The Hero-U Help Thread

[Rath Darkblade]

Hmm. I haven't done either the healing path (all the way through) or the SCIENCE! path yet. I'm doing the science path now ... it is tricky, because you need ingredients that you can only find in the Gog cave, and you can't get down there until after you meet the Qwirk (i.e. meep).

By the way, Datadog, where did you find the dog-with-sombrero picture? I've always wondered.

[Datadog]

By the way, Datadog, where did you find the dog-with-sombrero picture? I've always wondered.

That's Captain Saladin from "King's Quest VI". I put sunglasses and a sombrero on him to make him seem more festive.

[Rath Darkblade]

Oh, right! Now I can see the resemblance. I only played KQ6 once, so no wonder I didn't make the connection. (Whoops!)

[Rath Darkblade]

Huzzah! I have now finished Hero-U with all three electives - First Aid, Magic, and SCIENCE! Here are some thoughts...

Science is probably the trickiest. You can build glues and bombs etc., but you need materials from the Gog cave, which you can't get until you meet the Kwirk (Meep) on Day 17 or so. Even when you do build those bombs, you need a lot of materials. I tried to get them by beating the Gog King, but I nearly died doing so and had to run away. Even so, the science class ends with you getting a really unique weapon (which you probably don't need by then).

First Aid is fun and different. It starts with just collecting mushrooms, which you can do in the upstairs garden or outside (in the library/rec room/reception/gazebo area). If you do this every day, by the end of class you'll have heaps of mushrooms - more than enough for the 2nd time you take First Aid. On the 2nd go, you'll learn to make bandages, pills and potions, which are extremely useful.

Finally, Magic... the Magic class is pretty easy. You start off with just being able to Detect Magic, which is fun but not very useful. Eventually, however, you gain access to unique and powerful runes, like runes to damage your opponents with fire and ice, or slow them down.

Some more thoughts? Time management in this game is an interesting challenge. Here's what I recommend:

1. Start off by building up your Strength (by lifting weights) and your Agility (by walking the rope). These two are crucial. The Climbing skill (at the rope) is nice-to-have. Practicing your Defence and Combat are nice, but can be done in actual combat.

2. When you have a chance to go to the Rec Room, practice everything at every chance you get. The Dart Board will help your Throwing score, which will help with throwing daggers. The Card Table will increase your Games score, which will help you with games of Poobah. Practicing Billiards will increase your Agility, a key score for any Rogue. All three have a chance of increasing your Games score.

3. When you get the option to start practicing sneaking (on day 3), do it every chance you get! The best way is to sneak around Terk and avoid getting caught.

4. Your Perception skill is also key. You'll get a chance to start practicing it on Day 6. Do it every chance you get!

5. Finally, your lockpicking skill will help to pick locks (obviously) and to defeat traps (not so obviously). The best time to practice is after Terk sends you to bed at 10pm. You'll have a 2-hour window until midnight. Pick up one of the locks on the table and practice with those! You'll increase your lockpicking skill by 1 every 20 minutes or so, whereas if you practice on the lockers, it takes an hour.

How to make money? You'll be invited to a game of Poobah sooner or later (probably about day 7), so practice your gaming score in the Rec Room! It will make Poobah easier. Here are some hints to make Poobah even easier:

1. Sosi is a big-shot who bets heavily, but he doesn't always have good cards. Watch his face carefully. If he starts smiling and squinting, this means he has good cards. If his eyes are nearly closed, he has a Fizbin. If his eyes are closed and he's smiling, he has a Poobah. Watch out for this and prepare accordingly.

2. Joel Kyro is a good player, but there is one subtle tell that you can watch for. If his smile broadens slightly, he has a Poobah. Be careful!

3. Thomas Kent is a cautious player. He will usually not fold until after everyone has a chance to change their cards or hold 'em. However, if he bets heavily, he usually has good cards.

4. Esme is cautious like Thomas, but telegraphs her cards by her mood. If she smiles broadly, she normally has good cards.

5. Katie the Pirate's Daughter is not subtle, but be careful! If she smiles broadly, she normally has bad cards, and vice versa - if she looks like she's frowning like she's just eaten a lemon, she has a Poobah. A neutral reaction means she has a Fizbin. Don't be fooled!

6. Finally, there's Aeolus. Aeolus, like Katie, isn't subtle, but unlike Katie, he telegraphs his cards. If he frowns, he has bad cards. If he smiles broadly, he has good ones - most usually a Fizbin. If he opens his mouth in an O of shock (like "I can't believe I have such great cards!"), he has a Poobah. Don't be suckered in!

Another great way of making money is helping Katie with her treasure hunt. As long as you're nice and helpful to her, you'll get plenty of treasure, as well as a magical dagger. However, you won't get a chance to do this until about day 30 or so, so don't stress.

Enjoy Hero-U!

[Datadog]

Wow! Okay, you have officially become the master!

The Poobah tells are one my favourite things in the game. Aeolus is an easy read, but Katie forces herself to put on the biggest smile when she's losing and the biggest sneer when she's about to win. And of course, Thomas is completely unreadable, but then Thomas is also the best secret-keeper so it makes sense.

