Discovering Two Worlds

This, right there, is reward for the time invested in the PDF. Appreciation for this underrated gem of a game. Cathalon, Quidinar, Ashos... and things get even better south of the Gon. Me, the NecroArcher is level 15, I am 9/15 in Necromancy, I can't boost it because of level requirements. This has given me time to boost my Archery skills. I have good summons as well, ghouls who skirmish with the enemy while I clean house with Poison Cloud (YESSSSSS FINALLY) and my bow. I have been to Cathalon and Quidinar, get some rep with the Giriza. Even if it's my nth+1 run, I still enjoy this game.

My character has unlocked every talents and he is quite fearsome... As long as he doesn't get cornered. For cramped situations I have a Chinese sword (the name is silly since I didn't think China was part of Cathalon but it looks good).

The story with the orcs is quite interesting and I've found some quests to be quite entertaining (I like the part around Cathalon).

The only thing that bothers me is the ever present packs of wolves. It's a good thing I can kill them with one arrow because it is INCREDIBLY tiresome to run into wolves wherever you go.

Other than that I'm having way more fun than I had with Oblivion (the problem with Oblivion is that I was too busy keeping track of my skills for my next level up that I no longer enjoyed the game).

By the way, although the writing in Two Worlds is not stellar (I don't really care that much for the fake ye olde English style) it really has its moments. I couldn't resist and took two screenshots of some of the best lines: mercenary or monk?

EDIT: another drawback is that this game is addictive. I don't know about you TON but I know when I launch the game I don't know when I'll quit and call it a night. As far as games are concerned it's always a good sign.

Wait till you see Ashos, Cara. This town is the Asian-influenced town. Those guys are cleanliness freaks as they can spend the entire day brooming the same damned spot. There are some fun smuggling quests, too.

I feel your pain about Wolves. They will severely diminish in numbers once you find yourself south of the Gon. I too am sick to death of fucking wolves, boars, wyverns, reapers. I lure those idiots to come to me, I activate Multi-Arrow and shoot them all down with one shot of Multi-Arrow usually.

Also, Archery was not developped at ALL in Ob. Sure, there was the Marksman skill, but what about powerful/sweet/interesting skills to make the experience enjoyable? TW placed an emphasis on Archery, and I have to commend that because it adds a totally new depth to the game. It makes the bow a truly viable weapon. I keep quivers that do Piercing/Slashing/Bludgeoning, so my NecroArcher can adapt to the enemy and equip the proper arrow. With my bludgeoning quiver and Multi-Arrow, I cut down skeleton like ribbons.

The soundset/voice acting seem to me like people at a Renaissance fair or something. I find it mildly amusing.

I can play for a couple hours straight, then I play a game of Columns to relax my brain, then do a bit more. Nothing is more relaxing than Columns. Think, and think damn fast, but that's why I love this game. Columns is awesome. I will definitively roll a huge log of fog and play Columns a little later.

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The soundset/voice acting seem to me like people at a Renaissance fair or something. I find it mildly amusing.

That's exactly what I thought when I first started. It's fun in places but sometimes the voice doesn't match the NPC's appearance (age wise) and the lip sync that doesn't always is distracting. Yet that doesn't make the game less enjoyable.

The wolves on the other hand... I don't mind the other monsters that much since they are not to be found everywhere but not to be able to take a few steps down the road (any road really) without running into a pack of wolves is annoying. Free XP I guess but it's still aggravating.

My character has only a magnificent quiver but it's class 35 and the bow is class 13 but when confronted by mobs I tend to now use the Death Cloud, simple, effective and they drop like flies.

Archery is great but I still have to find a foe that would require to be disarmed or blinded. Maybe it's just me but by the time my character has shot a few arrows there is no foe left (especially if necromancy is used at the same time).

At higher level the XP those annoying pieces of canine garbage give if negligeable, and except for Wolf Heart who are worth some cash, my eyes just roll into the back of my skull whenever I hear a pack of those fuckbastards. I am about five hours in my game and had like 171 hearts from those nuisances.

HAHAHA! Glad you appreciate the finer parts of Necromancy! Poison Cloud is awesome, anyway you look at it. Invest some booster cards, especially spell booster cards to make the spell even more ridiculously lethal. I call this spell the "Problem Solver".

Do not bother with Disarming/Blinding Arrow. It sucks. As long as you have basic Archery skills and Multi-Arrow, that's all you need. Some of the skills in TW are downright worthless.

Good thing I haven't invested in these skills. I have maxed all the archery skills I need (including the critical hit skill -crits are rare but when they connect it's instant kill) so now I'm boosting my melee damage.

I have a five level necro spell but truthfully I can't remember its name. I mostly use Poison Aura, Bone Armour and Poison Cloud:

Is it just me or do enemy mages suck? They don't seem to be able to hurt my guy (to be frank the elemental resistances are simply over the top). The only thing that hurt is getting disarmed or getting a crowd of guys all around my guy (usually I take it as a sign to retreat and Poison Cloud them to death).

