Can anyone suggest tricks for targeting specific units in a big army?

Question

Often the engagement of 2 big armies is just a mass of graphics. Sometimes though you know something is coming. Like a Ghost with an EMP, or a High Templar with Psionic Storm, etc. In these engagements you'd obviously want to do what you can to kill these units before they get a chance to do their damage. Any suggestions?

Asked by lucidquiet

Answer

Try adjusting your video settings; Different features stand out more or less when you adjust things like texture resolution and effects quality. A good way to experiment is to open a replay with an engagement similar to what you're describing, watching the engagement; making an adjustment to your settings and watching the engagement again. Do this until you find a balance you are pleased with.

In my own experience, on my own machine, lowering the effects qualtiy tends to make cloaked units more visible, but at the cost of making burrowed units less visible.

Answered by TokenMacGuy

Check more discussion of this question.

Are there situations where Stamina or Magicka Damage is really useful?

Question

On first glance these enchants seemed really great. Ideally I'd pepper a dangerous mage from afar with a +Magicka Damage bow. And then engage it safely in melee. But in practice I find that if I don't kill the enemy in a reasonably short time, I am dead anyway.

Furthermore the loss in damage compared to straight health damage doesn't seem to be worth it. A 20 base damage sword with +20 Frost damage to Health and Stamina will inflict roughly 40 damage to Health per succesful blow. Whereas the same sword with +20 damage to Magicka, or +20 damage to Stamina, will really only inflict 20 damage to Health per succesful blow.

Do you find these enchants useful? Am I misunderstanding the effects?

Answer

You're right, the Damage Magicka and Damage Stamina enchantments aren't terribly efficient.

Absorb Magicka and Stamina have their place, but in general, you'll find opponents regen Magicka to fast for Magicka damage to be terribly useful - generally, by the time you've done enough for it to be really effective, you've hit them enough times to kill them anyway. Stamina is a bit more useful - an opponent with low Stamina will have trouble blocking and power attacking, which can shorten a protracted battle, but given the magnitude and base uses of the enchant, you're often much better off using an Frost Damage or Absorb Stamina enchant - you'll find them to be much more effective overall.

Check more discussion of this question.

Do weapon specific perks work while dual striking in Skyrim?

Question

In Skyrim, if you do a dual strike, where you hit both attack buttons to hit with both weapons simultaneously, do the weapon-specific perks (sword crit, mace ignore armor, axe... something) apply?

There are several combinations of this question I'm wondering about, but I'm guessing they all have the same answer. For example, does Fighting Stance work when you are dual wielding? And do Savage Strike and Dual Savagery stack?

Answer

Yes, based on several types of evidence.

1. I dual-wield exclusively and I know that Fighting Stance, Savage Strike, Dual Savagery etc. stack.
2. The dagger specific perks from the Sneak perk tree stack with the perks from the One-Handed perk tree.

3. The UESP One-Handed Page has a section on dual-wielding which says:

   Allows the use of two perk proficiencies at once, such as Hack and Slash, Bladesman, or Bone Breaker, by mixing weapon types.

   and

   Dual Savagery and Dual Fury can make for almost scary damage output.

Check more discussion of this question.

How do I deal optimal damage while dual-wielding?

Question

Dual-wielding in Skyrim is... interesting. You can swing both hands individually (but not at the same time), or swing both hands together in a dual-attack.

The dual-attack can't be used while moving, but otherwise seems the premier way to deal damage with two weapons.

Then there's the dual power attack, which just completely wrecks #@$* up, but this requires stamina, so its not always an option.

Am I missing something here? Is there ever any reason where I wouldn't want to use the dual-strike? Is there some bonus to the regular swings when dual-wielding?

Answer

Here are the reasons why you wouldn't want to use the normal dual strike.

1. If you want to hit a moving target. For instance, those annoying casters that are constant running away from you, since you can't pull it off while moving at the same time.

2. If you want to, for some reason, conserve the charges on the offhand weapon. If your target is going to die in 1 hit, maybe you want to finish him off with a normal weapon in your off hand rather than the highly enchanted weapon in the main hand.

