Arcanum Most overpowered builds in Arcanum?

[Erebus]

BEA seems incredibly useless. It only has an impact on dialogues, and it's a very superficial one.

 

[Daemongar]

BEA seems incredibly useless. It only has an impact on dialogues, and it's a very superficial one.

Yeah - I tried this. Cranked it up through a build. Combat was horrible, you will get scarred by your weapon in one of the first few combats (seems to be unavoidable) and you'll spend the first 7 levels putting points combat areas as random encounters are unavoidable.

 

[JohnSmith24601]

Hey guys! I've just started playing Arcanum again! I'm using the Multiverse Edition for the first time.

O'great lords of the Codex!! I beseech thee! Enlighten me with dishonorable builds so I may slay mine enemies with stale cheese!!

Please change your post title to -> Most overpowered builds in Arcanum?

Done and done!

 

[Cael]

BEA seems incredibly useless. It only has an impact on dialogues, and it's a very superficial one.

I think a few thing check Beauty, but it mostly is about who you get to sleep with, or something like that. So, yeah, that stat and the associated spell is pretty useless.

 

[Shadenuat]

Beauty affects Reaction, which affects buy/sell prices (including using travel services afaik?). So it's not a dump stat, because when multiplied by Reputation modifiers, with low Beauty you might end up NPCs even attack you outright. Very high Beauty is superficial (just like LIFE), but has some uses. For example, you can do something bad and get away with it without companions leaving you. So a very hot woman can kill someone and her Good aligned companion would still like her (again, just like LIFE). Otherwise you might need to feed companions cakes all the time (stfu Magnus), and listen to their whining. And of course, you don't need to slurp everyones ass by clicking on dialogue options like "pwease kinda sir have pity on stupid me" multiple times, everyone just respects you right away.
There is also, I think, some sort of potential bug if you stack Beauty above 20 (possible if you pick Elf/background? don't remember), which breaks, depending on patch, behavior of always-hostile enemies, but it has been long time ago I seen it, and only in unpatched version. They can show very high Reaction but on sight, a Reaction drop happens and they attack anyway.
There is close to 0.5-1 checks of Beauty in the game, like getting kiss from ladies in pubs as guy (roll a half-ogre and collect them all) and seducing characters as gal, but seduction is affected by Reaction, not Beauty.
Overall, having average Beauty + clothes + blessings is optimal, but playing Debutante (Elf?) girl and beelining for 20+ in both stats can also be interesting in a LARP sort of way; especially since the penalties for that trait mean nothing: 1 str 1 dex is nothing, penalty to combat is bad (-2) but you can buff yourself or just use magick; while Charlatans 2 str 2 con hurts slightly more - more penalties for using even simple weapons and low fatigue is bad for spells too, although it only gives -1 to combat skills.

 

[jackofshadows]

seducing characters as gal, but seduction is affected by Reaction, not Beauty.

That's... never crossed my mind, actually. Still not sure about that and I always wanted to determine a few threshholds: Caladon widow (nice flavour dialogue, in both cases including rejection), Raven and, especially, Min'Gorad. Elven womans are notoriously rasist and the last one add CHA 18 check on top of whatever BEA or reaction check is there. But it's worth the hassle, especially on the light path. Anyway, to play at least once with supermodel background is a must for everyone who likes the game.

 

[Shadenuat]

Wellington and Misk I think are the 2 checks for seduction in game yea. Raven I feel is more about being good guy? Min Gorad doesn't she just fuck anyone? I think she is a prime candidate for that horny elves anime comic running.

...ugh, now I want to replay Arcanum.

 

[jackofshadows]

Raven I feel is more about being good guy?

Nah, if BEA is around default 8 prot will be friendzoned.

Min Gorad doesn't she just fuck anyone?

What?! Are you also pretty much always elf player or something? Her uh, demands are really high even race theory aside.

 

[Shadenuat]

Well due to quests it's very hard to keep Beauty at base.

Are you also pretty much always elf player or something?

Hey, nothing wrong with picking a superior race.

In terms of stats I was very interested in Gnomes late too though.

 

[Cael]

seducing characters as gal, but seduction is affected by Reaction, not Beauty.

That's... never crossed my mind, actually. Still not sure about that and I always wanted to determine a few threshholds: Caladon widow (nice flavour dialogue, in both cases including rejection), Raven and, especially, Min'Gorad. Elven womans are notoriously rasist and the last one add CHA 18 check on top of whatever BEA or reaction check is there. But it's worth the hassle, especially on the light path. Anyway, to play at least once with supermodel background is a must for everyone who likes the game.

