Might and Magic The Might and Magic Discussion Thread

[Efe]

Gratz. I took a break near 2nd worlds end.
I definitely would have saved and quit if I was asked to gather all this shit.

 

[Arulan]

I didn't have a lot of time to play this past week, but some updates on my Might & Magic playthrough:

I found the Merchants Pass...

Spoiler

while exploring some of the wilderness in C1. I'd heard about it in a tavern before, and it looks like it's necessary to get into the inner-castles. Before the guard would send me away if I tried to enter.

A quest from Lord Hacker?! How could I refuse?

I found the Wizard Telgoran as well, and followed his clues to find the two brothers.

Portsmith

Portsmith map -- Zam's clue

Algary

Algary map -- Zom's clue

I pieced together their clues to find...

Spoiler

the Ruby Whistle, and the location of a stronghold. I think I'll continue exploring Varn a little before I go there though.

Fighting these Barbarians resulted in an Allignment shift. My party is now majority Evil.

 

[Incendax]

Replaying Isles of Terra, and signed myself up for the shitshow that is 4x Druids.
Just 4x Druids.
Holy crap, I forgot how bad they are. They don't even get Cure Poison or Cure Disease. You would think of anybody, a DRUID would know how to deal with some poison and disease.

 

[Fishy]

Diseases are a fundamental part of nature's lifecycle, a critical part of Terra's ecosystem. As a Stupid Neutral character, you shouldn't interfere!

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Holy crap, I forgot how bad they are. They don't even get Cure Poison or Cure Disease. You would think of anybody, a DRUID would know how to deal with some poison and disease.

This is an intentional break with Dungeons & Dragons, as in both original D&D (Supplement III: Eldritch Wizardry) and AD&D 1st edition, druids can cast the third-level spells cure disease and neutralize poison. Even in 2nd edition AD&D, druids still had access to the healing spell sphere.

 

[Arulan]

I'm continuing to explore Varn. I did find something interesting today, a certain Exiled Lord Kilburn...

Varn map

It looks like the map was right, there is...

Spoiler

a giant scorpion in the desert. The encounter looks far too difficult for me right now though.

 

[Invictus]

I feel the main advantage of the Merge Mod is to have:
1) Higher res textures, creatures and widescreen support
2) all 3 games running under the “best” version of the games (8) with tweaks from the later games in 6 for example
3) One handy 3 in 1 option to play all games

I already have a pretty advanced party in the regular version of 6 but will probably use the merge mod for my first play through of 7 & 8 of course

Playing all 3 games with the same party could prove fun but I rather build a party specific for each game and go from there

 

[Poseidon00]

So I bought 8 on a whim and I dig it and I can't believe I dismissed this franchise for so long. Redpill me on the best games in the series, notable mods, shit like that. Crash course in MM

 

[lukaszek]

best games in the series

look all the way up in this thread?

notable mods

grayface

 

[Storyfag]

notable mods

grayface

6 7 8 merge mod.

 

[lukaszek]

notable mods

grayface

6 7 8 merge mod.

after skimming through last few pages im not sold on it

 

[Lacrymas]

So I bought 8 on a whim and I dig it and I can't believe I dismissed this franchise for so long. Redpill me on the best games in the series, notable mods, shit like that. Crash course in MM

I'd begin with Isles of Terra if you already have experience with blobbers, if not then M&MX.

 

[Fishy]

So I bought 8 on a whim and I dig it and I can't believe I dismissed this franchise for so long. Redpill me on the best games in the series, notable mods, shit like that. Crash course in MM

Well, if you love 8, you're in luck. 6-7-8 are pretty much the same game with different coating, so you have a lot of gaming ahead of you. Personally, 6 is my favourite of the three. Big nostalgic map with cliché regions, not too many limitations in mastery, etc.

3/4/5 (4-5 combine into Wold of Xeen) are fantastic, but a different thing, with grid-based movement and turn-based combat, so they might not work for you depending on taste.

1-2 are pretty old, as you can see from Arulan's screenshots. Only go down that road if you're really into rpg history or a franchise completionist.

I am yet to play X myself, but the wife did and enjoyed it. It's a compromise return to the grid-based game, and seems generally well received for what it is.

We don't talk about 9.

 

[Baron Dupek]

For the first time just go with M&M 6 + Grayface patch.
Then VII and VIII and later - III and 4+5 aka World of Xeen, depends how old games you can play and how much you can stomatch their quirks.

 

[Arulan]

I'm going to have to disagree that Might & Magic 1 isn't worth revisiting on its own merits. I'm having a great time with it.

The exploration is a real highlight here. There always seems to be something interesting to find to keep you going, and I personally find the mapping really enjoyable.

It has been a while since I've played the rest of the series, but the combat here may be one of the best. There is a good variety of interesting spells, and more importantly good reasons to use them. Between the system determining who is in melee range, the challenge difficulty, and the aforementioned spells, you rarely feel like you're just pressing (A)ttack through fights.

