Tips for playing a Hardcore character?
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I don't know if anyone's familiar with the old Diablo concept of a hardcore character but the basic idea is that you get one life. One chance with no resets/respawns or whatever. I'm playing one such character right now (who oddly enough gets into the thick of things with nothing but her armor to keep her alive) and while I've only had a few brushes with death I've come rather uncomfortably close to it, usually due to enemies just randomly (or not so randomly) deciding to attack me as I'm running around trying to heal people or something else.
So bearing in mind things like individual play style and use of consumables (she doesn't, she can't -afford- to because alll her money goes to wands used on quests) and things like equipment (Can't afford jewelry for the same reason) I'd love to hear some ideas either relating to RP, mechanics or other things that -you- would apply to a character to keep them alive. Someone with a valid acceptance that their god will claim their soul when the die. Orrrr perhaps is this just a silly idea and I need to not be so concerned?
My original thought behind this was simply to see how far one could conceivably get without dying but despite all odds she's done quite well. I personally ~despise~ the death system, it ruins a character for me and I can't 'connect' to one as well as I once could because of the loss of abilities and such that (by that point) are likely integral to the character or just knowing the time that went into gaining those levels dissolved like Michael Jackson's plastic surgery under a hot light.
As far as tips go if anyone decides they want to try out a concept like this, here's what I've learned:
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DON'T. PANIC. Your heath drops below 55%? Okay, back the hell out slowly and heal up. Let your comrades know you need healing. Communicate! Don't just run right back into the squishies and expect them to cover you. They don't care. They're too busy saving their own XP from the ancient dire troll that just bitch slapped you for 30 damage. >.>
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Bring people that'll cover your butt. You cover theirs. This is a huge, huge, huge thing. I see tons of people who're all aiming roughly in the same direction but if someone's getting thwacked will stand by and watch or run the opposite way so they don't get hit. Bring a healing item of some sort, there're tons of options for people of just about every class these days, there's really no reason not to.
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Don't be a drain on resources. Following the previous point, if you're a drain on resources (or know one!) don't expect to get invited on a lot of parties. Or expect to die. I can't count how many times I've burned up an entire wand on someone because they stood in the middle of a gigantic melee plucking away with their bow while the rest of the party is behind cover. Be a buddy, drink an invis or someone else in the party invis that one. Hell, I don't want to see anyone go the fugue but you need to do your part too, hm? :P
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Hm…only thing thats guarenteed on this server is death. Most of the time its out of your control and will kill your character. Regardless, taking away faction bugs my last two characters (Zrukk and Kennan) only died two or three times through their character lives (caping at lvl 11). However I don't play for survival, and only do a quest I strategically know a profit will come from it. I also like to take the most important roles. Either being the tank and forcing aggro, or playing the support and mitigating aggro.
Just my 2cents.
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If you have the dex, take the mobility and spring attack feats. See, then if you have to run away, you dont get AOO'd to death while fleeing, and if you drink a potion as you flee, the AOO, is at +4 dodge ac anyway.
Buy a heal potion as soon as possible. They are essentially an extra life.
Obvious one is always keep invis quickslotted. A haste potion too, this allows you to flee with extra ac to boot.
Never, ever, ever, be encumbered. If your in a battle, and get strength drained to encumberance, throw away something heavy. You can find gold and buy it again later, or find something similar.
Bout all i can think of right now.
By the way. Love the dedicated healer. Need more.
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Best advice for playing a one life character is get good allies without them you will die in a week or so and be gone.
Secondly don't go on DM events with characters 4+ levels higher than you and certainly not older fully looted up characters because to make it challanging for those types it will kill you without fail.
Lastly…Don't be a oc coward ..this means accept the fact the character is going to die and your going to lose it then make every playing session like an end event big brave giving your all,ive always found this way means you get alot more fun from your character.
Of course if your character is a total coward with the spine of a jelly fish then yes play that way. -
I like to try and go "semi-hardcore"
In other words, crappy bug-related deaths, scripted quest deaths, and deaths from wandering alone somewhere I'll likely respawn from. However, if the situation seems right, or the death had some RP to it then I stay dead.
Amaury died 99% due to lag. I Perma-killed him anyway, because of where he was when the lag monster ate him and why he was there. It was fitting, despite the mechanics of the lag and I'm happy with that and hopefully the other characters involved found some motivation IC'ly from his sacrifice and it will help propel the story forward. Had a random triple goblin/elite bandit spawn killed him on a routine patrol… he'd still be alive.
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I like to try and go "semi-hardcore"
In other words, crappy bug-related deaths, scripted quest deaths, and deaths from wandering alone somewhere I'll likely respawn from. However, if the situation seems right, or the death had some RP to it then I stay dead.
Amaury died 99% due to lag. I Perma-killed him anyway, because of where he was when the lag monster ate him and why he was there. It was fitting, despite the mechanics of the lag and I'm happy with that and hopefully the other characters involved found some motivation IC'ly from his sacrifice and it will help propel the story forward. Had a random triple goblin/elite bandit spawn killed him on a routine patrol… he'd still be alive.
See, I thought about doing something like that too but then I figure what's the point. Just because you lagged 100 MS into the maw of Elite Goblin Mage doesn't give you back those thousands of xp you'd loose by respawning, it's just not worth it. To me anyway :P Easier to do something else and hope that someone out there says 'hey, remember that one girl who used to heal everyone? I wonder if I should take the same kind of action and heal people during a quest'.
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@Kathrine:
I like to try and go "semi-hardcore"
In other words, crappy bug-related deaths, scripted quest deaths, and deaths from wandering alone somewhere I'll likely respawn from. However, if the situation seems right, or the death had some RP to it then I stay dead.
