I'm certain that in order to succeed in the SCS no-reload setup the player has to know well what difficulties are waiting for him in this or that encounter at least from the enemy's tactics and numbers.
After beating BG1 with the druid I actually had to go through SoA with a party playthrough in which I was able to evaluate what tactics I could use in a solo druid play. It took a lot of time but in the end it paid off brilliantly because Yahiko was prepared for difficult battles in the sense that at least he knew what to expect.
I haven't beaten ToB yet so I have to make sure Yahiko won't fall because of a sudden surprise in the form of 10 beholders spawning right on his head from nowhere;)
So I think Yahiko's adventure in ToB will have to wait.
Also, I'm very fond of the multiple Playthroughs thread of @Ygramul and Co and want to join you, guys, there. I've been planning a run with a solo Wizard Slayer long enough and I think it's a perfect time to try. I see this character a little bit different than @Blackraven 's Thani and want to check if a ranged wizard slayer with an emphasis on throwing daggers and axes can do it.
I want to try the Dark Horizons mod (influenced by you, @Gotural ) and the Item Randomization component of the BG2 Tweaks.
So, Yahiko will of course come back but not right now.
Hey @bengoshi Bravo!! Excellent work with your Totemic Druid. Not many people expected this I think. And I must say, after your first charname fell in the Cloakwood Mines, I expected it would take you a few more tries to get attuned to the solo Totemic Druid, but Yahiko just walked stoically through SoA, with his animals ready to teach any brigands not to mess with him. Btw I'm surprised that Yahiko was only level 26. My successful solo characters tend to reach the XP cap in the Underdark. (Not that it matters much for Yahiko; he wouldn't have had more spell slots of quest spells, only a bit earlier.)
It's wise of you to take a break and test ToB. I should have done the same with Thani and especially Norgath (one of my favorite Charnames). You're right about not every character class or kit being played in the same manner, and as you can see in recent updates, I've already become used to the fact that my Cleric/Illusionist isn't really a fighter but a summoner and a tank.
Good luck with your WS! Looking forward too reading about him/her
- Soloing as a druid is not that hard as many people think. Actually, I think that this point of view is based, majorly, on the mere fact not many people actually use druids other than Jaheira. Cernd is labelled "useless", "weak" etc so people often overlook the diverse arsenal a druid actually has.
- Any druid should rely on his summons. In BG1, it's majorly Animal Summoning I and Call Woodland Beings. The lack of summons in BG1 can be compensated by using wands of Heaven, the Necklace of Missiles and potions to inflict fireballs. Also, darts rule supreme in BG1 and help to quickly hit your hold enemies (a big thanks to Woodland Beings and their multiple Hold spells). In BG2, it's Conjure Fire Elemental.
- In BG1 and before you get good protection spells, use all the potions you have without any hesitation. When my first druid fell in the Cloakwood Mine, it was the main conclusion that helped a lot in the future.
- Totemic Druid's summons are excellent. Not only they are useful in BG1 and early stages of BG2, their immunities make them valid warriors till the very end.
- The power of a druid as a solo character is the availability of Death Ward - Chaotic Commands - and later Shield of the Archons. These spells have a long duration and can save a solo character from many sudden threats, such as traps and first enemy mages's castings.
- The second power of druid as a solo character is their fast levelling. Yes, those who've got used to Jaheira in a party play, usually remember that it takes ages for her to get the 7th spell level slot and then it takes even longer to get the HLA. For a single class druid it is not a problem. Instead, a druid is one of the fastest levelling up characters in both games. As soon as a druid reaches the 5th spell level in BG1 and gets several Fire Elementals in BG2, all future encounters lose 50% of their difficulty.
- Stats are not important for a druid - just check Yahiko's screen. Only wisdom matters, and additional spells it provides helps a lot. Due to the inability to open the container with the 3rd Wisdom Tome in BG1, my druid had only 20 WIS, not 21, thus losing one spell of the 3rd and - especially - the 5th level.
- Wondrous Recall is a cool spell. Because the 5th spell level gives several VIP spells such as Chaotic Commands (an immunity to many game-ending effects), Ironskins (an option to resist to physical damage) and Pixie Dust (an invisibility) (precisely in that order), and you need at least two Chaotic Commands so that you can recast it if your protection is dispelled, Wondrous Recall helps a lot.
- Cast Ironskins in advance i.e. before resting. It lasts 12 hours so this helps to manage the 5th spell level.
- True Seeing is the next important spell. Prior to it, Invisibility Purge from the 3rd spell level, does the job right.
- Insect Plague... Yeah. A battle-winning spell in BG1 and still very useful in BG2 for a party play but when soloing you don't have a spell slot for it till later in BG2.
- The main problem for a druid are beholders, at least their SCS variations. Yahiko found them the most difficult to deal with and actually without the 7th spell level they're hard to beat.
- Once a druid reaches the 7th spell level, Shield of the Archons should be your main spell. Only when you get another spell slot, only then you can choose another spell. And this is true no matter how wonderful Creeping Doom and Nature's Beauty are. Unfortunately, these cool spells were of no use for Yahiko - a druid in the party has a right to use them but when soloing, you have to think about your safety first.
- Firestorm is one of the most damaging druid spells, it's needed when you deal with enemies who have many HPs.
- Druid's HLAs are excellent. Just superb.
- The Deva should be the first choice because she has good magic resistance, is immune to various elemental damages, insta-kill effects and weapons of less than +2 enchantment, and sees the invisible. Moreover, she has the spells that a druid lacks, namely Remove Fear and Remove Curse (those golems and their Curses). The Deva's Globe of Blades is a good source of damage.
