Beating the Hardest Zone of BG1EE Starting with a Level 1 Sorcerer
Endarire
Member Posts: 1,519
Greetings, all!
Ah, Durlag's Tower. This is the place that screams iconic BG1 to me. I started as an Elf Sorcerer (female) and figured I'd see what happened if I tried to solo the game, starting at this tower when I'm level 1. (I was Chaotic Neutral, but True Neutral is probably better for a familiar.) I considered staying at level 1 the entire run, but realized magic's just too much fun. (Staying level 1 is also tantamount to suicide. Attempt at your own risk!)
I maxed my physical stats (STR/DEX/CON) and didn't care much about my mental stats.
I put my first proficiency point into Quarterstaff, and my second into Sling.
Level 1 spell picks are Shield (for the AC buff and Magic Missile immunity) and MAGIC MISSILE!
Here's how it goes. (I assume you rest and save as needed.)
-In Options >> Gameplay >> Assign Keys, assign a key to the Mage spell MAGIC MISSILE. (I chose F.) This makes things -much- easier.
-Complete the Prolog. (Easy.)
-Allow Imoen to join your group when prompted. Loot her WAND OF MAGIC MISSILE and OIL OF SPEED. May as well take everything else. Dismiss her from group.
-Get the Ring of Protection/Ring of Princes +1 from the map south of the Friendly Arm Inn. (x 1006, y 1114) Hold Tab to find this stash. (This is optional, but recommended.)
-Go to the Friendly Arm Inn map and head east. Hold Tab to highlight stashes, and pick up and equip EVERMEMORY, RING OF WIZARDRY. (x 2552, y 3760) Identifying the ring is optional, since all magic items in BGEE don't require IDing to use. Oh yes, this ring is DOWNRIGHT REQUIRED if you want to get through D's Tower with a minimum of fuss!
-Head inside the Friendly Arm Inn. (This involves killing a mage outside. Magic Missile him.) Go to the third floor and talk to someone in the common room and accept the quest. You'll get 6 antidotes. You may need them.
-[Optional but Recommended] Rest to recover your spells, then, with a full complement of 6 Magic Missiles, head north along the trail. Kill all the hobgoblins by pulling one or two at a time and Magic Missiling them to death! ENSURE you get Jola's Flamedance Ring and the scroll of Protection from Petrification from these hobgoblin corpses. Exit the north side of the Friendly Arm Inn map, head to the map just south of the Friendly Arm Inn, head north to return to the Friendly Arm Inn, and talk to Jola. (She's in one of the small houses past the drawbridge, inside the courtyard of the Friendly Arm Inn.)
-Head back to the map where Gorion got ambushed. From the east entry spot on the map, head west and find Montaron and Xzar. Loot both of 'em blind (but ensure to get the OIL OF SPEED!) and dismiss 'em.
-[Optional but Recommended] Head to Beregost. Head to the Feldepost Inn. Be peaceful to Marl and convince him that adventuring isn't so bad. Buy a copy of the book "History of the Fateful Coin." Go across the street to Firebeard Elvenhair's house (just mouse over the houses until you find one with an open door icon) and talk to the lazy mage who couldn't cross the street. Get the only SCROLL CASE in Baldur's Gate 1: Enhanced Edition. Treasure this case, for it will save your life! (Remember folks, your time is your life, and saving time means saving life!)
-[Optional but Recommended] Also, while in Beregost, find Neera. Agree to help her and be her friend. Handle the Red Wizards with Magic Missiles to the FACE! Have her join your party, loot her GEM BAG (the only one in Baldur's Gate 1: Enhanced Edition) and the rest of her things (including her staff and robe), and dump her like a bump on a log.
-Head south from the ambush site until you reach High Hedge. Head into High Hedge, talk to the Green Wizard there, and buy whatever scrolls of Magic Missile you can afford. When you can, buy a POTION CASE. (If not on this trip, then on a return trip, before you get too far into D's Tower.)
-[Optional but Recommended] Arrange your inventory so the Gem Bag, Scroll Case, and Potion Case to be the last 3 inventory slots (that is, the ones farthest to the right). It's for convenience.
-Save in a new slot.
