Too much junk
FredN
Member Posts: 490
....You know you have too much junk when both your bags of holding (and yes, if you have Hexxat in your party you have two) are packed with +2 and +3 items you don't even want to use because the gear you already have equipped is just better. I'm about to head off to Chapter 7, so I visited the Adventure Mart to make some final purchases.
....So, just now I went into an orgy of selling. The Blade of Roses is only +3 and gives +2 charisma. I have +3 weapons up the wazoo, and as a Bard my charisma is already 16. Sell it! Waters edge? It's only a +3 weapon with no bonuses whatsoever. We've got better. Sell it! Armor? Helms? I have a bunch of those also. Sell all that crap!
....So, just now I went into an orgy of selling. The Blade of Roses is only +3 and gives +2 charisma. I have +3 weapons up the wazoo, and as a Bard my charisma is already 16. Sell it! Waters edge? It's only a +3 weapon with no bonuses whatsoever. We've got better. Sell it! Armor? Helms? I have a bunch of those also. Sell all that crap!
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Comments
.....That is good general advice, but there are exceptions. Namely weapons, armor and shields that have a specific purpose against a specific foe. Daystar isn't the best weapon for use against a living opponent, but I am definitely going to equip it when fighting Undead. The Shield of Balduran is specifically designed for use vs Beholders and their kin. Everybody in my crew who can wear helms is equipped with 2 of them. One anti-charm helm, and one that does something else, like the Helm of Balduran. There have been too many times when someone like Jaheira has succumbed to a dire charm spell. I don't need that kind of grief, thank you.
.....Also, right now I am in the process of freeing the Elven City. There are no merchants available, and I have to carry the items I need for this deed ... the Stone Harp, the Moonblade and the Cup. I had to drop some minor crap to make room for those. Also, why didn't that black dragon drop any scales?
Dragons without scale drops are just as common as dragons with scale drops, even with the EE. And with the chapter 7 dragons, the rationale for leaving the scales off is clear; you're in the endgame, so you're not going back to Cromwell and you won't have the option to turn the scales into something useful. Assuming just the SoA campaign, because ToB is an expansion that wasn't designed yet when the game came out.
Mechanically, what would black dragon scale armor do? Probably protect against that color's breath weapon, acid. Which ... is in the game as the shadow dragon scale armor. Um. If I were adding black dragon scales and the corresponding armor, I'd redesign the shadow dragon armor at the same time. Light armor with level drain protection would be nice to have mid-SoA, as a pure thief can't equip level drain immunity before either the Use Any Item HLA or the ToB campaign.
There is actually a merchant in Suldanesselar, and it's one with very good sell prices. Once you deal with the crisis and the outside areas are safe, Reirra opens up a shop. Potions, low-level scrolls, temple services, and she buys most stuff.
And Fred, no, I do not keep most weapons with special effects against special foes. In most cases, the bonus is not huge, and I’m never going to remember to do so much switching around of things. Now obviously, a few are very good at what they do. So yeah, I keep a few extra weapons (like Daystar and the mace of disruption). But never more than the slots a warrior has. If the weapon is prioritized into the bag of holding, it will be sold next time I visit a merchant.
.....I myself have the Bow of Gesen, and 4 melee weapons, to cover various contingencies. Not so much for the striking power of the weapons themselves, but for the varied immunities they confer.
Last run I had my MC, a Cav dual wielding FoA and DoE, and that was all he used by the end. Jaheira dual wielding Caelar's Scimitar and Belm, and a single club just for when she needed it (don't remember which one, it was mostly just for Clay Golems). Keldorn had Carsomyr (and the Mace of Disruption).
Behind that I had an original single class Cleric, Aerie and Imoen. They had whatever, those characters are more about spells than weapons.
Very powerful team, tore through the whole saga in two months. That's pretty fast for me.
I guess I'm just saying you don't need a lot of gear. Carry what's best, sell the rest. I finished with 800k gold. Not the most, not the least I've ever had. But I see it as a big thing for investing in that new barony (De'Arnise) I'm taking care of, in my version of the epilogue.
Archers need a melee switch, available at a moment's notice; you're terribly vulnerable to melee attacks when wielding a ranged weapon, so you need to switch when the enemies close on you.
Sometimes you'll need a blunt or high-enchantment weapon when your primary isn't already perfect there.
But mostly, the stuff I'll drag around in the bag has activations. Charges and daily abilities, which I then proceed to not use. That, and I'll keep stuff that's unique. Pack rat instincts, not any actual need.