Advice for Amalur: Obsessive Completionist Edition

[Archpaladin Zousha]

So I just purchased Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, and I was looking for some advice on how to build a solid character. To put it at its simplest...I want a character that can do anything. By this, I mean that I can access and complete every single quest in the game and gain the optimal outcome from each quest. Combat is less of an issue than completionism is. How should I set up my skills so that I'm not barred from a quest or can't complete it due to not having the appropriate skill? What's the best armor in the game?

I know I can go to GameFAQs for stuff like this, but most of what they seem to have are maps, which don't offer much help in figuring out how to build a character that can complete every quest the game has to offer.

[Temotei]

So I just purchased Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, and I was looking for some advice on how to build a solid character. To put it at its simplest...I want a character that can do anything. By this, I mean that I can access and complete every single quest in the game and gain the optimal outcome from each quest. Combat is less of an issue than completionism is. How should I set up my skills so that I'm not barred from a quest or can't complete it due to not having the appropriate skill? What's the best armor in the game?

I know I can go to GameFAQs for stuff like this, but most of what they seem to have are maps, which don't offer much help in figuring out how to build a character that can complete every quest the game has to offer.

I'm pretty sure any build can do this and if not, you can always pay a pittance to reset your skills and everything.

[warty goblin]

And you do not want to do everything the game has to offer. You will become very, very bored. I like Amalur quite a bit, but I'm 80% certain I'll never even get to the final boss.

[Ogremindes]

To my knowledge the only thing you need to worry about if you're being obsessive about your build is when you use skill books and trainers. IIRC, if you use a skill book on your highest starting skills before both of the first-tier trainers you'll lock yourself out one level of training, and as such waste a potential 'free' skill point. Apart from that, you can cheaply and easily respec, so don't worry about experimenting.

[Craft (Cheese)]

Well, to answer your question, the only time content is ever *gated* by your character build in Amalur is the Detect Hidden skill is required to find many, many secret rooms in each dungeon. They never have anything but randomized loot and maybe some cool scenery in them though. So if your concern is not missing any story, they're safe to skip. The Detect Hidden skill is good to have anyway though because finding lorestones is a pain without it, and the lorestones have some of the most interesting stuff the game has to offer story-wise.

As for the best equipment, the best stuff in KOAR is what you make yourself. I highly advise against it though, because:

1. The unique weapons/armor sets are really interesting looking and you can only craft equipment that looks samey and boring.

2. Abuse the crafting system and you'll suck all the fun out of the combat. I mean, "click one button and even the bonus bosses go down instantaneously" level of game-breaking here.

But if you really want to do it, there are crafting guides out there if you *REALLY* want to min-max, but here's the abridged version: Get the House of Valor DLC and go to the blacksmithing parts shop there. She sells Greater Damaging Grips and Greater Damaging Bindings. They add a flat +14% damage to all of your attacks and special abilities. And they stack. Put one or both of them on as many of your pieces of equipment as you possibly can (remember, passive bonuses on your secondary weapon apply even when that weapon is put away!). That's all you need to be able to completely trivialize any encounter in the game, though you can go even more hardcore if you really want to.

If you don't want to/can't get the House of Valor DLC, you can still break the game but you have to wait until way later when you get to Amaura.

[Zevox]

You cannot be locked out of any quests based on your build, period. Some stealth skill will help with the quests related to the Travelers (or whatever the rogue-oriented group was called), but that's about it. Otherwise, go nuts. Amalur is pretty much dead easy.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

How do I get the House of Valor DLC? I couldn't find it on the list of DLC for purchase on Origin. I found the Legend of Dead Kel and Teeth of Naros, and the Equipment one, but none of them said House of Valor. Was it only available when the game was released? Did I miss out? I'm not interested in crafting too much, as much as I am in finding the best stuff out there.

I'm not so much interested in "trivializing" encounters as much as "being able to complete all the quests." I've played the demo and combat wasn't so hard. How many quests have it where the best possible outcome is dependent on stuff like stealth, detect hidden or persuasion?

