Hardcore NO RELOAD challenge
dos350
Member Posts: 18
hi, i am a longtime bg player
recently i played my first solo run (finished bg1, imported to bg2 and made it to underdark b4 2.0) and it was the most fun ive had on bg.
now i decided to play hardcore , as a longtime angband and hardcore diablo player, i can really dig this
so i started~
playing a human skald, rolled 91 stats!!!! ~ playing on core rules
made it thru nashkell mine and MY GOSH is it exciting,
as a chronic reloader, this is such a fresh experience for me,!!!
if any1 wants to bring some excitement in2 ur bg, try it HARDCORE
if any1 is wanted pics, lmk,, ill post my progress here!
or please feel free 2 share any hardcore tips & tricks u might have,
thanks in advance!
if any1 interested in seeing the first section here it is https://www.twitch.tv/dos350_legit/v/59082943
as u can see i had a really close call in mulahay fight~! (my mainchar only had 8hp and got surrounded)
recently i played my first solo run (finished bg1, imported to bg2 and made it to underdark b4 2.0) and it was the most fun ive had on bg.
now i decided to play hardcore , as a longtime angband and hardcore diablo player, i can really dig this
so i started~
playing a human skald, rolled 91 stats!!!! ~ playing on core rules
made it thru nashkell mine and MY GOSH is it exciting,
as a chronic reloader, this is such a fresh experience for me,!!!
if any1 wants to bring some excitement in2 ur bg, try it HARDCORE
if any1 is wanted pics, lmk,, ill post my progress here!
or please feel free 2 share any hardcore tips & tricks u might have,
thanks in advance!
if any1 interested in seeing the first section here it is https://www.twitch.tv/dos350_legit/v/59082943
as u can see i had a really close call in mulahay fight~! (my mainchar only had 8hp and got surrounded)
3
Comments
In my 'good' game however I'm into chapter 7 and about to head to Ulgoth's Beard...I've had to raise Imoen twice, so it's not 'ultimate hardcore', but still no reloads.
Are you playing as if the game progresses naturally? Meaning that Jaheria wants to get to see the mayor as soon as possible so you go south but you decide to farm for xp or get the helpful magical items even though you should not know where they are or who has them.
No picking and choosing NPCs - some NPCs come in teams - they come and leave in teams - and no you can't go deliberately killing off the undesired member (or splitting them up)- as if the other NPC teammate would stay with you after some a tragic death. No putting the undesired mage in the front line.
Too make it more challenging try this:
NO PRE-PLANNING for any area or battle unless it is quite obvious you are about to engage in a major battle.
Avoid random battles - you get them a lot with over hyped sell-swords that seem to want to pick a fight or challenge you on every other map - end things diplomatically if you can - yes less xp and you miss some magical items - but it will save you some hurt. That is unless you are playing a more aggressive character who does not back down from anyone or any challenge but if you are aggressive be aggressive everywhere you get dialogue before a battle.
If you have a mage - DO NOT pre-plan for any battle - yes we've played the game so many times that we all know when to change our spells accordingly - but normally you wouldn't - ie things like protection from petrifcation should not be a normal spell you would store. Also no summoning skeletons before a battle against the sirens - because it makes no sense that you would do this before the actual encounter.
What alignment are you? Try playing to your alignment to some degree - ie a lawful good character would not have Edwin on the team - especially once you find out his request is to murderer someone. But a chaotic good/neutral character would understand why you would accept Dorn as a member - vengeance is necessary sometimes and even the Drow sorcerer.
SPELLS:
"Sleep" spell if of course your best friend to end everything quickly. Don't let your mage at low levels put all their slots for sleep - seems rather unrealistic that you'd be a one spell wonder.
"Grease" spell - if you have "grease" if works well for monsters that move to engage in melee - but step back when you do it - as it hits a wide area and is not friendly but it sure slows them down and you can hit them with missile weapons.
And the spell "hold" along with "command" - cleric spells - work wonders - give it a try if you haven't yet.
"Entangle" - works wonders (before you get the web mage spell) as well if you have a druid - it can really save you if you are confronting a mob of monsters.
