Need proper explaination for the combat system pls

[Sacrefice]

Yeah as the title says i would really appreciate a short and basic explaination for the combat system, because i dont really get it at all and i just feels like an absolute rng fiesta to me (which it probably is since everything is based on dice rolls).

Also to mention i'm kinda new to the genre only game in that direction i've played so far was Divinity os1 and 2 which were much easier to understand, but i still want to give this game a fair chance becuase i think this game can be a lot of fun as soon as i understand how the combat system works and how to manipulate rng in my favour.

Example: My main is a Halfelf Assasin level 3 so far, (no clue if thats the race/class name in english but you get the idea) using dual shortsword with shortsword- +2 and dualwield perk, 16 str and agi while wearing light armor, to me as a beginner this would sound like a good early game setup because why not ? Increasing the skill of the weapon and battlestyle you use shouldnt be a bad thing right ? Then you go in a fight and all i see is "miss, miss, miss, maybe 1 dmg" wtf why ? I know you have to outroll the enemys AC to even hit the thing but how am i supposed to do that in an efficent way if all i get are crappy weapons ?

Magic is pretty much the same issue for me. To me as a noob most of the spells you get early look pretty underwhelming but at the same time im afraid to use them, (maybe there is something good in there that i just dont know about) since a lot of them only have one charge and i dont wanna waste them because they miss or dont have the expected effect because the description isn't clear enough.


Seriously i'd happy if someone could help me a bit with these issues or send me in the right direction. I've tried googleing before but damn 1h+ long videos or 5 page long essays or just plain build guides aren't exactly my idea of a good help for new players since its way too much information to process that i'll most likely forget about already again half way through or in case of bulld guides you dont learn anything at all because you just copy other peoples homework...

[anfindel13]

First question for anyone new to this style of game is, what level are you playing at? If it isn't normal or lower, lower it - now !! Core is NOT for beginners, and anything above core is going to leave you unsuccessful and unhappy with your game play.

Second question is which companions are you using at this point.

[HydraLord]

Hi there.

Ok short practical answer is what you seem you want.
Then...
- When you hold 2 weapons you should know that you adquire a penalty. Those penalties could be minimize as you gain some feats with levels (for example 2 weapons fighting feat)...perhaps you may want to keep just 1 hand weapon in only one hand. There no use in having more attack, if the hit chance lowers too much. At least keep one handed for the first few levels, then you will be able to set you character as you want.
- So far the strenght will add the hit chance and bonus dmg, but as you level up, there are some feats that allow you hit chance with base on dexterity value, and there another one that adds damage bomus on dexterity value.
As you seem to be building a light armored assassain, keeping light armor will make the most of that dexterity bonus that also will boost your hit chance and damage.
- Have in mind that foes engage with 2 or more party members are considered flanked, and as so they have some armor attributes lowered or even nullified (as long as they are flanked/flat flooted). So engaging with your thank, and also hitting with your main should help you a bit. There are some group traits that will increase your those values as 2 or more of the party members who have them are attacking the same foe. Also as a rogue you will have the chance to adquiere more damage as you are flanking as you level up.

About spells. There is a bit difference about Pathfidner and other games. For example those spells with ranged touch will need dexterity to help the accuracy of the caster, i mean casting is not a 100% chance of hitting.
So, mages should have some dexterity appart from their main attribute. Do not have fear to use your spells, in later stages you will have many slots for spells (assuming you choose some abilities that grant that), for the moment, you cast those few spells withouth fear, and then the mage could be helping via crosbow, cantrips (lvl 0 spells), of demoralazing the enemies.

Hope this help
Have fun

[Neutral1]

Yes, if you are new to this type of game, I would definitely lower the difficulty. Then I would just simplify things. An Assassin sounds like a character that starts slow and gets good later. Start with a simpler melee character, like a barbarian. probably wielding a big two handed weapon. Another very simple build is Gendarme (type of Cavalier). You get a horse at level 1, and basically charge your character at the enemy for every fight. You will win a lot of fights and learn how combat works.

I would also look into using control spells and feats. Dazing, blinding, knocking down (grease spell and some skills like trample) make a big difference. The whole idea of this game genre is to never fight a "fair" fight. Your character is probably missing enemies that haven't been weakened... And these control spells are quite important.

Finally, look into how spells and feats can buff your chances to hit, dmg, and of course defense.

[Babbles]

Build around the dice rolls - I am for builds that *sometimes* achieve a roll of 16+ on a D20.