- Greater Elemental Summoning is your best friend for boss fights, such as a dragon or Irenicus.
- Energy Blades. Maybe the deadliest of your weapons in the DPS department.
- Elemental Form. Just check the last episode of SoA for Yahiko.
P.S. As for the levelling, as soon as Yahiko hit 3 mln XP and got HLAs, the aim was to go through the main quest. This is why Yahiko was "only" level 26 when he met Irenicus.
I like the Russian "МИР ФЭНТЕЗИ" ("the world of Fantasy") copyright mark on the image you posted, @Blackraven : )
Firestorm works well with the Fire Elemental Transformation. Cast the storm, change the form, and run around unharmed while the monsters chasing you get slowly roasted.
A lot of time has passed since Joneleth had been defeated. For Yahiko, nonetheless, it were only several seconds before he found himself in a new, strange area, with talking stones.
Having been warned that a powerful enemy is approaching, Yahiko quickly summoned his 2 best friends, the Deva and Chan so he could retreat as soon as the enemy was detected.
Illasera couldn't handle them.
On the first page of this discussion we were talking about the effectiveness of Spirit animals. It looks like the Totemic Druid's special summons are fine even in ToB. Yahiko prefers to stay as far from any fight he's allowed to do so, as he can.
How to deal with SCS Gromnir, that was the question.
Invisible, Yahiko passed the level previous to the Gromnir's. Then he found a place where he could safely get visible while summoning helpers.
Trying to stay away from enemies' focus, Yahiko was busy with re-summoning the Deva and the Elemental Princes when needed.
It was fun to see that a Fallen Planetar summoned by a Gromnir's mage killed the powerful Bhaalspawn.
After Gromnir fell, Yahiko did not continue this fight in order to minimize the chances of a failture and simply went away, leaving the rest of Gromnir's troops to deal with his summons.
That was how the first chapter of ToB was finished.
The next aim for Yahiko was Yaga Shura. His heart, to say precisely.
After arriving to the first Fire Giants location, Yahiko found out his Spirit Summons couldn't last for even one turn against a pack of those Giants. Fighter HLAs make the Giants too deadly for low-HP Spirit Animals.
And this is when Yahiko began experimenting. Being invisible, he tried to find a place on the map from where he could attack the Giants better.
And the recipe was found.
It seems the game engine works so that when your character doesn't see an enemy and your summons do see it, your summons attack without retaliation. So the first thing Yahiko had to do was to discover an enemy (being invisible), then retreat to a safe place, then summon 2-3 Spirit Lions, then order them to go to the place the Giants are standing, then... Profit!
The nearest future would be the best illustration that this discovery literally helps to continue a solo ToB run.
The Fake Gorion and the group of undead in the Temple couldn't deal with the Deva and other summons in a fair fight.
Next... Was the Fire Giants dungeon. There're too many Giants there, standing nearly in each and every room so that there're not many places in the area from where a druid can summon his helpers unnoticed. Yet, with several runs about the place (Boots of Speed + Oil of Speed) gave Yahiko a chance to let those who see him move from one place to another, from another place to somewhere else, and so on and on till Yahiko didn't find an empty place.
The Deva was summoned and dealt with a Fire Lich.
The Energy Blades helped against an Efreeti.
Slowly packs of Yahiko's Lions dealt with the Fire Giants. The main thing was not to observe the fight.
So, an access to the second floor was granted.
There was a dragon, Brimstone, on the second floor. Yahiko retreated to the previous level but the beast... followed him! It's a very rare thing in the EEs that a monster can follow you to another area.
Still, using his experience of dealing with the Black Dragon while searching for Irenicus, Yahiko was victorious.
The Elemental Prince dealt with Berenn, the main Fire Giant there. Against Imix Yahiko used a form of the Fire Elemental.
After that, the Yaga Shura's heart and the heart of his mother-in-law, were taken. Nyalee, though, couldn't keep her word so Yahiko had to deal with her.
It seems the game engine works so that when your character doesn't see an enemy and your summons do see it, your summons attack without retaliation. So the first thing Yahiko had to do was to discover an enemy (being invisible), then retreat to a safe place, then summon 2-3 Spirit Lions, then order them to go to the place the Giants are standing, then... Profit!
I am curious about the scripts being used because I don't think this is inherent to the engine.
It seems the game engine works so that when your character doesn't see an enemy and your summons do see it, your summons attack without retaliation. So the first thing Yahiko had to do was to discover an enemy (being invisible), then retreat to a safe place, then summon 2-3 Spirit Lions, then order them to go to the place the Giants are standing, then... Profit!
I am curious about the scripts being used because I don't think this is inherent to the engine.
Isn't that the old cheese that everybody used to kill Drizzt?
Well, as the next update will show, the drow more than retaliate to summons when Yahiko don't see them. Also, I don't remember such behavior in BG1EE and SoA (BG2EE). Maybe this is a thing specific in the EE to Fire Giants, Burning Men and others on those maps?
The only way to tell is to look at their scripts (and cre files) and also use various summoned creatures to make sure this does not come from a particular feature on a creature. Moreover BG2ToB and BG2EE do not always behave similarly.
Yaga Shura was ... surprisingly simple for a druid.
The first thing to do was to kill minor enemies that could block Yahiko when he ran from Yaga Shura.
And you know, this running paid dividends. Due to a planned route, Yaga Shura, being a giant, became stuck in this position:
It was his end, really. To only stay there and suffer everything Yahiko threw on him... A cruel fate indeed.
