OT: Morrowind?

[deccan]

This is great stuff! I wish someone would make an all-in-one Morrowind mod for lazy people like me...

[David E. Gervais]

This thread prompted me to install morrowind and give it another try... grrrrrrrr.. big mistake.

On my computer, for some reason whenever I confront the guy who killed the taxman and he attacks I'm a dead duck. What gets me is that no matter how much armor or how good a weapon I have I never score a hit and he basically punches me to death. (Yeah it's really funny, right) I even did a test and 'cheated' up my equipment and stats and guess what he still beat me to death, I cannot hit him. wtf? now I remember why I uninstalled this game.

1) Yes I installed the patch.
2) yes my video drivers are up to date. (but this has nothing to do with this 'quirk'
3) I know it's not a necessary 'quest' for the main plot. But I'm the kind of guy that likes to do every side quest he finds to help gain experience.
4) It also take me like 20 arrows to hit a darn mudcrab and my marksman skill is at 50 to start.
5) something is way wacky with the 'to-hit' ratio in my version of the game.

..the game has been uninstalled, thanks for inspiring me to be agrivated.

Cheers!

P.S. in case you think my 'Agility' is too low, it's at 45 which is as I understand it very good for a starting character.

[PTF]

Dave, you kick the game too easily. The issues you describe are kind of unusual. The guy who killed the taxman, ok ... he has a very high hand-to-hand fighting skill, I mostly do not kill him before my mage reaches a level with a "sudden death" fire or poison spell. Morrowind is just not this kind of hack and slay thing of the Diablo caliber, where you can beat everything with a low level character. You need to train a lot, you do not have to fight at the beginning, there are a lot of peaceful quests to do for a new character...

But like said, you have to love it or you hate it. Just a hint if you (unlikely but...) give it another try: there is a difficulty slider from -100 up to +100 at one of the option windows. "Minus" 100 seems to be your friend

[David E. Gervais]

I might reinstall it, but I'll read my manual end to end first and see if there are any strategy guids online. (not a walkthrough, a players guide) Since there seems to be a lack of good RPG games out there right now. Maybe I'll see if I can find Wizardry 8 or 9 (whichever is the last one they made) in the bargain bin.

Thanks for the tip about the 'difficulty slider' and '0' (zero) is probably more of a friend than -100. The latter being more like a cheat.

Cheers!

[Puke]

you can optimize a pretty strong fighting character from the start of the game. but unless you really twink out your character, you need to avoid combat at the beginning.

the problem with hand to hand (i think he might be the only hand to hand fighter in the game, unless you attack unarmed civilians) is that they do stun damage and they might ignore armor. stun damage harms your fatigue, which is also reduced each time you swing or move.

hence, you see the problem of being easy to KO. you can actually resolve that taxman quest peacefully without killing the guy (and still be able to solve the tangent quest with the taxman's girlfriend). the great thing about MW is that there are usually at least two ways to complete any given quest.. not counting the option of failure (why, i think i'll just keep this for myself!)

[AgentZero]

deccan said:

No problem, but since AO doesn't have an in-game mailing system like WOW, we'd have to meet up sometime. Also, my main is neutral so I can go anywhere, but if you choose a sided faction, there will be places you can't go too.

You'll start in Newbie Isle anyway, and once you leave you can't go back.

Currently milling around Newbie Isle blowing up cargo droids... Playing a neutral adventurer to start out with (loosely based on a character from my latest story, which I haven't had time to work on, but hasn't been forgotten), but don't really have a lot of free time lately, so I probably won't get off Noob Isle for another week. If we do manage to swing a rendez-vous, just try not to look shocked.

[narf poit chez BOOM]

I killed the tax-man killer without to much trouble. And mudcrabs are easy. Don't know why you guys are having such trouble.

[deccan]

David E. Gervais said:
4) It also take me like 20 arrows to hit a darn mudcrab and my marksman skill is at 50 to start.

David, never mind if you already know this, but when using bow and arrow in Morrowind, it isn't click to fire, it's click, hold to draw back bow to max, aim, then fire. I'm just saying this because it took me forever to figure this out but when I did, gosh, are bows ever powerful...

[deccan]

AgentZero said:
Currently milling around Newbie Isle blowing up cargo droids... Playing a neutral adventurer to start out with (loosely based on a character from my latest story, which I haven't had time to work on, but hasn't been forgotten), but don't really have a lot of free time lately, so I probably won't get off Noob Isle for another week. If we do manage to swing a rendez-vous, just try not to look shocked.

