A game with extremely dangerous orcs

(Originally posted on Saturday, 2 January 2021; updated most recently on 31 January 2021)

In the latest update I modified the part for a newcomer again – I based it on my most recent play-through on the Hardcore difficulty setting that I will describe in another post.

I updated this post because going the path of Strength without using the spells Freeze, Charm or Sanctuary becomes extremely difficult in Chapter 8 and in Epilogue even on the Hard (medium) difficulty setting. Moreover it's ALWAYS better to have Mana Regeneration as soon as possible, so I added the best path for a newcomer, but still without the extremely overpowered spell Charm.

Recently I have finally watched The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy for the first time and I was devastated. I can't believe so many people rate these movies 10/10 or 9/10. Many things (big and small) in all three movies are illogical, some of the military aspects are simply terrible, the economy aspect of waging a war is totally ignored, the behaviour of some characters is VERY strange or plain stupid, Frodo’s constant expression of fear is annoying, the strange character of Gollum is doubly annoying, Gandalf (a powerful wizard) fights mostly with a sword, there are some cases of deus ex machina (for example the Ents), the magic ring's importance is totally silly, what happens after the destruction of the magic ring is even sillier, the main villain (Sauron as the all-seeing eye) does hardly anything and his armies do all the fighting for him. I don't care what was in the books and what was the fault of the director – either way all these things were VERY annoying to me.

I liked (but not loved) only the first movie (The Fellowship Of The Ring) because all the problems were least pronounced, but even in this movie there were many little things that were illogical. To be honest I enjoyed An Unexpected Journey (the first movie from the Hobbit movie trilogy) much more, mostly because it had less such problems overall and by definition it was supposed to be a light-hearted story – the Hobbit novel was written for children. I have to also point out that I LOVED the acting of Martin Freeman!

There is one thing that annoyed me VERY much in BOTH of these movies trilogies – the “bad guys” are most often orcs who look really scary, but in fact are surprisingly weak and the good guys, especially the main characters, dominate them as if the orcs were made out of cardboard!

It made me remember a great game where orcs are extremely dangerous, especially on the highest (Hardcore) difficulty setting – Dark Messiah of Might and Magic. In this game when you see three orcs running at you, you feel like shitting your pants, unless you have a trick “up your sleeve”.

This game should be great for all fans of the Black Company novels because the purely offensive spells are quite weak, so it's much better to use other spells. Well, the best spell (the spell Charm) can actually be considered as an offensive spell too, but again it's quite similar to the Black Company philosophy: stay safe however you can. Here's an example:


It's quite fun, but in the long run it feels like cheating – you make your enemies fight each other again and again and again and then you impale the last one standing. Oh, sorry, I meant the last one lying. Here's an example with a relatively “fair” combat (with hardly any gimmicks used):


Towards the end of the present post there are more such gameplay movies from all of Chapter 5.

I had played Dark Messiah of Might and Magic before watching the Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings movies trilogies, so maybe I was “spoiled” by this great game. On the highest difficulty setting (the Hardcore difficulty) all the enemies are insanely strong and durable, which makes the orcs even more powerful. Interestingly, the orcs are not even the scariest enemies in the game – later in the game there are ghouls and vampire knights that are even more scary because they are faster than the orcs!

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your personal preference) the game features many gimmicks that allow easier fighting, but many of them are illogical and/or overpowered to me. I especially hate:
1. The kick-attack – you can kick an enemy so strongly that it sends him flying, but when an enemy kicks you there is no such effect.
2. The stupid level design that allows you to “use the environment” – who on earth stores heavy barrels 2 meters above the ground or leaves things with sharp spikes pointing out?
3. The spell Sanctuary – you are invincible for 20 seconds.
4. A magic shield that stuns an enemy when he attacks – nobody uses a shield like this against you.
5. A magic shield that blocks magic attacks – nobody uses a shield like this against you.
6. Numerous magic weapons – nobody uses such weapons against you.