3. This other question brings up the idea of using a dagger/something else combo. Maybe if you were using a dagger/mace, for instance, you'll want to only use the mace on high health targets and the dagger for backstabs and quick kills. Dual attacking's main drawback is that it has a long cool down afterwards So if there are a lot of small and weak enemies (or if you want to proc a weapon enchantment faster, such as using absorb health when your health is low), you'll want to just slash slash slash away with your dagger since its got a faster attack.

Check more discussion of this question.

How does multiplying damage work in Skyrim?

Question

I am having trouble calculating how much damage my character can do in one attack. i get multipliers from various sources:

• 100 one-handed skill(because 100 skill lvl = 1.4x to the base damage. see the formula for some information)

• 5 perks for Armsman(double damage).

• no weapon bonus damage enchantment items.
• sneak attack (x15 with daggers).
• shrouded gloves from dark brotherhood (i think this makes the sneak attack 30x. not sure.)
• dualwielding legendary daedric daggers(thats base damage of about 21 each).
• power attacking(double damage with 50% bonus from dual wielding perk (also does standing power attack get thrown in while sneaking?).
• getting a critical hit(double damage if im not mistaken).
• and if im not forgetting anything using the Berzerker orc power(doubles damage).

My question is, what kind of damage multiplier am i looking at here?

From http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Weapons Damage Formula:

(base damage + smithing upgrade)*(1+0.4*skill/100)(1+perk % damage boosts)(1+% damage from items) = displayed damage

Answer

While wielding a daedric dagger, having 100 one handed(all perks) and 100 sneak(all perks), the daedric dagger's base damage showed as 33. From the dagger's sneak attack(only 15x damage) it caused around 500 damage. Then I applied a power attack and it caused 1,000 damage. Then my orc used berzerk and a single strike caused 2,000 damage.

I could do some more testing (like getting shroud gloves, dual wielding with a power attack doesnt do a single hit unfortunately) but I think this is enough to show that multipliers stack (15x + 2x = 30x + 2x = 60x) instead of combine(15x + 2x = 16x + 2x = 17x).

Check more discussion of this question.

What should I do to mitigate heavy spell damage?

Question

I keep running into encounters where the spell casters kill me. In particular frost spells seem to be the worst. It's not fun getting 1-shot from 300 hp by a spell. I haven't done anything to protect myself against spells, compared to the herculean efforts I put into armor. What should I do?

Answer

There are several methods to increase your resistance against those attacks. You can increase your magic resistance, which works against all kinds of spells, and you can increase specific elemental resistances.

The following ways can be used to increase those resistances:

• Enchanting your armor with magic or elemental resistances
• Using potions of magic or elemental resistances
• Up to 30% magic resistance from perks in the Alteration skill tree
• The Lords Stone, grants 25% magic resistance
• 15% magic resistance from finishing the quest The book of love
• Some starting races have elemental or magic resistances (e.g. Nords have 50% frost resistance)

Having conjured minions or other followers can also help to divert the attention of the spellcasters and give you the time you need to neutralize them.

Check more discussion of this question.

What are sideways and backwards power attack?

Question

In the two-handed tree, there are perks called Sweep and Warmaster.

• Description of Sweep: sideways power attacks with two-handed weapons hit all targets in front of you.
• Description of Warmaster: backwards power attacks have a 25% chance to paralyze the target.

So, how do I perform sideways and backwards power attacks? How do I know I performed any of those two (animation, angle of swing or something else)?

Answer

Sideways power attacks are initiated by moving to the left or right while holding attack.

Similarly, backwards power attacks are initiated by moving backwards while holding attack.

Check more discussion of this question.

How is ranged damage calculated?

Question

I have a dwarven bow of frost and ancient nord arrows.

Dwarven bow - 20 damage
Frost enchantment - 10 damage
Ancient nord arrows - 10 damage

Would it calculate 20+10 to give each arrow 30 damage (ignoring enchantments for now)? Or does it take an average of them, giving each 15 damage? Or does it take the highest, thus 20 damage?