Yes, enemy mages are TERRIBLE. Most of them don't wear armor and are piss easy to cut down, and while some of them use spells that actually dish out some damage, like Fireball, they suck at Fire Magic. Think Grom or Octrogon shamans. If you've got some skill points free, high-level summons with Earth Magic are just awesome. Air/Water are more defensive, with some summoning spells and buffs as well. While Fire Magic has some good high-level offensive spells, it's not worth it. I've got a day off tomorrow and I'll try to wrap up the NecroArcher build PDF. Would you be up to do a PDF for your own build? Between the two of us, we could provide various types of builds to inspire more people to play this underrated game and give them some templates while they get more familiar with the game then start their own builds.

It's only my first run and I'm nowhere near your expertise as there are many things I haven't tried yet. So it seems a bit premature for me to be posting a tutorial when I haven't beaten the game yet (and since it's a huge world it may take me a while).

Like I said I dislike summoning in almost every game (the reason why I didn't play IWD2 on Heart of Fury mode) I'm still trying to figure out different tacks with necro magic. I don't know about other magic lines but necro has it all, deffensive buffs, attack spells and summons. It works pretty well IMO.

I have to play a heavy armour mage in the future. No bows and no necromancy. It should be fun and different from my current character. Enemy archers are a real pain for a melee character.

I think that the game lets you level up too fast. My character is level 52 and I haven't crossed the river yet (and I haven't explored every location north of the river either).

The nice thing is to have a feeling of achievement because you can kill foes with one shot (and that's nice -level scaling sucks). The drawback is that some foes that are supposed to be a big deal just go down without your high level character breaking a sweat.

Spoiler:

Still there are some creatures that can really hurt at close range so I guess it's not all that bad. I hope I'll get more challenge once I cross the river.

Are there mods that change the rate for gaining XP or somehow make the game more challenging when your character gets too advanced in levels? I may need such a mod for my second run. Under level 20 the game is still challenging but IMO it gets easier and easier when you max out some skills. I thought it was all about the bow and archery being too powerful but Poison Cloud would do the trick and so would a two handed weapon (the only trouble as far as I can see would be from big but slow adversaries like golems).

Do cross the Gon ASAP, Cara, you'll finally see some challenge. Head for the wastelands, you'll find some good XP, and also, make sure to track a certain Necromancer down, and do his quests, he is going to give you a boon. The Desert has it's share of interesting monsters. You'll see a nod at MM6 and it's own Pyramid when you see a certain type of enemy. As for Mods, I know of a mod called "Hardcore" which makes the game harder. that could interest you, perjaps. Me, the NecroArcher is level 18 meaning I finally can equip Yatholen's Armor. Now, to upgrade it...

A nod at MM6? Now I am really excited! I loved MM6 it was absolutely great. You could get a high level party with relics and unbelievable stuff but you would still find yourself facing monsters that could give you a run for your money. It was a truly amazing game. I loved the council quests too (especially the humour like in the one for which you had to visit an oracle to end the snow... Priceless).

Two Worlds definitely has something in common with MM6 (trainers, that old school feel, no level scaling -at least none that I have noticed). It can only get better if they included an explicit reference at MM6.

Don't tell me more, I'm off to Ashos and then to battle!

Well, some old friends make an appearance. You'll recognize them by the name and looks. Remember, in the Drak'ar Desert. Just explore it and you'll find the nod to the almighty MM6. I do wish there was a dungeon like the Pyramid in TW, a massive dungeon filled with enemies and loot, traps and all the good stuff. I always enjoy a good dungeon crawl. With the convenience of Teleport Stones, that would be just awesome.

Varn... A nod indeed!

I like the small dungeons in Two Worlds. There is already a lot to do outside so bigger dungeons would probably be too much.

Level 62 and in the desert. Still exploring and looking for big game. The desert is a nice place, no wolves in there... I can't believe how big this world is.

I like the smaller dungeons as well, but one bigass dungeon would have been nice as well. It's amazing just how big this damned world is, isn't it? You should some challenge in the desert. Fun nod to MM6, eh?

There is a dungeon in the desert but it's definitely not hardcore -I'm thinking about dungeons in MM6 especially Gharik's Forge near New Sorpigal (how cool that would be to have a dungeon like this in Two Worlds).

My guy has cleared out the desert and is now level 65. Not that much of a challlenge since the Big White went down with two shots. I think I may have to stop using a bow if I want to find some challenge (Strength is my character's weaker stat but I have a good two hander so that should make things more interesting).

EDIT: now level 68. Many undead creatures to be found where my guy is. Finally some challenge, some of those undead masters are quick.

