Grimrock

Yeah, I've been slacking (and trying not to rush) and just finally beat the game for the first time (with my 2nd party, I abandoned the first). Yay screenshots!



Some caveats:

I used the guide on GameBanshee.com a few times when I got stuck. Puzzles have never been my forte and I value my keyboard too much to try to work some of those puzzles out on my own over the course of who knows how long, getting more irritated as I go.

I also used the guide to go back and find some of the secrets I missed after completing a floor. I probably would have had something like 5/7 Treasures and 50/71 secrets on my own. I'm pretty sure I found all the Skulls and Toorum notes (and his remains) without help.

Since I re-rolled and had a better party, and a guide, my in-game playtime is a lot lower than it "should be". I'd say add 3-4 hours to get to what I probably should have ended up at.

1) 18.5 hrs on hard mode using automap (2nd run). Abandoned first party at level 10, because the combo didn't feel right. Approx. 30 hrs realtime I guess.
2) No way.
3) Found everything.
4) 13 but the Minotaur. He was 14 due to the xp boost necklace.
5) 9/10. Haven't been having so much fun in a long time.



PSY

First run-through. Stock party.

My first team that finished the game, I have missed some secrets and treasures.

Potions Mixed: 0

Holy hell man, how many of those playtime hours were time spent running back to the "nearest" Save Crystal? o_O

Marak wrote:Potions Mixed: 0Holy hell man, how many of those playtime hours were time spent running back to the "nearest" Save Crystal? o_O

If it hadn't been for the achievement, I doubt I would've mixed more than 5

Marak wrote:Potions Mixed: 0

Holy hell man, how many of those playtime hours were time spent running back to the "nearest" Save Crystal? o_O

Maybe one or two times, not more. My both front rogues is able to avoid a lot of damages but I have sleeping a lot for rest my party during the game. Mixing potions can be a great help but it's easier than you think to finish the game without doing any potions.

Hard mode, but with automap. It's too bad really that it didn't show number of times rested, as I only rested near the end to get all the dreams.

Party was decently into their 14th level:
Lizardman Fighter, Max Vitality then Dexterity, Fist Fighter, Healthy, Athletics 5, Armor 25, Unarmed 30.
Lizardman Fighter, Max Vitality then Dexterity, Skilled, Healthy, Athletics 5, Armor 25, Swords 33.
Minotaur Rogue, Max Strength then Vitality, Aggressive, Head Hunter, Missile Weapons 50, Dodge 8.
Insectoid Mage, Max Willpower then Vitality, Aura, Strong Mind, Spellcraft 18, Ice Magic 37.

First time I got stuck was on level 2, where you had to grab the cloth and key through the gate. I had to check GameBanshee two more times to progress. However, after I was done, I would check GameBanshee for any missed secrets. I probably had around 45 secrets, 2 treasures and 5 skulls on my own, as well as all secret doors, which were pretty easy.

Of those 1094 items, I left 1 burned out torch on level 1, 2 burned out torches on level 2, 3 burned out torches on level 3 and 5 burned out torches on level 9, as well as 4 scrolls on level 3. All other items that aren't carried by my party are in the alcove between level 10 and level 12, including every single legionnaire shield and spear, as well as each torch I could possibly fetch.

The combination of boosting defense before offense, packratting, and not relying a lot on spells resulted in quite a bit of food issues. Oh, and I used 0 bombs.

Hard Mode and Old School Mode

Only hint I got was about the 4 alcove puzzle on floor 9. Felt dumb after I figured it out.

