Posted October 13, 2012
First of all: this guide will NOT tell you what to pick, but it will tell you what the different things will give you and its merits and dismerits, it will also point out some important people to meet etc, it DOES include spoilers so be warned, but i will try not to include any mayor story spoilers ofc.
As you read this please note: NPCS DO NOT LEARN RECIPES.
First of all let's take a loot at the 8 primary stats (ignoring mana and hp, in arcanum you'll never want to put points directly into these anyways)
First of all you have Strength (ST)- This is viewed as a purely melle stat, and is basicly only useful for 1 build as a technolgican, this is if you were building a half-ogre (or half-orc) guy who focused only on forging his own armor and weapon, so by any account you'd not use that much points in technology this way (more on this build later)
This also gives some +hp and helps a lot for carrying weight, but normally you'll dump most weight over to who'm ever in the party plays the "support" or "healer" role.
Then you have constitution (CN) this is the toughness of your charechter, this ability is basicly the 1 you pick if you want more HP (YES YOU PICK THIS INSTEAD OF BLANK +HP) because it also gives +rad ressistance/poison ressitance /magic ressistance....basicly ALL ressistance.
Males get +1ST, females +1CN, if you're not making a melle char you will want a female if possible.
Then you have the Dexterity (DX) this stat is propebly the best stat in the entire game, as it has so much utily, it gives ur melles/thrown +chance to hit, also gives you more movement points, also gives bonus to pickpocket prowl etc etc (prowling isn't something technologicians tend to use though)
A lot of Tech builds requires you to be a melle char at start, having a race with good DX stats at start will allways be beneficial, and seeing as it gives you more moves, it's allways gonna give you more damage, no matter your build, it's just an awesome stat.
Now you have Beauty (BE) This is known as the most useless stat in the game, all it enforces is bonus to initial reaction with people (and theres a few NOTE VERY FEW) events in the game where it can give you a different outcome, if you have a choice ALLWAYS pick charisma over Beauty, UNLESS you're doing it purely for the rpg element.
Now you have Inteligence (IN) this is an enforced stat upon you if you're doing any tech, its not a very useful stat except for that it allows you to pick up the different things to make.
(Note to any1 else reading this: if you have a char with VERY low inteligence your conversation options will be VERY lacking, you can basicly just say "umm....ok" etc, so you do not want to be to dumb, as you cant pick up quests etc :)
Now we have willpower (WP) this is the spellcaster enforced stat, you should just ignore this EVEN THOUGH it does give bonus to resist mind controll etc, it's still not gonna be worth it in any effort.
Then theres penalty (PE) this is your peception, if you're gonna play a gunner class this is a must to raise to at least 15 basicly, if you want grand-master gunning then you'll need 18 (unless you're a dwarven magic allergic), also please note: YOU can have lower base value as long as you have items raising it :)
Last is charisma,(CH) i touched on this a bit this is your conversational skill, it's basicly increasing peoples reaction to you through conversation, also required for persuation, and it allows you to pick up (or complete) some unique quests from time to time, and sometimes just complete(or progress)a standard quest in a unique way.
Its also allowing you more followers
(Note persuasion also allows +1 max follower at expert level, migt be worth considering)
Charisma often allows for a more RP'ish feel of the game to :)
Now having looked upon the stats you should have a basic feel of what stats you're investing in depending on your char, but before you can decide, we need to take a look at technological trees (and im gonna mention some technological followers you'll meet early on)
The first 2 il mention is the "supportive" trees, herbology and therapeutics.
Herbology is basicly about creating things to heal and ress, remove poison etc, this will be the replacement for the magical heals, as you as a technologician will be IMMUNE to friendly spells the deeper you dive into tech.
The second therapeutics is more of a purely support rather then heal, its for many of the secondary skills. Here you learn to create elixirs etc to enhance your conversational skills, or your physical prowess etc, it can be usefull, but i wouldnt advice a lot of people to dive into this 1.
