Dexterity - Turn Based

[DecayWolf]

So, how does it works now, will it get me extra turns?
I've started a new game, 20 MIG, 18 DEX. My Cipher always start as first (as of now)

But I don't seen to be getting any extra turn.

Yes, being the first to act can be nice... There are some very nasty cipher spells down in the line, but reacting as a cipher ain't all that bad either.

Meanwhile I could've dumped DEX in favor of CON and RES, to make a more durable front liner. Since 10 MIG 2H would probably generate more focus than a 20MIG 18 DEX gunner (at least before turn based.)

Talking of which, how about guns... Are they OP now? Do they take 2 turns to act (1 shoot, 1 reload) or just 1? Haven't used any yet.

Anyways, bottom line question. How useful DEX is?

[psychotron666420]

You will get more turns, but it depends on a ton of factors. Every action has an initiative count, some actions are slower than others. So in order to get more turns, it factors your dex, initiative (based on actions you do) and the initiative of everyone else and the actions they do. You'll notice more turns on longer battles and with more enemies. You vs 1 enemy you need to basically have double his speed to get more turns.

[Juason [Too Friendly]]

Having a Cipher with higher Dex (ie, lower initiative) than the rest of my party allows me to initiate combat with a high damage arbalest/gun shot to accumulate a lot of focus - then combat starts and the weapon is immediately reloaded/cooleddown, and since they have the lowest initiative on my team, they go again. This allows a major ability use right off the bat which is unique to Turn Based mode, and a point in favor of DEX.

No idea if it will be patched out or not. Most turn based CRPGs feature a cooldown on attack mechanic to defeat this mechanic. But for now I'm using it to offset some of the rougher edges found with turn based combat.

Weapons that reload do seem slower. My bow users attack probably 50% more often than my crossbow/gun users. But the lack of feedback in the combat log makes it difficult to grok.

Finally, I've noticed that if someone doesn't take any actions on their turn, or perhaps just moves, their turn comes back a lot quicker. This also seems bonused by DEX/Initiative. In one fight the enemy decided to target a backer NPC across the map, so my entire team was forced to give chase. Higher DEX characters made it much further - which actually proved problematic as my tanks lagged significantly behind haha. But, it proved it was doing something!

[psychotron666420]

Originally posted by Juason Too Friendly:

Having a Cipher with higher Dex (ie, lower initiative) than the rest of my party allows me to initiate combat with a high damage arbalest/gun shot to accumulate a lot of focus - then combat starts and the weapon is immediately reloaded/cooleddown, and since they have the lowest initiative on my team, they go again. This allows a major ability use right off the bat which is unique to Turn Based mode, and a point in favor of DEX.

No idea if it will be patched out or not. Most turn based CRPGs feature a cooldown on attack mechanic to defeat this mechanic. But for now I'm using it to offset some of the rougher edges found with turn based combat.

Weapons that reload do seem slower. My bow users attack probably 50% more often than my crossbow/gun users. But the lack of feedback in the combat log makes it difficult to grok.

Finally, I've noticed that if someone doesn't take any actions on their turn, or perhaps just moves, their turn comes back a lot quicker. This also seems bonused by DEX/Initiative. In one fight the enemy decided to target a backer NPC across the map, so my entire team was forced to give chase. Higher DEX characters made it much further - which actually proved problematic as my tanks lagged significantly behind haha. But, it proved it was doing something!

Yeah every action has different initative penalties depending on the speed of the action. Not doing anything means you aren't taking an initiative penalty and will get your next turn way faster. That's how it works on every action and turn, and a good example of getting a turn quicker with less of an initiative penalty.

Longer actions like most priest spells will push you further from your next turn, quicker actions like using a dagger to attack means you'll get your next turn quicker. With enough stacks, enough dex, enough turns, and slow enough enemies, you'll get more turns than they do.