Karoug was a really tough battle for me actually. Killing one Greater Wolfwere with BG1 level characters (they were tough even with BG2 level characters I recall)? Doable but a bit of a bitch. Doing it while he's surrounded by several other Wolfweres in a crowded space? So much harder!
Until the latest patch, I also had an issue where if I tried retreating to a different floor to draw a couple away from the group to slay them separately, Karough himself would disappear for good. Fortunately, the patch seemingly fixed that and I managed to take out 3 wolfweres alone (no issues there) then the last two and Karoug himself.
Hardest fight so far though. Incidentally since I'm an archer, hit and run is what I do - I don't stand in a small area and fight head on, that would be suicide.
I always used to really struggle with Mendas for some reason, but wiped the floor with him this time. Took him separately from his friend, naturally, but neither gave me much hassle individually. Helped that my two mages were magic missiling the bastards like the spells were going out of style as Kondor and the Sword of Balduran slashed at them.
Ugh, basically every dragon fight for me, especially the Abazigal's son (Spell Immunity against abjuration makes me cry). It probably doesn't help that I put a bunch of self imposed rules on spellcasters (no summons, time stop, contingencies, mirror image, or stoneskin), and how easily I get screwed up by wing buffett.
Karoug was a really tough battle for me actually. Killing one Greater Wolfwere with BG1 level characters (they were tough even with BG2 level characters I recall)? Doable but a bit of a bitch. Doing it while he's surrounded by several other Wolfweres in a crowded space? So much harder!
Until the latest patch, I also had an issue where if I tried retreating to a different floor to draw a couple away from the group to slay them separately, Karough himself would disappear for good. Fortunately, the patch seemingly fixed that and I managed to take out 3 wolfweres alone (no issues there) then the last two and Karoug himself.
Hardest fight so far though. Incidentally since I'm an archer, hit and run is what I do - I don't stand in a small area and fight head on, that would be suicide.
I always used to really struggle with Mendas for some reason, but wiped the floor with him this time. Took him separately from his friend, naturally, but neither gave me much hassle individually. Helped that my two mages were magic missiling the bastards like the spells were going out of style as Kondor and the Sword of Balduran slashed at them.
Yeah, good point. I remember some epic battles in that ship. Didn't have that much trouble this time; didn't even have to separate the pack! Two fighter types. Two mage types. Fighters popped upstairs and engaged. Once all the wolfweres were attacking something, popped up the mages. Spammed emotion/horror/glitterdust. After two rounds, it was effectively just Karoug vs. fighters and magic missiles.
Karoug was a really tough battle for me actually. Killing one Greater Wolfwere with BG1 level characters (they were tough even with BG2 level characters I recall)? Doable but a bit of a bitch. Doing it while he's surrounded by several other Wolfweres in a crowded space? So much harder!
Until the latest patch, I also had an issue where if I tried retreating to a different floor to draw a couple away from the group to slay them separately, Karough himself would disappear for good. Fortunately, the patch seemingly fixed that and I managed to take out 3 wolfweres alone (no issues there) then the last two and Karoug himself.
Hardest fight so far though. Incidentally since I'm an archer, hit and run is what I do - I don't stand in a small area and fight head on, that would be suicide.
I always used to really struggle with Mendas for some reason, but wiped the floor with him this time. Took him separately from his friend, naturally, but neither gave me much hassle individually. Helped that my two mages were magic missiling the bastards like the spells were going out of style as Kondor and the Sword of Balduran slashed at them.
Yeah, good point. I remember some epic battles in that ship. Didn't have that much trouble this time; didn't even have to separate the pack! Two fighter types. Two mage types. Fighters popped upstairs and engaged. Once all the wolfweres were attacking something, popped up the mages. Spammed emotion/horror/glitterdust. After two rounds, it was effectively just Karoug vs. fighters and magic missiles.
This was certainly one case where Tutu's ridiculous spawn system made the ship a living hell - leaving one floor meant that when you returned to another, everything had already respawned. And when I last played through Tutu, it wasn't even on Insane difficulty...
Demigorgon for me many years ago, i haven't tried recently, I'm playing through now i started a new bg2 play through after finishing bg:ee (just doesn't feel right night not continuing all the way to the end) i might head that way soon...ish.
Alec'Letec would probably be mine, now, but I don't really consider him difficult so much he just takes a stupid grocery list of preparation. Potions of Mirrored Eyes, potions of freedom, and something to protect from Silence (Vocalize, magic defense potions, etc.) are all pretty much required since they apparently decided to make him completely immune to Otiluke's Resilient Sphere. So lame. Probably the worst encounter design in the entire franchise.
Alec'Letec would probably be mine, now, but I don't really consider him difficult so much he just takes a stupid grocery list of preparation. Potions of Mirrored Eyes, potions of freedom, and something to protect from Silence (Vocalize, magic defense potions, etc.) are all pretty much required since they apparently decided to make him completely immune to Otiluke's Resilient Sphere. So lame. Probably the worst encounter design in the entire franchise.
