Thief Skill: Detect Illusion

moody_mage

Can someone give me the lowdown on exactly how this thief skill works and what it actually does? Does it work as a sort of True Sight if you pump it enough or is it much more limited? How many points do you actually need in it to make it useful?

I've had a quick look around and there doesn't really seem to be much in the way of verifiable clarification available. I did learn you have to have Detect Traps turned on to use it which I didn't know before...

Cheesebelly

It works quite literally as true sight, it simply dispels all illusion. Which is GREAT of course, but problem is - I have no idea how much skill you need for it to work 100% of the time (probably 100) and second problem is - among all spellcasters, divine or not : there are so many true seeing spells or options that it can easily become obsolete (remembering that True Sight doesn't require you to stand still, while detect illusion does)

kamuizin

it's good for you to become invisible and behind a mage that used any phantasm/illusion spell, click on detection and will take a while before your invisibility vanish, probally you will detect the illusions of the mage before and will be able to backstab him then.

TJ_Hooker

Do you actually have to stay still for it to work? I was under the impression that it was on anytime you had detect traps on and therefore worked like any modal action; walking around is fine as long as you don't do anything else. I could easily be wrong though, seeing as how I never actually used detect illusion...

10thLich

No, you don't have to stay still. Moreover, if you dismiss its usefulness with True Sight, you're not realizing what Detect Illusion provides.

It's a non-magical, infinite use ability which isn't blocked by Spell Immunity: Divination. Which enables your casters to put other spells in their level 5 or 6 slots.

10th

Cheesebelly

But you can't attack before you detect them, and by the time you can actually attack, the mages will have Stoneskin anyway

ryuken87

It is a really awesome and under-used ability, but inevitably it's one of the later things to put points in behind the necessities (locks and find traps) and the power options (stealth and set traps).

Jaxsbudgie

If I'm not playing a stabby stabby Thief, but more of a utility Thief (this applies to NPCs too), I'll pump up Detect Illusions sometimes even before Traps and Locks because they can be temporarily increased with potions. It's perfect for stabby stabby Thieves though, if an enemy spellcaster is sitting comfortably with mirror image running, simply go invisible (spell, potion, stealth) sit behind him, detect illusion, as soon as the mirror image is dispelled -stabby stabby time!

Moomintroll

I really like detect illusion, you can have your thief doing that rather not not hitting anything, so that when invisibility is dispelled on a mage your casters can go to work using their targeted abjuration spells without having to wait.

Mortianna

I can see the value in starting out as a Thief, putting all skill points into detect illusion until you reach 100% (5th level), and then dualling to Conjurer. That would solve the Divination school restriction. Edwin might not like the competition though.

There should be an ability score bonus to detect illusion for high intelligence.

Permidion_Stark

Mortianna said:

I can see the value in starting out as a Thief, putting all skill points into detect illusion until you reach 100% (5th level), and then dualling to Conjurer. That would solve the Divination school restriction. Edwin might not like the competition though.

There should be an ability score bonus to detect illusion for high intelligence.

I think it should be wisdom rather than intelligence that affects your detect illusion score.

Mortianna

@Permidion_Stark Since high INT (19+) gives you immunity to various levels of illusion spells, I'd think that would be the ability which would give a bonus to detect illusion.

Permidion_Stark

@Mortianna
I didn't realise that. It does make sense in game terms then. (But personally I think they chose the wrong attribute. I think seeing through an illusion - discovering the hidden truth - has got more to do with wisdom than intelligence)

moody_mage

I think the INT based illusion immunity is based around the fact that due to your towering intellect you easily spot inconsistencies within lower level illusions therefore becoming immune to them.

Plus Wisdom has a whole raft of spell immunities available. Not fair to load up with illusion immunities as well.

chickenhed

Going to quote the great Chris Lee thief guide (http://www.gamefaqs.com/pc/470765-baldurs-gate-ii-throne-of-bhaal/faqs/27550):

" Detect Illusions - Perhaps the most overlooked ability in Baldur's
Gate II. This acts as a True Sight that your thief can activate by
selecting "Find Traps" as a modal action. If you're going to use
this, you probably want to go all the way as fast as you can, since
generally you want to dispel illusions as fast as possible (although
the circus illusions are harmless and leaving a Detect Illusions at
10% on for a few rounds doesn't hurt you any).
In some respects, a high level Detect Illusions is even better
than True Sight, since it doesn't wipe out your own illusions and
since you essentially have an infinite use of it.
So what are illusions? The really annoying spells, fortunately for
a high level Detect Illusions: Mirror Image, (Improved) Invisibility
(which also includes Shadow Door, Invisibility 10' Radius, etc.),
Mislead (yes!), Simulacrum (woah!), Project Image (holy crap!), and
Blur. Also, the werewolves and shadows in the Circus Tent are
illusions, but the clones in Irenicus's dungeon are not (though they
seem like Simulacra of your characters).
The only problem is that it takes a while to "activate" after
selecting "Find Traps." Fortunately, this doesn't really
translate into anything but a shorter casting cost of a True Sight."


As you can see. Detect Illusions can be extremely useful.

sarevok57

i remember that party at the door in the underdark that you have to fight to go to the surface used that ability on my team and failed over the evil thief it said " detect illusion failed" or some such because i had mass invisibilty on and i killed the mage right away, and i was like wooooooooooooah nutty mc nut nut jam

AHF

Cheesebelly said:

It works quite literally as true sight, it simply dispels all illusion. Which is GREAT of course, but problem is - I have no idea how much skill you need for it to work 100% of the time (probably 100) and second problem is - among all spellcasters, divine or not : there are so many true seeing spells or options that it can easily become obsolete (remembering that True Sight doesn't require you to stand still, while detect illusion does)

For the skill level, it is a bit like find trap. People who have had high level thieves are probably familiar with the idea that the higher the skill the faster the traps are located most of the time. If you are going to go down this road with a thief, it is probably worth pumping to very high levels due to all the enemy illusions in BG2/TOB. Blowing the illusions away quickly can be very nice compared to sitting there for a full round waiting for it to kick in.

RomulanPaladin

Funny thing: if you click to attack something, the find traps mode turns off. However, if you click to attack something and then turn on find traps afterward, it stays on. That means that you can detect illusion while fighting.

Mayhaps they'll fix that "feature" for the new release.

kamuizin

@RomulanPaladin if that's true mayhaps they don't with luck !

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Mortianna

@thespace I have Hexxat's DI at 130% and I've found it still takes a while for illusions to be dispelled/detected. As for FT and OL, there are a few places that require scores above 100% in ToB.