Are you still in the Desert? If so, look in the mountains for the Big White's nest. Not much interesting except for one piece required for the main quest. Not that it's of much importance if you want to skip the main quest, but this is one less trip to make. My NecroArcher is level 27, and I've got a new armor, "The Air" Dragon Plate Hauberk. Necromancy is maxed out, Lock Pick is 3/4 done, Archery skills are maxing out one by one, and with the nifty Whistling Death bow I have and Multi-Arrow. I've been to Ashos, and at my level I barely survived my encounters with Trachydis on the way, but I made it. I like heading south of the Gon at relatively low-level, challenge as well as Tharbarkin, Cathalon and Qudinar to hunt down some equipment. I fully intend on continuing my trip South of the Gon, Hadeborg isn't terribly far, neither is Gor Gammar but I'm not going there yet, not until the Necromancer's quests are done and I have what I need. It's probably suicidal, but I like to spice things up.

I get that. I'm going to wrap a few things up before going for the main quest.

Gor Gammar is on my list of places to visit (no spoilers please!) I've got some decent firepower and my character's arrows go through orcs like a hot knife through butter so I don't expect trouble (I've been to Two Hills and cleaned up the place).

Level 72 and I have 10 unused skillpoints and I don't know where to put them... Another magic line? Air for resurrection? -makes sense for a necromancer. Sneaking? -I'm not convinced about that one as I've been doing better since I abandoned sneaking for archery.

I've found two merchants who sell necromancy spells but I still have only one five level spell (not that big a deal as Poison Cloud is pretty powerful).

Poison Cloud is pretty much the go-to spell for mass destruction. Like I said, I use PC along with Dead Hands, potent combo. As for Gor Gammar, tackle the monsters that lurks in the Wastelands, they will be a welcome change. Take your time and explore the South as much as possible, interesting dungeons and some interesting quests as well. As for your remaining skill points, you could try another school of magic. Any of the four other schools' spells are piss easy to buy, and they're more common than Necromancy spells, so it could be worth a try.

I've completed the main quest: screen. The stats could be higher but I messed up with reagents on several occasions (I've found out that you could get more out of components if you used more of them at the same time).

Level 83 is certainly not the level cap. There are some quests that I couldn't complete (not many but I wonder if I missed a few things or if there was a bug somewhere).

I have big plans for my next character: no bow but heavy armour and I will max out Strength in order to use the god's strength level 5 Air magic spell... Strength can be multiplied by three (and more) and I wonder how much damage a character with a Strength of 1000 would dish out...

Piercing is definitely my favourite talent it allows you to get rid of mobs with ease. I will have to find other ways to deal with enemies if I don't use a bow. That should be fun.

By the way, as far as main quests go the game is not that bad. I didn't care that much for the sister but the villain's plot wasn't that bad. I really liked the choice at the end.

If you have reputation with the Necromancers, appearantely their HQ will have more quests now that you're done with the main quest.

I don't think you can play after completing the main quest (or do you mean after bringing the relic in Qudinar?) I must confess I eliminated the necromancers after doing the quests.

Well, I completed the Necromancer's quests and the head honcho told me to come back when my PC was done with rescuing his sister. I personally never bothered doing the main quest so I'm not sure.

You should play the main quest until the end. After all since you've probably been almost everywhere it doesn't take long to finish it (enemies don't respawn).

I really enjoyed some quests and the way things could turn around (for instance with the necromancer in the dead forest).

I'm going to take a break from the game but I will start a new character, focus on Strength, heavy armour, two handed weapon Air magic (Earth a second choice) and possibly sneaking (with a uber strength it may work nicely).

I'll delay potion brewing until I get enough components and max out Alchemy. It should be interesting.

Yeah, that Necro Orc Killer is just awesome, isn't it? Quick and excellent source of Ghoul Brains for permanant Willpower boost potions. Free loot as well! I also understand taking a break from the game, you've reached level 80+ while my NecroArcher still isn't even level 30/

It's definitely a great game for any old school CRPG fan. Hack and slash fun and plenty of quests some with pretty interesting twists.

That necromancer is nice but the great thing is going back to visit him and see a friend of his.

I've been spending most of my free time playing the game. It's been a very long time since I've played that much. Probably around 40 to 50 hours in 12 days. That's a lot. I haven't slept much either. I enjoyed my character but Archery was a bit lazy. Now that I have seen most of the game (I've followed every roads that can be seen on the map and must have completed most of the quests) I'm looking forward to replaying the game at a slower pace and simply try to do things differently.

I was amazed by the number of little dungeons that are not quest related (especially north of the Gon). What I like about dungeons in this game is that they are not too big so they don't take too long to go through but I must say that one bigger dungeon would have been nice (there is one in the Drak'kar desert). I also think that Gor Gammar should have been filled with orcs... Maybe it's just the piercing arrows with uber damage but they just dropped like flies.