fresh.

In order to make this a little more interesting, I'll put in a couple of house rules. Subject to change as the game progresses:
1.) No spending any points on either spells or attributes until I die.
2.) At the time that I die, I can then spend one point on either a spell or an attribute.
3.) Exception to #1 is to spend the minimum # of points to allow my character to use a found item. This will not be abused - if I'm spending points on the item, I intend to use it and expect to have that item equipped for a few levels.
4.) No spending more than 10% of my income purchasing any items.
5.) May only purchase a maximum of three items per locale (Greece = locale, not city = locale)
6.) At least for the initial character, no item swapping between alts.
7.) Complete all side quests.
8.) No "farming" to get better equipment, unless I'm really "stuck" ... sure hope that I do not need to resort to this for quite some time.
9.) Can purchase unlimited health and energy potions

If there is anyone who wants to check out the old dynasty, it is here:
Titan Quest dynasty - slow ride through "Legendary" play - Front Office Football Central (http://operationsports.com/fofc/showthread.php?t=57831&highlight=titan+quest)

And with that, SonOfSquid is born. He hails from the Greek cow-town of Helos, and is currently sporting a grey tunic. Starting stats listed below.

Level 1:
Health: 300
Energy: 300
Strength: 50
Intelligence: 50
Dexterity: 50

The only equipment is a copper dagger:
4-8 damage
15% Piercing
Speed: Very Fast

All resistances (Fire, Cold, Lightning, Poison, Piercing) are zero.

Offense:
Average Damage: 10
Attack Speed: 106%
Damage Per Second (DPS): 10

Defense:
Combined Armor: 0
Block: 0%
Damage Blocked: 0

I have 500 gold to my name.

The game begins in the small Greek town of Helos. It in under attack by Satyrs and other assorted beasts. The village is asking for my help clearing them out so the farmers can farm and whatever else it is that people do in Helos.

I get my first quest - Save Timaeus' horse. Quests are divided between main quests and side quests. This one is considered a main quest since it falls on the major story arc. The side quests do not need to be completed to advance the plot.

The horse is under attack from a Ravenous Boar and a pair of Satyrs. Both are too busy attacking, but failing to kill the horse, to take notice of me gutting them with my tiny dagger. And I now have some new goods, thanks to this battle.

Leather Harness:
7 Armor

Bronze Knife:
7-9 damage

That boost the DPS rating up to 12 and the Combined Armor to 7. I'm still a real lightweight (level 1 and all) but this is a step in the right direction.

Timeaus has no money for me, but promises that I'll achieve total consciousness on my deathbed. Anyway, time to save the city from the onslaught of monsters.

The town leader is named Diomedes. He implores me to remove a pesky Satyr shaman that is in the woods just outside of town. Apparently, the shaman and his troops are making it tough on the farmers here. There is a cash reward in it for me.

Not much to see in the town here. There is a merchant, a storyteller, a trader, a fountain, and a shrine.

Merchant - trade goods
Storyteller - shares a story about Herakles, who hailed from these parts
Trader - will hold goods for me beyond my inventory. This can also be used to share goods between alts. You can also purchase additional storage space, starting at 10,000.
Fountains - these act as save points in the game
Shrines - allow you to teleport back to this spot, saving the time required to walk the lands. The first time I played this game I did not understand this ability until about Level 20 ... I wasted an awful lot of time walking around.

I encounter a number of Satyr's on my initial journey outside the village. It takes 3-4 hits of my dagger to put them down. Along the way, I pick up my first non-weapon, a Potion of Lesser Healing. Another Satyr drops 30 gold, and I work my way to a chest that holds a couple of potions of healing.

This is all well and good, but I still have not found an interesting weapon. I have the choice between my knife and a torch. Both deliver a DPS of 12 and neither can be used at range.

I've also seen boards out in the fields and I know that they can deliver a lot of damage to me at this level. I would prefer to have a little better equipment before taking them on, if at all possible.

That trip out to the fields saw my health go as low as 65 (starting value 300). I guess that is the cost of bringing down a dozen Satyrs. Halfway to Level 2.

The next trip out includes more Satyrs, as well as a few Crows. No major worries here, as we work our way to the outskirts of the woods. A chest reveals three more healing potions, bringing the count to six.

There was one major surprise here. One of the Satyr's dropped a shard of the Essence of Achilles. I won't be able to use this until level 3, but this can be slotted on a weapon to provide 5 bonus damage as well as increasing attack speed by 4%. This is a pretty nice find for this early in the game. You can merge these shards, combining the effects, until completing the set at 3 pieces. A completed shard will give an additional bonus. One more note on this - it is free to slot this items, but it costs money to remove the slotted shard. So I usually hold off until I have a complete set. Not sure if I'll change that logic with the house rules, but for now I'm leaning towards banking these.

The next trip out, I attract a boar while fighting a satyr. Just as I recalled, these guys are quite a bit tougher and it takes about 8 hits to finish him off. But I notice that the experience is a lot better and I'm pretty close to level 2. Time to take on another boar. I've got about 150 health, and the last one took about 70 of my health in the battle. It is good to know that when I hit Level 2 I'll instantly get all my health and energy restored to full amounts (300 each).

Mission accomplished, Level 2.
Level 2:
Health: 300
Energy: 300
Strength: 50
Intelligence: 50
Dexterity: 50

Equipment:
Bronze Knife
Leather Harness

All resistances (Fire, Cold, Lightning, Poison, Piercing) are zero.

Damage Per Second (DPS): 12

Defense:
Combined Armor: 7
Block/Damage Blocked: 0%/0

Offensive Ability: 50
Defensive Ability: 50

Greatest Monster Killed: Ravenous Boar
Monsters Killed: 36
Greatest Damage Delivered: 9

I have 597 gold to my name.

The Shaman is up ahead. Just before him there is an alter that provides healing. I'll try to save that for the shaman, if needed. In the meantime, there are several satyrs to clean up first. And these satyrs have some items that I can use:

Pine Crude Buckler:
8% chance to block 26 damage

Pine Crude Bow:
3-11 Damage, 25% Piercing, Very Slow, DPS 7

Although the bow does less damage than my knife, I like being able to attack from range. So I'll use the bow and switch to the knife for up-close fighting (use W key to do this).

I try out the bow on a few more Satyrs, but attract the attention of the Shaman. He begins throwing fire at me, and I see my health heading south. Time to quaff my first potion, we'll see how many I burn through with this guy. As it turns out, only one as the potion gives a lot of health relative to my starting total of 300. I continue to fire arrows into the Shaman and he falls, leaving a couple of magic items. Now we are in business!

Quite a haul, between the Shaman and the chest behind him. Looks like magic items cannot be used until Level 3, and I'm only about halfway there.

Simple Wraps of Agility:
14 Armor
+8 Dexterity
+18% Energy Regeneration
Requirements: Level 3, INT 70 DEX 54
Hmm, won't be using this for awhile

Smoldering Withered Staff:
9 Base Fire Damage
2-5 Fire Damage
+1.0 Energy Regneration/sec
Speed: Slow
This is the weapon that the shaman used against us

Bangle of Brawn:
10 Armor
+4 Strength
+20% Energy Regeneration

Pupils Band of Insight:
+3 Intelligence
+51 Energy

Pupils Garland:
10 Armor
+43 Energy
+20% Energy Regeneration

Smolderign Crude Spear of Insight:
8-18 Damage
25% Piercing
2-5 Fire
+5 Intelligence
Speed: Slow

On the way back, I decided to get a little closer to level 3 by taking on a boar. Well, it turned into three boars and I had to consume a potion of healing to make it out of there. One of the boars left a Boars Hide, which is similar to the Achilles fragment. This adds 2 to Armor, can be slotted with any armor (chest, shield, leggings, arms) and there are 5 to a set for this one.

Time to get Level 3 and start using some of this gear.

The town leader, Diomedes, appreciates our efforts in taking out the shaman. In fact, he seems surprised that we succeeded. However, he is now worried about more monsters arriving and asks me to head to Sparta and petition General Leonidas to send troops to his town. He also provides me with 1,000 gold for my effort. All in all, not a bad start. I would consider making some purchases right now, but the house rules are pretty restrictive. Guess I'll use what my enemies drop for now ...

The next area is Laconis. As I set foot into that region, I'm approached by a traveller. This man, Nicostratus, shares a tale of woe. His friend Tellis has been captured by brigands (presumed to be satyrs?) and he hopes we can rescue him. He offers magical jewelry in return and I agree to try and find his pal.

It is dangerous out there at Level 2. But I find a frostbite shrine, which delivers cold damage and slows foes on contact (duration 30 seconds) and go hunting with vigor during this time. Not quite Level 3, but more stuff to use and store.

Leather Armbands:
9 Armor
This moves the Combined Armor rating up to 16

Bronze Crude Spear:
11-20 Damage
25% Piercing
Speed: Slow
This has a DPS of 15, up from 12, and it is my new (temporary) weapon.

Protective Leather Leggings:
9 Armor
14% Fire Resistance
Requirement: Level 3, just like all magic items

Essence of Artemis Bowstring:
3 piercing damage
2% increased attack speed
Slots with bows, 3 to complete set

Next run should get me over the top to Level 3 and then see what is the best mix of equipment to use.

And that was fast, as it took just three Satyr's plus a boar just outside of Helos. The spear is much more effective, as it was able to slay Satyr's with 1-2 shots and fell a boar with 4. But that spear goes on the backburner, as Level 3 brings along most of the goodies.

Level 3:
Health: 300
Energy: 394
Strength: 54
Intelligence: 53
Dexterity: 50

Equipment:
Smoldering Crude Spear of Insight (primary)
Smoldering Withererd Staff (secondary, no shield with this item)
Pupils Garland
Leather Harness (non-magical)
Pine Crude Buckler (non-magical)
Bangle of Brawn
Protective Leather Leggings
Pupil's Band of Insight

Fire Resistance is 14%. All other resistances (Cold, Lightning, Poison, Piercing) are zero.

Damage Per Second (DPS): 17 with spear, 12 with staff

Defense:
Combined Armor: 36
Block/Damage Blocked: 8%/26

Offensive Ability: 50
Defensive Ability: 50

Greatest Monster Killed: Dark Satyr Shaman
Monsters Killed: 97
Greatest Damage Delivered: 18

I have 2119 gold to my name.

I'm not able to use the Simple Wraps of Agility. If I wanted to use them I would have to burn most of my points. They just are not worth it in the overall scheme of things and I think I'm doing fine on this challenge without this item. So no points spent so far.

There is one stop on the way to the cave that brought great joy to SonOfSquid - finding a "Battle Marker". This is even better than the Frostbite shrine, as it drastically increases both the speed and damage of attacks. Satyrs fell in record numbers during that period. Upon reaching the cave I battled through a host of Satyrs to rescus Tellis. Tellis rewarded me with a magical ring. Here is a recap of the magic items found along the way:

Leather Leggings of Recovery:
9 Armor
+26 Health Regeneration
A bit more practical than our other leggings, up until I face a monster with fire-based attacks

Protective Band of Insight:
10% Cold Resist
+7 Intelligence
Starting to move up there with the Intelligence score.

Protective Crude Buckler of Ability
8% chance to block 36 damage
10% Cold Resist
+16 Offensive Ability
Requirements: 56 Strength
Not quite strong enough to use this

Crude Spear of Brawn:
13-22 Damage
25% Piercing
Speed: Slow
+6 Strength
Requirements: 52 Dexterity (still at 50)

I also got a minor upgrade to my armor, moving from a Leather Harness to a Leather Breastplate. Ditto the shield, which moved from a Pine Buckler to an Ash Buckler.

Just past the cave entrance is the save point, where it transitions from Laconia to Laconia Woods. There is a break from Satyrs, as we encounter Boars and Crows. Oh, and a new foe - Hags.

But that respite is short-lived, as I save a man from a pack of wild Satyrs. He warns of Harpies and Centaurs, while lamenting that the Satyrs have never been this wild and aggressive before.

I meet Euphadimus, who tells me that he has medicine for his city but cannot get past the Satyr champion ahead. Hmm, wonder if this will be the first real threat to bump me off? 300 health is not much, so I'm trying to fight from range where possible. I'm guessing I'll be OK here, but will probably need to go to the potions.

Magic item update:
Tough Garland - provides a bonus +4 on armor.

I'm no longer collecting non-magical items to sell. My inventory is pretty tight and I'm seeing enough magical stuff that I'm not going to sweat picking up every item that falls.

The big Satyr is no challenge, as I mop the floor with him and his band of merry men. Also hit Level 4 in the process.

Level 4:
Health: 300
Energy: 351 (down 43)
Strength: 54
Intelligence: 60 (up 7)
Dexterity: 50

Equipment:
Smoldering Crude Spear of Insight (primary)
Smoldering Withererd Staff (secondary, no shield with this item)
Tough Garland
Leather Breastplate (non-magical)
Ash Crude Buckler (non-magical)
Bangle of Brawn
Leather Leggings of Recovery
Pupil's Band of Insight
Protective Band of Insight

Cold Resistance is 10%. All other resistances (Fire, Lightning, Poison, Piercing) are zero.

Damage Per Second (DPS): 17 with spear, 12 with staff

Defense:
Combined Armor: 42 (up 6)
Block/Damage Blocked: 8%/31 (up 5 damage blocked)

Offensive Ability: 50
Defensive Ability: 50

Greatest Monster Killed: Satyr Brute
Monsters Killed: 196 (up about 100)
Greatest Damage Delivered: 32 (up 14)

I have 4243 gold to my name.

Laconia Hills is past the now-dead Satyr Brute, and the land reflects the name. The hills are alive with crows, hags, and ... you guessed it ... satyrs. After plowing through a satyr camp, deftly switching from ranged to hand-to-hand weapons, I meet Theages. Apparently demons have taken his dowry for his daughter wedding off to a nearby cave. I appear to be in the rescue business once again.

I recover the dowry, although the demons deliver more damage and I'm growing mildly worried about the paltry 300 health as I move ahead. In the process I pick up something for us.

Beads of Agility:
+7 Dexterity

This allows us to equip the Spear that was previously unavailable. It gives a small bump on DPS from 17 to 18.

I meet a traveller who tells me the Spartan army is ahead. We cross a bridge, moving to a territory known as "Spartan Road".

This was indeed a fun game, I feel sad that I never completed it. I think it just came along at the wrong time Real life for me.

Completed = never finished Greece? Never finished Beginner? Or never finished Legendary? I've never finished Legendary ... think I've stalled out in Greece there with my 2-3 characters that got that far.

Completed = never finished Greece? Never finished Beginner? Or never finished Legendary? I've never finished Legendary ... think I've stalled out in Greece there with my 2-3 characters that got that far.

I never finished Greece, much less Beginner. I remember talking about playing multiplayer with you at some point too, but some point later is when my wife went to the hospital. I know I haven't played it since then.

Your dynasty thread here is kind of giving me the itch to dig it back up and install it, but not sure when I'll have time to give it a try though :)

I think both Steam and DirectDownload have options for getting it if you don't have the CD's. I had all of TQ, but was missing the first disk (the "Play" one) for the expansion, so I went the DD route to pick it up. Pretty cheap, was $15 for the expansion and I think it would have been $20 for the bundle of the two.

Also, for those reading along, care to hazard a guess what level I can reach with this set of conditions? Or what might kill me (if you know the game)?

For comparison sake, I bit it for the first time in my previous dynasty at Level 9 to a pack of Giant Turtles. It was a silly, careless death. I'm trying very hard not to be careless with this ruleset since SonOfSquid is pretty fragile and just can't afford it.

I think both Steam and DirectDownload have options for getting it if you don't have the CD's. I had all of TQ, but was missing the first disk (the "Play" one) for the expansion, so I went the DD route to pick it up. Pretty cheap, was $15 for the expansion and I think it would have been $20 for the bundle of the two.

I should still have the discs around somewhere.. Maybe I'll give it a try later today (depending on the snow)

OK, so here is an area that I thought would be a real challenge for staying alive. There is a graveyard before we meet the Spartan army. Lots of undead warriors, archers, and spellcasters here. The biggest worry is that they spring from the ground in packs, and can overwhelm unprepared characters. I've got a fair amount of potions and this is the first place that I've been pounding them down.

The rewards are very good here. Lots of magic items, although there are enough appearing now that I'll only mention the ones that are new and interesting to SonOfSquid.

Band of Brawn:
+8 Strength
This replaces our ring giving +3 Int and +51 Energy. I'm not dipping into the 300+ Energy, and I need the highest stats I can get.

This allows me to equip the previously mentioned
Protective Crude Buckeler of Ability
8% chance of blocking 36 damage
+10% Cold Resist
+16 Offensive Ability

I hold onto all of the items that provide stat bonuses and some type of protection from attacks, which means that the inventory is starting to get crowded. If this keeps up I'll have to look up the Caravan guy back at our starting town of Helos.

Level 5 arrives in battle with the undead.

Level 5
Health: 300
Energy: 300 (back to starting value)
Strength: 68 (up a whopping 14)
Intelligence: 57 (down 3)
Dexterity: 57 (up 7)

Resist Cold is 20 (up 10), all others is 0

DPS: 18 w/Spear (up 1), 12 w/Staff
Combined Armor: 42
Block%/Damage: 8%/36 (up 5)

Health Regen: 1.26 (up .26)
Energy Regen: 1.97 (down .08)

Offensive Ability: 73 (up 23)
Defensive Ability: 57 (up 7)

Greatest Killed: Awakened Dead - Forest Lich
Monsters Killed: 311 (up 115)
Greatest Damage Dealt: 32

Gold: 7,204

We finish clearing out the cemetery, with the end result being a Majestic Chest. This is the big honeypot in the game; the chest that on average offers the best loot. I'm decidedly underwhelmed by the contents, but overall the undead yielded quite a bit of treasure. I have to teleport back to town two times to unload all of the goods we find.

