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SCS that big "What the ...." moment. (spoilers)

SionIVSionIV Member Posts: 2,689
This thread was made for those SCS moments that were so far away from the original game that it's like a completely different fight. This doesn't mean that it's a bad thing, but sometimes it can be.

What fights in SCS did shock, surprise or just maul CHARNAME and your party? Fights that might be simple in the normal game but taken over the top by SCS.

I'll start out with three fights.

1.) Silke in Beregost.

Damn you'll notice very quickly that this lady is a high level bard. She was pretty simple in the original game if you interrupted her lightning bolts, this isn't happening in SCS. She gets Ironskin (x2), Mirror image (x2) invisibility, haste, armor and the dreaded Chromatic orb. Normally Chromatic orb isn't a big problem, but she's high enough level that it has a chance to petrify you.

Have lost several no-reload games to her because of those chromatic orbs, one instant cast spell and it's game over unless she targets an NPC.

2.) The thugs that can ambush you in BG2.

I never travel during night time anymore. Those guys have 3-4 potions of invisibility EACH and they can deal anything from 20 to 50 (?) in a backstab. First time i got ambushed they chunked Viconia and Nalia. I started to fear them on lower levels, but even on higher levels they are annoying. The worst part is they have quite a bit of health and you only get 200 experience for the normal thugs. I'll take an umberhulk any day over one of those back stabbing sons of a bitc.... I would like an option to remove these guys from the game, just isn't worth it.

How come the shadow thieves are so bad compared to these guys? Three shadow thieves die to one vampire, three ordinary cooper coronet roof thugs would mangle that vampire lady.

3.) Shade lord.

This guy was too easy in the original game, i'll admit that. But i just wasn't prepared for how powerful he got in SCS the first few times i fought him. This guy goes from a 2/10 to a 8/10 easily.

So what about you? Any fight you dread in SCS that is pretty simple and forward in the original game?
Post edited by Lemernis on
BlackravenGoturalCrevsDaakdrumcoolersemiticgoddesslolienJuliusBorisovlunar

Comments

  • SionIVSionIV Member Posts: 2,689
    edited April 2014

    Ouch the Shade Lord. I was going to mention him....


    I wonder whether I'd be able to beat him without Insect Plague to interrupt and panick him. The level drains are terrible.


    I've had great difficulty with Krystin in the Undercellars on various occasions. In a few encounters she gated in a Glabrezu, whose Stuns usually ended my No-Reload runs. The last time I had to deal with her she cast Incendiary Cloud, killing many nobles and courtesans, but not Charname who was at a safe distance.


    image
    Slythe also deals very high damage on his backstabs, he has one shot several of my NPC's.
    BlackravenGoturalCrevsDaak
  • GoturalGotural Member Posts: 1,229
    In BG:EE my worst fight was against the archdruid in his tree-house in Cloakwood 3, I was playing my blackguard and his evil party and he was so strong ! Thank to SCS he was able to shapeshift into a fire salamandar (with a red fire shield ) each time we were getting a hit and he would change into a spider everytime he would attack to poison us.
    He had such high AC and THAC0 it was next to unreal.
    SionIVBlackravenJuliusBorisov
  • LemernisLemernis Member, Moderator Posts: 4,318
    @SionIV I added a spoiler warning in the thread title just on GP. :-)
    SionIVCrevsDaaklolien
  • SionIVSionIV Member Posts: 2,689
    Lemernis said:

    @SionIV I added a spoiler warning in the thread title just on GP. :-)

    Thank you, i didn't think of that when i made it, but i should have added it.
  • lunarlunar Member Posts: 3,460
    I agree Sike is a big wake-up call in SCS. As is, some enemies are so high level in this game that if they use smart strategies and their abilities to the fullest, they are scary and are NOT suitable for lvl 1 parties.

    Kahrk the ogre magi in the Firewine area is a very scary and unnerving encounter as well. Downright unfair if you are underlevelled. Even at max lvls for bg1 that guy is tough.
    GoturalSionIVJuliusBorisov
  • GoturalGotural Member Posts: 1,229
    I agree, Kahrk is so strong and cheesy I know I will never face him in a no reload challenge.
  • AurorusAurorus Member Posts: 201
    The 4 warders on lvl 1 of Durlag´s Tower: Love, Hate, Avarice, and Pride (or whatever), were the toughest battle that I have encountered in SCS so far. Love is the equal of Sarevok in melee, combined with a mage with spell and missile deflection and another enemy with a gaze attack that holds is very difficult and would require the exact right mix of spells, potions, and buffs to beat.
    lolienJuliusBorisov
  • drumcoolerdrumcooler Member Posts: 239
    edited April 2014
    Silke was the real wake up also for me. I tried 5 times to kill her and after thet i decided to kill the 2 actors.

    In BG I hated Davaeorn, 5 bandits arrived every 2 minutes, if you are not fast enough you have to match 20 and more bandits with ice-arrows (i wanted to crash my computer).

