Posted April 04, 2019
Some time ago, I posted a topic about exploiting the Brilhasti Boost in classic Bard's Tale 3. The way the Brilhasti Boost, as I call it, works has been changed in the remaster; however, it turns out that (as of 3.28) it is still possible to exploit this to get more power than intented. In particular, I believe I can get a spellcaster to have all stats maxed out without ever leveling past level 13.
First, here is how the boost seems to work for spellcasters. Unlike in classic versions, where it just gave you certain minimum stats, the remaster will actually level up your characters to level 5 Archmage. The way the game does this is as follows (assuming the character isn't already an Archmage):
* You get enough levels to reach level 13 in your current class, as well as all the spells for each class.
* For each class you have not learned level 7 spells in, you get 13 levels in that class (this includes stat boosts for level 1, which doesn't normally happen), as well as all the spells for that class. This includes classes that you have been in, but not learned level 7 spells in. This means that, to get the most out of this boost, it is best to skip level 7 spells.
* You then gain 5 levels of Archmage as well. Again, this includes stat boosts for reaching Archmage level 1, which you don't normally get.
Anyway, now that the explanation is out of the way, here is how you can get max stats on a spellcaster without ever leveling up past 13 in every class:
1. Create character as a Conjurer (or Magician, but without loss of generality, I'll assume you make them a Conjurer). You will want a stat sum of at least 58; higher stat sums may let you get away with fewer levels before the boost, but is not critical. Any higher and this won't work (though I haven't checked the case of an Archmage with missing spells). Half-elf is the best race for this as I believe they get the highest stat sum on average.
2. Level up to level 13, but don't learn level 7 spells. (Level 6 spells are OK to learn, but skip level 7 spells, as they will cost you 13 levels worth of growth.)
3. Change the character to a Magician, then level up to level 13. Again, don't learn level 7 spells (as much as it hurts to not have Restoration) for the same reason as above.
4. Change them to Sorcerer, again level up to level 13, or until the character's stat sum is at least 94. Again, don't learn level 7 spells.
5. Change them to Wizard. At this point, you don't need to level up anymore, and if you're still in BT2, you shouldn't if your stats have reached the BT2 cap of 20. (If you're leveling the character in BT1, you'll want to stop when you reach all 18's, then transfer to BT2 before you finish leveling, but with the use of the right monster companions, leveling is actually much faster in BT2.)
6. Kill Brilhasti (your caster should be a level 1 Wizard with a stat sum of at least 94 and no level 7 spells), then go to the Review Board to get the boost. You now have a level 5 Archmage with 30 in all stats, and nice amounts of HP and SP!
One other minor trick, which was useful in testing this, but isn't practical in typical play:
* If you kill Brilhasti before you ever go to the Review Board (only viable with an imported save; doing this with a level 1 or 2 party might not even be possible, or might require some way to do extreme amounts of luck manipulation), then you won't get the boost the first time you go to the board. This allows you to level up, learn spells, and even complete one class change before you actually get the boost. I believe checking a character's stats while there will give you the boost, however (with, interestingly, the Old Man's messages appearing in small font).
By the way, if the developers want to fix this without reverting to the classic behavior, the best approach would be to do something like this:
* Characters don't get stat boosts for level 1 in the new class (which will hurt casual players slightly).
* For classes where the character didn't learn all spell levels, the character should only get 2 levels of stat boosts per missing spell level, not the full 13 levels.
These changes wouldn't remove the exploit entirely (the only real way to do this would be to revert to the classic behavior of giving minimum stats instead of simulating leveling, or to track levels gained in earlier spellcasting classes), but would at least mitigate it, and would keep casual players (who don't want to exploit the system) from accidentally getting too powerful if they skipped spell levels.
First, here is how the boost seems to work for spellcasters. Unlike in classic versions, where it just gave you certain minimum stats, the remaster will actually level up your characters to level 5 Archmage. The way the game does this is as follows (assuming the character isn't already an Archmage):
* You get enough levels to reach level 13 in your current class, as well as all the spells for each class.
* For each class you have not learned level 7 spells in, you get 13 levels in that class (this includes stat boosts for level 1, which doesn't normally happen), as well as all the spells for that class. This includes classes that you have been in, but not learned level 7 spells in. This means that, to get the most out of this boost, it is best to skip level 7 spells.
* You then gain 5 levels of Archmage as well. Again, this includes stat boosts for reaching Archmage level 1, which you don't normally get.
Anyway, now that the explanation is out of the way, here is how you can get max stats on a spellcaster without ever leveling up past 13 in every class:
1. Create character as a Conjurer (or Magician, but without loss of generality, I'll assume you make them a Conjurer). You will want a stat sum of at least 58; higher stat sums may let you get away with fewer levels before the boost, but is not critical. Any higher and this won't work (though I haven't checked the case of an Archmage with missing spells). Half-elf is the best race for this as I believe they get the highest stat sum on average.
2. Level up to level 13, but don't learn level 7 spells. (Level 6 spells are OK to learn, but skip level 7 spells, as they will cost you 13 levels worth of growth.)
3. Change the character to a Magician, then level up to level 13. Again, don't learn level 7 spells (as much as it hurts to not have Restoration) for the same reason as above.
4. Change them to Sorcerer, again level up to level 13, or until the character's stat sum is at least 94. Again, don't learn level 7 spells.
5. Change them to Wizard. At this point, you don't need to level up anymore, and if you're still in BT2, you shouldn't if your stats have reached the BT2 cap of 20. (If you're leveling the character in BT1, you'll want to stop when you reach all 18's, then transfer to BT2 before you finish leveling, but with the use of the right monster companions, leveling is actually much faster in BT2.)
6. Kill Brilhasti (your caster should be a level 1 Wizard with a stat sum of at least 94 and no level 7 spells), then go to the Review Board to get the boost. You now have a level 5 Archmage with 30 in all stats, and nice amounts of HP and SP!
One other minor trick, which was useful in testing this, but isn't practical in typical play:
* If you kill Brilhasti before you ever go to the Review Board (only viable with an imported save; doing this with a level 1 or 2 party might not even be possible, or might require some way to do extreme amounts of luck manipulation), then you won't get the boost the first time you go to the board. This allows you to level up, learn spells, and even complete one class change before you actually get the boost. I believe checking a character's stats while there will give you the boost, however (with, interestingly, the Old Man's messages appearing in small font).
By the way, if the developers want to fix this without reverting to the classic behavior, the best approach would be to do something like this:
* Characters don't get stat boosts for level 1 in the new class (which will hurt casual players slightly).
* For classes where the character didn't learn all spell levels, the character should only get 2 levels of stat boosts per missing spell level, not the full 13 levels.
These changes wouldn't remove the exploit entirely (the only real way to do this would be to revert to the classic behavior of giving minimum stats instead of simulating leveling, or to track levels gained in earlier spellcasting classes), but would at least mitigate it, and would keep casual players (who don't want to exploit the system) from accidentally getting too powerful if they skipped spell levels.