Is the enchantment calculated afterwards (and would it be affected by the sneak bonus/critical hits)?

Answer

Yes, by using your weapon you make the arrow stronger so you simply add the arrow's damage to the weapon's damage. IF it is the case that the weapon is enchanted then the weapon is even stronger, so

total damage = weapon damage + enchantment damage + arrow damage

is the right formula. They don't limit it by the average, because that would make those slow bows rather weak. The highest damage doesn't really make sense as then getting better arrows does in most cases not result in getting better damage...

Check more discussion of this question.

Melee Combat: Heavy Armor vs. Light Armor

Question

My character is a melee type, and is currently using Light Armor.

Do the perks that light armor provides (extra stamina regen mainly) outweigh the perks and higher armor value that heavy armor provides?

Answer

From the looks of things the only differences between the two skill trees are,

• Tower of Strength (Heavy) 50% less stagger vs Wind Walker (Light) 50% Stamina regen rate
• Reflect Blows (Heavy) 10% chance reflect dmg vs Deft Movement (Light) 10% chance avoid dmg

I don't know if you reflect 100% of the damage, thus negating it, but I would assume so, otherwise the light armour would be much better in that respect.

Personally I've been stacking Stamina a little to get around this as I use heavy armour, but then again I can tank much more than my follower who is in Elvan armour. Don't forget that you can move quicker and quieter in lighter armour also. I think it's more about your playstyle. Also extra Stamina points increase your carry capacity.

Check more discussion of this question.

How do I accept a Yield?

Question

I was fighting bandits in the sewers when one of them went into a "cower" animation, and began screaming about how he had given up.

Given that I found his terror endearing, I deigned to spare him. I tried talking to him, to no effect. Then I tried sheathing my weapon - upon which the brigand thought he had a chance, and resumed hostilities with due haste!

Sadly, he did not offer to yield again before I slew him.

And so, the question remained unanswered: do enemies actually surrender, or was this just a clever ploy to catch me with my pants down?

Answer

It's a ploy. You have to use your judgement. Honorable people will usually yeild and fall to their knees, if you leave them, they will revert to being a friendly. Bandits, in my experience, haven't.

Check more discussion of this question.

Is there a technique to hand-to-hand fighting in Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception?

Question

From what I've been through so far, the hand-to-hand fights in Uncharted 3 seem to be pretty random and a lot of button mashing. It seems to be a lot of ☐ to punch, and the occasional Δ to counter, and sometimes randomly mashing ○ to struggle and throw.

Is there a consistent technique to taking down enemies faster? I know that if you can sneak up on someone, you can take them down quickly. And occasionally, some of the fights seem scripted if you're close to an object that you will smash someone into. But for the normal fights, are there moves, or combinations of moves that you can do to take the enemy down quicker?

Answer

As you've gathered, the basic melee combo is pretty weak. Drake will do more damaging combos if you swing at an enemy close to a wall, a drop or an object that Drake can use as a weapon. Alternatively, you can do a 'steel fist' manoeuvre; basically, both punch and shoot.

Check more discussion of this question.

How do I keep my ranged units from dying?

Question

I'm just playing through the tutorial, and having a surprisingly difficult time keeping my ranged units alive. The AI clearly targets them, and I only have two stacks of melee units so I can't form an effective wall around my squishy units.

What should I be doing differently?

Answer

Here a few ideas

• Use your healing skills. Healing and Regeneration are obvious candidates, but I'm a big fan of the Reinforcements skill. You can only use it once per combat, but it allows you to "overheal" your unit by giving them extra units. Not only do losses get taken out of these units first, but the extra units also increase the damage you deal.

• Use the tactics skill to start the battle with your ranged units in a protected spot.

• Use Guardian Angel. Your faction ability doesn't cost you any mana, and it doesn't even take your hero's turn, but it doesn't carry over from one battle to another, so you should be using it whenever you can.

• Use your Sentinels. Each Sentinel unit standing next to an attacked unit will absorb and split some of the damage with it. If you upgrade them, they even get to retaliate when the unit next to them is attacked.