Amaury died 99% due to lag. I Perma-killed him anyway, because of where he was when the lag monster ate him and why he was there. It was fitting, despite the mechanics of the lag and I'm happy with that and hopefully the other characters involved found some motivation IC'ly from his sacrifice and it will help propel the story forward. Had a random triple goblin/elite bandit spawn killed him on a routine patrol… he'd still be alive.
See, I thought about doing something like that too but then I figure what's the point. Just because you lagged 100 MS into the maw of Elite Goblin Mage doesn't give you back those thousands of xp you'd loose by respawning, it's just not worth it. To me anyway :P Easier to do something else and hope that someone out there says 'hey, remember that one girl who used to heal everyone? I wonder if I should take the same kind of action and heal people during a quest'.
I started that way when I showed up here a couple of months ago. But then I realized you get a LOT of those stupid deaths when Lag raises it's head or when you try to open yourself up to new players, or just players who are new to you. Nobody knows what to expect out of the other, and someone ends up dead because you're not synced in as a team yet. If I'm knee deep in plotz0rs, and get eaten by a 3 second lag on a random spawn - I may be a little pissy but I don't want to bail on plots where people might be waiting on me to do something. Seems silly to kill the story for something non-story related.
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I totally agree, whole heartedly infact. I love seeing a team gel together but sometimes that just takes time (naturally!) and mistakes happen. I try my best to avoid them and keep everyone on their feet without getting myself killed in the process. It's a fun balance, honestly. Bit of an adrenaline rush. :)
Unfortunately lag does happen and when it does dying -sucks-. Abandoning plots and the work invested in the character also -sucks- but so does loosing days/weeks worth of experience. If this sounds like my continually bashing on the death system, yes it is. It's a failure of this server and I think we can do better. I treat the idea of a hardcore character as someone who can (and will) pull out all the stops to keep themselves and their compatriots alive so they -can- experience those plots and stuff, life is more precious when you only get that one.
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It certainly can add a rush to a familiar setting. Knowing that there's no respawn from the fugue. I used to play on a permadeath server back in NWN's infancy - course they were super hardcore about everything. Average character level was 2, highest on the server was 4 and you couldn't level up for free. Trying to remember where it was set… Daggerford, I think? Anyway, not important. It did make death a very real, very frightening thing, but for a lot of players that all too often came at the expense of a character they really enjoyed playing, or another's character they really enjoyed playing with. In a pen and paper setting, permadeath is absolutely 100% ok. But in an online setting where OOC factors can and often do lead to a character dying, I don't think I would personally ever go back to it. Penalties are fine and the good can be taken with the bad, but to have to roll a new character because my dog pulled my modem cable out of the wall? I don't think I could make myself do it. I do wish you luck and I'll try to help in any way I can, cause I really like Lina a lot!
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Deserves a once per day heal spell item IMO.
Or a once per day high DC (somehow…..) sanctuary item.
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I have one. It's called Protection domain ;) :D
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Jasede's Proest NWN Veteran Tips for Surviving Hardcore:
DO NOT DIE
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Jasede has all the best advice.
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Dont do ANYTHING alone. not even a quick walk from East gate to outskirts
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Dont do ANYTHING alone. not even a quick walk from East gate to outskirts
Unless you can cast invisibility.
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Spam Tab. the more aware you are of whats going on around you the better.
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Spam Tab. the more aware you are of whats going on around you the better.
I always have one finger hovered over Tab
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Always bring CoG Hotseats ™. Preferably two (one for your friend or a backup in case the first fails). I know this sounds like product placement, but its not (well, maybe a little). I think Kreswells escape from Crag shows just how powerful the tool to suddenly leave the scene can be to certain situations.
Stuck in the Underdark with drow closing in on all sides and out of consumables? Hotseats to fly to (relative) safety.
Lost beyond comparison in the Hullack with great Bulettes and CMBs tearing down on all flanks? Hotseats to safety.No invis needed, no damage taken, no AOO, just gone.
Only downside is that it works as a tunic to be worn, so it has to be done out of combat. But if you see a short respite; change, and off you go.Apart from that, my experience as a dedicated healer taught me to always have backup wands. More than you think you will need, since you'll never know when shit hits the fan. Also, keeping a single cure crit wand (although its poor for retail) as an emergency backup on a quickslot can really be a party saver if you need a solid heal every now and then. But most often, stick to CSW/CMW. If you have healing doman, always quickslot the three higher healing spells for spontaneous casting since your casted heals are powerful as heck, and you sometimes find yourself with spells to spare. Better spend all spellslots by the end of the quest rather than spend an extra half wand (since spells are free).
Ask for donations to your god for your healing services or you'll soon find yourself broke due to the meagre earnings from wand sales. Doesn't need to be much, just in the range from 25-100 gold per head. If they refuse, you can always avoid healing them other than saving their life (after which they should know that some thanks are in order).
Always carry a set of potions to boost your AC by 8-10 quickly. IE: Shield, Blur, improved Barkskin. Three potions, total cost ~350 gold, survivability increase: priceless. Add haste to the mix for even more. It sounds expensive, yes, and it is, (500-600g in total maybe) but its cheaper than a healing wand and it will get you away alive most of the time. This is, of course, an emergency backup in case something goes terribly wrong.
Otherwise I think most of my known tricks for surviving have been covered.
But really, hotseats. Nobody know of their excellence and so many could've survived if they did.
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//quick correction: healing domain works on wands as well
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My bad. As I remembered it, it didn't, but there's always the RNG messing things up.