The potion swap has been around forever. Drink a potion in the inventory, before leaving inventory, swap it with a scroll, your cleric has just cast Chain Contingency. Well you can do the same thing with gems, you just have to do it twice. Drink the potion, swap it with any ONE gem, leave inventory. Gem is now at 0. Repeat the process and the gem wraps around the 0 to a huge number. The speedrun was from a friend of mine and he is much better than me with the sorc :-) Did you see where he releases his familiar to warp through the door? Has to leave the familiar behind, but that I thought that was inventive.
Yes, invisibility would have gotten me past them, butt... The Gith were in a prison cell that i didn't need to go into at all and the shadows were in a crypt that I could have walked right by. Just part of my 100% completion, all bad guys must be dead. No, the Gith sleep is targeted.
Ok, that clears it up. If you could plan ahead like that, it seems skellys/whatever could have handled both gith and shadows without putting charname at risk. Anyway, I'll keep it in mind.
Re the speed run, he seems to be using Knock A LOT! Are you sure it's not needed to complete bodhi/shadow thieves/underdark? Maybe it can be done without, but time is saved if you have it. It seems at one point like he leaves the familiar behind but then it's in his pack again, so maybe it jumps there when you go between some areas or something? I love the warp shenanigans with monster summoning etc though. Not something I'll be using of course
So far there are no locks that can not be bashed that are necessary. Just finished big red so both dragons are down. It's getting kinda boring. The only thing i can envision being a problem in SoA might be beholders, though I doubt it. I probably should have started in ToB.
I think I will start my 5 character run and periodically come back to the sorc. Probably do one quest per day. It has gotten too repetitive at this point.
I think I will go with only using spells I find for mage and skald. Both will get level 5 Cone of Cold and MSIII from hla scrolls. Other than that I will only have three spells per level scribed at one time over level 4. I know all spells are not available by finding them, or by random chance, so this should keep the power of the mage down. I wont start a challenge because, frankly, I don't think anyone will participate. I will however start a thread on my progress eventually.
Sounds good - looking forward to seeing your thread. Will you keep it in this forum or somewhere else?
Btw, I looked through the v 1.2 patch and discovered Sunfire no longer bypasses MR. This makes it sort of a bad pick now, and I'm considering fitting both Breach and Lower Resistance instead (Animate Dead, Cloudkill and Spell Immunity being already "locked in" of course).
I'm also toying with the idea of the Dragon Disciple kit (its breath weapon now correctly bypasses MR, btw). I'm not sure if the 1.2 patch has corrected the faulty kit description, but in case you didn't know, its downside is not fewer spells known, but fewer spells castable per day (1/spell level). The thing is, at low levels (up to around 4) I'm only casting Shield and Invisibility anyway, so I don't need many spell slots. OTOH, extra hp and AC at level 1 comes very much in handy. The breath weapon more or less replaces one lvl 3 spell, but comes earlier (level 3) than Fireball/Skull Trap. For the long game, of course fewer spells per level is a downside, but it's really a question if Project Image will have access to 6 Time Stop or 5 Time Stop - meh.
There's also the upside of eventually getting 100% non-dispellable Fire Resistance in a pauper build, which (together with 60 base hp at level 10 rather than 40 base hp) should improve survivability in a no-reload game. It also makes Incendiary Cloud a rather interesting alternative to ADHW (it's also as "party friendly" for the solo dragon disciple using fiends and mordy swords). The Con bonus is also useful for countering con penalties inflicted by familiar deaths or game events. All in all, I think both the benefits and drawbacks are rather small, but Dragon Disciple favorably shifts the power of the class from high level to low-mid level, which is the grindy and hard part. I'm carefully positive to taking this route, but I'd like to hear your opinion on it first.
I'm not familiar at all with sorc kits, but it sounds good.
Playing the game again and going with no Knock I am 99% sure there is no REQUIRED doors that can't be bashed. As long as you have DUHM and decent strength, you should be able to get to slayer form. After you can always just go slayer and bash. If I remember right the only two locks that I wanted to bash but couldn't were the chest with the Crimson Dart the first level of Watchers Keep, and the one with the Rune of Clangeddin for the Runehammer +5 in the cabin at the beginning of Sendai's Enclave. The Crimson Dart one might be bashable but I always go the first level of Watchers Keep early and may not have been strong enough, even with DUHM.
For no-reload I would seriously consider some kind of spell deflection early, or maybe Poly Self.
Looking over the spell selections now there are some changes I would have made. Timing on taking them would have changed too.
1st level there are 3 maybe 4 necessary for SoA and beyond. MM, FF, Pro Evil and maybe Shield anything else you can use in BG1 will be ok. 2nd level there are only 2 necessary spells. Resist Fear and MI are the only musts. Everything else needed for BG1 just throw in. 3rd level, Haste, MMM, ST and Remove Magic are the backbone. The fifth one could be anything you choose. 4th level there are only 2. SS and either Wizard Eye or Farsight. Improved Invisibility IS mandatory at some point but there are, what, 4 spells that give the same effect. So dealers choice there. Spiders help early so I would pick it, but it is not a must. Skellies and Stinking Cloud serve the same purpose so... If I had it to do over again I would have taken Polymorph Self and taken it early. Flind form can take out all big golems before Suldanesslar because they all have doors to block them and Flind's halberd keeps him out of reach of fists and cloud, and is +3 enchanted. The jelly is the important form though. Maybe 3rd level Minor Spell Deflection could protect from the early traps though. By the time I got my 5th picks of both levels I already had Spell trap. Jelly has the bonus of being immune to some AoE though. 5th level also has only 2 MUSTS. Animate Dead and Spell Immunity belong in every solo sorc's run. Sunfire and summons don't go well together. I personally love Cloudkill but I have barely used it. Breach is a good pick, but as I haven't picked it and haven't missed it yet... Lower Resistance for me is a must have, but it is not necessary to finish the game for many play styles. 6th level again only has 2. PfMW and True Seeing. All else is play style and if you take the spell effect of choice at this level or another. 7th level I would absolutely take PI, Spell Sequencer and Mordy. If I had it to do over I would take Minor Spell Deflection early and Remove Magic at 22 and taken Spell turning here as my second level 7 pick. It would have freed up a 9th level spell by dropping Spell Trap. 8th level just doesn't have more than 6 worthy picks. A baboon smoking weed, could choose any 4 of those and make it work. 9th level there is CC and TS. Everything else just fills in the gaps left behind by all the other spell picks.
