Heart of Fury - How is the right way to do it?

mement0

-Start with a lvl 1 group?
-Level a group at lvl 13 and then set it to HoF?
-Is the HoF in game description exaggerating? If so what level is good to go HoF?

Thank you in advance.

FinneousPJ

There's no HoF mode in BG2

Level 1 start in HoF is perfectly fine. The first dungeon is a struggle, but after that the fast XP progression kicks in and it gets more fun.

mement0

FinneousPJ said:

There's no HoF mode in BG2

Level 1 start in HoF is perfectly fine. The first dungeon is a struggle, but after that the fast XP progression kicks in and it gets more fun.

Dang it you are fast

I just moved the post.

OK I will definitely try it at lvl 1. Thank you.

Musigny

I haven't played IWDEE yet but I have played the vanilla IWD a lot.
I also prefer to start a newbie party in HoF, this goes against the game advice but it feels better.
The map before reaching Kuldahar at the very beginning used to be one of my favourite. Ahh those fearsome goblins the size of a giant
melee combat - you die
ranged combat - not efficient enough
ranged combat + magic + 3000m steeplechase - your nicest strategy turns into a Benny Hill show but you win at the end.

With the whole set of BG2 feature in IWDEE, it is probably easier now but I bet this remains very fun.

Pibaro

@FinneousPJ‌
It looks like there is HoF in BG2EE 1.3
http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/37833/a-bunch-of-neat-baldur-ini-options-in-bg2ee-1-3-that-ive-noticed-carry-overs-from-iwdee

But Dee wrote:
"There are certainly some exciting things there. Just know that if it hasn't been added to the Options screen, it hasn't been fully tested yet. Nightmare Mode, for example, also affects joinable NPCs..."

Anyway, a 1st level party HoF run is doable, but it's quite a PITA.

Wowo

I did a HoF run from level 1 with 5 dual classes and a Skald. Quite good but got bored with them.

Currently doing a duo of FMC+FMT. Definitely more fun as less tedious buffing to do and they do just as well now that the FMT has Mislead.

Pecker

If you find the early game too tedious, just use cheats or import/export tricks to give all your party members a few levels. The experience you get will make no difference in the long run.

Harpagornis

You can play HOF (nearly) all the way you want. Starting solo with a level 1 char? No problem at all. Chars with summons are preferred and make the game far more easier. FMC or FMT are the most common but solo druids for instance are perfectly fine too. I love my shapeshifter! ;o)

mement0

For the time being I changed difficulty form hard to HoF and my party ranged from 9 to 11.
Game feels a lot more balanced now, still not perfect though.
I have to take advantage of the AI in several ways:
Farsight reveals map.
Sorcerer and Druid, use AoE spells while safe out of enemy view.
I pull a single enemy each time using the fog of war.
2 bounty hunter traps later and my 3 tanks (berserker/cleric, barbarian and dwarven defender) focus attacks always on a single target. Just some basic buffs are used, Haste, Defensive Harmony, Bless, etc.
When one of the 3 tanks is in trouble, there is no need to heal. I sometimes cast improved invisibility and withdraw him from battle.
So far seems to work just fine, even on the Lich boss fight.

Thank you for all the advice and comments.

EDIT:

Now on Lower Dorn's Deep.
Group is around lvl 12.
Stoneskin, Iron skin, lots of HP, Fire Protection for everyone, Haste, yet the game is nearly impossible at HoF.
The difficulty curve went up unexpectedly. Up to this point there was no real issue.
The main difficulty comes from not being able to rest properly. Too many spawns (Fire salamanders and some kind of Sentry) appear at rest, not to mention that Sentries can see Hided and Invisible characters.

The way I see it being lvl 12 at Lower Dorn's Deep requires a well planned group, with 3 or more tanks and 2 healers/buffers.