Titan Quest gold...should I.............

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Wed Oct 12, 2011 4:45 pm

............play the original story game or skip right to the addon Immortal Throne? The reviews online seem to suggest the addon is better. Up front I can tell you Im not Titan Quest fan. I liked it ok but I got bored both times I played it and got no where close to finishing it. I got the gold pack because it was only $5 and I 'should' be able to find some fun in it for that.

silverjon · Post by **silverjon** » Wed Oct 12, 2011 4:53 pm

When you launch Immortal Throne, you still start at the beginning of the game, but with the new features. No earthly reason to play without it anymore.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Wed Oct 12, 2011 5:24 pm

Did not know that. Thanks. Ill start it that way then and try it.

DD* · Post by DD* » Wed Oct 12, 2011 7:51 pm

When I played it, it had a HORRIBLE slowdown/stutter bug that almost completely ruined the game. From what I found online, the devs acknowledged the issue, said it was inherent to the game engine, they didn't have the resources to fix it, T.S.

Of course, that was a couple years ago, so maybe it has been resolved. (?)

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Wed Oct 12, 2011 8:06 pm

Now I remember why I didn't like it much. you have to keep left clicking to attack. You can just hold it down. Now my finger is numb and I cannot beat the first boss. I've used up all my 8 health potions smacking on him and died. I have nothing left to sell because I cleaned out everything but him so no more potions for me. So guess Im stuck this early lol.

silverjon · Post by **silverjon** » Wed Oct 12, 2011 9:53 pm

Reload. All the monsters and containers will reset.

Zurai · Post by **Zurai** » Wed Oct 12, 2011 10:12 pm

By first boss do you mean the beastman shaman to the north of the very first town, or the centaur warlord at the Spartan camp?

The shaman always has two healing-type shrines in his area (one right next to him, and one below the rocks in the center of the area). Use those and you shouldn't even need a healing potion.

The centaur can be really tough for some characters, though, because he can spawn additional centaurs pretty frequently. One tip: If you have any ranged attacks, it's possible to kite him to a point where he'll start to "leash" back to his spawn point. However, if you move closer to him from that point, he'll come right back in at you. You can abuse that to attack him, back off when he gets too close, then move in and attack him again, etc, until he dies.

silverjon · Post by **silverjon** » Wed Oct 12, 2011 10:32 pm

When I start a new character, I usually rip through to the shaman a few times before leaving Helos. The chest by the burning house always drops 3 healing potions, so that starts a nice little reserve.

I figure it must be Nessus that's causing the trouble. He's pretty tough if you just go straight to him.

Debris · Post by **Debris** » Wed Oct 12, 2011 11:48 pm

Daehawk wrote:Now I remember why I didn't like it much. you have to keep left clicking to attack. You can just hold it down. Now my finger is numb and I cannot beat the first boss. I've used up all my 8 health potions smacking on him and died. I have nothing left to sell because I cleaned out everything but him so no more potions for me. So guess Im stuck this early lol.

Click and hold and you will attack your target until he is dead. Then you will have to click again on your next target.

or...

Shift-click and hold will stop you from moving and attack from your current position, but you'll swing wherever your cursor is located. Even against multiple foes. This is good for using bows or staffs or when you're surrounded in melee.

Try quitting to main menu and then playing again. The boxes with the potions will refresh and it will give you a chance to earn another level before trying to tackle the first boss. He can be a little tricky, but keep in mind that there are two healing stones in his area. use them if needed.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 12:23 am

I thought I tried click and hold but Ill try again. I clicked those two shrines not knowing what they were. I clicked them before bothering with him. He doesn't summon extras for me but my little weapon barely hurts him. After going through 8 health pots I had him just below half health. Ill reload and try again.

silverjon · Post by **silverjon** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 1:13 am

Ohhhh, so it is the shaman. Mouse over shrines and they'll display what they are. Some are useful before a fight, but others are better during.

