Is this game playable at all?

[Makumba666]

Hi,
I am playng this game for second time. First time I gave up after I got soul lance. I spent all my potions in crypt and was absolutely unable to fight English. As an alternative I could spend minutes waiting for my mana replenish, but I didn't like such a masochism. so I gave up. It was an year or 2 ago.
Recently I have restarted the game. I created a fire mage - sylvant male: fire magic: 150+, fortitude 150+, domination 150 +. besides I took all fire damage improvments possible. And still game is absolutely not playable. The main reasonsare following:
1. Mana problem. Even in the best case, potion vendor has at most 5-6 spirit elexirs. My char (with mana cappacity 1200) requires at least 6 potions to recharge. Besides, as you reach lvl 20 or above the mana spirits become very rare and they usually add 80-150 (200 at most) mana - which is quite not sufficient. So I am forced to use only the first level fire spell - to save mana. And it is still not sufficient.
2. Magic is useles. For example: in the crypt and nostradamus caves most formidabble foes have too strong fire resistance. for example - my fireball does only 10 point damage out of 55! what a nonsense! And why put experience points in magic development - to hit revenant for 8 points of damage? that is a wasp bite for him. Even 55 points of damage is too little for strong monsters, and in addition they have about 80% fire resistance. damn!
I can not understand, is this a result of disballance in game, or Lionheart is supposed to be played in such a mannes (in masochist manner, IMHO). Do another classes have similar problem?

[Fljotsdale]

It's been a while since I played the game. I experienced the same difficulties that you list - but not for very long.
I figured out how to build a character, of any race or class, that worked well. Practice. Make a character, play with it while observing it's weaknesses. Learn from it. Try another character. Do the same. When you feel you know what you are doing, create a character for real, and go with it.

Yes, finding mana globes gets difficult! And, yes, buying/finding mana potions can be a bit of a pain. I used to hoard them! One way of getting a better supply is to join The Wielders rather than the other groups (but you can still join Saladin and get the perks), because then you can access extra potions at that alchemy shop close to Weng Choi's. And don't neglect the merchants in the sewers. You can get potions from them as well. And from the Merchant at the crossroads (he has two menus, with potions in both. You only access the second one if you have a good reputation). Also, sometimes you will see a merchant walking along the road in the crossroads area (they always wear an apron). Accost him, and you will be able to buy potions from him, too.
If you look hard, you CAN get sufficient potions. Barely. Don't waste 'em. If waiting around will save a potion, wait around! Yeah, boring, but you never have to wait too long, after all!

And yes, the game is very playable. The most feeble part of it is the ending, but there is good gameplay for most of it, and the storyline is quite good.
I enjoyed it anyway, and have played it quite a few times.

[FredrikNo1]

it is a hard game, frustrating actually.

But if you go ranged it is much easier. Ranged combinded with perks is very good.

So if you want to be able to crush the english rather easy go ranged, protective divine (for damage resistance) and start killing, they should be chanceless and your mana doesnt run out.

[Fljotsdale]

Hard? In spots it's a bit challenging, yes, but mostly not beyond your char's abilities. If you want an easy ride it may not be the game for you, though.

[FredrikNo1]

maybe hard isnt the right word. with the right build its a very easy game, but with the wrong its very hard.

so a better word is unbalanced

[Makumba666]

I am not a guy that seeks easy ways, generally. but this game seems to me totally unplayable. Even if one spents all xp on the same spell branch (i.e. fire magic) it is a little help. I have accumulated alot of xp an tried - fire damage only improved about 10 points. That's to say now I hit terror for additional 2 points (20% of 10, those creatures have about 80% spell resistance) what a delight!
As for different builds, somebody please tell me what a magic user can do in the crypt, for example. Where to find necessary mana? or strike every single monster with lvl1 fire spell? - even when surrounded by a group of monsters? tipically terrors take about 6 fireballs to die. it is 6x80=300 mp. and no damned mana spirits at all.
May be it is quite different game for fighters or rangers (as they do not require much mana) - may be it is "a bit challenging", but for mages I consider it totally unplayable.

[Crenshinibon]

I for one have beaten the game, so I can tell you that it is playable.

Lionheart is made in such a way that if you focus all of your skill points in either magic or fighting, you're going to have one hell of a time playing through.

It's best to make a hybrid character.