I only have the sewer Flayers and Unseeing Eye to go then it's off to Brynnlaw. Really, I don't foresee any problems until ToB's dragons, and other bosses. Maybe. Oh, and the seals on the final level of Watchers Keep.
Anyway, this being the first games I've played in many years, I've realized that I really miss items. So I am putting off my 5 character run to play the ultimate items user, the Blade. Both will go quick, so next week this time I will start my thread. I will keep you posted on my sorc progress this week.
I don't remember the beholders being so easy. Cast I 10' R went through the level to make all the beholders spawn. Went back to the beginning cast PI, PI casts SW and planetar, sent planetar and skellie out to start the fun. While they were fighting the first gauth PI cast wizard eye. PI and eye followed the skellie and planetar popping out more SW till there were three. Then just replaced the summons when they died and cast ADHW from a safe distance. The sewer Flayers were not much of a problem, just time consuming. Was invisible but had CC with Simmy, PI and Mordy, the battle over my invisible, immobile body lasted for a while. Finally having picked wish, I will be using every PI I cast try for the wand or potion. If I am not mistaken, you can get a potion of clarity and wand of spell striking from it. Both will be helpful. Do you have to kill the PI to get the item? I can't remember.
Thanks for the confirmation. I'll consider early spell deflection/poly self for the repertoire - possibly trying to fit it even in BG1. I've cleared the Nashkel Mines so far with my test sorceror (when I've completed this run on my iPad, I'll get both games for mac and start the no reload attempt with SCS installed) and the traps there were completely non threatening for a level 3 sorceror with d4 hit dice... Not sure how it gets in Durlag's Tower though - I'll be sure to read up the traps there and see if any of them requires protective measures to complete. (Side note: I teamed up with Xan since his Charm spell trivialized the Mulahey encounter - no summons ever came - but it made me realize how incredibly annoying party members are. I look forward to kicking him out. I also assume Blindness will have much the same effect on Mulahey's behavior - if not, I'd probably have to wait until level 4-5 to solo this in my no reload attempt).
I think Beholders (and many other foes) will be more challenging with SCS. Especially relying on PI and "not being there" for defense should be countered by some scripting using Teleport Without Error to home in on your location. Especially dangerous on demons as they see invisible and Pro:Evil no longer works on demons you have not yourself gated. This is why I'll be using ORS as additional defense - in your run it seems unnecessary.
According to ye olde spell reference, these are the potions/wands you can create with Wish:
"Create a random potion in the caster's inventory. The potion is chosen from Oil of Speed, Antidote and Potions of Regeneration, Extra Healing, Superior Healing, Genius, Clarity, Absorbtion, Cold Resistance, Insulation, and Insight.
Create a random wand in caster's inventory. The wand is chosen from Wands of Fear, Magic Missiles, Paralyzation, Fire, Frost, Lightning, Spell Striking and Cursing."
Any additional data you can gather on this would be most helpful (as in - do some of them show up more than others or is the above "menu" off in any way). Also, if it's possible to sell such a wand and buy it back fully recharged, and how many charges it is created with. I assume the item will be created in YOUR inventory and that PI killing is moot, but confirmation on this would also be great.
Have no idea about Vocalize - if it does reduce ct for some reason, that is a bug and should be reported. Btw, with your BG1 experience, what would you say would be the safest way to level up a fledgling solo sorceror up to say level 4-5? Killing gibberlings (mostly) and doing the non-combat quests in Beregost as well as the witch+fishermen quest north of FAI got me to level 3 (though I had to run like a greased bunny to avoid ankhegs in the fishing village). A strategy that reduces risk to be waylaid by enemies is preferable since I'm planning for no reload (those archer bandits can mean GG despite Shield - you may not have time to run away). Thoughts?
Ok, the wand is created in the PI's inventory. Maybe it will drop when the PI dissipates, but I didn't have the patience, I just killed it. Wands come with 5 charges, and yes, you can sell then buy back for fully charged wands. Spent a half hour creating wands and potions, and came to the conclusion that the creation is completely random. Five of my first six wands were Lightning, then never got another one.
Have you considered taking Charm Person? If memory serves, it allows for some quick level gaining. I didn't take it because I only used a staff and needed MM. Just a thought.
Invisibility lasts for 24 hours, does travel time take more than that? There is no doubt, " You have been waylaid... " is the worst thing a soloer can hear in the early levels. Solo poverty is even worse. As for solo, poverty, no-reload. Well, you are gonna have your hands full.
I have a 3 day assignment at work, so won't be able to play, but will check in here. If I can help just let me know.
Good findings on the item creation! I'll be taking Wish as my last 9th pick at lvl 25. My decision to play Dragon Disciple complicates starting attributes somewhat as the kit requires Cha 15, so I think I'll permit myself tomes and Lum's machine to not have to start with 18 Wis (and so I have something to show for my toil as I import in BG2). I should be able to handle Watcher's Keep at level 25 I reckon (I'll only be missing my last picks at levels 5, 6 and 7). I do think I'll cap out before Hell with my completionist ambitions though, so I can't rely on the Wis bonus there (unless I can accept limping on with 17 Wis until ToB).
I did consider Charm Person, seeing what it did to Mulahey, but it's really very narrow when you consider it in a SCS no-reload scenario. Yes, it broke THAT script, but SCS changes stuff and what if he had saved against the Charm? My level 3 pick will be an "I WIN BG1" spell, choices being: Blindness, Charm Person, Sleep or Spook. Spook has very short duration and Charm/Sleep both have limitations on who they'll work on (no sleeping basilisks). So far, the SAFEST way seems to be to use Glitterdust off screen until save is failed (after using Invisibility on rabbit to scout). Then I have 4 rounds (its duration) where the opp gets -4 to further saves and has no line of sight. The best save-or-else then must be Blindness - few are immune, it doesn't go away when you hit them, and it lasts for hours. Also, attack bonuses for my throwing daggers, yey! It seems like the safest way to take out problematic foes at levels 5+ until you get spiders and skull traps.