Don't forget the dark elf NPC. You need Persuasion Master to even get her to join your party if you are Good.

 

[jackofshadows]

Don't forget the dark elf NPC. You need Persuasion Master to even get her to join your party if you are Good.

That refers to the skill's perk, not the particular NPC. You can't recruit any evil companions while being good and vice-versa. By the way, it's amazing that they added specific pretty cool dialogue when you try to recruit both Raven and Z'an Al'urin in any order. Same for Perryman Smith and Geoffrey. Overcoming by CHA 20 only, IIRC.

 

[Shadenuat]

However, somehow one of dialogue would override other dialogue. Meaning, you can't have both Ravel and Zan "Smarmy Dark Kawai" Alurin speak to Nasruddin or Arronax. So while devs went far they did not write unique dialogue for having these counter-companions in party anywhere else.

 

[SumDrunkGuy]

Game made for fat people who suffer from dissociative anxiety disorder. Get help before it's too late, lardass turds.

 

[Cael]

Don't forget the dark elf NPC. You need Persuasion Master to even get her to join your party if you are Good.

That refers to the skill's perk, not the particular NPC. You can't recruit any evil companions while being good and vice-versa. By the way, it's amazing that they added specific pretty cool dialogue when you try to recruit both Raven and Z'an Al'urin in any order. Same for Perryman Smith and Geoffrey. Overcoming by CHA 20 only, IIRC.

That was done in BG and BG2. It wasn't new.

 

[Black]

From what things I tried magick melee was the most op.

 

[Mauman]

I consider Z'an verbally bitch slapping Loghaire to be one of the best dialogues in the game.

 

[RK47]

Look, you can underrate Harm if you want. But all you need to take is Harm and Stun.
And you can't lose as long as you manage your stamina properly.

You don't even have to deal with probability.
Just increase your magicka attunement and continue to be effective for the rest of the game.
Not to mention the cheap access to Staff of Mana to double as Stamina reserve. And you can own more than 1

 

[Modron]

Anything high dx can be infinitely stronger than harm: archery, throwing, melee, backstabbing melee, hell even guns, et cetera. Throw magic for haste on top of melee/archery/throwing and it gets even more lulzy, I always love how people whinge that harm is too op then post ten minutes later whining about the BMC mines because they can't harm their way through it.

 

[wishbonetail]

Every build is overpowered in Arcanum. Tha most fun I had is with high Dex chackram/boomerang thrower. After you finished master trainer quest nothing can touch you. Running around in my underware throwing chackrams at everything that moves, not needing nor armor, nor ammo, no mana is just plain ridiculous.

 

[luj1]

You don't even need CHA and max followers. You can permanently enslave pretty much any NPC in the game with the Dominate Will + Reflection Shield trick, as many as you'd like. Then you can gear your harem with balanced swords or whatever. Silly broken game.

exacly why the game is fun. assymetry is the lifeblood of games as someone said

there is op stuff, there is broken stuff, there is useless stuff. everything should exist

people overthink this and thats how you get retards like Soyer and PoE

 

[Cael]

From what things I tried magick melee was the most op.

Throw in Backstab 5 for another +20 damage per hit, IIRC.

 

[Dodo1610]

The unistall wizard

 

[Zumbabul]

One of my friends made an Arcanum playthrough as a sheep. He cast a reflection spell on an enemy, then cast polymorph on an enemy. It reflected and turned the player into sheep. Then you cancel the shield, and due to a bug, the sheep becomes permanent.

Besides two places (one where you need to dig a grave and some place in the void), the game is totally playable as a sheep. The dialogues change accordingly, and you can finish the majority of the quests. Although this is obviously an unintended way of playing this game, I think it highlights the greatness of Arcanum.

 

[wishbonetail]

One of my friends made an Arcanum playthrough as a sheep. He cast a reflection spell on an enemy, then cast polymorph on an enemy. It reflected and turned the player into sheep. Then you cancel the shield, and due to a bug, the sheep becomes permanent.

Besides two places (one where you need to dig a grave and some place in the void), the game is totally playable as a sheep. The dialogues change accordingly, and you can finish the majority of the quests. Although this is obviously an unintended way of playing this game, I think it highlights the greatness of Arcanum.

Maybe, it is possible to get a secret ending as a sheep where u can save Belle from her miserable life of whoring.

 

[jackofshadows]

the game is totally playable as a sheep. The dialogues change accordingly

Wait, what? I imagine special lines at the Tarant's brothel are in order.