Is an herbalist necessary?

[Des]

Only played a few games, haven't gotten super far, but it seems like herbalist is such a boon to keeping a party alive with the party heal option using Godsbeard. Almost seems like a necessary part of any party. What say you?

[Nequis]

Let's just say it saves a lot of money but also has pretty harsh downsides,them being:

-You can't split the party ever
-If the enemy attacks the herbalist back to back and bursts her down you won't have any kind of healing whatsoever
-Healing amount is lower and consumes a whole turn as opposed to normal+1 action

[FREND]

The herbalist's ability to find plant items is a must for me. Those items are usually the only reason I visit towns besides quests. Like Nequis said, it sucks that party heal takes a whole action but it can save a party. If you're in a dungeon you can usually not feel forced to use it during combat since you can still party heal before leaving that room.

[cruemmele]

Yes. I would argue that an herbalist is necessary. I've beaten the game on Easy (can't even get past glittering mines on Journeyman). Buying as much Godsbeard as you can get early on is the key to victory it seems. Consequently, efficiently consuming that godsbeard is the only way ensure that you have some left for Harazuel.

In all my victorious easy mode runs, I have bought Godsbeard literally every single time I could find it. I almost run out in Harazuel DESPITE using the Herbalist in every single successful run. When I get far without her, I die as soon as I run out of godsbeard.

Before you say "You can get a gathering bonnet or a white lute, or healing staff, etc", I should remind you that you don't start with those items, so you have to be inefficient the whole time you're waiting for one to show up. I have found this inefficiency is fatal.

Cheers,

[Patrickres9]

It's not impossible to beat without the Herbalist, but it makes things easier. Just to piggyback on what cruemmele said, either way, buy all the godsbeard you can. Especially in the earlier towns while it's cheap. Visit all locations if even just to buy the godsbeard. If you're in a dungeon and you run into a goblin shop or whatever early game, even with the Godsbeard in that dungeon shop being 40 gold while it's 20 elsewhere, buy it. It's going to get a lot more expensive by late game.

Additionally, get yourself a party heal item (there are some lutes and tomes that do party heal), even if it's far worse than the weapon you have. At the very least, in between rooms in dungeons, you can equip the party heal item, pop a party heal, then re-equip your better weapon before you move on. That will help a great deal on dungeon runs.

Also, while I recommend upgrading everyone's pipes, if you have a main healer (a party member with a party heal item) upgrade their pipe to max first.

Lastly, if you come across any item with party immunities, keep them, even if you don't use them all the time. Don't sell them. The only thing that saved my bacon in one of the fights in the last dungeon was party shock immunity. You can equip them when you know you're going to need them, and unequip them when the situation doesn't call for it any longer. Having a bunch of situational gear and swapping to them in the right situation when you can helps a great deal.

[Des]

Thanks for all the responses, it is appreciated.

[OdinTheGrand]

No. The herbalist is not necessary. You should be able to get through the game on hard by just buying godsbeards and finding them in chests or from enemies.

You should rarely have to use godsbeards outside of dungeons. Make sure to make the most efficient use of tinder pouches and there are plenty of inns (don't be afraid to use focus to get to an inn; resting will restore the focus anyways).

Honestly, the easiest way through the game is with 3 hunters. Their high speed will kill most enemies before the enemy can strike back which prevents a lot of hurt.

Also, pro-tip: the rusty knife (and sturdy dagger) is a lot better than it appears to be. It has a single vitality symbol which means you can guarantee a hit with just one focus. Oh, and the dagger bypasses armor.

[Des]

Fair enough, but I don't WANT to have to take 3 hunters. I want to take a party of different classes and try to make it work. Thanks for the input, though.

[OdinTheGrand]

Originally posted by Des:

Fair enough, but I don't WANT to have to take 3 hunters. I want to take a party of different classes and try to make it work. Thanks for the input, though.

My suggestion is to stick with one party composition until you get a win. It doesn't have to be 3 hunters but that definitely helps. If you change your line up every play through then you're changing a lot about the game and things you learned with previous compositions may not be applicable with the new composition.

I've not entirely sure but I posit that a win on easy is possible with any composition, even 3 blacksmiths. Whereas I don't think 3 blacksmiths can win on hard without amazingly good luck.

[Nequis]

^Doesn't really come down to luck rather than there are little if any late game strenght based piercing weapons,so you'll probably be stuck with a warpick which is 5-6 levels outdated by the time you hit harazuel.

It's still doableish but takes considerable planning and a moderate amount of luck,i won my first master run while using a lv 4 spear on the hunter cause i literally couldn't find any perc weapon in drops or towns or events.

[Hempest]

You can get party heal from other items and I beat the game without any use of party heal at all so no you dont need her but she is useful.

[Inkh인수]

In our games, Herbalist is actually less effective. The greatest healing is killing your opponents faster.

Think of it this way .. An herb is worth 15 / 25 / 35 and costs 10 / 20 / 40 / 80 etc

If an enemy hits you for 5 / 10 / 15 / 20 then they must hit you 3 / 3 / 2 / 2 times in order for the Godsbeard to matter.

Herbalist increases the healing by 2.5 per herb depending on circumstance. And that's an iffy circumstance. You also get the advantage that you can increase her pipe for more healing. Funneling your gold into her.

However. Would you rather have an Herbalist that can turn gold into health ? ( Finding an herb is a chance, do not depend on it )

Or would you rather have anyone else who can do the damage to not take damage at all ?

Just remember, the herbalist MUST be worth and be able to beat ..

Receiving an attack per battle
Receiving a godsbeards worth of gold per two to three battles

If you consider " If I hadn't been using an herbalist, this enemy would be dead by now " and " This godsbeard was worth 160gold, which is worth more than this piece of armor which had a cumulative gain of HP "

You can see that Herbalist is actually just a class for people who make more mistakes than people who don't. Which is great for beginners.

But no, Herbalist isn't necessary at all. My friend and I beat this game without an herbalist with only two characters, and by level 6 we already know we've won.

But that comes with experience and keeping a calculator handy. Make no mistake, this game is REALLY REALLY FUN, but it's little more than a vacation planner / risk reward / inventory management game. When combat is down to three decisions with RNG results per player, the real game is the preparation done before combat.

[Nequis]

^Fully agree,what i always say,Herbalist is more of a learning wheels for starting the game,later the obvious best choice is to run full damage with singular healing.