Oh yeah, Invisibility ASAP at lvl 4 is the best solution to travelling no doubt, the problem is getting there. MOAR hit points and AC is the only solution I can find, hence: Dragon Disciple with Shield and Find Familiar as starting spells. Shield also protects against Magic Missile which allowed me to solo Nimbul (the assassin) and Tranzig (or whatever that beregost mage is called) at level 3! Both seem to cast at level 7 (four useless missiles came flying my way...oh, about 7-8 times or so - sheesh, I hope SCS makes them properly statted NPCs apart from improving their AI. Obviously, I wouldn't be so bold with SCS and no-reload.)
If you have time, your best and safest low level XP farming tips for a low level solo sorc in BG1 would be appreciated. What quests do you usually do before hitting level 4?
Ankhegs are my favorite thing to farm once I can kill them efficiently. Gibberlings are probably the best until then. I forget what the gnolls give but after sleep or blindness they should be easy. Highhenge should have a bunch of gnolls if I remember. Er... on second thought, highhenge has skellies too I think. Dire wolves give good exp if you can find a regular spawn point and have a method for killing. The biggest difference in our playthroughs is the alignment we chose. Fairy dragon with innate I 10' R helps tons early in the game, and they are decent fighters at that stage. As long as you pull them quickly once they get hit that is. With Mirror Image he can get well into the battle before getting hit. Also if you can find a blocking point, like maybe the north east corner in the area between Friendly Arm Inn and Berrogast, an invisible familiar can block the point. Sorry about the spelling, it has been a while since I've played BG1.
Also you can stay ahead of slow moving animals and pelt them with daggers. Or like in my solo run WITH items, invisible familiars can trip up the wolves and dire wolves and give you space to fling pointy things at them. I used darts though. Daggers are more expensive right? Bears give 250 exp I think, or is it 150. Dire wolves give 900 or 950.
:-) With all this talk, I am gonna end up buying BGEE.
Oops, missed something. Quests. Not sure I can remember, and some of this might be wrong but. Boots from spider house, ring from the mine( it can be gotten with very little effort ) book, skull in highhenge if I can isolate a skellie, chicken should be doable( area is also good for farming dire wolves if I remember right ) If you go slowly the gnoll stonghold IS possible, wouldn't try it in no-reload though. Iirc there is a winter wolf in the area to the right of it though that gave me fits. Silke? ( not sure that is the right name ), and the git in the inn there. Both could be tough though. All of this may or may not be right for level 4 or lower. It's just been so long. Isn't there a little mage with attitude( or downright evilness ) to the right of the mines, with a quest? Lots of gibberlings down in that area too i think.
Alas, all familiars have been nerfed for BG:EE (and rightly so I might add) so no more invisibility for the fairy dragon in BG1! Looks like you'll have to develop some new strats if you decide to buy BGEE And you were already finding this a grind!
Having witnessed the power of Blindness now first hand (I found a scroll at the Gnoll Stronghold so I could try it - my test sorceror is an early incarnation with Str 10 and Larloch's Minor Drain... don't ask, it seemed like a good idea at the time), I actually think farming Ankhegs will be doable from level 3 and on. Probably them wolves too. Then basilisks from level 5 and on. Silke and most early casters/bosses should be doable with little risk past level 5. With the old, go invisible, move out of sight, spam Glitterdust, tag them with Blindess, kill them.
I've hit invisibility (level 4) with my test sorceror and boy does it trivialize some things - like Gnoll Stronghold. Actually killing each gnoll is a chore though, but Blindness and Glitterdust will help immensly. As will the DD fire breathing from level 3 - 3d8 cone with no save and bypasses MR - pretty powerful, though it scales poorly.
Throwing daggers are more expensive, but what's more - they're heavy at one lb EACH. An 18 Str char can carry max 200 of them - fewer if you want to be able to pick other stuff up and not be encumbered. Only some skellies drop them, so I foresee lots of restocking. However, I'll also pack a sling and 3x80 sling bullets from level 3 and on - though unproficient, it provides for rapid and cheap eutanasia of blinded victims from a safe distance without having to spend precious daggers. There's also the huge upside of dagger proficiency also being a melee weapon - with AC -1 (shield, dex, kit) and 14 hp (d6 hd, con, nerfed familiar), I'll be able to tank gibberlings at level 1, if they manage to close for melee! My level 6 proficiency will go to darts - no strength bonus but 3 apr instead of 2 makes it slightly better at caster disruption when using cast-and-attack. Also weightless, so you can stock up and have something to fall back on if daggers run out.
How are you handling traps without any means of trap detection? Meta gaming, reloading or just sucking it up with your d4 hd sorceror? This is my main reason for picking da rabbit. Overall, I'll try to not use exploits on my no-reload (like closing doors or blocking a passage with an invisible familiar) - I trust SCS will handle most non-deliberate AI problems too. My personal definition of "exploit" being something that wouldn't work in PnP or is otherwise just a trick pulled on an engine level.
:-) I try to avoid exploits too. When the fit hits the shan though I have used them. Probably once every three or four playthroughs. Its always when I haven't saved in a while, just got through a REALLY tough spot and am about to die if I don't use said exploit.
Many traps can be handled with high HP, Stoneskins or Mirror Image. I seriously don't remember all traps, and don't remember if I died or not.
Well, I bought BGEE. Wow, the crawl! Fairy Dragon is the same as it always was. Trying your dagger method, and I have to say I like it. No need for early MM. The smith in Beregost sells unlimited throwing daggers so its not so bad.
