Vampiric wolves in newbie areas?

Jidokwon

I don't know if it's only been since the latest patch or I just never remembered it, but vampiric wolves are frequently spawning in newbie areas. I consider areas that you have to travel through to get to Nashkel newbie areas. You know, the areas that you come across long before finding any magical weapons. I'm not running any mods. Have dread and vampiric wolves always spawned in these areas or is it new to EE version/latest patch?

elminster

If you could name a specific area you encountered this and where on the area map it occurred that would help a lot for looking it up.

Jidokwon

The area that it happened in just now was the one SSW of Beregost. The vampiric wolf spawned just NW of the hobgoblin campfire. For sure, it is at least two random spawns in this area. I'm fairly certain that it can happen in the area E of Candlekeep, the one S of the Friendly Arm Inn, and the one just S of Beregost. It may just be dread wolves in those later areas, but the hardest encounters in these areas that I recall before were black bears, the ogre, and hobgoblins shooting poison arrows. I should probably also mention that most of my characters are first level, highest experienced character is Jaheira as a second level fighter/druid.

dreamrider

Not that it is by any means enough appropriate gear for the fight with a (robust) vampiric wolf, but the party does start the game with at least one weapon that is effective vs this creature: Imoen's Wand of Magic Missile. Also, Xzar's Laroch's Minor Drain has effect, the Stupifier works, and I think that there is at least one Short Sword +1 available fairly easily in Beregost.

elminster

Jidokwon said:

The area that it happened in just now was the one SSW of Beregost. The vampiric wolf spawned just NW of the hobgoblin campfire. For sure, it is at least two random spawns in this area. I'm fairly certain that it can happen in the area E of Candlekeep, the one S of the Friendly Arm Inn, and the one just S of Beregost. It may just be dread wolves in those later areas, but the hardest encounters in these areas that I recall before were black bears, the ogre, and hobgoblins shooting poison arrows. I should probably also mention that most of my characters are first level, highest experienced character is Jaheira as a second level fighter/druid.

When you say SSW do you mean here? (the maps got changed around a bit in the EE compared to the original so it looks like its SSW but to get to it you only go south and then south from Beregost).

http://baldursgate.wikia.com/wiki/Area_North_of_Nashkel

Jidokwon

@Elminster Yes, sorry. I was looking at the world map. Directly south, then south again, from Beregost. I'm pretty sure that another random spawn in that area is just NW of Portal...(? - the long winded hermit).

@Dreamrider I haven't run into an identify scroll yet, so the Bastard Sword +1 and Stupifier are out. Looking at available spells, Jaheira and my cleric/ranger also have Shillelagh for magical clubs. Wish I had given it a go now. Ten rounds would be a long fight, but if Jaheira and my main character could score a few good hits, it would have likely been doable by my party.

DreadKhan

You can use unidentified magic weapons, can't you??

Vakarian

Related question - do vampiric wolves regenerate? Or do they only gain HP when they successfully land an attack?

I've run into one on the map north of Nashkel a few times as well. Whenever I try to fight it using a lvl 1-2 party with only one or two magic weapons (and limited spells), I never seem to be able to do damage fast enough to kill it. I'm usually able get it to "injured" or "badly injured" status, but it goes back to "uninjured" after a few rounds.

Nimran

Just do what I do in that situation. Keep calm and RUN FOR YOUR LIFE! Jahiera can use the quarterstaff +1 you would have gotten off Silke if you killed her. She'd hit it pretty often, too. Just don't let it attack her if she has the only +1 weapon, since it can paralyze. The staff is unidentified, but any mage or bard can identify it without a scroll, and there just happens to be a bard available after the Silke quest (assuming you kill her.)

SharGuidesMyHand

Jidokwon said:

Have dread and vampiric wolves always spawned in these areas or is it new to EE version/latest patch?

I can't remember whether it could happen in vanilla, but I did encounter a random spawn of a vampiric wolf during an EE playthrough almost a year ago, so it isn't just the latest patch.