[Riftweaver]

ok i have a few questions... how are you an assassin at level 3? why is your strength so high if you are using dual wield light weapons (get weapon finesse and stack dex)

i could offer some tips, like if you want a 'braindead' simple melee character that works quite well, make a rogue-subclass knife fighter, foxus on dex, and use sai's . they are quite satisifying and very simple to use. flank attacks and lots of stabby stabby
alternativly, you could make a fight -subclass two handed specialist, and focus on strength, power attack, and scythe's to dish out some nasty hits

[Soul]

first of all its good that your interested in giving this a try rather than ranting about an old system like other newbies do... lol.... this type of game has decades long history that was the foundation of a lot of current rpg's.... so your looking at the roots of modern day rpgs right here being brought from the tabletop version....

but anyways first of all make sure the difficulty is normal or lower as a beginner to this type of game... otherwise you need to know what the mechanics of the game is a lot better to pull off the higher difficulties...

if you look at the right side in the combat log when you fight you can see the numbers of your attack and damage rolls... i'd recommend looking at it and familiarize yourself with it... as well as your character sheet with the inventory page open.... you can hover over things like attributes to see what does what and what stacks and doesnt.... its a lot of information... but yeah there are penalties for dual wielding which you need to take feats to lower to make them more effective... just starting off two weapon fighting normally gives you a -6 to hit with primary and a -10 to hit with secondary weapon... unless secondary weapon is a light weapon like a dagger then its only a -8.... just 2 less penalty rather.... also flanking bonuses are a thing... extra bonus to attack rolls if an opponent is flanked (2 party members are next to an enemy attacking in melee range)

you want your tank to trigger fights... usually the one who starts combat gets the wrath of the enemies.... playing in turn based mode on you can use seelah to charge outside of combat and if shes far enough away once combat starts she'll finish her charge and be on top of the enemy... if your too close when you charge with her it can mess it up cause charging takes a few steps before officially charging kinda thing..

for spells just read the descriptions and durations... early game in prologue for instance you have Camellia.... she can learn bless in her spellbook which is an aoe buff that lasts 1 min per caster level... so when she is level 2 it will last for 2 minutes.... which gives a bonus + 1 to attack rolls.... meaning it will help your melee have a +1 to hit the enemy.... some spells stack just usually not from the same type of bonus.... like armor and mage armor dont stack.... moral bonuses and inherit bonuses stack....

but spells in here are not like DOS 2.... where you have unlimited uses (with CD that is).... you have a limited amount... and spellcasters are gonna wanna save them for special scenarios.... like for bosses or really nasty trash mobs.... just not for everyday trash mobs.... I have my sorcerer just use cantrips or crossbow for trash.... but spellcasters while seeming weak are really strong when done right.... there's an area in Act 1 for instance where a lot of enemies in a tower which normally game tells you to just investigate and "dont be a hero" and tell you to come back another time... but with my sorcerer I can just cast a grease in the right spot and just pelt enemies as they trip and fall while melee holds the line in case any manage to pass their saves...

but there is a lot to unpack and learn about the game.... one thing I did though to help is look at builds from ppl like cRPG Bro on youtube... and just created a text document and copied builds for all companions into it so I dont have to worry about what to do with who when I get them and level them up.... allowing me to just work on my own character... also in the settings you can customize it to make it easier with things like "remove negative effects after resting" so you dont have to micromanage so much with things like permanent effects...

i'd also recommend looking at videos like top arcane spells or top arcane buffs and so forth... some spells are way better than others and some stack and some dont... again cRPG Bro does pretty good videos explaining things... and others do too... especially look up useful tips on the game or those "things I wish I knew" type of videos.... very handy.... you can also look up a lot of stuff on Fextralife about the game... I have it bookmarked lol... also neoseeker is good source too...

but yeah... this game is based off the tabletop version.... which had books upon books to look through... i'd say if your interested in this game your probably gonna be end up doing a lot of reading and seeing lots of debate and such over builds... which I dont mind... lol

and this game has a good community too that will be here to help as well if you have questions or trouble... or even wanna ask for more detailed help with builds...

oh... and turn based mode vs real time.... use both.... turn based is good for micromanaging.... but sometimes fighting really hard enemies like water elemental in shield maze real time wins hands down.... for that fight I just have my main run around the table in the room while everyone else stands far away and pelts it with arrows while we play ring around the rosey.... otherwise in turn based mode the elemental would be able to just walk up to any of my characters and one shot them.....

[Soul]

Originally posted by Riftweaver:

ok i have a few questions... how are you an assassin at level 3? why is your strength so high if you are using dual wield light weapons (get weapon finesse and stack dex)

their new to game system... ive seen ppl call their characters thieves before cause they took pickpocket as background...

[azaris]

You are missing because your base attack bonus at level 3 is low, your strength is low, and you are getting a -2 penalty to hit for each hand because you are fighting with two weapons. A two-weapon fighter may need to run only one weapon for a while before they get their attack bonus above +10 or so.

Since two-weapon fighting involves using light weapons, pick the Weapon Finesse feat that makes you use dexterity instead of strength to determine your attack bonus. That allows you to lower your strength and put more points in dexterity. A half-elf can easily start with 20 dex by putting your +2 ability bonus there. This has the added bonus that dexterity boosts your armor class, which makes you more durable in melee.

You can also increase your chance to hit by buffing with spells or potions, i.e. giving positive bonuses to your characters. Potions of Bull's Strength (or Potions of Cat's Grace if you have weapon finesse) are pretty freely distributed in the beginning. Sometimes a small boost is all you need to get over the enemy's AC and end the encounter in one round.

Furthermore, some enemies just have high AC and are hard to hit. You can inspect them using the Y key. If this is the case, you need to use touch attacks such as a Scroll of Inflict Light Wounds to target their touch AC instead of their normal AC. Or use an attack that always hits, like the Magic Missile spell.