tips for stat point allocation? esp. how much str is needed for archer/mage

[bachelorduke]

Thanks to Brewmaster, I've got SF/EA up and running at 1680x1050 at max settings, looks FANTASTIC. More games should go this stylized route rather than trying to make everything look realistic. NWN2 requires much more horsepower to run at max settings, but SF looks much nicer imho.

I also love the kb movement, I wish Titan Quest had this, makes kiting so much easier.

Anyway I'm clueless on how to spend stat points. My first character is going to be an Elf archer/mage. I want to go 2 agility, 1 con, 1 int every level-up, but already, the first bow I found requires 12 str. (Elf starts with 10.)

So, how much do I need to pump up str?

[bachelorduke]

Wth with archery.

2 out of 3 times, when you shoot, your guy runs right up next to the target and fires point blank. The 1 out of 3 times when it works right, the range is quite long, so it's not the case that bows have a range of 8 inches in this game.

It's just getting too annoying to deal with, 50% of every fight is repositioning endlessly after my guy runs right into the mob. I think I'll switch to fighter. Now watch as he swings at air from a long ways away lol.

[DaveO_MM]

Overall, you may get up to 75-100 strength to equip armor items. You can buy stuff with +force(strength) quite easily at merchants in EA, so the same likely applies with the Silverfall start. My personal axiom is to forgo strength until all other characters have armor slots covered. BTW, you should try the key that makes your character shoot from a stationary position(control or shift IIRC). Also, the speed enhancements and multishot path are a quite good direction to go down.

[Brewmaster]

> My first character is going to be an Elf archer/mage.
> 50% of every fight is repositioning endlessly

That's the fate of the archer. ;) An archer/hunter character is most difficult to play, I wouldn't start with such a char when playing SFEA for the first time.

As for STR, you can go to a Skillmaster at any time to re-allocate your skill points, so I wouldn't bother about that much.

> 2 out of 3 times, when you shoot, your guy runs right up next to the target and fires point blank.

Hm, strange behaviour. An archer in SFEA is supposed to hold position automatically (there's no need for pressing any keys like in Diablo2) and I now that it works. Therefore, I assume you have not selected the corresponding primary skill (that's the attack skill which is activated with a left-mouse-click) --> drag & drop a basic long range attack skill into the smaller part of the UI (slots 1-3) and activate it with a mouse click (or by pressing numbers 1-3 on your keyboard; default is "2"). Left-click on a target to fire. Note: special long range attack skills go into the larger part of the UI (slots 4-8; use RMC to fire them at a target).

[bachelorduke]

Wait -- so you can reallocate stat points as well as skill points? I would love that feature.

I think I figured out the archer bit. You're right -- when conditions are met, they do stand still to fire. I think what I'm doing wrong is, when I move away and then click again to attack a pursuing enemy, my guy runs to where he would have been had the enemy stood still where he was when I clicked him, if that makes sense.

It's like an SAT question, my guy is running to the spot but that other guy is closing the gap, and we meet in the middle.

Oh and the game got a *lot* easier once I figured out you can get a companion right at the start. Lol I was dying every fight.

[Brewmaster]

> so you can reallocate stat points as well as skill points?

Yep, you'll find skillmasters in almost every location. And you have to pay them each time you want to change a talent.

[DaveO_MM]

You get an increased charge for each allocation change, but you should easily be able to afford any fees for respecializing any character. Skill masters have that title above them, so they are difficult to miss.