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Ah. Might and Magic eight. The day of reckoning and the destroyer. A wonderful game, and the last one in the series.
The last one in the series.
What ISN'T there to say about this game? It was a game from my formative youth that molded me. I greatly enjoyed (watching other people) play this game. Now to begin with, all of you should check out this video so that you understand what's going on in the game, otherwise you're going to horribly confused later.
As with any good RPG, you have to first generate a character.
I usually go with a dark elf who has perception and merchant. He can pick up the other important skill (Disarm trap) later. Other people tend to think of this as cheating mainly because even one level of perception shows you all the traps in the first 'chapter' of the game. And what sort of RPG would it be if you weren't setting off traps? There'll be plenty of time for that and the horrible, HORRIBLE death that follows later, so don't worry.
We start this epic tale of adventure on an island of lizardmen. Let's go over some important interface things.
The person in the top left is your go-to for finding out if you have any magical resistances currently cast. The skull in the top right is there for virtually everything else. The fruit tells you how much food you're carrying with you. This is important, because resting in the wild or walking places uses up food. The money counter is self-explanatory, and while it may be low now, it'll have plenty of options for it to go up soon enough. The compass tells us which direction we're facing, which is currently east. The scroll is where we store information we pick up on this quest. The tent lets us rest for varying times, but to rest and heal, we need to consume two food. The magnifying glass gives us a quick overview of the entire party, and the key takes us to the menu of the game.
Bottom right is our map with zoom options. The portrait is the party members that we have. In this case, all of one. Let's take a better look at him.
The stats screen shows us a fairly average dark elf, with minor resistances, and all of one level. This will not do.
His skills are less than impressive. We'll be changing that.
His inventory reveals a bow, which is dragged over to the model on the right and equipped, along with a ring of +4 accuracy, which is very much needed if he's to hit anything. A few potion bottles and reagents also reveal themselves, but they're more curiosities than anything at this point.
And the awards screen. I guess he never even pulled a kitten out of a tree or anything. This screen will fill up in time as well.
Now let's get down to the real business.
That's right, robbing the fucking caravan. That bottle on the left is Tobersk brandy, the other two are Tobersk pulps, and the large purple fruits are Tobersk fruit. All of these can be traded to the right person for capital, and if you hadn't noticed, we kinda need that. The empty potion bottles are also coming with us, there are things you can do with the Alchemy skill that are totally unfair.
This is the guy who'll buy the brandy off of you for a tidy sum, and I had to come here before I was done with the caravan because there was just so much stuff. You literally cannot hold it all in one backpack, not even after you sell the brandy. Going it alone isn't really a viable option.
Not long after I sell the brandy, I meet this guy. He apparently doesn't notice I've robbed the caravan blind, complains about the dock being destroyed, and bemoans his fate to be slaughtered by pirates. Wait, what?
Yeah that dock in the opening sequence? That was the dock for this island. We're not getting off this island quickly. It would appear that the pirates took this opportunity and have decided to invade the lizardman island. Why would they even want it, is the question.
Clearly I need another strong back to carry all these potion vials. So it's off to the adventurer's inn. This is also the only time you'll be seeing the adventurer's inn, because I only find hiring one of the two people here to be worthwhile. You can hire, at this time, either a Necromancer, or a Vampire. Necromancers can eventually become masters of the elements, so guess which one I'm going with!
This is Devlin Arcanus' inventory now that I've clogged it down with potion vials. He's got a few scrolls and a dagger. He might be moderately useful, depending what's on those scrolls.
His skills are impressive now that I've spent his points, but there are still skills missing. He'll be getting them, don't you worry.
His stats reveal that he starts at level five, which means that technically he is slightly better. Especially in the magic department.
Now on to other things. Such as barrels! Barrels give you +2 in a stat once, depending on the color of the liquid. The relation is as thus:
Red - Might
Orange - Intellect
Blue - Personality
Green - Endurance
Purple - Speed
Yellow - Accuracy
White - Luck
Seeing as how we don't have everyone I want yet, I refrain from drinking this liquid of speed or the liquid right next to it.
Instead I go find the caravan master and the elder of the town. They both have a quest for me, but I'll only be able to complete one right now. The caravan master wants me to find a way off the island and deliver a message to someone who can help with the pirate problem, while the elder wants me to repair the ancient stone monoliths so that the people of the island can get around, what with the pirates and brimstone rain and broken boats and bridges. He suggests I find the cleric Tailmere, and I'm all about new party members to load down for me!
On the way, I find another new mechanic. Wells! Wells are a bit of a gamble. They might do nothing. They might raise your stats up to a certain point if you're lacking. They might instantly kill you, leaving only your bones behind as a statement that you ever were. The wells on the island are mostly safe, and in fact one even raises your luck, so I'm looking for it. This well isn't it.
Ah, Tailmere's hut. The cleric I've been looking for. One that comes free of charge, really.
In fact, he's even thinking of leaving due to all the events, so I tell him that if I find a way off and he's willing to come with, we'll go together. I even wave the stone under his nose for good measure, and he says he has an idea of how to fix the monoliths!
With that, Fredrick Tailmere is mine! His stats are a little more impressive than Devlin's.
His inventory is rather bare (Oooh, free potions) so he becomes the designated Quest Item mule.
His skills quickly become that of bludgeoning well and healing somewhat meagerly.
This is a training hall. I'm not sure if where you train matters (It probably does) but this one can only take you up to level five. This means that Devlin and Fredrick cannot level on this island, but the elf can. He quickly does and gains a few skill points, which are immediately put towards hitting things with a bow better, seeing as how that's his only weapon.
Oh, also, another thing. You can't get more mastery in a skill on your own. I mean, yeah, sure, you can spend skill points in a skill. But you cannot, absolutely cannot, become Expert (4), Master (7) or Grandmaster (10) in a skill on your own. You have to find the appropriate trainer and shell out a bit of cash first, and in the case of the latter two, have to have all previous trainings. When you find a trainer and ask them about the other two names that you can, you learn automatically where they are, and should you ever go to where they are, it'll be marked on your map. It makes finding them somewhat easier. Possibly.
It is, however, worth it. Definitely. It's not so worth it that you should drop everything you're doing and run to the other side of the world for the training, especially if it's full of dangerous monsters, but the sooner you upgrade a skill, the better your life will be.
Anyway, I run around the entire island, learning of where all the trainers are, both here and off-island that I can. While doing so, I pick up a few quests on the way. Namely to go to the outer islands and explore the dungeon there. We won't be doing that right off the bat as I like living.
This is the temple, where they restore your health and status to normal. Like in the other Might and Magics, it is recommended that you donate here to earn blessings.
In fact, donating here earned me quite a few blessings. I tend to forget it can do that. I was briefly considering going out into the wild world with this newfound power, but decided against it. We're still down a man from a full party.
So I decided to find the nearest inn. Not to get drunk, although I think you can do that somewhere else.
But to play Arcomage, because it's a thing that you should do every time you get the chance to! Kinda like donating to the temples.
This is also the only time you're going to see this particular screenshot, or any screenshot relating to Arcomage. It's mostly a subquest, but with fabulous prizes should you succeed.
Anyways. Next time, horrible snakey death. Horrible, HORRIBLE snakey death.