Doing Planar sphere early in chap 2?

Wanderon

It's been a very long time since I've done the planar sphere - am I likely to have issues doing it very early (essentially first quest after Circus)?

I am playing a multi-solo with two PCs (FMT & Dwarven Defender) with Jahiera, Viconia, and Valygar so far altho I could pick up someone else before entering.

IIRC the sphere provides you with essential weapons - are there any "must haves" I need to bring along with us?

My F7/M7/T8 has 95 OL and 100 FT which I am guessing is going to be high enough for locks & traps as is.

How impatient is Val likely to be if we don't head right to the sphere? Maybe we could finish Umar hills and grab Mazzy before entering.

Playing BG2EE - no mods except Dungeon B Gone

ryuken87

Certainly doable, only you know your abilities as a player. What I will say is you're very light on arcane magic and there's a few higher level mages to deal with where you might need to Breach.

In terms of weapons there are a few golems you need to fight so make sure you have a +3 or two for the iron/adamantites and a magic blunt weapon or two for the clays.

artyom

there are a 2 quiete difficult encounters with mages. its doable but best you get more exp and/or add more party members. You can get minsc/anomen/korgan/nalia at the copper coronet without doing any quests

Wanderon

ryuken87 said:

Certainly doable, only you know your abilities as a player. What I will say is you're very light on arcane magic and there's a few higher level mages to deal with where you might need to Breach.

In terms of weapons there are a few golems you need to fight so make sure you have a +3 or two for the iron/adamantites and a magic blunt weapon or two for the clays.

Yeah I was thinking I might be low on arcane casters - wasn't sure if Aerie would suffice or if I might want Nalia or Neera. I'm thinking I'd probably need to do Nalias Keep before taking her which might not be a bad idea anyway for some weapons etc.

Have not made up my mind which stronghold to take yet either... :-)

artyom

i think the shadow thieves quests are pretty easy and it gives you decent stuff and edwin (better than any spellcaster any charname can be)

Wanderon

artyom said:

i think the shadow thieves quests are pretty easy and it gives you decent stuff and edwin (better than any spellcaster any charname can be)

Yeah I have done all three of the choices my FMT will have before (in Vanilla BG2) just haven't figured out where my current Charname stands yet and/or what my final party might look like.

Fardragon

artyom said:

i think the shadow thieves quests are pretty easy and it gives you decent stuff and edwin (better than any spellcaster any charname can be)

Given that char name can be a sorcerer, this last statement is clearly false!

artyom

Fardragon said:

artyom said:

i think the shadow thieves quests are pretty easy and it gives you decent stuff and edwin (better than any spellcaster any charname can be)

Given that char name can be a sorcerer, this last statement is clearly false!

i'd consider them rather equal. But given that youre charname can be a sorcerer AND have perfect stats whereas edwin doesnt, then yes you are right and I was wrong

FrozenCells

ryuken87 said:

Certainly doable, only you know your abilities as a player. What I will say is you're very light on arcane magic and there's a few higher level mages to deal with where you might need to Breach.

In terms of weapons there are a few golems you need to fight so make sure you have a +3 or two for the iron/adamantites and a magic blunt weapon or two for the clays.

There aren't any iron/adamantine golems if you go at lower levels. Also with invisibility or stealth, you can easily put the demon heart back without engaging the golems anyway.

I got through the Planar Sphere quite early and easily (I did Umar Hills first) but with a very arcane-heavy party: two sorcerers (PC+mod NPC, Adrian), an enchanter (Xan), Viconia, Dorn and Yoshimo. The two tough points were Tolgerias and the Demon area. I managed to strip Tolgerias of his protections quickly enough to stop his Horrid Wilting which was integral, the OPs party probably won't be able to, so I don't really recommend it with your current party setup.

kryptix

I guess he can do it if he cheese tolgerias by running in and out of the room to waste his spells... Otherwise it can be hard on higher difficulties. Wand of cloud kill will be his friend.

