My thoughts on CE (starting out)

[darkpark]

I made a human female mage which I plan on promoting her to war witch eventually and I started to play the collector's edition of dungeon lords tonight.
So far, i have noticed that the monsters are just slightly more difficult and they don't seem to give you the same amount of experience points.
Also, the two shacks in the starting area (before you go into the sewers) each have a standing torch in front of them and were both occupied by a goblin. Both goblins were standing on the porch and jeering at me.

Also, the collector's edition installer either is not compatible with previous game saves or deliberately renames old saved games. I had several saved games from version 1.4 which were all renamed to filename.V14

Finally, I noticed that in the manual there is the mention of the "Shadow Lord" diabolic skill and the Shadow Lord class. How one attains that class is a mystery to me.

[Damn Snakes!]

were the rats tougher to you? they were quite difficult in the very begining for me... also did you notice that the starting forrest area was a lot smaller?

[darkpark]

i never explored the entire forest. i'd start out by talking to the messenger than I'd head over to the two shacks and wait on the porch until some monsters came along. I'd continue waiting and killing until I reached level 3 or 4. After that, I'd go to the sewers.

[Frodo1]

Originally Posted by darkpark

So far, i have noticed that the monsters are just slightly more difficult and they don't seem to give you the same amount of experience points.

I made it to Skuldoon today and noticed that the Minotaurs give over 29,000 experience each now. It doesn't matter what the difficulty level is. I think they used to give 24 something before.

And, is it just me, or does it take more xp to level up now? I noticed that when trying to get to level 11.

Huge spiders seem to be much tougher than before. They pack a huge punch now.

[darkpark]

There are now "spiderlings" which are small spiders which I first encountered in the fargrove crypt when searching for galdryn's horn.
Also, I encountered two new monsters on my way to Arindale.
One was a mushman (short mushroom-like monsters) and carion crawlers which are red catapilar-like monsters. the later ones are easy to fight and offer around 5000 in experience points which is pretty good if you're making your first trip to Arindale.
Another thing, the spawn rate of the thieves/brigands in the slum section of fargrove is ridiculously high. I can't move more than 4 or 5 steps without having a knife thrown at me and while fighting those thieves I noticed that they occasionally steal some gold from me.
Overall, I'm enjoying this collectors edition but as I have read in other posts this collector's edition is what DL should have been and is a wonderful game. I think it's a worthy successor to Wizards and Warriors.

[dlowrey]

Originally Posted by darkpark

Another thing, the spawn rate of the thieves/brigands in the slum section of fargrove is ridiculously high. I can't move more than 4 or 5 steps without having a knife thrown at me and while fighting those thieves I noticed that they occasionally steal some gold from me

I think the slums are "pre-loaded" with a ton of thieves.

Once I cleared out the first batch, they re-spawned at a much more reasonable rate...

[Frodo1]

Originally Posted by dlowrey

I think the slums are "pre-loaded" with a ton of thieves.

Once I cleared out the first batch, they re-spawned at a much more reasonable rate...

Yes, there is a huge number of thieves down in the lower courtyard waiting for you the first time you enter. The area has master thieves thrown into the mix now, as well as the "new" Sneak Thieves, a more robust form of Thieves. I actually liked that first huge wave. I use the slums as a leveling area.

[darkpark]

I agree that the first wave is pretty big, the rate of spawning is still high. I had a hell of a time completing the vampire quest because the thieves kept harrassing me. I don't recall version 1.3 and earlier being that dangerous.

[Damn Snakes!]

heck, I am tired of getting hammered by goblins, thieves and yes, those damn snakes right outside the Fargrove Castle! (at least the guards will help out if you drag the battle near them...)

[darkpark]

If you're at the beginning than run East til you find two shacks standing next to each other. You can use them for refuge and also stand on the porch so that you can attack monsters that come close.
I usually hang out there until I reach either level 3 or 4 before heading down to the seweres.