As for your weapon, just check the damage on everything that drops and keep swapping it out. Even the broken stuff works at the start.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 2:08 am

Thanks to everyone's advice I got past him and much easier this time.

On skills. Should I be pumping points into just raising the main lvl or raise it some them start adding points into the individual skills themselves?? The latter is what im doing. I've gotten dual wield to 5/6 and something that charges up damage to like 3/6.

silverjon · Post by **silverjon** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 2:23 am

Either pumping the mastery or the skills or both can all work and depends on your build. The mastery gets you hitpoints and attribute points which can be more useful at the lower levels than combat skill.

You've chosen Warfare, so you probably want to put most of your attribute points in strength, 1 in dex for every 2-3 in str, and ignore int. Got a secondary mastery in mind?

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 2:28 am

Not anything in particular. Something magic. Maybe so I can heal or buff myself. Is there one summon pet thats better than another?

silverjon · Post by **silverjon** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 2:43 am

I don't really recommend making a hybrid build if you're already struggling (splitting between a str mastery and most of the int ones). Dream is really good with Warfare without adding more points to int than you'd get from the mastery, as long as you stick to physical damage and stun/petrification. The nightmare is a decent pet. Ignore its last add-on skill since you'll have no other pets. Trance of Convalescence will heal you. Nature is also a good support mastery with buffs and healing and the Plague debuff gets very good. Wolves are skill-point heavy, but people like them. An army of wolves is probably not such a great idea when you're playing a warrior though.

As a general rule, relying on pets for damage will mess you up when you get into Act 3, since they'll start to die faster than you can recast them.

http://www.titancalc.com/" target="_blank is useful to mess around without committing to anything.

Vorret · Post by **Vorret** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 8:14 am

Hmm I have the itch to play it again, never made it very far even though I liked the game alot.
13$ for gold on steam... not 5$ but still inexpensive, should I ...

Debris · Post by **Debris** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 10:56 am

Daehawk wrote:Not anything in particular. Something magic. Maybe so I can heal or buff myself. Is there one summon pet thats better than another?

I'm partial to Nature for most of my builds. There is a heal spell as well as a wolf pet that you can get early on. I usually get nature at 8th level, put one point into it, then pick up the heal and wolf spells right away.

Paingod · Post by **Paingod** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 1:10 pm

I can't remember the exact build, but one of my most lethal characters was a Conqueror (War/Def) I think - just pure melee power, all spec'd out for Dual Blades and passive defenses - with the Collosus form thrown in for good measure. Just ... just a blender.

silverjon · Post by **silverjon** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 1:30 pm

I've thought about a dual-wielding Conqueror but can't remember if I've started one. My main dual-wielding character is a Harbinger (War/Dream), and my Conq uses a bludgeon-and-shield for massive stun bonuses. Both are meat-grinders.

The shield attacks are enormously fun. Everyone should try a Defense build based on these at least once. Combine with Hunting to make a Warden and explore the power of the spear, or try various other builds with clubs or swords.

The tactical possibilities in this game are nigh endless. That's why I ended up liking it so much.

Tao · Post by **Tao** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 5:44 pm

Dual wield is a tough build for your first play through. DW doesnt really shine untill you have a ton of points in DW and it's upper tier skills. You also need a set of good weapons in the later acts for a dual wield build and it's a dice roll on whether you will get the drops you need. Dual wield works much better once you can feed items to a 2nd character.

Dream is a completely OP'd mastery so Dream+ anything works really well. A few points into Sleep makes the early levels so much easier and once you get Phantom Strike you will be a god and just as you Over-power-ness starts to slip Distort reality opens up. Oh and you have a pet that can damage and do Crowd control and you can regen health and mana.

Nature is a good 2nd mastery as well with hitpoint boost, heals and deubuffs

Earth is decent secondary as well and works nicely to buff damage for melee builds plus the pet makes a decent tank and you have a really nice "Oh shit" skill in Stone Form.

