A place for FA questions and ideas for improvement

[darkdrone]

When wielding a branded weapon, a particular brand, such as fire, grants additional damage per attack vs enemies which are not resistant to it, while also granting resistance to the character from the very same elemental attacks.
It seems to me that these provisions effectively cancel each other out. Any enemy with a elemental resistance is likely to also have that similarly branded elemental attack. So, when fighting a fire elemental (or any creature resistant to fire), one could either wield a ??? or burning and gain the resistance to fire (but do no additional damage), or wield a ??? of freezing (for example, or any other) and deliver the extra damage (but then have no resistance to fire based attacks you're likely to face).

I'm sure it just a matter of game balance once again, but having branded weapons that grant resistance to the opposite or a different brand would make for a more useful weapon. A Mace of Burning that grant resistance to cold, or a Dagger of Venom that grants resistance to water.

i second this query ...

in summation, wielding a Flame-branded weapon having flame resistance is pointless (and so on....for acid/elec/cold) ESPECIALLY for a melee character.

i do recall, however, reading in rgra or this forum, that the whole "Cold monster vulnerable to flame" thing is not true anymore even if it were in the older roguelikes ??

IMO , more knowledgable posters would have more to say on this previous point....

[buzzkill]

When wielding a branded weapon, a particular brand, such as fire, grants additional damage per attack vs enemies which are not resistant to it, while also granting resistance to the character from the very same elemental attacks.
It seems to me that these provisions effectively cancel each other out. Any enemy with a elemental resistance is likely to also have that similarly branded elemental attack. So, when fighting a fire elemental (or any creature resistant to fire), one could either wield a ??? or burning and gain the resistance to fire (but do no additional damage), or wield a ??? of freezing (for example, or any other) and deliver the extra damage (but then have no resistance to fire based attacks you're likely to face).

I'm sure it just a matter of game balance once again, but having branded weapons that grant resistance to the opposite or a different brand would make for a more useful weapon. A Mace of Burning that grant resistance to cold, or a Dagger of Venom that grants resistance to water.

[Nick]

Yes, a given percentage of confusion resistance will cut damage from confusion breaths by (roughly) that percentage. There are relatively few confusion breathers, so as a general rule it's the effect (being confused) that's more dangerous.

More generally, 20% is where the '+' in your resistance table on the 'C' screen turns green (it's yellow from 0-19%), and is the cutoff for effects from all the high elements - except poison, where it's 80%

[HallucinationMushroom]

I didn't realize 20% was the cut-off point for keeping Mr. At from becoming confused, that's good to know. Having more that 20% would reduce damage from confusion attacks, I assume. I wouldn't worry too much about it, but then again I play hit point healthy characters. ? I would imagine 50% would be a lot of confusion resistance without any sort of data to back that up.

[buzzkill]

20% or more confusion resistance will stop you getting confused.

Can you clarify. Will 20% resistance grant you immunity to ALL confusion? If so, why would I ever want or need more than 20%?

[Nick]

Upgrading FA 3.4 to 3.5… When switching from the old to the new, apparently just replacing the executable doesn’t work. I’d like to continue playing as seamlessly as possible, carrying forward my scores, saves, ghosts, and preferences. I copied the bone, save, and user folders which seems to be working OK. Am I missing anything?

Also apex, which contains the scores file - but you may have got that already. You probably don't need to copy the pref folder, since any of your own .prf files will be put in the user folder.

Also, is there any device or particular attribute to prevent or minimize ‘confusion’?

20% or more confusion resistance will stop you getting confused.

And, is there any difference between confusion brought upon by attack vs. confusion from a spell or device?

Melee confusion (from things that 'hit to confuse') works whenever the monster hits you. Confusion by spell has to pass a saving throw, which is affected by your race, class, level and WIS.

Here’s a tip for masses… Don’t screw around or half heartedly (ya know, let’s just see how this first attack goes) enter battle with any of the Elemental Masters. They are very powerful, fast, and able to deliver massive attacks. They may not have been the most powerful uniques I encountered (or destroyed), but they are the ones I feared the most.

Indeed. In particular, never fight Ariel without RConf - !CCW will not help because she is too fast, and will get lots of hits in between your turns.