-Head to the map north of the Friendly Arm Inn. Welcome to Ankheg Country! If you want, head northwest and talk to the farmers who have the trouble with the Priestess of Umberlee and agree to help them. Otherwise, save often (and in multiple slots, if needed) on this map. (One shot from an Ankheg can kill you on Normal difficulty, and probably on Easy as well.) Head to the north exit of this map, then head north. Save your consumables, like the Oils of Speed.
-Welcome to Ankheg Country part 2! Head north to the top part of the map. (The bridge to Baldur's Gate is down.) If you want, before heading north to the next map, save, then talk to Tenya, Priestess of Umberlee. Talk to her again, and tell her you want to know what's going on. Shoot a Magic Missile or few at her, but DON'T KILL HER! She'll eventually come to her senses, and ask you to spare her. Spare her.
-Welcome to Zombieland! Kill whatever Zombies you need to proceed, then head northeast. Exit the map via the east exit. (You can click east of the fence to walk through the gap in the fence. This allows you to head east.)
-Welcome to Ulgoth's Beard! You'll be assaulted by forgettable flavor text. Find Ike near the inn and pay his fee of 60 gold. Head into the inn, sell what you want, and ensure you're well rested for the journey ahead. And save in a different slot. Please.
-If there's any last-minute shopping you want to do (like at High Hedge), do it! You may not be able to return to the Beard for a good long time.
-Ulgoth's Beard has little for you right now, so head to DURLAG'S TOWER near the south part of the world map! Put an Oil of Speed and the Wand of Magic Missile on your Quick Items hotbar. Save in a diffent slot if desired, then chug an Oil of Speed. (I recommend you save ALL of your spells for this fight, meaning don't use any spell slots to buff!) Head South until you see a Battle Horror, a full plate creature with a flaming sword.
-Use a Magic Missile to hit the Battle Horror. Then run away long enough so he can't hit you. (That's about 5 seconds of real time on my computer.) Cast Magic Missile again and run. Keep kiting the Battle Horror this way. (He's a melee only creature who's deadly if he hits, but too stupid to do anything but run at you and swing occasionally.)
-Keep hitting this Battle Horror with whatever spells you have, consumables you have (like those scrolls and wand of Magic Missile), and kill him. BOOM! +4000 experience! That'll put you at level 2, maybe level 3!
-When you hit level 3, choose PROTECTION FROM PETRIFICATION as your level 1 spell. Trust me.
-Save in a different slot, then rest! If you're only level 2 right now, you may need to buy some offensive scrolls or wands to take on this next Battle Horror. If you're level 3, congrats! You'll probably have enough firepower to take him down.
-Use another Oil of Speed and kill the next Battle Horror in the same way; kite and smite.
-Save, rest, move south. Kill stuff along the way with Magic Missile. Get to the tower entrance on the outside and talk to Ike until he moves inside the tower. (I assume you're level 3, but congrats if you hit level 4 by now.)
-Put up your SHIELD spell and head northwest from the tower entrance. Kill any dopplegangers, skeletons, and other foes you come across. (Watch out for skeletons sniping you from the ramparts.)
-When you get to a door on the northwest side of the tower, save and rest. Put up Shield, wait for the global cooldown to end, head inside, pause, and cast a single Magic Missile at a skeleton. Run into the doorway from which you came; the foes won't follow you. Keep doing this until you're out of spells. Rest. Do this with the third Battle Horror and w00t! +4000 EXP!
-When done (and done leveling; I recommend Mirror Image for your first level 2 spell), head back to the tower entrance, put up Shield again, then head east. Take out the skeletons trying to snipe you from the southeast. Save, rest, shield if desired, and head north up the stairs.
-Pull the Doom Guard with Magic Missile and just keep kiting him south and west, out of the line of sight of the skeletons. Shoot Magic Missiles at him until he dies. +2000 EXP! Save, rest, kill the other skeletons on the east end if desired, then head back to the tower entrance. Activate Mirror Image, head inside, and talk to Ike until something uses Dimension Door to teleport in. RUN southwest to avoid the fire spells, then loot Ike once he dies. (Put the Dwarven Wardstones in your GEM BAG. They'll work even inside a container, like a Gem Bag.)