To avoid the gimmicks above on the Hardcore difficulty setting I have to use these three gimmicks extensively:
7. The spell Charm – it still feels like cheating because it makes one enemy your ally for a short time, usually long enough to get him killed by other enemies.
8. The spell Freeze – it can make a part of the floor extremely slippery, which makes enemies fall down, so you can impale them for big damage multiplier, but you will eventually get sick of doing this.
9. The Adrenaline effect – it makes a power attack extremely damaging, which results in an instant kill against most enemies, but it's quite brutal.

On the Hardcore difficulty setting the gimmicks become really important only in Chapter 5, because all the previous chapters are much easier. Well, the final battle in Chapter 4 (the defense of the ship) is quite difficult on its own (the spell Charm works like a charm then), but the enemies there (black guards) are definitely weaker than the enemies right at the start of Chapter 5 (orcs).

Actually it is possible to fight orcs without any gimmicks even on the Hardcore difficulty setting, but some fights in later chapters (against several ghouls or vampire knights) would be impossible this way. This is why it's better to play on the Hard (medium) difficulty setting, especially as a newcomer.

It is possible to ignore ALL the gimmicks described above, but to “stifle” the Adrenaline effect you have to create a file named “autoexec.cfg” with appropriate command and place it in the folder “…\mm\cfg” (this works in the Steam version of the game, but I am not sure if it would work in other versions). In the same file you can place commands that greatly reduce violence effects, but you have to leave some decals to able to see the effects of the spell Freeze when cast on the ground. I use these lines:
r_drawdecals 1
r_decals 10
r_drawmodeldecals 0
npcarx_noblood 1
arxnpc_decapitatebloodamount 0
violence_ablood 0
violence_agibs 0
violence_hblood 0
violence_hgibs 0
player_time_to_remove_adrenaline 1
player_value_remove_from_adrenaline 20

The last 2 lines make the Adrenaline bar almost impossible to fill – after just 1 second 20 points of Adrenaline is deducted. Normally it's the other way round (after 20 seconds 1 point of Adrenaline is deducted). You could actually reverse the idea and use a negative number in the last line (for example -20 instead of 20), so you Adrenaline bar will be filling automatically and instantly! Obviously, that would be a total cheat.

I've decided to try to beat the game without ANY gimmicks described above on the Hard (medium) difficulty setting. Well, I still use the spells Heal (regularly) and Flame Arrow (rarely), but these are the ONLY spells I use during combat. There are three other things I use that can be considered also as gimmicks:
10. Magic rings – in the early game I use the Ring of Arcane Brilliance (it can be found in Chapter 2), in the middle game I use the Ring of Might (it can be found in Chapter 4) and in the late game I use the Ring of Fire Protection (it can be found in Chapter 7, but I start using it only in Chapter 8).
11. The charge attack that stuns an enemy (sprint + power attack; the skill Melee 1 needed) – you can knock the stunned enemy down with a power attack and then you can impale him for big damage multiplier.
12. The disarm manoeuvre during a sword-lock (quickly click mouse buttons: left-right-left-right-left-right-…; the skill Melee 2 needed) – very cool gameplay mechanics that hardly anybody knows about!

I will show you many gameplay movies from Chapter 5 – by far my favourite game chapter ever! In ANY game! Staying alive against extremely dangerous orcs is very satisfying, no matter what strategy you use. Most importantly the general level design is simply fantastic! It's extremely varied, interesting and mostly beautiful, but there are also some creepy places, like large spiders' lair. I LOVE this chapter!

Before that however I have to quickly list my skills in the order I develop them.

I. Skills before meeting orcs:
Melee 1 (1 skill point), Melee 2 (2 skill points), Telekinesis (1), Heal (3), Alertness (1), Magic Affinity 1 (2), Stamina (1), Endurance 1 (4), Melee 3 (4) and Strength 1 (6).

