Grimrock

Ok. So I finally beat the game and can give my impressions and tips for those who have not.

I accidentally set my game to hard (meant to play as normal) and didn't find out until later. Single enemies were not that hard with strafing but multiple enemies and corridors where there is no room manoeuvre made the game difficult. Still had fun though. Total playtime was about 12 hours and I got 41/71 secrets. I tried to look everywhere but some were obviously too devious for me. My party was level 13 at the end which means you get about 50 skillpoints to distribute among your skills. You get (at least) 2 skill tomes for additional skillpoints (5 per book) so you have some leeway there but if you want to max a single skill don't expect to put points in anywhere else.

My party was:

Sir William - Human fighter

I put skills in armour and swords. I was pretty happy with my choice in the end. I found a kickass sword named Sword of Nex which requires skill level 10 in swords and Valor heavy armour set. If I had to remake my char I would probably put 10 points in swords and rest to armour.

Grakkar - Minotaur fighter

I put points in athletics, axes and armour. Definetly take the headhunter perk if you take a minotaur. I found 3 skulls (there may be more) and that is +9 attack power right there. Also put a lot of points in dexterity to offset the racial penalty if you want to hit anything in melee. As for equipment I found Chitin light armour set and Axe Norja for him.

Lizzie -Lizardman Rogue

I put all my points to assasination and I managed to max it in the end. I have no idea what master assassin perk was supposed to do and I couldn't figure it out. Also I couldn't find any decent daggers so I just used leftover sword of my main fighter. Lizzie was in the back row so he did not need any specific protective gear. He had more strength than my minotaur thanks to assasination skill tree. With backstabbing he held his own in dps game.

Buggy - Insectoid mage

I put points in air magic and spellcraft. I just spammed lightning bolt with him all day. No enemy is immune to lightning so air magic is solid choice for any mage. For a mage I would recommend putting 32 points in a spell school of your choice and rest to spellcraft.

A couple of additional tips:

- Fall to every hole. There are secrets to be found in the pits.

- Minor tactical hints for the boss fight: If you have any question I will be happy to answer them. And thanks for the great game Almost Human!

Congrats! And thanks for the tips.

Daniel.

Got a similar run. (on normal though)

Game was a lot of fun, will play it again to search more secrets (49/71)

Had a light armor + sword human warrior, did great (found a lot of nice swords on the way)
Had a heavy armor + axe lizardman warrior, did not so great because i spread his skills too much. Think Minotaur would be much more effective (found only 4 skulls, but still worth it i think)
Had a ranged weapon lizardman rogue, was super effective. (only character to finish the game with a maxed skill for me)
Had a fire + spellcraft insectoid mage. Really effective too, fire is great. Tried to buff air a little, but it was too late

All my characters ended up lv 13.

I strongly recommand using bombs, makes life easier (as the OP said, keep a few for the last level).
Ingredients are pretty common, so is food (maybe because i did not lingered too much, 10h30 played), so do not hesitate to use potions.

Also, keep a few "useless" items to throw (rocks would do), you ll need some.

Hi,

Just completed the game as well.

My Party:

Minotaur Monk(Rogue): Evasion/Unarm - Headhunter/FistFighter -: Hits like a truck, don't need equips (Found 5 Skulls so +15Damage)
Human Fighter: Axe/Armor - Skilled/Aggressive -: Best Axe is Norja, Heavy Armor (Perked Armor to get the penalty reduction)
Insectiod Mage: Ice/Fire - Aura/Strong Mind -: The Orb of Zhandual's Orb is great. (Overall fire and Ice should not be picked together on a mage)
Human Mage: Air/Earth/SpellCraft - Aura/Strong Mind -: Used Shaman's Staff (Earth spells are very much poor in the game don't pick)

My 2cents:

Evasion beats protection hands down. Why? Cause you don't get poison and diseased enough said. Be sure to get the double evasion skill level.
Air magic beats the game hands down due to massive damage and invisibility. Ice magic is godly in saving your life, freezing Ogres, Golems, always saved my party.
Food issues can be easily offset by an Insectiod character if you have a Minotaur. Two Minotaur is a really bad idea...
Heavy Armor is quite bad really. The weight encumbrance is not worth it at all. Unless u have major strength, try to avoid trying to get Heavy Armour. Though if you don't get evasion that is the only way to protect yourself. Either way Shield of the Elements is a MUST.
Carry all bags you find for inventory management, try to refrain from carrying wooden chest.
Pick all bomb except Poison bombs. Ice bombs have freezing capabilities and Air bombs are darn painful. Even without skill, they can be used before closing the gap.
Stamina is your friends. Going into combat without stamina means slower recovery from swings and lower chance of skill procs. Not 100% confirmed but was under my observation.
Level up you main combat skill even if it doesn't get you the next level of perk. Each level increases accuracy and damage of weapon used.
Light spells saves you space.
As for rocks, you can substitute with shurikens or knives.

Finished too just now. 14:47 hours, but I took my time, got 67/71 secrets, means there are 4 to find. Hum dum.
Minotaur and human fighter, one axe one sword. Assassin lizard with max assassin build+some dagger and an earth mage insect.
Played with no automap and on hard, some hairy stuff here and there, but all in all I think it was well balanced and really enjoyable.

Oh and I missed one treasure! Dammit!

If you fumble around with combat or have trouble strafing pick SLOWER weapons! Standard RPG logic suggests that faster weapons are always better but I think that sucky players (like me) are better off with maces and axes because we can get more damage per hit and so don't have to click as often. Every second your weapon cooldown is expired is a second you are not hitting a monster because you suck. Plus it gives more time to focus on casting/moving/items and other things.

I know this is the spoiler forum (but to be fair the the thread title only says "tips") but you ought to spoiler tag that comment about the final boss. Or just say something more general like "fewer enemies are immune to lightning".

bkawcazn wrote:I know this is the spoiler forum (but to be fair the the thread title only says "tips") but you ought to spoiler tag that comment about the final boss. Or just say something more general like "fewer enemies are immune to lightning".

Ok. I put spoiler tags on that.

Great tips, thanks everyone.

I'm wondering, is there any special axe in the game or am I gonna be stuck with Battle Axe for my Minotaur till the end?
So many great swords and I don't use any, 'cause my Minnie uses axes and my Human Fighter is an unarmed monk.

CV77 wrote:Great tips, thanks everyone.

I'm wondering, is there any special axe in the game or am I gonna be stuck with Battle Axe for my Minotaur till the end?
So many great swords and I don't use any, 'cause my Minnie uses axes and my Human Fighter is an unarmed monk.

There is one, not very special, but it beats a battle axe.

CV77 wrote:Great tips, thanks everyone.

I'm wondering, is there any special axe in the game or am I gonna be stuck with Battle Axe for my Minotaur till the end?
So many great swords and I don't use any, 'cause my Minnie uses axes and my Human Fighter is an unarmed monk.

I think I found the axe "Norja" on area where you meet those blue lizards for the first time. It is in a secret room in that general area.