Also, I thought respeccing your character was cheating. :smallconfused:

Do I sound like I'm repeating myself? If I'm being unclear, please let me know so I can explain more thoroughly. I'm not worried about being bored. I once did a playthrough of Morrowind where I did every single quest aside from the one's you're locked out from by making a certain choice (the Great Houses, Vampire Houses and deciding which route to take in Bloodmoon).

[Craft (Cheese)]

How do I get the House of Valor DLC? I couldn't find it on the list of DLC for purchase on Origin. I found the Legend of Dead Kel and Teeth of Naros, and the Equipment one, but none of them said House of Valor. Was it only available when the game was released? Did I miss out? I'm not interested in crafting too much, as much as I am in finding the best stuff out there.

Hmm, it might be named something different, but what I'm talking about was the mandatory project ten dollar Day 1 DLC. It adds challenge matches in an arena to the game and a short sidequest chain based around it. If you got it off Origin then you should already have it, unless their policy on this has changed since I played the game when it came out last year.


I'm not so much interested in "trivializing" encounters as much as "being able to complete all the quests." I've played the demo and combat wasn't so hard. How many quests have it where the best possible outcome is dependent on stuff like stealth, detect hidden or persuasion?

There are a few quests where you're told to sneak through some place without killing anybody, but IIRC just running through and slaughtering them has no effect on the outcome.

According to the Amalur wiki there are 83 points in the game where you can use persuasion, but as far as I remember I succeeded at them all and only in a very few cases did it do very much. Usually all it does is convince the quest giver to give you more gold, to pay you the gold upfront, or skip a combat. Here's the list (http://amalur.wikia.com/wiki/Persuasion_Attempts) if you're curious.


Also, I thought respeccing your character was cheating. :smallconfused:

Of course it's not cheating, there are vendors placed all over the worlds (the fateweavers) who will let you respec your powers for a negligible gold fee. Feel free to experiment and see what you like best.

[Dhavaer]

How do I get the House of Valor DLC? I couldn't find it on the list of DLC for purchase on Origin. I found the Legend of Dead Kel and Teeth of Naros, and the Equipment one, but none of them said House of Valor. Was it only available when the game was released? Did I miss out? I'm not interested in crafting too much, as much as I am in finding the best stuff out there.

I have the Steam version and Valor doesn't show up as a separate DLC for me but is present in the game.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Hmm, it might be named something different, but what I'm talking about was the mandatory project ten dollar Day 1 DLC. It adds challenge matches in an arena to the game and a short sidequest chain based around it. If you got it off Origin then you should already have it, unless their policy on this has changed since I played the game when it came out last year.
I see.

There are a few quests where you're told to sneak through some place without killing anybody, but IIRC just running through and slaughtering them has no effect on the outcome.
So Stealth and Persuasion are essential in this regard, then?

According to the Amalur wiki there are 83 points in the game where you can use persuasion, but as far as I remember I succeeded at them all and only in a very few cases did it do very much. Usually all it does is convince the quest giver to give you more gold, to pay you the gold upfront, or skip a combat. Here's the list (http://amalur.wikia.com/wiki/Persuasion_Attempts) if you're curious.
So it's not like Neverwinter Nights 2 where almost EVERY skill plays into conversation somehow?

Of course it's not cheating, there are vendors placed all over the worlds (the fateweavers) who will let you respec your powers for a negligible gold fee. Feel free to experiment and see what you like best.
I meant in the sense that if you NEED to spend money on that sort of thing, you're wasting it, and it could be avoided if you have a build in mind right from the start.

What's a good setup for a Universalist?

[factotum]

So Stealth and Persuasion are essential in this regard, then?


Isn't that the opposite of what they said? :smallconfused: They seemed to be saying that you can do those quests in a totally non-stealthy way and it makes no difference to the outcome.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Isn't that the opposite of what they said? :smallconfused: They seemed to be saying that you can do those quests in a totally non-stealthy way and it makes no difference to the outcome.

What I was trying to say was if I focus on ANY skill, those two would have the most impact on quests.

[Reynard]

What I was trying to say was if I focus on ANY skill, those two would have the most impact on quests.