You can drop Valygar as soon as you unlock the sphere he isn't needed to do the sphere.

Wanderon

Actually I picked up Valygar because I wanted an archer (someone to use the numerous magic arrows that drop) FMT went with darts, DD throwing axes, Jahs & Viccy sling altho I made a save before entering Valgars cabin and the party has not left his cabin yet so I may reload and leave him until later and maybe go get Mazzy and see how that goes. Maybe follow that by grabbing Nalia and see what level she is and either do the sphere or her keep.

kryptix

Well mazzy is a much better archer, valygar is specialized in two weapon and katanas so you give him celestial fury and belm...

Wanderon

Yeah there is a somewhat limited use for a dedicated archer in general for BG2 but I hate to have a party that doesn't have someone who can at least occasionally make use of all those upgraded arrows.

I did go back to just before we entered Valygars cabin and took the crew through the rest of the Umar Hills quest line and picked up Mazzy - I'd pick up Valygar and keep him around so Mazzy can have a squire but he just isn't as useful as either Jahiera or Viccy nor as good a tank as my 2nd PC Dwarf Defender and I should really have a more dedicated arcane caster than my FMT in that final slot which means either Nalia or Edwin at least until Imoen is available.

Actually this archer talk is making me wonder if I could make any headway with a troop of ranged characters... I'll have to put that on the list. Be nice to cover all the options - bow, Xbow, sling, dart, axe, and dagger - probably be more effective in BGEE than BG2EE. ;-)

Skaffen

I know how you feel, current party I am using Haer and Hexxat as pseudo-archers firing practically nothing but special ammo and hardly using the infinite quivers / Firetooth but I still feel I am drowning in ammo. OK, I did steal a few stacks early on to get a headstart.

arkngt

No offense, but I find the Planar Sphere quite hard on lower levels. In fact, my band of brothers and sisters are pretty much obliterated as soon as they enter it - and they are around Lvl 9 or so. I'll loose Valygar for now and redo it much later in the game.

lunar

arkngt said:

No offense, but I find the Planar Sphere quite hard on lower levels. In fact, my band of brothers and sisters are pretty much obliterated as soon as they enter it - and they are around Lvl 9 or so. I'll loose Valygar for now and redo it much later in the game.

I agree, and I have scs installed and with it that place is an absolute nightmare. Those halflings with the names, they are good. Like real good. Gave me no end to trouble and a couple reloads. They must be the scariest halflings in all planes of existence.

Even without scs, Tolgerias and Lavok fights should be difficult enough, but you can drown them in summons and have them waste their spells. Vanilla AI is easy to abuse. The demons can give you trouble if you don't have enough enchanted weapons at your disposal, though. At least +2 weapons are required, IIRC.

bob_veng

with scs it's hell. that cambion makes short work of any low-mid level party if you play fair and don't kite and chase around the level.

but without scs it's really not a problem, i remember i just breezed through it the first time i played bg2.

generally if you order your quest-solving optimally (according to challenge) it should fall somewhere in the middle of chapter 2

lunar

bob_veng said:

with scs it's hell. that cambion makes short work of any low-mid level party if you play fair and don't kite and chase around the level.

but without scs it's really not a problem, i remember i just breezed through it the first time i played bg2.

generally if you order your quest-solving optimally (according to challenge) it should fall somewhere in the middle of chapter 2

Umm I think you are mixing it up with the Planar Prison quest, yeah that Cambion in it is stuff of nightmares with scs.

Felspawn

People would also complain the Planar prison is really hard too but its usually one of the first places i go with my Bards when i play and i manage it ok.

bob_veng

planar prison is easy without scs. much easier than the planar sphere. but with scs it's much tougher than the planar sphere because of the brutal final battle.

velehal

The boss (Warden) of the Planar prison with SCS is not easy even for the party which has returned from the Underdark.