Little preface: I'm no stranger to this style of game, and I'm a guy who likes "systems" so I have no problem buying into the whole pawn/party thing. Problem is - I can't really seem to get anywhere with the combat.

I'm playing a strider, recently switched to assassin. I'm using Scarlet Kisses, Toss and Trigger, and the blinding one as dagger skills, with the Triple Shot, Triad Shot, and Puncture shot for bow abilities. For pawns I've got a tanky fighter, a healy mage, and an offensive mage. Everybody is praising the combat, but I'm either having a really hard time of it or just not "getting" it. We'll wade into a group of enemies, and I'll loose a couple arrows, which seem to do little to no damage. If I jump into the fray to get some stabs in, I get rocked/stunned/and basically owned. I originally wanted to play as a close-up rogue-type, but I don't mind hanging back and slinging arrows. I've purchased about 50,000g worth of gear for my character, upgraded/enhanced my weapons two two stars, so I feel like I should be putting the hurt on, but I'm not. Combat just feels like a big, slow battle of attrition.

I thought this might be because I was fighting enemies that outlevelled me, but even for the main quest stuff (Just finished the first part of the Everfall) it's the same thing. I didn't fight the ogre, but the rooms full of skeletons beat me into the ground over and over, and I only got past them by basically cheesing them to death. My initial impressions of the game were really high, but the combat is becoming a real drag and a chore.

Am I missing something? Am I using the wrong skills? Should I switch to a fighter for more health and melee stabby stab? Am I overlooking something basic here?

you need the elemental boons from mages to enchant your weapons with magic to do any real damage with your weapons i found. Holy boon for undead, thunder for cyclops, fire for goblins, harpies, griffons.

Level up

@Marz said:

you need the elemental boons from mages to enchant your weapons with magic to do any real damage with your weapons i found. Holy boon for undead, thunder for cyclops, fire for goblins, harpies, griffons.

This is a must. Plus it sounds like you are still pretty early on. After you do some side quests and build up some gold you can buy a lot better equipment which will help. Also grind to level up a little.

@Marz said:

you need the elemental boons from mages to enchant your weapons with magic to do any real damage with your weapons i found. Holy boon for undead, thunder for cyclops, fire for goblins, harpies, griffons.

thanks - i'd had the mages tossing me fire buffs more or less constantly. the holy would have helped with all the skeletons i'm sure.

@TentPole said:

Level up

i approached the first everfall quest around level 10 - is this too low? is there any indication that i'm underlevelled other than feeling like i'm doing no damage? even out in the overworld, i'll find a pack of enemies that i can take out no problem and then another that wipes the floor with me. is this just level disparity? wish it would give some sort of indication before i actually initiate combat.

@Gauzy said:

wish it would give some sort of indication before i actually initiate combat.

That would ruin the fun. I like getting into trouble and it is rare that I find a game doesn't hold my hand.

On the other hand if you don't like being able to go where you have no business being then there are hundreds of other games for you.

No, you do not need to switch over to a Fighter. You need to use more skill. The game isn't button-mashing madness, you need to play smart. Of course you aren't going to be good with the Assassin vocation at first, but it gets better once you rank up a bit. I prefer the Sword skills over the Dagger skills, but I carry both. There is a Sword skill for Assassin called Clarity which is used to parry your opponents, giving you the opportunity to get some hits in (you have to time it just right). I'm carrying three swords with different elemental affinities (Ice, Fire,Thunder) so I can exploit my enemies' weaknesses. My main pawn was a healer, now she's a Sorcerer. If me or my pawns need healing, I use potions. I role with two Fighters who have Shield Summon to catch aggro, while my main pawn casts crazy ass spells.

Also, you don't even have to buy weapons and armor. I was buying loot that I would end up finding whilst exploring. When you kill a Drake a few pieces of the armor/weapons you're wearing get upgraded to Dragon Forged, which gives adds a lot of damage/defense. I switch my vocation to Archermage whenever I fight dragons so I can auto-target the heart. I've fought the Drake twice in the same location (it takes about 5 in-game days for it to respawn).

@TentPole said:

@Gauzy said:

wish it would give some sort of indication before i actually initiate combat.

That would ruin the fun. I like getting into trouble and it is rare that I find a game doesn't hold my hand.

On the other hand if you don't like being able to go where you have no business being then there are hundreds of other games for you.

not really what i was getting at, but thanks all the same.

@BraveToaster said:

you don't even have to buy weapons and armor. I was buying loot that I would end up finding whilst exploring. When you kill a Drake a few pieces of the armor/weapons you're wearing get upgraded to Dragon Forged, which gives adds a lot of damage/defense. I switch my vocation to Archermage whenever I fight dragons so I can auto-target the heart. I've fought the Drake twice in the same location (it takes about 5 in-game days for it to respawn).

thanks for the tip about not worrying about buying stuff, will save up some coin this way.

@Gauzy said:

@TentPole said:

@Gauzy said:

wish it would give some sort of indication before i actually initiate combat.

That would ruin the fun. I like getting into trouble and it is rare that I find a game doesn't hold my hand.

On the other hand if you don't like being able to go where you have no business being then there are hundreds of other games for you.

not really what i was getting at, but thanks all the same.

What can I say, it is what you said.

And you probably should not be an assassin at level 10. Build up your Strider first.

I'm going to say your mistake is taking on an advanced vocation at level 10. You can't flip through vocations willy-nilly and expect to keep up. Being stronger in your vocation makes it easier to do heavy damage more consistently, thus making it easier to level up. Once you're high enough level you can experiment with the more advanced vocations without getting completely destroyed.

Level 10 an getting to the capital is a little low, so go back toward the Encampment and kill some wolves and Goblins. You'd be surprised how much easier leveling up makes the game.

@TeflonBilly: Haha, I thought the same thing.