Best Of
Re: The LoB + SCS Solo Challenge vs Bhaal´s Cataclysm
From what I've seen of that saving throw bug, it only applies to saves that would be reduced to less than zero by the LoB bonus. Which generally only happens for high-level monsters. It seems to be pretty consistent when that condition is met.
Belhifet's base save array looks like it matches a level 15-16 paladin.
Belhifet's base save array looks like it matches a level 15-16 paladin.
jmerry
4
Re: The LoB + SCS Solo Challenge vs Bhaal´s Cataclysm
@zaknas Any fighter/mage character has a much easier time overall than a C/M due to more APR with the MMS itself and fighter potions which takes any duration issues so unless you cannot take away Bel during the duration of 2x enchanted weapon or 20x goblet charge. After a few tests, it takes on average for my F/I with 500+ hp an average of 20 rounds to win with 6-8 goblet charges on double damage (good starting sequencer protection using Mirror Image, Improved Invisibility and Stoneskin, didn't bother with Fireshield Blue for extra damage, also used Strength+ Strength sequencer on Bel to set his strength to 18/50), the only downside being no access to CS. A Fighter/Mage/Cleric would have all of those tools at their disposal, making them potentially better than Cavalier who has no access to MMS 15% crits. His Improved Invisibility casting indeed takes away a few swings and makes him untargettable for a few seconds, which made weapons like the Fractal Blade horrible for it entirely due to this so it can be good to take into account.
Histaminii's last fight with a Cavalier took around 15 rounds for a win so i'd say that our current assumptions on DPS are becoming pretty accurate. I still don't think that any single class cleric of any kind is going to be as simple as that for some reasons, that fight always have a surprise that i forget about until i get there which requires last minute adjustments. This is also assuming that you will have absolutely no need for any Bel tools for the ambush, which Mr Salty didn't have to care about due to Slay Living, which also might still have a ''guaranteed'' grace period in 2.6 as Bel could have 20 ST for a few seconds like a few other bugged encounters. If it happens during that fight, it could also open a possibility for a quick LR + WoPoly attempt involving reloads. It's relying on a bug, unfair but.... so is the challenge I keep the hope of eventually finding a way to break the encounter for all class to be able to push through... someday maybe.
@Harpagornis little update for my completions, Sirus the F/I and Vega the Sorcerer, no specific additional challenges listed on the first page.
Edit: It seems that Bel could have some kind of grace period in 2.6 for a few rounds... for anything but saves vs spells.
Histaminii's last fight with a Cavalier took around 15 rounds for a win so i'd say that our current assumptions on DPS are becoming pretty accurate. I still don't think that any single class cleric of any kind is going to be as simple as that for some reasons, that fight always have a surprise that i forget about until i get there which requires last minute adjustments. This is also assuming that you will have absolutely no need for any Bel tools for the ambush, which Mr Salty didn't have to care about due to Slay Living, which also might still have a ''guaranteed'' grace period in 2.6 as Bel could have 20 ST for a few seconds like a few other bugged encounters. If it happens during that fight, it could also open a possibility for a quick LR + WoPoly attempt involving reloads. It's relying on a bug, unfair but.... so is the challenge I keep the hope of eventually finding a way to break the encounter for all class to be able to push through... someday maybe.
@Harpagornis little update for my completions, Sirus the F/I and Vega the Sorcerer, no specific additional challenges listed on the first page.
Edit: It seems that Bel could have some kind of grace period in 2.6 for a few rounds... for anything but saves vs spells.
Re: Question about Carsomyr..
Permanent bonuses to magic resistance such as a wizard slayer's bonus or the hell trials stack with Carsomyr's resistance. For items, it depends on timestamp order; anything you had on when you equipped Carsomyr won't stack with it, while anything you equip after will. Since you tend to switch weapons more often than you change anything else, this is inconvenient; you may have to unequip and reequip items whenever you switch for best results.
jmerry
1
Re: The LoB + SCS Solo Challenge vs Bhaal´s Cataclysm
and now I wonder why my C/M struggled that much... probably I lost more rounds of champion's strength buff than I thought.
@zaknas another thing that may be going on is the result of the horde of creatures in that fight. I only play no-reload and don't allow practice fights - with the result that I have very limited experience of Belhifet in LoB . However, the fight can get pretty congested. In that situation you're bound to be bumped around a bit and, whenever you get either bumped or hit, you get staggered slightly - which can sometimes result in losing an attack (you can see that happening regularly to enemies in BG2 when attacking them with high APR). Your theoretically available attacks may thus be difficult to achieve in that fight - even if you're able to keep toe-to-toe with Belhifet all the time, which I don't think is guaranteed.
Grond0
5
Re: Is Haer'Dalis a better blade than the player can make?
His ability to specialize is nice, but it isn't the equivalent of a fighter specializing. Unless it was changed in 2.6, he will not get the extra half attack per round that fighters get. A PC can have better stats - obscenely so if you've used tomes from BG1. So a PC with 19 strength is going to be better offensively than Haer'Dalis will, even with his ++ bonus. A PC with a decent constitution (and better HP rolls) will obviously be hardier, too. The advantage of a possible 19 dexterity goes without saying.