We arrive at the Spartan War Camp and seek out General Leonidas. However, rumor has it that he does not grant audiences to unexpected guests. And that proves to be the case. However, if we can take care of a pesky Centaur, then one of the men should be able to get us in to meet the General. The quests continue. This is part of the main quest, which means that we pretty much have to hunt down the Centaur.

The Spartan War Camp marks a major step in the journey. It holds the second portal of the game (the first was in Helos), a rebirth fountain (save point), and a number of stores. We see our first Enchanter here. The Enchanter can add/remove the slotted items (ex: Essence of Artemis' Bowstring) from weapons, armor, rings/amulets, etc. I did not account for these guys in my spending rules, but my initial thought is that they fall within my 10% spending rule but not within my "max purchases" guidelines, since I'm just manipulating my own goods rather than obtaining new ones.

I'm asked to retrieve Hippias, an ancient Spartan warrior, from the fields. One of his companions is worried that he has not return. It sounds like Hippias may have lost a step or two.

Off to the Pellana Valley to find Nessus the killer Centaur. We head due east, encountering boars, crows, and a centaur (not Nessus) before running into Hippias. He is sitting on a rock, with the bodies of his enemies before him, enjoying a quiet moment. He tells us he will head back to camp soon, and seems amused that the others were concerned with his welfare.

I am pretty sure that Nessus is going to hand me my lunch. At a minimum, I'm going to get Level 6 before fighting him and load up on as many potions as possible before facing him. Probably 30 potions, just to be on the safe side. As a general rule, I'm taking a potion any time I dip below 50% of my health. Boars are hitting me for about 30 points (10% of overall health) each time, which is about the worst I've seen. But I know Nessus will be quite a bit worse than that.

Just outside the camp we find a new item. It is a formula for a Lesser Artifact called a Deathrattle. We need to combine three items to make it:
- Valor of Achilles
- Spectral Matter
- Scroll of Arcane Power

Well, I have none of these now and haven't seen any creatures that drop Spectral Matter. But I will, eventually. When I have these, I'll have my artifact that does the following:
10 Damage
30 Poison damage over 3 seconds
+30 Health
+30 Energy
+15% Attack Speed
Plus a completion bonus.

I'm a real sucker for attack speed bonuses, so I obviously can't wait to complete this. I'll set the over/under on this at Level 21 ... it is going to be awhile.

I do have an alternate reason for wanting to get to Level 6 before facing Nessus. I'm going to have to run from him, and I need clear running lanes ... I can't find myself in a situation where I stumble across a couple of boars while running from Nessus and his guards. This was reinforced when I was jumped by two boards and three crows. I had to use several potions as I retreated from them, pulling them all the way back to base where the guards helped finish off the wild animals.

I find one interesting monster in the wild. There is a Centaur called a "Trapper" who throws a net on me. The net does damage, but also immobilizes me for a few. Can't let that happen when I'm low on health. After taking a potion there is a gap of about 15 seconds before I can take another one. If I'm low on health and can't immediately chug the next potion then I need to run until I get to suck down another potion. This monster compromises my ability to do this.

Level 6 - time to face the music.
Health: 300
Energy: 300
Strength: 68
Intelligence: 57
Dexterity: 57

Resist Cold: 20
Resist Pierce: 9 (from 0)

DPS: 18 with Spear, 12 with Staff
Combined Armor: 43 (up 1)
Block%/Damage: 8% chance to block 36

Health Regen: 1.00 (down .26)
Energy Regen: 2.18 (up .13)

Offensive Ability: 73
Defensive Ability: 75 (up 18)

Greatest Killed: Awakened Dead - Frost Lich
Monsters Killed: 438 (up 127)
Greatest Damage Dealt: 33 (up 1)
Gold: 9,394 (up 2,190)

By comparison, my Nature Spellcaster at Level 6 had 534 Health, 512 Energy, and a slew of spells to use in addition to his weapons. I'm fairly close on DPS and Combined Armor, but I just cannot take a hit.

First engagement - I pull away some of his guards and take out a pair of Centaur Trappers and a Centaur Ranger. Good start, took two potions to do it while fleeing.

Second engagement - I take Nessus down to about 40% of his health while chewing through 20+ potions. He won't chase me beyond a certain point. So as long as I have enough potions and I'm careful, I should be able to wear him out. But it is a land war in Asia, so to speak. Time to go load up on 40 or so potions.

Third run - it takes another 15 potions to finish off Nessus. Great success! He has a unique item that I'm a long way from being able to use and another item that may be the first one I spend points to use.

Petroclus' Shortblade (unique)
22-26 Damage
10% Piercing
Fast
16 Reduced Armor for 3 seconds
7% Cold Resist
8% Energy Leech Resist (this is one of five secondary resistances that I have not yet covered in stats recaps)
+16 Strength
+16 Dexterity
+15% Attack Speed
Requirements: Level 11, Strength 105, Dexterity 94

Centaur Cuirass
18 Armor
+16 Defensive Ability

I'm having a devil of a time finding armor that I can equip (still using non-magic stuff) so this may be the one where I crack and spend points to make some minor upgrades to SonOfSquid.

OK, here is an item that it tantalizingly close.

Tough Garland of Brawn
Armor 12
+4 Armor
+6 Strength
+20% Energy Regeneration
Requirements: 58 Intelligence (1 away)

Nessus was guarding a Majestic Chest that had a slew of items I'm unable to equip. Everything seems to require 70-80 of some stat, and I'm not at that mark with any of them. Somthing is probably going to have to give soon with my stats.

Time to see Leonidas.

Brasidas, the guard for Leonidas, drops this beauty on us.

"So, you killed the Centaur. I have to say, I didn't thin you would. You are no Spartan".

Thanks, pal. Awfully generous for you to allow me to see Leonidas, even if you are telling me to "be quick about it". Tool.

Leonidas tells us that he will send people to Helos, and that it is not the first village to apply for help. All of those who mocked Spartan discipline now cry for Spartan soldiers. He, however, does not have a warrior to spare for learning the source of the monsters. I get that task. I'm to head to Megara and look up his friend Timon. Timon will provide me with info on a proper offering for the Oracle in Delphi. There I will learn the source of the monsters.

All that work to survive Nessus, only to give away the first death to crows and harpies. I managed to get two groups attacking me together, and I was not able to flee and quaff my potion quickly enough to survive. Idiot death #1.

OK, that clinches it. Time to make a minor purchase to bump up our Dexterity to use the armor. I think that is the most minor upgrade I can make. Declaring a specialization (for spell casting) would be much more helpful, but I'm trying to stay as gimped as possible while moving ahead with this quest.

It ends up costing 3 points to move the Dexterity up to use the armor. Buyers remorse - wish I had just spent one point and picked up a spell specialization.

After finishing off the crows and harpies, I see that this crop of harpies hit pretty hard. I take advantage of a regeneration shrine to heal me while I pick off the last of their number. There is also a nearby cave that holds bats and low level demons. Neither of these slow us down much, although the demons hit pretty hard relative to other monsters that I'm facing.

Done for the night, about halfway to Level 7, with a ways to go before hitting Megara.

After reading your first dynasty my wife and I played this to legendary, though we didn't finish it at that level. Got sick of it, but might try it again. If playing it mutiplayer, get the mod that makes it harder. Players6 I believe, otherwise I found the game too easy. Good luck on your next adventure hoopsguy!

Thanks for the well wishes, GI. I would be very interested in MP if I can find people who want to play at the same time. This time around I've got a system that should be able to run multi-player better, as I've gone from 512MB to 3GB of memory. The old one would drag in multi-player pretty badly. I think you got to see some of that back in our City of Heroes days ...

As a point of reference, the harpies hitting "pretty hard" was in the 40-50 points of damage per strike range. That isn't as much as the 60-75 per hit from Nessus, but there were more of the harpies. Hopefully the armor addition helps, although at some point I'm going to need to improve the health a little bit. Which will probably mean putting a point into spell specialization.

Best thing about City of Heroes days was you giving a clapping hand to help us up from the water :)

And I remember your old compute rig, nice to see you upgraded. If you're still in the central time zone we might be able to swing a meetup. The Players6 mod makes it so that the game things there are six players at all times no matter how many players join. Treasure isn't increased, which is why I like it. If we run multiplayer, I'd like to use your house rules. I also like Skype for VOIP. Let me know.

So, no thanks to Hoopsguy I ended up playing this too long on Sunday. It led to a conversation from my wife:

Her - "Are you playing this with anyone or just by yourself?"

Me - "Just by myself, decided to give it a try for a while. Even though I might want to try multiplayer if I get back into it at some point"

Her - "Won't your friend on Sunday nights get jealous?"

Me - "Huh?"

Her - "Obviously you aren't going to be looking for another night to play games every week in addition to your bowling league and softball team.. so I assumed this meant you would be doing this on Sunday night instead of playing your other online Civ game?" (note the civ game she refers to is actually Europa Universalis multiplayer).

Me - "..."


So yeah, I might be interested in trying multiplayer.. but I have to work on convincing her better :)

I hear ya Alan T, I'll have to 'sneak around' to get the time to play multiplayer. Good luck!

Death #2 is pretty sad. I start off with some long-range bombing on Centaurs and Boars, but while moving into position to flank one of them I pull another boar + Centaur after me. They are close enough to hit me with a net and start whaling away on my meager 300 health. I get a potion and start to retreat, back past the starting point on the map. Oops, that area is still live as well (just loaded) and a pack of another 4 or so crows join in the fun. I'm not able to fend them all off.

So, I'm thinking it is now time to spend one point on a mastery.

"The Hunter must rely on speed and range to stay out of the reach of enemies". Yep, that is pretty much what I'm doing at this point. So I'll go with this mastery. I do not think this one gives particularly high health bonuses either, so I feel like it is a little bit in keeping with the challenge in front of me. One point here goes towards the mastery, the next point would go towards an actual spell (potentially).

The point for level 1 (of a possible 32 points in the mastery) grants +2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, and +35 Health. So I'll be playing with 335 Health as a minimum (could be enhanced by items, potentially) from here on out.

That extra health, coupled with the stats bonus, feels like my own private BALCO as SonOfSquid rips through a Satyr camp. One of the Satyr's was riding on a boar and attacking with a poison range attack, but he fell. Along with a slew of archers, casters, and warriors. I went into close combat mode often with this group, but never in great numbers. Potions of healing (burned through about four of them) kept everything manageable, as health never dipped below 100.

One item of note - Chilling Short Sword:
9-13 Damage
10% Piercing
Fast
2-6 Cold Damage

The problem is that if I change weapons my INT drops to 57, which makes my helmet and bracers unuseable. I'm already dealing with this with the long range attacks from the staff, but I do not want this up close as well. So the sword stays on the shelf for now. I'm normally a slave to DPS, but for this particular character I'm focusing on how to stay alive. Health, resistances, and armor are all mighty big components of this strategy.

The next region is the Mycenean Ruins. Yet another undead burial ground. And I learn here that I swapped out my staff during my last equipment swap, so I'm now left with my spear. Wow, coupled with the "3 purchases rule" and not having any spells this is a tough blow. Time to go scrounging to see if I can find a bow or something on the ground that I can use. If not, I may have to burn a purchase - cap would be about 1,700 based on the 10% rule. But I am just not built for close combat right now. So getting a long range attack again is imperative.

Pine Straight Bow to the rescue. It is not magical, but the damage is the same as I saw with the staff.

SonOfSquid needs a lot of potions to weather the undead, but picks up Level 7 in the process.

Health: 335 (+35)
Energy: 300
Strength: 69 (+1)
Intelligence: 62 (+5)
Dexterity: 71 (+14)

Resist Cold 23 (+3), Pierce 9, all others 0

DPS 19 (+1), 12 with staff
Combined Armor 56 (+13)
Block%/Damage: 8% block 36

Health Regen: 1.00
Energy Regen: 2.24 (+.06)

Offensive Ability: 87 (+14)
Defensive Ability: 105 (+30) - translates into opponents missing more at close range, although I don't think Level 6-7 foes are missing all that much

Greatest Killed - Nessus, Centaur Chieftain
Monsters Killed - 621 (+183)
Greatest Damage Dealt - 33
Total Deaths - 2 (+2)
Gold - 19,534 (+10,140)

At the back of the ruins is an "Ancient Tomb". Within here are a number of sarcophagi holding treasure. Our foes here are the Carrion Birds (deliver poison damage), skeleton archers, and a new zombie that leaks poison upon death.

They are not the worst of the lot. Those are the Undead Assassins, who swing quickly and deliver damage. Another foe is the Undead Captain, who hits hard and (I believe) inspires his teammates to perform better. Running + potions are required for this battle, but no deaths.

Next stop - Spartan Woods. Satyrs, Centaurs, Boars, and Crows are the far here. All pretty routine. I'm starting to see the Lesser Potions move to regular Potions, which means that the Health and Energy potions restore more points. The lesser ones are more than enough at my health levels, but I guess I have the benefit of being able to sell the Energy ones for a little more gold.

I'm also not getting much at all in the way of relics (the fragments that combine to make powerful items for slotting equipment). I'm starting to get a little annoyed at this fact.

Satyr Brutes are not fun to fight hand-to-hand at this point. They are slow, but if they get me up close they take away a lot of health.

Another new foe here are spiders. There are two types, one of which is a conventional spider. Slow moving, hurt a bit when they hit. The other is half-human, half-spider. They move faster but are pretty much wimps in terms of damage.

I found a new item that might prove to be helpful. Light Simple Wraps:
12 Armor (upgrade of +2)
+20% Energy
-10% Requirements
The change on requirements is potentially huge, as it would likely open up a few items for me to use. The downside is I would lose out on the +16 Defensive Ability bonus with my current item. I like that bonus, but I think it is an easy trade off. I would also lose 9% Pierce Resistance but that is not worth thinking twice about, by comparison.

Welcome to Tegea, a small village on the way to Megara. Here is what we find in this town:

1.) Quest to clear up poisoned water supply
2.) Merchant to buy/sell items - including a "Scroll of Arcane Power" for 15K. Looking for feedback from those reading along ... should this count under my 10% rule and 3 purchases per land?
3.) A storyteller who shares a yarn about Artemis and Achteon

The spider-men are called Arachnos and they are some of the monsters blocking the path to the spring. These Arachnos seem a little bit tougher, as they hit for around 40 points of damage at close range.

Venturing through the Tegea Forest, I learn the cause of the poisoned waters. There is a water nymph, or naiad, that is responsible for the water. However, her cave has been overrun by foul spiders. They are corrupting the water and, therefore, harming the nymph. She is asking for our help in cleaning out the cave. I'm expecting that there will be some good loot here as well.

An Arachnos threw a web around me, allowing a number of smaller spiders to get close enough to hit. Chug potions, retreat, dodge next web ... kind of a close one there. There is a majestic chest beyond this encounter, which drops several items but nothing that I can use at this time. Well, there was one item that I can use. I present the Draining Straight Bow of Endurance:
4-20 Damage, 25% Piercing, Very Slow
24 Energy Leech over 3.0 Seconds
+51 Health
DPS jumps from 12 to 17 with this weapon and I have about a 15% jump in health while using it.

I also find an Achilles fragment, ending the drought on those type of items. Maybe I need to whine in the thread more ...

The web-throwing Arachnids are called Deathspinners. There are a couple of encounters where there are 3-4 of them, each casting webs and throwing poison bombs. I'm just not well constructed for that type of encounter. Fleeing, potions, sniping with arrows, and eventually battling with my spear is the formula. It is not exciting, but it is pretty successful.

The spiders are dropping a ton of items. I'm not able to make use out of their Arachnid items (Strength too low), including armor, helmets, leggings. But I do find a ring that looks potentially interesting. The Protective Loop of Life:
14% Cold Resist
+131 Health
Requirement: Level 8
Only problem here is that both rings are bolstering stats (Strength and Intelligence, going from memory) by at least +7. So adding the health would be really helpful, but it will probably involve juggling items around.

Did I mention that there is a lot of loot in this cave? I'm up over 50K in gold at this point, and making continuous runs back to town to shuttle Arachnos items to the merchant in Sparta. I decide it is time to start better managing the inventory, so I teleport back to Helos to see the Caravan driver. I unload all my relics and my arcane formula, clearing up another 7-8 inventory slots.

The cave is completed after taking down about ten spiders in the northern tip. But SonOfSquid is on a mission and is looking to either entirely clear the cave or ding Level 8, whichever comes first. After that, it will be back to the water nymph to work out a payment plan for services rendered.

New find - Tainted Knife:
7-11 Damage, 15% Piercing, Very Fast
33 Poison Damage over 6 seconds

DPS jumps a couple of points with this, but I can't use either my helm or my bracers at this point. I have a backup set of bracers that fit the bill and decide I'm going to make a go of this without the helmet. I think my equipment may need an overhaul anyway, so may as well start now. Besides, I cannot use this helm with my bow anyway (staff was giving an INT boost).

