Full run with SCS
FinaLfront
Member Posts: 260
This is the first time I've competed a run with SCS installed.
Some of the changes were pretty profound, like making druids shapechange viable. I actually glanced over that feature while playing, and happened upon it's existence when looking at Jaheira's innate skills. What a delightful discovery.
Goes without saying that a lot of the battles were quite refreshing. The AI in general was refreshing, keeping you on your toes with your mages, make sure they are out of range of arrow shots, as the AI loves to pick on low hp/high AC.
What were some of your most memorable experiences in regards to some of the revised battles in SCS?
I found a lot of them not too challenging. Ironically the most challenging revision was "the four" at the beginning of Durlag's. This encounter caused me the most reloads out of the whole run—about 8. Pride with his/it's MR gave me some real problems.
Werewolf island was pretty easy, as was Demon Knight, chess game and Aec'Letec.
The final battle gave me pause for a fight. A really sloppy first fight, then I used my brain and had a flawless second fight. This was done by having Khalid run around in circles baiting Tazok and Sarevok while the rest of the group pelted down each enemy-then-skeleton one by one.
Overall great game.
I'm dong my first ever BG2 with SCS and I'm a little scared after reading some of the options prompted with the SCS install, hehe.
If I stick with this run all the way through BG2 and ToB, it will also be the first time I've ever completed ToB. Which will mean I'll never have experienced a vanilla ToB run.
Some of the changes were pretty profound, like making druids shapechange viable. I actually glanced over that feature while playing, and happened upon it's existence when looking at Jaheira's innate skills. What a delightful discovery.
Goes without saying that a lot of the battles were quite refreshing. The AI in general was refreshing, keeping you on your toes with your mages, make sure they are out of range of arrow shots, as the AI loves to pick on low hp/high AC.
What were some of your most memorable experiences in regards to some of the revised battles in SCS?
I found a lot of them not too challenging. Ironically the most challenging revision was "the four" at the beginning of Durlag's. This encounter caused me the most reloads out of the whole run—about 8. Pride with his/it's MR gave me some real problems.
Werewolf island was pretty easy, as was Demon Knight, chess game and Aec'Letec.
The final battle gave me pause for a fight. A really sloppy first fight, then I used my brain and had a flawless second fight. This was done by having Khalid run around in circles baiting Tazok and Sarevok while the rest of the group pelted down each enemy-then-skeleton one by one.
Overall great game.
I'm dong my first ever BG2 with SCS and I'm a little scared after reading some of the options prompted with the SCS install, hehe.
If I stick with this run all the way through BG2 and ToB, it will also be the first time I've ever completed ToB. Which will mean I'll never have experienced a vanilla ToB run.
3
Comments
One of the hardest parts of BG1 with the SCS is the fight in the Duchal Palace. You need to keep alive one of two dukes. If you play with a party, it may be not a big problem but if you're soloing, especially with a not powergamey class/kit, it can be quite challenging.
I'll always remember the Bandit Camp the first time I tried it with the SCS. I was like "What? All of them? Together? What, even the mage from the tent?"...
As for BG2 with the SCS, the Astral Prison is probably the hardest for me. The final boss there uses the Black Sword of Disaster while in the Time Stop...
And now, fighting my way through ToB with the SCS as a solo druid, I think that the danger in ToB SCS fights is the highest, really. Every major fight there is far from easy.
He will come in pre buffed and obliterate your level 1 characters if you're not careful.
The most fun challenges would be the bandit camp leaders, with the mage posing a real threat and reinforcements.
And also Kahrk, and the gullykin bosses.
Personally, i like the "randomoized party of assassins feature", which makes it unable for you to cheese Molkar and the amazons encounters.
It's really helped Jaheira off tank until I get Mazzy in my group. Plus the ironskins... She's freakin good.
Before the SCS change, I used shapechange pretty much, never. It was always a bad idea to use it. Useless skill. And I don't like useless skills.
Seconded by the Sarevok battle, normally I just attack Sarevok and kill him and be done with it but he was invincible in SCS until I dealt with his cronies.
Very enjoyable playthrough.
The tweak about the shapechange in the SCS mod affects both the player and enemy druids, thus making them a lot more powerful.
For example, this component makes druids in the Cloakwood forest in BG1 such dangerous foes so that if you don't know what to expect, you'll likely lose.
As for the tweak itself, I can say, basing my view on my current solo totemic druid run, that using "paws" is cool and, probably, makes the shapechange process easier. My druid is in ToB and often uses his Greater Elemental forms to deal with bosses. A "paw" (in this case, "the hand of an elemental") offers me a possibility to swap spellcasting for a brutal melee force and vice versa. But I have nothing against this "easier" thing because the SCS ToB is brutal for a druid and this is a nice trade-off.
1) an unlimited number of times when the druid can shapechange between rests (i.e. in one fight). For example, cast Fire Storm - become a Fire Elemental - cast Fire Storm again - become a Fire Elemental and so on and on.
2) no chance to be interrupted while shapechanging
3) a momentary effect
For me, the unlimited changes are nice, but in the old shapechange didn't you used to default to some crappy natural AC? To me that's the real winner.
I'm not sure, but I think the paw thing is the only way to make the change instant and beat round timers. Which we really need a D&D lawyer in here, because I think that is how it works in PnP. A druid can change at will, with just a thought. So you can be in the middle of a spell cast, then change into a bird and fly away.
I agree that the paw method isn't perfect. I'd like there to be the same cool swirly animation when you change out, but there's nothing. That to me makes it feel more hackish than anything.