-When you hit level 5, choose IDENTIFY. (It saves you time and money for selling purposes.) I also like KNOCK because of the numerous amounts of LOCKED OBJECTS in Durlag's Tower.
-Head to the second floor of this tower. Head immediately south, then go east as far as you can, but don't exit the tower. Cast PROTECTION FROM PETRIFICATION on yourself (you'll have to target yourself), head outside, and just kill the poor Lesser Basilisk with Magic Missiles. (+1400 EXP) Save, rest, Mirror Image, head up the stairs, kill the Doppleganger (again, Magic Missiles), and save and rest. If you're level 5 by now, good! (I recommend Knock because we're going treasure stealing next.) If you're level 4, don't worry. Apply PROTECTION FROM PETRIFICATION and MIRROR IMAGE, save, and head into the next door.
-Here's Johnny! (That's what I call the Greater Basilisk who guards this area.) Magic Missile him (and boy, are you seeing a trend?) as much as you can, running back into the door you came from as needed. Use your consumables as needed, including antidotes. Oh yes, +4000 EXP for the kill!
-There's another Greater Basilisk to the north of the door, and another to the west of the door. (That's 3 Johnnies in total on this roof.) That's also +4000 EXP per kill.
--When you're done here, head back down and inside. Climb to the top floor of this tower, head northwest, and find the trapped creature. Agree to help free her. Head down one flight of stairs and go immediately east. There's a guy here. Talk to him and introduce yourself, then talk to him again and give him the nymph's hair. Save and head back upstairs.
-Save before talking to Kirinhale! In version 1.0.2014 at least, you can click her, push enter, and click her again. Each time you initiate dialog, you get +4000 EXP. Even talking to her once should put you at or near level 6. Choose SKULL TRAP as your level 3 spell. (It was a hard decision for me, but HASTE is coming next level.)
-Clear the rest of this aboveground part of the tower as you see fit. (You can lose aggro if you quickly go up and down staircases to lose enemies.) If a Ghast or Greater Ghast touches you, expect to be paralyzed. If you're paralyzed, just reload. You're as good as dead.
-Head downstairs in Durlag's Tower to the basement. Clear it.
-Instead of going step by step from now on, know this: The best buffs to keep up are Haste, Stoneskin, and Mirror Image. Also, most enemies are beaten with a combination of Magic Missiles and Skull Traps. Against tough enemies, I like doing a trick I call Skull Probing: Cast a Skull Trap at the edge of my vision where I expect enemies to be. When the Skull Trap goes off and hurts enemies, cast another. Repeat as desired, inserting rests and saves as needed. This is DOWNRIGHT NECESSARY for foes I can't normally handle, like a certain lower planes denizen who shall remain nameless. (Alternatively, handle this lower planes denizen by stocking up on Potions of Mirrored Eyes from Ulgath's Beard's inn and High Hedge.)
-For the frozen room in Durlag's Tower, drink a Potion of Freedom and equip your Belt of the Antipode you got from Gorion. Otherwise, prepare for great frustration!
-As for the Mustard Jellies in Durlag's Tower, I normally avoid them. They're totally immune to magic and not worth it to destroy, even with Haste and Polymorph active.
-Some other enemies in D's Tower will be magic resistant, but not 100% magic resistant. Be patient with spells, wands, scrolls, and so on.
At level 9 (the EXP cap for BG1EE, excluding the Black Pits), my Sorcerer's spell list was thus. (I intend to play through Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition.)
LEVEL 1
-Identify
-Magic Missile
-Protection from Evil
-Protection from Petrification
-Shield
LEVEL 2
-Knock
-Melf's Acid Arrow
-Mirror Image
-Resist Fear
LEVEL 3
-Haste
-Remove Magic
-Skull Trap
LEVEL 4
-Polymorph Self
-Stoneskin
By the end of Durlag's Tower (and finishing in the Beard afterward), my most relevant gear was thus:
-Robe of the Neutral Archmagi
-Quarterstaff +3
-Sling +3
-More gold than I knew what to do with.
Ah, Durlag's Tower. This is the place that screams iconic BG1 to me. I started as an Elf Sorcerer (female) and figured I'd see what happened if I tried to solo the game, starting at this tower when I'm level 1. (I was Chaotic Neutral, but True Neutral is probably better for a familiar.) I considered staying at level 1 the entire run, but realized magic's just too much fun. (Staying level 1 is also tantamount to suicide. Attempt at your own risk!)