In a way, yes, but not to any actual effect. Detect Hidden, Dispelling to a certain level, and gemcrafting/blacksmithing will all have an actual impact on the game, rather than just a dialogue option/100gold/a fight.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

So basically what everyone's saying is...don't worry about it?

[Reynard]

So basically what everyone's saying is...don't worry about it?

Pretty much, yeah.

[Zevox]

So basically what everyone's saying is...don't worry about it?
More or less. Given the way you seem to play it certainly couldn't hurt to put points into persuasion, just so that you can do that since you seem like the sort who would want to, but even that doesn't actually do anything practical beyond get NPCs to give you free stuff (rarely anything good, I might add). Beyond that, may as well do whatever you feel like.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

I can't decide whether I wanna go Universalist or just Might/Sorcery. Universalist I'd more likely fateweave into once I've got enough points and that +3 to all skills looks very tempting, but at the same time I could probably max out my skills from trainers and books and levelling up anyway. By the same token, Champion looks pretty sweet and I really don't intend on using many Finesse-related items.

I fully admit it's mostly a cosmetic choice. Probably could be decided by flipping a coin or something.

What's the best suit of armor I could find for a Champion?

[warty goblin]

I can't decide whether I wanna go Universalist or just Might/Sorcery. Universalist I'd more likely fateweave into once I've got enough points and that +3 to all skills looks very tempting, but at the same time I could probably max out my skills from trainers and books and levelling up anyway. By the same token, Champion looks pretty sweet and I really don't intend on using many Finesse-related items.

Even on hard, Amalur is a cake-walk. The only relevant question is whether you like setting guys on fire with staffs more than smacking them with swords or have a thing for daggers and fae blades. I suggest early-level experimentation. The absolute worst that can happen is that you spend a skillpoint on something you don't use, in which case you blow an irrelevant amount of cash to reset. Or just ignore the mis-allocation, and keep going.

And yes, you should play on hard. Medium gets tedious after about level six. Hard remains somewhat challenging until maybe level eight or ten.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

What about equipment? I know there's a good suit out there for universalists, but I'd really prefer not having to craft stuff if I decide to go champion instead. That Prismere stuff looks rather ugly, especially the weapons, which look more like long, cumbersome red-crystal cricket-bats rather than a proper sword.

[warty goblin]

What about equipment? I know there's a good suit out there for universalists, but I'd really prefer not having to craft stuff if I decide to go champion instead. That Prismere stuff looks rather ugly, especially the weapons, which look more like long, cumbersome red-crystal cricket-bats rather than a proper sword.

If you want swords that look like swords, Amalur is not the game you are looking for. You'd be much better off with the Witcher II, or Mount and Blade: Warband on that front.

Actually that last statement is true unless you're after a lot of button-mashy combat in a setting rife with pretty but fluffy fantasy nonsense. Then Amalur's what you're after. Or possibly Darksiders II, which also has platforming.


As to equipment in general, in my experience it's not something worth getting excited over. Occasionally you'll find something better than the stuff you're carrying, so you swap out. Sometimes you'll hang on to a slightly less good item instead because it looks cooler, or gives you a set bonus or something, but that's about as nuanced as it gets. It's a game with randomized loot; which is to say the illusion of progress and diversity slaved to your processor's Rand() function churning out strings of pseudo-random digits. Yawn.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Okay...so now to figure out the naming conventions of the NPCs so I can name the character something that doesn't clash with the aesthetic the game's trying to make.

[Seatbelt]

Oh my god just name him Herman and go with it. Humans are named Steve. Elves are named Faerwyn, Fae are named "Knightly" sounding names like Sagramor. Dark Elves are named Blyde. Those are pretty much your options. It really is generic fantasy tripe. Although the House of Ballads is kinda neat and fairly unique I thought.

EVERYONE is Irish. So thats different I guess. Use an Irish sounding name. If you play an Elf, throw some extra Ys and use an AE instead of an I.


In all fairness to this game, which I very much enjoy. Its about as deep as a puddle and deserves as much planning as avoiding a puddle. If you want a deep and impersive RPG, go play the Witcher. Seriously. Right now. I'll wait.