Alternatively, all you need is two mages - one with Cloudkill, the other with Polymorph Self. The former fires off Cloudkill and flees upstairs. The latter changes to a Mustard Slime and allows themselves to be chased by the demon, thus ensuring it stays within the Cloudkill radius. He has magic resistance, but dies instantly if it doesn't work. It's easily possible to take out all 7 incarnations of him doing this, and Tracea Carol.
That said, you can still make it easier. It's tough but possible to draw Carol out, kill her, and thus not have to deal with her with the others. Haste, Protection From Evil, etc are still useful. It also may require a couple of attempts to ensure Cloudkill goes off before the first Death Gaze hits.
Cheesy but effective. Note that the Mustard Slime needs to stay in the room - if everyone leaves, the Cloudkill automatically dissipates.
Aec'Lec'Tec is a pretty big pain in the ass. Fun battle though.
If we include all Infinity Engine games though, Xyunemei in vanilla Icewind Dale. I hear tell she got nerfed in one of the expansions that I never got. Super difficult battle, very fun though.
I haven't finished BG2 yet (almost at Irenicus) so I'm sure there are harder fights to come, but for me the worst fight was that one against the Final Guardians in Watcher's Keep. With the Hive Mother beholder, the marilith and four high-level humanoid demons, each of which is worth 20,000 XP+.
It took at least 5 tries before I made it, and that was with help from devas, elemental princes and a horde of cannon fodder.
Demigorgon, definitely. But I eventually got to a point in all three BG games where nothing was too hard, at least after a reload or two. In my last run through BG2, even Demigorgon died without too much fuss when my PC mage dropped a boatload of epic spells on his head.
If we include all Infinity Engine games though, Xyunemei in vanilla Icewind Dale. I hear tell she got nerfed in one of the expansions that I never got. Super difficult battle, very fun though.
Hm, really? I never found Yuxonemei (or however the hell you spell it) too dificult. Her followers come at you from predictable angles and always seem to run into my CC, and in my last playthrough I absolutely shredded the room with a combination of webs, entangles, and spike growths. Yux herself could pack a punch, but her spells weren't too scary and in melee a well-equipped tank could handle her pretty easily. Even on Insane mode, when mage reinforcements ambush you from the back midway through the fight, it still wasn't that bad. Certainly not as hard as Belhifet.
I've never had any problems with Aec'Lec'Tec. Send in a fighter or two first, survive that whole gaze stuff, then march the rest of the party downstairs. One fighter dances with Aec'Lec'Tec, the mage(s) blast the cultists in the back, the others deal with the cultists in the front. By the time the first fighter has taken down Aec'Lec'Tec, all the cultists are dead so there are no reincarnations to deal with.
my hardest battle ever was against erdgolems in bg2 in this sphere u can*t leave until u reach the end of it. i "overread" that the can only be damaged with blunt weapons. no one of my chars in the group do have one in his inventory and the last savegame i do have was one inside this sphere. so i must load a savegame that was hours ago and restuff my people. that was a hard one for me
Demigorgon, definitely. But I eventually got to a point in all three BG games where nothing was too hard, at least after a reload or two. In my last run through BG2, even Demigorgon died without too much fuss when my PC mage dropped a boatload of epic spells on his head.
If we include all Infinity Engine games though, Xyunemei in vanilla Icewind Dale. I hear tell she got nerfed in one of the expansions that I never got. Super difficult battle, very fun though.
Hm, really? I never found Yuxonemei (or however the hell you spell it) too dificult. Her followers come at you from predictable angles and always seem to run into my CC, and in my last playthrough I absolutely shredded the room with a combination of webs, entangles, and spike growths. Yux herself could pack a punch, but her spells weren't too scary and in melee a well-equipped tank could handle her pretty easily. Even on Insane mode, when mage reinforcements ambush you from the back midway through the fight, it still wasn't that bad. Certainly not as hard as Belhifet.
Ah Icewind Dale. Yxunomei (I had to look up the spelling, but this seems to be correct) is such a fun fight! Generally by that point, you only have a few weapons that can hit her. I generally have my Fighter/Thief (always a halfling, though I might try a gnome) with a really good dagger, and my Ranger with the super-OP bow in a room right before you fight her. Generally, I throw in some fireballs (occasionally a cloudkill), though sometimes I start off with a sneak attack from the thief. Interestingly, the most annoying part of that fight is the traps, not the actual creatures (not that they aren't hard as well.) Thinking back on it, all of the big fights in Icewind Dale are so much fun. The story is very one-sided, and there aren't any cool NPCs to chat with (unless you download a very cool mod that includes some awesome NPCs), but it still a very enjoyable game. I hope that an enhanced edition comes out for Icewind Dale, just to throw in some story stuff so that people will be willing to play the game, and then they can experience the awesomeness of the fight scenes!