That theory works out initially, as SonOfSquid (SOS) mauls a set of spiders. It is pretty satisfying seeing a poof of green appear on my foes and know that they are losing health even when I'm falling back. There is a majestic chest beyond this group and it reveals the third piece of the Valor of Achilles. That will give me a complete set! Time to see what this looks like and if I want to consider slotting it.

Essence of the Valor of Achilles:
Can enchant any weapon
5 Damage
+12% Attack Speed
+10% Damage (completion bonus)

Love it. I'm going to hold off until Level 8 to do anything with this, as I think I'm going to be shuffling weapons. But the minute I have a weapon that I think should stick around for a few levels I'll be using this and reveling in the jump in DPS.

I finish clearing out the spiders, then go see the Nymph. Nice reward: +75 Health, bringing our total to 410. The experience reward is enough to hit Level 8. I'm going to be looking at overhauling my equipment, but if I want to use the -10% Requirement boots then I will need one more point of INT to make it work since that requires 58. I'm getting 7 points from a ring, so I either need a ring with +8 INT or to equip a second item that will get me there. That is a matter for another day, as I'm wrapped up for now.

Note - many of the reductions this time around are due to the helm not being equipped (also requires 58 INT) and not having a replacement item.

Level 8:
Health: 410 (+75), 461 w/bow (+126)
Energy: 300
Strength: 60 (-9)
Intelligence: 57 (-5)
Dexterity: 75 (+4)

Resist Cold 23, Pierce 9, everything else 0

DPS: 22 (+3)/17 (+5)
Combined Armor: 42 (-14)
Block %/Damage: 8% 36 damage

Health Regen: 1.00
Energy Regen: 2.00 (-.29)

Offensive Ability: 91 (+4)
Defensive Ability: 109 (+4)

Greatest Killed: still Nessus
Monsters Killed: 836 (+225)
Greatest Damage Dealt: 33
Total Deaths: 2
Gold: 60,907 (+41,363)

If you want the game really challenging, make all scroll purchases part of your 3 purchase rule. If you do that, save the scrolls for the big bosses. You'll need them :)

The land to the NE of the city is called Arcadia. I find a Battle Marker, and go looking for monsters while filled with blood lust. I find a handful in a Satyr hero who has shaman powers, tons of health, and a number of cronies. Nope, can't just wade in and kill all of them even with the Battle Marker backing it up. I retreat, then take out the posse in smaller numbers before returning to finish off the Satyr hero. Other than that, there are a few crows, harpies, and Satyrs in this region. Megara Bluff is the next territory.

More Satyrs here initially. I'm starting to feel pretty underpowered, as it is taking me about seven hits per Elite Satyr to grant them a dirt nap. I'm used to 2-3 for the rank-and-file enemies. The net of this is that they get a lot more shots to hit me, which is very bad news in mob situations.

Behind a large Satyr camp is a descent onto a beach. I guess this is where the "Bluff" part of the territory name comes from. Based on the views from above, I'm about to start seeing some different foes.

If you want the game really challenging, make all scroll purchases part of your 3 purchase rule. If you do that, save the scrolls for the big bosses. You'll need them :)

I probably will. But right now the game still feels pretty manageable. I'm annoyed with the two deaths, as I think I could have gotten along at this point OK if I had just gotten the health bonus from the nymph. I don't know how much further I would have reasonably gotten (maybe a turtle death? curious to see how hard they hit me) but I think it is possible that I would have gotten to the skeleton princes, which would have had me at Level 10-11, I'm guessing.

The problem with the scroll's as purchases are that they also act as part of items. I do not think that you get scrolls as drops, although they are sometimes rewards for completing missions. So if I want to complete my artifact while in Greece then I would probably have to burn one of my three purchases on the scroll.

On the topic of purchases, with my wealth now above 60K I can consider making purchases of magic items. The cheapest magic items I've found are in the 4K range, although most that I would consider (and potentially use) are in the 10-25K range. So I'm probably a level or two away from being able to think about a purchase to help SonOfSquid along.

I'm now in the Megara Coast. As I descend down the hill towards the beach I see lizard men milling about. These are known as Ichthians. I learn that they fight about as effectively as Satyrs, although the fish-beasts have an annoying habit of running when they are injured.

I find a pack of undead and take death #3. Two undead assassins are in the group and they are fast and pack a wallop. Sigh - that was a bummer. I just went in a little too close, drew too many opponents, and slightly underestimated how badly those guys would hurt me.

So, pick a spell or a point in Intelligence to open up some options for equipment?

I select Ensnare. This is what the Satyr trappers have; cast a net on your opponent. The net does 15 points of damage and holds for 3 seconds (values rise as you put more points into it), which should allow me to escape guys like the Assassins that just made life tough on me. That three seconds of breathing room will provide time for another potion, or an opportunity to get a couple of bow shots in.

Ensnare is a huge get, as it proves valuable right away. Assassins, Captains, and a new set of undead. These are slow-moving drowned sailors who stand guard on coastal treasure. If they get close enough to hit, watch out. But I'm able to retreat, throw ensnares, and basically stick-and-move around them. That won't work nearly as well if they have backup from archers or faster moving skeletons, but I'm fine against them when I can isolate them.

I've quickly reached the conclusion that anything worth killing is better killed while Ensnared. Stuff like Festering Zombies do not hurt me when I take them down with arrows from afar, but it is faster when they are in a net and I do not have to move as much. Ditto the dead sailors, who upon closer inspection are actually Wraiths. Ichthian Shamans? Yep, may as well put a net on them to keep them from running and have some cumulative damage while I finish them off with my blade.

I find a natural cave, and with it get my first encounter with Snapping Turtles. These guys hit me for somewhere around 70 points of damage from up close and are hard for me to hurt with my weapons. Ugh - not going to like fighting these guys in the least. Hope that I do not see many of them for awhile.

There are Ichthians and minor demons in here. Past the demons is a majestic chest that sprays out six or so magic items. Life is good, although I'm hoping to find a higher level item sometime soon.

The item hierarchy is this:
Yellow - common magic items
Green - rarer, have multiple magical properties
Blue - unique items, lots of benefits but cannot be slotted like Yellow/Green
Purple - legendary items, basically Blue on Roids

There are also item sets which can be used together for extra benefits. I'm a long way from Purple and still far off from item sets, but I've already found on Blue (short blade that I cannot use until Level 11) and I think a Green item is realistic sometime soon.

New find - Pupil's Crude Buckler of Strength
8% chance to block 36 damage
+12 Strength
+52 Energy

This would replace my current buckler, which gives boosts to cold and offensive ability. But the strength bonus gets me to 72, which should open up a few new items down the road. I'll just have to be aware that this could cause problems between being equipped with my short-range and long-range weapons, since I will not have a +12 bonus. Can't use shield + bow together. Bottom line - do not get in sustained up-close battles with a bow. Duh.

Well, I've gotten a ton of spitting turtles out on the coast. They are long battles, but it is possible to run around 3 of them at a time, throwing nets and gobbling up potions. Just as long as it is only turtles and not mixed groups, it is doable.

Level 9 arrives during one such Sea Turtle battle.
Health: 484 (+74)
Energy: 300
Strength: 72 (+12)
Intelligence: 57
Dexterity: 71 (-4)

Resist Cold 13 (-10), Pierce 9, all others 0

DPS: 21 (-1)/17
Combined Armor: 64 (+22)
Block%/Damage: 8% block 36 Damage

Health Regen: 1.00
Energy Regen: 1.78 (-.22)

Offensive Ability: 71 (-20) - less likely to hit, do critical hits up close
Defensive Ability: 105 (-4)

Greatest Killed: Drusil Thornweaver - Satyr Hero
Monsters Killed: 1042 (+206)
Greatest Damage Dealt: 33
Total Deaths: 3 (+1)
Gold: 79,814 (+18,907)

Equipped:
Tainted Knife
Bronze Reinforced Helm (non-magical)
Pupil's Crude Buckler of Strength
Centaur's Cuirass
Embossed Armbands of Endurance
Hardened Wraps of Ability
Band of Brawn
Protective Loop of Insight
Beads of Agility

What are scroll purchases? I don't think that I have seen those before.

Alan, I think the scrolls may be an expansion pack addition. But you should start seeing them in Tegea (I do not think Sparta has them, but I have not visited the magic-based merchant). Scrolls are a one-shot item that provides a very strong short-term benefit for a limited time. Here is a look at the one I need for my artifact (Scroll of Arcane Power).
- 90 second duration
- 15 Elemental Damage
- +40 Energy per second
+ +100% Casting Speed

So that scroll basically supercharges a spell-caster, allowing him to attack twice as fast, recover energy very rapidly, and deliver additional damage.

The town of Megara has pretty much every shop you could ask for. I check on the Caravan guy, who is now holding about ten partially assembled relics and my arcane formula. It is 10,000 to get additional space. I'll be able to afford that within my 10% rule sometime soon, but I've got plenty of space here for now.

I learn of a rumor of a Cyclops outside of town. What is not a rumor is that the town is under assault from undead. This shows up as a side quest. I later learn that there are three skeleton princes among the undead that will prove to be challenging foes. The skeleton princes are in a ruins named Old Eleusis.

A sailor tells us of his ship that wrecked nearby. Treasure awaits. Another side quest.

Timon, the oligarch of Megara, lets us know that the Oracle of Delphi will accept a branch from the sacred olive tree. That tree can be found on the road to Delphi, above the Helicos Pass. This updates the main quest.

So, lots to do coming out of Megara. Guess I'll start by heading north out of town and checking out Old Eleusis. I'm pretty concerned about my welfare against the three princes.

Sounds like I am missing alot by not having the expansion.. I'm also in Megara and it doesn't have half the stuff you talk about for me.

The Megara outskirts have some very challenging Satyr encounters. Normally this would be an oxymoron, but with this character it is not. There are a pair of Satyr Brutes along with a collection of archers, and they really make it tough for me to retreat, take potions, and slow down the incoming forces. The Brutes move well enough and hit like a ton of bricks. I had to retreat back into the city walls, allowing the guards to help me dispose of these guys. Not a proud moment, but you do what you have to.

Next up was a group of zombies, skeletal archers, and poisonous crows. None of these was all that challenging, as the snare, shoot, retreat strategy was used time and time again. That led to the outskirts of the Kerata Woods, which is where I'll find Old Eleusis.

We fight off some deathspinners (spiders) before finding a few men near the water. It looks like the bridge to Athens is out, courtesy of a Cyclops. Well, no matter since Delphi is my next stop. After I finish clearing out these ruins, of course.

Sounds like I am missing alot by not having the expansion.. I'm also in Megara and it doesn't have half the stuff you talk about for me.

All the side quests should be there. Other stuff comes from talking to everyone in the town. You won't find the following without the expansion in Megara:
- Caravan (help offload inventor)
- Guy who combines items based on formulas. He can also unslot an item from a weapon, but it destroys the weapon in the process. And it costs a lot of gold to do this.

So I'll likely buy the expansion today and install it. I think I'll re-start over. Do you play as a single player game character, or do you play a multiplayer character by yourself?

Just outside Old Eleusis I encounter one of the scariest monsters at this point in the game. Limos. It is a demon that steals health from you. He has a decent amount of health to start with, and then he starts taking yours in big chunks. I'm not able to hurt him enough with the bow, so I eventually wade in with my blade and fight him up close, throwing nets on him at every chance. I think it took 3-4 potions along the way to best one of them. Now picture a pair of these guys charging me, with a bunch of minor demons along for the ride as well. That is going to be a royal pain in the butt.

There are a slew of undead guarding the entrance, but nothing that I havne't seen before or that I can't handle. I'm expecting to see some good loot in here if I'm able to best the princes. The ruins start off by throwing some ankle-biter demons at me. Good thing that there were no Limos along with them. They attack in numbers, forcing me to use a few potions in dispatching them.

I clear out all the areas surrounding the first prince, the one who specializes in the bow. I had a very brief encounter with him and learned that he fires very fast and delivers a lot of damage. Ideally I would like to wade in and maul him, but I don't think I have enough health to be able to do that. Moving around and firing on him plays to his strengths. So I'm not really sure how I'm going to tackle him.

So I'll likely buy the expansion today and install it. I think I'll re-start over. Do you play as a single player game character, or do you play a multiplayer character by yourself?

I've always done it single player, but I think I can then take him into multi-player as well, right? It has been a long, long time since I tried MP ... going back about two years now.

If you are in Megara I do not think you have lost out on all that much if you wanted to continue your current character. The install of the expansion pack will import your current characters.

The answer ends up being the same way I deal with most others - snare, arrows from range, lots of potions, run when in danger. I just have to retreat from him more than most others. I had 11 potions for my first run and got him down to about 15% health remaining but had to teleport back to the city for more potions. He was at full health on my return. It took 13 potions before victory on the 2nd run. One down, two to go.

Although there is quite a bit of treasure, I'm not able to use any of it. The low stats issue is starting to really manifest itself. I looked through the items available at the weapons shop in Megara and there was a total of one item across blades, bows, and armor where I met the minimum requirements to use. On the positive side, getting to Megara appears to have opened up my inventory to where I can now carry twice as much stuff. So I do not need to teleport back to towns quite so often.

Two princes down, as I swamp the one who specializes in magic. Prior to running into him, I encountered my first "trap". These are large devices that spray damage in all directions. The first one I saw was a fire trap, with the second one (right by the skeleton prince) was a blade trap.

The skeleton prince did not play all that well. He had his minions with him, and they were all lined up behind the blade trap. You can avoid the trap by staying in areas that are outside of its range, but if you drift too far to the right or to the left you will get hit. The traps emit damage every five seconds, give or take, so it is a nuisance to fight opponents while dodging the trap. But the prince chased me outside the range of the trap. From there, the prince had a cold attack with an area affect; if you stayed put in the area you kept sustaining damage. But that was the only new trick, and the prince fell pretty easily. He also dropped our first green item, although I cannot make use of it.

Light Carved Staff of Frost:
12-19 Cold Damage
Speed: Slow
+9% Cold Damage
6 Cold Damage
+1.0 Energy Regen/sec
-9% Requirements
Requirements to use: INT 110

Third prince dead; that went better than I thought it would. The last one was a master of close combat, but honestly he was not that intimidating. He had a shield charge, where he could run up very quickly to deliver a blow. I believe it also stunned when it landed. But beyond that, all he did was deliver hard hits. Snare, retreat, potion, repeat. And that clears out Old Eleusis. Can you say "overrated"? SonOfSquid can.

After leaving Old Eleusis I clear out the remainder of the forest. I'm still a little shy of Level 10 and would like to have it before moving on, but you can't always get what you want. There is a bridge and on the other side are a few armed men. I teleport back to town and pick up 50 health potions, knowing that the coming battle will by far be the toughest one yet for this character. So far I'm managed to best all of the "elite" foes, but the one up ahead is an entirely different animal.

CYCLOPS! 44 potions before dying, and I had knocked him down to maybe 35% overall health. OK, I need to be able to more effectively hurt him than I did here. Time to figure out how to best spend my one point.

Spell: Takedown
- 30 Energy cost
- 25 Piercing Damage
- 8% Reduction of Enemy Health
- +300% Movement

The % of Health is sorely needed here. I have to equip a spear, which forces me to juggle around my equipment, but this is pretty important for fighting something like the Cyclops who has a ton of health.

Death #2 to the Cyclops (#5 overall) is a total fluke, as I get stuck and can't move while the Cyclops hits me. The space to fight him is pretty confined, but I'm not going to take another point just yet. I want to fight him again and see how this measures up.

It took 77 potions and about fifteen minutes of battle, but the Cyclops is dead. The ensnare did not work at all on him; I do not think it works against giant creatures. The Cyclops has two special attacks. The first is a scream that acts like a cone attack. If you are in the cone it disrupts your actions and slows you. The second is a shockwave following his club banging on the ground. That delivers about 200 points of damage. If you are in close combat he hits from somewhere in the 75-125 range with his club each time. Obviously this is a big concern for SonOfSquid.

The strategy was to stay out of reach, let him burn his two specials, and then close with the Takedown. The 300% movement in the description above is while you are charging to deliver the blow with the spear. Once there, stick around to trade blows until health is below 300. At that point, get out since the Cyclops can stun + deliver 200 damage in a fairly quick combo every once in awhile. It took forever, but the giant monster is dead. Oh, and SonOfSquid is now Level 10. Guess who is the toughest monster killed now?

Health: 434
Energy: 352 (+52)
Strength: 78 (+6)
Intelligence: 62 (+5)
Dexterity: 71

Resist Cold 13, all others 0 (lost 9% on Pierce)
DPS: 19 (-2)/17
Combined Armor: 67 (+3)
Block%/Damage: 8% block 36 damage

Health Regen: 1.00
Energy Regen: 2.02 (+.24)

Offensive Ability: 71
Defensive Ability: 87 (-18)

Greatest Killed: Polyphemus - Cyclops
Monsters Killed: 1325 (+283)
Greatest Damage Dealt: 52 (+19)
Total Deaths: 5 (+2)
Gold: 119,447 (+39,633)

I'm considering buying a weapon to replace the crappy spear that I got when I was level 2 that is now equipped. I have a decent mace that will raise the DPS up to 26, but I lose out on the Takedown attack with it, and would also have to reshuffle my other items. So my needs right now are twofold:
1.) Replace current spear with better spear
2.) Find a way to make up one point in INT to avoid excessive rejuggling of gear

There is a pretty good chance I'll put a point in INT on my next death just to get around this annoyance.

