How many times have you outfitted your character with your best weapons and gear, only to have them look like this in game?



Using FTD Tools, you can change such unsightly character appearance to look like this (as just 1 example):



Now, doesn't that look much more appealing? This (minor) frustration with character appearance was the genesis of FTD Tools, and was the main feature in version 1.0.0.

Or, perhaps you were excited when you got your first "Legendary" drop of Rogue daggers, only to discover that they don't have very high damage, and occupying both hands, leaves you quite exposed without a shield. FTD Tools can help you remedy that with the "damage buff" feature, usable on daggers, shortswords, crystals, or wands. Turn this:



...into this:



The above change in damage represents a 25% increase! When applied to daggers and shortswords, the damage increase is raised by 30%, taking into account that the character cannot make use of a shield with 2-handed weapons such as this. (Note: the change in item value provides a way for FTD Tools to identify weapons that have already had their damage value range increased).

So, if you're interested in making your Fight the Dragon experience a bit more personalized, continue on!

The current version of FTD Tools (v1.1.0.1 as of this writing) is available at

https://github.com/tkzip/ftdtools/releases/latest

Scroll down to "Assets" and click on the FTD.Tools.1.1.0.1.zip file to download it. Then, extract the contents to the folder of your choice, and run FtdTools.exe. It's that simple -- no "installer".

When the FTD Tools program is launched for the first time, it will search for the Steam installation folder in the default location. If not found, the user will be prompted to navigate to the folder where Steam is installed.

After locating the Steam install folder, a search is made for any player profiles with Fight the Dragon in their library. If only one profile is found it is selected automatically. If multiple player profiles are detected, you will be prompted to select the profile ID you wish to edit. The "Select Steam ID" dialog box is shown below.



The player profile id is saved in a local configuration file so that this process does not need to be repeated every time the program is launched. However, it is possible to chose a different player profile at any time via the "Tools" menu.

An initial backup of current character data will be made prior to loading the character editor UI. Any changes made can always be undone using the "restore character data" (more on this topic below).

After FTD Tools successfully loads your character data, you'll see a screen similar to the one below.



Your initial reaction, as you make note of the character thumbnail image in the bottom-center of the screen may be, "hey, that's not what my character looks like!". You're right--it most likely isn't, and that's because the image represents a "thumbnail preview" of the various armor and weapon styles available in Fight the Dragon. If you hover the mouse cursor, or click on the '?' icon just to the left of the "Item Visuals Reference" you'll see a brief description of how the preview images are used. For now, just realize that as the label suggests, it's for visual reference and not dynamically rendered based on your character's equipment (to do this would get incredibly more complex and this program would never have been completed). We'll get more into the details of item visuals and thumbnail previews later.

As mentioned earlier in this guide, when FTD Tools is launched for the first time an automatic character backup is made so that you can always get back to the state your data was in before any changes are made. However, it's always a good idea to make a periodic back prior to making extensive changes. (Note that the character data backup includes all characters, so it's not necessary to do this before editing each character, but you're certainly free to do this if you wish.)

Select the "File > Backup Character Data" menu option to create a current backup file. As shown in the sample screen below, each file will contain the date and time of the backup to make it easy to identify when it was made.

Whenever a change is made, the current character information is stored in memory only and not written to the FTD character data files until the "Save Character" button is pressed. In order to help prevent accidentally losing unsaved changes, the following warning/confirmation popup will appear whenever you attempt to perform an action that would cause you to lose edits.



When you're ready to save your character, simply click the "Save Character" button. If the save is successful, a confirmation message is displayed on the lower-left of the status bar. Example:

You can change the currently selected characters name by clicking "Rename" just to the right of the character selection dropdown list. A popup dialog box similar to the one below will appear.



Enter a new name for the character and click "OK" to accept the change, or cancel to keep the existing name. Note that in keeping with FTD conventions, names are automatically converted to uppercase. The name must be between 3 and 12 characters, and may include letters, numbers, or spaces.

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This information is more for "novelty" reasons...simply because it's available. But, it can be interesting to view.

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Below is a sample screen snippet of the "Rename Item" option.



For me, this is one of the more useful features in FTD Tools, speaking from a practical perspective. There have been many times when, depending on the scenario, I wanted to equip my best gear for a particular weapon, or perhaps all of my best "HP regen" armor. Prior to developing this toolkit, I would track the names of the items (and "value", since item names often repeat) in a text document or on a piece of paper. It was a bit of a hassle though, to go looking up the details from my list just to get properly equipped. The solution: create your own "set" items!

Example: I've identified the best armor when using a 1-handed sword with my Rogue. So, I simply prefixed each item with the word "Swordsman", and now consider this my "Swordsman Set". Ex: "Swordsman Helmet", "Swordsman Gloves", etc. (It's especially lethal when used with the "Ring of Blades".) I've done likewise with my crossbow-optimized gear, which I use for slaying the dragon. All items are prefixed with "Dragonslayer". Well, enough examples...I think you get the idea. No more worries of losing track of my best items.