Is it a bug that the manticore is free when you create a god???

[iceboy]

Or has it always been this way???

[ March 11, 2004, 23:04: Message edited by: iceboy ]

[Norfleet]

No, the Manticore is a free 0-point chassis, like the Nataraja, Oracle, or Fountain of Blood. This is intentional. Note how it comes with fairly expensive magic paths, no natural magic, and relatively poor Dominion. The chassis is cheap, but you'll have to pay for all the upgrades later.

[archaeolept]

it's free, other than the fact that you have a lousy manticore as your pretender god.

[Murph]

I think the Manticore is one of those situations where you get what you pay for. I tried to use him as a SC leader, and he died on the first rush from a bunch of lousy slave lizard men. Last time I try to buy a god on the cheap, I tell you that.

[Norfleet]

If you want a beefy battle god on the cheap, take a Nataraja, if you're one of the Nataraja-enabled. It's the same cost as a Manticore, only it doesn't suck.

[Murph]

Funny, the Nataraja was the next one I tried. I did notice something annoying about it though. I gave it one magic sword, and it lost the other 3 attacks. Didn't get them back until I equiped 3 more items. Then the thing was a blender, though.

[Ragnarok-X]

its really awesome to equick him with 4 ice swords defense +16. If you need a tank, give him 4 weightless tower shields thats really plain awesome...

[Taqwus]

You do have to worry about fatigue when swinging four weapons a turn, 'tho.
Wraith sword (life drain => heal, reinvigoration) + Faithful (luck, saves misc slot for antimagic talisman) + shield (perhaps Charcoal Shield?) makes for a decent loadout and one that's less likely to tire out unless fighting lifeless enemies.

Hmmm, a Manticore (or possibly nastier, the Tartarian Monstrum manticore) with Amon Hotep might be brutal. The helmet fixes the prot problem and gives it Awe as well, if memory serves.

[Norfleet]

Originally posted by Taqwus:
You do have to worry about fatigue when swinging four weapons a turn, 'tho.

The number of weapons swung per turn does not have any effect on fatigue. Melee fatigue is incurred anytime you attack, period. It is the same regardless of how many attacks you get. 4 attacks, 1 attack, it doesn't matter.

A Nataraja does have a base encumberance of 3, however. This is, in my opinion, slightly high, and will require at least one artifact-grade or two regular reinvigorators to offset. However, the fact that a Nataraja *DOES* have 4 arms makes up for this failing.

[Peter Ebbesen]

Originally posted by Taqwus:
You do have to worry about fatigue when swinging four weapons a turn, 'tho.
Wraith sword (life drain => heal, reinvigoration) + Faithful (luck, saves misc slot for antimagic talisman) + shield (perhaps Charcoal Shield?) makes for a decent loadout and one that's less likely to tire out unless fighting lifeless enemies.

For an early load, I like Sword of Swiftness [substituted by Frost/Flame sword when necessary], Faithful, Shield of Valor, Charcoal Shield. Add an elemental armour or rainbow armour (depends on whether elemental resistance or MR is most important), horror helmet, ring of regeneration, and boots of reinvigoration, and you can fight for a long, long, time.

Of course, in a long game vs the AI, I prefer empowering the Nataraja into a four-armed archmage wannabe in the mid-game, dual-wielding Staves of the Elements (one of each of the two types). That makes for one very impressive elemental mage. [Probably not worth basing a strategy around in MP, though ]