Onto the Halycon Coast. We are back near the water, which reminds me to keep my eyes peeled for a shipwreck. One new monster that I'm pretty sure is going to give us trouble, is Maenids. These are blue catpeople, best I can tell. They move quickly, their archers do good damage, and they have several specialists. We have seen their sorcerers, who call down lightning. There are also hunters that set traps that do substantial damage. They attack in packs and are at least as fast as I am.

The shipwreck is very close by. Lots of loot to sell, nothing new I can use. Only had to go through three turtles and nine wraiths to get the chests.

Death #6 comes to Ichthians. A couple of casters, some other guys who fought me up close. I did not do a good job on that fight, but I'm still going to take a point to buff up the character in keeping with the dynasty rules. SonOfSquid needs to be able to get a little better equipment in order to move these fights along a tad more quickly.

Spell - Wood Lore:
+10% Defensive Ability
+5% Attack Speed

This will increase damage and make SonOfSquid hit a tad less often in close quarters. Hopefully this is somewhat meaningful.

I also switch to the Chilling Ball Mace, which deals 25 DPS, instead of the spear. I'll forego the Takedown attack against the masses, opting for the better damage. And, since I haven't had much luck with getting better weapons due to requirements I decide to break out the Valor of Achilles relic and slot it in the weapon. DPS jumps to 35. So I'm going to be using this weapon for awhile.

Chilling Ball Mace (w/Valor of Achilles):
13-28 Damage
Speed: Slow
2-5 COld Damage
5 Damage
+12% Attack Speed
+10% Damage

Hopefully it is not taking 7-10 hits per enemy in close quarters with this DPS.

I've always done it single player, but I think I can then take him into multi-player as well, right? It has been a long, long time since I tried MP ... going back about two years now.

If you are in Megara I do not think you have lost out on all that much if you wanted to continue your current character. The install of the expansion pack will import your current characters.


All characters can be used locally or in multiplayer. Makes it easy.

Along the coast there is a natural cave. It looks like a giant mouth with jagged teeth coming out of the mountain wall. Who can resist exploring that? Inside there are a few turtles but mostly every kind of Ichthian you can imagine. There is also the first green item for SonOfSquid:

Hardy Ring of Agility:
+8% Strength
+6 Dexterity
+5% Health
Requirement: Level 11

So once I ding Level 11 that will replace the Band of Brawn, which gives +8 Strength. The Strength, for now, will be about a push, but the Dex and Health make this a good upgrade. The fact that the Strength will scale (growth by percentage, not flat number) makes it that much better.

Boetia - the blue cats are here. And so is Death #7, when a sorcerer brings down lightning for about 200 damage. Ouch - did not see that kind of damage coming. I can potentially equip some damage to help deal with lightning, but I'm not sure if there is any point expenditure that is going to go a long ways in making sure this does not happen again. For now, I'll just sink another point into Hunter mastery. That will give some health, as well as a point to STR and three to DEX.

All through Boetia I am harassed by the damn cats. I did confirm that the lightning does about 250 damage. I simply cannot allow that to hit, as it is extremly bad for SonOfSquid's lifespan.

After clearing this territory there is a bridge that leads into the Ambrossos Farmlands. Here are Centaurs, Satyrs, Boars, and other wildlife. There is a new Centaur type, a leader who plants a flag into the ground to inspire his men. I simply cannot stand up to them when near the flag; retreat is imperative.

There are other Centaurs that cast a spell leaving a green eye above my character. It seems that SonOfSquid is more suscpetible to damage over the duration of this spell, although I'm not sure that is the case. I just do not recognize the spell, so I'm not clear on the impact.

The centaurs and bores here push SonOfSquid hard, requiring the same old 10+ hits to get a kill. This is not leaving a ton of margin for error.

Deep into the fields I encounter a Centaur who does not try to kill me. His name is Chiron, and he seems awfully cerebral for a Centaur. He tells us that a Maenad (cat person) stole his bow and is now hiding in a cave. He asks us to retrieve it for him. There is a death in that cave, as we are overwhelmed by the Maenad specialists. We saw a new weapons specialist that cut us to pieces. This is getting tedious because I do not know what to fix with just spending one point at a time.

I dump another point into the Hunter mastery, bringing me to three points in that track. At four points several new spells will be available. Each spell has a variable amount of points that can be spent on it, ranging from 6-16 (going from memory here). Up to this point I've only put one point in the spells I've selected.

SonOfSquid finishes off the maenad priestess. Normally, when I'm not playing house rules this is a super-easy mission. But for Squid it takes a couple of potions to finish off the priestess. No big deal, Chiron gets his bow back and grants an extra two attribute points that I will not spend. Level 11 arrives, so time to see where we are at.

Health: 581 (+97)
Energy: 352
Strength: 78
Intelligence: 57
Dexterity: 82 (+11)

Resist Cold 13, all other resists are 0
DPS: 35/19 (+16/+2)
Combined Armor: 67
Block%/Damage: 8% to block 36 damage

Health Regen: 1.00
Energy Regen: 1.97 (-.05)

Offensive Ability: 82 (+11)
Defensive Ability: 98 (+11)

Greatest Kill: Polyphemus - Cyclops
Monsters Killed: 1565 (+240)
Greatest Damage Dealt: 53 (+1)
Total Deaths: 8 (+3)
Gold: 170,708 (+50,261)

So five deaths over the last two levels. I just have not been able to stop the bleeding with spending points on spells and overall hunter mastery. I think I need to upgrade gear. I'm now at enough cash (10% rule means I have about 17K to spend) that I might be able to find something to replace my armor. I'll be looking for that actively from here on out.

I arrive in the village of Ambrossos after leaving Chiron. It is a small village, with only a single merchant. However, there is other news here:

1.) There is a master blacksmith out in the country that we should visit (side quest)
2.) A merchant was attacked nearby and abandoned his goods (another side quest)

Helicos Valley is full of Centaurs and Satyrs. One of them leaves a very interesting item that is going to have to sit in inventory for awhile.

Annulling Necklace of Life:
11% Elemental Resist (Fire, Ice, Electric)
+98 Health
Requirements: Level 18

Across from Helicos Valley is Helicos Pass. Here is where the sacred grove is that holds the olive tree that we need for the offering. One problem - the grove is on fire. Apparently the Satyrs have been acting up here as well. We'll see if there is anything that we can salvage.

I don't know about Satyrs, but the place is just littered with spiders of every size. And when I say "every size" I mean it, as there is a monstrous spider in back that drops a death on SonOfSquid. Getting some poison resist items would be really helpful here. This is going to be a very tough fight. Different than the Cyclops, but maybe harder because as of right now I have no real plan for how to deal with this creature.

Plan A - move ahead a little bit, see if I can find some kind of item that will help with resisting poison. And that sort of works, as I complete the "abandoned goods" sidequest. Lots of undead guarding the chests, lots of items, but nothing that fits for the task at hand.

I've got one more upgrade that is allowed here but I do not know what to use it on. Well, I've got a two step plan that might work. I'll try to live here after putting my 4th point into hunting mastery, but if I die then I can put one point into a spell that grants 30% Poison resist. The spell, along with a couple of others, became available after spending the 4th point on the mastery.

Death #2 to the spider is very disappointing. I had burned through maybe 80 potions, getting a quick hit-and-run in for 2-5 hits before the spider summoned the three child spiders and dropped a poison spot on me. The poison spot just tears the health up like nobodies business. Anyway, once the three little spiders were loose, it was time to retreat to the point where Momma spider would no longer pursue. Knock off the little guys, drink a potion as I ran in, and do the same thing all over again. I had the spider down to about 35% of overall health before getting stuck in the poison spot for a little too long and having the poison knock off health faster than the potion restored it.

Time for a new spell that should be extremely timely.
Herbal Remedy:
Energy Cost - 35
3 minute duration
+3 Health Regen/sec
30% Poison Resistance

And the Herbal Remedy is huge, as SonOfSquid is able to engage about twice as long during each run. The spider falls, and leaves behind a really, really nice item.

Deahweaver's Legtip (green weapon):
18-22 Damage, 20% Piercing, Fast
60 Poison Damage over 6 seconds
5% chance of 244% Poison Damage
3-6 Piercing Damage
+16 Offensive Ability

DPS jumps about 10 points. Hmm, may have to look into unslotting the old weapon as this one blows it away. I kind of regret slotting it, but I cannot imagine how much tougher this fight would have been with having 10 less DPS on my attacks. Using the spear would have been another option (-8% of health on strike) but it would have required a lot of juggling and the other 4-5 swings would have been for 17 DPS.

Oh well, these are good problems to have.

It costs nearly 46,000 to have the Achilles item removed. That is promptly slotted into the Deathweaver's Legtip, with a net impact of moving DPS from 35 to 60. Huge jump, should make a very meaningful difference in facing foes up close. Now to work on a better ranged attack ... would love to be able to deliver even 30 from afar. With the difference right now I'm going to be tempted to fight everything up close even with my somewhat frail health.

As a point of comparison, my spellcaster in the original thread at Level 11 did not have anything that delivered close to the DPS that this weapon delivers. That character, while spending all of the points when they were available, thus allowing significantly better equipment (playing original game, not expansion pack) had a DPS of 34 upon hitting Level 11. Or just about the same as SonOfSquid. But by level 13 that character had a staff, slotted with the same relic, that did 60 damage.

So my gimped character looks like it could match up favorably with the non-gimped one, at least across some metrics. I think part of it is the expansion pack offering more diversity in items (greater flexibility for me to make good decisions) and part of it is me understanding the internals of the game a little bit better.

The new weapon is everything I hoped it would be and more, as it cuts through Satyrs and Boars like a TV-offer-knife through aluminum cans.

The next region is called the Phocian Swamps. Here we find a few Ichthians and a ton of turtles. Just about every one of the turtles leaves a turtle shell relic behind, and we are able to assemble five of them to complete this item.

Turtle Shell (slotted in shields)
+5% Shield Block
-5% Shield Recovery Time
+5 Strength

This is not going to be a game-changer item for me. I'm leaning towards slotting it on my current shield, bringing that rating up to +17. The alternative is finding a better shield, and having a delta of 7 on the strength. For now, I'll just keep it on hand to see what develops.

A Satyr Brute is charitable and leaves us a necklace that looks like a keeper.

Protective Necklace of Agility:
17% Cold Resist
+10 Dexterity (jump of +3)

Shortly after getting this item the swamps come to an end, signaling the start of the Lower Delphi region.

The save point in Lower Delphi must not have taken, as I'm back in the swamps. And dying to Ichthians. I learned something with this one; having the volume down is not conducive to playing well. The audio cues (there is a sound when you drop below 25% of health) are definitely helpful for me. So the volume goes back up and the Ichthians are set down with vigor. Ding Level 12.

Health: 618 (+37)
Energy: 352
Strength: 81 (+3)
Intelligence: 57
Dexterity: 88 (+6)

Resist Cold 30 (+17), all others zero

DPS: 60/19 (+25/0)
Combined Armor: 67
Block%/Damage: 8% chance block 36

Health Regen: 1.00
Energy Regen: 1.97

Offensive Ability: 104 (+22)
Defensive Ability: 104 (+6)

Greatest Monster Killed: Polyphemus - Cyclops (hmm, thought Spider was very tough as well)
Monsters Killed: 1935 (+370)
Greatest Damage Dealt: 53 - no change, which means that the Takedown attack (25 Pierce, 8% health) does more damage in a single strike against a huge health opponent than my current weapon. Reminds me that I still need to consider upgrading my spear
Total Deaths: 11 (+3) - one fluky one this time, with the other two coming to the Spider. I'm trying to tighten up on the dumb stuff, but not off to a great start this AM
Gold: 154,049 (-16,659) - first time we have lost gold, basically because of shelling out 46K to move the Achilles item between weapons

Equipment:
Deathweaver's Legtip w/Achilles Valor *
Tough Garland of Brawn
Pupil's Crude Buckler of Strength
Centaur's Cuirass (damn old item at this point)
Embossed Armbands of Endurance
Light Simple Wraps
Hardy Ring of Agility
Protective Loop of Insight (another one I would like to be able to upgrade at some point)
Protective Necklace of Agility *

* = new item this level

I decide to take a little longer look at the swamps and find a hidden cave full of demons. There are some challenging encounters here, including one with two limos and a couple of smaller demons. There are also a pair of Hell Hounds here, and a smattering of bats and spiders. Finally, there is an item that has me drooling but is not going to see action anytime soon.

Veteran's Embossed Suit
36 Armor
10% Damage Resist
+21% Defensive Ability
+19% Chance Avoid Projectiles
Requirements: 126 STR (113 w/10% reduction currently equipped)

Well, I'm about 30 STR away from this, so I guess I'll stash it but I'm pretty sure I'll find better by the time I can think about using this.

Found the Master Blacksmith in Lower Delphi. Naturally, he does not have a single item (outside of rings and amulets) that I can use. Even with the attributes heading north due to 8 deaths over the last three levels SonOfSquid is not capable of using equipment intended for his level.

There is a bridge that leads to Criasoes Falls. One step closer to Delphi. Lots of Satyrs, Centaurs, and Boars in these parts. There is one very tough Satyr hero, who has a fireball (area) attack and a lot of health. It takes close to ten potions to finish him off. Those guys are tough to identify early in the conflict, as a hero does not look different than other foes until you highlight them. So there is a pretty good chance that the initial part of the conflict involves taking a lot of damage before you figure out what the heck is different. Those 1-2 seconds are very meaningful for the frail SonOfSquid.

Actually, I was wrong on the post above. The heroes will have a star above their head. It still is not something I pick up on every time, but it is there. I realized this when running into a Satyr Brute hero who had the Onslaught skill. This allowed him to get stronger as he hit us, and I think it may also increase attack speed. Either way, the glowing yellow rings around a foe suggest that SonOfSquid should not get in close combat. Retreat, net, and time to get reacquainted with the bow.

There are a new group of Satyrs here, called pillagers. These are archers who shoot flaming arrows. Slowly but surely, it is getting a little more important to address resistances. But it is a hard juggling act when I'm already paying much more attention to health-bonus items than normal. Oh well, one more fun consideration for this particular challenge.

Next is the Delphi Highlands. I'm wondering just how many more "Delphi-territories" we are going to pass through before finally arriving at the town. Satyrs, Boars, and Centaurs continue to be the flavor of the morning until we encounter a hill that is littered with Maenads. They seem easier this time around than the previous encounters, although I have not seen the sorcerers who maul us from afar.

Scratch that, as I die to them again. Two traps from their Rogues just chopped through my health with help from archers. Sigh - stupid death here.

After avenging the death we are met by the guards at the walls of Delphi. Actually, it looks like the Maenad have penetrated the outer wall but the guards have kept the invaders away from the heart of the city. The chief of the guard tells us that the enemy launched a ferocious attack last night. He seems pretty jaded about the whole thing, lamenting that "Apollo did not send down lightning, we warriors have protected the temple".

There are a number of refugees here, people who have fled their villagers hoping that the walls of Delphi could provide shelter. Delphi is an impressive town. In addition to the Oracle, there are all of the main services. Here are the unique aspects of this town:

1.) Storyteller shares legend of the Trojan War
2.) Avenge a man who was killed by a boar-man (side quest)
3.) First instance of a "Mystic", a service that allows you to realign points spent on spells. I do not need to do this quite yet, but it is potentially a pretty helpful service. The cost was listed at 250 GP per point moved.

The Oracle channels Apollo and provides a prophecy. It tells of three foes, including one to the south in sand and another to the East. A hero will emerge to face these foes, then must face their final fear.

The source of the monsters will be revealed when I travel through the Parnassus Caves. On the other side of the caves is the answer I seek.

One last note on the Oracle: as a reward for the offering SonOfSquid was granted a +5% bonus to Electricity. Nice to get some help with the resists.

The Parnassus Foothills are all spiders, all the time. These are pretty manageable with the Herbal Remedy spell. That one is getting very regular use, since there is an accelerated healing rate in addition to the poison resist. It can get challenging to juggle all of the spells (we are not using Takedown much, for example) but Ensnare and Herbal Remedy are constants at this point in the game.

There is a hero spider here, who is a pale comparison of the one that was guarding the olive branch. After defeating him we continue south and find the entrance to the caves.

First up in the caves - Ratmen. There does not seem to be too much difference between these guys and the Satyrs. Archers, close quarters, fighters, and a rogue class that hits harder than the others. They have some poison attacks (similar to spiders) but my initial thought is that these guys should not slow us down. Hopefully I have not just issued the "Maenad jinx". Level 13 arrives at this point.

Health: 618
Energy: 352
Strength: 81
Intelligence: 57
Dexterity: 88

Resist Cold 30, Lightning 5% (+5), all others zero

DPS: 60/19
Combined Armor: 67
Block%/Damage: 8% chance block 36

Health Regen: 1.00
Energy Regen: 1.97

Offensive Ability: 104
Defensive Ability: 104

Greatest Monster Killed: Polyphemus - Cyclops
Monsters Killed: 2328 (+393)
Greatest Damage Dealt: 53
Total Deaths: 12 (+1)
Gold: 196,459 (+42,410)

Equipment:
Deathweaver's Legtip w/Achilles Valor
Tough Garland of Brawn
Pupil's Crude Buckler of Strength
Centaur's Cuirass (damn old item at this point)
Embossed Armbands of Endurance
Light Simple Wraps
Hardy Ring of Agility
Protective Loop of Insight (another one I would like to be able to upgrade at some point)
Protective Necklace of Agility

Very few changes, as I did not apply any points on death and did not get any new equipment. So, I've basically died once per level up to this point in the game. I'm having some problems with the toughest bosses, but otherwise I'm at a point where my equipment is good enough to compensate for the innate weakness of the character.

