Regarding survival mode: There's a lot of min/maxing you can do here. Pay very close attention to the resistances you party can get through spells and don't waste your money buying items which duplicate it (like, say, buying Tenacity items for a Warrior using Adrenaline) - remember that spell effects last the ENTIRE survival mode because the battle never ends...
Of course the problem is you have to be mindful that you won't be able to buy all blue and legendary items for your characters, so you'll have to settle for a few simple green items, too, but try to get, for example, just enough items with 'Purifying' in their name to make 100% poison resistance. Of course, if youre party has a Ranger, you won't need ANY poison resistance since you can buff everybody with Nature's Balm in round 1...so know what your party can do for itself and keep that in mind when you buy your items. You don't need 'Tenacity' items for a warrior using Adrenaline.
A tip about starting survival mode (if you want to seriously min/max it and see how far you can go): Know exactly what kinds of items you want your characters to have, and only buy those for them. You can always start the game and flee your party in the first round, this will save what you've equipped so far. When you restart the party the shop will refresh with new items.
There is no upper level limit, hence why it's called the 'Den of Endless Evil' once you beat the scenario boss on level 10. Hydras, minotaurs, and gorgons show up randomly afterwards, as well as some boss characters. You might even see two bosses at once if you go far enough.
A Cleric is useful but not absolutely necessary for a campaign. However in survival mode only a Cleric can remove the 50% damage reduction a Dwarf Warrior can do to you with Punishing Blow. In campaign modes, heavy vampiric items will heal you in lieu of a cleric.
Has anyone figured out if the 25% stun side effect for Freeze is added to any stun % your mage may already be carrying due to weapons/gloves/etc.? Or is it just a straight 25% chance to stun with Freeze?
There's nothing wrong with playing with the game settings at the start. Fair warning, though: playing Tactical mode (no power regen) makes for a very different game than any other style of play. It's very important to remember you recharge mana for every new section of map you encounter...use this to your advantage by attacking enemies as you find them (within reason of course).
Wow...if you play a party with no Cleric, you can still get some serious healing with enough vampiric items on a character and some AoE attacks...Cleave for fighters, Lightning with mages...it's great. My 1 warrior/3 mage party in both campaigns save themselves regularly with 10-12% vampirism. I even sacrifice better items to keep the vampire %...
The portal scroll which allows you to go to the shop doesn't always show up when you most would like it. This is why it can be important to pick and choose your items. If you aren't using bows, for example, don't collect any. The only reason you might keep an item you don't use is if it's legendary and worth some cash. But cash is easy to come by once you beat either campaign.
Vangalorr, look at the character select screen (the one that comes up right after you choose your campaign). See the row of 8 small symbols at the bottom of each character's text, one of which should each be highlighted in red? Click on those symbols to change classes.
Yeah, except the total poison/stun/lethality/blind count is divided by the number of targets you hit, thereby greatly lessening the effect. But the healing thing works in reverse - 6 potential targets funnelling all that vamipiric % into 1 mage...instant healing in many cases.
You know, the Mage's Lightning attack is awesome when said Mage has a vampiric something equipped...even at 5%. Not only do you do damage, but for every monster you hit, you heal 5%...times the # of monsters on the field. Of course, you also have to be careful about using Lightning when an Orc Shaman drops a curse on the Mage, too...
MrMonkeyBot: you don't HAVE to have huge quickness on a warrior using Bloodlust if you have another character which can reduce a target's quickness...like a Thief with Cripple.
In survival mode, know that you don't HAVE to keep pressing on to wave after wave...if you have a party which has decent recuperation abilities (cleric, ranger), reduce enemy waves to one opponent, then 'milk' that last opponent until your party is mostly ready for the next wave (max mana, most hp regen, etc.). It's slow and kinda cheesy, though.
One note about survival: Be aware that there is one malady that can only be healed by a cleric's Benediction, and that's the Dwarven Warrior's 50% weakening attack. If you aren't playing with a Cleric that has Benediction, make sure you shut down Warriors before they can hit you with Punishing Blow.
Oikar: No. So you have to start all over if you set up a character and don't like it...which means you have to do your item shopping all over again, too.
Screw you, Barmaley. I don't have to be 'on the leaderboard' to give reasonable advice concerning this game. And no, I don't always play 338%, so go right ahead and continue feeling superior to us. But I'll be damned if I'm going to shut up because you tell me to do so.
Yeah, I've generally found that no matter what mode you're playing, it generally pays better to play offensively than defensively - if you can take down one or two monsters in the first round (say, with Execute or Pin/Coup de Grace combo or some other way), that makes the rest of any given fight MUCH easier.
empyrealdrift: Manasprites are useful if you play any Tactical mode, where your characters can't regenerate power during combat. Granted, it can still be hard to see much value since they only restore 15 power a shot, but it's still better than 0....
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