Exactly 25 skill points used. Interestingly, there are exactly 25 skill points available before Chapter 5 (before meeting orcs), but you have to find this secret place:


Please notice that before meeting orcs on the Hardcore difficulty setting I would develop Charm, Fire Arrow and Freeze, instead of Melee 3 and Strength 1, but as I said earlier, it feels like cheating.

II. Skills after meeting orcs:
Flame Arrow (1), Strength 2 (8), Archery 1 (1), Archery 2 (2), Magic Affinity 2 (5), Endurance 2 (7), Endurance 3 (10) Strength 3 (10), Magic Affinity 3 (10).

III. Skills for a newcomer:
In order to experience the most fun gameplay a newcomer should NOT stifle Adrenaline and should use these skills together with all the possible gimmicks (except for the extremely overpowered spell Charm), especially the kick attack near high places (enemies seem to be scripted to fall from high places in an “easy” way):
Telekinesis (1), Heal (3), Alertness (1), Magic Affinity 1 (2), Stamina (1), Endurance 1 (4), Flame Arrow (1), Freeze (3), Melee 1 (1), Magic Affinity 2 (5), Sanctuary (7), Magic Affinity 2 (10), Mana Regeneration (12), … (the remaining 37 skill points can be used on whatever skill you want – I used 8 of them on the skill Burglar, just out of curiosity).

The idea of this build for a newcomer is to use the spell Freeze against orcs, ghouls and vampire knights, to develop the skill Sanctuary before the fight against Aratrok AND to develop the skill Mana Regeneration soon into Chapter 7, while still getting a decent armor (the Chainmail armor) already in Chapter 3. The spell Sanctuary is great against best enemy spellcasters – you can quickly pump up your Andrenaline bar by using the spell Flame Arrow from a very close distance. On a side note: the spell Fireball is too slow and the only good thing about it is that the explosion catapults all nearby enemies into the air, which makes them fall down. Cool, but impractical – you can impale only one enemy at a given time. The spell Freeze is much better for this purpose.

Now let's do some math: a short sword deals 2 “units” of damage. A longsword (+3) with the Ring of Might (+1) (they can be found almost at the same place in Chapter 4) deals 4 “units” of damage, which is 100% more! Strength 1 (+2) increases this damage FURTHER by 50% (from 4 to 6). Strength 2 (+3) allows to use an orc cleaver (+7), so overall the damage is FURTHER increased by 5 “units” of damage (from 6 to 11), so it's FURTHER increased by 83%!!! Developing Strength 3 (+6) is not that good because the damage is further increased by only 27% (from 11 to 14), so this skill can/should wait.

Please notice that the maximum damage dealt by an orc cleaver is 14 “units” (weapon +7, Strength +6 and the Ring of Might +1), which is:
a) 600% more than the damage dealt by a short sword without a magic ring ((14-2)/2),
b) 250% more than the damage dealt by a longsword without Strength 1, but still with the Ring of Might ((14-4)/4).

So, it's clear that investing in Strength (at least to Strength 2) is quite worth it! Unfortunately on the Hardcore difficulty setting the skills/spells Charm, Freeze and Magic Affinity 2 are much more important, so Strength HAS to either wait or even be discarded totally. Either way, the assumption is that on the Hardcore difficulty setting you never fight in a “fair” way or you fight in such a way only against one enemy at a time (the last one alive). Theoretically you could still use an orc cleaver, but only from Chapter 7 (instead of Chapter 5) and the best armor only from Chapter 9 (instead of Chapter 7).

If you use the spells Charm and Freeze then the skills Melee 3 and Strength (1, 2 and 3) and are NOT needed at all! I have to objectively admit that the Strength development path is clearly weaker than the magic development path, which still allows to use the best armor already from Chapter 7! It actually confirms my belief that a warrior with hardly any magic spells should NEVER be better than a half-warrior-half-mage.