I must admitt I HAVE NEVER done a build containing the 2 below, this due to the fact that (SPOILER ALARM) you can pick up jayna stiles (who learns level 4 of both of these+the heal ability) in dernholm, and allmost every high-tech char will want to pick her up, these are by those accords simply not worth it, but worth mentioning if you really would want them for some reason.
Allthough you can pick up some QUITE nice schematics including these 2 though, but its just such an investment)
Then theres what i would refer to as "the fighters techs" (alltho you can ofc use them for gunslinger classes etc to)
Smithy and chemistry.
Smithy is a must for any tech fighter, you get the "balanced sword" which is 1 of the sickest early game weapons ever, it's so fast and so easy to use, you'll want to equip ALL low-strength followers with this...just imba weapon.
Also you can create some really nice armors later with this tree.
(And read chemistry)
Chemistry is a bit different, its about dealing damage through poison etc, i tend to not use this tree as much myself (you can pick up som1 with this tree if you really want some of the low-level stuff, and the high level stuff and schematical stuff isn't THAT good)
You can create the envenomed axe and envenomed sword with this though, which are basicly improvements to the older smithy weapons-WORTH IT for melle techs with big follower groups.
These ofc requires smithy to :)
Now lets deal with the typical Gunslinger things BOMBS&Guns
Here you have the Gun smithy skill-Which is pretty straight foreward-You create guns, ill tell you 1 thing, you meet a follower who gets level 4 in this, so unless your maxing it's no point, BUT YOU WILL WANT TO MAX IT, because you get some really awesome weapons later in this 1.
Note importance: You wil want to combine this 1 with electricity to create the best gun in the game basicly: the "tesla gun" (some of the explosive guns are on par with this 1, it rly depends on mob and situation)
And also with explosives for genade launcher or flamethrower etc :)
Now explosives: this deals with creating grenades, THE BEST THING about grenades is that they allmost cost NO moves at ALL to throw, and from the very first grenade you get them with pushback effect, making the enemy deal a LOT less dmg as they have to run to you, if you're playing a gunslinger, getting explosives is allmost mandatory.
Now to deal with the "utility" trees mechanical and electricity These are useful in many ways (for recipes for instance, and also other stuff)
First electricity: this gives you 2 very important things in addition to helping for other recipes: it gives you a TECH ring which gives +2DX (can use 1 in each hand, so +4DX (since ur tech u cant use rings else then this allmost)
This can also be equipped on other charechters in your party.
It also gives you the flow spectometer, which detects trap, this will be very useful in certain dungeons.
For melle techs, you can get the charged sword quite early, which is a very nice alternative if you do not want to get chemistry.
The mechanical deals with creating ....mechanical stuff? You start of with creating traps, which is quite useful for "hard" encounters in the game, you can prepare before you engage, and use them to weaken stronger enemies before they reach you.
BUT IF THIS IS ALL YOU WANT IT FOR, then note that a certain char you meet later has this+Smithy
also you're quite early given a pair of goggles (head item) that gives you +2PE, awesome for any ranged charechter.
(Also theres a recipe for creating the GOGGLED helmet, +3PE and some other bonus, this is with Mechanical+Smithy)
So to give you a little summary on some builds that work out quite well (you can allways add a tech if you feel it fits though :) )
Melle tech#1: Smithy+Chemistry
Melle tech#2: Smithy+Electricity
Melle tech#3: Chemistry+Explosives+mechanical (this will be a very rogue'like char, and i suggest getting the DX rings from elecrtricity to)
Gunslinger#1: Gunsmithy+Electricity+Explosives (just getting the most basics here)
Gunslinger#2: Gunsmithy+Electricity+Explosives+Mechanical+Smithy (The "ultimate" tech build in my eyes, getting more then this will most likely NOT work out very well) (THIS 1 CAN be hard to start of with etc, as you need to build int quite early :\)
Gunslinger#3: Mechanical+explosives+Smithy (this 1 is half fighter mostly, and uses guns bought or made by other chars in the game)
I allmost forgot to mention, as a gunslinger you ofc want to get firearms skill (naturally) and as a fighter you want melle+dodge (dodge is not needed that high)
As long as your not doing "the ultimate" tech build there is a lot of space for extra conversational skills ofc etc :)
As you read this please note: NPCS DO NOT LEARN RECIPES.