First of all, a note, Nostradamus is an optional quest.

Second, realize your character's weak points and strengthen them. After I beat the game for the first time, I made a spell caster, kind of like, with fire and necromancy. I made sure to focus on dodging for extra armor and tried to find/buy armor with as much defense as I could find.

I ended up having over 200 AC before even reach Nostradamus. That is without using all of the availible buffing spells I had at the time.

As for the mana potions, every single merchant in the game restocks every time that you gain a level.

I was lucky enough to find a few items with an addition to mana, but even without them, there is a perk that lets you recieve more mana from the orbs. My main healing source was that spell in the Tribal Branch, spirit absorption, or something like that. I didn't put any points into it until late game, but nevertheless, I still used it.... a lot.

[Fljotsdale]

I've played it - and beaten it - as a Mage, Makumba. Both with and without Ranged Weapon skill. It's easier if you add Ranged to Magic, so that your magic has time to replenish while firing arrows. But you can play it pretty well pure mage. It's more a knack than anything else - though that last 'dungeon' is quite hard without Ranged! - getting to understand how the game works and riding with it. It's the same with any computer game I ever played: initially you keep getting killed, no matter what you do, but eventually you figure out the best way to play it, and in the end it's just... well... easy-peasy. It's not that the game got suddenly easier, but that you figured out how to play it.

And Crenshinibon is absolutely right!

[Soviet_pep]

Join the wielders and Quinn has a special stock for you. i got 9 mass health and 9 health pots there. English soldiers arent invincible, just put some points in healing

[Daianara]

Hello Makumba666. I'm playing the game for the first time. My character is sylvant, female (not that it makes a difference) and my skill points go to fire magic, one hand melee and lockpicking (I always wanted to play with a rogue/thief ). I got around 150 skill points in Fire Magic but, fortunatelly, I also invested around 80 points (so far) in ice magic. I'm now at the Nostradums Caves and thank God for ice magic because all the enemies there have fire resistance. Plus, I have to fight a Daeva in one of the French villages and he's imune to fire damage.
As for the potions, I made a stock of around 20 extra healing when I went into the cript and now I finished with them * I still have 13-14. And I usually find mana after killing someone so I don't have to wait a lot for the mana to regenerate, just the healt, but that's going pretty fast.
*I don't know about you but fighting revenants is pretty hard. That is if it's more than one I die a pretty shameless death. There for 3 in one of the graves I had to open to get to the lance. Thank you sneak skill!

[Fljotsdale]

Originally Posted by Daianara

Hello Makumba666. I'm playing the game for the first time. My character is sylvant, female (not that it makes a difference) and my skill points go to fire magic, one hand melee and lockpicking (I always wanted to play with a rogue/thief ). I got around 150 skill points in Fire Magic but, fortunatelly, I also invested around 80 points (so far) in ice magic. I'm now at the Nostradums Caves and thank God for ice magic because all the enemies there have fire resistance. Plus, I have to fight a Daeva in one of the French villages and he's imune to fire damage.
As for the potions, I made a stock of around 20 extra healing when I went into the cript and now I finished with them * I still have 13-14. And I usually find mana after killing someone so I don't have to wait a lot for the mana to regenerate, just the healt, but that's going pretty fast.
*I don't know about you but fighting revenants is pretty hard. That is if it's more than one I die a pretty shameless death. There for 3 in one of the graves I had to open to get to the lance. Thank you sneak skill!

Hiya, Daianara! Yeah, after the first time I NEVER took Fire magic! Ice or Electrical are good, but, like you, I prefered Ice. And you need to build Divine Fortitude. A VERY valuable magic branch!
And Revenants are VERY difficult if they gang up on you, unless you have magic weapons or powerful spells. You can kill them with a Pure Might character, and no magic, too.

And I agree about Sneak! Best skill you can have!

[Daianara]

Since I posted here I got 2 excelent perks* (one handed weapon finesse+specialisation) and now my Long Sword of Flame does 7-14+4 damage, plus another 2-9 fire damage/succesful hit.
I still think Fire Magic is pretty good (186 points in it and counting ), but combined with another one. As for the healing part, you have to invest quite a lot in it. I got some item that gave me about 20 skill points in the divine magic spell branch but the healing only got to 6 or 7 points max.
I can kill a revenant, np about that, but it get striky when you find some illusionary wall and there are 2 or 3 hiding behind it.
*as a side note, the Disease ward perk is great! I got it right when I was exploring some cript and all the damage got converted into HP.

