Improved Anvil is updated to version 1.1

From the mod's introductory page:

Improved Anvil adds many new items and item upgrades to the game and will provide Cromwell and Cespenar with new recipes to make those items for you.

Furthermore, the mod adds tactical challenges and improves and/or fixes several buggy or badly designed encounters and battles of the original game.
For more detailed information visit the mod's forum (http://forums.blackwyrmlair.net/index.php?showforum=99).

To download the mod click here (http://dragonshoard.blackwyrmlair.net/bwl_mods_download.php?mod=26).

Have fun!

So instead of adding new component combinations or padding out the lesser used weapon pools you chose to ridiculously overpower the already powerful items!?!?

The mod is fully tested in practice and proven to be balanced.

A mere and hasty review of the descriptions of the new and powerful items would be misleading, because there are other important factors which should not be ignored:

First, the mod also enhances enemies. The powerful items won't be overpowered in practice while facing tougher enemies.

Second, making powerful items requires brand new components added to the game by this mod. Those new components are rare and hard-to attain, which means that in practice, you will have a hard time making them and won't be bale to make all of the most powerful items. The player has to think well and to choose how to use the rare components in the game.

Third, powerful items require lots of money to be made. This is another factor which will prevent unbalancing the game.

I recommend that you refrain from making hasty and quick judgements merely based on an inaccurate review of the list of the new items of this mod. What you will experience in practice in the game will be much different. (I say "hasty" because you sent your rather rude comments in less than half an hour since my initial post introducing the mod, while testers have tested the mod in practice and almost everything is considered with great care while designing the items.)

It is needless to add that I welcome all sorts of constructive and well-thought suggestions and comments, but not hasty comments which are not based on practical tests and do not include considerations of all other factors involved. Sorry!

Nonetheless, if you don't like this mod and won't play it, I can fully understand it. People have different tastes. But just leave it at that stage (i.e. taste) and do not try to turn your taste into an objective reason against a mod which you know very little about its content.

Can you explain the key differences between this mod and Weimer's Item Upgrade mod? It sounds like more or less the same idea.

Giving HLA's to SoA enemies doesn't exactly fit some peoples ideas of "rebalancing" to make the items less unbalanced. Some people are going to be OK with it, but a lot of folks aren't.

Can you explain the key differences between this mod and Weimer's Item Upgrade mod? It sounds like more or less the same idea.
1- The new items are different and numerically more.
2- Some new upgrade components are also added to the game which will be required as ingredients.
3- Improved Anvil also adds fixes and Tactical challenges to the game.

The idea of this mod initially occurred to me because I was tired and unhappy with Weimer's 'Item upgrade' mod. All those who don't want to repetitively play the same old "Item Upgrade" mod and look for some refreshments may install and try Improved Anvil instead.

@Sikret


Congratulations for your mod.
Is it easy to have more info about the Tactical Challenges and the fixes of the mod (PM maybe) ?

Thanks.

@thetruth

Thanks for the congratulations! I sent you a PM.

@Drew
Enhancing enemies are performed by making them smarter and by changing their tactics and fighting styles as well as rebalancing their attributes and fixing their original scripts.

Of course, there are (few) cases in which some HLAs are also added to some foes in the game according to their levels or as a part of the mod's tactical challenges, but this is not the main feature of the mod's tactical content.

Sounds suspiciously like any other mod; enhanced items and "tactical" monsters. Or in other words: unbalanced game and no-fun fights. It would had been so much easier for me to click on that magical "Download" -button if there had been some solid examples of the best pieces of the mod. Like:

- Stats about enhanced items.
- How, exactly, does this new Tor'Gal/Irenicus/whatever differ from the old one? (New spells, immunity-to-everything, insane regen-rates?)
- How else does the mod affect the game? Does it bring out harder enemies sooner, swap their places, or perhaps randomize some stats?

I actually like the mod. So far (I'm in Nalia's Keep) I only have good things to say about Sikrets mod. Having only met a few "new" modded encounters I must say, it doesn't unbalance anything, and the items - well they are not that powerful. If you wan't more powerful stuff I wouldn't recommend this mod.

Edit: some spelling

[ May 16, 2006, 23:29: Message edited by: Shaitan ]