Most Difficult BG Fights (1 & 2) + Black Pits 1/2

unkinhead

Just curious on other peoples experiences with the BG franchise, what boss/fights were hardest for you, here are mine.

BG1: Sarevok (obviously), Skeleton Warriors right before Sarevok in the maze with the traps (more annoying then difficult). When i fist started into the BG universe, being lvl1 in BG1 and getting killed before you could do anything was difficult..But then i learned ranged weapons are OP as hell in BG1, makes it a lot easier.

BG2: Firkraag (The other dragons may be better statistically, but at the level you have access to fighting him 8-10, etc... He was the hardest dragon overall for me). All the other dragons...I hate dragons, i can never hit them...Not sure if its because there AC is so low, or if they constantly Stoneskin or what, it seems like i use Combat Dispelling stuff and then try to hit them only to no avail...Not sure...Irenicus in hell was pretty difficult as well, but not nearly as difficult as the Dragons imo.

TOB: #1 for me was easily melissan...My god i wanted to kill myself during that battle... 2nd place goes to Sendai
Still haven't faced Demomorgan, as i am procrastinating on Watchers Keep, so don't know how hard he is yet.

TOBEE: (DORN QUEST SPOILER) Side note, if your an evil/neutral party and you do Dorn's quest, go to the heavens to get your name of the list to be killed, 2 dragons will appear next to eachother, and thru dialogue options you can either 1. Fight them, 2. Convince them not to fight you and leave. Difficulty wise, these were the toughest enemies period for me. I picked them off one by one by abusing the fact that they are "neutral" before you talk to them, i pulled 1 and killed him, then killed the other, however both fights were incredibly difficult, i would not have been able to fight both at once.

Black Pits: Final battle, but mostly because the beholder was so annoying.
Black Pits 2: Demi-Liches (Black Blade of Disaster FTW!)

So that was my experience with the franchise, did i forget any? What were your toughest battles?

Kaltzor

I think the Sarevok might just be the hardest fight in all of BG in terms of actual difficulty... Though I have not beaten all of the Tales of the Sword Coast stuff...

But going by game for the rest and ignoring fights that aren't actually hard but just have just bullshit slammed on them to make them artificially harder...

BG2: I think this goes to either the fight with Irenicus at Suldanessellar or the dragon over there (Nizidramanii'yt looking up the name)... I do believe he's the only Dragon to use entangle, which keeps you from getting to attack it as much while it can bomb you with spells still... And all Dragons are pretty much immune to magic until you get atleast 2 Lower Resistances off.

ToB: I'm gonna have to go with Sendai on this one... Though I have not fought Demogorgon more than once... A Blackguard CHARNAME took him out with one Whirlwind Attack (not even improved) while using Crom Faeyr.
But the fight with Sendai is not just stupid like certain other fights in ToB so it can actually be hard (If it weren't for that, It would've probably been Illasera the Quick or the Tethyrian Army).

I haven't done much of the EE fights, but the one at the end of Dorn's quest in BG1EE is quite hard.

Black Pits 1: The Fire Giant. Unless you cheese it with Cloudkills...

Black Pits 2: I don't really know... I've only gone through it once... And every fight was about as difficult as the other, and the only thing I really had problems with was keeping my mage alive because everything ignored the rest of the party and went for it for some reason...

nano

BG1: Drizzt. I guess he's more of a bonus boss than anything but it's incredibly hard to take him down without some sort of cheap trick.

That's probably not what you're looking for though, so as part of the actual game:
1. The doppelganger fight in the palace. It's the only quest where you have to protect a "hostage" of sorts, and my god, are they ever incompetent at times. You can protect yourself as well as you want but if they die, you die.
2. Tarnesh, in front of the friendly arm inn. Considering he's one of the first enemies you normally meet he's really scary. I usually just avoid the inn altogether or stealth past him until I have the gear/levels to take him down.
3. Davaeorn. With SCS he spawns a horde of reinforcements, and they keep coming! Maybe I lack practice but this encounter makes me really nervous on a no reload run.

BG2:
1. Ascension Throne of Bhaal. No surprises there, it's the last battle of the series and appropriately hard.
2. The 3rd level maze demons in Watcher's Keep. Being jumped by demons right after an anti-magic room... that is some dirty ****. You can't pre-summon stuff or lay traps either because it's a different room.
3. Firkraag. Gotta agree, he's really tough and Windspear Keep is not a stroll in the park either. You have to come prepared for all manner of enemies - golems, vampires, casters... But like you, I can't resist trying to kill him with my low level party.