[Fljotsdale]

Yes, it IS a good perk! I always used to take it.

[Aranox]

I would say this game is playable, in the beginning, its extremely hard, since your abilities are highly limited. What I do is do as many easy combat, or non-combat quests as i can in barcalona, alone from those quests, i can pretty much get from 2 to somewhere between lvls between 3-7, i should have handfuls of money, and decent things to work with in combat, and that goes with ALL character builds. If you still have problems doing that, you can just export your character, play through the game as much as you can, gaining as much xp as you can repeat, it gets boring after a while, so i try get through most of the game as i can in one swing. The easiest build to play in lionheart with, is playing a ranger, focusing a bit in the fortitude tree, and attack spells in the thought branch, you got a decent way of handling things, since you can get resistance, along with the all too important skill, heal, so you can overcome many fights with that alone, and with large groups, use area of effect attacking spells to help, with ranged, not only will you save your self a heck of a lot of money/time finding/buying big time armor swds whatever, since you can just use arrows/bolts of infinite, and in the beginning, Leonardo Davinci has a simple quest to make you a crossbow, which i pretty much used up to the point(a looooong time) where you get to these plains, and theres a merchant, whom sells a very powerful ice bow(10kg i think it is) , so when it comes to getting wpns, its easier as ranged since you know exactly where to get one, you also save yourself many times dying, especially in boss fights, most of them travel slowly, so you can just hit and run, chug a potion while getting close , and pelt away, playing as a melee, its much harder, and waaay more painful, unless of course you have an overwhelming advantage, so overall, i say ranged is the most conveinient way to play LH, and you can still be a mage anyhow, just be careful how you spend your points.

[Siouxie Sioux]

Game is playable.
Exorcism, just exorcism. It's excellent, because you can attack all the enemies gathered around you, it brings crushing dmg (I haven't noticed any resistance, and there is also a chance that some of the undead will be completely destroyed, which is the best part. The most of your enemies are undead. So, I reached the crypt only with 12 points on exorcism (wearing the neckless, you can buy it from Alvaro on the Crossroads, per example, or find like a treasure). 12 or 20 points - it doesn't make a lot of difference, as I realised later, adding the points on that branch. But the Righteous Fury - the fifth Smite magic is good, it gives 20-30 crushing dmg to the enemies and some healing for me, so I don't regret. I also strenghtened Fortitude magic (about 140). You can use Amulet of Exorcism (better than boots, because of their -1CH) until you strenghten some other, efficiant type of magic.
Don't be lazy to save game before you get the treasure when you don't know what is it. And open several times. You can find exactly what you need, or sth more valuable to sell later. You can get, per example, belt of feral power and titan strenght, like I did (my char. is feralkin, so it means +3 ST and +4 hand-to-hand skills). First time I got potion of healing!
Also, an excellent way to strenghten your character is by the crystals. I usually do it on Crossroads. Save game, than click the crystal, if the world map appears - click the Crossroads again, and so keep on clicking the crystal until it takes you to some other area, it will take few-10 seconds. If your enemies there are too strong to defeat, then simply load game and try again. Every crystal can take you to several different places. You'll get some exp. points, a lot I'd say, and when you clean the area (they are usually small search for the hidden treasure. Never miss it, there are pretty valuable things. Few areas, and you gained the level.
Now I'm in the Crypt of the Lance, and I have about 100 Spirit El. and 70-80 EH. Buy ALL the healing potions you can find, and first spend Mass, then Healing, then Extra. Often (but not too often) go back from the fighting place to merchant. I know it's boring, but it works. If you don't have enough Sp.El., then buy scrolls and potions(strenght, defense, vampirism, resistances - everything you can find), so you won't spend too much mana for healing, and that can all be clicked during the pause, which is also an advantage. Few seconds are pretty worthy during the combat. If you reached the Crypt, I doubt that you have problems with money so you can buy all you wish.
To improve your strenght and endurance, use beer, wine, or some other drink. You can buy it in taverns (in Barcel. or in Montaill.) and they are bon marché. But rather use potion/scroll of strenght if you are close to gaining the level, because alcohol decreases your intelligence, which means less skill points.