jerryrowe wrote:
[*]When do you ever get more skill points? At levelups?
[*]How many skillpoints do you get? (Is it based on class, or is it always just 1?)
As mentioned before 4 points per level. You will get a bit over 50 points at the end (with some optional bonus points). So you can max only one skill. There are some skills that works best when maxed and some that works better in combos with other. Some personal opinions below:
Weapon skills:
Unarmed - MAXED/COMBO - it boost your Evasion to the point when Protection is not necessary at all so you can focus on Unarmed and skip Armour/Dodge. For an ultimate tank you can combine Unarmed with Armour(16 or 25)/Dodge(24) - such monk will be less DPS but will be very resilient.
Missile/Throwing - MAXED - keeping your ranged characters in second row allow to skip defensive skills and focus on row DPS. Ranged combat is based on player's accuracy, not character's accuracy - unless a monster steps aside character always hits.
Swords/Maces/Axes - COMBO - Those skills are good to combine with some defensive skills because they don't provide enough protection/evasion for a first row characters. It is advised to put at least some points in Armour for some defence.
Daggers - COMBO - You can either use them from first row and in that case it works pretty much like any other melee weapon - so It is advised to put at least some points in Dodge for some defence. Investing 12 points in assasination though, allows you to use it from second row and skip Dodge entirely focussing on Daggers.
The good advice is to focus on one weapon per character. Every weapon type has one badass end game gear so don't specialize two characters in the same weapon type (unarmed included) unless we're talking about swords, because there are two of them that may be considered end-game weapon.
jerryrowe wrote:
[*]How much influence does "attack power" give? (Is a "+1" just +1 straight out to any damage that connects, or is it +10% to whatever damage you dealt, or what?)
I don't know precisely, but keep in mind that every 2 points of Strength gives you +1 AP, whereas
every 1 point in given skill gives you +1 to AP and Accuracy with given weapon. Increasing weapon skills is much more combat effective then increasing Strength. Strength is more a stat of carry weight (which is important for any heavy armour user).
jerryrowe wrote:
[*]The resist fire / electric / cold / poison --- is this a %-based damage reduction? (e.g., 50 fire resist gives you 50% less damage to all fire, and 100 fire resist would make you immune)
I don't know really but keep in mind that even if you manage to get 100% resistance on one character, the other ones will be still vulnerable and when you're hit by spell-like attack whole party is hit so the best way to avoid fire/poison/electric/ice damage is to avoid spell manually by stepping aside. Generally try to distribute resistances equally because it's better to have four party members wounded, then one at full health and three dead.
jerryrowe wrote:[*]How does ranged combat work? How do hit and damage work?
As already mentioned it is based on player accuracy, so if there's monster before you you always hit. Dexterity is most important for melee fighters. Of course as Komag mentioned it is a stat that provide bonus to Evasion and some resistances so it is not a total waste on any character - mages included.
jerryrowe wrote:[*]What are the spell/skill lists for each of the 4 classes' skills/spells? Is there any benefit beyond 10?
Yes. Every spell gets more powerful with every skill additional point allocated to the skill. A Fireburst cast by a mage with 2 points in Fire Magic is a way less powerful the Fireburst cast by a mage with 50 points in Fire Magic. Apart from that every Magic skill has a level at which its primary bolt gets major boost (for example it's 27 for Air Magic). If you're combing a single Magic skill with other skills and can't maxed it out to 50, it is advised to at least get this major boost.
jerryrowe wrote:Is ice magic all utility, like haste and slow and shield? Is fire all offensive? Is lightning defensive? I have no idea about ANY spells of ANY kind. I also don't know if swords or unarmed would be better, since I can't see any of their effects later on.
No, all Magic skills are somewhat similar - each gets two offensive spells with one being range bolt. Lightning and Fire spells deal more damage, but Ice and Earth spells have additional effects - in case of ice it's either hitting multiple enemies or freezing, in case of earth it's poison clouds that deals damage over time (sadly also to the party). Also Ice and Fire spells cost less energy. The only utility spells are Invisibility (Air Magic) but it's hardly useful and Light (Spellcraft).
jerryrowe wrote:For instance, I have no idea what the text-only descriptions are. "Massive damage." "A technique only known to grand masters." Does this mean a million damage or 100 damage? Is it a 300% of normal damage thing? Does it require "energy" like mages use? What's the cooldown on ANYTHING?
Every special attack consumes energy. For example you gain special attack called Slash at 10 points in Swords skill. From now on every time you hit with sword you have a chance to execute this special attack for extra damage. The more you advanced in give skill the more special attacks you learn so the overall chance of executing one will increase and thus your energy consumption with increase as well. It is mostly noticeable with fast weapons with many attacks per minute (like daggers, unarmed and even swords). If you run out of energy you will make only normal attacks - it's not something really horrible but it hurts when you get used to those deadly Flurry of Slashes execyted by your rogue and then he is reduced to some mere regular dagger stabs
jerryrowe wrote:So an all-ice-mage party can take on the final boss (who is immune to ice)?
Yes, theoretically.
Speaking of final boss. The final boss doesn't has normal anatomy so it can't be backstabbed (as it hasn't got back). Assassination is useful skill and many of my characters had some points in it as there is only one regular monster without normal anatomy and defined back, but keep in mind that it won't add you a bit with final boss.
Also note that personally I find final battle easier with range attacks (missile, throwing, magic bolts). Melee fighters are helpful with minions though and also they can always use grenades. Anyway that last bit is very personal and final boss is totally beatable with melee weapons as well.
Speaking of magic resistant monsters. Quite a few common monsters are resistant to Earth Magic (poison) which makes it least useful skill IMO. From the other hand those monsters are rather easy to defeat so you can deal with them without spells at all (mages don't have weapon skills, but they still can use most weapons. Note that they always hit with ranged weapons like shurikens or throwing axes). There is one somewhat difficult monster immune to Fire Magic, and later on one very difficult monster immune to Ice Magic. To make your Fire/Ice mage useful in encounters with those two either invest some points in another Magic skill or use wands. You will find several "wand" class items with charges that can cast spells. Any character can use them, but they are useful for mages to deal damage to monster resistant to their spells. Also wands come handy to any melee character if he wants to deal damage from distance. Wands don't look always as wands - but they have spell-like charges so I'm calling them wands for convenience.
jerryrowe wrote:What stat(s) do I need to increase to be effective at ranged combat? Do I even need any skill points invested in it?
Weapon skill is most important - every skill point invested increase Attack Power plus you gain special bonuses (like fast attack or double attack) at certain levels. Those bonuses are great - especially double attack (even if it's ammo consuming). Strength increase Attack Power as well but not that much. For example investing four points in Assassination gives you +1 Strength and potentially +1 AP with your ranged weapons. But investing those points in Missile/Throwing Weapons gives you +4 AP with given weapon class. So basically ranged weapons are most straightforward ones - only Strength has any impact on them. With melee weapons you have to balance between Strength (Attack Power), Dexterity (Accuracy) and even Willpower (Energy for special attacks). Range weapons don't have accuracy nor special attacks.
You can use any weapon, ranged or not, even when you don't have any points in given skill. Only end game weapons have skill restriction. Early on the difference between knife thrown by rogue with 4 points in Throwing weapons and a knife thrown by mage isn't that visible to be honest, so it is advised to use whatever you find to gives your party an edge. Later on you'd rather focus on the weapon of choice of every character. I think it is wise to equip a mage with some throwing weapons - remember that he always hits.