I haven't played Black Pits yet

nano

double post!

ryuken87

BG1: Either the Duchal Palace trying to save the dukes or Sarevok, mostly because of the amount of traps.

SoA: Nothing stands out, although on my early playthroughs I would have said anything involving beholders or mindflayers.

ToB: Everything was relatively easy. One of the WK level 3 fights in an anti magic room stuffed my current party, but that's 'cos it's a slightly weird party and under-leveled.

BP1: It was pretty easy tbh.

BP2: The drow. Firstly because of that bloody poison, secondly because everything up to then went down to a few skull traps so it required a little rethink. Everything else was easy.

Lathlaer

BG1: I don't remember any fight that was particular challenging but the one with Greater Werewolf in Ulgoth's Beard.

BG2: that depends. From mechanical point of view, without any cheese, that would be Firkraag or Shadow Dragon (depending on who you fight first). Mostly because you're much lower level when you encounter them and you can't just take three of your fighters to Greater Whirlwind the crap out of them.

From roleplaying point of view, without cheese and foreknowledge, that would be Kangaxx. There is absolutely no way a party could defeat him without knowing who to fight and how to prepare. Even with the know-how, the fight requires a lot of micromanagament (depending on who's in the party).

ToB: I'm torn between Amelyssan and Demogorgon/Seal fights.

I don't really play Black Pits, so no comment there.

JackWalrus

BG1: Sarevok. It actually took me years to complete BG because I could not kill him.

BG2: Kangaxx. He's not that difficult once you understand how to deal with him, but it took me a while to understand how to avoid the imprisonment spell.

ToB: Sendai. This fight just never ends.

BP1: The final battle, because I found that it was the only one that was actually challenging.

BP2: Battle # 16 (Battle 1 tier 4), because six fallen devas at once that are almost unkillable without cheesy tactics is not even a fair fight. I still don't even understand how I got past it.

kryptix

Lathlaer said:

BG1: I don't remember any fight that was particular challenging but the one with Greater Werewolf in Ulgoth's Beard.

BG2: that depends. From mechanical point of view, without any cheese, that would be Firkraag or Shadow Dragon (depending on who you fight first). Mostly because you're much lower level when you encounter them and you can't just take three of your fighters to Greater Whirlwind the crap out of them.

From roleplaying point of view, without cheese and foreknowledge, that would be Kangaxx. There is absolutely no way a party could defeat him without knowing who to fight and how to prepare. Even with the know-how, the fight requires a lot of micromanagament (depending on who's in the party).

ToB: I'm torn between Amelyssan and Demogorgon/Seal fights.

I don't really play Black Pits, so no comment there.

I would argue that a paladin or a cleric at a high level might beat kangaxx ever a Mage because the paladin especially inquisitor would just tank him down with super dispell interrupting everything. The cleric if high enough turns on turn undead and pops him. A Mage who is very careful with contingencies might be able to pop off a time stop improved alacrity and beat him first...

If your somehow one potion away from 100 magic resist it should work too

Lathlaer

kryptix said:

Lathlaer said:

BG1: I don't remember any fight that was particular challenging but the one with Greater Werewolf in Ulgoth's Beard.

BG2: that depends. From mechanical point of view, without any cheese, that would be Firkraag or Shadow Dragon (depending on who you fight first). Mostly because you're much lower level when you encounter them and you can't just take three of your fighters to Greater Whirlwind the crap out of them.

From roleplaying point of view, without cheese and foreknowledge, that would be Kangaxx. There is absolutely no way a party could defeat him without knowing who to fight and how to prepare. Even with the know-how, the fight requires a lot of micromanagament (depending on who's in the party).

ToB: I'm torn between Amelyssan and Demogorgon/Seal fights.

I don't really play Black Pits, so no comment there.

I would argue that a paladin or a cleric at a high level might beat kangaxx ever a Mage because the paladin especially inquisitor would just tank him down with super dispell interrupting everything. The cleric if high enough turns on turn undead and pops him. A Mage who is very careful with contingencies might be able to pop off a time stop improved alacrity and beat him first...