Ok. If you enjoy Diablo/Titan Quest style skill leveling and treasure hunting, and you thought Skyrim was cool but it was too big and shallow, you play this game. If you like complexity, you play anything else.

[warty goblin]

Nobody ever says your name. Ever. It only exists so you can tell one save game from another.



In all fairness to this game, which I very much enjoy. Its about as deep as a puddle and deserves as much planning as avoiding a puddle. If you want a deep and impersive RPG, go play the Witcher. Seriously. Right now. I'll wait.

Even though I sort of recommended it upthread, I suspect Archpaladin wouldn't really get on with Geralt. Particularly the very mercenary and quite cynical Witcher I Geralt. Which is really just further confirmation of how much better than everything else the Witcher games are at having a story: you can actually dislike the protagonist. The most feeling I ever managed for my Amalur characters was a sincere appreciation of their mastery of the sardonic eyebrow. 'Twas as if they were in on the joke of just how much an exercise in fantasy nonsense the whole thing was.

And planning the Witcher games is just a sad thought. Half of what makes them interesting is the degree to which you can screw stuff up inadvertently. Even if a 'perfect' playthrough were meaningful for them, lining it would be a real failure to see the forest for the trees.



Ok. If you enjoy Diablo/Titan Quest style skill leveling and treasure hunting, and you thought Skyrim was cool but it was too big and shallow, you play this game. If you like complexity, you play anything else.
Or if Skyrim's combat made you die a little bit inside with every swing of the sword. If I'm going to wander around a large hunk of generic fantasy topography stabbing things, I at least want stabbing things to look cool and feel awesome. Amalur delivers on those fronts.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Is it really that bad if I treat my games as more than games? They're stories. I want the components of the story to fit together well. I've restarted the game over ten times because I couldn't get the name or face right.

And because I feel like if I haven't played every quest in the game, then I'm not playing the game right. That I'm not finished until every last sidequest is done in a way that makes narrative sense, so that by the time I reach the end, it's a definite end. It's one reason why Skyrim frustrates me. There's no way to finish it. And there's no way to figure out how to position the sidequests so it flows like a narrative that makes sense.

[dramatic flare]

Yeah, the only fight that ever gave me trouble was the final boss on Teeth of Naros, and even that wasn't difficult.
Oh, and if you're a trophy/achievement/whatever hunter, do the one for killing an enemy four levels above you really early. It's impossible to do above level thirty, and really really hard to do above level 25 (there's one or two places you can after that, I think.)

Also, the House of Sorrows Quest line has a glitch. At some point you'll be asked to pick one of two people to help you complete their quest line. DO NOT LEAVE THE CAVERN UNTIL THE ONE YOU CHOOSE DOES. If you do they glitch and never go where you have to meet them.

Other than that, absolutely nothing you can do will realistically prevent you from completing this game.

[warty goblin]

Is it really that bad if I treat my games as more than games? They're stories. I want the components of the story to fit together well. I've restarted the game over ten times because I couldn't get the name or face right.

There's nothing wrong with that. However there's nothing in Amalur to be worth that level of investment, and there's not a lot of reason for other people to invest in you doing so.


And because I feel like if I haven't played every quest in the game, then I'm not playing the game right. That I'm not finished until every last sidequest is done in a way that makes narrative sense, so that by the time I reach the end, it's a definite end. It's one reason why Skyrim frustrates me. There's no way to finish it. And there's no way to figure out how to position the sidequests so it flows like a narrative that makes sense.

You are not going to like Amalur. Amalur is Skyrim, except with combat that doesn't suck harder than a black hole, and a cartoony aesthetic. The key to enjoying it, in my experience, is to use the quests as propulsion from one zone to the next.

[GloatingSwine]

You are not going to like Amalur. Amalur is Skyrim, except with combat that doesn't suck harder than a black hole, and a cartoony aesthetic. The key to enjoying it, in my experience, is to use the quests as propulsion from one zone to the next.

To be fair, Amalur is much shorter than Skyrim. I did a fairly high proportion of all quests in Amalur and it only took me 120 hours or so. I sank 400 into Skyrim and there were still things I hadn't bothered with and I was nowhere near the (now nonexistent) levelcap.