Cool, for myself, I've moved from the "must play AO every day" to "let's log in for an hour occasionally to muck around a bit" phase. This is mainly because I have no real in game friends now.

Earlier, I had a bunch of people I regularly grouped with, but most free newbies (froobs in AO parlance) seem to lose interest around level 50 or so. Currently, I'm at level 75. There are a lot of sub 50s, and a lot of established post 150 players, but not too many mid-level players it seems.

Maybe next week when I have more time I'll go scouting for a good org to join, which should open up more of the game to me.

[Hugh Manatee]

David E. Gervais said:
This thread prompted me to install morrowind and give it another try... grrrrrrrr.. big mistake.

On my computer, for some reason whenever I confront the guy who killed the taxman and he attacks I'm a dead duck. What gets me is that no matter how much armor or how good a weapon I have I never score a hit and he basically punches me to death. (Yeah it's really funny, right) I even did a test and 'cheated' up my equipment and stats and guess what he still beat me to death, I cannot hit him. wtf? now I remember why I uninstalled this game.

1) Yes I installed the patch.
2) yes my video drivers are up to date. (but this has nothing to do with this 'quirk'
3) I know it's not a necessary 'quest' for the main plot. But I'm the kind of guy that likes to do every side quest he finds to help gain experience.
4) It also take me like 20 arrows to hit a darn mudcrab and my marksman skill is at 50 to start.
5) something is way wacky with the 'to-hit' ratio in my version of the game.

..the game has been uninstalled, thanks for inspiring me to be agrivated.

Cheers!

P.S. in case you think my 'Agility' is too low, it's at 45 which is as I understand it very good for a starting character.

Question, what are you trying to hit him with? Do you have restore fatuige potions? In the beginning of the game all your skills are about 30-45(not stats, skils, like short blade, long blade, hand to hand), this is somewhat weak. It's notthe actual pourpose of the stat, but I think the number is about the percentage of a chance your attacks will land, in addition to being the damage modifier. A skill around 60 or so is when your really ready to start kicking obscene amounts of ***. Also the lower your fatuige the more tired yuo are, the less of a chance your attacks and spells will work, and since this guy damages fatuige first you have even less of a chance of taking him down as a newbie character. I was like that too.

Small Spoilers and some early quest advice.

My advice for a new morrowind character... Role play an Avon Door to Door Sales Lady. No I'm not kidding, I've done this before and she was a rich *** whupping beeyotch.

Set up a character, preferable breton, wood elf, imperial or kajit with alchemy, speechcraft, merchantile, and a weapon, like marksman, blunt or long blade and conjuration and mysticism in the major skills, other magics like illusion, alteration, an armor type or unarmored, and some skills like sneak, security, illusion and whatnot. As your primary traits take luck and intelligence and magic or stealth as your specialty. Then take the atronach as your birth sign, ALWAYS take the atronach it's the best most useful sign, you get insane amounts of MP and you can absorb more magic from enemies.

The reason you take alchemy, speachcraft and merchantile is because it is very easy to get good alchemy equipment, and you can literaly buy dozens of 1 gold ingrediants at a discount and use the alchemy to turn them into a potion worth 50-100 gold(do the math dude). Alchemy is also one of the more powerful skills in the game, you can give your level 1 character stats in the 500s easily. The reason you take conjuration and a weapon type is with your high atronach boosted MP you will be able to summon one of the most powerful weapons in the game for about 30 seconds, that's all it takes. The reason you take luck as a primary stat is because it's a hard skill to boost and it helps prevent "wiffing". The reason you take mysticism is because it's the most powerful offensive magic in the game. Absorb Health and Absorb Fatuige are very strong spells that heal you while hurting your enemy. A spell with absorb health 5-15 for 3 seconds will kill most early enemies(including the dark brotherhood) with 2-3 aplications.

Now for Hugh Manatee's Ill cheapo powergaming morrowind Avon Lady early game pyramid scheme walk through....

Step 1: don't do any quest other then the fargoth ring thing, and don't turn over the cash, keep it, you can pay the stooge back later. Then run up north a bit to find the "falling mage", take his stuff because it's stylish and he has a nice sword. Then go to balmora, join the mages guild.

Step 2: Use the "guild guide" to get to caldera. In the caldera mages guild there is a door downstaris that leads to a tower, up there is a full set of masters alchemy equipment(3rd best quality, second without cheating). Borrow it, noone is looking and you are an official guild member...