If your somehow one potion away from 100 magic resist it should work too

I meant Kangaxx the Demilich. You know, the one immune to spells from level 9 and below, the one whose Trap the Soul ability doesn't allow for save and bypasses Spell Resistance (at least that's what I think - I had Keldorn with 50% and a drow with 72% and not once in several loads did they resist). The one he pops with speed of 1 and can be hurt by very few conventional weapons from SoA (Carsomyr, Soul Reaver, Staff of Magi and Warblade +4 come to mind).

Besides - the mere fact that you are mentioning a Mage with a Time Stop and Improved Alacrity (a ToB spell) should say something about this fight There is few things in the game which cannot be solved by a mage using those spells and a whole bunch of artillery.

ryuken87

I think it is possible to beat Kangaxx first time if you were cheesing the fight anyway with a Pf Undead scroll but yeah, it can be brutal initially.

Iseleth

BG1: Sarevok, if you fight him "fairly", that is by fighting him and his henchmen all at the same time. I have only completed the TotSC content once, long ago, so I can't comment on the bonus bosses.

BG2: Kangaxx is probably the hardest boss for a first-timer, yes.

ToB: Draconis, Draconis, Draconis. Most annoying boss in the entire series. I beat him fairly once, but now I always cheese this fight with spike traps.

Haven't played the Black Pits yet.

Bigfish

Sarevok is the only one I've extensive fought who was difficult, though a couple of fights are more than capable of screwing you over if Charname gets targeted with something big. Like the demon knight under Durlag's put an end to me no reload run that was pretty far along by symbol stunning Charname and chewing him to death. Just flat bad luck there, since I could reload and wipe the floor with him afterward, several times.

jackjack

Kangaxx for me.

nano

There are a lot of all-or-nothing enemies in BG2. In many ways I think BG1 had better opponents (except for Karoug, the BG1 demilich).

do you know how to block imprisonment y/n
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yes					no
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wow what a joke		    wow what is this bullcrap

kryptix

ryuken87 said:

I think it is possible to beat Kangaxx first time if you were cheesing the fight anyway with a Pf Undead scroll but yeah, it can be brutal initially.

Yeah but he was a lot easier than twisted rune in my current SCS insane play through.

I did "cheat" though by picking up keldorn with a neutral/evil party for one day to do those two. Double Sunray from simulacrum and project image day star killed the lich and on the Demi lich between keldorn dispel. Between carosmyr, dual wielding fighter illusionist with hammer +4 vs giant kind (my only +4 not carosmyr) and Jahiera with sling of eversed all pinging him for 1-2 at a time with imp haste, it took a long time but the demilich never got a spell off...

Pretty easy one shot compared to twisted rune.

Took me 5 tries before I won without anyone being chunked and that still was with only Charname alive since keldorn got one hit killed too..

Lathlaer

kryptix said:

ryuken87 said:

I think it is possible to beat Kangaxx first time if you were cheesing the fight anyway with a Pf Undead scroll but yeah, it can be brutal initially.

Yeah but he was a lot easier than twisted rune in my current SCS insane play through.

I did "cheat" though by picking up keldorn with a neutral/evil party for one day to do those two. Double Sunray from simulacrum and project image day star killed the lich and on the Demi lich between keldorn dispel. Between carosmyr, dual wielding fighter illusionist with hammer +4 vs giant kind (my only +4 not carosmyr) and Jahiera with sling of eversed all pinging him for 1-2 at a time with imp haste, it took a long time but the demilich never got a spell off...

Pretty easy one shot compared to twisted rune.

Took me 5 tries before I won without anyone being chunked and that still was with only Charname alive since keldorn got one hit killed too..

Well, yeah. I killed him without a single +4/+5 weapon. First two fighters (with Keldorn to dispel) take care of the lich version. Neera, under Death Ward, waits right next to the stairs. As soon as the dialogue indicating change to demilich form pops out, every hasted warrior runs away and Neera steps in to be the closest one. She casts Spell Immunity (Abjuration) and Melf's Minature Meteors. She starts throwing them and recasts the spell when needed (all her 3rd level spells are Meteors). The only fear is that you will not kill him before Spell Immunity runs out, but you can recast it after some rounds for good measure.

But that is total cheese

I don't know about SCS, but in vanilla I once cheesed the Rune guys with traps for Shangalar and a selected champion with all the needed buffs (Protection from Evil, Death Ward, Negative Plane Protection, Chaotic Commands) and Shield of Balduran. He was the only one who fought :P

Sporvan

Kangaxx is easy now with a Ring of the Ram blast followed by Rasaad's Sun Soulray.

