Newbie jumping on board

[BIG TIME MASTER]

Howdy folks, I just started playing the Gold edition via Steam and think I will be hooked on this gem for some time. I just finished about 500 hours of Dark Souls on Xbox (most time I've played any game, ever) and was looking for something that could hold my interest after such an awesome game. A fellow DKSer suggested this, and here I am.

I am pretty impressed with the graphics, considering this game was published in 2006, right? It doesn't feel old at all.

Any tips/advice/suggestions for a good route to go with your first toon? Please no spoilers, but I've never played a game like this so anything to get me jumpstarted is appreciated.

[defboy99]

Hey, and welcome to the community! Always glad to see a new face around here.

First off, I'd recommend installing the Fan Patch 1.17a, available here:
http://www.titanquest.net/tq-forum/t...fix-patch-1-17

It fixes many issues the devs never got to fix before going out of business, such as some broken skills, broken quest rewards and items that were suppose to drop that didn't, among other things. Highly recommended.

Another recommendation is to download Defiler and activate the two fixes, RNG Fix and Slow-Cast Animation Fix. These address issues regarding loot drops that weren't truly random, and a bug that caused spell-casting animation to slow down in certain circumstances. Defiler is available here:
http://www.titanquest.net/tq-forum/t...Requests-1-3-7

Many players use TQVault, a storage program that allows for virtually unlimited storage outside of the game. It's very handy if you like collecting loot because your in-game storage is going to be full at some point. If you use TQVault, the important thing to remember is to never have TQVault and the game running at the same time--items can disappear. So, just make sure both are not running simultaneously and you'll be fine. TQVault is available here:
http://www.titanquest.net/tq-forum/t...QVault-2-3-1-x

However, many players recommend an earlier, less buggy version: 2.3.0.4.

And lastly, many players who enjoy collecting items use TQ Collector, which is basically a listing of 1,752 special game items you might stumble across during your adventures. When you find an item, it will appear in bold print in TQ Collector, which scans your game files and TQVault files to see what you've got. TQ Collector is available here:
http://www.titanquest.net/tq-forum/t...-Collector-0-4

As far as a starter toon is concerned, many players begin with a Conqueror, which has high damage output and high survivability. It's a melee toon. My first toon many years ago was a Ranger, and I fared poorly with that toon because I had no idea what I was doing and I hadn't come across these forums yet. I'm sure other players can help you decide on a good first toon as well. It just depends on whether you want to play melee, ranged or as a spellcaster.

One last thing--make sure you use the Immortal Throne icon to start the game, as it adds the expansion stuff to the original game, including a new Act, a new mastery, new enemies/bosses/items, a Caravan storage system with the ability to transfer items between your single-player toons, and the use of Artifacts.

Well, hope that gets you going. If you have more questions, don't be afraid to ask. We're here to help in any way we can. Best of luck!

[Benitot]

Hi and welcome. Hope you have fun

[BIG TIME MASTER]

I've had a lot of trouble with patches, so much so that I am tired of dealing with them and thus not being able to just play the game, so I gave up. I did install the Fan Patch 117 with no issues, because it did all the work itself.
I cant get the skins addition to work though, I just get blue and yellow checkers, so I tried to install the AllSkins 8c but I don't know where to extract the files too.
I also tried the camera mod with no success too.

[Medea Fleecestealer]

Just check the compatability for the program to make sure it's okay, but the check pattern usually means a file has been corrupted during installation. Uninstall and reinstall and hopefully that will put it right.

[defboy99]

Sorry to hear of your troubles. I've never had the graphics problem you mention--checkerboard patterns--but from what I understand it's possibly missing texture files. I use the All-Skins mod that comes with the Fan Patch. Is this what has caused the graphical anomaly for you (using the codes 123 and 12345 to drop artifacts which spawn vendors when equipped)? Or are you referring to a separate download of the All-Skins mod?