In that instance, I had Imoen (dual'd to a mage) fire a bolt from an electricity wand, which insta-killed the beast. Unfortunately, the bolt apparently hit something else and then bounced back at Imoen, killing her as well! But hey, her sacrifice was not in vain. ;-)

As for dread wolves, I think that they've always been a random spawn even in vanilla, IIRC.

scriver

If I remember some other thread on this correctly there was always a chance if vampiric or dread wolves spawning aroundabout those areas if you traverse them after dusk in the OC version, and I know for sure it's been that way since the EE was released at the least.

Now you know why you fear the night.

JuliusBorisov

First of all, according to this thread (http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/8597/vampiric-wolf-out-of-place) this is not a bug but an intended behavior.

Moreover, according to @the_spyder‌ and @Erg‌ here (http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/comment/242624/#Comment_242624) in both BGEE and vanilla BG1 vampiric wolves could indeed spawn on the areas you can call "newbie" ones.

All the nice help on how to beat vampiric wolves when you have a low-level party can be found here: http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/19695/vampiric-wolves-surviving-at-early-levels

Vakarian said:

Related question - do vampiric wolves regenerate? Or do they only gain HP when they successfully land an attack?

No, they don't regenerate, @Vakarian‌ . Only heal themselves when successfull hit your characters.

Erg

bengoshi said:

First of all, according to this thread (http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/8597/vampiric-wolf-out-of-place) this is not a bug but an intended behavior.

While I do agree that this is not a bug, it may still be possible to convince the developers to do something about it, by using arguments like "the game would otherwise be too difficult or too frustrating for new players and/or casual players", etc.

After all this is one of the few elements of the BG:EE spawning system that hasn't been nerfed yet, so they should really do something about it.

Think, for example, of all those inexperienced gamers playing on their phones? How can we expect them to be able to defeat a Vampiric Wolf? How can we expect them to enjoy the game if they keep dying? It wouldn't be better if we just remove all Vampiric Wolves from the game?

rufus_hobart

Remove ALL vampiric wolves from the game? Isn't that a little bit of overkill, @Erg? Following that logic, might as well get rid of that pesky Ogre Mage new players might stumble across. Or that band of Amazons. Or....well, we could just make the game an amiable summer's stroll through the Sword Coast? Sorry, a little bit of hyperbole there, but that's just where my thoughts immediately led...Yes, BG is a tough game, but that's part of the appeal I would have thought, it challenges players to not only get better but think smarter, use every bit of advantage and equipment they may have and actually enjoy defeating a hated enemy after falling so many times. That's another way to look at it, anyway.

Erg

@rufus_hobart, sorry I forgot that this is the internet and I should have made more clear that I was being sarcastic. I fully agree with you about the challenge these game should provide and that's why I don't like how the spawning system has been nerfed, compared to vanilla BG1, just to make the game more appealing to casual players.

rufus_hobart

@Erg, I kind of wondered that, and thought about adding a disclaimer at the end, but stupidly thought I'd read your words as I thought they appeared, my sincere apologies. Having just read some of your other posts relating to difficulty in games your stance quickly became clear and I appear now more idiotic than usual ;-) Damn you for your quick reply before I could edit my post!

the_spyder

The solution is actually quite simple. Don't go traveling around at night. The Vamp wolves only spawn at night. They are Vamp Wolves after all.

As far as it goes, you can get a +1 weapon in Candlekeep. You can also get magic items identified in Friendly Arm Inn. And there are several +1 weapons to be had in Beregost. Not to mention various magic spells that will do damage to the wolves.

Sure it is a difficult lesson to learn, but so too is randomly encountering Basilisks, which happens.

bob_veng

if it's not on/by the roads it's ok imo

dreamrider

So, since we've kicked this around a bit now, let's try to make a list of all the vampiric wolf, etc, effective weapons (and other magical attacks) that are FOR CERTAIN available between Candlekeep, the FAI, and Beregost, to see just how bad off the poor wolves really are.

(Note: Magic weapons WILL function as magic weapons even if not identified, you're just taking a risk that you might get a cursed one.)

(If other folks will add their ideas below, I'll edit them onto the list in this post from time to time.)