The Pocket Plane challenge was ahead. An Elemental Prince (Sunnis this time) and Yahiko as an Earth Elemental and then as a Fire Elemental dealt with their old foes-friends: Tamoko, Angelo, Semaj.
Fast forward, and Yahiko found himself near the entrance to the Sendai's Enclave. Although the drow retaliated to summons when Yahiko was away from the fight, the huge amount of summons Yahiko brought helped here (Having reached 8 mln XP, Yahiko can summon 7 spirit animals, not talking about Elementals here)
Basically, Odamaron the lich and Ogremoch the Elemental Prince were next. But unlike the ordinary drow, these enemies, as the game showed, were a massive challenge for a solo druid. But this is the story for the next update...
Yeah... With only one difference. In my game the energy blades just couldn't kill him. Ogremoch constantly spams Stoneskins so the only way of dealing damage to him is managing to wait till exatly 10 skins of him are over and then hope to roll a high number to hit him - only to see a new Stoneskin spell casted a second later. Add to this huge damage that Ogremoch deals in melee, so that the Deva can survive maybe 4-5 blows while the spirit bears only 1-2 blows, and you get a picture.
Magic Resistance blocked every attempt of Yahiko to kill Ogremoch with magic. And in order to inflict a damage to Stoneskinned Ogremoch, Yahiko could only attack him with the Spear of Withering (+4 poison weapon). But you know how low the amount of APR of a druid is.
So, for several real days Yahiko tried various combinations to deal with Ogremoch. I almost gave up. To flee from the battlefield was easy - just exit through a door and then teleport to the Pocket Plane, but while it kept Yahiko alive it didn't help to overcome Ogremoch.
Then I began studing each and every druid spell and HLA closely. And then I FOUND IT! The solution! Do you know it? Try to guess and only then open the spoiler to check if you're right.
The Magic Resistance spell. Yeah, that's right. The level 5 of divine spells. Completely overlooked for all this playthough, up until now.
I was so happy when I understood how to deal with Ogremoch.
Maybe this thing (that I managed to find a solution) gave me the biggest pleasure I've ever felt from BG... It alone shows how awesome a solo playthough with a druid is.
So, I summoned a pack of friends (which became usual though all those 30+ attempts of fighting with Ogremoch), casted the glorious spell and then both Yahiko and his Simulacrum spammed Ogremoch with the Creeping Doom spells. About 6 of this spells inflicted severe damage to Ogremoch in seconds. It was over in less than 2 minutes.
After probably 40 hours of trying...
P.S. As for Odamaron the Lich, the main thing was not to let him see Yahiko for a subsequent dialogue and additional monsters (the script of that fight) so that the Deva, the Prince and Spirit Lions could kill him gradually.
The enemies that were left in the enclave were not as difficult as Ogremoch.
But the Sendai encounter was another case. Again, I didn't trust @Enuhal's advice on the bioware forum to rely on summons. The SCS Sendai area is a dangerous place for a solo character without buffs against weapons and magic.
A lot of Sendai clones + packs and packs of drow with GWW... A recipe to a quick death for a druid, even with a Deva and Elementals.
When I read through all the druid spells in order to find a solution for Ogremoch, I paid attention to the fact that the Fire Storm HLA ignores magic resistance. Not only it could deal an amazing damage but also it could help agains the drow, I thought (it was a pity Ogremoch was immune to Fire, though).
In a Fire Elemental form a druid is immune to Fire. The drow that were defeated up until now provided 20 potions of invisibility.
So I decided to use these 3 things combined in the Sendai encounter.
Invisible, Yahiko went to the bottom of the area and from there casted his first Fire Storm. As soon as the spell was casted, Yahiko went invisible again.
BTW, Glabrezu that Sendai summoned attacked the drow
Yahiko repeated the Fire Storm - Potion of Invisibility - Fire Elemental Form combination till now ordinary drow were left. Then several Sendai clones were dead as well.
Then Yahiko could move from that place and fight other Sendai clones in the Fire Elemental Form.
For those clones that were professional mages Yahiko summoned the Deva and the Prince.
They proved to be enough for the real Sendai.
On the current pace, a solo druid indeed has to use all his arsenal in ToB. I think that the strategy Yahiko used against Sendai is the only reliable one in this fight for a solo druid. Fortunately, Sendai couldn't see invisible createres other than through the divination spells and Yahiko had lots of invisibility potions to counter those spells.
If the Totemic Druid's summons are immune to petrification/charm/other disablers then I think it's actually a pretty solid class for soloing BG1. I just finished a solo Blackguard run and the game was a piece of cake for the most part - I could go toe to toe with anything and could disable multiple mages at once with a shortbow and poison weapon. The only enemies that gave me any trouble were ones that could Hold or Petrify me with basic attacks like Basilisks or Ghast-types.
Really cool how this has played out though! I've always wanted to try one of the Druid kits but they're pretty weak in BG2 and the experience mountain they hit at 14 really sucks.
I think that this thread shows that druids are from being weak in BG2. "Think about which spells to use for this or that encounter?" - Yes. But to call a druid "weak", in BG2 even with the SCS - firm No.
As for the levels 14/15 "mountain", for a solo character it's not a big problem. Yahiko reached the defining level while dealing with beholders under the Temple, before going to the Spellhold.
Indeed, you showed that druids are capable of great things (never doubted you for a second) but you also had a head start in many bg1 encounters by going off the main questline to farm some levels. The question I have for that is whether the spirit is to overcome scs ai as a solo druid or to role play a solo druid. If the first, then certainly, if the second, then are you not too high level for the early game encounters and as such it should actually be doable in the first place? I mean, would you have expected any other outcome?