[buzzkill]

Upgrading FA 3.4 to 3.5… When switching from the old to the new, apparently just replacing the executable doesn’t work. I’d like to continue playing as seamlessly as possible, carrying forward my scores, saves, ghosts, and preferences. I copied the bone, save, and user folders which seems to be working OK. Am I missing anything?

Also, is there any device or particular attribute to prevent or minimize ‘confusion’? I recently lost my best character (so far) due to confusion. While fighting Ariel, Queen of Air I found myself confused after each and every round of attack. Although I CCW’ed to cure the confusion, like clockwork, her next attack simply confused me again. I was unable to teleport, run, or effectively fight. After about 6 rounds I was dead. (I’ll admit I was ill equipped on Narognonth 55 without any potions of healing).

And, is there any difference between confusion brought upon by attack vs. confusion from a spell or device? It seems that CON or STR should dictate your resistance to confusion from attacks, and WIS or INT from spell based confusion.

Here’s a tip for masses… Don’t screw around or half heartedly (ya know, let’s just see how this first attack goes) enter battle with any of the Elemental Masters. They are very powerful, fast, and able to deliver massive attacks. They may not have been the most powerful uniques I encountered (or destroyed), but they are the ones I feared the most.

[Nick]

Does a monster which is resistant to cold (such as an ice elemental?) suffer an extra vulnerability to fire based attacks (such as fire bolts). I'm guessing from my limited experience the answer is "no". This would leave me to ask why not?

The answer is no (as it is for most if not all *bands) - with the exception of evil things being hit harder by holy attacks like Orb of Draining. Why is I guess mostly historical - the game is just balanced that way.

[licker]

So it is, thanks!

[Rydel]

If I recall correctly, in FA you access the macro screen through the options menu, not through @.

[licker]

New to FA, and just dled 35a, but it seems that I cannot access certain things.

I can't get the macro screen to open for example, it just gives me the 'type ? for help'

[buzzkill]

[FA] Do FA monsters with resistances also have vulnerabilities.

Does a monster which is resistant to cold (such as an ice elemental?) suffer an extra vulnerability to fire based attacks (such as fire bolts). I'm guessing from my limited experience the answer is "no". This would leave me to ask why not?

[buzzkill]

And while I'm at it, no regeneration either (mana or HP).

[buzzkill]

1. Teleport Self and Teleport Level are easily available in FA.

I think you may be missing the big picture, or maybe I wasn't clear enough.

Once teleports and other magical means are available they would certainly be the way to go. I thought this would be particularly helpful in the early game, when gold and good items are scarce.

2. A small speed boost won't save you. A big speed boost will make the wilderness too easy to cross. (Only a very few monsters will be able to follow you, much less catch you.)

It would be hard to build a substantial amount of speed. Basically, the only way to build speed is to move in a straight line, and that only gains you +2 (cumulative). Any change of direction reduces your speed. Trees, rubble, and other obstacles such as rocks, water and rubble would have to be avoided. Characters which can move freely through a given terrain type would be the exception to the rule. Dwarfs could (F)lee through rubble, elves through trees.

It's not going to necessarily save you. If you're contemplating (F)leeing, you've already gotten yourself into a bad spot. It just gives you an option, a chance, a bit of hope, and may add a little more strategy to the game. And just from a realism stand point, shouldn't you be able to RUN every once in a while.

Keep in mind, normally you would (F)lee from creatures that are faster than you. That means that it may take a couple of turns before you start to out pace them. If I was as fast as (or faster than) a pursuing monster, I certainly wouldn't (F)lee from it. There are too many negatives.

And having thought about it some more.. I feel that items should not be visible while fleeing, unless you happen to trip over something. And maybe your mapping memory shouldn't function either. After all, you're running for your life. You wouldn't be paying meticulous attention to the landmarks and you would hardly be interested in picking up trinkets along the way.

[buzzkill]

Toggleable.
+a lot of Speed. A lot of means around 13-15.
0 Saving Throw.
0 Searching.
0 Stealth.
0 all the other skills whose names I don't remember.
No picking up.
When toggling off:
3 turns paralysis

I'm on board with the no saves, search, or stealth. Not sure about the para.