A game with extremely dangerous orcs – Hardcore difficulty

(Originally posted on Wednesday, 10 March 2021)

I posted my Youtube videos from my play-through of Dark Messiah of Might and Magic with hardly any gimmicks on the Hard (medium) difficulty settings here:
A game with extremely dangerous orcs
A game with extremely dangerous orcs – part 2
A game with extremely dangerous orcs – part 3
A game with extremely dangerous orcs – part 4
A game with extremely dangerous orcs – part 5

Now, playing on the Hardcore difficulty setting, I used this very powerful character build (without the extremely overpowered spell Charm):
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 power of this build confirms my belief that a warrior with hardly any magic spells should NEVER be better than a half-warrior-half-mage.

I decided to beat the game with hardly any self-restrictions, but I still avoid these gimmicks:
1.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.
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?

This time I use the Adrenaline effect, but I made the Adrenaline level go down by 5 points every 10 seconds. Normally it goes down by 1 point every 20 seconds, so overall it now goes down 10 times quicker, but there is still enough time to use the Adrenaline effect while fighting against a cyclops.

Here are the commands in my autoexec.cfg file that I use to greatly reduce violence effects (you have to leave some decals to able to see the effects of the spell Freeze when cast on the ground) and to make the Adrenaline level go down by 5 points every 10 seconds:
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 10
player_value_remove_from_adrenaline 5

The present posts shows only a part of gameplay videos that I recorded. To see all of them you have to watch this playlist directly on Youtube. From the early chapters (up to Chapter 4) I recorded only the most difficult fights. From later chapters (from Chapter 5) I skipped some exploring parts, but I recorded most of the fights.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvly247cQ6TSvbXq1fYwNkZ-qmjxE7L9C

This was my very first play-through where I abused the kick attack. I did it mostly to “inspire” newcomers.

Please, notice that a female voice you sometimes hear 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?


Chapter 2

The enemy archers are VERY dangerous on the Hardcore difficulty setting, so it's better to deal with them first. By the way, you as an archer are pathetic on this difficulty setting.


When the Adrenaline bar is full it's clearly better to take down an enemy with a shield. The top of a stairway is a very good place for kick attacks.



Chapter 3

The “ghoul run”.


This can be quite a difficult fight, but only when you play it “fair”. This is the easy alternative.



Chapter 4

Your enemies can't swim.


This is the place where I start using the spell Freeze.


This place has always been one of my favourite ones, but the kick attack makes it ridiculously easy.


By far the hardest battle so far. It's VERY hard even when abusing the kick attack.



Chapter 5

By far my favourite game chapter ever! In ANY game!


The spell Freeze is almost game-breaking if you know what you're doing.


The spell Freeze is an instant kill against the flying monsters (they fall down and shatter into pieces).


The power of the kick attack against orcs.


First dragon kill.


First spiders. I developed the skill/spell Sanctuary, but I didn't use it here.


I HAD to record this funny goblin conversation again!


I hate fighting against goblins in this game, because their weapon reach is totally WRONG! The kick attack made this fight a little less annoying.


First fight against a cyclops. There is just enough time to pump up the Adrenaline bar, but you have to be very good to make it full.


This fight is sooo easy when using the spell Sanctuary and the kick attack! An overkill!


I overused the spell Sanctuary here – there is no need to use it against a single orc, like I did at the end of this fight.


More orcs.


And more orcs again.


Wait for the orcs here!


Aratrok's speech.


I used magic spells and Aratrok called me an honorless snake. Hilarious! First it's better to kill the standard orcs and leave Aratrok for later. This is a re-recorded fight because during later fights against vampire knights I realized that kicking a lying enemy allows more impalements than just one!


A secret place with the best robe for a mage. This is when I developed the skill Magic Affinity 3.


A first encounter against ghouls.


What an unforgettable chapter! Nothing can compare to it!


Chapter 6

With my character build the whole chapter is actually a breeze.


This part is MUCH easier when using the spell Sanctuary.


Killing a lich with the Adrenaline effect is actually very easy.


The combination of the spell Sanctuary and the kick attack makes this fight ridiculously easy.


Spiders at the end of the chapter.



Chapter 7

This chapter is similar to Chapter 5, because the enemies are similar, but the level design is enjoyably different and the exploring is even more fun. In fact the most stunning place in the whole game is in this chapter!


This is when I developed the skill Mana Regeneration. Game over! I mean that there is not a single skill left that is needed. Later I developed the skill Burglar, just out of curiosity.


The spell Freeze rules against orcs.


Last orcs for some time.


Another cyclops to kill.


Cool exploring and lots of spiders.


The most stunning place in the whole game! I love this place!


This battle is annoying because goblins seems to re-spawn infinitely (they keep jumping down from a higher place).


Yet another cool exploring part! Please notice that at the end of the video you can stand at the edge without “activating” the Giant Worm.


This time I took a good look at the giant worm. The spell Sanctuary is just too good!


The spell Freeze against the flying monsters.


A different view at the most stunning place in the whole game.


I reached a place which I was not supposed to reach! Please notice that the level design elements above me were “empty” and my arrows went through them as through the air!


The power of the kick attack at the edge of a high place again.



Chapter 8

The kick attack is great for keeping a vampire knight (or a necrolord) lying on the floor.


The kick attack rules near high places.


The spell Freeze + kick attack. Again.


Several necrolords.


One of the hardest parts in Chapter 8 and the whole game.


The fight against the giant spider is quite easy with Adrenaline effect. This time I did this fight AFTER clearing the path to the exit, so Leanna wouldn't be in any danger.



Chapter 9

Lots of ghouls very soon into the chapter.


Ghouls are harder to kick from an edge because they keep strafing.


Killing a cyclops is definitely safer with the spell Sanctuary.


She threw a vase at me! Like a real angry woman! Hilarious!


A blessing.


Several ghouls again.


A wild sequence.


I always like this part (the outside of the castle).



Epilogue

Lots of high places to kick your enemies from.


The power of my build – a lich, a necrolord and a cyclops together with some vampire knights and ghouls.


This sequence cost me lots of mana, but I wanted to finish the game as quickly as possible.


Four liches in one take.


Arantir.


By sheer accident I discovered the best strategy against the ghost dragon. Killing it for the first time is the hardest because you have to build up your adrenaline bar, but after that your adrenaline bar gets almost full kind of automatically while you attack Arantir (when his Sanctuary spell is down). Then it's just a couple of shots and the ghost dragon is down again.


I recorded the whole credits as a tribute to all the people involved in creating this awesome game. Respect!