Glad you enjoyed the game! It was a pleasant surprise on my end too. Definitely my favourite of all the kickstarters and I'd back a sequel in a heartbeat.

[Rath Darkblade]

Hmm. On my last try (with First Aid), I finally managed to defeat the Drat Queen. *DUN-DUN-DUNNNN!* It's not hard if you build up your skills and have plenty of healing potions (and a few traps), which you can get if you win at Poobah and help Katie.

The trickiest thing about beating the Drat Queen is that she heals her three drat warriors. However, she will keep away and only cast spells at you, so if you have some way to avoid spells (e.g. a rune vs. spells, or a pill/mushroom against them), then you should be fine. Just keep hitting away at the drat warriors and munching healing pills/potions as necessary. Having a few traps to hand will help - just trap the warriors for a little while and whack them down.

I still haven't uncovered all the game's secrets, though. I know that Shawn can romance Katie or Thomas - but how about Joel, or Esme, or Aeolus? I know that Esme and Aeolus end up together, but if Shawn can romance one of them - there goes the plot!

Also, speaking of romancing your fellow classmates, I heard that because you can get three "One and Only" rings, it is possible to romance more than one person and get them all mad at you. However, I haven't seen this yet. Is it possible? I'm curious...

[notbobsmith]

I've been playing this for the last few weeks. I think it's okay. I'm at the midterm break. The problem I'm having is that I feel like I keep missing things. Like they keep mentioning electives that I can take, but I seem to have missed how I was supposed to do them. I'm also not sure how to find the hidden passages. I've found two location that I can't open. I think I'm supposed to start with the relief in the Hall of Heroes, but for the life of me I can't figure out the password. I thought that this might be something that I had to wait for, like with the school thief, but now I'm not so sure. Can someone provide a little clue? Sorry if this has been asked, but I haven't read the whole thread to avoid spoilers.

[Rath Darkblade]

All righty then ... *cracks knuckles*

Electives.
The first thing about electives is making sure that you are eligible to take them. If you pay attention in the rogue class and pass the first test, you can take an elective on day 7.

You have three options: Magic, Science, or First Aid. If you want some more information about them, go to the top of the stairs after dinner and listen at the door to the teachers' lounge-room. Do this every night that you can, and eventually - I think about day 4, 5 or 6 (I forget which) you will hear them discussing the electives.

Where to find them? Well, explore the castle! Who, for instance, would you associate with First Aid? Perhaps a paladin you may have met? Not far from Gregor's shop?

Magic and Science classes are both at the top of the stairs, through the left-most door. Go and explore!

The rogue class finishes at 2pm, and electives begin at 3pm. In that hour, you can explore or train. I recommend training at strength or agility in the training room, or talking to Joel and buying something (if you can afford it). Be aware that although elective classes start at 3pm, you have until 4:15pm to make it to class - but don't dawdle! If you wait too long, you'll miss the class.

Hidden Passages.
There are at least three hidden passages in Hero-U. Let's go through them one by one ...

1. The relief in the Hall of Heroes. You are right - you have to wait until you meet the school thief (day 13). The way to open it is hidden in plain sight! Look closer at the fireplace, look at the relief, and put one and one together.

2. The Gazebo. This one is not hidden at all, but you'll have to be good at lock-picking to open it.

3. The green wizard painting in the library. You will have to wait until very late in the game before you can open it, so don't worry about it now. Read the giant book in the library to get hints about the castle's history and who is depicted in the painting.

Once you open the relief, you will find two or three other hidden doors, but you'll have to explore the underground areas (where the Gogs and undead are) to find them.

Happy adventuring!

[notbobsmith]

All righty then ... *cracks knuckles*

Electives.
The first thing about electives is making sure that you are eligible to take them. If you pay attention in the rogue class and pass the first test, you can take an elective on day 7.

You have three options: Magic, Science, or First Aid. If you want some more information about them, go to the top of the stairs after dinner and listen at the door to the teachers' lounge-room. Do this every night that you can, and eventually - I think about day 4, 5 or 6 (I forget which) you will hear them discussing the electives.

Where to find them? Well, explore the castle! Who, for instance, would you associate with First Aid? Perhaps a paladin you may have met? Not far from Gregor's shop?

Magic and Science classes are both at the top of the stairs, through the left-most door. Go and explore!

The rogue class finishes at 2pm, and electives begin at 3pm. In that hour, you can explore or train. I recommend training at strength or agility in the training room, or talking to Joel and buying something (if you can afford it). Be aware that although elective classes start at 3pm, you have until 4:15pm to make it to class - but don't dawdle! If you wait too long, you'll miss the class.

I thought I had passed the first test. Most likely I simply missed the opportunity. I've heard it mentioned a few times in class and I've listed to some of the conversations in the teacher's lounge, but I probably missed the relevant one. Oh, well. It's too late now.

Hidden Passages.
There are at least three hidden passages in Hero-U. Let's go through them one by one ...