"Invisible" - mage spells - use for protection (of the mage) and scouting areas especially the cloakwood traps but it is a bit cheesy to use - if you don't have a good thief with you and you survive the first encounter.
As a skald - wouldn't a teams of bards be a lot of fun - you could make your own band -- make it fun and a lot more challenging. Of course getting all the bards should not be horribly difficult.
HINTS:
If you are by the beach waiting to raid the pirate treasure - you know the one with those flesh golems - I just stole it - get your mage with a few invisible spells after you clear out the traps - and wow - no battle and you get the loot.
BUT if you want to xp for the golems: The arrows you get for defeating the sirens can be used on the flesh golems as well but if you don't have any there are darts of poisoning (its part of the treasure) that work well too - Safana was able to use them to hurt the golems.
THINGS TO CONSIDER:
No using fog of war to help you in battles - too cheesy. That is unless you are a thief or ranger or invisible doing the scouting before hand.
BUT you can do this: As a scout for your team - you can of course drag the monsters to your awaiting members to pepper them with missile weapons as they chase your scout towards you. Make sure you position your team mates far enough that you can get a round or two of missile weapons off before they melee you (works in gnoll stronghold).
If you are playing no reloads and with your stats at 91 and being a skald - that means you must do all the talking even when you don't want to - be careful with some dialogue ( with a certain blue skinned lady) but you shouldn't know this before hand - but it all depends on how you are playing your character. No attacking monsters/people with blue circles until they turn red unless you are casting detect evil.
For my character who has a CHA 10 - she doesn't normally dialogue anyone - its the paladin or Imoen or Jaheria.
ITEMS:
Interesting items that you might consider using and buying (assuming you can afford it).
Potions that explode - can't cast fireball yet - who cares - there are a few potions that have the same affect - if you are in a pinch use them. Give a few to the person with the best saving throws - because if your teammates gets hit with some massive disabling spell it will save you and end the battle. But make sure a few characters are carrying some of these handy instant fireballs.
There is also the very useful if a bit expensive - necklace of missiles (bought at the circus) - they give you the ability to throw a few fireballs - useful if you don't like spiders.
Pre-planning and exploitation of meta knowledge is necessary, unfortunately. There is simply no way you could defeat Aec'letec or Kangaxx or many other encounters without utilizing specific strategies. If you want to justify this pre-planning, roll up characters with 18 wisdom (you'll have 21 at the end of BG1).
Most deaths are the result of rushing through the game. It is tempting when starting a new game to rush through the early parts, particularly if the prior run was a deep one. This leads to more deaths and frustration. Take every encounter seriously and take your time.
It's critical to protect your main character at all times from loss of control (hold, charm, fear) and death spells. As soon as they are available, you should have chaotic commands, death ward, protection from petrification, and resist fear on your main character (and really your whole party) at all times when adventuring (which is why I like to bring Anomen and Viconia both in order to speed up the pre-adventure buffing).
For BG1, I find that liberal usage of potions and wands greatly simplifies the game. Also, archery is king in BG1; Coran and Kivan are simply spectacular. As I progress further in the saga I transition to a more melee-centric party (at the end of BG2, I'll have five plate users and Imoen, generally).
I made a post explaining my first successful run a while back, I'll try to find it later for you.
Good luck...
but sadly kendrick ddnt make it
i was trying to get 1 more level around larswood b4 trying the bandit camp
(its been so long since i did this quest with a full party, last solo run probably did atleast 20 reloads in camp alone)
anyway kendrick died fighting the druids,
i was silly really to even try, no regrets tho!
very fun run, i think ill try again on hardcore skald,
the skald song is really a great effect in bg1 !
if anyone wants to see my final battle, here it is https://www.twitch.tv/dos350_legit/v/59270593
What level were you when you attempted Larswood? I remember having some difficulty as well with the bears but no difficulty with the mad druid.
Remember get rid of the caster first - is of course the first rule when you encounter monsters.
i got horrified by the druid then held, nothing i could do (besides avoiding the encounter or preparing,, honestly i forgot that he just attacks)