Id say stear clear of Hunting Rogue and Storm for a first play through, non are bad masteries but they are more challenging if your not familiar with the game.

Here is a link to a character builder there are also some great build discussions out there if your interested.

http://www.titancalc.com/" target="_blank

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 5:55 pm

Hmmmmm may restart since Im just now at the Spartans and make a shield user. Looks fun and I find a LOT of shields as loot.

silverjon · Post by **silverjon** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 6:05 pm

Loot drops are random (though creatures will never drop equipment they don't use), so you might not find as many shields with a new character.

There is no shame in restarting, and you really haven't gotten that far yet.

I like Batter as a left-click attack. Just one point and then a few in the add-on for multiple targets. Shield Charge on the RMB for rushing mages and archers. Boost the passive shield attacks and you'll be whacking stuff with your shield constantly. Shield attacks also deal damage with your weapon, so they're powerful stuff.

Pop a point into Adrenaline Rush and Rally and hit Rally when the Rush triggers to heal yourself. Lack of healing skill was my main problem with a defense character until I discovered this strategy.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 6:37 pm

If I go Defense and Dream do I pick Defense first?

Tao · Post by **Tao** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 7:36 pm

Ultimately it doesnt matter which mastery you choose first. I would recommend taking Dream first since as I mentioned before sleep is very handy against multi pulls early on but the first few levels go by quick so again pick either.

When you get to the Centaur leader boss quest you are typically level 6ish if you have played straight through, I highly highly recommend grinding that area until you hit level 8 or you may be in for a fustrating time. Very tough fight. Also you can use the big rock and tree formation just south of the Centaurs to kite this fight.

silverjon · Post by **silverjon** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 9:42 pm

I'd go Defense first because it has my preferred active skills. I know Sleep is supposed to be useful at low levels, but I've never even put a point in it with any Dream character.

You can build a character in so many ways in TQ.

Hyena · Post by **Hyena** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 11:56 pm

One of my strongest characters was a dream/defense. Nearly untouchable past 35 or so. I would strongly recommend Dream first. One of the most powerful skills in dream is that first one, dream wave. I usually just pump points into that, and when it's maxed out by level 4 or 6, you can literally one-shot every monster save bosses. Then you can start spreading points around into some of the other skills, like the passive weapon damage as well as adding points to the mastery for hitpoints and str.

Urge to play...growing...

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Fri Oct 14, 2011 12:25 am

So if I play a defense/dream character the only 2 stats i should pump points into are str and hitpoints? Maybe a few into dex but thats it?

silverjon · Post by **silverjon** » Fri Oct 14, 2011 1:12 am

You don't want your dex too low or everything will hit you while you flail away ineffectually. Thus the recommendation of a 2:1 or 3:1 ratio of str:dex for any melee build.

Some players say that you need lots of points in health to survive the higher difficulties. Others say this sacrifices far too much damage potential, and the real trick is to kill everything before it kills you.

IMO, putting attribute points into health or mana is a waste, because you don't get much for it (25 per point invested). You get more from your masteries, and you can raise health/mana with gear pretty easily. The only exception might be for builds that get no mana from their masteries at all but use a lot of it (Brigands, for example). Even then, I'd personally try to overcome the shortfall with gear.

GreenGoo · Post by **GreenGoo** » Fri Oct 14, 2011 8:57 am

Geez, I may reinstall just because of this thread. A very generous forum member bought me the original at full pop when it was first released and I haven't played it since we stopped multiplaying. Sorry I missed the expansion sale now.

My interest is waning in what I have, despite having a pile of barely played games on my desktop.

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Fri Oct 14, 2011 9:13 am

GreenGoo wrote:Geez, I may reinstall just because of this thread.

I had the same thought. I reinstalled last night and played for a few minutes this morning. I should be playing Torchlight, btu I just had to see. I never played with the expansion.

Vorret · Post by **Vorret** » Fri Oct 14, 2011 9:14 am

How many pts you get per level?
I see some skills require 12 pts?!?