I maxed my physical stats (STR/DEX/CON) and didn't care much about my mental stats.
I put my first proficiency point into Quarterstaff, and my second into Sling.
Level 1 spell picks are Shield (for the AC buff and Magic Missile immunity) and MAGIC MISSILE!
Here's how it goes. (I assume you rest and save as needed.)
-In Options >> Gameplay >> Assign Keys, assign a key to the Mage spell MAGIC MISSILE. (I chose F.) This makes things -much- easier.
-Complete the Prolog. (Easy.)
-Allow Imoen to join your group when prompted. Loot her WAND OF MAGIC MISSILE and OIL OF SPEED. May as well take everything else. Dismiss her from group.
-Get the Ring of Protection/Ring of Princes +1 from the map south of the Friendly Arm Inn. (x 1006, y 1114) Hold Tab to find this stash. (This is optional, but recommended.)
-Go to the Friendly Arm Inn map and head east. Hold Tab to highlight stashes, and pick up and equip EVERMEMORY, RING OF WIZARDRY. (x 2552, y 3760) Identifying the ring is optional, since all magic items in BGEE don't require IDing to use. Oh yes, this ring is DOWNRIGHT REQUIRED if you want to get through D's Tower with a minimum of fuss!
-Head inside the Friendly Arm Inn. (This involves killing a mage outside. Magic Missile him.) Go to the third floor and talk to someone in the common room and accept the quest. You'll get 6 antidotes. You may need them.
-[Optional but Recommended] Rest to recover your spells, then, with a full complement of 6 Magic Missiles, head north along the trail. Kill all the hobgoblins by pulling one or two at a time and Magic Missiling them to death! ENSURE you get Jola's Flamedance Ring and the scroll of Protection from Petrification from these hobgoblin corpses. Exit the north side of the Friendly Arm Inn map, head to the map just south of the Friendly Arm Inn, head north to return to the Friendly Arm Inn, and talk to Jola. (She's in one of the small houses past the drawbridge, inside the courtyard of the Friendly Arm Inn.)
-Head back to the map where Gorion got ambushed. From the east entry spot on the map, head west and find Montaron and Xzar. Loot both of 'em blind (but ensure to get the OIL OF SPEED!) and dismiss 'em.
-[Optional but Recommended] Head to Beregost. Head to the Feldepost Inn. Be peaceful to Marl and convince him that adventuring isn't so bad. Buy a copy of the book "History of the Fateful Coin." Go across the street to Firebeard Elvenhair's house (just mouse over the houses until you find one with an open door icon) and talk to the lazy mage who couldn't cross the street. Get the only SCROLL CASE in Baldur's Gate 1: Enhanced Edition. Treasure this case, for it will save your life! (Remember folks, your time is your life, and saving time means saving life!)
-[Optional but Recommended] Also, while in Beregost, find Neera. Agree to help her and be her friend. Handle the Red Wizards with Magic Missiles to the FACE! Have her join your party, loot her GEM BAG (the only one in Baldur's Gate 1: Enhanced Edition) and the rest of her things (including her staff and robe), and dump her like a bump on a log.
-Head south from the ambush site until you reach High Hedge. Head into High Hedge, talk to the Green Wizard there, and buy whatever scrolls of Magic Missile you can afford. When you can, buy a POTION CASE. (If not on this trip, then on a return trip, before you get too far into D's Tower.)
-[Optional but Recommended] Arrange your inventory so the Gem Bag, Scroll Case, and Potion Case to be the last 3 inventory slots (that is, the ones farthest to the right). It's for convenience.
-Save in a new slot.
-Head to the map north of the Friendly Arm Inn. Welcome to Ankheg Country! If you want, head northwest and talk to the farmers who have the trouble with the Priestess of Umberlee and agree to help them. Otherwise, save often (and in multiple slots, if needed) on this map. (One shot from an Ankheg can kill you on Normal difficulty, and probably on Easy as well.) Head to the north exit of this map, then head north. Save your consumables, like the Oils of Speed.