At level 4 now. Spell picks in order: Shield, Find Familiar, Blindness, Web. Web might be difficult to use in tight quarters but it makes so many things easy. Tough spots so far have been few. Friggin spiders man! Spider house has been my only reload. They didn't kill me but... Well it happened like this. Invisible and with familiar in pack I enter the house. They are too close and too many for blindness to work. OK, lure them out, string them along and blind them along the way. Wrong! They move too fast! I get outside and they are already surrounding me! Only one route open, back in the house to the same results, except couldn't get out. Went through the door into the other room so I could release the familiar and give him enough time to cast I 10' R. End result, me and tiny dragon invisible, stuck in a room with 4 invisible spiders. Got poisoned but it went away before I died. Can't target anything. The only way to become visible would be to talk to the familiar but to what end? Anyway reload. Next time I went in with the familiar invisible, so when I ran out the familiar left me a path open. Then I just ran around the buildings with the familiar left behind so when I came back around the familiar could step in front of them and give me enough time to blind one. Find a new group of buildings, rinse and repeat. Wolf almost got me once when shield ran out right when I was going to blind him. He must have rolled 5, 20s in a row ended up pulling the familiar in close and I 10' R. It was a close thing. Idjit mage in the carnival almost got me, his saving throws must be through the roof. He never failed one save. Luckily, he can't fight for squat. Survived his spells, barely, and got him focused on the familiar.
Anyway, what is the XP cap? Also, what level do I get new picks?
I can't believe how little I remember BG1. When I started playing BG2 again everything came back, not so for BG1.
Took MM for 4th level 1 pick, and Mirror Image for 2nd level 2 pick. I think it may have been sooner than I needed MI.
Is MMM needed, do you think? With only 3 picks I had hoped to take the spell turning spell. That way I don't have to take poly self as one of my two level four picks.
Ok, I got robbed. Why is it, that I don't have the extra kit classes? All I have is Blackguard. I bought it while in Europe, but that shouldn't make a difference. I should have bought it on this site, but was using my phone, and it was taking forever to get in. So I ended up typing in buy baldur's gate ee and went with the first site other than this one. Still shouldn't matter, should it? Did I not do something right when installing it, or is there a patch that I missed.
Anyone have a clue? I've looked all over my phone for anything I might have missed moving to my computer, and I think that I got it all.
I just started a new game as a chaotic good sorceror to test and I can confirm that you should NOT be getting I-10-r on your familiar. It seems you have an old version, pre familiar rebalancing (in which case you're probably enjoying +12 hp from it as well, instead of +6 as it should be now). I don't know if the latest patch comes bundled with BG:EE or if you have to install it manually, as I've only downloaded it from the app store on my iPad. Anyway, seems like you need a patch.
I stopped with my sorc test after getting to level 4 since it was such a grind and I had gathered the info I needed for sorcs specifically. I'm now doing a "typical" run with a party to get a better feel for BG1 as a whole. It's me (shapeshifter druid), minsc, dynaheir and imoen - and I intend to make lots of experiements with Dynaheir (she has much UNTAPPED power, lol) to see how things would fare with a solo sorc. Killing that mage in Carnival was easy peasy with a party of 4, even though we were low level. Being subject to 7 apr is a bad place to be for a caster. Progressing has been a breeze and I'm now in Cloakwood, having cleared out both the Ankheg pit and bandit camp around level 3ish.
One thing about SCS: Mirror Image no longer handles AoE traps. This makes Polymorph Self more attractive for my run, as stoneskin + jelly should steamroll every trap in the game (or at least provide better protection than minor deflection + mirror image) - especially after SCS has cleaned up the ones that erroneously ignore MR for no good reason. I think Polymorph Self combined with Stoneskin + Mirror Image can be pretty powerful, though very susceptible to dispelling of course. Something to test with Dynaheir at least.
Anyway, as long as you don't HAVE to remove a trap as long as you know where it is, I think my rabbit familiar is still the best option for handling them. With I-10´-r gone, there's no really appealing alternative (the Imp still gets a tone downed poly self 1/day but I'm not sure it's something to rely on).
I think it's ok to skip on MMM as long as you have a way to kill mustard jellies, battle horrors (golem type) and skeleton warriors in BG1. Polymorph Self is ironically an alternative, but I think the spiders also hit as +1 weapons (?).
I'm not finding BG1 the enjoyable experience I had hoped. I'm almost through the Cloakwood Mines now with a 5-6 level party of 4. Some considerations:
1) The story is only decent compared to BG2, but even more the execution of it is really lacking. Quests come in one way, one line NPC communication far too often, with only occasional glimpses of actual interaction taking place. The main plot and subquests feel poorly executed by BG2 standards - or perhaps it is me that has an overly fond memory of my BG2 experience.
2) The iPad is a horrible interface to the infinity engine. Especially with a party, you really want the speed and precision of actual mouse clicks - and the stability of a table top operating system. So many bugs and "misclicks" that are not really misses, just inevitable built-in problems of the whole idea of a grown man's hands on tiny paper dolls on a touch screen.
3) Having a party was convenient up to about level 4. Now I'm getting to a point where progressing really requires microing and optimal actions each round from each party member - and the hunt for good gear to make it work. Just resting is a chore - throngs of bandits show up and I don't have mass invisibility. Having companions is good for the first levels and all, but then it gets to be a problem of keeping the weaker characters alive (and by weak I mean lvl 5 Minsc in ankheg plate, so yeah). Minsc yelling all the time is also getting old. Even Imoen's act is getting boring.
I'll probably lay off my BG playing for a bit and eventually invest in BG 1+2 for my mac. Ideally, patch 1 for BG2:EE will come out first and maybe there will be a package deal on both games for Christmas or something, to increase sales on BG:EE. Anyway, this should solve items 2 and 3 on my gripe list. As for #1, which quests do you think are the most enjoyable in BG1? I'm kinda looking forward to watchers keep, but I'm not sure I'll stomach it on the iPad.