Death #14 comes quickly, to a new type of Spider. This one was called an overseer and he dropped me in a web and hit very, very hard. The poison resist did not matter much. Going to have to be careful with those guys, and probably start pulling spiders again rather than wading in like I have with them and the Ratmen recently.

Further into the dungeon I run into three hell hounds. There is no way for me to live through that taking it head-on, so I'm casting ensnare while falling back. But I run out of healing potions and have to flat out flee. The hounds chase me most of the way back to Delphi ... that is highly unusual as monsters normally let you off the hook after a short pursuit.

We avenge ourselves on the Hell Hounds, who were waiting around outside the cave, then head into the cave to make short work of the Boarman, thus avenging the widow's husband. But an Overseer again kills us as he webbed us as we fled. He, and four of his pals, ate away at my health until it was gone. The Overseer is not tough on his own, but he has been a real nuisance in groups. Somehow the entangle abilities of the Centaurs have not slowed us down, so I have to assume his entangle holds longer, does more damage, or some combination of the two.

There are more Overseers, which now elicit an immediate "retreat" response. There are also more Hell Hounds and Limos. I have to be pretty cautious with the hell hounds since their breath knocks off basically half the health if I catch it full bore. But the Limos, for whatever reason, do not seem so bad. I think it is a combination of the healing with Herbal Remedy, plus slowing them down with the Ensnare. No matter the reason, they are not nearly as big a threat to SonOfSquid's health as the other monsters mentioned above.

The remainder of the Parnassus caves are not that hard. My uber-cautious approach keeps the death count down. One item that I found is pretty intriguing.

Protective Embosses Armbands of Quickness:
27 Armor (same as current)
12% Fire Resist
+10% Attack Speed (would move my DPS up 5)
I would have to give up 75 health bestowed by my current unit. Ideally, I would like to make up that health before equipping this but I'll keep it around for now.

Not much action in the Parnassus Hinterlands, the first region outside of the caves. Just a few Maenads, although there is a new one called an Alchemist that throws poison bombs and shoots electricity. From there, we find the Parnassus portal (designated teleport spot, this is the 4th of 7 in Greece) and there is a Satyr who acts as a trader by the portal. Just like most of the others selling goods, I cannot use most of his wares.

I'm now finding more green items. The cap for sales at this point in the game is 10K. Now, since I'm cheap and operating under a fairly tight set of budgetary restrictions, I do not like selling items that hit the cap. Those items are going into my storage area so I can sell them later in the game for full value.

Actually, the Parnassus Hinterlands are a lot bigger than I thought. There are quite a few Satyr camps on the part that is across the bridge from the first area.

There is a "vast war camp here - for an army of monsters!" Well, I do see that the Satyr camps are piled right on top of each other and there are a ton of them. But we still do not have much in the way of info on what is driving these monsters to attack the cities.

And death comes at the hands of Satyrs. Ugh - two Brutes plus a shaman in the back. But that was maybe the worst one of the game. No way those guys should be killing me. I had plenty of room to keep running and just got a little too aggressive.

I'm going to take a tweak here even though I really do not feel like I need it much for this portion of the game. But I'm dying, so I still should take some help to stay consistent with the ruleset I established. Plus I bypassed points on my last two deaths before this one. I'm due. I add one point to DEX, which translates into four points on the attribute. Perhaps this will help me find a better spear. I'm pretty sure I'm going to want to use Takedown again sometime in the near future.

Got stuck on a corner, again killed by a pair of Satyrs. This is getting really annoying. It is messing up my stats :)

Edit - hmm, game crashed on me just after the death? I wonder if I got stuck (could not tell where I was stuck) or if the game was just locking up? Either way, I'm guessing I'm stuck with another death.

Health: 618
Energy: 352
Strength: 81
Intelligence: 57
Dexterity: 92 (+4)

Resist Cold 30, Lightning 5% (+5), all others zero

DPS: 60/19
Combined Armor: 67
Block%/Damage: 8% chance block 36

Health Regen: 1.00
Energy Regen: 1.97

Offensive Ability: 108 (+4)
Defensive Ability: 108 (+4)

Greatest Monster Killed: Polyphemus - Cyclops
Monsters Killed: 2729 (+401)
Greatest Damage Dealt: 53
Total Deaths: 16 (+4) - very poor level, all in all. None of the deaths was a "good" death, as in to something I should not defeat 95% of the time
Gold: 240,845 (+44,384)

Equipment:
Deathweaver's Legtip w/Achilles Valor
Tough Garland of Brawn
Pupil's Crude Buckler of Strength
Centaur's Cuirass (damn old item at this point)
Embossed Armbands of Endurance
Light Simple Wraps
Hardy Ring of Agility
Protective Loop of Insight (another one I would like to be able to upgrade at some point)
Protective Necklace of Agility

OK, this is really, really disappointing. I cannot find this character when I loaded up just now. I've never had this happen before with any of my games.

Sigh - I'm going to see if I can get another character up to this point in the game following the same rules and then I'll continue this. SquidIII is now in progress.

False alarm. Apparently Immortal Throne does not install over the top of Titan Quest, but is instead a separate install. I had clicked on the TQ loader, not the IT loader. Oh well, I have a couple of hours (and nearly 8 levels) sunk into SquidIII but this is not his dynasty as long as SonOfSquid is still around and kicking.

Lower war camp - that is the name of the next region. I'm mildly concerned that this implies a number of additional war camps with different directional names.

My god, there are a TON of Satyrs. And they have some new friends in Boarmen, who look like larger versions of the Brute Satyrs. The Boarmen have an earthquake attack, although it does not seem to have much impact on SonOfSquid.

To the south is a pocket of undead. Nothing new here, just a bunch of skeletons, zombies, and liches throwing cold and fire.

Finally, after pushing through the last batch of Satyrs and their allies, there are a set of ruins. And we rescue a man who warns us about the upcoming foe: a creature who can turn you to stone. Hmm, that narrows down the options quite a bit, eh?

It is worth noting that the intro cut-scene to Titan Quest features a creature that looks an awful lot like a medusa.

The ruins are the Upper War Camp, and ruins = undead.

Upper War Camp starts with Undead and shifts to Rat Men. Two groups that SonOfSquid has fared pretty well against and in the early rounds there is no change to that assessment. There is also a new weapon that will be equipped.

Hunters Short Bow of Proficiency:
11-20 Damage, 25% Piercing, Very Slow
+22 Offensive Ability
+1 to all skill (Hunting)

We lose out on some health and 2 DPS, but this is a pretty significant jump for skills. I will want to have this and eventually find something to slot it with to do more damage or provide some extra benefit.

Speaking of slotting items, I finished another relic. This one will likely never be used. In fact, it may be the most useless one in the game.

Essence of Golden Fleece:
Can only slot torso armor
-15% Energy Cost
+90 Energy (completion bonus)

There are a collection of statues outside of a foreboding entrance. I delay my entrance until clearing out each and every Ratman in the camp, but eventually it is time to go face the next big challenge. I'll start with about 50 potions for this encounter and see if it is enough.

And SonOfSquid is finally victorious (without a death first) against a main foe. There are a trio of Gorgon Queens in the chamber; the leader is named Medusa and has an attack that paralyzes for a few seconds. There was a lot of running around and imbibing potions, but the guts of the fight were sustained runs of close-combat. Medusa was the last to fall and there are a slew of chests to open.

There is a woman named Feiyan that we rescue. She is very annoyed with herself for falling to the Gorgons. Apparently she comes from the far east, where she begun tracking a great sorcerer called a Telkine. It sounds like the Telkine is responsible for assembling this army, although he is no longer here. The Telkine's armies have marched on Athens. Feiyan tells me that if I want to slay the Telkine I had better find it before she does. She marches off. Well, I guess this starts to explain what has been going on here in Greece ...

I've continued to accrue 10,000+ items, so it is time to purchase some additional storage for the Caravan. The cost to do this is 10,000, and I think I'm now up to 5 items that are priced at that level. This purchase will quickly pay for itself once the cap is moved up at stores.

Level 15 arrives, and for the first time in quite awhile there are no deaths while achieving the level.

Health: 618
Energy: 352
Strength: 81
Intelligence: 57
Dexterity: 92

Resist Cold 30, Lightning 5%, all others zero

DPS: 60/17 (-2)
Combined Armor: 67
Block%/Damage: 8% chance block 36

Health Regen: 1.00
Energy Regen: 1.97

Offensive Ability: 108
Defensive Ability: 108

Greatest Monster Killed: Polyphemus - Cyclops
Monsters Killed: 3289 (+560)
Greatest Damage Dealt: 53
Total Deaths: 16
Gold: 300,920 (60,075)

Equipment:
Deathweaver's Legtip w/Achilles Valor
Tough Garland of Brawn
Pupil's Crude Buckler of Strength
Centaur's Cuirass (damn old item at this point)
Embossed Armbands of Endurance
Light Simple Wraps
Hardy Ring of Agility
Protective Loop of Insight (another one I would like to be able to upgrade at some point)
Protective Necklace of Agility

I've got several items that I would like to work into the mix, but I'm stuck because I need the attribute bonuses that are associated with current weapons. Particularly the +12 with my shield.

The 15% energy cost reduction helps for pure caster. I've used it before to great effect since at some points you can run out of energy faster than the recharge for potion taking.

The 15% energy cost reduction helps for pure caster. I've used it before to great effect since at some points you can run out of energy faster than the recharge for potion taking.

Is that really something that you want to slot in Torso Armor, even for a pure caster? Particularly at lower levels, they need to have some kind of protection and torso is the target of 40-60% of attacks (forgetting the exact number). I would expect that even pure casters would be hoping for some kind of defensive/protection relic for slotting.

I would not sneer at this item quite so much if you had a little more flexibility in slotting it. But limiting it to "Torso" only seems pretty restrictive ... it is was "all armor" I would probably feel differently.

It was all I had at the time :) Plus it was also multiplayer, you can specialize

:)

There are a few remaining Gorgons between us and the exit to the building. We emerge in the Athenian Passageway, which has a lone merchant and a lot of Centaurs.

Another double Huntress/Maenad death. It is hard to run from them when you are in the middle of the battle and they are shooting at you along with a pair of traps. In this case I didn't get the last healing potion down quickly enough. Meh.

I put another point into the Hunting mastery, in order to have a little more health and 2 more points of STR + DEX.

In addition to Maenad's, there are Centaurs and Boars in this area. This is an area where I have had problems in the past. For whatever reason, the combination of Centaurs + Maenad in a group has been very successful at damaging my previous characters. But it did not seem as much of an issue this time, since SonOfSquid has such a defensive playstyle by default. There are relatively few times that I just wade into battle and find myself stuck, which is usually the problem with these encounters. The Centaurs use their green aura power, which seems to translate into increased damage on attacks on me, setting up the Maenad nicely. But they never get numbers and this is not a problem.

Kephisos Valley - more of the same from the previous region. However, there is one unique challenge here. Some Spartans have trapped a Giant Limos, but do not have the werewithal to finish him off. Hmm, I'll clear the rest of the area out first and come back to this.

I do find a pretty cool item here, but it is not something that I can use.

Oracle's Leggings:
30 Armor
12% Pierce Resist
+24% Lightning Damage
+32% Energy Resist
+11% Movement
Set: Oracle's Garments (4 items)
Requirements: 104 INT (10% reduction)

Set items - much like relics, although having every extra item in the set provides a cumulative bonus. They are nearly impossible to assemble with a single character. The usual route to compiling all the pieces is to trade in multi-player, or save them across alts in single player. I'll stash this one in my caravan (multi-player section) for another alt, who I'll make sure has a lightning staff equipped to maximize this item at an early level.

The Limos battle is a side quest, so the rules of the dynasty are that I have to undertake the encounter. This is bad news, because this Limos has a ton of health and I have to fight him in an enclosed space. I could try to run around and throw the net on him, but he is going to recover health quickly when he steals it from me. That also negates some of the advantage in using Takedown to swipe 8% of his health at a time. Nonetheless, I think that is still the approach I'm going to need to take, so the Deathweaver's Legtip goes by the side. Oh, and I'll need plenty of potions.

Nothing doing - I'm not making a meaningful long-term dent in the health of the Limos. Time to look for other adventure and come back to him shortly, hopefully with better gear or a new trick or two up my sleeve. But I do not want to leave him too far in the rearview mirror. I'll finish him before entering Athens.

There is another major encampment to the north of the Limos. We fight our way through Satyrs, Centaurs, Boarmen, and a few scattered Maenads. To the west of that is an Athenian cementary that is full of all kinds of undead. SonOfSquid plows through this as well, hunting for something that will provide an edge against the overpowered Limos.

But nothing arrives. I was hoping for some killer item, or maybe finishing a relic that would help. One option that would be exceptionally useful against the Limos is some kind of energy leech attack. If I could get him so that he was unable to launch his health stealing attack then this encounter would be pretty brief. But I have nothing of the sort in the inventory.

I've also been actively looking at shops for items. I'm up to about 35K that I can spend on an item, and I'm a motivated buyer. That should get me most yellow items, but is not going to get me green items since they normally list anywhere from 50-125K.

Death at the hand of a Satyr champion. I did not even get a chance to identify what he did, other than hurt me very badly along with the rest of his crew of Satyr magi. I felt good about charging a couple of magi, but saw the star over the heroes head too late.

There have been a slew of Champions recently. I've probably taken out 4-5 of them over the last 2-3 regions. Among them were a Snapping Turtle, Undead, a couple of Satyrs, and now this one who handed us death #18. I'm going to invest a point in STR to see if I can create a little more flexibility with items in my inventory.

Busy, busy, busy. Three developments while gearing up for the Limos and approaching Athens.

1.) Completed the Boars hide, which required five fragments. This item can be slotted on any armor and provides +14 Armor. It immediately goes into the leggings, which is the item providing the -10% Requirements. I've had a number of options to pick up better armor, but the 10% Requirements is very necessary. So I now have 24 Armor instead of 10 Armor covering the legs.

2.) Found a blue item, a shield called the Labrynthine Shield:
10% chance to block 78 damage
13% Pierce Resist
+19% Damage
+52 Health
Part of Labyrinthine Warsuit (5 pieces)
Requirements: STR 104 (116/-10%)

I'm not going to be able to use this for awhile, especially since +12 STR is coming from my current shield.

3.) Level 16


Health: 718 (+100)
Energy: 352
Strength: 81
Intelligence: 57
Dexterity: 94 (+2)

Resist Fire 20 (+20), Cold 30, Elec 5, Poison 9 (+9), all others zero

DPS: 65/17 (+5/0)
Combined Armor: 95 (+28)
Block%/Damage: 8% chance block 36

Health Regen: 1.00
Energy Regen: 1.77 (-.20)

Offensive Ability: 110 (+2)
Defensive Ability: 94 (-14)

Greatest Monster Killed: Gorgon Queen - Medusa
Monsters Killed: 3893 (+604)
Greatest Damage Dealt: 53
Total Deaths: 18 (+2)
Gold: 366,413 (+65,493)

Equipment:
Deathweaver's Legtip w/Achilles (have not found anything close)
Arachnos Helmet *
Pupil's crude Buckler of Strength
Centaur Cuirass * (same type of armor, different bonuses)
Protective Emobssed Armbands of Quickness *
Light Simple Wraps w/Boars Hide * (slotted Boars Hide)
Hardy Ring of Agility
Protective Loop of Insight
Protective Necklace of Agility

* - denotes new/changed item from last level

Getting the +6 of STR from Hunting Mastery + STR add on deaths allowed me to swap out my old helm with had a +6 modifier and bring in some other equipment. The net result is much better armor and resistances, while sacrificing a smidge of defensive ability.

Back to the Limos - and dead fast. His poison slowed me and then he hit me a couple of times while I was figuratively walking in quicksand.

OK, not sure what to buff up here, but I need something to fight this guy. If I cannot beat the Limos then there are a couple of others later who are going to be problems as well. I try putting another point into Ensnare, but know that this is not a good long-term strategy for boss monsters, since many of them are not impacted by Ensnare.

Dead again - he slurps up too much health for me. I'm just not good enough to stand toe to toe with him. Fighting from range is hard in the enclose space, and he is throwing poison all over the place, which slows me down further even with 38% resist (have Herbal Remedy granting +30%). This is the first foe where I have not really had a plan on how to beat him.

3rd time is the charm, as I learn that the Limos is not getting as much health back each time as I thought. I had put another point (translates into 4) into STR but I do not think that made all that much of a difference. Same equipment, largely same approach, but I seemed to be able to hang in there a little longer, get to the healing potions a little faster, and basically do what needed to be done to win the fight.

Leonidas is here, outside of Athens. Hmm, a Spartan general at Athens? He tells us that Sparta has realized they need to align with the other Greeks to drive off these forces. They just waged battle against the enemy and the Telkine departed in the middle of the battle, which allowed the Greeks to emerge triumphant. Leonidas has heard tales of skirmishes within the city and asks us to investigate.

