Transferral from the old board. This took me too long for this to be lost, even if it's a little incomplete.
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This topic will take a little while to complete. Bear with me. I will be doing PCs, some bosses, and one or two enemies. I am not taking the risk of actually RANKING them, but I will put comments.
First of all, some things that need to be addressed before even starting:
1. Evil Mode.
Some of the best equips for PCs can be earned from this mini-game. Should the equip be allowed? Top of the list in regards to this is the Ancient Elfstone of Spirit Enhancement, which, along with the other Elfstones earned, can be considered 'aftergame'. But the enemies in end-game are made to be challenging to even those WITH such items. You see, to even access the Evil Mode where you get it, you must clear the game with a file. Once it's open, you can add the items gotten from it to any file. As all items are only ever found, never bought....Evil Mode is the only way you can get copies of Elfstones(The game's accessories) for all characters. All others are very limited. The other Ancient Elfstones are fine, as their statistic boost, overall, is small. The Spirit one, though...
2. Perfect Mode.
This allows special, highly damaging skills to be used once the bar is charged up, or can be left filled to allow some passive effects. What's the ruling on this? I ask because of the nature of some passive skills-it does change the damage output to be getting auto-criticals.
3. Skills
Unless you train heavily whilst playing, you will likely not have all skills for everyone by end-game. But some skills can certainly change things. Can it be assumed that all skills are avalible? I WILL list all skills and what they do(Sometimes the game is...inaccurate), given time.
Stats/Equip of normal PCs are taken from my standard file, which I used simply to play through and get nice moments, rather than the one I've worked on for the past year or so. So levels are about 60, rather than 80-99. Berethor is the only exception, being 69. But he's been a fixture since the very beginning, so as such, he's gotten far more experience. Anyway. Actual weapon stats are direct from the game. If a weapon has special effects not noted on the stat screen(Like Biting Blade) I will note these. Most stats are from the game directly. I cannot entirely explain these. The weapon stats in particular mean...little, as they are. Eventually, I will have full equip listed, as and when I get the time and patience to list it all-All characters have about 8-9 equip slots, with lots to note down. Don't be surprised if you see comments before Equip and Stats.
How much explanation should I give for things, seeing as this game is...obscure at best? Do I explain EVERY Ability they have, or can I afford to be brief, or what? There are places where even FAQs are flawed, because they take from the game, and some descriptions are...off, with chief example being Company Valor.
We start with the Main Character. Mini...No, I can't say it. Not only is it a spoiler, it sounds stupid.
Berethor, Citadel Guard of Gondor.
Weapon: 1st Age Mithril Long Sword of the Valar:Base Damagex250, +25 damage per Level, +4 Dex, +3 Con, +4 Spirit. Has 'Biting Blade', which allows normal attacks and counter-attacks-but not Sword Craft skills-to heal HP equal to damage done.
Shield: 2nd Age Earendil Battle Shield:Armour 41, +1 Str, +1 Dex, +2 Spd, +3 Spr. Resistant to none, weak against none.
Helm: Gondorian Mithril Fountain Guard Helm: Armour 54, +1 Dex, +3 Speed.(There are 2 other options, neither as good in my eyes.)
Upper Body: Gondorian Steel Warrior Chestplate: Armour 105, +3 Str, +1 Spd, Resistant to Pierce, Vulnerable to Blunt.
Cloak: Numenorian Wool Shadow Cloak*: Armour 15, +2 Dex, +7 Spd, +1 Con, +3 Spr, Resistant to Shadow, Vulnerable to None.
Pauldrons: Numenorian Steel Pauldrons: Armour 41, +3 Str. Resist None, Vulnerable to None.
Bracers: Numenorian Dark Battle Plate Vambraces: Armour 22, +2 Dex, +2 Spd, +2 Str. Resist None, Vun None.
Lower Body: Numenorian Dark Battle Plate Fauld*: Armour 68, Dex+5, Con+3, Spd+1. Resist Pierce, Vun None.
Greaves: Gondorian Steel Greaves*: 14 Armour ,Spd +2, Res None, Vun None.