As you can see, the druids have won in that contest, so people generally think that playing as a solo druid is the hardest choice if you're going to solo through the trilogy.
So, the main incentive for this run is actully to beat the game with a druid. Many times during this playthrough, the fact that I have such a task blocked my numerous attempts of a restartitis.
I play with the SCS mod, which makes the game a lot harder.
So, combining these two factors, I see nothing wrong in some meta-gaming. As it's written in the OP here, I think that such a bad (yeah) thing as the meta-gaming needs serious countermeasures such as not OP class, not min-maxed stats, smarter AI and so on.
This run includes all that. Yahiko rolled only 75 in his stats, he's of a class that was voted to be the hardest choice for a solo run, the SCS mod makes the game as challenging as possible.
As a rule, I try to role-play my character and his party as much as I can but this time it is different due to those reasons.
Also, I haven't managed to find a documented report of a no-reload run with a solo totemic druid other than that I've linked several posts above by @Enuhal on the bioware site. I hope that this thread will become such a report, so that more people decide to try this kit and enjoy it.
Thanks for the clarification. If you put it that way then I understand some of the decisions in the walkthrough. I am not certain I caught it but how far is it a noreload currently? I think the most important part of a noreload is preparation and you do that very well. Most people seem to underestimate this.
It's been a no-reload up until now. And if the Gods of Faerun help, it'll stay that way.
Anyway, back to the tale.
The next Pocket Plane challenge introduced a Slayer. It was so focused on Yahiko that the Deva and Spirit Lions couldn't reach it in melee.
Yahiko used Energy Blades to deal with the Slayer.
The next aim was Draconis, who blocked Yahiko's way to Abazigal.
His human form couldn't deal with the Deva, Chan and Spirit Animals.
But his dragon form... well, it would be fair to say the summons were killed in a few rounds. Yahiko had to retreat to the Pocket Plane and rearrange his spells.
Remembering how the Black Dragon in Suldanessellar was killed, Yahiko chose one Deva and one Summon Elemental Prince as his 7-th level spells, all other slots were given to Energy Blades.
The Armour of Faith was considered to be a must-have against the dragon - even with excellent saving throws against Breath, the Dragon's Acid attacks could one-shot Yahiko (who has 106 HP or 111 HP with the Helmet of Balduran) if not a damage reduction from this spell.
A spirit was summoned so that the first Acid attack was spent on it. Then the Deva and Zaaman Rul clashed with the Dragon in melee while Yahiko and his Simulacrum constantly attacked with Energy Blades.
It was another time when I was astonished at how much damage Energy Blades inflict in seconds.
Drakonis healed himself as soon as reaching the near dead status, but the number of Energy Blades spells (or HLAs as spells) was enough to keep attacking.
Zaaman Rul and Simulacrum were unsummoned, the Deva was killed so Yahiko summoned several Spirit Lions while continuing attacking with Energy Blades and gulping potions of the best healing awailable (+50 HP). Drakonis lowered Yahiko's HPs to ~40 every time he used the Acid attack so Yahiko had to drink at least one potion between those attacks. All other time was spent on attacking with Energy Blades.
What is often considered one of the toughest battles in the game: done.
Well, several of the following dragons proved to be more difficult for Yahiko.
The number of dragons in this area, because of the SCS, is too damn high!
Inside the lair, the Greater Werewyvern and the pack of lizardmen were surprisingly tough. Only by using several princes and the Deva plus Energy Blades Yahiko overcame them. GWW of a lizard man is not what can be seen in IWDEE, of course (the last time I faced them).
The following zone, full of lizardmen of what not, was ignored by Yahiko in both ways (in and out). Another dragon, Anadramatis, started a fight in order to test Yahiko so it could help him to beat Abazigal...
Anadramatis's attack on Yahiko, even taking the Armour of Faith into account, was far deadlier than the one by Draconis. With one attack, nearly all HPs were taken. It meant Yahiko had to quiclkly recover all his HPs to the maximum.
But the tactic was the same: while the dragon is busy with the Prince and the Deva, Yahiko and his Simulacrum attack with Energy Blades.
A location with the fish folk followed. Here the spirit summons ruled. Although water elementals were big hitters, packs of spirit lions still managed to deal with them. Yahiko can summon 8 of them, and Simulacrum can summon 6. So, nearly three waves of spirit animals are available.
With the SCS mod, Yahiko didn't get a rope in this dungeon and had to retreat to Amketran for it. After coming back, this is what he saw in the place where Draconis had been defeated:
A retreat ito the Pocket Plane mmediately followed, so that these two dragons could be dealt with one by one.
Yahiko returned fully buffed, his Simulacrum summoned the Deva and Chan, and then a Spirit Lion to get noticed by one of the dragons.
This time, the dragon's breath damage wasn't huge. Energy Blades finished it off.
After another retreat to the Pocket Plane, the second dragon was defeated.
But as soon as it happened, another dragon appeared. Yahiko didn't see but heard it:
This dragon was very irritating. Yahiko had to try several strategies - no effect. His standard dragon tactic - Energy Blades and summons didn't work. Lots of Fire Storms - didn't work. Multiple Creeping Dooms after Magic Resistance - didn't work. To retreat wasn't a problem - Yahiko had to just ran away and use his special ability.
The problem was also Summon Insects that the dragon casted on Yahiko each time. The screenshots below illustrate the despair:
On I don't know which try Yahiko went for bringing summons and sending them to the battle without the dragon seeing Yahiko. Several waves of summons, available to the fact all the 7th level spell slots were given to summon Deva and summon Elemental Prince spells + Simulacrum managed to defeat the dragon eventually.