    In BG2 long travels are very hard if u meet bandits, it seems they say... welcome to SCS rookie!
    Post edited by drumcooler on
    GoturalJuliusBorisov
  • DexterDexter Member Posts: 253
    I agree with @Ballad. Ahh Yuanti Mages. I remember the old "hey, look up for chaos followed by true sight" feeling. SCS replaced that for the brand new "dammed, I'm running out of breach/secret words" feeling
    lunarCrevsDaaklolienJuliusBorisov
  • VaxMiniVaxMini Member Posts: 3
    Carbos the assassin in the starting Candlekeep area was my introduction to SCS. I strolled into the house expecting to laugh in the face of that inept rogue, only to watch my PC die a slow, painful death from a *real* assassin's poisoned knife! That was when I knew I was in for a totally different experience.
    wubblelolienJuliusBorisov
  • wubblewubble Member Posts: 3,156
    VaxMini said:

    Carbos the assassin in the starting Candlekeep area was my introduction to SCS. I strolled into the house expecting to laugh in the face of that inept rogue, only to watch my PC die a slow, painful death from a *real* assassin's poisoned knife! That was when I knew I was in for a totally different experience.

    I was done in by shank before that.
    lolienJuliusBorisov
  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    The worst I've ever seen? On multiple occasions, I noticed enemy mages entering battle without an impenetrable wall of pre-buffs, and realized that my SCS install was broken because the mages weren't temporarily immortal like they were supposed to be.
    lolienJuliusBorisov
  • sluckerssluckers Member Posts: 280
    edited October 2015
    I have had several, though nothing I have faced has really stymied me and prevented me from moving forward or elsewhere in the game.

    1. Silke: Got petrified over and over by this lady. Eventually I left her for after the Bandit Camp.

    2. Davaeorn: Not him, per se, but the new stinking/cloud + web combo that gets fired off. I am still not sure if this is a trap or a sequencer from him. Looked like a sequencer, as the text appeared above his head, though it may have been his defenses triggering. In any case, almost got wiped out the first time but managed to retreat in time. I still lost that battle, when a battle horror ignored every one of my party mates and went straight to me. There was so much magic flying through the air I didn't notice. In SCS, enemies don't always go for the nearest party member, which leads me to...

    3. The Pirates in the Sea's Bounty: A definite 'What the...' moment, but not in the way you think. They aren't much stronger than their vanilla counterparts, but their absolute dedication to dagger throwing Aerie was both odd and strangely admirable. They couldn't even be distracted from throwing these daggers by my melee fighters, and even when Jaheira was stomping their heads into the ground so that their eyes burst out of their sockets and they foamed pink froth at the mouth, they used their dying breaths to throw yet another dagger at the poor wingless elf. Logic might dictate that one should defend one's self from a woman who is literally killing you to death, but these dedicated dagger throwers showed the kind of true commitment you just can't buy.

    4. The Druid Grove: WOOOOOOWWWW... I was not prepared for this. SCS adds lots of enemies to the maps, something it didn't much do in BG1. I was unprepared for the spirit trolls to say the least. I was just out of Irenicus' dungeon and trying to put my all-caster party together (2 mages, 2 clerics, 2 druids), and Cernd was the final piece. I didn't even make it past the first group of trolls. Couldn't target them, couldn't hit them, nothing was effective against them. I eventually managed to stealth my way past them all the way to Adratha's cottage, where a Shambling Mound blocked the bridge. I figured I'd just get Itafeer's head while I was in the area. Yep... bad move. Once again, everything I had at my disposal was ineffective against Rakshasas. I was slaughtered. Definitely one part of BG2 which is not even at all like the vanilla version. This time I'm saving it for later.

    5. Thugs and Muggers in Athkatla: I've not been killed by these people, but I've never seen them either. They start invisible. I figured I'd do the same. I went invisible too. But you know what? Fights where everyone is invisible are quite boring.... just a bunch of folk standing around. Kind of hilarious, actually, but I suppose you have to be there. Invisibility practically takes over the game in SCS. It's crazy important now, especially as there are certain things you can do without breaking the veil. This has caused a definite change in my play style.
    lolienJuliusBorisov
  • abacusabacus Member Posts: 1,307
    I quite often start fresh Charnames in BG2... The SCS Ogre Mage summoned by the genie has caused me far too many problems... Particularly if I'm a spellcaster and also can only rest once!
    lolienJuliusBorisov
  • Jaheiras_WitnessJaheiras_Witness Member Posts: 614
    Bodhi, even in chapter 3. If you don't have Protection from Magical Weapons you are quite simply dead. Even had a level 30 Dwarf Berserker die to her. Sure I was enraged, hardiness, 210 HP, THAC0 of -20 doing 25 damage a pop etc. Bodhi just hit me 4 times and it was game over. There is literally no defence to her CON drain other than PfMW, nor can you run and recover as it lasts for ages. Definitely a stumbling block for a solo character with no casting ability.
    lolienJuliusBorisovJustLeft
  • YgramulYgramul Member Posts: 1,059
    edited October 2015
    ... which is why my current no-reload run only uses the **AI** enhancements ONLY from SCS in BG2.

    After -once upon a time- I have seen what the SCS-override for the Wolf of Ulcaster did, I realized that no-reload + new SCS enemies are just ridiculous (unless you memorized somehow what you need to do).

    Similarly, I don't let SCS casters to insta-buff. (And I don't let myself to prebuff, beyond what I learn by RP or scouting, legitimately.)

    SCS is A++ for AI in a tactical game, but I downvote its rule changes to enemies.
    lolienMiridorAbel
  • GemHoundGemHound Member Posts: 801
    SCS seems designed for those who prebuff before engagements, I'm one of those that only prebuffs before a battle the character either is planning or knows is going to happen.
    Grum
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