Quick Run Through updates
 

I didn't want to clog up the High Score Thread anymore, since I may not have a particularly high one, but am enjoying the cataloging of the attempt.

So, here's the parameters of the run through:

1) Visit each island a minimum number of times
2) Mage
3) No losses
4) Impossible.
5) No map Kiting
6) No replaying fights just to get better Digs.
7) No Savegame Scanner (Though I have saved, gone running around a map looking for stuff, and then loaded again.)

The last three are just my style. Currently I am at Rusty Anchor with 2 Green Dragons, 9 engineers, 2 Cyclopses, 1 Rune Mage, and 43 Repair Droids. and just over 4k leadership.

I have not found any Call scrolls yet (colossus, death, wind) but rusty was selling 3 Green Dragons! I left no fights un-done in Bolo, but Rusty is looking to be very difficult to do. I DO have target and Stoneskin, and higher magic one, so I think I should be able to do well. Did defeat the Dragon in the cave. The fight against Grinskin has an.. unfortunate number of Orc Veterans that are giving me a problem. And I think I may just skip Zag-zag for now. We'll see. I won't be back until after NAMELESS so I have to get most everything done here.

Picked up a Verona Scroll on bolo, so I don't need to unlock that one here (though I did anyway) and can leave at any time. The real question will be what fights can I get away with before I leave? Hopefully the grinskin gang will go down, since that one will potentially give new and good items.

I made a really amusing mistake. I saved on rusty, and then left to explore verona (before finishing rusty) just to see what was there.

Accept, I then over-wrote the save I made on rusty :(. So I either had to reload from Bolo, or just finish verona/Montero as if I'd meant to do that all along.

Sigh, so I tried doing the latter, and it actually has worked out pretty well. I found Call Phoenix, and with Order 3 and Summoning 3, it has become a combat swinger of epic proportions. Holy cow does that thing dish out damage. Found maps for Dersu and Umkas so far, but no Necro Call Scroll, which Is not a good thing. I'll need that before going to Umkas. I have found the Mechanical Blade and Optimization module, so good odds I can get that set if I want it. Oh, and found 3 trolls, so I think Driller is going down before I leave!

:) Call Phoenix rocks and typically far more efficient for damage + tanking. :)

You don't have to kill everything since you can come back later. You need to go back to Rusty for the Elon quest, antidote quest.

The only critical thing you need to do for say Montero is getting those Pegasus wings.

Yeah, Necro Call is necessary. One time I dug it up while I was at Umkas itself. :) Ooh the irony.

Ugh. I hate fighting driller at a low level. It also isn't really necessary either.

Uggh, Just realized that the Scrounger quest requires: Dersu-Verona-Tekron. Meaning I have to go to Dersu and then BACK TO VERONA. Since there isn't really much else to do it is pretty much a one island loop, and since I don't get back to Dersu until after cleaning out Elon... I have to do most of Dersu While I"m there. This will add like 8 hours of time to my game... though I guess it is unavoidable.

I just saved and scouted out dersu, tekron and Umkas... no necro call scroll in any of them! This is very VERY vexing. Pet Dragon, don't fail me now!

I haven't found any resistance items except the salamander banner (still in Montero). This is a bad sign, to be sure. Hopefully they are just hiding and I will find them elsewhere. Hagni needs to die before I leave I think, though since I have to detour to Dersu and back, I could probably do much of Dersu first.

Despite having access to the Slippery Cuirass, I didn't really need it with my pure Summoner build.

I was a little scared that I would not have enough fire resistance to survive the Tower of Power in Debir, but I somehow prevailed. I can't quite remember if I used Dragon of Chaos and Ancient Phoenix there, to buy time for the Mystic Eggs.

You sort of might need it against Ktahu, but I find the key there is to keep hitting with the Black Knights (teleport/stoneskin, etc).

I've been playing other games lately, so my King's Bounty power might be decreasing rapidly. ;)

Yeah, Eventus may be a problem, but I'm more worried about Ktahu and Baal. I was not planning to use Black Knights... actually I'm not sure what I was planning to do for that yet. As for Eventus, I'm hoping a Phoenix and maybe a black dragon will do the work. I'll likely need to get Onslaught (bonus initiative) before heading over there.

My last game I really started to appreciate onslaught more than the dragon buffing abilities. Going first is VERY IMPORTANT to a mage! Even more so with this setup.

It was strange. One time against Eventus, he just went 3 stacks against my black dragon stack. BIG mistake for him. I just did Ball of Lightning to whittle him down to nothing. When the enemy stacks were sizable, I dropped Dragon of Chaos to help finish the job. Surprisingly very easy.

There is probably a way, but it seems very hard to win without black knights. In fact, besides verrry strange combinations, I don't think I've ever beaten Ktahu or Baal as a Mage without the power of black knights.

I suppose Baal might have been beatable with rune mages, but it just seemed too insane.

Ktahu's AoE attack is just too grizzly.

Yeah, onslaught is good, but it is only for the first round though and unless you got quickdraw or something else, it seems that arch demons will still out-init you?

I usually have the Black Dragon around as my "interdictor" and he tends to help me win initiative most of the time.

I generally Beat Ktahu with Bone Dragons, actually, since in many run throughs I use a dragon army. Same rough strategy, less need to teleport.

Onslaught gives you up to +3 init. Archdemons have 8, so a 6 init thing will go first. I'm not AS worried about turn 2, as I am about turn 1. Also, onslaught gives up to 10 Rage. Basically the question is "Go after dragon training and rage generation, or go after onslaught" and I think onslaught is better. Maybe 1 point in Dragon Training.

Edit: Anyhow, a lot of this is really the issue with the QUICK game I'm running. No red dragons, no bone dragons, only Greens for now, and the foreseeable future (no call colossus yet!). In fact, my highest init unit at the moment is 6, until I start pulling out the Phoenix, and that doesn't help me the first turn. It has been causing no end of troubles, let me tell ya. I may end up using Guard Droids just because they are init 6! (Good all around, but I'm not sure if I want them more than my other army right now...)

Rakush, the Goblin leader on Uzala... I just scouted him out because I was thinking about assasinating him at about level 26 while doing: Dersue-Verona-Tekron.

Turns out though, that his army of goblins kills mine... before I get to take an action! Now, this is mainly due to my army selection at the moment, but I just wanted to scout him out to remind myself what stat boosts he gets. I guess One of them is initiative. I don't know exactly HOW MUCH initiative though, but more than 6 for sure.

It is all level 3 and lower stuff, so I just need to win init, and then dryad storm him. But man, those Goblin Shamans are broken strong. One stack can kill three of mine just by casting that stupid spell...