Lvl 60 Achieved!

[DGDobrev]

Well, there goes the next fun playthrough, aimed at hitting lvl 60.
End result: Successful!
Used game: http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/showpost.php?p=138773&postcount=4
Before you start reading, you should be aware that in KBAP there is no lvl cap (as stated in the Russian fan manual). The XP required continues to rise as usual. On normal, for lvl 61 you need 60k more xp, for 62 - 62 more xp, for 63 - 64k more xp and such. Requirements increase with difficulty. The formula is: (60 * 1000) + 2000 * (hero lvl - 61) for lvl 61 (60k), (61 * 1000) + 2000 * (hero lvl - 61) for 62 (62k) and so on.

I will try to make the long story short, by giving a number of pointers and advices on how did I get there rather than a long boring story of my experiences.

1st: ensure some 6+ Ancient Knowledge (AK) scrolls.
- I had 8 in this game. 3 pre-set, 2 from maps, 3 from digging. I had the stupid Elenhel as a companion since fight No. 1 and he scribed all kinds of scrolls, but no Ancient Knowledge.
2nd: ensure as much +XP items as possible. This means 2x Hand of Necropolis, and at least 2 out of these 3 items: Shark Tooth, Memoirs of the Marshal, Chain of Chance.
-In this game, I had all of them and this is why I used Elenhel, because thanks to his slots you can equip ALL of the XP items right from the start.
3rd: Use the Ancient Knowledge scrolls ONLY when necessary. If there are heroes of lvl 38+ in the area, they usually provide the best XP bonus in the game.
- In my game I started using the scrolls from the last 4 battles in Elon onward (Big Uchkuk, Shenobi, Uldara, Moro Dark). Killing 5 heroes with an AK scroll on goes a long way toward getting to a higher level.
4th: Pick Neatness over Alchemy if you're a Mage. Seriously!
-you can take a look at the screens. How about that for built-up trees for a Mage? That's all thanks to Neatness, fighting effectively and breaking any unnecessary item I found and bought.
5th: If you have extra battles available for the AK scroll, do them in Reha. Enemies there are the hardest and usually give 7k+ XP with a scroll on.
6th: Use items with morale and get extra fights through suppressions, and thus extra XP. Items like Black Helmet, Paladin Shield, Great Druid Staff, Steam Armor and others which morale decreases by 2-8 per battle are very useful. At one point I even used Black Knights and Archdemons simply to force the Paladin's shield to rebel every 8-9 battles or so (because the effect from using undead and demons while wielding it is cumulative).

I made one serious blunder in this game and I urge you not to repeat it. Don't simply use AK scrolls against heroes because they are heroes. I did that and for a moment, I wasn't sure whether I'll get the 60th level. What saved me was the 8th Ancient Knowledge scroll - otherwise the mission to get 60 would have gone down the drain. I did have a few backups - 2 non-upgraded items - the self-loading crossbow and the officer's baton, but it is highly unlikely that the XP they provide would have been sufficient.

Since I learned that lesson rather late, I can't provide an approximation of the XP gained from most of the heroes. Arnold Henninghem is a clear example. I'm almost certain that his XP gain with an AK on will be around 20k, because he's got a lot of troops and he's lvl 40. Well, I beat him without a scroll on and that was very poor judgment.

In any case, here goes the list I managed to make up after I started keeping track of the XP gain from heroes:

Elon:
Uldara - around 18k (didn't write it down)
Big Uchkuk - 14.3k
Shenobi - 24.5k (!!!)
Moro Dark - 24.5k (!!!)

Sheterra:
Sargatas - 14.4k
Von Cracov - 14k
Samman - 24k (!!!)
Master Skinner - 13.8k
Asklepy - 15.8k

Verona
Demenion - 23.5k (!!!)

Nameless:
Restless Zombie - 13.1k
Vlad Vegeto - 16.2k
White Night - 14.6k
Dark Mistikus - 14.5k

Reha
Chief Harrus - 28.3k (!!!)
Marakash - 28.8k (!!!)
Ziraks (Arena fight 1) - 29.1k (!!!)
Harrum (Arena fight 2) - 27k (!!!)
Sarkash - 24.9k (!!!)

Bosses:
Giant Spider: 12.7k
Dersu-Kumatu: 17k
Driller: 21.2k (!!!)
Zilgadis: 34k (!!!)
K'Tahu: 42.4k (!!!)
Baal: 51k (approximately) (!!!)

The fights marked with (!!!) must be done with an AK scroll on no matter what. They provide the best XP bonus from all other. Those fights may also get you up a notch and improve your result quite a bit. Keep it in mind :)

There were some fights that were not worth it. Restless Zombie, Big Uchkuk, Giant Spider, Master Skinner and Von Cracov were a flop, and if you're low on AK scrolls you should skip them. Dark Mistikus was also quite low - I expected much more from him. In fact, I expected much more from Nameless in general - heck, it is considered to be one of the final areas!

