Encumbrance mechanics

[Muscleguy]

Playing 4.0.4dirty on Mac Sierra and Android version 3.4.1

Been meaning to ask about this for a while. So, you put on a suit of armour as a magic user and get told it encumbers your movement and your mana points go down.

The help files say nothing about it or what stats or levels moderate the effect though it does seem to moderate as the game goes on. Does Strength matter? Does Dexterity matter? or do both matter? How is race and class involved?

Currentl running a half Elf Ranger so he is weaker than a man or a Dunadan. So heavy armour yes. But am I right?

[Pete Mack]

Muscleguy-
It is class-based entirely, where SP goes down 1 point for every pound over the encumbrance limit. It only matters early in the game when your mana is low. Once your INT or WIS is high enough, encumbrance makes very little difference.

[Muscleguy]

So how do you know your character's encumbrance limit? other than by trying on different armours? My question is how does the game work that out and what affects it?

If the weight is the problem as the text suggests then surely increasing Strength is the answer but encumbering your movements suggests Dexterity as well.

So when choosing things to equip will it make more or no difference to priorities Str over Dex?

[Pete Mack]

None. It is a simple mechanic based on total armor weight. If you want more SP with your current armor, get more INT. The limit should show up in the class help file.

And why do you care? There are only a handful of low-mana spells a ranger will be casting below cl 30 anyway.

[Derakon]

If I recall correctly, the limit is 20 pounds for mages and 30 pounds for other arcane casters. Your SP also gets cut much more drastically if you're an arcane caster and you wear gloves that do not provide either a DEX boost or Free Action.

[malcontent]

I think encumbrance also affects failure rates. In 4.1.3, as a level 43 mage, I can swap Thalkettoth (no Int bonus) for Caspanion (+2 Int bonus) become encumbered, and see my failure rates go from zero to 1-3%.

[Pete Mack]

@Derakon--
Also +INT or weight zero (gloves of alchemy) incur no INT penalty. Ego alchemy gloves can be very nice. Note that the weight penalty is applied after the glove penalty, so the combined effect can be crippling.

[fph]

I thought the glove penalty had been removed in the latest versions?

[Derakon]

I think encumbrance also affects failure rates. In 4.1.3, as a level 43 mage, I can swap Thalkettoth (no Int bonus) for Caspanion (+2 Int bonus) become encumbered, and see my failure rates go from zero to 1-3%.

If you're going from Caspanion to Thalkettoth, then your failure rates should go up because your INT is lower. If you're going from Thalkettoth to Caspanion and seeing your failure rates go up, then something strange is going on. So far as I'm aware, the weight-based encumbrance only affects your SP, not your failure rates.

Pete: thanks for the correction/addition.