Boo Hoo no Ahu

[selki003]

I thought I spoke very nicely with everyone. I got the NIS of the queen predicting check. I saw Ahu in the lake the first time I was there and I got the rest stop NIS at the ship landing pad at the first desert. It was strange though because Mantri started to speak and I said something like - not now Mantri. Then there was no more dialog during the NIS. Hmmm? Then I went all the way back to the frozen lake but could not cast the revive spell.
I was considering trying to go back to try to reset some trigger, but I doubt it would work. I always leave an early save just in case, but wow it's a long way back now. So I don't think there's any other way to get Ahu now?

[Kilarin]

You probably missed one of the very early triggers. It's not hard to do, I missed someone my second time around.

But don't panic, you can finish the game without Ahu just fine.

[Xaa]

selki003 said:

I thought I spoke very nicely with everyone.

Either:

A: You missed someone.

- or -

B: You didn't miss anyone, but one of the people you talked to, you missed the right conversation choices.

Ahu is, beyond question, the most powerful addition to the party you can get. She is also the hardest party member to get. Second hardest is Robby the Robot.

[selki003]

Thanks for the help. Sorry about the incorrect post, but I was looking at what I thought was Ahu in the frozen lake at KK3 but eventually got her at KK4. That little mistake, plus losing the tool kit cost me almost a week of back tracking and trying to find my way forward again.

"Ahu is... the most powerful..."?
I almost lost her already at the major battle at the black tower at KR5, even after boosting her armor with magic armor and sending the demon in first to divert the Bishop's attack. To be honest, I was defeated at that battle twice. Luckily, I've learned to save.

[Liantedan]

Did your char train all 3 Unarmed combatstyles ?
The training of your main char reflects to the skills of your partymembers. I guess the reason why Ahu rates as the most powerful is because the Unarmed damage has no upper damage cap, plus Ahu has very high Dexterity, which makes her hit more often and more acurately, while dodging almost everything. Ursa may hit very hard, and may have a lot of health, but he nearly always gets hit; It's hard to miss a target as huge as a bear. Ursa's damage has an upper limit, too.
I'd say Ursa is a very good tank, because he can take a lot of punishment without dying (especially if you pul lots of health potions or Royas Sandwitches in his inventory), and Ahu is a killing mashine is she isn't stuck in a block-lock against multiple opponents, because she will hit a lot more often than Ursa, and often a lot harder too, while being virtually never hit herself.

[Kilarin]

At the low levels I used Mantri to help build up confidence. And I use Ursa when dealing with the black queen. But other than that, my companions just carry stuff.

[Xaa]

selki003 said:

"Ahu is... the most powerful..."?

Yep. In Mageworld 3.0, Ahu cannot be defeated by any NPC in a one-on-one straight-up melee combat. Her attacks and parries are always at maximum, and she is also insanely difficult to hit with projectiles. By carefully contolling Ahu so she doesn't get mobbed and doesn't get shot, she can literally defeat any opponent.

Her disadvantages come into play only when she is fighting multiple opponents (eventually they hit her), or when she is being shot at by multiple ranged enemies (ditto). Because she is physically so weak, she is often killed in one hit.

[Xaa]

liantedan said:

Did your char train all 3 Unarmed combatstyles ?

Doing so VASTLY improves Mantri's abilities, but has no real effect on Ahu or Ursa or the Robot. Also, even with full training, Mantri is still just a pawn - physically, he's pretty easy to kill.

I guess the reason why Ahu rates as the most powerful is because the Unarmed damage has no upper damage cap, plus Ahu has very high Dexterity, which makes her hit more often and more acurately, while dodging almost everything.

Correct. Ahu has a 3-digit dexterity, like all Gazelle characters in Mageworld. She's ridiculously fast, and this makes her virtually unbeatable one-on-one. A mob of enemies (or a swarm of incoming arrows) can kill her fairly easily, however, because she can't take damage worth a damn. Because you always fail parry/dodge attempts on a roll of a '20' on a 20-sided die in Mageworld, mass attacks are highly effective against her.

Ursa may hit very hard, and may have a lot of health, but he nearly always gets hit; It's hard to miss a target as huge as a bear. Ursa's damage has an upper limit, too.

All correct. Ursa is a larger-than-man-size creature, and as such he cannot dodge (takes too long to get a body that large out of the way of anything). As an animal, he cannot parry (no weapons). His only defense is blocking (I.E. unarmed combat), and he stinks at blocking.

[selki003]

kilarin said:

At the low levels I used Mantri to help build up confidence. And I use Ursa when dealing with the black queen. But other than that, my companions just carry stuff.

For much of the game mine stay in the rear too. They eat less that way.

[selki003]

Thanks again everyone. No, I must confess that I didn't see the value in training in unarmed combat. I did master staff and went to level two on sword and shield. Also, I did learn, fairly quickly after starting to encounter level 32 and higher knights, to leave Mantri in the rear, usually invisible and holding ground and only bring him into the fight when the opponents are occupied. Still, it appears that even with Ursa, the demon and Ahu fighting one knight, they zero in on poor little Ahu. Almost every fight she gets knocked out even though I try to get her behind Ursa and the demon. I know that's largly my fault because I get so involved with what Pooka is doing that I often forget to release Mantri.

[Xaa]

selki003 said:

Still, it appears that even with Ursa, the demon and Ahu fighting one knight, they zero in on poor little Ahu.

This is because she's so fast, she runs to the front and gets targeted by everyone - NPC's always target the closest enemy. Ahu requires somewhat different tactics to avoid having everyone mob her.

[selki003]

Thanks Xaa. I'll try a few different tactics with Ahu.
The only real complaint I have so far, is with "Botch" frequently causing me to lose scarce resources while attempting relatively easy tasks like turning berries into wine or brandy or making transformation potions while I've accomplished much more advanced tasks like creating an ax staff, Etc. After spending a lot of time foraging to get blue berries, that is very aggravating. My talent is at 21 and mundane is at 18.5 and it seems a botch on easy tasks should be relatively rare by now.

[Xaa]

selki003 said:

Botch

A 'botch' happens on a roll of a '20' on a 20-sided die, regardless of your skill. If botch never happened, then there would be no risk in making anything - you just keep trying until you succeed.

Hence, high skill does not decrease a botch - but, neither does low skill increase it. It always happens 5% of the time. In Single-Player, the way to prevent losing valuable goodies to a botch is to save the game before you begin trying to combine them. If you botch, just restore from your save.

Really, it's only in Multiplayer where it becomes a pain. You can't save in multiplayer.

[Artamos]

I seldom go more than three attempts without a quick F9 thrown in and NEVER start without one..

[xyzzy]

I believe I have all the necessary stuff to get Ahu, but cannot get the selection triangle. I was able to revive and talk to here BEFORE the NIS with Mantri, but not since. What have I done wrong?