After dispatching some undead in the city walls, we meet a panicked man who tells us about the Order of Prometheus. It seems that they have a stronghold in Athens and their leader is trapped within the catacombs of that building. He asks us to rescue his leader, lest the "rest of the world suffer the same fate". Hmm, sounds dire.

The town has every shop out there. The storyteller shares a tale of how a young Hermes took cattle from Apollo in order to create the first lyre.

The Order of Prometheus is based out of the Parthenon. There are two waves of defenders outside the building. The first is Ratmen, who fall under assault from the town guard, supplemented by SonOfSquid. The second is gorgons; the town guard does not take participate in these battles. Onto the first level of the catacombs.

The second level of the Parthenon reveals a couple of goodies:
1.) A second arcane recipe - unfortunately, it is a duplicate of the "Deathrattle" we found back at Sparta
2.) Our future spear - just need to bone up on DEX to be able to equip this and have something that will give the Deathweaver's Legtip a run for its money. It is a unique item names Shadowstring:
30-46 Damage, 50% Pierce (!!!), Very Slow
16 Energy Leech/sec
6-10 Vitality Damage
14% Life Leech Resist
+10 DEX
+12 Offensive Ability
Req: DEX 104 (116/-10%)

I do not think that I've discussed Piercing damage yet. The way damage is calculated in TQ is pretty complex. Basically, each piece of armor has a rating. The sum of these numbers is the "Combined Armor" rating I've listed in the level reports. Anyway, armor absorbs 66% of non-special damage (Fire, Cold, the stuff listed in resists) up to 2x the armor rating. So if someone has a chest armor rated 50, then it would absorb up to 0.66 * (50*2) = 66 points of damage. If an attack does 39 points of damage, the armor would absorb 26 points, allowing 13 points of damage to be sustained by the character.

Piercing damage completely bypasses armor. It is subject to the "Piercing Resist" resistance, but armor does not impact it. So, this weapon does 30-46 damage. In the example above, if 39 points of damage were delivered then the armor would absorb 26 points. However, in this case the 39 points of damage are split 50/50 between Pierce and "Normal" damage. So 20 points of damage goes immediately through (subject to Pierce Resist) and 19 * .33 is also applied. This weapon would deliver 26 points of damage instead of 13 points of damage. This adds up quickly when the weapon is swung repeatedly at a foe.

Edit - forgot to note that SonOfSquid is now the proud owner of a Scroll of Arcane power, purchased for 15,000. That is the 2nd of three components for the Deathrattle.

There are a total of five levels of catacombs, filled with undead and a smattering of demons + bats. We do see one new monster, a large undead called a Fire Revenant. I was not able to discern anything special about them, other than they took a few more hits than the average undead and (I assume) they had a close-range fire-based attack.

At the conclusion of the fifth level there is a closed door marking a "big encounter". Time to get as many potions as necessary ...

Just before the mystery big encounter, I find a couple of interesting items in the inventory.

Protective Ring of Strength:
9% Cold Resistance
+13 Strength

I had almost purchased a ring recently that gave +12 Strength. I wanted to do this in order to swap out my shield with the +12 Strength bonus, allowing me to look at new weapons. To do this, I would need to remove my current ring giving +7 INT, which would create some other issues. The solution to this is to apply one point of INT on my next death, then pull the trigger on these changes.

Archimedes Mirror (completed relic):
Slots with shields
9% chance of 50% Damage Reflected
+95 Health

It is not a great relic, but it is something that I'll definitely use. I've got a pair of so-so relics specifically for shields. I've also picked up a spare "Valor of Achilles", which is very good for weapons. The potential successor to the Deathweaver's Wingtip will probably be slotted with this item.

OK, back to the big bad guy looming in the lowest level of the Parthenon.

Alastor is the guys name, he fires all kinds of elemental attacks (primarily cold, but multiple types) and summons in a bunch of undead who fire energy attacks as well. Every time the undead are killed he brings in a fresh batch. My initial strategy is completely ineffective and I burn through a number of potions along the way. New strategy - potion going in to attack him, hang there for 1-5 seconds, retreat, heal. Need a lot of potions for this. I really wish I had a better spear so I could better leverage Takedown, but the remaining attacks are so weak by comparison that I just cannot do it.

Portal back to town, load up on 85 potions (had 50 for initial battle) and attempt #2 . Result - needed 90-95, but he is hanging by a thread and did not heal between teleports last time. That is unusual, most of the bosses are fully healed when you return from teleporting.

Attempt #3 - pretty short and sweet.

Upon defeating Alastor a door opens and we meet Phaedrus, the leader of the Order of Prometheus. He tells us the following:
1.) The Telkine is a minor Titan. The Titans are the precursors to the gods
2.) The Telkine is headed to Knossos to destroy an artifact that allows humans to communicate with the godly realm. We are supposed to stop him
3.) There is a boat waiting for me. I should meet an agent of the Order of Prometheus at the docks to depart for Knossos immediately

Remember Feiyan, the woman who we rescued from the Gorgons? She is the Prometheus agent I'm meeting at the docks and she is unhappy that I'm being sent after the Telkine instead of her. She "supposes she wishes me luck ... one way or another (she) will see the Telkine dead". While I'm doing the heavy lifting around here, she is being sent on an errand to the east.

Off to Knossos. This is the last city we will visit in Greece.

The lands outside of Knossos, both Heraklion Heights and Omphalion are filled with Maenad, with one notable exception - a Minotaur. Overall, the Minotaur seems cut from the same cloth as the Boarmen we have faced. He has a fast charge attack with his axe, but did not seem to be a big threat. Now if there were a whole group of them, that might be a little different ...

Triton's Ridge is the next region. I've been assigned a pair of side quests here and I'm hoping to stumble across one of them soon, if not make it to the home of the Telkine.

There are a new type of Maenad here that have a hard hitting attack and seems to be tough to pick up (translucent?) - will have to record the name next time I see them.

Level 17 also arrives.
Health: 718
Energy: 352
Strength: 85
Intelligence: 57
Dexterity: 94

Resist Fire 19 (-1), Cold 30, Elec 5, Poison 9, all others zero

DPS: 65/17
Combined Armor: 95
Block%/Damage: 8% chance block 36

Health Regen: 1.00
Energy Regen: 1.77

Offensive Ability: 110
Defensive Ability: 94

Greatest Monster Killed: Alastor - Scoure og Archeron
Monsters Killed: 4421 (+528) - less kills than jump from 15 to 16, maybe because of more special foes?
Greatest Damage Dealt: 60 (+7) - guess this is byproduct of getting a critical hit somewhere with improved DPS from last level? Not sure
Total Deaths: 20 (+2)
Gold: 464,915 (98,580)

Equipment:
Deathweaver's Legtip w/Achilles (have not found anything close)
Arachnos Helmet
Pupil's crude Buckler of Strength
Centaur Cuirass
Protective Emobssed Armbands of Quickness
Light Simple Wraps w/Boars Hide
Hardy Ring of Agility
Protective Loop of Insight
Protective Necklace of Agility

Side quest - Xanthippus, the official healer of Knossos, is up in the mountains in Triton's Ridge and has not returned since the arrival of the Telkine. The people have been concerned about his welfare, but afraid to locate him because of all of the monsters. Well, I've found him. And he tells us that he cannot help the village without his staff, which is in the cave behind him guarded by spiders.

Good news - we get the staff back. Bad news - webbed by Overseer and death #21. God, I really hate those frigging spiders. I got cocky while fighting powered up by the Battle Marker and paid the price.

Xanthippus seems happy to have his staff back, but less than enthused about returning to the villager. Oh well, not my issue. I've got a Telkine to loot.

I put a point into INT, swap rings (out with INT + Cold, in with STR + Cold) and bring a new shield into the mix. Oh, and I can now use Shadowstring, which brings the DPS rating up 1 and allows me to use Takedown since it is a spear. It has been a really good run for the Deathweaver's Legtip, but I'm now moving on. So with all of these equipment changes the next level report will have some pretty major shifts compared to most of them recently.

We find an ancient tomb, which should be the home for our second side quest - the Undead Tyrant. Inside the tomb is an item that looks pretty darn good, but is not usable just yet.

Veteran's Double Axe of Strength:
23-31 Damage w/Average Speed
+15% Damage
+12 STR
+16% Offensive Ability
+18% Attack Speed
Req: 103 STR (127, -19% Req Reduction)
This is also a rare item, which means it could be slotted. I'm pretty sure that this will do more damage inherently than our spear, but it would probably be close when factoring in the Pierce. But with the right slotted item, this would be a beast. Probably at least 3-4 levels away from being able to use this, but it will be stashed in the caravan.

The Undead Tyrant has a couple of tricks up his sleeve. Lots of health, the warfare ability to deal extra damage (yellow circle under him) for spurts, and a quick charge attack. But SonOfSquid is prepared for these battles like never before. Having both Ensnare and Takedown means that I'm able to maintain distance, only closing when I feel like it. I suspect this will be a common formula for tough foes that are not so large that Ensnare is useless. The Tyrant is worth a whopping 6,000 experience points, or about 4x that of most "hero" creatures.

Kairatos Bluff - there are Maenads and a few more Minotaur here. After wading through them we encounter a merchant in the woods. We are close to the endgame, I can feel it.

Sure enough, Knossos Palace is right here. The grounds are very large and well covered by a mixed bag of creatures: undead, hell hounds, bats, and a new foe. Automatai, or animated bronze sets of armor. There are two classes, with the Champions being the ones with more hit points and that hit harder.

After clearing the grounds, SonOfSquid descends into the Minoan Labryrinth. Hmm, wonder what kind of creatures we will find in here?

The Labyrinth is massive. I'll mark my progress by save/progress points. Shortly after hitting the second point I hit Level 18.

There is a ton of new equipment listed here, but only one that I've obtained recently - the Robust Ring:
+14% STR
+8% Health
Net is that I lose 4 points of Strength, but I'll pick it up in the long run with a pair of rings that combine for something like 25% increase in STR.

Health: 795 (+77)
Energy: 300 (-52)
Strength: 81 (-4)
Intelligence: 65 (+8)
Dexterity: 104 (+10)

Resist Fire 19, Cold 17 (-13), Elec 19 (+14), Poison 0 (-9), Pierce 0, Bleed 0, Vitality 14 (+14), Energy 19 (+19) Stun 30 (+30), Disrupt 0

Note - I've added an item (Gorgons Crown) that helps with some of the secondary resists. I'm concerned with getting stunned by some of these Minotaurs later in this, enough that I'm swapping out a number of primary resists to do this.

DPS: 65/20 (0/+3)
Combined Armor: 99 (+4)
Block%/Damage: 9% chance block 57 (+1%/21)

Health Regen: 2.00 (+1.00)
Energy Regen: 1.85 (+0.08)

Offensive Ability: 116 (+6)
Defensive Ability: 114 (+20)

Greatest Monster Killed: Alastor - Scoure og Archeron
Monsters Killed: 5017 (+596)
Greatest Damage Dealt: 97 (+37) - big jump, Takedown w/spear for the win
Total Deaths: 21 (+1)
Gold: 555,358 (90,443)

Equipment:
Shadowstring *
Gorgon Crown *
Light Reinforeced Buckler of Reasoning w/Archimedes Mirror *
Centaur Cuirass
Protective Emobssed Armbands of Quickness
Light Simple Wraps w/Boars Hide
Hardy Ring of Agility
Robust Ring *
Protective Necklace of Agility

Hit the 4th save point in the Labyrinth and still going strong. There was one new minotaur that had the yellow circle ability, but it was easy enough to deal with him ... just followed the Undead Tyrant playbook while taking out the other two regular minotaurs along with him. I've also seen the area on the map where the (assumed) Telkine is at, but the maze makes it tough to take a direct route.

Another save point, and I'm swimming in Minotaurs at this point. There is both a bat hero and a minotaur hero to defeat here, but I've found the doorway. Destiny awaits ... well, it does as soon as I load up with about 80 potions.

It is not a Telkine, but instead a really, really big minotaur. He has a huge amount of health, the hyper-attack yellow circle ability (need to look up the name of this), and four freeze traps that fire around the room. I can't take out the traps because I'm running from him. So I'm having to dodge them and deal with him at the same time. I went through about 25 potions while knocking his health down to maybe 70%. This is going to be tough.

Hmm, I may find myself spending a couple of points/deaths on this guy. What to do next? Ensnare does not work on him (giant monster), so maybe more damage on Takedown? That seems like the best bet, so that gets the point this time around.

Attempt #2 - misclick very early in fight. Only good thing I got done was taking out one of the traps. I add points to DEX, hoping for more flexibility with my character later on as right now I'm having some issues with high DEX requirements. That, coupled with having a -10% requirements on my shield, makes for some ineligible equipment when I switch to my lousy bow.

Attempt #3 - I quickly take out the 2nd bottom trap (the four are configured in a square) and manage to take out a 3rd as well. I also learn that Ensnare does briefly hold him, but he isn't held long. Still, this is pretty big news. I mix Ensnare + Takedown, along with having more room to run in the room, and parlay it into a triumph over the Minotaur with about 15 potions to spare. Whew - that was hard, although I should have been able to do it with just one death.

OK, so where is the Telkine???

The majestic chest in this room reveals a very cool item, one that my other character (who is somewhere around Level 31 or 32) will thank me for transferring.

Obsidian Bracers:
54 Armor
2% Damage Resist
13% Lightning Resist
+13 STR
+15% Offensive Ability
+11% Attack Speed
Set: Obsidian Armor (5 pieces)
Requirements: Strength 132 (163/-19%)

The Telkine is close, just past this chamber.

Well, I guess wiping the floor with the Telkine makes up for the extra death against the Minotaur. The Telkine is in an area called the Room of the Conduit. When we arrive the Telkine throws up a wall of fire that is impenetrable and then animates four large statues to attack us. They have considerably more hit points than the Automatai we fought earlier, but no new attacks of note. After dispatching the first of the statues the Telkine joined the battle, throwing bolts at us, as well as summoning in 2 Limos from time to time. The only really tricky part was when there were multiple statues, Limos, and the Telkine to juggle. That was navigated by retreating to a point where only the Limos would pursue.

Upon killing a Telkine a large orb appears. Touching it releases a slew of items. It is like a Christmas stocking. However, I must have not been very good as my stocking did not contain a single green item, blue item, relic shard, or artifact recipe. This is really poor luck, based on past experience.

There is an agent of Prometheus here who cannot believe that a mortal defeated the Telkine. If he really wanted to be impressed, he should have checked out the Minotaur Lord. But I digress. He tells me that the Telkine did succeed in taking out the Conduit, which is the instrument used to allow mortals to talk with the Gods. He fears that we are cut off from them in our time of need.

The solution? Go to Egypt, meet with a man named Imhotep. Imhotep knows more about the conduit than anyone else in the world. He may be able to address this problem. There is a ship waiting for me.

Final wrap-up for Greece:

Level: 18
Health: 787 (-8)
Energy: 300
Strength: 81
Intelligence: 65
Dexterity: 108 (+4)

Resist Fire 24 (+5), Cold 29 (+12), Elec 31 (+12), Poison 0, Pierce 0, Bleed 0, Vitality 39 (+25), Energy 39 (+20) Stun 114 (+84), Disrupt 0

Got huge jumps here from Gorgon Sash and the Demons Blood relic that was slotted in a ring.

DPS: 70/20 (+5/0)
Combined Armor: 109 (+10)
Block%/Damage: 9% chance block 57

Health Regen: 4.00 (+2.00)
Energy Regen: 1.85

Offensive Ability: 120 (+4)
Defensive Ability: 118 (+4)

Greatest Monster Killed: Megalesios - Telkine
Monsters Killed: 5311 (+304)
Greatest Damage Dealt: 134 (+37) - another big jump, Takedown w/spear for the win
Total Deaths: 23 (+2)
Gold: 595,105 (+39,747)

Equipment:
Shadowstring
Gorgon Crown
Light Reinforeced Buckler of Reasoning w/Archimedes Mirror
Gorgon Sash *
Protective Emobssed Armbands of Quickness
Light Simple Wraps w/Boars Hide
Hardy Ring of Agility
Robust Ring w/Demons Blood * (added relic)
Protective Necklace of Agility

Other Stats:
Completed 9 relics
Found one artifact recipe (2 copies)
Points not spent
- 28 Attribute Points
- 41 Spell Points
Purchased Items: recover Valor of Achilles relic, purchase additional Caravan space, purchase Scroll of Arcane Power (component for Deathrattle artifact)

I wanted to take care of one bit of business in Egypt before calling it a night: selling off the 10K+ goods I did not intend to use. I hit the caravan and found four of them. The first three all listed from 12-14K. However, the fourth one (an Amulet) was capped at 25K. Which means that it is going back in storage for now. Considering amulets only take up one slot, I'm happy to leave it there for a full payout later in the game.

My Caravan (just the SonOfSquid part) is about 50% full. I've got one more opportunity to expand the space, but it will cost 500,000. Which, based on my ruleset, means that I'll need to have 5,000,000 on hand to pull the trigger.

Very poor luck on the orb. I've never seen that. Good luck in Egypt!

GI, Alan, and any others reading along - any thoughts on the choices I've made with the character?

A couple of thoughts:
1.) Do you think this challenge would be easier to do with an Intelligence-based character, rather than the type I've chosen which requires developing two attributes?
2.) Has there been anything where you feel I've missed the boat in terms of developing the character? For example, putting points into spells rather than attributes early, or building up one skill to a high level rather than diversifying them?

