In Game Speed (first of all) and other questions

[Litmanen]

Hi all,

I come from Italy so, first of all, excuse me for my bad english.

I'm playing Arena for the first time in my life. I've just excaped from the first Dungeon and I'm Level 4.

I have just some questions for you:

When I'm out in the street I see people going around with alternating speed: sometimes they walk with a normal speed; in other moments, few seconds, they wlak very fast just as the game "improve" automatically the speed. Is it normal? (No, I don't think so.. there's any way to fix it?)

Some minor questions:

I just excaped from the first dungeon, I'm level 4 and I went to the first armourer I have encountered, with 1000 gold in my "pocket". I'm already a Knight with -5/-7 Armor Class and I have a Blade with 4-16 (more or less) damage points. I already felt the sensation of being "very strong". Am I wrong?

I know Arena is an "open game in an open word" but how much time I have to spent in it to conclude the Main quest?

How many side quest there are?

Am I lenghty?


Thank you so much in advance.

[IgorVonDame]

When I'm out in the street I see people going around with alternating speed: sometimes they walk with a normal speed; in other moments, few seconds, they wlak very fast just as the game "improve" automatically the speed. Is it normal? (No, I don't think so.. there's any way to fix it?)

Be thankful there is some randomness in their movement . As long as your weapon is out, they will walk past you and you have to 'chase' them to get them to stop so you can speak with them. If you put your weapon away, they will stop when they get near you (It is like you are popular and they all want your autograph!). Yes the random speed is normal, enjoy it.

I just excaped from the first dungeon, I'm level 4 and I went to the first armourer I have encountered, with 1000 gold in my "pocket". I'm already a Knight with -5/-7 Armor Class and I have a Blade with 4-16 (more or less) damage points. I already felt the sensation of being "very strong". Am I wrong?

Strength is relative, for armor at level 4 you are doing ok. With the right Amulet/Belt/Bracelet/Torc you could be -9 in all your stats - it is a function of patience to keep loading and clicking on the piles of treasure until you get what you need. Be happy you got a full set of armour. The best way to test what you have is to try one of the random dungeons near the village you are in. Buy a potion of free movement and one of cure disease and dive right in. The dungeon will help you gain another 4 levels. Take a bludgeon weapon (mace/flail) with you for the skeletons though.

I know Arena is an "open game in an open word" but how much time I have to spent in it to conclude the Main quest?

That answer depends on your class, attributes, abilities and luck. Expect to spend at least a week in the game as you increase your level and knowledge of the game to beat the enemy in the quests. To fully 'enjoy' the game, I would suggest trying to play the game with each of the classes available. Each has their own strategy, some easier than others. Make up your own challenges, you will enjoy the game more than rushing through it.

How many side quest there are?

As many as you would like The NPCs will continue to grant delivery quests until you are very rich, the world outside the towns will spawn dungeons eternally, and you can make a game out of killing enemies at night. The only fixed quest sequence is the main quest line, all the others are randomly generated.

[deathm00n]

Hey Igor, let me make use of this guy topic and ask something that should be quick to respond and may be helpful to him too. Is there a way to go walking to another city? Or the wilderness outside a city is infinite? If so, what if I'm lost? How can I find the city again?

[IgorVonDame]

deathm00n, from what I have read there are memory problems with trying to walk from one town to the next. I haven't read if anyone has resolved the issue by boosting DOSBox's memory limit to some really high number (or where the threshold for success is) so it doesn't crash. I suspect many of the comments were from users of PCs contemporary with the game.

Every time a new section of road/town/dungeon is spawned it stacks on the data already in memory. My guess is the developers though it would make walking back to the originating town faster if the game remembered the route and didn't rely on temporary files on the HD. From what I read I got the feeling that trying to reach another town was also a very long walk (I would test it with a distance <120km to start) time-wise. I also read that towns spawn along the way so you have a place to rest and recover supplies if needed.

I think the compass is your only 'guide' to walking back to your point of origin. Perhaps someone else who has tried this can provide insight into any other helpful 'tools' the game provides for guiding you back (like a helpful response of an NPC where the origin town becomes a new item on the 'Where is...' pick-list.

As a player who has swam from Darkmoon to Rachet in WoW, being able to follow a true random route - requiring lots of patience (the WoW adventure was 4-1/2 hours) and willpower - it would be nice if it would actually work without crashing the game. Often there is more of a sense of achievement in a player by taking an approach the developers had not thought of.

