Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade
Character FAQ V.1.1
23 March 2006
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- 0 - Introduction ------------------------------------------------------------
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UL: BotB, released by Sony Online Entertainment back in March 2005, is the
first Hack-and-Slash RPG to come out for the PSP. If you are familiar with any
game from either the Champions of Norrath Series or the Baldurs Gate Dark
Alliance Series, then you will notice the first time you start this up that the
gameplay is very similar if not identical to these PS2 games (the former moreso
than the latter).
There are some major differences though. Following is a rundown of the more
releveant ones:
* There are only four characters to choose from: the Knight (which can be
played either as the standard tank or, surprisingly, as an archer), the
Berserker (a melee character that sacrifices defense for offense), the
Alchemist (your standard spellcaster), and the Druid (a more kind of mixed
melee and spellcaster class). This is not a major deal breaker though since
with numerous playthroughs I found that each class can be played in very
different ways through a different mix of skills.
* Aside from the starting town, every dungeon map is random. This means that
the location of treasures and monsters change with every play through. The
quests remain the same though and the monsters and bosses you encounter for
every map is pretty much the same.
* Lastly, given the design choices Sony has made on the PSP, the developers
had to make some compromises on the control scheme. It takes time to get
used to blocking because of the unorthodox button combination for example.
All in all, this is a great game and is a nice addition to every PSP owner's
collection.
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- 1 - Thoughts on Stats -------------------------------------------------------
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For this section, note that I won't repeat anything from the manual as I tend
to believe that stuff like that only makes it hard for those non-DSL readers to
get this FAQ so don't expect anything of that nature here. I will provide my
own personal opinion on skills and stats based on my own playing experience.
Let me then begin with some explanation on the stats:
All characters have the same basic attributes: Strength (STR), Dexterity
(DEX), Intelligence (INT), and Stamina (STA). This in turn affects the
character's stats (i.e., Health, Power, Damage, carry capacity, etc). The
basic effects of each attribute is as follows:
+3 STR will net you +1 melee damage
+1 STR will up your carry capacity by some amount (I will need to get the
exact value though)
+3 DEX will net you +1 bow damage
+3 DEX will increase your spell damage by 1 (both direct spell damage or
per second damage depending on spell selection)
+1 STA will net you +1 Health
+1 INT will net you +1 Power
I may get flamed for this but please hear me out first. From the table above,
you will see that the additional increase is quite minimal. As you level up,
you also receive additional health and power (the value of which depends on
your class selection), and the increase in amount is most likely more than
enough to survive. Take this example:
A Druid receives +14 health per level up (if I'm not mistaken). At level ten
this gives you 126 health points. At this level, enemieS do around 30 to 50
damage so you will be hit 4 to 6 times before you die. Now if you put one of
your three points per level to STA, you will get an additional 9 health. That
won't do jack for you... If you then put all your points to STA, you should
have an additional 27 points which may increase your survivability by another
hit which is noticable but again is not much.
Taking the same druid, at each level you should receive +17 power per level up.
At level 15, when you get "Thunder Strike", you will have around 600 power.
Thunder Strike, at level 1, uses around 350 power! so you can't cast it more
than once. Even if you put all your points in INT, the power increase would
only be around 60 points. This won't even give you enough for another casting.
That's not to say that it's no big help but don't expect much.
The damage increase from increased STR, though welcome, is also not that much.
At base STR, a level 15 druid, can do around 60 or so damage depending on your
weapon and mods. With this, you need to hit your standard skeleton about three
times before his hit points are depleted. If you choose to maximize strength,
your damage goes up by 15. This improves your damage by 25% but that is still
not enough to usually lower the number of times you need to hit the enemy. Not
maxing strength would be much worse as the increase won't be noticable. This
would be more noticable for a Knight or Berserker, but still that is not
significant enough to have any impact. For most cases, you will increase STR
only to improve your carry capacity.
For spellcasters, maxing DEX may be a good option though, since while it
doesn't affect your direct damage much, it does improve your damage over time
spells (like the lowly "Sting"). At level 15, your 9 to 11 base damage per
second for sting at base damage is improved in that it is now 24 to 26 per
second! This doesn't compare to increasing skill points to sting but at least
it helps a bit.
To summarize, I would recommend that you choose one stat and max it so that the
effect, however minimal, is at least noticable. For casters, it's either max
your power (INT) or your damage (DEX) (I tend to pick DEX). For melee,
maximize health (STA) or damage (STR) (I tend to pick STR).
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- 3 - Thoughts on Skills ------------------------------------------------------
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Skills can be categorized as Active or Passive Skills. Active Skills can then
be further sub categorized as offensive (direct damage, area damage, area
damage over time, damage over time, or combination of the above) and defensive
(restoration and buffs).
- 3.1 - Thoughts on Passive Skills --------------------------------------------
At first glance, players will view passive skills as being much better than
active skills in that you don't need to expend power to utilize it. I must
note however that the improvement provided by passive skills are too low in
that you will not see any benefit unless you put more than a few points into
it. For the most passives, I would recommend putting off placing points until
you have maxed your other skills. Of course if your chosen skills are either
maxed for that level already or are still unavailable and the necessary
prerequisite skills have been selected already, it may be better to put in
those spare points into the passives already.
That said, there are a few passive skills that are worth the early point
allocation (Druid's "Nature's Medicine", and Knight's "Dual-Wield comes to
mind").
