Thief traps, does anyone set them???

griffiano

I have tried a few times to set thief traps in the past and they always fail! The one time I did manage to set one however nothing happened so I just don't bother anymore.
I was wondering if anyone else has used them and how they use them

thanks guys

Cheesebelly

You need to have a decent "Set Traps" thieving skill in order to set them right (which is in the bottom of the list of thieving skills). Once you have 100, you can set every trap successfully, but only before a battle (can't do it mid-battle)

They are actually very powerful, one being able to do 20 damage or so. Bounty hunter traps even more so because they have special effects and can be set from a distance.

Furthermore, starting as of level 24, thieves (and bards I believe) can acquire special snares - Spike Trap, Time Trap and Explosion Trap

The latest deals 10d6 fire damage in a blast, save for half (so basically 10-60 damage or 5-30 damage in a blast radius)

Time Trap doesn't deal any damage, but it stops time when it is triggered and the rogue can move around freely doing whatever they care.

Spike trap, also known as the bane of final bosses... deals 20d6 damage (or 20-120) without any save. 3 of those can kill ANYTHING in the game, bosses and powerful monsters included.

I believe that these three special traps however do not require any set trap skills as even bards can use them (without being able to set traps themselves)

AHF

Traps are the most powerful thing in the game. If you use a multi-class or dual class mage / thief combo then you can also spam traps by using projected image and simulcrum. (The images can drop traps and if you are particularly cheesy they also let you bypass the cap on # of traps).

I am doing a run through BG1 right now with a thief who I intentionally brought up to 100% set traps and use those strategically in big fights. In fights, thiefs can set the traps but only if they are outside of visual range of the opponent.

For 99% of creatures (including the highest level bosses), traps bypass all resistances and never miss so they are better than any other means of attack. You do have to try not to overly abuse them, though, or they will cheese anything from Sarevok to the Demigorgon.

raywind

Only thing thats more OP than traps is UAI and thieves and bards get both!

Senash

Have to admit, I never used them, although I do know they are very powerful...

Fighting_Ferret

Traps are so overpowered... you can use them in combat as long as you retreat you thief and set it up while not in an enemies line of sight... then just bring said enemy to the trap and... Bam!... dead enemy.

AHF

Fighting_Ferret said:

Traps are so overpowered... you can use them in combat as long as you retreat you thief and set it up while not in an enemies line of sight... then just bring said enemy to the trap and... Bam!... dead enemy.

That actually doesn't terribly upset me. If you were in a fight and had time for one of your comrades to run around a corner (or anywhere out of sight) and setup a trap, it seems like it would work extremely well against an enemy that comes running around the corner. Less likely to be looking for a trap during a battle but no reason it wouldn't work. The only question is really about time required to set it up.

Moomintroll

You bet! traps are amazing, it is worth investing points in the skill, otherwise as you have found they often fail, wounding you! At some point they start dolling out damage over time which seems to work on some resistant creatures like golems (it's been some time, I forget the specifics) Yoshimo's bounty hunter traps are super useful because they can be thrown into combat whilst the rest of your party are crossing swords with some baddies.

awin123

Traps are incredibly OP especially on Mage/Thief for reasons mentioned above but also because you can cheese it even further with the staff of the magi and spells/scrolls even before you have UAI. That being said I don't personally use them but they are very good.

sepotter

Of course, they helped me defeat

Melissan in the last fight

ImBarryScott

The horror when the penny dropped that you could scroll down on the thievery level up list to access more than pick pockets, open locks, find traps and move silently.

Moomintroll

Don't be ridiculous Barry Scott, you never drop a penny!

jhart1018

HLA rogue spike traps automatically succeed regardless of your actual set trap skill. They make liches and bosses cake. I offed some of the nastiest beasties in the game, including the final final boss in seven seconds flat while cackling maniacally like a hyena after a meth bender.

Jaxsbudgie

I gave Demogorgon a trap complex once. I believe he's now receiving psychiatric care.