The tiefling bonuses are mostly situational (fire, cold, electricity) and a PC can achieve these by other obvious means. 15% physical damage resistance is nice - and not situational - but in actual performance it doesn't mean much. He is still very squishy if not protected by spells or using defensive spin. If played correctly, a blade should not be getting hit, so the %15 bonus shouldn't factor in unless everything goes absolutely south.
So, I guess the answer to the question depends on a PC bard's stats and hit point rolls. Given equal or lesser ability scores, H'D will be more powerful. But if you min/max, a PC can come out stronger. However, as is the case with just about every class in BG2, gear can change the balance of things. Give H'D a strength belt and the girdle of fortitude and things start to even up.
The tiefling bonuses are mostly situational (fire, cold, electricity) and a PC can achieve these by other obvious means. 15% physical damage resistance is nice - and not situational - but in actual performance it doesn't mean much. He is still very squishy if not protected by spells or using defensive spin. If played correctly, a blade should not be getting hit, so the %15 bonus shouldn't factor in unless everything goes absolutely south.
So, I guess the answer to the question depends on a PC bard's stats and hit point rolls. Given equal or lesser ability scores, H'D will be more powerful. But if you min/max, a PC can come out stronger. However, as is the case with just about every class in BG2, gear can change the balance of things. Give H'D a strength belt and the girdle of fortitude and things start to even up.
Re: The LoB + SCS Solo Challenge vs Bhaal´s Cataclysm
@Grond0 wiki says about martyr: "On a critical hit, target loses 15% of their maximum Hit Points (crushing dmg, no save, no counting LoB HP bonus)", so we should use 350 hp to calculate dps. That's why I really think LOB is cheating... buffing monster that much while nerfing our weapons, so unfair
https://baldursgate.fandom.com/wiki/Martyr%27s_Morningstar
It seemed a bit odd to me that the game engine would be able to pull out the non-LoB HPs in that situation, so I drafted a post suggesting someone tested it - and then thought I might as well do it myself .
Here's a screenshot of the result: The 15% loss of HPs appears to be directly applied - it's certainly not crushing damage as there's no damage reduction. The base HPs used for the calculation is indeed the full 1,130 of Belhifet's LoB total.
With damage of 169 + normal weapon damage, using Martyr's together with single weapon style looks like a pretty good option for characters that can both wield it and use arcane magic.
Grond0
5
Re: Is Haer'Dalis a better blade than the player can make?
It wasn't changed in 2.6; his specialization works exactly as it did before.
One other thing about his race: "tiefling" is treated internally as a variant of "elf". So he gets the strong charm/sleep resistance and an additional +1 to hit with certain weapons. With his specialization, Haer'Dalis gets +2 to hit and damage with short swords and long swords.
Also, when you're comparing recruitable NPCs to the PCs you build, remember that there are a number of protagonist-only perks. A familiar, Bhaalspawn abilities early on, the hell trials later...
One other thing about his race: "tiefling" is treated internally as a variant of "elf". So he gets the strong charm/sleep resistance and an additional +1 to hit with certain weapons. With his specialization, Haer'Dalis gets +2 to hit and damage with short swords and long swords.
Also, when you're comparing recruitable NPCs to the PCs you build, remember that there are a number of protagonist-only perks. A familiar, Bhaalspawn abilities early on, the hell trials later...
jmerry
5
Re: Is Haer'Dalis a better blade than the player can make?
It also depends on role, party composition and if you play with SCS. His natural resistances cannot be dispelled and they help reaching undispellable total immunity to certain damage types using gear, which allows some tactics which might be more dangerous for player blades who must rely (more) on temporary buffs. And he got his rather unique swords. Depending on how you use his natural features you might not end up necessarily more powerful, but the playing experience could differ somewhat (also since he is quite squishy).
Re: New Module - The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh, U1-U3
After a long hiatus, I have just completed an overhaul of the Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh. It has been made compatible with all of the Beamdog changes in the last year or two (a lot was made broken with their updates), all bugs fixed, more content, flourishes, polishing and extras added, updated and revised all haks and tlk files(see the listing).
As for some of the comments about "lack of direction" from some players, I totally get that criticism, but again, this is how the original module is. I've stayed faithful in that regard. You roleplay your character and figure it out. It's not a "hold you by the hand and spoonfeed you" module, which is what most people are accustomed anymore, it seems. But I digress.
For those looking for a new adventure, or perhaps already tried but would like to try it again, this one is locked, cocked and loaded: The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh U1-U3.
As for some of the comments about "lack of direction" from some players, I totally get that criticism, but again, this is how the original module is. I've stayed faithful in that regard. You roleplay your character and figure it out. It's not a "hold you by the hand and spoonfeed you" module, which is what most people are accustomed anymore, it seems. But I digress.
For those looking for a new adventure, or perhaps already tried but would like to try it again, this one is locked, cocked and loaded: The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh U1-U3.
Old_Gith
2
Re: Beamdog Forum Migration
This will probably be my last visit to the site before the migration, so I just wanted to leave a quick message to hope you are all well, and I'll see you all again in a few weeks!
Zaxares
5