Also, I think that the Aec'Letec fight was much easier for me than some people. His gaze never affected me--did I get lucky with saves or does he sometimes just not use it?
And the Sarevok fight--I beat it earlier today with my first evil playthrough ever...Montaron (with a potion) at 24 Strength and the Short Sword +3 sneaks behind Sarevok, CRITICAL HIT SNEAK ATTACK and brings Sarevok to Badly Injured...Then Edwin threw some MMM's, and Dorn just shot him with Biting Arrows w/ Poison Weapon. Also, for help in that fight, Zone of Sweet Air (Clean air? might be getting the name wrong) is your best friend to get rid of those Cloudkills.
Currently playing through BG2 with 'sword coast stratagems II' + tactics mod installed and on nightmare mode. Basically, every single fight is a challenge. Just getting out of the dungeon at the start was impossible due to the strength of enemies versus my low level characters. I had to drop the difficulty down a notch... it is literally impossible otherwise.
But on nightmare mode, i cant even begin to touch one of the liches in Crooked Crane. I left him alone and went to do the DeArnis Keep. The first level of Trolls were tough but i managed to knock them off. Now off to the second level...
Demigorgon, definitely. But I eventually got to a point in all three BG games where nothing was too hard, at least after a reload or two. In my last run through BG2, even Demigorgon died without too much fuss when my PC mage dropped a boatload of epic spells on his head.
If we include all Infinity Engine games though, Xyunemei in vanilla Icewind Dale. I hear tell she got nerfed in one of the expansions that I never got. Super difficult battle, very fun though.
Hm, really? I never found Yuxonemei (or however the hell you spell it) too dificult. Her followers come at you from predictable angles and always seem to run into my CC, and in my last playthrough I absolutely shredded the room with a combination of webs, entangles, and spike growths. Yux herself could pack a punch, but her spells weren't too scary and in melee a well-equipped tank could handle her pretty easily. Even on Insane mode, when mage reinforcements ambush you from the back midway through the fight, it still wasn't that bad. Certainly not as hard as Belhifet.
I was willing to believe we were playing the same game until you said "certainly not as hard as Belhifet." Literally the same party that I had said super tough battle with Xyunemei kicked the crap out of Belhifet on the first try. I wondered if something was just super lucky so I tried it again - and again - and probably about 3 times before I said holy crap that is just an easy final boss. I had much more trouble with the Tarnished Sentries or whatever who were just below Belhifet in the Ice Tower. I'm not trying to say you're full of it or anything though, sorry if I come across that way. As I said, the Expansion sets made some things more difficult and others less difficult. I really do think we played different versions. I'm literally on Icewind Dale 1.0, thieves can't even use light crossbows. >_>
Aec'Letec and the Demon Knight I found to be approximately equally hard, since I don't consider a battle "won" unless all of my characters survive. Nit-picky, I know, but I will reload until I get a perfect battle. BTW, is Death Ward bugged against Aec'letec? It really *should* protect against his ability but it does not. I ended up having to mentally figure out that a Potion of Mirrored Eyes would do the trick (I only needed one since he always preferentially targeted my PC with the gaze), and I hadn't read about the fight so I had to figure out the other trick with the encounter.
Demon Knight was about as bad though, if you break the mirror it's crazy and if you don't it's fireball central.
By comparison, I lured out Sarevok away from his minions (the one caster who pops up near the entrance? A very gratifying critical hit for 46 with my character!) and beat him relatively easily this time around with my swashbuckler's combat party. Jaheira was my only spellcaster and she mostly just had heals and slow poison prepared. It feels good to beat Sarevok at his own game: melee.
Mine was Abazigal with Ascension mod. DAMN that fight was hard, but definitely felt EPIC.
I played that w/ Tactics installed. It was brutal. I was not able to win without having dead party members (died permanently). Had to release them and solo the entire battle.
The fight that completely broke my spirit on my first playthrough and caused me to not play BG for about 10 years was Minsc and Boo. I didn't pay enough attention to his griping about how I promised to help him rescue Dynaheir and he went berserk and wiped out my entire party before anyone could even touch him. We hadn't even made it to the Nashkel mines yet. I've since forgiven the crazy bastard and hit rat
Elminster. Modding him to use silver fire and an unlimited supply of spells was somewhat of a suicidal step. Thankfully, Charname was accompanied an epic-level arcanist and the battle was won after a long duel between the wizards.
Comments
Never cheesed it. Just kept trying. Again and again and again...
With 4th to 6th level characters pre-Baldur's Gate and without cheese, Drizzit is tough as well.