First of all let's take a loot at the 8 primary stats (ignoring mana and hp, in arcanum you'll never want to put points directly into these anyways)
First of all you have Strength (ST)- This is viewed as a purely melle stat, and is basicly only useful for 1 build as a technolgican, this is if you were building a half-ogre (or half-orc) guy who focused only on forging his own armor and weapon, so by any account you'd not use that much points in technology this way (more on this build later)
This also gives some +hp and helps a lot for carrying weight, but normally you'll dump most weight over to who'm ever in the party plays the "support" or "healer" role.
Then you have constitution (CN) this is the toughness of your charechter, this ability is basicly the 1 you pick if you want more HP (YES YOU PICK THIS INSTEAD OF BLANK +HP) because it also gives +rad ressistance/poison ressitance /magic ressistance....basicly ALL ressistance.
Males get +1ST, females +1CN, if you're not making a melle char you will want a female if possible.
Then you have the Dexterity (DX) this stat is propebly the best stat in the entire game, as it has so much utily, it gives ur melles/thrown +chance to hit, also gives you more movement points, also gives bonus to pickpocket prowl etc etc (prowling isn't something technologicians tend to use though)
A lot of Tech builds requires you to be a melle char at start, having a race with good DX stats at start will allways be beneficial, and seeing as it gives you more moves, it's allways gonna give you more damage, no matter your build, it's just an awesome stat.
Now you have Beauty (BE) This is known as the most useless stat in the game, all it enforces is bonus to initial reaction with people (and theres a few NOTE VERY FEW) events in the game where it can give you a different outcome, if you have a choice ALLWAYS pick charisma over Beauty, UNLESS you're doing it purely for the rpg element.
Now you have Inteligence (IN) this is an enforced stat upon you if you're doing any tech, its not a very useful stat except for that it allows you to pick up the different things to make.
(Note to any1 else reading this: if you have a char with VERY low inteligence your conversation options will be VERY lacking, you can basicly just say "umm....ok" etc, so you do not want to be to dumb, as you cant pick up quests etc :)
Now we have willpower (WP) this is the spellcaster enforced stat, you should just ignore this EVEN THOUGH it does give bonus to resist mind controll etc, it's still not gonna be worth it in any effort.
Then theres penalty (PE) this is your peception, if you're gonna play a gunner class this is a must to raise to at least 15 basicly, if you want grand-master gunning then you'll need 18 (unless you're a dwarven magic allergic), also please note: YOU can have lower base value as long as you have items raising it :)
Last is charisma,(CH) i touched on this a bit this is your conversational skill, it's basicly increasing peoples reaction to you through conversation, also required for persuation, and it allows you to pick up (or complete) some unique quests from time to time, and sometimes just complete(or progress)a standard quest in a unique way.
Its also allowing you more followers
(Note persuasion also allows +1 max follower at expert level, migt be worth considering)
Charisma often allows for a more RP'ish feel of the game to :)
Now having looked upon the stats you should have a basic feel of what stats you're investing in depending on your char, but before you can decide, we need to take a look at technological trees (and im gonna mention some technological followers you'll meet early on)
The first 2 il mention is the "supportive" trees, herbology and therapeutics.
Herbology is basicly about creating things to heal and ress, remove poison etc, this will be the replacement for the magical heals, as you as a technologician will be IMMUNE to friendly spells the deeper you dive into tech.
The second therapeutics is more of a purely support rather then heal, its for many of the secondary skills. Here you learn to create elixirs etc to enhance your conversational skills, or your physical prowess etc, it can be usefull, but i wouldnt advice a lot of people to dive into this 1.
I must admitt I HAVE NEVER done a build containing the 2 below, this due to the fact that (SPOILER ALARM) you can pick up jayna stiles (who learns level 4 of both of these+the heal ability) in dernholm, and allmost every high-tech char will want to pick her up, these are by those accords simply not worth it, but worth mentioning if you really would want them for some reason.