Now a little mana potion economy (without a magic ring and without a magic robe): imagine that you have 9 mana and you desperately want to cast Heal, so you have to use a mana potion that restores 50 mana. If you have no level of Magic Affinity then you are capped at 20 mana, so 39 mana is wasted (9 + 50 – 20). With Magic Affinity 1 you are capped at 40 mana, so 19 mana is wasted (9 + 50 – 40). With Magic Affinity 2 you are capped at 70 mana, so NO mana is wasted (9 + 50 = 59 < 70). Magic Affinity 2 is enough also for the spells Charm and Freeze that require 15 mana to cast (14 + 50 = 64 < 70).

I have to also point out all the crucial elements of equipment that you should obtain before meeting orcs:, together with some quick tips:
* A block with ANY shield will protect you from incoming arrows.
* Chaimail Armor can be found in Chapter 3.
* Longsword can be made in Chapter 3 or can be found in Chapter 4.
* Ring of Might can be found in Chapter 4 (right after Longsword).

NOW, lets enjoy the Chapter 5 on the Hard (medium) difficulty without ANY gimmicks numbered 1-9.

The origins of orcs in this game are quite believable. Please, notice that the second female voice doesn't come from a physical person, but from your “spiritual guardian”. You know that hearing voices inside your head is not a good sign, don't you?


Some of the dialogues between orcs are quite interesting or even hilarious:


A bow head-shot is a good way to start a fight because it has a big damage multiplier. Please notice that one of the orcs sneak behind me:


You can hunt birds with your bow!


A fight against 3 orcs, 2 of whom are carrying shields, is VERY difficult:


There are some monsters (considered as animals) that are much easier to kill with the spell Flame Arrow:


Finally a little break from fighting! The rope-bow is quite illogical, but still VERY fun to use!


First sighting of a dragon.


A battle against FOUR orcs (the head-shot was very helpful) and a little exploring.


A duel of archers.


Last orcs for some time.


Firs goblins.


I hate fighting goblins.


A dead end.


First dragon kill.


First spiders.


A secret inside the spiders' lair.


Lots of spiders.


Lots of fun with the rope bow.


Pure exploring.


Funny goblin conversation.


I hate fighting against goblins in this game, because their weapon reach is totally WRONG!


First fight against a cyclops. Recorded in just one take, but I have to admit that I should have died after the cyclops grabbed me.


More goblins to overcome.


A little exploring, but without wasting my time for a secret place.


A perfect time to develop the skill Strength 2 and use an orc cleaver!


Remember this lift shaft – you will have to backtrack all the way to this place later.


More scary orcs to beat.


Here you can see the effect when you are close to death (when you have extremely low health).


A cool and climatic stairway.


A climatic battle of the top of the climatic stairway. On a side note: this is a perfect place to use the spell Freeze on the ground to make the orcs slide into the abyss.


To hit an enemy from left to right you have to prepare a power attack while moving LEFT.


More spiders to kill.


This is where you can find Plate Armor, but to use it you would have to develop Endurance 2 instead of Strength 2. If you survived all the orcs so far then this armor is not important at all. In Chapter 7 you can find the best armor in the game anyway.


The game is a little buggy as far as spiders on wooden floors and wooden walls are concerned.


Near your current goal there is a place where you can make the Earthfire Sword, but this sword is also a gimmick, so I simply discarded the Flamegold bar there.


Backtracking.


Freaking goblins again.


A few spiders.


A secret place.


Finally a place where the crystal can be used.


Aratrok and honourable orcs.


Hints of a future plot twist.


A side gameplay movie about additional use for the spider key. Please notice that I triggered a trap that I avoided earlier.


A first encounter against ghouls. They are faster, stronger and more scary than orcs, but it's actually easier to avoid their attacks by strafing.


What an unforgettable chapter! Nothing can compare to it!

That was fun, so I will describe the following chapters too, but in other posts.