• Use your Sisters' healing ability. Twice per battle they can heal, so make use of it effectively. Don't use it early if you haven't sustained the full amount of damage that you can heal. Beware though that the AI will generally target Sisters before ranged units. =)

• When they are being attacked by a melee unit, make sure they don't get hit by retaliations. The ranged units are fast, so they will act early in a turn. If there is something next to them when there turn comes up, have them wait. When they come up again, you can either move into position to shoot at the beginning of the next turn, or melee attack something that no longer can retaliate, or possibly even shoot if you've killed the unit next to them in the mean time,.

Check more discussion of this question.

Is there any way to make a unit walk around a trap?

Question

As an apparent random feature, the battle map I am on features a trap directly in front of one of my units. I'd really like him to step around it and move up next to my unit that has already advanced, but the route that's shown always takes him over the trap.

Is there any way to force him to step around the trap, without spending a turn having him walk up to the trap, then go around it next turn?

Answer

In general, no. Units will always move in a direct path towards their goal, even into hazards, such as moats, traps, and the like. I've already lost a handful of turns trying to break down the gate while sieging a town because my units decide to assault from the angle that has them standing in the moat, first.

In this particular situation, it would take the full extent of your units movement just to draw vertically adjacent with the other stack. To avoid the square (and you do, because it'll remove the rest of your movement, anyway) would require more movement than your unit possesses.

To draw horizontally adjacent with the stack, however, may be possible if you play around with the pathing - the route your unit will take on a move is always slightly darker than the rest of the grid, and will dynamically update as you mouse over different squares. In this particular instance, you might have to settle for the square two to the left of your foremost stack.

Check more discussion of this question.

Can I prearrange my troops before battle?

Question

The default arrangement of my troops at the start of battle is...suboptimal. For example, I'd prefer to start with my ranged units directly behind my melee units, but instead they tend to start off to one side.

Is there any way to arrange my troops before battle?

Answer

You can have some effect on it by changing the order of the units on your hero sheet. But the Tactics skill lets you place your units wherever you want before the battle starts. Taking this allows you to put your archers in a corner and surround them with melee units from the start.

Tactics is in the Realm tree. The upgraded version allows you to place guys closer to your opponent.

Check more discussion of this question.

Combat tips for the Nekker cave in chapter 1

Question

One of the first quests in Chapter 1 requires me to investigate a cave full of "Nekkers". The problem is, I can't even kill one of them before the creatures gang up on me and rip me to shreds. I have been at this literally for hours, without making much progress. I had no problems finishing the first game.

So either the combat system in TW2 is extremely hard, or I'm extremely incompetent, or I'm missing something. Please help!

Answer

I've written up some general combat tips, especially for fighting multiple enemies, on the Gaming.SE blog here.

For this specific fight you can also exploit the fact that the Nekkers won't go far to the entrance of the cave, they will always retreat at a certain point in the cave. This gives you a safe place to regenerate and prepare.

You should use some potions before the fight, use some Brown Oil for the increased chance to cause bleeding. Make some bombs before going into the cave and don't hesitate to use them.

And finally, always activate Quen before attacking with your sword, this will help a lot.

Check more discussion of this question.

What do certain item attributes in Dungeon Siege 3 mean?

Question

In Dungeon Siege 3 certain items have enhancements and there is no indication about what they actually do.

I'm specifically curious about these qualities:

• Retribution
• Bloodletting
• Doom
• Warding
• Vampire
• Weakening
• Withering
• Momentum
• Stagger

How are these properties affecting my game play? Other traits are self-explanatory (blocking, agility, armor) but the ones mentioned above have totally eluded me.

Answer

These effects are described in the help topics (if you hit esc, then choose Help Topics). Basically they just affect combat damage in various ways. Specifically:

• Retribution: sometimes damages the attacker when you get hit
• Bloodletting: sometimes causes bleeding when you hit enemies
• Doom: increases critical strike damage (I think)
• Warding: I checked this; it provides a chance to stun enemies that hit you.

Sure excited for this game to be out for real though!

Check more discussion of this question.