Page 1 of 2

Andor's Trail Character, Skill and Grinding tips

Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2016 8:30 am
by BethelAbba
Reading through Gaya's current thread http://andorstrail.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=5518 gave me the idea that maybe a new thread is needed for tips. I know recently my discussion on the disparity of weapon use http://andorstrail.com/viewtopic.php?f= ... 2&start=10 made me change direction completely (Thank you, Tomcat & RiJackson741) with what I planned to do with 2 skill points I had saved and the direction I had planned on taking.

That said, Throw out your basic character, skill or grinding tips that would help new players... and because of the subject description, google hits should bring people here.

_____________________________________________________ Skill Point choices, levels 1-20

One of the biggest tips I can throw out is saving skill points for when they really will help. Don't be in a hurry to drop them into a useful skill immediately. Let me give the greatest example --- your first 5 skill points. Most people will run towards damage / Armor or blocking boosts. But if you save your first skill point for only one more level, you gain one of the greatest bonuses you can get in the game: Increased fortitude.

It may not seem like much early on, +1 to health per character level, but it adds up dramatically over time and eliminates the need to add +5 to health as one of your level picks. I currently have a level 54 character, with Increased fortitude +2..... and I've only used two +5 health picks.... and this beast has 132 health.
Think it through.... only 2 OUT OF FIFTY FOUR level picks used for health... meaning 52 picks to go into damage / block / armor.... all because of Increased Fortitude.

Eliminating the need to use level picks in health increases your block / armor / damage over time dramatically. This same character has 110% BC and 189% AC ---- simply because I haven't had the need to increase my health over time.
If your first pick goes to Increased fortitude at level 5 --- the obvious companion is Regeneration at level 8. It allows you to back off from a fight and gain health --- but your bonus comes by adding food bonuses. Eat meat --- you're now at +3 every 6 seconds. Eat cooked meat --- your at +4. Regeneration gives you advantages that allow for longer play time while grinding.

Sooo --- Level 4 Skill pick, use at level 5 for IF. Level 8 Skill pick use for Regeneration. Level 12, for me, is a throw away... use it however you want. Level 16 skill pick save again until level 20.... and you grab Increased Fortitude Level 2 and Regeneration Level 2 immediately upon 20th level. This gives you +2 health added per level and +2 health regeneration (Meat now gives you +4 per 6 seconds and cooked meat gives you +5). Over the long haul --- these first skill picks really make far more sense than any other choice you might make.

____________________________________________________________ Grinding tips early on

As for grinding --- each map area has a blind spot. An area where the monsters don't go. Snake Cave has 2
(Upper right corner in first cave, lower left corner in the second)
and if you use them properly --- with the regeneration skill bonus + the meat drops (and some food poisoning Antidote in reserve) --- you can stay in that area nearly until level 20... without ever having to go back to sleep anywhere.
Personally, I leveled to 15 then cut over to flagstone prison because I wanted Flagstone's Pride as my primary weapon. Once there, I just continued grinding through skeletons to bulk up my healing potion supply.
Look for the blind spots --- and your grinding becomes greatly enhanced.

Around level 20 (where you should have 45 health points if you took IF) Bonemeal potions are NOT very viable, but they are a MUST HAVE investment for later use. By the time you hit level 25 (you're now sitting at 55 health points) they actually start to become a life saver.... and at level 35 (where you're almost at 90 health points) they become super useful in keeping the grinding going indefinitely. I started grinding Maonit at level 42. At that point I had 199 Cooked Meat and 909 Bonemeal potions. At level 54...... I still have 188 cooked meat (11 used) and 742 Bonemeal (167 used) --- and I've gained 12 levels without the downtime of constantly waiting for my health to come back to fighting standards.
Notice, only 11 cooked meat used, meaning I only waited for health 11 times... in 12 levels of grinding!!!! (NOTE: There is no bed for sleeping in the area I am talking about... my grinding has been absolutely constant, with very little down time. I've managed to gain 12 higher levels in only 2-3 actual days of real time playing. I'm gaining about 100,000 EXP every hour of game play at this point.)
Around level 30-35... your great grinding spot..... is the Charwood mine. Those Aggressive Goblins and Mazarth beasts make for great grinding --- NOTE THIS ---- especially for $$$$$ Grinding!!!!! The drops these guys give you (Raw Perch - Ointment of Bleeding Wounds - Iron Mace - Meat... up to 5 pieces!!! --- not to mention that each kill drops $$$ as well) will give you tons of money to spend on whatever you need.
How else do you think I managed 199 cooked meat and 909 Bonemeal potions? My grinding through this area netted me somewhere near 50K in gold once I sold everything.
____________________________________________________Other thoughts.

