A bit confused

[jklame]

Well I started a Barbarian and am having a fairly enjoyable time so far -- did the den of evil at level 3 using rolling thunder with my axe and taking out the archers with a bow. Have not found the lack of gold a problem as I'm finding more than enough to repair my equipment and buy identify scrolls. Also, have not found the shaman firewalls to be a big deal as long as I keep moving (and use the Heal skill occasionally). Probably my only (very minor) complaint so far would be that in the den of evil I could pick off the archers with my bow while standing out of range of their detection radius (or whatever you call it). So they just stood there and did nothing while I took them out.

But what's the deal with the skillls-that-are-not-skills such as rolling thunder. I did read the entire Median thread -- although that was several weeks ago and I hadn't downloaded the mod at that time. And I do seem to remember something about skills which weren't tied to the skill tree and weren't improved via skill points (or maybe I misunderstood what I was reading at the time). In any case, how do I improve the damage done with rolling thunder (or attack skills in general). Increased strength or dex doesn't seem to help. Is it basically the case that rolling thunder damage will always be the same as normal attack damage?

Great mod so far in any case.

Thanks,
John

[Brother Laz]

Probably my only (very minor) complaint so far would be that in the den of evil I could pick off the archers with my bow while standing out of range of their detection radius (or whatever you call it). So they just stood there and did nothing while I took them out.

Not my fault; I set it as high as I could. It's an AI thing.

In any case, how do I improve the damage done with rolling thunder (or attack skills in general). Increased strength or dex doesn't seem to help. Is it basically the case that rolling thunder damage will always be the same as normal attack damage?

Rolling Thunder does normal attack damage [based on str/dex depending on weapon, usually 1.5-2.5 ED% per point], which receives a boost from the Increased Damage skill, and is only inflicted if your attack/defense roll succeeds. The area effect does 0 damage, but always hits and knocks back.

If you want more damage, use Multi-Swing; it also does normal attack damage but can hit multiple enemies simultaneously [but no enemy is hit more than once].