Mass area spell based characters have a easier time. My wife labeled me the wood chipper since my spray area magic attacks that cover a cone'ish area just melt any creature. I started a rogue just so my wife didn't get bored.

I think you found a nice balance. I'd be interested to see how these house rules play out with multiplayer.

Bow at range and then switching to a spear seems the best strategy, though items availability will change that. I forgot what spears generally need as far as stats go, but I'd concentrate on that. You could also add a house rule that says when you die, you get a point to spend, but don't have to right away. That way you can adjust to the items you find. This will make it easier though.

Seems like you have a nice balance so far. Not too many deaths, but enough that makes the game challenging.

Getting a bow that does even half the damage that my close range attack does would be nice. I was checking in shops in both Athens and Knossos for something that would fit the bill, but the 10% price rule + attributes made it a hard niche to fill. If I was really committed to finding a better bow I would have gone back a couple of cities to get rid of the attribute requirements, I suppose.

Multiplayer - would be interested in giving it a shot one of these nights. I'm usually able to play from 9PM to about midnight on weeknights, as long as I have a little advance warning. Now, would I be the only one playing a gimp? Or would others adopt a character following the same rules? I've got very limited MP experience, but if we are playing with mods to increase the difficulty (as you earlier suggested) then I'm a bit concerned about hanging with like-level characters who are fully powered with SonOfSquid.

Oh, I would endorse the house rules for everyone. I think it would be needed to make the game challenging. Though we could edit them if we felt they were too hard. I'd would only be interested if everyone was playing by the same rules (your house rules). The house rules and the player6 mod should push us, making every choice matter. Should be fun. I have some availability during the weekdays. I'd have to PM you to see if you're on. Tonight could be a possibility as a test run. I've played the game with Skype, for voip communication, running in the background and found it works flawlessly.

GI, so far I think the house rules have worked out pretty well. The main bosses are hard, and there is punishment for reckless play, but measured play with good decision making on character development feels like it is rewarded.

I'll post in the TQ thread on the main forum to see if there is some interest in doing this. I'm guessing we'll need a couple of days to round people up ... if there are not enough interested parties we can give it a go with just the two of us.

Project for tonight - install Skype, get a decent headset :)

Sounds like a plan. Best buy, etc has a decent set for around $30, but you can go lower price as well. Skype is easy, I'll PM you my username.

Picked up the headset this evening and downloaded Skype, will see if I can get this rolling tomorrow night.

Tonight, however, SonOfSquid is back in business for a short time. The location? Rhakotis, Egypt. A man named Imhotep greets us at the docks. He has a really annoying voice.

Imhotep is impressed that we have defeated a Telkine. Egypt also has need of heroes, as monsters are overrunning the lands here. The Pharoah has fled the palace and is in hiding. It is imperative that man be able to contact the gods. Imhotep knows of a Scroll of Invocation that is in the Great Library here in Rhakotis. He asks that we locate the scroll in the library, which has been pillaged by monsters. From there, we will need to meet him at the Temple of Ptah in Seis so that he may perform the ceremony.

I personally think it would be easier for him to stay here while I get the scroll, but apparently I do not get a vote.

There is a soldier here who has lost a family heirloom to the invaders and hopes that we may recover it for him. That is a side quest.

The slums contain Jackal Men and scorpions. Early returns is that these guys do not hit all that hard. Good for SonOfSquid. Oh, and they do not drop any magical items. That is not so good for our hero.

I've also turned on information about opponents levels and critical hits. SonOfSquid seems to be landing quite a few critical hits on the Jackal Men ... go figure. The damage from these attacks is usually somewhere in the 60-75 range.

Colossal Scorpions - these are problems. They have a ton of health - I retreat and swallow potions but I'm not putting a dent in them. Close fighting doesn't work much better. I'm going to have to be pretty darn patient with that foe. Well, I guess I got my first stupid death in Egypt out of the way.

Lets see how they like my new spell - Art of the Hunt:
- +12% Pierce Damage
- +15% Bleeding Damage
+3 Damage to both Beasts and Beastmen

Revenge is quick, and serves as a reminder for a couple of simple lessons for SonOfSquid:
1.) Make sure to finish off one enemy rather than getting two of them down to 25% health at the same time
2.) Do not let Herbal Remedy run out, especially when fighting monsters that poison

Shortly after this the JackalMan with the family heirloom falls on the spear of SonOfSquid. This encounter also yields a pair of rare magical items, but neither is useable at this time. The one that has DEX requirements is not that far off, but the STR item is 30 points away and it is essentially a short sword. Ugh.

Upon entering the libary we rescue the Head Librarian from a pair of Jackal Men Berserkers, the toughest of their lot that we have seen so far. He tells us that the monsters are burning everything. He also shares that the scroll we are looking for is here, provided that it has not been burned already.

Level 19 arrives, with very few changes from the final Greece report.

Health: 787
Energy: 300
Strength: 81
Intelligence: 65
Dexterity: 108

Resist Fire 24, Cold 29, Elec 31, Poison 0, Pierce 0, Bleed 0, Vitality 39, Energy 39, Stun 114, Disrupt 0

DPS: 70/20
Combined Armor: 109
Block%/Damage: 9% chance block 57

Health Regen: 4.00
Energy Regen: 1.85

Offensive Ability: 120
Defensive Ability: 118

Greatest Monster Killed: Megalesios - Telkine
Monsters Killed: 5476 (+165)
Greatest Damage Dealt: 134
Total Deaths: 24 (+1)
Gold: 674,804 (+79,699)

Equipment:
Shadowstring
Gorgon Crown
Light Reinforeced Buckler of Reasoning w/Archimedes Mirror
Gorgon Sash
Protective Emobssed Armbands of Quickness
Light Simple Wraps w/Boars Hide
Hardy Ring of Agility
Robust Ring w/Demons Blood
Protective Necklace of Agility

New encounter - spirits. You would think that something like Entangle would not work that well on an apparition, but you would be wrong as it nestles on them just like it does on solid forms. These guys will yield the Spectral Matter that I need to complete the artifact.

The second level has a giant spider that sprays poison, has a ton of health, and summons a pack of six mini spiders. I'm going to need a mountain of potions to take him on and I just do not have the patience to do it this evening. This will have to wait for another day.

The Giant Spider is in a large library. There are a pair of shelves on either side of the spider that offer good shelter from his poison spray while dispatching his summoned spiders. Except, after slaying 4-8 spiders and getting them summoned over and over again, I realized that if I left the last summoned spider alive and chasing that another batch were not summoned. Wow, that is a whole lot easier.

After finishing off the Giant Spider there is a majestic chest. No scroll in here, but it is on an alter in the following room. Upon grabbing the scroll a doorway appears. Time to see where that leads.

Welcome to Hathor Basin, a desert surrounded by mountains. The creatures inhabiting these lands include vultures and some huge lizard men. The latter have always been a monster that caused my characters problems. There are a lot of them and they hit hard. For example, one of the Lieutenants hit me for 175 points of damage on a critical hit. But with SonOfSquid, the emphasis is on avoiding 1-on-everyone confrontations. The Entangle strategy is on full display here and with surprisingly good results.

There is a cave holding monsters called Cave Rot. It looks like some kind of an ooze that shoots a poison that slows. There are also Cave Maggots, which are nasty worm creatures that hit us very hard up close, but move slowly. There are also Dune Raiders (bandits?) and hyenas. So more life in the desert than I would have expected.

There is one interesting find, but it won't be useable for quite awhile.

Ornamental Armbands of Guile:
36 Armor
+53% Bleeding Damage
+24% Poison Damage
+7% Chance to Avoid Projectiles
Req: STR 102 (still 20 points away)

This is the type of item that Hunters should be using. It would go just great with the Deathweavers Wingtip, but I would be giving up the spear attack. Oh well, I don't get to make this choice for awhile.

The next area is Wadjet Canyon. A local trader tells us of a beast of legend in this area. Any warrior who can defeat the beast will receive a magical blessing.

We find some tougher Dune Raiders here. There are assassins, who throw a bunch of blades in a special attack. And there is a hero, who takes a bunch of damage before falling to a slew of Entangles and Takedowns.

The terrain changes after crossing a bridge and entering the Nile Floodplain. Wonder if we are getting close to Sais yet?

It is back to Wadjet Canyon to find the "Beast of Legend". After all, there is a requirement to meet all sidequests. It turns out that the beast is a giant scorpion-man. He nearly kills SonOfSquid post-death, as his poison sucks off a bunch of health. But the reward for defeating his is two more skill points that I will not be using for now. Oh, and 7500 experience, which is twice as much as the Telkine.

Level 20 arrives just after starting to explore the flood plain.

Health: 787
Energy: 300
Strength: 81
Intelligence: 65
Dexterity: 108

Resist Fire 24, Cold 29, Elec 31, Poison 0, Pierce 0, Bleed 0, Vitality 39, Energy 39, Stun 114, Disrupt 0

DPS: 73/20
Combined Armor: 109
Block%/Damage: 9% chance block 57

Health Regen: 4.00
Energy Regen: 1.85

Offensive Ability: 125
Defensive Ability: 124

Greatest Monster Killed: Megalesios - Telkine
Monsters Killed: 6096 (+620)
Greatest Damage Dealt: 134
Total Deaths: 24
Gold: 883,884 (+209,080)

Equipment:
Shadowstring
Gorgon Crown
Light Reinforeced Buckler of Reasoning w/Archimedes Mirror
Gorgon Sash
Protective Emobssed Armbands of Quickness
Light Simple Wraps w/Boars Hide
Hardy Ring of Agility
Robust Ring w/Demons Blood
Protective Necklace of Agility


Very few changes. Really only two exciting things happened during this last level:
1.) No deaths
2.) Gold is accelerating very quickly, compared to earlier levels. This level should allow for the purchase of a rare (green) item in some cases.

I desperately need to find a bow I can use for some long-range fighting. The lack of it is making SonOfSquid much more vulnerable than I would like at this point in the game. But I'm loathe to make that one of my three purchases for Egypt just yet. I've got to find something one of these days ... right?

So much for the no deaths run. The worms hit hard, and I'm not able to retreat quickly enough from a pack of them. This is where a ranged attack would help a ton. For now, another point goes into STR, bumping that value up 5 points.

There are a ton of Lizardmen here. SonOfSquid avoid most of them and crosses into the village of Seis. The people here are being harassed by Reptilians - aka Lizardmen. There is a Battle Marker just outside the town and that helps SonOfSquid power through the first few Reptilians. There is a ton of treasure being dropped by these guys, but they are very strong and SOS is not able to lift any of it.

Our reward for finishing off the last of the lizards? Vile Ichor. Well, that is better than it sounds since it is a relic fragment.

The Temple of Ptah is here. Well, what is left of it as it is a smoldering ruin. No sign of Imhotep, but there is another Order of Prometheus guy here to talk with SonOfSquid. He relates that a Telkine assaulted the temple and was clearly looking for something. Imhotep fled the temple with a number of sacred texts and is waiting for us in the city of Memphis. We should look him up there.

There are a slew of ruins in this area, littered with undead and creatures such as worms. This is the kind of stuff that SonOfSquid feeds upon, and business is good.

Until I take a death that I just do not understand. There are blade traps in one of the ruins, and I guess it must have delivered a critical hit. Because I charged in while swallowing a potion, meaning I had almost 800 health and was building in the event that a 2nd hit came behind it. I guess it was a one-shot kill.

Hmm, what to take to avoid this? Well, having some Pierce resistance would be helpful. Maybe stronger armor in my weakest area. But the real answer is that I cannot charge those traps and I'll have to bomb them from afar every time out. It goes back to the bow.

For now, I'll stick another point into Hunting Master, which will give a boost to health and STR + DEX. But I'm pretty bitter about it.

On the way back to the ruins, SonOfSquid stumbles across a Dune Raider camp where a mage of the Order of Prometheus is being held. Rescue completed, another good deed in the books.

Just after getting into the ruins, SonOfSquid finds Level 21.

Health: 827 (+40)
Energy: 300
Strength: 87 (+6)
Intelligence: 65
Dexterity: 111 (+3)

Resist Fire 24, Cold 29, Elec 31, Poison 0, Pierce 0, Bleed 0, Vitality 39, Energy 39, Stun 114, Disrupt 0

DPS: 77/20 (+4/0)
Combined Armor: 109
Block%/Damage: 9% chance block 57

Health Regen: 4.00
Energy Regen: 1.85

Offensive Ability: 123 (+3)
Defensive Ability: 122 (+4)

Greatest Monster Killed: Megalesios - Telkine
Monsters Killed: 6641 (+546)
Greatest Damage Dealt: 148 (+14)
Total Deaths: 26 (+2)
Gold: 1,130,663 (246,779)

Equipment:
Shadowstring
Gorgon Crown
Light Reinforeced Buckler of Reasoning w/Archimedes Mirror
Gorgon Sash
Protective Emobssed Armbands of Quickness
Light Simple Wraps w/Boars Hide
Hardy Ring of Agility
Robust Ring w/Demons Blood
Protective Necklace of Agility


Also, I've found my bow of the future ... just a matter of how far out that future may be.

Eldritch Bow (rare):
24-50 Damage, 25% Piercing, Speed: Slow
+18 STR
+21 Attack Speed
+44% Increased Projectile Speed

The second run through the ruins goes better - nothing bizarre with traps this time around. Out of the Lower Nile region and into the Memphis Outskirts.

One thing I forgot to mention about the ruins. There was a new type of encounter. An alter summons a series of specters to battle SonOfSquid and they keep coming until the alter is destroyed. There are a few of those around the ruins and they make for a challenging encounter when there are also undead assassins and skeleton archers in the midst.

There are hyenas, vultures, and Dune Raiders in these lands. Just outside the gates of Memphis are the beggars quarters. A man asks SonOfSquid to clear the monsters from these grounds. This was very challenging, as the grounds were littered with Shadowstalkers. These demons appeared like smoke in the distance until forming in front of SOS. They hit very hard, delivering critical hits for up to 243 points of damage. It was feasible to stand up to one, maybe two of them. But when four of them came charging, it was time to retreat. Still, the Shadowstalkers eventually fell.

The reward for this is pretty darn good - a Robust Ring of Virility (rare):
+19 STR
+13% STR
+8% Health

There are a couple of groups of Dune Raiders that are roaming the perimeter of Memphis. SonOfSquid ushers them away and proceeds to track down our old friend Imhotep.

Imhotep tells us that they were very unprepared for a Telkine attack and that the Telkines seem to be everywhere these days. He wants to perform the invocation ceremony immediately as only the gods can save us. However, he is still missing a couple of artifacts to complete the ceremony. Imhotep needs SonOfSquid to fetch these artifacts - the Eye of Chaos and the Hand of Balance. Honestly, does anyone else do anything around here?

There is every shop known to man in Memphis. There are also a pair of sidequests to be had:
1.) Retrieve a staff from the Great Pyramid in Giza for the High Priest
2.) Rescue a man who is on a fool's errand to "control a guardian" in Giza

Sounds like Giza is where the action is around here.

Out through the Gate of the Sphinx and into Outer Giza. There are a number of pyramids here, along with undead, hyenas, and vultures. During one battle I fail to realize that SonOfSquid is out of healing potions. But no harm, no foul this time.

The next territory is the Giza Plateau. here we find the Temple of Khofu and learn that monsters have broken in. Worse yet, if they manage to break into the Pharoah's tomb they will unleash a curse upon the land. Hmm, I also can retrieve the staff for the High Priest here.

There are some more variants on the undead. This time it is the Guardians, who require two rounds of killing. After the first death they return as a fiery warrior instead of a skeletal one.

There is a Jackalman hero back by the sarcophagus. He has a lot of health and a fireball attack but is not too scary. Level 22 comes at the conclusion of this battle.

Health: 849 (+22)
Energy: 300
Strength: 115 (+28)
Intelligence: 65
Dexterity: 105 (-6)

Resist Fire 12 (-12), Cold 29, Elec 31, Poison 0, Pierce 0, Bleed 0, Vitality 39, Energy 39, Stun 114, Disrupt 0

DPS: 73/21 (-4/+1)
Combined Armor: 118 (+9)
Block%/Damage: 9% chance block 57

Health Regen: 4.00
Energy Regen: 1.85

Offensive Ability: 117 (-6)
Defensive Ability: 115 (-7)

Greatest Monster Killed: Megalesios - Telkine
Monsters Killed: 7088 (+447)
Greatest Damage Dealt: 148
Total Deaths: 26
Gold: 1,297,244 (+166,589)

Equipment:
Shadowstring
Gorgon Crown
Light Reinforeced Buckler of Reasoning w/Archimedes Mirror
Ornamented Armbands of Guile *
Protective Emobssed Armbands of Quickness
Light Simple Wraps w/Boars Hide
Robust Ring of Virility *
Robust Ring w/Demons Blood
Protective Necklace of Agility

* Denotes new item

Huge bump in Strength with the new ring. I'm hoping to be able to mix in some relics slotted in with items and continue to improve resistances. Also, a bow remains on the priority list. The changes pulled us further from the day where SonOfSquid will be able to equip the Eldritch Bow.

An early death on Level 22 as I did not see a couple of creatures behind a door. Kind of dumb, but there just is not that much margin for error.