In-laws remember! :-) Actually, it's not that bad if you just go for what you want and forget about 100% completion. Party playing has always annoyed me. The pathing alone has me pulling my hair out. "Minsc! Where in the nine hells are you going!?!?" I am soloing a Avenger now, just to find out where all the important stuff is. While my Sorc is on hiatus till I get 1.2 patch. Am now beginning to wonder just how "legitimate" the bgee I purchased was, and will be less than pleased if I have to buy it again. It will be the fourth time I've payed for Baldur's Gate. I know that there is a tome or manual at the Gnoll Stronghold I just don't remember what it was. Where you are at is the most dragging part of the game, unless you solo that is. After you get to BG things pick up. Imoen has always been one of the most annoying npcs, and I've killed her off more than once because of it. " Hey sis, see that funny looking door with the creepy light coming through the cracks around it? They are serving ice cream there. Why don't you go get us some, while we do the boring job of cleaning and repairing the equipment? No, no, you go ahead. You've been working hard and deserve a break. " Point being, if you don't mind doing it, solo the game. After the first little grind, the game will go much quicker.
Watchers Keep, imo, is the very best part of the game. And the final seals are harder than Big D himself. If I was looking for dialog between npcs, I think I would take Hairy and Val. Iirc, their discussions are a riot. I always hit the Slave Lords early for the challenge. Firkraag has a diversity in opponents unmatched by anything other than Watcher's Keep. Are you looking for depth of content or challenge?
Hope you don't give up. I was looking forward to picking your brain for spell selections and strategies.
After somewhat of a hiatus, I have resumed BG1 and I'm now back in Candlekeep! Taking on the Iron Throne was a very difficult boss battle for my party of four 5-6 lvl characters. Dynaheir and Imoen kept dying to Flame Strikes despite resist fire pre-buffing. I reloaded 4-5 times until I decided it was time for a different approach: Wand of Monster Summoning.
Monster don't travel between stairs, so I summoned five of them at the floor below and then lured a few of them at a time down. There, the wolves and hobgoblins etc. would keep them occupied while my party ripped them to shreds. I'm fairly condifident I won't be soloing this bunch in no reload poverty before I cap out at level 9. Hasty spiders will be mandatory, supported by cast-and-attack Magic Missiles and meteors most likely. Those fighter types are really tough and can probably 1-2 hit a spider easily (but not as easily if I micro them with haste and they use wolf pack tactics, while I support with ranged fire). It's doable, but if that's the FIRST battle against the Iron Throne, I fear running out of spells against the later ones.
Also, I've found that at present, Glitterdust do not reveal invisible. I hope this will be fixed when patch 1.2 becomes available for the iPad (not sure if it's handled already, but if it's a bug, I assume someone already noticed a while back and it should be fixed).
Comments
Yes, invisibility would have gotten me past them, butt... The Gith were in a prison cell that i didn't need to go into at all and the shadows were in a crypt that I could have walked right by. Just part of my 100% completion, all bad guys must be dead. No, the Gith sleep is targeted.
Re the speed run, he seems to be using Knock A LOT! Are you sure it's not needed to complete bodhi/shadow thieves/underdark? Maybe it can be done without, but time is saved if you have it. It seems at one point like he leaves the familiar behind but then it's in his pack again, so maybe it jumps there when you go between some areas or something? I love the warp shenanigans with monster summoning etc though. Not something I'll be using of course
I think I will start my 5 character run and periodically come back to the sorc. Probably do one quest per day. It has gotten too repetitive at this point.
I think I will go with only using spells I find for mage and skald. Both will get level 5 Cone of Cold and MSIII from hla scrolls. Other than that I will only have three spells per level scribed at one time over level 4. I know all spells are not available by finding them, or by random chance, so this should keep the power of the mage down. I wont start a challenge because, frankly, I don't think anyone will participate. I will however start a thread on my progress eventually.
Btw, I looked through the v 1.2 patch and discovered Sunfire no longer bypasses MR. This makes it sort of a bad pick now, and I'm considering fitting both Breach and Lower Resistance instead (Animate Dead, Cloudkill and Spell Immunity being already "locked in" of course).
I'm also toying with the idea of the Dragon Disciple kit (its breath weapon now correctly bypasses MR, btw). I'm not sure if the 1.2 patch has corrected the faulty kit description, but in case you didn't know, its downside is not fewer spells known, but fewer spells castable per day (1/spell level). The thing is, at low levels (up to around 4) I'm only casting Shield and Invisibility anyway, so I don't need many spell slots. OTOH, extra hp and AC at level 1 comes very much in handy. The breath weapon more or less replaces one lvl 3 spell, but comes earlier (level 3) than Fireball/Skull Trap. For the long game, of course fewer spells per level is a downside, but it's really a question if Project Image will have access to 6 Time Stop or 5 Time Stop - meh.
There's also the upside of eventually getting 100% non-dispellable Fire Resistance in a pauper build, which (together with 60 base hp at level 10 rather than 40 base hp) should improve survivability in a no-reload game. It also makes Incendiary Cloud a rather interesting alternative to ADHW (it's also as "party friendly" for the solo dragon disciple using fiends and mordy swords). The Con bonus is also useful for countering con penalties inflicted by familiar deaths or game events. All in all, I think both the benefits and drawbacks are rather small, but Dragon Disciple favorably shifts the power of the class from high level to low-mid level, which is the grindy and hard part. I'm carefully positive to taking this route, but I'd like to hear your opinion on it first.
I'm not familiar at all with sorc kits, but it sounds good.
Playing the game again and going with no Knock I am 99% sure there is no REQUIRED doors that can't be bashed. As long as you have DUHM and decent strength, you should be able to get to slayer form. After you can always just go slayer and bash. If I remember right the only two locks that I wanted to bash but couldn't were the chest with the Crimson Dart the first level of Watchers Keep, and the one with the Rune of Clangeddin for the Runehammer +5 in the cabin at the beginning of Sendai's Enclave. The Crimson Dart one might be bashable but I always go the first level of Watchers Keep early and may not have been strong enough, even with DUHM.
For no-reload I would seriously consider some kind of spell deflection early, or maybe Poly Self.
Looking over the spell selections now there are some changes I would have made. Timing on taking them would have changed too.
1st level there are 3 maybe 4 necessary for SoA and beyond.