-Welcome to Ankheg Country part 2! Head north to the top part of the map. (The bridge to Baldur's Gate is down.) If you want, before heading north to the next map, save, then talk to Tenya, Priestess of Umberlee. Talk to her again, and tell her you want to know what's going on. Shoot a Magic Missile or few at her, but DON'T KILL HER! She'll eventually come to her senses, and ask you to spare her. Spare her.
-Welcome to Zombieland! Kill whatever Zombies you need to proceed, then head northeast. Exit the map via the east exit. (You can click east of the fence to walk through the gap in the fence. This allows you to head east.)
-Welcome to Ulgoth's Beard! You'll be assaulted by forgettable flavor text. Find Ike near the inn and pay his fee of 60 gold. Head into the inn, sell what you want, and ensure you're well rested for the journey ahead. And save in a different slot. Please.
-If there's any last-minute shopping you want to do (like at High Hedge), do it! You may not be able to return to the Beard for a good long time.
-Ulgoth's Beard has little for you right now, so head to DURLAG'S TOWER near the south part of the world map! Put an Oil of Speed and the Wand of Magic Missile on your Quick Items hotbar. Save in a diffent slot if desired, then chug an Oil of Speed. (I recommend you save ALL of your spells for this fight, meaning don't use any spell slots to buff!) Head South until you see a Battle Horror, a full plate creature with a flaming sword.
-Use a Magic Missile to hit the Battle Horror. Then run away long enough so he can't hit you. (That's about 5 seconds of real time on my computer.) Cast Magic Missile again and run. Keep kiting the Battle Horror this way. (He's a melee only creature who's deadly if he hits, but too stupid to do anything but run at you and swing occasionally.)
-Keep hitting this Battle Horror with whatever spells you have, consumables you have (like those scrolls and wand of Magic Missile), and kill him. BOOM! +4000 experience! That'll put you at level 2, maybe level 3!
-When you hit level 3, choose PROTECTION FROM PETRIFICATION as your level 1 spell. Trust me.
-Save in a different slot, then rest! If you're only level 2 right now, you may need to buy some offensive scrolls or wands to take on this next Battle Horror. If you're level 3, congrats! You'll probably have enough firepower to take him down.
-Use another Oil of Speed and kill the next Battle Horror in the same way; kite and smite.
-Save, rest, move south. Kill stuff along the way with Magic Missile. Get to the tower entrance on the outside and talk to Ike until he moves inside the tower. (I assume you're level 3, but congrats if you hit level 4 by now.)
-Put up your SHIELD spell and head northwest from the tower entrance. Kill any dopplegangers, skeletons, and other foes you come across. (Watch out for skeletons sniping you from the ramparts.)
-When you get to a door on the northwest side of the tower, save and rest. Put up Shield, wait for the global cooldown to end, head inside, pause, and cast a single Magic Missile at a skeleton. Run into the doorway from which you came; the foes won't follow you. Keep doing this until you're out of spells. Rest. Do this with the third Battle Horror and w00t! +4000 EXP!
-When done (and done leveling; I recommend Mirror Image for your first level 2 spell), head back to the tower entrance, put up Shield again, then head east. Take out the skeletons trying to snipe you from the southeast. Save, rest, shield if desired, and head north up the stairs.
-Pull the Doom Guard with Magic Missile and just keep kiting him south and west, out of the line of sight of the skeletons. Shoot Magic Missiles at him until he dies. +2000 EXP! Save, rest, kill the other skeletons on the east end if desired, then head back to the tower entrance. Activate Mirror Image, head inside, and talk to Ike until something uses Dimension Door to teleport in. RUN southwest to avoid the fire spells, then loot Ike once he dies. (Put the Dwarven Wardstones in your GEM BAG. They'll work even inside a container, like a Gem Bag.)
-When you hit level 5, choose IDENTIFY. (It saves you time and money for selling purposes.) I also like KNOCK because of the numerous amounts of LOCKED OBJECTS in Durlag's Tower.