I don't remember if it worked this way in subsequent entries, but even something as simple as Fireball adds some thought regarding tactics. Sometimes it may be worth throwing it in melee (despite hitting your whole party) to kill especially lethal enemies. Otherwise a Lightning Bolt (1-3 enemies vs 1-5 of Fireball) may do fine to avoid friendly fire.

 

[octavius]

Yeah, MM3 was a huge decline combatwise.

 

[Morpheus Kitami]

So I bought 8 on a whim and I dig it and I can't believe I dismissed this franchise for so long. Redpill me on the best games in the series, notable mods, shit like that. Crash course in MM

To expand upon what others have said.
MM1 & 2 are more like early Wizardry games. You don't really see me on the enemies, they're effectively just lines of text. Supposedly, they're some of the better ones, but I know I have yet to wrap my head around it, and I've played more than my fair share of early computer games. You might want to check out the differences between ports before deciding on one.
MM3-5 are very nice, the high point of open-world blobbers. They're not confusing to get around, but if you do want to play them, start with 3. 4/5 add minor QOL stuff that might make you miss them in 3. There's also Swords of Xeen, which I can't say I've ever spent more than 5 minutes on for some reason.
MM6-8, well, there's a reason why there's a merge mod. Overall, while there are minor differences between games, none of which means each game is strictly better than another. Especially in the skill system, since each game has some weird quirk going on there.
MM9 is a weird, broken game that's interesting as a relic of early '00s 3D, but not really that fun to actually play.
MMX, lol Ubisoft.

 

[Poseidon00]

Question about the merge mod- does this combine all races + class combos together? I noticed Goblins exist in 7 and Vampires exist in 8, no druids or monks in 8 etc. This brings everything in to all 3? And I can start with any game yes?

look all the way up in this thread?

nigga this thread is 260 pages long.

 

[Kaldurenik]

Question about the merge mod- does this combine all races + class combos together? I noticed Goblins exist in 7 and Vampires exist in 8, no druids or monks in 8 etc. This brings everything in to all 3? And I can start with any game yes?

look all the way up in this thread?

nigga this thread is 260 pages long.

You can start on whatever continent (game) you want and play them in any order.
There is a race/class unlocker that should allow you to play anything including dragons. I don't think there is any class/race missing.
Over at:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/...li8_APq3a_ECxmZ3o/edit#heading=h.qd2hj16j5i7i
page 37 you can see how the classes can get promoted.

 

[Efe]

there are some provided defaults in extras folders.one of hem completely separates race and classes.
humans get +1 to max tier of several skills. vampires get +1 vampire ability and regeneration, it goes on for each.

but if you make a vampire monk in mm6 you are not going to get promoted till you dimension hop.

iirc in base mod, you take a peasant which have the option to change classes (only once) so you start 6 and have them become dark elves when you visit 8. peasants suck balls though

 

[DaveO]

Merge questions are best directed to folks on the Discord server not here. I still intend to move my solo dragon to go to MM7 ASAP and play a good amount there first before going back to MM6. MM8 will be last due to how easy it is to get money and go up levels without fighting much.

 

[Arulan]

Spent most of my time today exploring this cave I found -- Korin Bluffs.

Korin Bluffs Map

Levitate certainly came in handy for some pit traps here. Those teleport tiles can be pretty annoying though. It took me quite a bit of time just to map what I have now.

On the bright side, I found some Thundranium, which as far as I can tell is incredible. A substantial + Might with ~200 charges?!

Oh, and I found some secret captives in [1, 12]. It's really only a spoiler if you've never played an entry in the series.

Spoiler

 

[Arulan]

I found my way through Korin Bluffs to find...

Spoiler

the Wizard Ranalou. The clues from the statues in Sorpigal are starting to come together. I'm not sure I want to break out prisoners right now though.

I made my way to the Forest Stronghold for which I had already found a note earlier marking its location.

Spoiler

On second thought, I continued to explore some of Varn. I'm close to getting access to Level 4 spells which should make my descent into the Stronghold far better.

The sense of exploration, the map layout, and pacing are really superb here. Little things like this peak to foreshadow what you'll find ahead and give you direction really help drive it home. It's sad how many modern 3D open-worlds cannot even do that.

I found this Defense Cloak (+2 AC) which is really helpful. I may have Bori use a 2H weapon now.

 

[<3sRichardSimmons]

Yo playing mm4,does anyone here know a way to make items not breakable? It is one of the worst shit in the game. Any mods or something?

Nope, but it’s not that bad outside of the golem dungeon, and by that time you should have Lloyd’s beacon and at least two casters so you can pop back and forth to Burlock in a nonce.

 

[Fishy]

Yo playing mm4,does anyone here know a way to make items not breakable? It is one of the worst shit in the game. Any mods or something?

Nope, but it’s not that bad outside of the golem dungeon, and by that time you should have Lloyd’s beacon and at least two casters so you can pop back and forth to Burlock in a nonce.

And if by then you don't have a naked Barbarian capable of killing diamond golems with his fists, you're playing the game wrong.