Defense looks really strong (even though I haven't played much), the regen seems really badass.

Dream is a pure dps tree?

paulbaxter · Post by **paulbaxter** » Fri Oct 14, 2011 9:17 am

Just wanna throw out that anyone trying the game should make a Spirit char to play around with the Liche King. You'd be astonished how much easier he makes things. Might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I just loved my undead buddy.

Debris · Post by **Debris** » Fri Oct 14, 2011 9:54 am

Vorret wrote:How many pts you get per level?
I see some skills require 12 pts?!?

Defense looks really strong (even though I haven't played much), the regen seems really badass.

Dream is a pure dps tree?

You get 3 skilll pts per character level. You use those to raise skill levels as well as the power for each individual skill. That is, your starting mastery skills are available right off the bat. The second tier skills are not available until you increase your mastery to level 4. By spending 1 point over 3 levels, or 3 points at once and so on. Each skill also has a power level which increases the effect.

Vorret · Post by **Vorret** » Fri Oct 14, 2011 10:03 am

paulbaxter wrote:Just wanna throw out that anyone trying the game should make a Spirit char to play around with the Liche King. You'd be astonished how much easier he makes things. Might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I just loved my undead buddy.

I like pets!
Always been a fan of a necro in D2.

Question though, I can max lich king at lvl 9 (if the link you guys gave it correct)

It'd create a pet that has :

610HP and 562 Energy.

It's probably awesome at lvl 9 but is he going to keep the same stats forever? Wouldn't it be kinda crappy and die instantly at lvl 20+?

GreenGoo · Post by **GreenGoo** » Fri Oct 14, 2011 10:23 am

Can't register retail version on Steam, fyi.

silverjon · Post by **silverjon** » Fri Oct 14, 2011 10:44 am

Vorret wrote:Question though, I can max lich king at lvl 9 (if the link you guys gave it correct)

It'd create a pet that has :

610HP and 562 Energy.

It's probably awesome at lvl 9 but is he going to keep the same stats forever? Wouldn't it be kinda crappy and die instantly at lvl 20+?

This is why pets tend to get kinda outclassed through the second half of Normal. Wraith Shell does make your lich more durable, and other pets also have progressive skills to improve them. As you progress to each difficulty level, the pets get a major % boost and are useful again. Some players respec in and out of pet skills based on where they are in the game. It's another thing that depends a lot on your play style, but relying on pets through Normal is bit of a sketchy prospect. I still think they're fine as an assistant.

GreenGoo · Post by **GreenGoo** » Fri Oct 14, 2011 1:37 pm

Any reason not to start a character in the original game and then install the expansion later?

I realize I don't get the dream tree, but would I be missing anything else?

silverjon · Post by **silverjon** » Fri Oct 14, 2011 1:45 pm

No caravan, which is a pain if you're a hoarder like me. TQVault (a fan program) should work with or without the expansion though, so you can offload any goods into that and access them whenever.

I am not certain if a character started in a retail version and ported to the Steam Gold version would work seamlessly, because TQ has weird anti-cheating mechanisms that make it difficult to move saves between computers without screwing stuff up. There are mods to address this, so I'd recommend a little research into it, unless you're going to find a retail Immortal Throne.

Paingod · Post by **Paingod** » Fri Oct 14, 2011 1:46 pm

GreenGoo wrote:Any reason not to start a character in the original game and then install the expansion later?

I realize I don't get the dream tree, but would I be missing anything else?

There's the shared stash, which I think is absent without the expansion through the normal version. Once the expansion is installed, this comes with it and shows up in every town you visit (again, from memory of a few years back). Aside from that, new content is all new content and isn't unlocked until you get to it - except for Dream mastery.

I had the original and upgraded it without a problem once the expansion came out. *Edit: Non-Steam versions

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Fri Oct 14, 2011 2:02 pm

I started with the expansion as someone suggested. It didn't start me off any different than the normal game but it gave me a stash which is very handy.