Rings: 2nd Age Numenorian Ring of Command: Armour 3, +8 Str, +13 Dex, +11 Spd, +4 Con. Resists Fire and Air. Vun: None.
Comments: Despite the fact that the PCs in this game have no status resistance AT ALL without buffing(Which in my mind already forces them to Medium or Light), Berethor is solid enough. He may not be able to resist status, but he can cure it, as long as he doesn't get Silenced-Leadership counts as Spirit(Thus, Magic) for the purposes of dealing with Melee, Spirit and Ranged Blocking. I treat Silence as Magic Blocking.
Gondor Rampage deals a hefty amount of damage for the 3 turn penalty-Sauron takes about 4000 damage per hit, and he has the highest defences in-game. Understand that Gondor Rampage is basically 5 normal attacks in sequence. He can do a bit more by doing Shattering Strike first to lower their armour a bit. If he absolutely must break through, Targeted Strike ignores physical armour entirely, but the penalty is harsher than Gondor Rampage. Defensive Strike screws over those who would conter-attack him, as it can't BE countered, as doesn't penalise Berethor in Speed. He can even self-heal HP and MP via Royal Grace and Fellowship Grace if not silenced, though it may be low without Company Might backing it up(Company Might vastly boosts the MP healing of Fellowship Grace, and I THINK Royal Grace is similar.)
Idrial, Elf of Lothlorien.
Weapon:2nd Age Forlindon Mithril Falchion: Base Damagex186, +20 damage per level, +4 Str, +1 Dex, +8 Spr, +1 Spd.
2nd Choice: 2nd Age Lune Silver Scimitar: Base Damagex125, +17 damage per level, +3 Dex, +6 Spd, +1 Spr. Has Biting Blade.
Comments: As an Elf, one should expect better than most. It's hard to say whether she disappoints or not. She is near-impossible to drain of AP, as she can regen it naturally, drain it via Spirit attack, and drain it via Sword Craft. In a heal war, she will CERTAINLY win. Worse yet, she has a Re-Raise skill naturally, and a decently strong one at that. Also hasting is there. She has some attack magic, but single-element(water) and has turn penalties.
To top it off, she's a decent fighter even if Silenced. Whilst her damage is lower than most, it is consistant, as NO move of hers gives a turn penalty, which means she can basically spam Gil-Galad Rampage(3 normal attacks) all day, all night, and indeed all year around. Indeed, her basic Fluid Strike is often FASTER than her normal attack action. Wounding Strike allows her to put her Spirit stat to use even if Silenced. Stunning Strike means those who aren't resistant are screwed. Weakning Strike seems promising against melee.(It's...hard to tell if it actually DOES anything, honestly.) And Destined Strike ensures that dodgers will not survive-it ensures a hit, at the cost of some damage and a minor turn penalty. Nasty, nasty, nasty.
Hadhod, Dwarf of Fundin's Clan.
Comments: Slow, but very strong. Highest HP and defences of the playables, coupled with Stone Shield, which absorbs all damage dealt, and Damaging Shield, which returns the damage that should have been done to you, results in a hefty combatant. Even without, he's tough, even though most of his moves have turn penalties. He's one of the three who can counter attacks in the cast(the other two being Berethor and Morwen), and can slow others via Crippling Smash and Wound them(Think Poison) with Cleaving Wound without a turn penalty. Berserk is VERY dangerous-it cuts his defence a bit(I don't see much change, but then, the Hadhod that has it is Level 99...and STILL hasn't finished learning skills) to add a Haste effect and force ALL his physical blows-including the initial Berserk hit-to become Triple Criticals, nearly doubling his damage on physical attacks and skills. Durin Wrath, whilst slow, can stun the target with it's two hits. He has accuracy issues, though-more so than most, I mean.
Elegost, Dunedain Ranger of Arnor
Comments: The one person who deals Pierce damage naturally is also the party's status-user. Almost all his skills have some debilitating effect in addition to damage. He's quite dodgy, and has some durability via Draining Shot(Heals damage equal to damage done) and Kingsfoil Grace(HP regen, Spirit-based). Also has Damage over Time in the spirit-based Northern Storm. Silence steals his best attack, True Shot, in addition. Has damage issues, though.