... Only to hear another dragon arriving. I remember @BelgarathMTH asked how many dragons the Bhaalspawn had to kill in order to complete the game (inspired by Might and Magic 8). Well, with the SCS, it seems Charname has to kill a lot of them.
Yahiko decided to repeat the latest successful strategy agains the new dragon.
A fact for the "Did you know?" thread. With the Elemental Summoning spell (which creates 2 elementals or summons a Prince) it's possible to get more than 5 summons - on the screenshot you can see 6 of them going to the dragon.
Alas, this dragon knew the Death spell. Yahiko chose the first tactic then. This dragons' breath attack hit hard as well but anyway Energy Blades were once again effective.
There were no more dragons left (at least, on the surface), and Yahiko entered the lair for the second time.
@bengoshi , Wow, that looks like it was intense! Congratulations on surviving. I guess if dragons attack you on sight and don't offer you any choice but to defend yourself or die, it has to be okay to kill them. I do wish there were more friendly dragons in BG, but it is what it is. I applaud your ingenuity in figuring out what to do without having to reload your game.
By the way, if you actually finish this as a no-reload, I think you might have the honor to be the first person from these forums to ever do so. Is that correct, @Blackraven or @Alesia_BH ?
Comments
Are you going to continue into ToB ?
After beating BG1 with the druid I actually had to go through SoA with a party playthrough in which I was able to evaluate what tactics I could use in a solo druid play. It took a lot of time but in the end it paid off brilliantly because Yahiko was prepared for difficult battles in the sense that at least he knew what to expect.
I haven't beaten ToB yet so I have to make sure Yahiko won't fall because of a sudden surprise in the form of 10 beholders spawning right on his head from nowhere;)
So I think Yahiko's adventure in ToB will have to wait.
Also, I'm very fond of the multiple Playthroughs thread of @Ygramul and Co and want to join you, guys, there. I've been planning a run with a solo Wizard Slayer long enough and I think it's a perfect time to try. I see this character a little bit different than @Blackraven 's Thani and want to check if a ranged wizard slayer with an emphasis on throwing daggers and axes can do it.
I want to try the Dark Horizons mod (influenced by you, @Gotural ) and the Item Randomization component of the BG2 Tweaks.
So, Yahiko will of course come back but not right now.
Btw I'm surprised that Yahiko was only level 26. My successful solo characters tend to reach the XP cap in the Underdark. (Not that it matters much for Yahiko; he wouldn't have had more spell slots of quest spells, only a bit earlier.)
It's wise of you to take a break and test ToB. I should have done the same with Thani and especially Norgath (one of my favorite Charnames).
You're right about not every character class or kit being played in the same manner, and as you can see in recent updates, I've already become used to the fact that my Cleric/Illusionist isn't really a fighter but a summoner and a tank.
Good luck with your WS! Looking forward too reading about him/her
- Soloing as a druid is not that hard as many people think. Actually, I think that this point of view is based, majorly, on the mere fact not many people actually use druids other than Jaheira. Cernd is labelled "useless", "weak" etc so people often overlook the diverse arsenal a druid actually has.
- Any druid should rely on his summons. In BG1, it's majorly Animal Summoning I and Call Woodland Beings. The lack of summons in BG1 can be compensated by using wands of Heaven, the Necklace of Missiles and potions to inflict fireballs. Also, darts rule supreme in BG1 and help to quickly hit your hold enemies (a big thanks to Woodland Beings and their multiple Hold spells). In BG2, it's Conjure Fire Elemental.
- In BG1 and before you get good protection spells, use all the potions you have without any hesitation. When my first druid fell in the Cloakwood Mine, it was the main conclusion that helped a lot in the future.
- Totemic Druid's summons are excellent. Not only they are useful in BG1 and early stages of BG2, their immunities make them valid warriors till the very end.
- The power of a druid as a solo character is the availability of Death Ward - Chaotic Commands - and later Shield of the Archons. These spells have a long duration and can save a solo character from many sudden threats, such as traps and first enemy mages's castings.
- The second power of druid as a solo character is their fast levelling. Yes, those who've got used to Jaheira in a party play, usually remember that it takes ages for her to get the 7th spell level slot and then it takes even longer to get the HLA. For a single class druid it is not a problem. Instead, a druid is one of the fastest levelling up characters in both games. As soon as a druid reaches the 5th spell level in BG1 and gets several Fire Elementals in BG2, all future encounters lose 50% of their difficulty.
- Stats are not important for a druid - just check Yahiko's screen. Only wisdom matters, and additional spells it provides helps a lot. Due to the inability to open the container with the 3rd Wisdom Tome in BG1, my druid had only 20 WIS, not 21, thus losing one spell of the 3rd and - especially - the 5th level.
- Wondrous Recall is a cool spell. Because the 5th spell level gives several VIP spells such as Chaotic Commands (an immunity to many game-ending effects), Ironskins (an option to resist to physical damage) and Pixie Dust (an invisibility) (precisely in that order), and you need at least two Chaotic Commands so that you can recast it if your protection is dispelled, Wondrous Recall helps a lot.
- Cast Ironskins in advance i.e. before resting. It lasts 12 hours so this helps to manage the 5th spell level.
- True Seeing is the next important spell. Prior to it, Invisibility Purge from the 3rd spell level, does the job right.
- Insect Plague... Yeah. A battle-winning spell in BG1 and still very useful in BG2 for a party play but when soloing you don't have a spell slot for it till later in BG2.
- The main problem for a druid are beholders, at least their SCS variations. Yahiko found them the most difficult to deal with and actually without the 7th spell level they're hard to beat.