Until the latest patch, I also had an issue where if I tried retreating to a different floor to draw a couple away from the group to slay them separately, Karough himself would disappear for good. Fortunately, the patch seemingly fixed that and I managed to take out 3 wolfweres alone (no issues there) then the last two and Karoug himself.
Hardest fight so far though. Incidentally since I'm an archer, hit and run is what I do - I don't stand in a small area and fight head on, that would be suicide.
I always used to really struggle with Mendas for some reason, but wiped the floor with him this time. Took him separately from his friend, naturally, but neither gave me much hassle individually. Helped that my two mages were magic missiling the bastards like the spells were going out of style as Kondor and the Sword of Balduran slashed at them.
Two fighter types. Two mage types. Fighters popped upstairs and engaged. Once all the wolfweres were attacking something, popped up the mages. Spammed emotion/horror/glitterdust. After two rounds, it was effectively just Karoug vs. fighters and magic missiles.
That said, you can still make it easier. It's tough but possible to draw Carol out, kill her, and thus not have to deal with her with the others. Haste, Protection From Evil, etc are still useful. It also may require a couple of attempts to ensure Cloudkill goes off before the first Death Gaze hits.
Cheesy but effective. Note that the Mustard Slime needs to stay in the room - if everyone leaves, the Cloudkill automatically dissipates.
If we include all Infinity Engine games though, Xyunemei in vanilla Icewind Dale. I hear tell she got nerfed in one of the expansions that I never got. Super difficult battle, very fun though.
It took at least 5 tries before I made it, and that was with help from devas, elemental princes and a horde of cannon fodder.
I should really play Tactics one of these days. Hm, really? I never found Yuxonemei (or however the hell you spell it) too dificult. Her followers come at you from predictable angles and always seem to run into my CC, and in my last playthrough I absolutely shredded the room with a combination of webs, entangles, and spike growths. Yux herself could pack a punch, but her spells weren't too scary and in melee a well-equipped tank could handle her pretty easily. Even on Insane mode, when mage reinforcements ambush you from the back midway through the fight, it still wasn't that bad. Certainly not as hard as Belhifet.
Thinking back on it, all of the big fights in Icewind Dale are so much fun. The story is very one-sided, and there aren't any cool NPCs to chat with (unless you download a very cool mod that includes some awesome NPCs), but it still a very enjoyable game. I hope that an enhanced edition comes out for Icewind Dale, just to throw in some story stuff so that people will be willing to play the game, and then they can experience the awesomeness of the fight scenes!
Also, I think that the Aec'Letec fight was much easier for me than some people. His gaze never affected me--did I get lucky with saves or does he sometimes just not use it?
And the Sarevok fight--I beat it earlier today with my first evil playthrough ever...Montaron (with a potion) at 24 Strength and the Short Sword +3 sneaks behind Sarevok, CRITICAL HIT SNEAK ATTACK and brings Sarevok to Badly Injured...Then Edwin threw some MMM's, and Dorn just shot him with Biting Arrows w/ Poison Weapon. Also, for help in that fight, Zone of Sweet Air (Clean air? might be getting the name wrong) is your best friend to get rid of those Cloudkills.
But on nightmare mode, i cant even begin to touch one of the liches in Crooked Crane. I left him alone and went to do the DeArnis Keep. The first level of Trolls were tough but i managed to knock them off. Now off to the second level...
Come on people, really? Nobody remembers Arkanis Gath?
Literally the same party that I had said super tough battle with Xyunemei kicked the crap out of Belhifet on the first try. I wondered if something was just super lucky so I tried it again - and again - and probably about 3 times before I said holy crap that is just an easy final boss. I had much more trouble with the Tarnished Sentries or whatever who were just below Belhifet in the Ice Tower.
I'm not trying to say you're full of it or anything though, sorry if I come across that way. As I said, the Expansion sets made some things more difficult and others less difficult. I really do think we played different versions. I'm literally on Icewind Dale 1.0, thieves can't even use light crossbows. >_>
Aec'Letec and the Demon Knight I found to be approximately equally hard, since I don't consider a battle "won" unless all of my characters survive. Nit-picky, I know, but I will reload until I get a perfect battle. BTW, is Death Ward bugged against Aec'letec? It really *should* protect against his ability but it does not. I ended up having to mentally figure out that a Potion of Mirrored Eyes would do the trick (I only needed one since he always preferentially targeted my PC with the gaze), and I hadn't read about the fight so I had to figure out the other trick with the encounter.
Demon Knight was about as bad though, if you break the mirror it's crazy and if you don't it's fireball central.
By comparison, I lured out Sarevok away from his minions (the one caster who pops up near the entrance? A very gratifying critical hit for 46 with my character!) and beat him relatively easily this time around with my swashbuckler's combat party. Jaheira was my only spellcaster and she mostly just had heals and slow poison prepared. It feels good to beat Sarevok at his own game: melee.
I've since forgiven the crazy bastard and hit rat