RiJackson741 & Tomcat made such a great points about daggers and weapon damage (which may change in future updates) that I honestly would love to have them spell it out here (nudge, nudge) for new players to gain wisdom from. I had been saving skill points for IF / Regen Level 3.... but after Tomcat's thoughts, I pumped both points into Combat Speed... and subsequent points into More Criticals / Better Criticals... and haven't regretted the move.
Right now I am grinding towards 56 where I can add a second skill point into Magic Finder... and then I'm going out to hunt for my first Ring of Lesser Shadow.
What other tips are out there? Add your own... would love to see this thread become useful to old and new players alike.

Oh... and Gaya.... at level 23... it's still not too late to start over and refocus your skill point choices for a more optimized gaming run. Just saying.
not saying you have to... nor that you need to... but once you read the advantages of Increased Fortitude / Regeneration... it's not to late to start over.

Re: Andor's Trail Character, Skill and Grinding tips

Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2016 9:25 am
by BethelAbba
Humorously.... I failed to mention that Blackwater Mountain is a great grinding place from levels 20-30'ish.

I'm seriously getting too old...

Re: Andor's Trail Character, Skill and Grinding tips

Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2016 1:30 am
by Duke
Nice work Bethel...however, you really got my attention when talking early on about skill points, you said " Level 12, for me, is a throw away... use it however you want." No skill point is a throw away! especially early on. I do agree to to use Inc Fort at level 5 and regen at level 8, but then you really gotta think/plan ahead. Level 30 is when things get really interesting; as you can then get the 2nd level of combat speed and the 2nd level of dual wield. Combat speed x2 is mandatory in my mind, and probably for most others as well. And if you like dual wield, I really do, you will want to grab both levels at level 30, so I always save 4 skill points and take them all at once when I reach level 30.

Re: Andor's Trail Character, Skill and Grinding tips

Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2016 4:06 am
by BethelAbba
Hey ya'll --- wasn't kidding about this becoming a "tip-line for new players" (or even older ones who've gotten into ruts).

As such, can someone please address the following question(s), as they would be helpful later on to someone else I'm sure.

When seeking your first Ring of Lesser Shadow (RoLS), what is the best approach?

Should I (A) Wait the 3 minutes for all 4 map screens to respawn? Should I (B) kill each new Shadow Priest as they appear and forget waiting for anything. OR...... Should I (C) run off to the Foaming Flask, pay the $250, and bed down so that everything respawns (but then I have to fight through all the Gargoyles again..... which is merely an annoyance).

As well, when you are seeking to grab this treasure, is it best to fight as many of the Shadow Priests at the same time to increase your chances.... or does that not even factor in for it to drop? ie. Will I have the same chances by fighting one by one as I would trying to line up 5 of them in the same spot (as I saw someone once picture here in the forum). Does my chances increase by anything according to how many I handle at once?

It's this sort of "tips" that really would honestly help... and be best settled into a single thread wherein all the new players could review.

Can someone work through this one?

Re: Andor's Trail Character, Skill and Grinding tips

Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2016 4:08 am
by BethelAbba
Duke wrote:Nice work Bethel...however, you really got my attention when talking early on about skill points, you said " Level 12, for me, is a throw away... use it however you want."
Thanks for the compliment.... as for "throw away" I simply meant that you can use it however you wish in building your character, whatever adds to the weaknesses you're seeing at that moment. It's the only one of the first 5 points to which I would say that of, all the other four are critical use as skill points.