- Once a druid reaches the 7th spell level, Shield of the Archons should be your main spell. Only when you get another spell slot, only then you can choose another spell. And this is true no matter how wonderful Creeping Doom and Nature's Beauty are. Unfortunately, these cool spells were of no use for Yahiko - a druid in the party has a right to use them but when soloing, you have to think about your safety first.
- Firestorm is one of the most damaging druid spells, it's needed when you deal with enemies who have many HPs.
- Druid's HLAs are excellent. Just superb.
- The Deva should be the first choice because she has good magic resistance, is immune to various elemental damages, insta-kill effects and weapons of less than +2 enchantment, and sees the invisible. Moreover, she has the spells that a druid lacks, namely Remove Fear and Remove Curse (those golems and their Curses). The Deva's Globe of Blades is a good source of damage.
- Greater Elemental Summoning is your best friend for boss fights, such as a dragon or Irenicus.
- Energy Blades. Maybe the deadliest of your weapons in the DPS department.
- Elemental Form. Just check the last episode of SoA for Yahiko.
P.S. As for the levelling, as soon as Yahiko hit 3 mln XP and got HLAs, the aim was to go through the main quest. This is why Yahiko was "only" level 26 when he met Irenicus.
I like the Russian "МИР ФЭНТЕЗИ" ("the world of Fantasy") copyright mark on the image you posted, @Blackraven : )
A lot of time has passed since Joneleth had been defeated. For Yahiko, nonetheless, it were only several seconds before he found himself in a new, strange area, with talking stones.
Having been warned that a powerful enemy is approaching, Yahiko quickly summoned his 2 best friends, the Deva and Chan so he could retreat as soon as the enemy was detected.
Illasera couldn't handle them.
On the first page of this discussion we were talking about the effectiveness of Spirit animals. It looks like the Totemic Druid's special summons are fine even in ToB. Yahiko prefers to stay as far from any fight he's allowed to do so, as he can.
How to deal with SCS Gromnir, that was the question.
Invisible, Yahiko passed the level previous to the Gromnir's. Then he found a place where he could safely get visible while summoning helpers.
Trying to stay away from enemies' focus, Yahiko was busy with re-summoning the Deva and the Elemental Princes when needed.
It was fun to see that a Fallen Planetar summoned by a Gromnir's mage killed the powerful Bhaalspawn.
After Gromnir fell, Yahiko did not continue this fight in order to minimize the chances of a failture and simply went away, leaving the rest of Gromnir's troops to deal with his summons.
That was how the first chapter of ToB was finished.
Good luck with the Fire Giants!
After arriving to the first Fire Giants location, Yahiko found out his Spirit Summons couldn't last for even one turn against a pack of those Giants. Fighter HLAs make the Giants too deadly for low-HP Spirit Animals.
And this is when Yahiko began experimenting. Being invisible, he tried to find a place on the map from where he could attack the Giants better.
And the recipe was found.
It seems the game engine works so that when your character doesn't see an enemy and your summons do see it, your summons attack without retaliation. So the first thing Yahiko had to do was to discover an enemy (being invisible), then retreat to a safe place, then summon 2-3 Spirit Lions, then order them to go to the place the Giants are standing, then... Profit!
The nearest future would be the best illustration that this discovery literally helps to continue a solo ToB run.
The Fake Gorion and the group of undead in the Temple couldn't deal with the Deva and other summons in a fair fight.
Next... Was the Fire Giants dungeon. There're too many Giants there, standing nearly in each and every room so that there're not many places in the area from where a druid can summon his helpers unnoticed. Yet, with several runs about the place (Boots of Speed + Oil of Speed) gave Yahiko a chance to let those who see him move from one place to another, from another place to somewhere else, and so on and on till Yahiko didn't find an empty place.
The Deva was summoned and dealt with a Fire Lich.
The Energy Blades helped against an Efreeti.
Slowly packs of Yahiko's Lions dealt with the Fire Giants. The main thing was not to observe the fight.
So, an access to the second floor was granted.
There was a dragon, Brimstone, on the second floor. Yahiko retreated to the previous level but the beast... followed him! It's a very rare thing in the EEs that a monster can follow you to another area.
Still, using his experience of dealing with the Black Dragon while searching for Irenicus, Yahiko was victorious.
The Elemental Prince dealt with Berenn, the main Fire Giant there. Against Imix Yahiko used a form of the Fire Elemental.
After that, the Yaga Shura's heart and the heart of his mother-in-law, were taken. Nyalee, though, couldn't keep her word so Yahiko had to deal with her.
A way to Yaga Shura was open!
I concur. This looks suspicious to me (the fact that enemies do not retalliate). Maybe someone can confirm whether this happens in their EEs as well?
http://www.forgottenwars.com/bg1/ar4200.htm
Scroll down to the part about killing Drizzt.
Moreover BG2ToB and BG2EE do not always behave similarly.
The first thing to do was to kill minor enemies that could block Yahiko when he ran from Yaga Shura.
And you know, this running paid dividends. Due to a planned route, Yaga Shura, being a giant, became stuck in this position:
It was his end, really. To only stay there and suffer everything Yahiko threw on him... A cruel fate indeed.
The Pocket Plane challenge was ahead. An Elemental Prince (Sunnis this time) and Yahiko as an Earth Elemental and then as a Fire Elemental dealt with their old foes-friends: Tamoko, Angelo, Semaj.