Alas, I've never tried the camera mod so I'm of no use to you there. Sorry. I suppose you could do a search for those issues or peruse the Technical Issues forum. I've seen other members post issues similar to yours over there.

Hang in there--others with more tech knowledge than I have can help you.

[xsys]

I've had a lot of trouble with patches, so much so that I am tired of dealing with them and thus not being able to just play the game, so I gave up. I did install the Fan Patch 117 with no issues, because it did all the work itself...

You don't need the patches to play, it is just a suggestion. I played the game right out-of-the-box and it was fine (vers 1.1). I did use TQVault though, and I would recommend that.

[BIG TIME MASTER]

I installed the Fan Patch 1.17 and had no issues. I was trying to get the included skins patch to work when I encountered the blue/yellow checkering, which after a forum search I find that it is a common steam issue with a solution. I just can't get the solution to work, and I'm not patient enough to keep trying right now. In any case, its not a big deal. I reinstalled the game to no avail, so now I am working back through to where I was. I'm just about at level 8 and at the Oracle of Delphi, but it seems I need to grind a little bit to kill this Spider Queen guarding the olive branch.

- - - Updated - - -

Also, the first responder mentioned the Conquerer class. I assume this is a user designated type class that is the combonation of Offensive and Defensive masteries or something of the sort? I am just about to hit level 8 again and my first choice was offense, which has me cruising easy so far. I figured if I went with defense my gameplay might just be kind of bland and tankish. Would going Hunter, so I can use the bows more effectively, combine well with offense (or warrior, whatever it was called)?

[Medea Fleecestealer]

Yes, it would and it's called a Slayer if you play Warfare (Offensive) and Hunting. A Warden would be Defense and Hunting. Conqueror is, as you suspect, Warfare/Defense, the classic tank of RPGs. The full original TQ list is:

Spellbreaker (Warfare/Spirit), Spellbinder (Defense/Spirit), Conjurer (Spirit/Earth), Oracle (Spirit/Storm), Bone Charmer (Spirit/Hunting), Warlock (Spirit/Rogue), Soothsayer (Spirit/Nature), Champion (Warfare/Nature), Guardian (Defense/Nature), Summoner (Earth/Nature), Druid (Storm/Nature), Ranger (Hunting/Nature), Illusionist (Rogue/Nature), Assassin (Warfare/Rogue), Corsair (Defense/Rogue), Magician (Earth/Rogue), Sorcerer (Storm/Rogue) Brigand (Hunting/Rogue), Slayer (Warfare/Hunting), Warden (Defense/Hunting), Avenger (Hunting/Earth), Sage (Hunting/Storm), Thane (Warfare/Storm), Paladin (Defense/Storm), Elementalist (Earth/Storm), Battlemage (Wafare/Earth), Juggernaut (Defense/Earth) and Conqueror (Defense/Warfare).

Then you can also add these from the Dream mastery you get in TQIT:

Harbringer (Warfare/Dream), Templar (Defense/Dream), Evoker (Earth/Dream), Prophet (Storm/Dream), Haruspex (Hunting/Dream), Dreamkiller (Dream/Rogue), Ritualist (Dream/Nature) and Diviner (Spirit/Dream).

The problem with not installing the patch xsys is that some skills in some of the masteries don't work properly without it. In Warfare it affects Battle Standard's synergy Triumph so if you don't install the patch don't bother to put points into Triumph. Also some quests don't work as they should or don't give the correct rewards and some items won't drop without it.

[defboy99]

Slayers (Hunting/Warfare) do massive damage but have little in the way of defensive protection, so if you go the Slayer route, you might want to consider a spear/shield Slayer rather than a dual-wield Slayer. At least that way you'll have a shield for a bit of protection. And Hunting's bow skills are superb, although they take quite awhile to get up and running as the skills you really need are on the highest tier (Scatter Shot, Volley). So, most archers rush the Hunting tree and aim for those, with a point here and there in other necessary Hunting skills along the way.