redxiii on 28/5/2007 at 13:09
Well it's been a long time since I have played this game (i think about 10 years) so I am completely lost on how the skills effect the game.
I've read that search is important but i never remember using it in the past. Likewise how does charisma effect anything? And how does stealth actually work? How do you use the track skill? And what about the trap skill! I've long lost my manuals and I can't find this information anywhere on the internet so far.
Oh and one more thing, i can't remember is ther any one that can repair stuff for you or do you just have to learn the repair skill.
Vigil on 28/5/2007 at 13:23
Sad to say, most of the non-combat skills in Underworld are nigh-useless.
Track gives you occasional warnings when there are monsters nearby, and stealth can prevent them from noticing you, but I didn't notice either making a significant difference. Search supposedly makes secret doors "pop out" easier, but I never had a problem finding secret doors without much investment in the skill.
Charisma affects barter prices and appraise lets you evaluate deals, but again there's really no need for them either since there's not much worth bargaining for and plenty of gems in the game to get what you like.
I can't actually recall if there's a smith in the game - but there's a very good repair spell, which will come in more handy than the skill and should be available by the time you have weapons you care enough about.
Probably the most useful non-combat skills are Lore and Swimming. Lore is for identifying magic items and is a lot better than casting identify all the time. Swimming is mainly of use in the Ice Caverns, but also for the Britannia sewers. Once you get the water walk spell the need for it disappears, but I don't think you can cast it when you first get to Ice Caverns.
There's a pretty thorough walkthrough here: (
http://www.stygianabyss.com/uw/walks/uw2.htm) which will give you some general advice on strategy and skill choices. Actually it recommends you put quite a few points into Search early on, so there you go.
redxiii on 28/5/2007 at 18:05
Right so stealth could be useful but overall given the constraints of the game its best to focus on combat and magic? It seems a paladin character would be the best choice then. I've read that walk through before trying to get answers but it recommends lots of points in search! Now if it all it does is make secret doors easier to spot then that just seems pointless!.
Repair and Picklock still seem like good options for those classes that are not built around magic though.
twisty on 29/5/2007 at 02:14
As far as the non combat/magic skills are concerned here are some of the ones that I like to use:
Lore: Takes all the guess work out of scrolls and potions etc. High is better.
Acrobat: It's good to invest a bit with this but you don't need to go overboard. It helps with some areas in the game where you need to do a bit of jumping.
Search: I actually like to invest a small amount into this skill early on in the game and top up a little bit later on.
Appraise: Not essential, but a little bit helps a lot with bartering. You could get through the game without it though without too much trouble.
Kensu on 1/9/2007 at 20:11
You should try to hunt down the UW2 official hint book "Gems of Enlightenment". There's a section at the front of the book which goes into painstaking detail about how each attribute affects gameplay. If someone ever wanted to do an Exult-like rebuild of the underworld games, this guide would make it a hell of a lot easier...
Other Notes:
Acrobat This actually doesn't help your jumping skill at all. All it does is reduce the damage when you fall. Helpful, yes, but at higher levels its quite useless.
Also, the best class is probably the Druid; you don't have any combat skills to start with, but they can start with enormous strength (equal to the Paladin's strength roll) along with Mage-like intelligence. Also since your starting equipment is determined by your class, a Druid will start out with more rune stones at the beginning.
driver on 1/9/2007 at 20:36
The kit you get in your secret room at the start is the same for each class except one item, if you pick Druid (or one of the spellcaster classes) that item is a Mani stone which you won't find until the Ice City.
Aside from combats skills (Sword/Axe/Mace, Mana, Casting, Attack and Defense) I find Lore is the only one of real use. Saves you having to cast Name Enchantment on every possible item to see if it's magic. Swimming is ok, but I find I don't have the skill points to spare at the start and by the time I do I can cast Water Walk.
Most skills can be replaced by spells Rel Sanct Ylem for repair is one of the most useful, I found or just aren't very useful to start with.
Ulukai on 5/9/2007 at 21:21
There was a repair spell?!
The hours I spent in the basement of the castle, hammering away...
Happy Times, though :D
