I'll fill in a bit, but people mostly answered everything.
Hmmm hadnt quite got that feeling and love the Arkham games. Only just started to click properly pretty late, last night so i'll give it more time. Fun either way though
Oh, I didn't mean that it plays like any particular Batman game, just that the fighting style feels like the MMO version of what that character is known for; come out of nowhere, engage multiple foes without being touched and then disappear just as quickly. Lots of shadowsteps, stealth and abilities that also have evasion frames (Disabling Shot, Flanking Strike, Pistol Whip, Death Blossom, Roll for Initiative) just makes fighting as a thief
feel just like it should. The initiative system helps, of course, since there's no cooldowns to manage on your weapon skills.
Yeah was going dagger/dagger up until the recent mini re-spec, and was struggling a bit. Found alot of the time I was standing out of the battle flinging daggers at fools, which kinda defeated the purpose of of rocking twin daggers. I probably wasnt mobile enough while meleeing (only just starting to appreciate how important dodge is) and was doing it all wrong so I'll probably revisit it at some point. Mainly went that route for the badass factor (and the aforementioned Dragons Dogma feels) but happier now with dagger/pistol.
It really boils down to personal preference unless you're one of those kind of players who can't sleep at night if they don't have the most optimal dps. Any kind of GAF group is going to be fine with whatever you want to use. Dagger / Pistol is still a damn fine setup (especially with Shadow Shot being unblockable and having access to two blinds).
Shortbow on the other hand seems great but I've got 1 or two problems at my end with using it.
If Moondrop's advice doesn't solve your problem, expect Hawkian to chime in shortly. I have everything I need to play with a controller, I just haven't bitten the bullet yet.
Hmmm eyed off the feline grace trait but wasn't sure. Always hesitant to take a sustain boost over an offensive/defensive buff (depending on character), mainly because I find there's usually always other ways to sustain. That may just be the APRGness that courses through my veins though.
Without delving too deeply into the ugly mess that is the "Zerker Meta", a full damage-oriented thief is usually one or two missteps at most from being a dead thief, and you can't cause
any damage when you're dead. Depends on what you're doing, but I'd rather have the extra dodge roll than slightly higher damage. There are those who would disagree (probably
strongly disagree), but I'd rather a boss fight take 5 seconds longer if it means less risk of a full wipe. It's up to you how much of a safety net you want, and if you feel you can go without it then go for it.
I don't know about all that other stuff but, freakin flamethrowers yo
I run a build that uses the Flamethrower and Elixirs to build up a ton of might, which means in addition to setting the world on fire I can also chuck elixirs to support allies, curing conditions, giving boons (especially Stability). I can swap to different elixirs and grant stealth or revive downed players instantly too.
I mention it because it speaks to the versatility Spiritfox was getting at; even as a damage-oriented pyromaniac, the Engineer can still jump into a support role. And the Flamethrower itself has a fair share of control abilities (one knockback, one blind) too.
Speaking of, are exotics drops locked behind some kind of a level wall, or is there a (small) chance of them dropping wherever?
To expand on Moondrop's answer, they're level-gated; there just aren't any rare weapons in the game under level 30 and no exotics lower than level 62. You'll get 'em eventually.
So.Many.Questions. I've got some of that down like depositing materials (free stash space, sure) and trying to use better tools on nodes for better chances at nicer stuff. What I don't get is the actual putting-things-together part. I've been to a master crafter and go to assemble something, anything, and theres sweet fuck all in the panel on the left that it will let me throw in. I've been trying to pick up the mats that have the professions I chose highlighted in green, but I think currently there are all of about 2 of them that it will let me use. For reference I went with huntsman and can't really remember the other one. Maybe Leather worker??
I'll def check out a guide soon, but divulging that cuts into leveling time so, you know... I don't think its super crucial at the stage I'm at though.
Well, you level from crafting too, 8 full character levels if you can get them to level 400. So you're not really cutting into your leveling time, you get XP from pretty much anything but standing around. It's not really crucial now, no, but it is a way to get a quick level or two and fill in gaps in your gear as you go.
So, to answer your questions;
1. For gathering tools the quality of the tool doesn't give you better chances at rare items, the nodes themselves are level gated. If you try to mine Iron with a Copper Mining Pick, you'll get a lot of "Ruined ore" instead. Just get the best tools available for your level and you'll always be fine.
2. In terms of putting stuff together, you start with
Raw Materials (copper ore, green wood log, rawhide leather sections) that need to be refined (copper ingot, green wood plank, Rawhide Square).
Refined Materials are used to make
Components (Rawhide glove strap, rawhide glove lining). Finally, you need an
Insignia (for armor) or
Inscription (for weapons) to determine the stats of the item.
So your basic crafting process is Raw Material > Refined Material > Components. Then craft an insignia / inscription from refined materials and "Fine materials" (the ones that drop from enemies like bone, blood, scales). Combine the components with the insignia/inscription and it produces an item.
It sounds complex, but once you get a feel for the different steps you'll barely think about it. The reason there isn't much in the list on the left is that a lot of recipes are based on discovery (the top tab in the crafting menu). For leatherworking, I'm pretty sure they give you a basic recipe for Mighty Rawhide Boots, but by crafting the two components for the boots and then making a different insignia (other than mighty), you can go to the discovery panel and unlock recipes for different stat combinations.
3. There's a lot of overlap with materials. Huntsman will use wood and metal with a little leather for bowstrings. Leatherworker will use leather and cloth.
Have wondered about karma. Have been hoarding it so far and not spent any. Kind of gave up on checking the heart vendors, but it might be an idea if gear starts falling a bit behind during the leveling process.
I wouldn't buy a ton of Karma, but if you see a vendor selling a shoulder piece and your current one is 5 or 6 levels behind, you might as well. I find I buy trinkets (accessories and necklaces, mostly) more than armor, just because those don't drop a whole lot. You'll probably spend a lot less than most of us did on the way up, since they added a lot of rewards to the leveling process in September.
Was in a group doing AC1 this morning, all 4 of the guys had less than 600 achievement points, so relatively new players.
They all stacked for Kohler, which led to Kohler cleaving the bunch in 3 hits dead, leading to a solo attempt. Is stacking for every encounter part of the tutorial?
Barf. I wonder where they learned to fail so hard so quickly?