MM, FF, Pro Evil and maybe Shield anything else you can use in BG1 will be ok.
2nd level there are only 2 necessary spells. Resist Fear and MI are the only musts. Everything else needed for BG1 just throw in.
3rd level, Haste, MMM, ST and Remove Magic are the backbone. The fifth one could be anything you choose.
4th level there are only 2. SS and either Wizard Eye or Farsight. Improved Invisibility IS mandatory at some point but there are, what, 4 spells that give the same effect. So dealers choice there. Spiders help early so I would pick it, but it is not a must. Skellies and Stinking Cloud serve the same purpose so... If I had it to do over again I would have taken Polymorph Self and taken it early. Flind form can take out all big golems before Suldanesslar because they all have doors to block them and Flind's halberd keeps him out of reach of fists and cloud, and is +3 enchanted. The jelly is the important form though. Maybe 3rd level Minor Spell Deflection could protect from the early traps though. By the time I got my 5th picks of both levels I already had Spell trap. Jelly has the bonus of being immune to some AoE though.
5th level also has only 2 MUSTS. Animate Dead and Spell Immunity belong in every solo sorc's run. Sunfire and summons don't go well together. I personally love Cloudkill but I have barely used it. Breach is a good pick, but as I haven't picked it and haven't missed it yet... Lower Resistance for me is a must have, but it is not necessary to finish the game for many play styles.
6th level again only has 2. PfMW and True Seeing. All else is play style and if you take the spell effect of choice at this level or another.
7th level I would absolutely take PI, Spell Sequencer and Mordy. If I had it to do over I would take Minor Spell Deflection early and Remove Magic at 22 and taken Spell turning here as my second level 7 pick. It would have freed up a 9th level spell by dropping Spell Trap.
8th level just doesn't have more than 6 worthy picks. A baboon smoking weed, could choose any 4 of those and make it work.
9th level there is CC and TS. Everything else just fills in the gaps left behind by all the other spell picks.
I only have the sewer Flayers and Unseeing Eye to go then it's off to Brynnlaw. Really, I don't foresee any problems until ToB's dragons, and other bosses. Maybe. Oh, and the seals on the final level of Watchers Keep.
Anyway, this being the first games I've played in many years, I've realized that I really miss items. So I am putting off my 5 character run to play the ultimate items user, the Blade. Both will go quick, so next week this time I will start my thread. I will keep you posted on my sorc progress this week.
Cast I 10' R went through the level to make all the beholders spawn. Went back to the beginning cast PI, PI casts SW and planetar, sent planetar and skellie out to start the fun. While they were fighting the first gauth PI cast wizard eye. PI and eye followed the skellie and planetar popping out more SW till there were three. Then just replaced the summons when they died and cast ADHW from a safe distance.
The sewer Flayers were not much of a problem, just time consuming. Was invisible but had CC with Simmy, PI and Mordy, the battle over my invisible, immobile body lasted for a while.
Finally having picked wish, I will be using every PI I cast try for the wand or potion. If I am not mistaken, you can get a potion of clarity and wand of spell striking from it. Both will be helpful.
Do you have to kill the PI to get the item? I can't remember.
Does Vocalize reduce spell casting time?
Anyway, more later.
I think Beholders (and many other foes) will be more challenging with SCS. Especially relying on PI and "not being there" for defense should be countered by some scripting using Teleport Without Error to home in on your location. Especially dangerous on demons as they see invisible and Pro:Evil no longer works on demons you have not yourself gated. This is why I'll be using ORS as additional defense - in your run it seems unnecessary.
According to ye olde spell reference, these are the potions/wands you can create with Wish:
"Create a random potion in the caster's inventory. The potion is chosen from Oil of Speed, Antidote and Potions of Regeneration, Extra Healing, Superior Healing, Genius, Clarity, Absorbtion, Cold Resistance, Insulation, and Insight.
Create a random wand in caster's inventory. The wand is chosen from Wands of Fear, Magic Missiles, Paralyzation, Fire, Frost, Lightning, Spell Striking and Cursing."
Any additional data you can gather on this would be most helpful (as in - do some of them show up more than others or is the above "menu" off in any way). Also, if it's possible to sell such a wand and buy it back fully recharged, and how many charges it is created with. I assume the item will be created in YOUR inventory and that PI killing is moot, but confirmation on this would also be great.
Have no idea about Vocalize - if it does reduce ct for some reason, that is a bug and should be reported. Btw, with your BG1 experience, what would you say would be the safest way to level up a fledgling solo sorceror up to say level 4-5? Killing gibberlings (mostly) and doing the non-combat quests in Beregost as well as the witch+fishermen quest north of FAI got me to level 3 (though I had to run like a greased bunny to avoid ankhegs in the fishing village). A strategy that reduces risk to be waylaid by enemies is preferable since I'm planning for no reload (those archer bandits can mean GG despite Shield - you may not have time to run away). Thoughts?
Have you considered taking Charm Person? If memory serves, it allows for some quick level gaining. I didn't take it because I only used a staff and needed MM. Just a thought.
Invisibility lasts for 24 hours, does travel time take more than that? There is no doubt, " You have been waylaid... " is the worst thing a soloer can hear in the early levels. Solo poverty is even worse. As for solo, poverty, no-reload. Well, you are gonna have your hands full.
I have a 3 day assignment at work, so won't be able to play, but will check in here. If I can help just let me know.
I did consider Charm Person, seeing what it did to Mulahey, but it's really very narrow when you consider it in a SCS no-reload scenario. Yes, it broke THAT script, but SCS changes stuff and what if he had saved against the Charm? My level 3 pick will be an "I WIN BG1" spell, choices being: Blindness, Charm Person, Sleep or Spook. Spook has very short duration and Charm/Sleep both have limitations on who they'll work on (no sleeping basilisks). So far, the SAFEST way seems to be to use Glitterdust off screen until save is failed (after using Invisibility on rabbit to scout). Then I have 4 rounds (its duration) where the opp gets -4 to further saves and has no line of sight. The best save-or-else then must be Blindness - few are immune, it doesn't go away when you hit them, and it lasts for hours. Also, attack bonuses for my throwing daggers, yey! It seems like the safest way to take out problematic foes at levels 5+ until you get spiders and skull traps.