Re: Andor's Trail Character, Skill and Grinding tips

Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2016 12:23 pm
by rijackson741
I agree with Duke. Both levels of combat speed are essential. So I agree with keeping a skill point until level 5, and then spending it on IF1. Then take Re1 at level 8. Then keep the level 12 skill point and spend it on CS1 at level 16. CS1 is not nearly as useful as CS2, but it is very useful. At level 20 I would always take IF2, but that's more of a personal choice.

Re: Andor's Trail Character, Skill and Grinding tips

Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2016 6:38 am
by BethelAbba
BethelAbba wrote:can someone please address the following question(s), as they would be helpful later on to someone else I'm sure.

When seeking your first Ring of Lesser Shadow (RoLS), what is the best approach?

Should I (A) Wait the 3 minutes for all 4 map screens to respawn? Should I (B) kill each new Shadow Priest as they appear and forget waiting for anything. OR...... Should I (C) run off to the Foaming Flask, pay the $250, and bed down so that everything respawns (but then I have to fight through all the Gargoyles again..... which is merely an annoyance).

As well, when you are seeking to grab this treasure, is it best to fight as many of the Shadow Priests at the same time to increase your chances.... or does that not even factor in for it to drop? ie. Will I have the same chances by fighting one by one as I would trying to line up 5 of them in the same spot (as I saw someone once picture here in the forum). Does my chances increase by anything according to how many I handle at once?

It's this sort of "tips" that really would honestly help... and be best settled into a single thread wherein all the new players could review.

Can someone work through this one?
still would love to have an answer on this one, please.

Re: Andor's Trail Character, Skill and Grinding tips

Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2016 7:01 am
by Firefly84
Should I (A) Wait the 3 minutes for all 4 map screens to respawn? Should I (B) kill each new Shadow Priest as they appear and forget waiting for anything. OR...... Should I (C) run off to the Foaming Flask, pay the $250, and bed down so that everything respawns (but then I have to fight through all the Gargoyles again..... which is merely an annoyance).
You have to pay only once for the bed - and the basilisks drop claws, which isn't dropped by many foes but is neccessary for Lodar's Potions.
You can also step outside the big chamber, make for some minutes other things and then play the 3 chambers again. Wait til all blood spots disappear before you go to the next chamber. With a bit luck, you can fight for 10 or more minutes before you have to wait outside again.

With enough normal potions you can try the cave around lv20, but then you shoud have started with MF as early as possible - with my last build I ended up with MF 10 and Lv 80 until I got every legendary item.

Re: Andor's Trail Character, Skill and Grinding tips

Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2016 12:07 pm
by rijackson741
BethelAbba wrote:
BethelAbba wrote:When seeking your first Ring of Lesser Shadow (RoLS), what is the best approach?
still would love to have an answer on this one, please.
There isn't a single best approach. All the options fall into one of two categories though: get the XP for all the kills, or save and reload. Save and reload is by far the fastest approach, because you don't have to wait for the respawns. If you don't want to go that route, then if you have Regeneration you can stand around in a doorway waiting for the respawns, which is far less time consuming than heading off to a bed over and over again. I got my RoLS by pure luck, but I had to grind for my RoL, and that's how I did it. One other thing to consider is that you can get a lot of XP this way; enough to be overpowered for the next part of the game.

Re: Andor's Trail Character, Skill and Grinding tips

Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2016 10:11 am
by BethelAbba
rijackson741 wrote:
BethelAbba wrote:When seeking your first Ring of Lesser Shadow (RoLS), what is the best approach?
Save and reload is by far the fastest approach, because you don't have to wait for the respawns.

All this time that I've been playing.... and I never once thought about Save and Reload as an option. I always just played. Thanks to you.... I'm definitely gonna get my Ring of Lesser Shadow.