Play Time: 21:20:07 (This doesn't count the extra 5 minutes to kill the boss) Real-Time I would add several hours
Monsters Killed: 520
Items Found: 733
Secrets: 66/71 (Toorum's Secret Room and a couple others I missed first playthrough)
Treasures: 3/7 (These were harder than the secrets though I found them all during my second playthrough)
Toorum Notes: 12/16 (Missed Toorum's Secret Room first playthrough and forgot to read notes again after I died)
Skulls: 4/5 (Forgot to pick one up after I died)
Iron Doors: 10/10
Tiles Moved: 29625
Pits Fallen into: 77
Melee: 1298
Ranged: 124
Unarmed: 1281
Spells: 1727
Potions Mixed: 50(gotta get that free achievement even though I never actually used a potion besides fighter's challenge)

Party Consisted of 13 Warrior(10 Athletics, 42 Armor, 0 Axes, 0 Maces, 0 Swords, 0 Unarmed) 13 Rogue(0 Assassination, 50 Dodge, 0 Daggers, 0 Missile Weapons, 0 Throwing Weapons, 9 Unarmed) 13 Mage(0 Air, 0 Frost, 0 Earth, 50 Fire, 10 Spellcraft, 0 Staff Defense, 2 UNUSED SP) 13 Mage(0 Air, 50 Frost, 0 Earth, 0 Fire, 6 Spellcraft, 0 Staff Defense, 3 UNUSED SP)

Game after first playthrough got a 10/10 since it was incredibly fun to play.

SECOND PLAYTHROUGH
Hard Mode with Automap(Seriously I already mapped all the floors )

Play Time: 7:32:54 (Boss is dead) Real-Time I would add about 15 minutes for reloading rather than running to a healing crystal
Monsters Killed: 510
Items Found: 740
Secrets: 71/71 Treasures: 7/7 Toorum Notes: 16/16 (Made sure to save after reading these notes and the two in Toorum's Secret Room)
Skulls: 5/5 (I actually got the achievement during my first playthrough but actually have the 5 skull stats on the second playthrough)
Iron Doors: 10/10 (These were too damn easy though white blob was a pain for a couple minutes)
Tiles Moved: 17788
Pits Fallen into: 53
Melee: 789
Ranged: 1746
Unarmed: 900
Spells: 0
Potions Mixed: 0

Party Consisted of 14 Rogue(0 Assassination, 8 Dodge, 0 Daggers, 0 Missile Weapons, 0 Throwing Weapons, 50 Unarmed) 13 Rogue(0 Assassination, 9 Dodge, 50 Daggers, 0 Missile Weapons, 0 Throwing Weapons, 0 Unarmed) 13 Rogue(8 Assassination, 0 Dodge, 0 Daggers, 50 Missile Weapons, 0 Throwing Weapons, 0 Unarmed, 1 UNUSED SP) 13 Rogue(0 Assassination, 0 Dodge, 0 Daggers, 0 Missile Weapons, 50 Throwing Weapons, 0 Unarmed, 9 UNUSED SP)

Game after second playthrough got a 9/10. Even though it was still fun to play, the game was really easy(yes even on hard mode) when you specced for damage.

Just a warning for anyone who thought the game was hard: PROTECTION IS ABSOLUTE GARBAGE. My warrior was still taking 50+ hits with almost maxed protection with only about 300hp. DPS>Protection(even evasion sometimes though maxed dodge on rogue with Lurker's set is crazy)

nychilly wrote:I'm mostly interested in some key factors.
1)How long did it take you to beat the game? Official game time and approximate real time? If you played a difficulty other then normal please state it. If you went old school without automap state it.
2)Did you need help? (A walkthrough, this forum, etc.) If so how many times?
3)How complete was your win? How many secrets did you find?
4)What level were your characters?
5)What do you rate the game out of 10?

1) 21 hours.
2) I'd look at GameBanshee's guide after completing a level, then backtrack for missed secrets if needed.
3) 64 secrets, 5 treasures, all notes.
4) One 14th level, the other 13.
5) 7, maybe 8 out of 10.

Good game overall. Would have liked to have a bit faster XP gain (so as to be able top off a skill), fewer endless respawns. The timed puzzles were challenging on my PC but doable, except for the Iron Door "block the energy balls" puzzle. The delay (perhaps it's only on my PC) between hitting a movement key and having that input affect the game meant that I had to essentially queue up moves. After several dozen tries I eventually gave up. It's frustrating when you know the solution of a puzzle, but can't execute.

Still: loved the old-school look and feel, loved hunting for switches, loved having to pay attention to sound cues. The monsters were terrific. The notes and machine-voice effectively contributed to the atmosphere. Fun, fun game.