Hexen II/Gameplay

Differences between Hexen and Hexen II

Hexen II is the successor of Hexen, so if you’ve played this game, you will find Hexen II having a lot in common with it. Still, there are a few differences:

• The first thing you will see is that there are no sprite monsters and sprite items now, they are in 3d. Even f/x are 3d too.
• You will encounter a lot of new enemies and items not seen in previous games of the series. And the Tome of Power is back.
• The number of monsters which can be encountered at the same time has decreased dramatically, but they are usually faster and stronger.
• There is no way to die instantly like bottomless pits or crushers. Hooray!
• Characters can level up now. With enough monsters killed the maximum number of HP and MP will raise. Not only that, characters have skills now, which will be gained on levels 3 and 6.
• The “use” button was removed from the game. All switches and doors are used automatically when you step close to them or strike them with your weapon.
• You will encounter a lot of text messages in the game. Usually they will provide you with useful information of how to solve riddles. Each stage also begins near a plaque with some hints left by mysterious Tyranith explaining what you need to do to beat each episode.
• There are a few doors which will send you to different maps just like teleports in Hexen, but now there are plaques next to them so you will always know where you’re going to.
• There are no secret maps now. You need to visit all maps to beat the game.
• You can crouch now. It’s usually useless in the battle, but good for accessing secret spots.
• You cannot walk on the water surface any more, but you can swim now. You will have to swim to beat the game. Be careful, don’t drown!
• No auto-aim, so now all projectiles you fire will fly to where you’re looking, so better turn on the mouse look. Self-guided projectiles still work as they should.
• There is no mini-map in the game so you can’t quickly check your whereabouts. Don’t get lost.

Character stats

Hexen II adds some brand new (for a first-person shooter) stats which seem more likely to be in a RPG. While some of them aren’t used at all, some stats are crucial for a character. All of them but a few ones (see their description) are defined at the start of the game at random.

• Wisdom affects experience gained. Your experience modifier is (100+5*(Wisdom-11))%. In other words, each Wisdom point past 11 adds 5% to all experience gained, while each Wisdom point lower than 11 decreases experience gained by the same amount.
• Strength affects melee damage. Your melee damage modifier is (100+3,33*(Strength-11))%. In other words, each Strength point past 11 adds 3,33% to all melee damage, while each Strength point lower than 11 decreases melee damage by the same amount.
• Intelligence and Dexterity don’t affect anything.
• Health Points define your ability to resist damage. The more you have, the more damage you can get before losing the game.
• HP increase affects the number of health points gained each level.
• Mana Level defines the maximum amount of blue and green mana you can have. Mana is required for all weapons but starting ones.
• Mana Increase is the number of mana points gained each level.
• Move Speed is the speed modifier. It’s one of the few stats which are hidden from the player and are constant for all classes.
• Gained Experience Modifier is a really weird stat since there is another stat for each class named Needed Experience Modifier. The first one affects the number of experience gained, the second one affects the number of experience needed for level up. So if Gained Experience Modifier equals Needed Experience Modifier, you will progress through levels normally. Both stats are constant for each character and hidden from the player.