[DwemerInSpace]

How many side quest there are?

Most side quests at the start are:
*Hey, go take this thing to this shop.
*Hey, bring this guy to this tavern.
*Hey, go get this thing from the Mages' Guild for me.
You get these from Taverns when activating the bar tender. You can find out about where these are from Rumors -> Work

Eventually at higher levels it becomes possible to get more interesting missions from the Kings and Queens such as:
*Hey, go catch this bandit in this dungeon for me.
*Hey, take this message or thing to this guild in another town (you might get attacked by the Thieves' Guild, Mages' Guild, Dark Brotherhood, etc.)
You can also find out about these from Rumors -> Work, but I tend to just go from town to town pestering the royalty.

HOWEVER the most important side quests are the artifact quests. These are how you get a major advantage in the game. In order to get one, you gotta ask people about Rumors -> General. Sometime the people will be useless and just mention an artifact without giving you any leads. It will be obvious when it's something you can follow up on. If you want a major advantage early on, I'd suggest trying to find the Oghma Infinium quest. Because the Oghma Infinium is a one-time use item, doing the quest won't stop you from doing another artifact quest right after.

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Arena:Random_Quests

If so, what if I'm lost? How can I find the city again?

I think the compass is your only 'guide' to walking back to your point of origin. Perhaps someone else who has tried this can provide insight into any other helpful 'tools' the game provides for guiding you back (like a helpful response of an NPC where the origin town becomes a new item on the 'Where is...' pick-list.

Erm, if you need to head back to the city you came from while in the wilderness, all you need to do is go to your world map (right-click on the map icon, or Shift+M) and go to the region your in and click the highlighted city (which means the city-state you're in) and it will quickly take you back.

[Litmanen]

The best way to test what you have is to try one of the random dungeons near the village you are in. Buy a potion of free movement and one of cure disease and dive right in. The dungeon will help you gain another 4 levels. Take a bludgeon weapon (mace/flail) with you for the skeletons though.

Thank you so much, this will be surely very helpful!

As many as you would like The NPCs will continue to grant delivery quests until you are very rich, the world outside the towns will spawn dungeons eternally, and you can make a game out of killing enemies at night. The only fixed quest sequence is the main quest line, all the others are randomly generated.

thank you, another time.
I think there is a lot of things to do. I have only to be used to it.

[Litmanen]

Most side quests at the start are:
*Hey, go take this thing to this shop.
*Hey, bring this guy to this tavern.
*Hey, go get this thing from the Mages' Guild for me.
You get these from Taverns when activating the bar tender. You can find out about where these are from Rumors -> Work

Eventually at higher levels it becomes possible to get more interesting missions from the Kings and Queens such as:
*Hey, go catch this bandit in this dungeon for me.
*Hey, take this message or thing to this guild in another town (you might get attacked by the Thieves' Guild, Mages' Guild, Dark Brotherhood, etc.)
You can also find out about these from Rumors -> Work, but I tend to just go from town to town pestering the royalty.

HOWEVER the most important side quests are the artifact quests. These are how you get a major advantage in the game. In order to get one, you gotta ask people about Rumors -> General. Sometime the people will be useless and just mention an artifact without giving you any leads. It will be obvious when it's something you can follow up on. If you want a major advantage early on, I'd suggest trying to find the Oghma Infinium quest. Because the Oghma Infinium is a one-time use item, doing the quest won't stop you from doing another artifact quest right after.

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Arena:Random_Quests

thank you too.

[Zelafrein]

I know Arena is an "open game in an open word" but how much time I have to spent in it to conclude the Main quest?

Took a week to beat the game. Main quest dungeons take roughly about 0.5 to 1.5 hours to complete. So figure if the main quest has 17 huge and boring dungeons then its about 15 to 30 hours depending on ur speed and luck (luck at going the right way for the quest goal, that is). Note that I played mage which is straight overpowered and dunno if a knight will be as fast. I recommend you skip on random dungeons completely and go straight for the artifacts. You can hunt for Oghma Infinum several times to boost your stats and speed helps a lot to cover those huge dungeons quicker. Random quests are good to beat 1 or 2 times each just to see what they do but they are generally useless. Good luck.