Oh yeah, Invisibility ASAP at lvl 4 is the best solution to travelling no doubt, the problem is getting there. MOAR hit points and AC is the only solution I can find, hence: Dragon Disciple with Shield and Find Familiar as starting spells. Shield also protects against Magic Missile which allowed me to solo Nimbul (the assassin) and Tranzig (or whatever that beregost mage is called) at level 3! Both seem to cast at level 7 (four useless missiles came flying my way...oh, about 7-8 times or so - sheesh, I hope SCS makes them properly statted NPCs apart from improving their AI. Obviously, I wouldn't be so bold with SCS and no-reload.)
If you have time, your best and safest low level XP farming tips for a low level solo sorc in BG1 would be appreciated. What quests do you usually do before hitting level 4?
Also you can stay ahead of slow moving animals and pelt them with daggers. Or like in my solo run WITH items, invisible familiars can trip up the wolves and dire wolves and give you space to fling pointy things at them. I used darts though. Daggers are more expensive right? Bears give 250 exp I think, or is it 150.
Dire wolves give 900 or 950.
:-) With all this talk, I am gonna end up buying BGEE.
Oops, missed something.
Quests.
Not sure I can remember, and some of this might be wrong but. Boots from spider house, ring from the mine( it can be gotten with very little effort ) book, skull in highhenge if I can isolate a skellie, chicken should be doable( area is also good for farming dire wolves if I remember right )
If you go slowly the gnoll stonghold IS possible, wouldn't try it in no-reload though. Iirc there is a winter wolf in the area to the right of it though that gave me fits. Silke? ( not sure that is the right name ), and the git in the inn there. Both could be tough though. All of this may or may not be right for level 4 or lower. It's just been so long.
Isn't there a little mage with attitude( or downright evilness ) to the right of the mines, with a quest? Lots of gibberlings down in that area too i think.
Hope this helps.
Having witnessed the power of Blindness now first hand (I found a scroll at the Gnoll Stronghold so I could try it - my test sorceror is an early incarnation with Str 10 and Larloch's Minor Drain... don't ask, it seemed like a good idea at the time), I actually think farming Ankhegs will be doable from level 3 and on. Probably them wolves too. Then basilisks from level 5 and on. Silke and most early casters/bosses should be doable with little risk past level 5. With the old, go invisible, move out of sight, spam Glitterdust, tag them with Blindess, kill them.
I've hit invisibility (level 4) with my test sorceror and boy does it trivialize some things - like Gnoll Stronghold. Actually killing each gnoll is a chore though, but Blindness and Glitterdust will help immensly. As will the DD fire breathing from level 3 - 3d8 cone with no save and bypasses MR - pretty powerful, though it scales poorly.
Throwing daggers are more expensive, but what's more - they're heavy at one lb EACH. An 18 Str char can carry max 200 of them - fewer if you want to be able to pick other stuff up and not be encumbered. Only some skellies drop them, so I foresee lots of restocking. However, I'll also pack a sling and 3x80 sling bullets from level 3 and on - though unproficient, it provides for rapid and cheap eutanasia of blinded victims from a safe distance without having to spend precious daggers. There's also the huge upside of dagger proficiency also being a melee weapon - with AC -1 (shield, dex, kit) and 14 hp (d6 hd, con, nerfed familiar), I'll be able to tank gibberlings at level 1, if they manage to close for melee! My level 6 proficiency will go to darts - no strength bonus but 3 apr instead of 2 makes it slightly better at caster disruption when using cast-and-attack. Also weightless, so you can stock up and have something to fall back on if daggers run out.
How are you handling traps without any means of trap detection? Meta gaming, reloading or just sucking it up with your d4 hd sorceror? This is my main reason for picking da rabbit. Overall, I'll try to not use exploits on my no-reload (like closing doors or blocking a passage with an invisible familiar) - I trust SCS will handle most non-deliberate AI problems too. My personal definition of "exploit" being something that wouldn't work in PnP or is otherwise just a trick pulled on an engine level.
Many traps can be handled with high HP, Stoneskins or Mirror Image. I seriously don't remember all traps, and don't remember if I died or not.
Well, I bought BGEE. Wow, the crawl!
Fairy Dragon is the same as it always was. Trying your dagger method, and I have to say I like it. No need for early MM. The smith in Beregost sells unlimited throwing daggers so its not so bad.
At level 4 now. Spell picks in order: Shield, Find Familiar, Blindness, Web. Web might be difficult to use in tight quarters but it makes so many things easy.
Tough spots so far have been few. Friggin spiders man! Spider house has been my only reload. They didn't kill me but... Well it happened like this. Invisible and with familiar in pack I enter the house. They are too close and too many for blindness to work. OK, lure them out, string them along and blind them along the way. Wrong! They move too fast! I get outside and they are already surrounding me! Only one route open, back in the house to the same results, except couldn't get out. Went through the door into the other room so I could release the familiar and give him enough time to cast I 10' R. End result, me and tiny dragon invisible, stuck in a room with 4 invisible spiders. Got poisoned but it went away before I died. Can't target anything. The only way to become visible would be to talk to the familiar but to what end? Anyway reload.
Next time I went in with the familiar invisible, so when I ran out the familiar left me a path open. Then I just ran around the buildings with the familiar left behind so when I came back around the familiar could step in front of them and give me enough time to blind one. Find a new group of buildings, rinse and repeat.
Wolf almost got me once when shield ran out right when I was going to blind him. He must have rolled 5, 20s in a row ended up pulling the familiar in close and I 10' R. It was a close thing.
Idjit mage in the carnival almost got me, his saving throws must be through the roof. He never failed one save. Luckily, he can't fight for squat. Survived his spells, barely, and got him focused on the familiar.
Anyway, what is the XP cap? Also, what level do I get new picks?
Took MM for 4th level 1 pick, and Mirror Image for 2nd level 2 pick. I think it may have been sooner than I needed MI.