- 3.2 - Thoughts on Active Skills ---------------------------------------------
One thing I noted is for some classes, there are some Active Skills that
require a lot of Power to cast. There are some skills that, at the time that
you first get it and even with maxed INT, require more than half of your Power
to cast! For these skills, try to hold off putting skills points as (1) they
are impossible to cast constantly anyway so you won't be using them and (2) if
you do use them, the increase in skill points might actually make them
uncastable as their Power utilization is above your existing pool.
- 3.3 - Thoughts on Skill Selection -------------------------------------------
This part is more personal preference so your opinion may vary.
Active skills does damage based on either a fixed amount depending on skill
allocation (i.e., 15-20 damage per hit +10 points damage per level) or applies
a percent multiplier to your base damage. In my experience, the latter is
better than the former in that it does not have any damage cap. As long as you
can increase your STR and get better weapons, your damage will increase.
That's not to say that the former is not that good. Some have some good
effects (i.e., chance to stun, etc) that might be worthwhile. But in that
case, you don't need much points in it. Even one might be sufficient if you
only need it for the effect.
For spells, damage is improved by allocating stat points into DEX. For most
players, it might be best to just put one point in skills that you won't be
using in the long run and rely on the damage increase provided by DEX.
"Sting", for example, is good at skill level 1 until you get "Stone Storm"
because your DEX is not only applied on the initial hit but also on the damage
over time. By the time you get "Stone Storm" the DEX allocation will also
benefit it. As I've said, there's no point in putting INT since the benefit is
minimal at best so focus on damage instead.
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- 4 - Build Recommendations ---------------------------------------------------
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From the above, you should be able to create your own builds. I suggest that
you put one point in one skill, and observe the following: (1) is it power
intensive? (2) does it scale well with levels (this can be noted by checking
the next level stats in the skill tree)? (3) is the skill improved by putting
in ponits into STR/DEX (you need to test this out by saving, allocating stats,
and reloading if needed)? (4) most importantly, is it fun and easy to use and
does it mix well with other skills?
Note that for the most part, you will only be using two active skills at a time
so it might be prudent to max those that you use often (and only those that you
use often) first.
That said, here are a few combinations that I liked:
Melee Knight:
Aura of Valor - for increased XP!
Flurry - your main attack, supplement with gems in weapons
Dual-Wield - best if you can remove the penalty soon
Melee Attack
Aura of Wounds - your main crowd control skill
Aura of Might - your only buff
Alternatively, you can use block instead of Aura of Wounds but I think the
latter is better.
Ranged Knight:
Aura of Valor - for increased XP!
Archery
Multishot - your main attack, supplement with gems in weapons
Recover Arrows- when everything else is maxxed
You can also make a sort of hybrid melee ranged knight. With this, just use
the same skill selection as in the above but of course splitting the stat
points prioritizing either melee or ranged first, whichever you use
more or often. Since improvement is very low per point investment, there's
no point splitting the points equally. I recommend putting points in STR
and not in DEX due to the weight of Knight Armour.
Berserker:
Ravage - your main attack
Scent of the Pack
Dual-Wield - at least one point when it becomes available and add points
later.
Melee Attack
Savage Strike - your best buff (be sure to check power usage before
increasing points). Due to cost of using, this won't be
viable until much later on when the duration is high enough.
Infect with Madness - a very good crowd control skill. Prioritize the
stronger enemies in bigger crowds.
You may also want to put points into Thrown Weapon and Recover Weapon if you
want a ranged attack but I wouldn't bother.
Druid:
Nature's Medicine - definitely a life saver. At later levels, the regen
rate is great.
Tempest - your best crowd control skill. I tend to go melee and I
with this cast, you won't be mobbed. Just make sure that
it attacks enemies first. It is superior to Golem because
both this and you can stay in the same spot so it can act as
a sort of shield. Both you and the Tempest can damage
enemies at the same time and you will benefit from the
knockback effect it provides.
Tranquil Thoughts - same as above except for Power. Some of your spells
will be free to cast with this maxed.
Cleanse the Land - your attack spell. Pretty good casting cost as well.
Stone Storm - Nice spell, max it later though since the +5 damage per
level is negligible and you need Nature's Medicine maxed
first.
Breath of the North - another life saver. One point is enough early on.
Add points later either before or after Stone Storm is
maxed.
With Druids I tend to put all my points into DEX. Survivability is still
average to high. Just keep your minion cast at all times. There will be tough
spots (those rhino mobs come to mind) but it is very feasible if you take your
time.
Alchemist:
Chain Lightning - your main attack skill.
Build Golem - your main crowd control spell. And it attacks too! Pity
its not as good as Tempest.
Detonate Golem - cast your golem, let it attack and before it dies
detonate it!
Quagmire - assist your golem with this spell, One point is ok at
early levels.
Stone Gaze - assist your golem with this spell, One point is ok at
early levels.
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- 6 - Contact Info ------------------------------------------------------------
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For any questions, clarications or God-forbid violent reactions, please
contact e-mail me at
[email protected]. Please write the nature of your
e-mail in the Subject line.
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- 7 - Version Info ------------------------------------------------------------
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27 January 2006 1.0 First release of the FAQ.
23 March 2006 1.1 Minor revisions and change in e-mail address.
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- 8 - Legal Info --------------------------------------------------------------
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This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal,
private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed
publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other
web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a
violation of copyright.
All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their
respective trademark and copyright holders.
Copyright 2006 Michael Madriñan