The Demilich in Watcher's Keep was probably the encounter I had with the most reloads. Until I eventually just settled for letting my wizard solo him with a Spell Imunity on while my party waited outside.

Lathlaer

I didn't have a problem with that demilich but I forgot that he doesn't care who stands next to him and casts at however he pleases. I lost Keldorn but managed to kill him. Luckily, at this stage of the game you have at least couple of Freedom scrolls. Funny though - when I wanted him to rejoin my party, he talked as if we were in the Order of the Radiant Heart HQ

Illustair

BP1: Fire Giant. The last battle was easy enough, but the fire giant battle had me resorting to cheesy tactics.
BP2: Rakshasa and Ruhk death squad! Naturally immune to normal I think and only slashing can hurt them IIRC, then memorized several PfMW. It was really hard to kill them. It didn't help that they can cast Time Stop and Horrid Wilting, spam Melf's Acid Arrow and Magic Missles, and Invi themselves if need be; they're not so bad in melee as well. Either that or the Vampire battle, without any other means to protect level drain at that time...Shadowdancer vampires that can shadowstep (and detect illusions while at it), hide at plain sight, then backstab. High movement rate, natural true sight, high melee damage, and have I mentioned that the leader casts Time Stop and Horrid Wilting too? Horrible battle!

It's been a long time since I've played OC.

Antagonist

My examples will be based on my first encounters ever, the ones that I went through without metagame knowledge and that I REALLY struggled with. I was... 13? 14? And I was a total greenhorn in terms of DnD whatsoever, so expect the unexpected

BG1 (sorted by my level of frustration):
1. Silke. My first playthrough ever, lvl 1 party and that bitch casts a lightning bolt! So I tried over and over and over again. At the time I was one of the guys that read every conversation and talked to everyone and I was totally about immersion and getting personally involved in the plot, so I didn't even think about skipping the fight and coming back. When I finally made it, with heavy damage, half the party dead and no money to raise them in the temple, I felt just epic

2. Red Wizards in Peldvale. Also because of my total lack of basic Dnd education I hated these guys because I didn't know a proper way to defend against their spells. Sorry but four wizards attack me on sight, that's not what I was expecting...

3. Sarevok. Well, we all know why, so I've got nothing new to tell. Not my first playthrough though, until I finally got to the end of BG, I had already restarted a few times with different charnames, because I felt like I'm not feeling my character, so by the time I had the chance to fight Sarevok I learned much and it wasn't that bad after all. That's why Silke and Thayans are still higher on the list than him.

4. BONUS! Durlag's Tower! I was a kid, dammit, and oh boy it was one HELL of a trip. Went there totally unprepared, my party died countless times before I got to the end.

BG2:
1. Irenicus in Suldanesselar. Like I said before, first encounter ever and on top of that I didn't really care about Edwin's spellbook so I wasn't too happy when I learned that for the sake of epicness Jon got a nice infinite set of spells to choose from, while Edwin hardly ever cared to copy those badass looking scrolls, cause I needed money and always sold them.
2. Firkraag. No comment. Charname said "I just analyzed in my mind a gazillion of different scenarios that would happen if I chose to attack you now, all of which ended with violent death of me and my friends, and the omnipresent authority figure casting the 99th circle's spell "LOAD GAME" sooo... I'll just take the girl and come back later!!! Hehehe!!! Errr... BYE!" So yes, I broke my habit and skipped the damn fight.
3. Beholders, yaaaaaayy!! This is yet another example of my ignorance an- *Save vs. Beholder's-Whatever-He-Cast-At-The-Moment failed* (4 weeks earlier, Adventurer's Mart - "Reflects beholder rays? So what? It subtracts one point of Str, WTF Deidre, I need my Thac0!! My shield is way better than this piece of crap -_- )

EDIT: And now I'm just sitting here, PowerDoubleWildMageRunning through both games, wondering how many seconds will Amelissana be able to survive when I get to her.. This is sad, no more roleplay for me I guess

Dungeonnoob

I must say Durlags tower when i finally entered the lower dungeons with my lv 5-6 party, i was shivering down there with fear,traps and terrible monsters all over the place.

Antagonist

Exactly. Grim ambience and building that horrifying feeling of approaching doom make Durlag's Tower (especially getting to know the story of this place and what Durlag himself went through) the most intense and difficult experience in terms of RP.