Allthough you can pick up some QUITE nice schematics including these 2 though, but its just such an investment)
Then theres what i would refer to as "the fighters techs" (alltho you can ofc use them for gunslinger classes etc to)
Smithy and chemistry.
Smithy is a must for any tech fighter, you get the "balanced sword" which is 1 of the sickest early game weapons ever, it's so fast and so easy to use, you'll want to equip ALL low-strength followers with this...just imba weapon.
Also you can create some really nice armors later with this tree.
(And read chemistry)
Chemistry is a bit different, its about dealing damage through poison etc, i tend to not use this tree as much myself (you can pick up som1 with this tree if you really want some of the low-level stuff, and the high level stuff and schematical stuff isn't THAT good)
You can create the envenomed axe and envenomed sword with this though, which are basicly improvements to the older smithy weapons-WORTH IT for melle techs with big follower groups.
These ofc requires smithy to :)
Now lets deal with the typical Gunslinger things BOMBS&Guns
Here you have the Gun smithy skill-Which is pretty straight foreward-You create guns, ill tell you 1 thing, you meet a follower who gets level 4 in this, so unless your maxing it's no point, BUT YOU WILL WANT TO MAX IT, because you get some really awesome weapons later in this 1.
Note importance: You wil want to combine this 1 with electricity to create the best gun in the game basicly: the "tesla gun" (some of the explosive guns are on par with this 1, it rly depends on mob and situation)
And also with explosives for genade launcher or flamethrower etc :)
Now explosives: this deals with creating grenades, THE BEST THING about grenades is that they allmost cost NO moves at ALL to throw, and from the very first grenade you get them with pushback effect, making the enemy deal a LOT less dmg as they have to run to you, if you're playing a gunslinger, getting explosives is allmost mandatory.
Now to deal with the "utility" trees mechanical and electricity These are useful in many ways (for recipes for instance, and also other stuff)
First electricity: this gives you 2 very important things in addition to helping for other recipes: it gives you a TECH ring which gives +2DX (can use 1 in each hand, so +4DX (since ur tech u cant use rings else then this allmost)
This can also be equipped on other charechters in your party.
It also gives you the flow spectometer, which detects trap, this will be very useful in certain dungeons.
For melle techs, you can get the charged sword quite early, which is a very nice alternative if you do not want to get chemistry.
The mechanical deals with creating ....mechanical stuff? You start of with creating traps, which is quite useful for "hard" encounters in the game, you can prepare before you engage, and use them to weaken stronger enemies before they reach you.
BUT IF THIS IS ALL YOU WANT IT FOR, then note that a certain char you meet later has this+Smithy
also you're quite early given a pair of goggles (head item) that gives you +2PE, awesome for any ranged charechter.
(Also theres a recipe for creating the GOGGLED helmet, +3PE and some other bonus, this is with Mechanical+Smithy)
So to give you a little summary on some builds that work out quite well (you can allways add a tech if you feel it fits though :) )
Melle tech#1: Smithy+Chemistry
Melle tech#2: Smithy+Electricity
Melle tech#3: Chemistry+Explosives+mechanical (this will be a very rogue'like char, and i suggest getting the DX rings from elecrtricity to)
Gunslinger#1: Gunsmithy+Electricity+Explosives (just getting the most basics here)
Gunslinger#2: Gunsmithy+Electricity+Explosives+Mechanical+Smithy (The "ultimate" tech build in my eyes, getting more then this will most likely NOT work out very well) (THIS 1 CAN be hard to start of with etc, as you need to build int quite early :\)
Gunslinger#3: Mechanical+explosives+Smithy (this 1 is half fighter mostly, and uses guns bought or made by other chars in the game)
I allmost forgot to mention, as a gunslinger you ofc want to get firearms skill (naturally) and as a fighter you want melle+dodge (dodge is not needed that high)
As long as your not doing "the ultimate" tech build there is a lot of space for extra conversational skills ofc etc :)