Fast forward, and Yahiko found himself near the entrance to the Sendai's Enclave. Although the drow retaliated to summons when Yahiko was away from the fight, the huge amount of summons Yahiko brought helped here (Having reached 8 mln XP, Yahiko can summon 7 spirit animals, not talking about Elementals here)
Basically, Odamaron the lich and Ogremoch the Elemental Prince were next. But unlike the ordinary drow, these enemies, as the game showed, were a massive challenge for a solo druid. But this is the story for the next update...
On the bioware forums, @Enuhal in 2011 managed to kill SCS Ogremoch with a solo totemic druid with energy blades while the Deva and Sunnis kept Ogremoch busy in melee. http://forum.bioware.com/topic/124277-baldurs-gate-2-no-reload-challenge/page-76
Yeah... With only one difference. In my game the energy blades just couldn't kill him. Ogremoch constantly spams Stoneskins so the only way of dealing damage to him is managing to wait till exatly 10 skins of him are over and then hope to roll a high number to hit him - only to see a new Stoneskin spell casted a second later. Add to this huge damage that Ogremoch deals in melee, so that the Deva can survive maybe 4-5 blows while the spirit bears only 1-2 blows, and you get a picture.
Magic Resistance blocked every attempt of Yahiko to kill Ogremoch with magic. And in order to inflict a damage to Stoneskinned Ogremoch, Yahiko could only attack him with the Spear of Withering (+4 poison weapon). But you know how low the amount of APR of a druid is.
So, for several real days Yahiko tried various combinations to deal with Ogremoch. I almost gave up. To flee from the battlefield was easy - just exit through a door and then teleport to the Pocket Plane, but while it kept Yahiko alive it didn't help to overcome Ogremoch.
Then I began studing each and every druid spell and HLA closely. And then I FOUND IT! The solution! Do you know it? Try to guess and only then open the spoiler to check if you're right.
The Magic Resistance spell. Yeah, that's right. The level 5 of divine spells. Completely overlooked for all this playthough, up until now.
I was so happy when I understood how to deal with Ogremoch.
Maybe this thing (that I managed to find a solution) gave me the biggest pleasure I've ever felt from BG... It alone shows how awesome a solo playthough with a druid is.
So, I summoned a pack of friends (which became usual though all those 30+ attempts of fighting with Ogremoch), casted the glorious spell and then both Yahiko and his Simulacrum spammed Ogremoch with the Creeping Doom spells. About 6 of this spells inflicted severe damage to Ogremoch in seconds. It was over in less than 2 minutes.
After probably 40 hours of trying...
P.S. As for Odamaron the Lich, the main thing was not to let him see Yahiko for a subsequent dialogue and additional monsters (the script of that fight) so that the Deva, the Prince and Spirit Lions could kill him gradually.
But the Sendai encounter was another case. Again, I didn't trust @Enuhal's advice on the bioware forum to rely on summons. The SCS Sendai area is a dangerous place for a solo character without buffs against weapons and magic.
A lot of Sendai clones + packs and packs of drow with GWW... A recipe to a quick death for a druid, even with a Deva and Elementals.
When I read through all the druid spells in order to find a solution for Ogremoch, I paid attention to the fact that the Fire Storm HLA ignores magic resistance. Not only it could deal an amazing damage but also it could help agains the drow, I thought (it was a pity Ogremoch was immune to Fire, though).
In a Fire Elemental form a druid is immune to Fire. The drow that were defeated up until now provided 20 potions of invisibility.
So I decided to use these 3 things combined in the Sendai encounter.
Invisible, Yahiko went to the bottom of the area and from there casted his first Fire Storm. As soon as the spell was casted, Yahiko went invisible again.
BTW, Glabrezu that Sendai summoned attacked the drow
Yahiko repeated the Fire Storm - Potion of Invisibility - Fire Elemental Form combination till now ordinary drow were left. Then several Sendai clones were dead as well.
Then Yahiko could move from that place and fight other Sendai clones in the Fire Elemental Form.
For those clones that were professional mages Yahiko summoned the Deva and the Prince.
They proved to be enough for the real Sendai.
On the current pace, a solo druid indeed has to use all his arsenal in ToB. I think that the strategy Yahiko used against Sendai is the only reliable one in this fight for a solo druid. Fortunately, Sendai couldn't see invisible createres other than through the divination spells and Yahiko had lots of invisibility potions to counter those spells.
Really cool how this has played out though! I've always wanted to try one of the Druid kits but they're pretty weak in BG2 and the experience mountain they hit at 14 really sucks.
As for the levels 14/15 "mountain", for a solo character it's not a big problem. Yahiko reached the defining level while dealing with beholders under the Temple, before going to the Spellhold.
The question I have for that is whether the spirit is to overcome scs ai as a solo druid or to role play a solo druid. If the first, then certainly, if the second, then are you not too high level for the early game encounters and as such it should actually be doable in the first place? I mean, would you have expected any other outcome?
(Nothing meant in a negative manner).
Generally I think that if you play a no-reload run, all means are fine. Even basilisk and ankheg hunting before going to the Nashkel mines.
The whole concept of this run, and this thread as a source for reports, dates back to this poll by @bbear : https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/30508/which-is-the-most-difficult-solo-single-class-kit-or-no-kit-for-bg-saga/p1
As you can see, the druids have won in that contest, so people generally think that playing as a solo druid is the hardest choice if you're going to solo through the trilogy.
So, the main incentive for this run is actully to beat the game with a druid. Many times during this playthrough, the fact that I have such a task blocked my numerous attempts of a restartitis.
I play with the SCS mod, which makes the game a lot harder.
So, combining these two factors, I see nothing wrong in some meta-gaming. As it's written in the OP here, I think that such a bad (yeah) thing as the meta-gaming needs serious countermeasures such as not OP class, not min-maxed stats, smarter AI and so on.