-Head to the second floor of this tower. Head immediately south, then go east as far as you can, but don't exit the tower. Cast PROTECTION FROM PETRIFICATION on yourself (you'll have to target yourself), head outside, and just kill the poor Lesser Basilisk with Magic Missiles. (+1400 EXP) Save, rest, Mirror Image, head up the stairs, kill the Doppleganger (again, Magic Missiles), and save and rest. If you're level 5 by now, good! (I recommend Knock because we're going treasure stealing next.) If you're level 4, don't worry. Apply PROTECTION FROM PETRIFICATION and MIRROR IMAGE, save, and head into the next door.
-Here's Johnny! (That's what I call the Greater Basilisk who guards this area.) Magic Missile him (and boy, are you seeing a trend?) as much as you can, running back into the door you came from as needed. Use your consumables as needed, including antidotes. Oh yes, +4000 EXP for the kill!
-There's another Greater Basilisk to the north of the door, and another to the west of the door. (That's 3 Johnnies in total on this roof.) That's also +4000 EXP per kill.
--When you're done here, head back down and inside. Climb to the top floor of this tower, head northwest, and find the trapped creature. Agree to help free her. Head down one flight of stairs and go immediately east. There's a guy here. Talk to him and introduce yourself, then talk to him again and give him the nymph's hair. Save and head back upstairs.
-Save before talking to Kirinhale! In version 1.0.2014 at least, you can click her, push enter, and click her again. Each time you initiate dialog, you get +4000 EXP. Even talking to her once should put you at or near level 6. Choose SKULL TRAP as your level 3 spell. (It was a hard decision for me, but HASTE is coming next level.)
-Clear the rest of this aboveground part of the tower as you see fit. (You can lose aggro if you quickly go up and down staircases to lose enemies.) If a Ghast or Greater Ghast touches you, expect to be paralyzed. If you're paralyzed, just reload. You're as good as dead.
-Head downstairs in Durlag's Tower to the basement. Clear it.
-Instead of going step by step from now on, know this: The best buffs to keep up are Haste, Stoneskin, and Mirror Image. Also, most enemies are beaten with a combination of Magic Missiles and Skull Traps. Against tough enemies, I like doing a trick I call Skull Probing: Cast a Skull Trap at the edge of my vision where I expect enemies to be. When the Skull Trap goes off and hurts enemies, cast another. Repeat as desired, inserting rests and saves as needed. This is DOWNRIGHT NECESSARY for foes I can't normally handle, like a certain lower planes denizen who shall remain nameless. (Alternatively, handle this lower planes denizen by stocking up on Potions of Mirrored Eyes from Ulgath's Beard's inn and High Hedge.)
-For the frozen room in Durlag's Tower, drink a Potion of Freedom and equip your Belt of the Antipode you got from Gorion. Otherwise, prepare for great frustration!
-As for the Mustard Jellies in Durlag's Tower, I normally avoid them. They're totally immune to magic and not worth it to destroy, even with Haste and Polymorph active.
-Some other enemies in D's Tower will be magic resistant, but not 100% magic resistant. Be patient with spells, wands, scrolls, and so on.
At level 9 (the EXP cap for BG1EE, excluding the Black Pits), my Sorcerer's spell list was thus. (I intend to play through Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition.)
LEVEL 1
-Identify
-Magic Missile
-Protection from Evil
-Protection from Petrification
-Shield
LEVEL 2
-Knock
-Melf's Acid Arrow
-Mirror Image
-Resist Fear
LEVEL 3
-Haste
-Remove Magic
-Skull Trap
LEVEL 4
-Polymorph Self
-Stoneskin
By the end of Durlag's Tower (and finishing in the Beard afterward), my most relevant gear was thus:
-Robe of the Neutral Archmagi
-Quarterstaff +3
-Sling +3
-More gold than I knew what to do with.
Post edited by Endarire on
2
Comments
Mods aside, a Wizard Slayer just can't use magic items in BG1. Having to stand toe-to-toe with Battle Horrors, Doom Guards, and Basilisks all alone at low levels (like level 1) is just asking for pain and reloads.
Durlag's Tower is not overrun with casters. There are some who can cast spells, but the majority of magical foes have innate spell-like abilities and large numbers. I don't see the Wizard Slayer's casting failure upon hitting enemies to be of any significant worth.
Similar to 3.0's Forsaker class (Masters of the Wild), in a game predicated upon acquiring and using magic, I don't see the Wizard Slayer coming out ahead.