But what is really annoying is that I'm not able to re-enter the temple. Which means that I'll need to complete this again when I re-load. That will be another evening.

SonOfSquid cleared out the temple with authority on the return trip. One mildly interesting item - the side quest to get the Khofu's staff released four really large undead sorcerers. They were not particularly imposing, but it was somewhat shocking seeing them appear after opening Khofu's Sarcophagus.

From there, it is on to the Great Sphinx. This should hold one of the two items requested by Imhotep. This is a very large dungeon, easily the biggest one since Knossos Palace (end of Greece). But there is not much here that SonOfSquid has not seen before. Probably the toughest parts of the early going involved the combination of traps + undead or the summoning alters + undead. In both cases the strategy was to remove the undead before focusing in on the inanimate objects.

The culmination of the tomb is a large chamber with four enormous statues. There are also four shrines that summon spectres to battle SonOfSquid. Upon destroying each of the shrines, one of the statues becomes animated. The Ensnare is useless against the large monsters, but the battle is won with a grind-it-out approach. Immediately after this room is the area holding the Hand of Balance (a staff) and a number of chests. The most interesting of these items is the Electrum Charm (necklace):
- 10% Pierce Resist
- 10% Elemental Resist
- 10% Poison Resist
- 10% Chance of 57 Reduced Resist for 4 seconds

This would be very helpful, but at the moment I need the +10 DEX associated with my current necklace. However, if I'm looking for a set of improved resistances I can use this and the Gorgon Sash to set a nice baseline across the board. I'm getting to a point now where it makes more sense to customize equipment for specific regions/battles, depending on what kind of monsters SonOfSquid is facing.

A minor equipment update - SonOfSquid has completed the Rigid Carapace, which slots into a shield.
+20% Pierce Resist (extremely useful)
+20% Energy Leech Resist (helpful)
+30% Stun Resist (not at all useful, since it was already at 114%)
+1.0 Health Regen/sec

There are no items depending on the +11 INT associated with the former shield, so it is an easy decision to swap the old shield out so I can make use of the new relic.

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this earlier, but as the game advances it becomes increasingly important to build up resistances. Most equipment decisions are a balancing act, but a failure to have any resistances is a recipe for doom. I'm convinced that is why I saw SonOfSquid die from one shot of a blade trap. That should not happen with this item equipped. Poison is covered by the Herbal Remedy. I can address the others with the Gorgon Sash + Electrum Charm, as long as I know in advance that I'll need to equip them.

Final random equipment note - it has been very frustrating not to pick up any Spectral Matter by now. It is dropped by the ghosts/specters. I'll need five of them to complete that relic, which is needed for the Artifact recipe. Getting that equipped would be a very significant boost for SonOfSquid.

I find the missing brother, who went after the Guardian. It should come as no surprise to learn that he was not able to control the guardian. So it is up to SonOfSquid to eliminate the guardian. Which is, by the way, a very large undead dog. That hits like crazy, knocking off about 2/3 of Squid's health in one bite. The guardian also has a flame aura attack that bites through the meager fire resist. Oh, and it is pretty fast. Very tough opponent.

So, I'm forced to play in a very lame fashion to defeat the guardian. Entangle, retreat, entangle, retreat, repeat 70 or so times. But in the end the guardian is dead and SonOfSquid is Level 23.


Health: 738 (-111)
Energy: 300
Strength: 115
Intelligence: 54 (-11)
Dexterity: 105

Resist Fire 12, Cold 29, Elec 31, Poison 0, Pierce 20 (+20), Bleed 0, Vitality 39, Energy 59 (+20), Stun 144 (+30), Disrupt 0

DPS: 73/21
Combined Armor: 131 (+13)
Block%/Damage: 9% chance block 52 (-5)

Health Regen: 4.00
Energy Regen: 1.54 (-.31)

Offensive Ability: 142 (+25)
Defensive Ability: 115

Greatest Monster Killed: Megalesios - Telkine (still?)
Monsters Killed: 7513 (+425)
Greatest Damage Dealt: 148
Total Deaths: 27 (+1)
Gold: 1,540,197 (+242,953)

Equipment:
Shadowstring
Gorgon Crown
Light Reinforeced Buckler of Proficiency w/Rigid Carapace *
Ornamented Armbands of Guile
Protective Embossed Armbands of Quickness
Light Plated Leggings *
Robust Ring of Virility
Robust Ring w/Demons Blood
Protective Necklace of Agility

* Denotes new item

So, there were some pretty major tradeoffs to bring in the Pierce Resistance. I was keenly aware of the health issue in the battle against the guardian. I also did not spend my point on the last death - oh, well. I had not noticed it until now so I'll just forego that point.

There is an underground tunnel that provides passage from Giza to Fayum. Fayum is a small village in the middle of the desert and provides a launching point for explorations to recover the Eye of Chaos requested by Imhotep. There are a few shops in the town and the townspeople seem eager for someone to help them with dispatching a Dune Raider leader.

Outside the town are several Jackalman camps. Behind one of the camps is an enormous natural cave. Inside the cave are spiders, worms, scorpions, and ... nothing? Seven levels of caves, with no side quest or any clear purpose. Bizarre.

The Temple of Atum is the area that holds the Eye of Chaos. It is guarded by an enormous Scorpion who summons smaller scorpions, has a ton of health, hits very hard, has a good critical %, and delivers poison damage. This encounter is somewhat similar to the monster Spider back in Greece. Except I do not have an area where I can retreat to escape; the gate closes behind upon entry. I'm expecting a few deaths here.

But none come, thanks to 66 potions. The strategy is pretty simple. First, shift equipment around and use Herbal Remedy to get poison defense up to 49% and Pierce Resist to 36%. Second, run around the mini-scorps and the big man until the Takedown attack is ready. Sip a potion on the way in and trade shots for 3-4 extra hits after the takedown, then retreat. Repeat, while mixing in the Herbal Remedy every 3-4 minutes after it runs out.

Now back to Memphis to give Imhotep his scavenger hunt items.

Well, that was worthless. Imhotep combines the Hand of Balance and Eye of Chaos to form the Scepter of Eternity. He then performs the invocation ceremony (after giving us a relic part and two attribute points that SonOfSquid will not use) and comes back dejected. He was unable to communicate with the gods, so it is up to us to fix this mess.

The Telkine has been plundering Order of Prometheus sites all across Egypt. The assumption is that he must be searching for something. We have to stop him, and the place to do that is at the Tomb of Ramses, the last intact site. Since SonOfSquid has been a good gopher ... er, stopped a Telkine previously ... he is the best candidate to save everyone. Off we go to slay a Telkine and then meet good old Imhotep in yet another Egyptian city.

Item watch - completed the Hags Skin, which can be slotted into any armor.
6% Pierce Resistance
+10 DEX
4 Armor

The Armor bump is worthless, but the other two things are helpful. This is immediately added to SonOfSquid's boots.

Another gate in Memphis is now available and it leads to Dahshur, which is a decrepit village loaded with lizard men. They are still slow and hard hitting, but SonOfSquid knows how to pick his terms for these battles.

The Thebes outskirts contains hyenas and Jackalmen. Again, these are not foes that strike fear in the heart of SonOfSquid. Especially not coming off the strong showing against the super Scorpion creature.

There is a stairwell leading into a tomb containing undead, animated hounds, and the worms that seem to trouble SonOfSquid. Still, nothing seems to be deterring him on this evening. Not even the spike traps, which really should not be nearly as damning now that Pierce Resist is no longer zero.

A minor miracle - SonOfSquid finds his second arcane formula.

Razor Claw:
Req: Set's Betrayal (have 1/3), Lupine Claw (have 1/5), Scroll of Staltwart Alliance
+5% Pierce Damage
15 Pierce Damage
33% chance 25 Pierce Retaliation
+5% Attack Speed

This would be a really, really nice item for this character, given the amount of pierce damage inflicted by this character.

The evil that is Hoopsguy strikes again...

Your first dynasty thread got me to purchase the game and expansion and spend endless hours playing the game (think I completed two of the difficulties.). Now your new dynasty has me re-installing. While I'll not make any house rules yet, as its been a while since I've played, I think I will avoid any tips and tricks sorts of guides which I did use heavily the first time through. Will also wing it through character development (closely related to the tips and tricks restriction.) and see how that plays out.

I am curious, anyone used the fan made "bugfix" patch or are you playing the stock game. While I don't remember any big bugs from my last play through, not sure if it was just a case of me not noticing them.

Level 24 arrives.

Health: 738
Energy: 300
Strength: 115
Intelligence: 54
Dexterity: 105

Resist Fire 22 (+10), Cold 22 (-7), Elec 41 (+10), Poison 10 (+10), Pierce 36 (+16), Bleed 0, Vitality 39, Energy 59, Stun 144, Disrupt 0

DPS: 73/21
Combined Armor: 135 (+4)
Block%/Damage: 9% chance block 52

Health Regen: 5.00 (+1.0)
Energy Regen: 1.54

Offensive Ability: 142
Defensive Ability: 115

Greatest Monster Killed: Nehebkau - Scorpos King
Monsters Killed: 8101 (+588)
Greatest Damage Dealt: 211 (+63) - hit a Battle Marker, delivered a couple of massive hits during this time
Total Deaths: 27
Gold: 1,721,822 (+181,625)

Equipment:
Shadowstring
Gorgon Sash
Gorgon Crown
Light Reinforeced Buckler of Proficiency w/Rigid Carapace
Ornamented Armbands of Guile
Protective Embossed Armbands of Quickness
Light Plated Leggings w/Hags Skin * (new relic slotted)
Robust Ring of Virility
Robust Ring w/Demons Blood
Electrum Charm *

* Denotes new item

The +10 DEX with the Hags Skin relic allowed me to remove the necklace with the +10 DEX bonus and equip the Electurm Charm, which gives +10 to all five primary resists. Piercing has gone from the biggest vulnerability to the 2nd best resist over the last two levels. Poison gets a 30% boost from Herbal Remedy, which means all resists are at least adequate for this level in the game.

The evil that is Hoopsguy strikes again...

Your first dynasty thread got me to purchase the game and expansion and spend endless hours playing the game (think I completed two of the difficulties.). Now your new dynasty has me re-installing. While I'll not make any house rules yet, as its been a while since I've played, I think I will avoid any tips and tricks sorts of guides which I did use heavily the first time through. Will also wing it through character development (closely related to the tips and tricks restriction.) and see how that plays out.

I am curious, anyone used the fan made "bugfix" patch or are you playing the stock game. While I don't remember any big bugs from my last play through, not sure if it was just a case of me not noticing them.

It comes back quickly, if you completed the first two difficulty levels then you should strongly consider putting in some house rules to make it a challenge :) Or joining in a MP game with GI and I, who are getting whipped with these house rules plus the 6player mod (MP assumes that there are six active players, adjusts difficulty accordingly).

Outside of the aforementioned 6players mod (which I'm only using for MP games) I'm not playing with any mods. I've seen almost no bugs in my time playing the game; probably the worst is not being able to walk into a building once in a blue moon without porting to town and back.

Also, for what it is worth it was Level 25 where my last "ironman" character bit the bullet in TQ. That was due to a lack of sufficient resistances ... strangely enough, this particular build is way ahead of that character for resists despite the lack of attributes and inability to use many items.

Just in case you were wondering why I'm getting obsessive about resistances at this juncture in the story ...

The next town is Thebes, home of the Temple of Seti. We learn that the Telkine passed through here en route to the Valley of Kings, which is home to many of the Pharoah tombs. The head priest of the town attempted to slow down the Telkine, but was somehow corrupted by his magics and is menacing the area surrounding the town. SonOfSquid is asked to address this matter.

So, where to start looking for a corrupted priest? Well, my theory is to follow the trail of undead that are milling about outside of town. That leads to a nearby underground lair holding the former high priest Neb Kemi. I learn pretty quickly why he fell to the Telkine, as all he brings to the table is a lame fire attack. Maybe five potions max to take him down, along with a couple for his statue guardians. He sure did have a lot of mediocre magic items, though.

The Highland Pass takes us to the Valley of Kings. It is littered with Scorpos (who kind of worry me, as they are fast and hit hard, delivering what I think is Vitality damage) and Crone/Vultures. The Crones can be annoying in numbers as they deliver a fair number of criticals but they usually go down in 2-3 hits so one potion is normally enough to plow through a flock of them.

However, there is another region in between Highland Pass and the Valley of Kings. This is the Place of Truth and it lands SonOfSquid death #28. Dune Raiders cast a net and swarmed with 6-7 members. Oops - playing too fast.

Lets see, where to spend the point? It goes into Hunting Mastery, bringing that up to 7/32. I wasn't as focused on the STR/DEX/Health bonus as I was on moving towards 10/32 where four new spells become available.

The first tomb in the Valley of Kings is not the Tomb of Ramses, but I'm in a plundering mood. Plus I think it may be helpful to try and get some better items, relic shards, and experience before taking on the next Telkine. Ideally, I would like to at least have Level 25 by then.

Another sloppy death, this time to demons. I think the level of the monsters may have gone up a little bit as I'm taking more damage than I expect in these encounters. I've had a couple of close calls and I'm taking more criticals over the last hour. Another point into the mastery and time to buckle down. Disappointing after a good run through Level 23 to be giving away deaths this casually.

SonOfSquid ends up clearing out three tombs before finding the one devoted to Ramses: Amenmeses, Merenptah, and Amenhotep I (this suggests that there is at least a 2nd one, right?). The general trend in these is that the demons are a cause for concern, while the undead are pretty routine.

So naturally the first encounter here is demons. The second one is the hardest of the demons (Shadowstalkers), including multiple ones that are Level 30. A six level differential is the biggest I've seen up to this point. These are mixed in with the toughest undead and a trap just for good measure. Yep, the ante has gone up.

The next room is a massive chamber. There are traps galore, along with the undead summoning portals. It is here that SonOfSquid dings Level 25.

Health: 820 (+82)
Energy: 300
Strength: 120 (+5)
Intelligence: 54
Dexterity: 110 (+5)

Resist Fire 22, Cold 22, Elec 41, Poison 10, Pierce 36, Bleed 0, Vitality 39, Energy 59, Stun 144, Disrupt 0

DPS: 74/21 (+1/0)
Combined Armor: 135
Block%/Damage: 9% chance block 52

Health Regen: 5.00
Energy Regen: 1.54

Offensive Ability: 147 (+5)
Defensive Ability: 121 (+6)

Greatest Monster Killed: Nehebkau - Scorpos King
Monsters Killed: 8585 (+483)
Greatest Damage Dealt: 211
Total Deaths: 29 (+2)
Gold: 1,941,672 (+219,850)

Equipment:
Shadowstring
Gorgon Sash
Gorgon Crown
Light Reinforeced Buckler of Proficiency w/Rigid Carapace
Ornamented Armbands of Guile
Protective Embossed Armbands of Quickness
Light Plated Leggings w/Hags Skin
Robust Ring of Virility
Robust Ring w/Demons Blood
Electrum Charm

The Telkine is a little bit past the large chamber and this one got me. I still do not really understand his attacks all that well. He has a fireball attack that does not hurt much, as well as a vitality attack that seems pretty ineffectual. There is a swarm-looking spell that does some damage and another one that brings out a series of lights in the room. I think that is the one that got me, in conjunction with his undead dog attacking me at the same time. Still, first crack at this guy got him down 50% of health. The extra point goes right into Hunting Mastery; the next one is Level 10.

Crap, figured out a couple of things before dying to him a second time. The lights are areas that you cannot move into for a couple of seconds without sustaining at least 500 damage, which is very bad news for a character with 850 health. The cloud attack is a disrupt skills attack, along with doing about 250 damage. That one is only a worry if I mess up and enter the lights.

This Telkine also summons mirror images of himself at the start of the battle and when he is knocked to 50% health. They are not much of a factor in the battle.

Darn it, I had him at about 15% health when I died that time and he will be full when I return. Ugh. Last point into Hunting Mastery, which is Level 10. So I have four new spells as options for the next point.

Damn it, the game cheats :) Seriously, he opened up the light attack right on top of my character when he had 10% health and two dogs still running around. This Telkine pretty much stalls, which is effective against my character but is a receipe for getting crushed by any developed character. I'm really annoyed at what an absolute weasel this guy is.

I'm still not going to give this guy respect. My next point goes into Herbal Remedy, allowing for faster healing and better Poison resist. This is a move made 100% with my eye on a later part in the game.

Finally, success. One more note that helped with the 4th run - the areas that are impacted by the light attack are static. So there are point in the room that you do not want to be standing when it lands. That made this basically an exercise in waiting out the Telkine. He drops a slew of magic items, including a Cuniform Tablet that is a quest item.

The unique item he held (did better on drop here than in Greece) is Ramses Greaves:
84 Armor
12% Pierce Resist
15% chance +50% Fire Resist
+20% Health Regen
+13% Movement
3% Dodge Attacks
Part of five piece set called Ramses Royal Armor
REQ: STR 154 (30 points away)

Imhotep fills in some more details for us. The tablet suggests that the Telkines were looking for an item called the Sickle of Kronos, which is held under the Temple of Marduk in Babylon. There is a 3rd Telkine attacking there now. He wants SonOfSquid to go there right away through a magical portal.

The Scepter of Eternity, which we put together earlier by collecting the Eye of Chaos and the Hand of Balance, will open this portal in the Temple of Hapshepsut, which is near Thebes. He opens yet another gate that was previously closed and it is off to the portal.