Is MMM needed, do you think? With only 3 picks I had hoped to take the spell turning spell. That way I don't have to take poly self as one of my two level four picks.
Any thoughts would be apriciated.
Did I not do something right when installing it, or is there a patch that I missed.
Anyone have a clue? I've looked all over my phone for anything I might have missed moving to my computer, and I think that I got it all.
This meaty guide has all the juicy intel on nerfed BG EE familiars (and much more that is not interesting for our style of play, so prepare for scrolling) http://www.gamefaqs.com/pc/663933-baldurs-gate-enhanced-edition/faqs/65403
I stopped with my sorc test after getting to level 4 since it was such a grind and I had gathered the info I needed for sorcs specifically. I'm now doing a "typical" run with a party to get a better feel for BG1 as a whole. It's me (shapeshifter druid), minsc, dynaheir and imoen - and I intend to make lots of experiements with Dynaheir (she has much UNTAPPED power, lol) to see how things would fare with a solo sorc. Killing that mage in Carnival was easy peasy with a party of 4, even though we were low level. Being subject to 7 apr is a bad place to be for a caster. Progressing has been a breeze and I'm now in Cloakwood, having cleared out both the Ankheg pit and bandit camp around level 3ish.
One thing about SCS: Mirror Image no longer handles AoE traps. This makes Polymorph Self more attractive for my run, as stoneskin + jelly should steamroll every trap in the game (or at least provide better protection than minor deflection + mirror image) - especially after SCS has cleaned up the ones that erroneously ignore MR for no good reason. I think Polymorph Self combined with Stoneskin + Mirror Image can be pretty powerful, though very susceptible to dispelling of course. Something to test with Dynaheir at least.
Anyway, as long as you don't HAVE to remove a trap as long as you know where it is, I think my rabbit familiar is still the best option for handling them. With I-10´-r gone, there's no really appealing alternative (the Imp still gets a tone downed poly self 1/day but I'm not sure it's something to rely on).
I think it's ok to skip on MMM as long as you have a way to kill mustard jellies, battle horrors (golem type) and skeleton warriors in BG1. Polymorph Self is ironically an alternative, but I think the spiders also hit as +1 weapons (?).
1) The story is only decent compared to BG2, but even more the execution of it is really lacking. Quests come in one way, one line NPC communication far too often, with only occasional glimpses of actual interaction taking place. The main plot and subquests feel poorly executed by BG2 standards - or perhaps it is me that has an overly fond memory of my BG2 experience.
2) The iPad is a horrible interface to the infinity engine. Especially with a party, you really want the speed and precision of actual mouse clicks - and the stability of a table top operating system. So many bugs and "misclicks" that are not really misses, just inevitable built-in problems of the whole idea of a grown man's hands on tiny paper dolls on a touch screen.
3) Having a party was convenient up to about level 4. Now I'm getting to a point where progressing really requires microing and optimal actions each round from each party member - and the hunt for good gear to make it work. Just resting is a chore - throngs of bandits show up and I don't have mass invisibility. Having companions is good for the first levels and all, but then it gets to be a problem of keeping the weaker characters alive (and by weak I mean lvl 5 Minsc in ankheg plate, so yeah). Minsc yelling all the time is also getting old. Even Imoen's act is getting boring.
I'll probably lay off my BG playing for a bit and eventually invest in BG 1+2 for my mac. Ideally, patch 1 for BG2:EE will come out first and maybe there will be a package deal on both games for Christmas or something, to increase sales on BG:EE. Anyway, this should solve items 2 and 3 on my gripe list. As for #1, which quests do you think are the most enjoyable in BG1? I'm kinda looking forward to watchers keep, but I'm not sure I'll stomach it on the iPad.
Actually, it's not that bad if you just go for what you want and forget about 100% completion. Party playing has always annoyed me. The pathing alone has me pulling my hair out. "Minsc! Where in the nine hells are you going!?!?"
I am soloing a Avenger now, just to find out where all the important stuff is. While my Sorc is on hiatus till I get 1.2 patch. Am now beginning to wonder just how "legitimate" the bgee I purchased was, and will be less than pleased if I have to buy it again. It will be the fourth time I've payed for Baldur's Gate.
I know that there is a tome or manual at the Gnoll Stronghold I just don't remember what it was.
Where you are at is the most dragging part of the game, unless you solo that is. After you get to BG things pick up. Imoen has always been one of the most annoying npcs, and I've killed her off more than once because of it. " Hey sis, see that funny looking door with the creepy light coming through the cracks around it? They are serving ice cream there. Why don't you go get us some, while we do the boring job of cleaning and repairing the equipment? No, no, you go ahead. You've been working hard and deserve a break. "
Point being, if you don't mind doing it, solo the game. After the first little grind, the game will go much quicker.
Watchers Keep, imo, is the very best part of the game. And the final seals are harder than Big D himself.
If I was looking for dialog between npcs, I think I would take Hairy and Val. Iirc, their discussions are a riot.
I always hit the Slave Lords early for the challenge. Firkraag has a diversity in opponents unmatched by anything other than Watcher's Keep.
Are you looking for depth of content or challenge?
Hope you don't give up. I was looking forward to picking your brain for spell selections and strategies.
Monster don't travel between stairs, so I summoned five of them at the floor below and then lured a few of them at a time down. There, the wolves and hobgoblins etc. would keep them occupied while my party ripped them to shreds. I'm fairly condifident I won't be soloing this bunch in no reload poverty before I cap out at level 9. Hasty spiders will be mandatory, supported by cast-and-attack Magic Missiles and meteors most likely. Those fighter types are really tough and can probably 1-2 hit a spider easily (but not as easily if I micro them with haste and they use wolf pack tactics, while I support with ranged fire). It's doable, but if that's the FIRST battle against the Iron Throne, I fear running out of spells against the later ones.
Also, I've found that at present, Glitterdust do not reveal invisible. I hope this will be fixed when patch 1.2 becomes available for the iPad (not sure if it's handled already, but if it's a bug, I assume someone already noticed a while back and it should be fixed).