- Fuller's Dagger +1
- Imoen's Wand of Magic Missile
- Xzar's Laroch's Minor Drain spell
- Xzar's Burning Hands spell
- any other mage: Laroch's Minor Drain - learned from Xzar's scroll
- any other mage: Burning Hands spell - learned from Xzar's scroll
- Neera's Quarterstaff +1+ (Neera only)
- Neera's Magic Missile spell
- Neera's Chromatic Orb spell
- Neera's Burning Hands spell
- Jaheira's Magic Stone spell
- Jaheira's Shillehlagh spell
- The Stupifier +1 (mace)
- Silkie's Quarterstaff +1
- some Arrows +1 - purchase from Thunderhammer Smithy
- some Bullets +1 - purchase from Thunderhammer Smithy
- Long Sword +1 - purchase from Thunderhammer Smithy - you MIGHT have enough GP
- Short Sword +1 - purchase from Thunderhammer Smithy - you probably have enough GP
- Bastard Sword +1 - loot from Thunderhammer Smithy, if you can open chest (at night, for Talos' sake!)
- Battle Axe +1 - purchase from Feldepost's Inn - you MIGHT have enough GP
- Wand of Lightning - loot from Travenhurst Manor
- any other mage: Magic Missile spell - available from Thalantyr if you don't find it
- any other mage: Chromatic Orb spell - available from Thalantyr if you don't find it

Still, admittedly a nasty fight if you decide to stick around for it, or use the Wand of Lightning.

dreamrider

lunar

I remember them spawning in bgt and tutu as well. Only at night. If you have magical ammo they are walking xp bags. Just kite them forever and pelt with magic arrows. Blindness spell will make them sitting ducks as well. Fire/lightning wands are effective too. But I guess they may be ice-resistant and immune to paralysis so no go with wand of frost/paralysis.

Erg

lunar said:

I remember them spawning in bgt and tutu as well. Only at night.

Actually in EasyTutu they can spawn also during the day. This is true also for other spawn points: the spawning scripts in EasyTutu never check for the time of the day.

the_spyder

dreamrider said:

Still, admittedly a nasty fight if you decide to stick around for it, or use the Wand of Lightning.

dreamrider

to put things in a bit of perspective though. The encounter takes place a ways off the path. If you are following the road, you won't encounter this. it's only those adventuresome soles that need worry about this. Secondly, and I wasn't kidding about this, the wolf ONLY spawns at night time (I want to say this was confirmed WAY back in the days of the original, but couldn't quote the source). If you travel by day, or stay on the road by night, you have nothing to fear and can make it quite safely and happily to Nashkal where a whole host of other magic sources become available.

Also, Evermemory is found prior to this encounter. Give it to Xzar, Neera or any other specialty Wizard and they have 4-8 spells (magic Missile, Burning Hands, Laroch's, Chromatic orb, etc...) available, not including any scrolls that they may have. And remember that there are several handy places to BUY scrolls in and near Beregost.

It's one of those things where, if you are unprepared, it can hurt a bit. It is a lot like that very first wolf that you encounter that is protecting the ring of protection. Or the Ogre with the two belts, or getting random encountered with wolves between the Tradeways and Friendly Arm Inn. Are any of these O/P? No. Are they dangerous? Yes. Heck, even the Wizard/assassin AT the Friendly Arm Inn is Tough, being a 4th or 5th level wizard against a potential party of 2 first levels.

Nuff said.

Erg said:

lunar said:

I remember them spawning in bgt and tutu as well. Only at night.

Actually in EasyTutu they can spawn also during the day. This is true also for other spawn points: the spawning scripts in EasyTutu never check for the time of the day.

Except this. But even here, the spawn points are not on the beaten path. Follow the path padawan. Until you are strong enough to adventure a-field.

elminster

the_spyder said:

Also, Evermemory is found prior to this encounter. Give it to Xzar, Neera or any other specialty Wizard and they have 4-8 spells (magic Missile, Burning Hands, Laroch's, Chromatic orb, etc...) available, not including any scrolls that they may have. And remember that there are several handy places to BUY scrolls in and near Beregost.

Plus if all else fails you can always use Khalid to hold it off while the rest of your group runs for their lives

the_spyder

"Better part of valor. Better part of valor!"