Step 3: Guld guide over to wolverine's hall in sardith mora. Talk to the High elf and buy up all his ingredients that can make "restore fatuige", this is the easiest porion in the game to make. If yuo exit the barter menu and bater again he will have all his inventory back, so keep buying till you have about 30-40 each of crab meat and hound meat. Exit the guild and go downstairs to the imperial hall, there is a man there who sells Bloat and ash yams, buy as many as you can afford and carry, about 20-30 of each. Now it's time to start baking....

Step 4: First off, to use alchemy, equip a piece of alchemy gear like it's armor or a weapon and a menu pops up. It should show 4 boxes on top with all your best gear and 4 boxes below where your ingredients will go, and a list on the right that tell the effects and the name of the potion on top. Click the boxes and select the bloat and ash yams, click the button to creat potions, and keep going till it's successful, it may take a few tries. When you have a successful fortify INT potion stop brewing and drink it, exit the inventory menu so it takes effect, then get back tothe alchemy menu, brew some more till you have another success, drink it, let it take effect, proceed like this till you are out of ash yams and bloat. Alchemy runs off of INT, the higher INT the stronger and more expensive the potions, which means with each INT potion make and drink the stronger your spells will be. When you have attained sufficient enlightenment(IE are good and **** faced, liquered up, stoned on Fortify INT potion), it's time to use the restore fatuige ingredients you have been hoarding. You should get about 20 potions from 40 each of crab meat and hound meat, worth 80-120 apiece, make as many as you can afford to and can carry. Your alchemy stat should go up a few notches too. Now it's time for the Pyramid Scheme....

Step 5: save enough gold for a trip back to Caldera. Go to the mansion with all the orcs in it, find the scamp named "Creeper". Sell all the Fatuige potions you've made(I like to give them clever names, Diet Spizz, Extract of Mud Crab, Vita-Crabba-Hounda-Meata-Min...) a few at a time, and be sure to sell for a few gold above what the creeper asks for. Do this till he's tapped out(he has 5000) and hit "t" to wait in the house for 24 hours, the next day he will have went to all the villages and sold your potions and gotten another 5000 gold, sell him more of your potions till you are satisfied with the amount of gold you have, save a few of the restore fatuige potions. Now that you're loaded with G, and your merchantile is boosted slightly time to go SHOPPING!!!! weeeeeeeee.....

Step 6: Ok there are a few essential spells you need to find consult a FAQ or a find it site, first find someone with an Absorb Health and Absorb Fatuige spells. Then find someone with the bound weapon of your choice. Get a jump spell and a levitate spell, mark, recall, divine intervention, and almawhatever intervention. Go buy a few Quality Restore magica potions or the ingredients to make them(cromberry, frost salts). Head for the crab shell mall in Ald Ruhn, and get some exquisite duds, a belt, 2 rings, amulet, pants, shirt, gloves, skirt, shoes and robe. Get a good weapon, silver or better, preferable ebony or daederic. Get some good armor of your type, or skip it if you are unarmored. Find a trainer to boost your prefered weapon, armor(or lack of), and magic skills too. And be sure to train the lesser skills to get bonus stats when you level up. After you get an Absorb health spell, head to a spellmaker who likes you and make 3 spells, one that can be cast on target for about 10-20 and last about 2 -3 seconds, a cast on touch that is cheap, last 1 second and does about 5-10, and a strong on touch spell(5-30) that last 3 seconds. Use the weaker 1 second on touch to deal with rats, crabs and such, the ranged one on the big lizards and lesser daedera from far off while you run away, and the strong on touch for NPCs and stronger dadera. if you run out of cash, go back to the pyramid scheme. Now that girl got her groove back....

Final step: Your character should have high INT, good alchemy stats, oodles of Magicka, be able to afford most anything you want, and with those things be able to really whup on your enemies(including tax dodgig murderous n'wa), or buy the skils that will allow you to. You should be able to bribe at will, and later on you can get good soul gems, trap monsters like golden saints and ascended sleepers and make constant effect spells on your exquiste stuff, like a healing ring or belt that constantly restores health and fatuige, pants that let you float around, or a complete outfit that reflects or absorbs magic %100. Once you get an ebony or daderic weapon and a good soul in a gem you can make weapons that suck health from enemies, doing well over 100 damage a hit.

As a rule, In the beginning of the game Magic is more powerful then physical attacks and in late game magic loses it's potencey, and it's all about the enchanted ebony staff.