At what level should you enter Durlag tower?

Tok

At what level should you enter Durlag tower?

Vitor

I think LV6 or 7. It's a harsh dungeon.

Tok

Thanks. Is it called dungeon when it goes upwards?

Vitor

Well... You'll see that by yourself.

Bigfish

You could theoretically do it at level 1 if you gathered the right gear and thief skills. Wand of Frost will take out the initial 2 doom guard with 3 charges each, you can grab a 16 charge Lightning Bolt wand on the third floor up, which is pretty safe to use if you having a grounding potion. Some protection from petrification will let you take out the basilisks. That should be enough XP to boost the group to about level 4, which would give you enough xp to try poking at stuff in the basement.

Heindrich

I'd say don't go to Durlag's Tower until you've been to Ulgoth's Beard. Otherwise u might miss out on a few quests inside the Tower...

Otherwise it's definitely supposed to be endgame content, so if this is your first playthrough, then I'd leave it somewhere near the end, maybe beginning of Chapter 7.

OneAngryMushroom

Typically I do Durlag's tower just before I start the final quest of the game. So level 7 maybe pushing 8 with some characters.

atcDave

I usually hit the Tower very late. After my return visit to Candlekeep, but before I head back to the Baldur's Gate.

iAmGoatBoy

Yeah, any level if you're teh ubar leet power gameingz sploit d00d, level 7 and up if you're "some guy playing a game", like me.

Corvino

I wouldn't touch it before my party thief had 100 Tind Traps and my melee are level 6+ and geared up.

The doom guards and greater doppelgangers at the front entrance are a good test. If you can kill them then you're probably about ready.

Quartz

I tend to do it at Level 5 if I have a really solid party. Otherwise I wait until Level 6.

That said waiting until Level 7 is a pretty smart idea if it's your first time.

Corvino said:

The doom guards and greater doppelgangers at the front entrance are a good test. If you can kill them then you're probably about ready.

Yep.

CrevsDaak

Last time I did the half of it with a Fighter solo, just it is completely insane and not recommended (anyway I was level 9 and in Chapter 7).

chbrooks

Just finished it prior to entering Baldur's Gate for the first time. I think my party was mostly level 5 when they went in, made it up to level 7 by the end of it. It was a doozy.

Quartz

@chbrooks See that's how you do it! Nice.

I do it at Level 5 because you feel pretty dang accomplished coming out!

Of course the rest of the game is a breeze then ... -.-;

Onestep

It's endgame stuff. The enemies outside the tower are a good test. If you can beat them without too much trouble, then you can probably take the tower easily enough if you're cautious.

Yamcha

Onestep said:

It's endgame stuff. The enemies outside the tower are a good test. If you can beat them without too much trouble, then you can probably take the tower easily enough if you're cautious.

Even a high level party can have a hard time vs the doomguards, but you can easily dispose of them on lower levels, any level that is when you know how:

remove magic (dispels their firesword, unarmed! ) is pretty great, no risk of getting killed.
fire resistance 100% is even better, makes you immune to their damage
they have a pretty strong AC, but are vulnerable to magic. Magic Missile away!

Yamcha

@OP
If you want a bit of challenge , dont wait too long before visiting the tower, I find it too easy at the point I'm done with Baldurs Gate, and the loot is mostly useless at that point

moody_mage

I'm lame. I'll clear the game all the way to up to where Sarevok is hiding is his little temple, then turn around and do the TotSC content.

Moczo

@decado You can be lame with me because I do the SAME THING.

Lame? Or lame AWESOME?

Demonoid_Limewire

Full party of six, 6 level minimum each is good idea. Solo, i do not thing if it is even manageable. Half party (2-3 persons), level 7 or 8 would be decent...

Schneidend

Max, or close to it. 6 or above for most classes, as others have said. Depends on if there's any loot particularly useful for you down there. If you have a greatsword guy, getting the World's Edge will make you hilariously powerful.

abacus

Ground level... Can't reach the windows...

Edit: Sorry, I couldn't help myself.

Anduin

Honestly, unless you are soloing, doing a non-reload challenge or have difficulty set above core rules.

There is no reason for not doing it as early as possible. Travelling to Ulgoth Beard, collecting a full party and coming back to Durlag's will mean the earliest you could enter it is around Lvl 3 (unless you decide not to level up, for some crazy reason...)

You will have a tough time, but you will also level up extremely quickly, and get great loot you will use throughout the game.

(Reasons not to do this though is that you can then blitz the rest of the game pretty easily...)

I must admit when I play, I wait for a thief in my party to hit 100 in find traps and open locks (or pretty close so a potion of perception will take me up over the 100 threshold.

The main problem I have doing this, is those four dwarves, on the second floor down, become extremely difficult to defeat, with usually at least one party member getting irretrievably chunked (Khalid usually for some inexplicable reason...)

Quartz

@Schneidend

Schneidend said:

If you have a greatsword guy, getting the World's Edge will make you hilariously powerful.

Would that go a little something like this?

CrevsDaak

@Quartz

Quartz said:

Schneidend

Schneidend said:

If you have a greatsword guy, getting the World's Edge will make you hilariously powerful.

Would that go a little something like this?

That's epic, you're the 21th century's best artist...

Schneidend

Quartz said:

Would that go a little something like this?

Pretty much exactly like that. For immediate gratification, try using the Cursed Sword of Berserking. There's nothing quite as funny as a lvl 2 warrior class with at least one pip in two-handed weapon style wielding a +3 weapon.

SCARY_WIZARD

Heindrich said:

I'd say don't go to Durlag's Tower until you've been to Ulgoth's Beard. Otherwise u might miss out on a few quests inside the Tower...

Otherwise it's definitely supposed to be endgame content, so if this is your first playthrough, then I'd leave it somewhere near the end, maybe beginning of Chapter 7.

Right on, Hoss! I tackled it and a bunch of other places arooound that Chapter, after my EXP reached the official cap (luckily I had the BG I Tweak Pack installed~! !), and still managed to get floored a few times. Also lost Kivan, Safana, and Yeslick.