In any case, the bottom line is this:
Hold on to your Ancient Knowledge scrolls and use them only against HEROES and BOSSES. If you must, plan your game in a way that you get stacks of heroes left, so that you're not forced to do another fight in between and lose a valuable scroll charge. If you have spare AK scrolls, use them on REHA.

[Kings Bounty Hunter]

I don't know what you're going to do with yourself now :-P

[DGDobrev]

This is a very good question, mate... Right now I have absolutely no decent answer for it :)

[travelingoz]

Way to go DGD! Leading the way once more!
The only challenge left perhaps is beating the game using only level 1 units on impossible with no spells or pet dragon and no losses of course! :rolleyes:

[DGDobrev]

Gulp... Gulp... Gasp... EEEEEK!!!

travelingoz... Pity me... I'm just a guy who wants to enjoy a game... Mercy!!!

[GodClone]

Why would anyone think this would be hard, i finished half way to lvl 60 on my first and only play, and i still had 6 wanderer +xp scrolls . ( thought the game was longer and planed on saving them for later )

Played most of the game with 30% xp from talents, 2 gloves of the dead (or something) which give +10% xp each, a 5% xp artifact book , and the regalia from the pirate squire for another 5 or 7% xp percent . The gloves i found halfway trough the game, but even without them using those 6 extra scrolls would have been enough .

Gz on it tho .

Oh.. and how i played the game first time, i did it without advance knowledge of whats to come and without addons, mods, and on first try, (no 100 restarts for convenience ) , or exploit items with morale .

[Nitelite]

Grats man, that is impressive.

Edit: Did you by chance see how much exp the guy guarding the River of Memory (Rahkaros or something) right in the cave near Moro in Eloa?

[DGDobrev]

@Nitelite

I think it was around 14-15k... not sure though. I believe you're talking about the Orc who's looking for food for the big fish?

@GodClone

You did really well getting to a higher level without pre-set stuff. You undoubtedly got a really great setup, which is a rare and special occurrence. However, in over 15 games I played without the help of the scanner, I never got such favorable setup. I had inly 2 games with 2x Hand of Necropolis, but I never had a game with more than 5 AK scrolls in total (preset + dug up), which by no means puts me in a good position.

In the end, the randomness in this game can make your life easy from the first try, but may give you hell throughout all your attempts to get a decent lvl. In a way, that's the fun in it, but how about the people who will never see such a setup? I will certainly feel bad for them, because they are deprived of a very interesting aspect of the game.

[GodClone]

@Nitelite

I think it was around 14-15k... not sure though. I believe you're talking about the Orc who's looking for food for the big fish?

@GodClone

You did really well getting to a higher level without pre-set stuff. You undoubtedly got a really great setup, which is a rare and special occurrence. However, in over 15 games I played without the help of the scanner, I never got such favorable setup. I had inly 2 games with 2x Hand of Necropolis, but I never had a game with more than 5 AK scrolls in total (preset + dug up), which by no means puts me in a good position.

In the end, the randomness in this game can make your life easy from the first try, but may give you hell throughout all your attempts to get a decent lvl. In a way, that's the fun in it, but how about the people who will never see such a setup? I will certainly feel bad for them, because they are deprived of a very interesting aspect of the game.

i had overall 30~ wanderer scrolls in different kinds, found most in battlefield chests dug by my pet , got 2 chests every battle, maybe except first ones until i upgraded, got about 20 runes from them also .

Used 3 wanderer xp scrolls, got left with 6 unsued by game end . I did level up +30% xp from talents first thing, and got 1 hand of necropolis on 3rd island , and second one on nameless island . I also used a 5% xp artefact book found in first castle, and the shark tooth from scared squire on second island .

[DGDobrev]

Well, sounds like you fought very efficiently and used the AK scrolls when you needed to. If you had 9 AK scrolls total, that's a lot and is also a rare occurrence, but in any case, they could have indeed gotten you to lvl 60. If you finished halfway to 60, this means you had between 40 and 60k XP left to get there, which is about 15-20 fights with 3k XP bonus from the AK scrolls against heroes.

[Elwin]

Exacctly, i always had just 2 AK scrolls ,, do it with it, if it is so easy .;p

[Nitelite]

@Nitelite

I think it was around 14-15k... not sure though. I believe you're talking about the Orc who's looking for food for the big fish?


Yea, he is standing in front of a large mound, which is probably a fish. I didn't realize he wanted anything since last night was first time I was down in that cave an d when I moused over him, it didn't give me an option to talk, just the attacking swords icon. I only have 1 AK scroll (only one all game so far) and was going to use it on Elon on as many big mobs as I could.

[DGDobrev]

I would suggest that you use it in Reha then. There are 6 battles that are worth the XP there.

[ivra]

Just want to point out that level 60 on impossible needs much more XP than level 60 on normal. To compensate each battle on impossible gives more XP since there are more monsters, but it does not add up to extra XP needed to reach level 60 on impossible. My first game I played as normal and reached level 58 or 59 without even going for it. In my last game I had 11 AK scrolls and reached only level 58, barely. The reason is that (I think) the XP for the quests stay the same no matter what difficulty you play on. This means that the quest XP contributes more in a normal game than an impossible game.