1. The relief in the Hall of Heroes. You are right - you have to wait until you meet the school thief (day 13). The way to open it is hidden in plain sight! Look closer at the fireplace, look at the relief, and put one and one together.

2. The Gazebo. This one is not hidden at all, but you'll have to be good at lock-picking to open it.

3. The green wizard painting in the library. You will have to wait until very late in the game before you can open it, so don't worry about it now. Read the giant book in the library to get hints about the castle's history and who is depicted in the painting.

Once you open the relief, you will find two or three other hidden doors, but you'll have to explore the underground areas (where the Gogs and undead are) to find them.

Happy adventuring!

Figured it out. I was overthinking it. I just needed to know that the clue was there.

For a while I thought I would receive the password from someone (like the Qwirk), so I lost a lot of exploration time.

[Rath Darkblade]

Hmm ... you may wish to take up an elective if you can, because they'll make combat easier - especially against boss monsters and the undead. (Speaking of the undead, you can get an anti-undead amulet - either below the Gazebo, but you'll need to be very good at lock-picking and combat to get it, or from Joel - eventually - but you'll need lots of money).

If you don't take an elective, I hope you'll have a lot of lyra to buy all the potions, runes, and other equipment you'll need.

If you need lyra, the best place to find it (initially, at least) is at the Poobah table. After that ... well, Katie's quest will give you lots and lots of lyra, but you'll need to spend some and be very good at fighting, Poobah, or both.

Good luck and happy adventuring!

[notbobsmith]

I just finished Hero-U. It was okay. I was kind of hoping for a little more... something. Once I got past my little hiccup with the password to enter the sea caves, things opened up pretty readily. I managed to complete all of the side quests. It had a pretty good story and the characters were great. The idea of what makes a rogue a rouge was a pretty good approach to the story. I think my main complaint was the the way time was handled. I always felt rushed or having to manage time carefully. Having to be back for the elective course, dinner, bedtime... it cut into my time to explore. Especially when certain things were so far away. In the Quest for Glory series, there was always a place you could rest. Here I felt a little like a yo-yo. I'd explore the sea caves or catacombs and then have to head back and start over. At first I was a little disappointed that the dialogue wasn't voiced, but over time I started to think that it wasn't really necessary. I also liked how they handled Poobah. By essentially eliminating the rules of the game, they distilled it down to the very basics of poker: how good is your hand, and what do you think the other players have. Overall I enjoyed the game, but I wish it could have been a more solid successor to QFG.

So Hero-U clearly takes place in the same universe as QFG. How did they do that without running afoul of some lawyers?

[Rath Darkblade]

Notbob, you don't have to be back in time for dinner (or bedtime) if you don't want to. That's the beauty of Hero-U exploration: once you can start to explore the sea caves (roughly day 13-14), very little happens during dinner that you need to know about. Of course, if you do something significant - like helping Katie discover her treasure (ARR Matey! ) - then you might want to be back for dinner, just to brag about it.

Just one question: Hero-U takes place in the same universe as QFG?? When does that happen? Yes, the Kwirk and the Meep are very similar, but that's all I was able to pick up on...

[notbobsmith]

Notbob, you don't have to be back in time for dinner (or bedtime) if you don't want to. That's the beauty of Hero-U exploration: once you can start to explore the sea caves (roughly day 13-14), very little happens during dinner that you need to know about. Of course, if you do something significant - like helping Katie discover her treasure (ARR Matey! ) - then you might want to be back for dinner, just to brag about it.

Just one question: Hero-U takes place in the same universe as QFG?? When does that happen? Yes, the Kwirk and the Meep are very similar, but that's all I was able to pick up on...

I never tried skipping dinner, but I thought that the game sends you back to your room around 1AM whether you want to or not. Plus not eating or sleeping late affects your stats

There's a statue of Rakeesh in the Hall of Heroes. Uhura, too. There's one for Erana, but I think it's somewhere else. They are all named and their stories are the same so it's not like they are intended to be "reminiscent" of the character. The names of places get mentioned quite often, like Silmaria and Tarna. Mostly from the menu outside the dining hall. Von Urwald has a poster of Spielburg in his office. Kattas get mentioned. There's a portrait with someone fighting a cheetaur which are unique to QFG. I'm sure I'm missing a bunch more.

[Tawmis]

So Hero-U clearly takes place in the same universe as QFG. How did they do that without running afoul of some lawyers?

I think, it runs along a few different lines... The names are fairly "generic" (as in not "iconic" in regards to say - if they had used "Bilbo Baggins" - good chance everyone knows who that is). Erana, and the other names - aren't well known. So they probably skim a copyright law about "you can't copyright names" - but you can "trademark" a name (which, Sierra probably never did - more here: https://writing.stackexchange.com/quest ... by-authors) - and things like the Cheetaur and the Meeps are "standard fantasy." I always think of Weepuls when I think of Meeps. I mean...


You can see why, right?

[Rath Darkblade]

Sort of. Weepuls don't have claws and sharp teeth, but yeah, I can see the similarity.