This run includes all that. Yahiko rolled only 75 in his stats, he's of a class that was voted to be the hardest choice for a solo run, the SCS mod makes the game as challenging as possible.
As a rule, I try to role-play my character and his party as much as I can but this time it is different due to those reasons.
Also, I haven't managed to find a documented report of a no-reload run with a solo totemic druid other than that I've linked several posts above by @Enuhal on the bioware site. I hope that this thread will become such a report, so that more people decide to try this kit and enjoy it.
I think the most important part of a noreload is preparation and you do that very well. Most people seem to underestimate this.
Anyway, back to the tale.
The next Pocket Plane challenge introduced a Slayer. It was so focused on Yahiko that the Deva and Spirit Lions couldn't reach it in melee.
Yahiko used Energy Blades to deal with the Slayer.
The next aim was Draconis, who blocked Yahiko's way to Abazigal.
His human form couldn't deal with the Deva, Chan and Spirit Animals.
But his dragon form... well, it would be fair to say the summons were killed in a few rounds. Yahiko had to retreat to the Pocket Plane and rearrange his spells.
Remembering how the Black Dragon in Suldanessellar was killed, Yahiko chose one Deva and one Summon Elemental Prince as his 7-th level spells, all other slots were given to Energy Blades.
The Armour of Faith was considered to be a must-have against the dragon - even with excellent saving throws against Breath, the Dragon's Acid attacks could one-shot Yahiko (who has 106 HP or 111 HP with the Helmet of Balduran) if not a damage reduction from this spell.
A spirit was summoned so that the first Acid attack was spent on it. Then the Deva and Zaaman Rul clashed with the Dragon in melee while Yahiko and his Simulacrum constantly attacked with Energy Blades.
It was another time when I was astonished at how much damage Energy Blades inflict in seconds.
Drakonis healed himself as soon as reaching the near dead status, but the number of Energy Blades spells (or HLAs as spells) was enough to keep attacking.
Zaaman Rul and Simulacrum were unsummoned, the Deva was killed so Yahiko summoned several Spirit Lions while continuing attacking with Energy Blades and gulping potions of the best healing awailable (+50 HP). Drakonis lowered Yahiko's HPs to ~40 every time he used the Acid attack so Yahiko had to drink at least one potion between those attacks. All other time was spent on attacking with Energy Blades.
And the win came!
The number of dragons in this area, because of the SCS, is too damn high!
Inside the lair, the Greater Werewyvern and the pack of lizardmen were surprisingly tough. Only by using several princes and the Deva plus Energy Blades Yahiko overcame them. GWW of a lizard man is not what can be seen in IWDEE, of course (the last time I faced them).
The following zone, full of lizardmen of what not, was ignored by Yahiko in both ways (in and out). Another dragon, Anadramatis, started a fight in order to test Yahiko so it could help him to beat Abazigal...
Anadramatis's attack on Yahiko, even taking the Armour of Faith into account, was far deadlier than the one by Draconis. With one attack, nearly all HPs were taken. It meant Yahiko had to quiclkly recover all his HPs to the maximum.
But the tactic was the same: while the dragon is busy with the Prince and the Deva, Yahiko and his Simulacrum attack with Energy Blades.
A location with the fish folk followed. Here the spirit summons ruled. Although water elementals were big hitters, packs of spirit lions still managed to deal with them. Yahiko can summon 8 of them, and Simulacrum can summon 6. So, nearly three waves of spirit animals are available.
With the SCS mod, Yahiko didn't get a rope in this dungeon and had to retreat to Amketran for it. After coming back, this is what he saw in the place where Draconis had been defeated:
A retreat ito the Pocket Plane mmediately followed, so that these two dragons could be dealt with one by one.
This time, the dragon's breath damage wasn't huge. Energy Blades finished it off.
After another retreat to the Pocket Plane, the second dragon was defeated.
But as soon as it happened, another dragon appeared. Yahiko didn't see but heard it:
This dragon was very irritating. Yahiko had to try several strategies - no effect. His standard dragon tactic - Energy Blades and summons didn't work. Lots of Fire Storms - didn't work. Multiple Creeping Dooms after Magic Resistance - didn't work. To retreat wasn't a problem - Yahiko had to just ran away and use his special ability.
The problem was also Summon Insects that the dragon casted on Yahiko each time. The screenshots below illustrate the despair:
On I don't know which try Yahiko went for bringing summons and sending them to the battle without the dragon seeing Yahiko. Several waves of summons, available to the fact all the 7th level spell slots were given to summon Deva and summon Elemental Prince spells + Simulacrum managed to defeat the dragon eventually.
... Only to hear another dragon arriving. I remember @BelgarathMTH asked how many dragons the Bhaalspawn had to kill in order to complete the game (inspired by Might and Magic 8). Well, with the SCS, it seems Charname has to kill a lot of them.
Yahiko decided to repeat the latest successful strategy agains the new dragon.
A fact for the "Did you know?" thread. With the Elemental Summoning spell (which creates 2 elementals or summons a Prince) it's possible to get more than 5 summons - on the screenshot you can see 6 of them going to the dragon.
Alas, this dragon knew the Death spell. Yahiko chose the first tactic then. This dragons' breath attack hit hard as well but anyway Energy Blades were once again effective.
There were no more dragons left (at least, on the surface), and Yahiko entered the lair for the second time.
By the way, if you actually finish this as a no-reload, I think you might have the honor to be the first person from these forums to ever do so. Is that correct, @Blackraven or @Alesia_BH ?