DreadKhan

the_spyder said:

"Better part of valor. Better part of valor!"

Just hope he runs away from you!

SCARY_WIZARD

dreamrider said:

So, since we've kicked this around a bit now, let's try to make a list of all the vampiric wolf, etc, effective weapons (and other magical attacks) that are FOR CERTAIN available between Candlekeep, the FAI, and Beregost, to see just how bad off the poor wolves really are.

(Note: Magic weapons WILL function as magic weapons even if not identified, you're just taking a risk that you might get a cursed one.)

(If other folks will add their ideas below, I'll edit them onto the list in this post from time to time.)

- Fuller's Dagger +1
- Imoen's Wand of Magic Missile
- Xzar's Laroch's Minor Drain spell
- Xzar's Burning Hands spell
- any other mage: Laroch's Minor Drain - learned from Xzar's scroll
- any other mage: Burning Hands spell - learned from Xzar's scroll
- Neera's Quarterstaff +1+ (Neera only)
- Neera's Magic Missile spell
- Neera's Chromatic Orb spell
- Neera's Burning Hands spell
- Jaheira's Magic Stone spell
- Jaheira's Shillehlagh spell
- The Stupifier +1 (mace)
- Silkie's Quarterstaff +1
- some Arrows +1 - purchase from Thunderhammer Smithy
- some Bullets +1 - purchase from Thunderhammer Smithy
- Long Sword +1 - purchase from Thunderhammer Smithy - you MIGHT have enough GP
- Short Sword +1 - purchase from Thunderhammer Smithy - you probably have enough GP
- Bastard Sword +1 - loot from Thunderhammer Smithy, if you can open chest (at night, for Talos' sake!)
- Battle Axe +1 - purchase from Feldepost's Inn - you MIGHT have enough GP
- Wand of Lightning - loot from Travenhurst Manor
- any other mage: Magic Missile spell - available from Thalantyr if you don't find it
- any other mage: Chromatic Orb spell - available from Thalantyr if you don't find it

Still, admittedly a nasty fight if you decide to stick around for it, or use the Wand of Lightning.

dreamrider

You can kind of break sequence for a short sword +2, or Ashideena (War Hammer +2) in the area to the South of High Hedge. I ain't sayin' they're easy to get...

Lateralus

Traveling at night is ill advised, all sorts of god forsaken beast shall stalk you.

BTW, one time I was wondering alone with a level 6 berserker who was out of rages, he got paralyzed! He kept making saves and snapped out of it with 2 hp left and killed the wolf with a weapon he was not proficient with. EPIC battle.

dreamrider

Jawbone of an ass, perhaps?

Nimran

Ass bone of a jaw.

sarevok57

also another thing to help against the early vampiric wolf is having the girdle of piercing, because at low levels if its going to hit ( which it probably will) it will no doubt paralyze, that belt will give it a -3 penalty to hit, i remember the first time i played bgee when it first came out, i was going down to naskiel and i strayed a bit off the stone path and bam, vampiric wolf and i was like daaaaaaamn, but luckily i had a fighter proficient in axe and he had an axe+1, platemail, and ring of protection+1, and the girdle of piercing and the wolf went down without a hitch, nice little XP boost for a level 1 team i thought

Lateralus

sarevok57 said:

also another thing to help against the early vampiric wolf is having the girdle of piercing, because at low levels if its going to hit ( which it probably will) it will no doubt paralyze, that belt will give it a -3 penalty to hit, i remember the first time i played bgee when it first came out, i was going down to naskiel and i strayed a bit off the stone path and bam, vampiric wolf and i was like daaaaaaamn, but luckily i had a fighter proficient in axe and he had an axe+1, platemail, and ring of protection+1, and the girdle of piercing and the wolf went down without a hitch, nice little XP boost for a level 1 team i thought

Did you notice that the +1 throwing axes sold by Thunderhammer can actually be used as melee axes? I recently stimbled upon this AFTER paying thousands for one from Feldpost! Bearl's Retort sell for like 65 gp and does only a little less damage. Oh and you can't dual wield them. Other than that, a REALLY cheap way to get +1 axes early on.