[SPOILERS] Final battle help needed

Ramiell

Hi there, I'm facing Belhifet on hard difficulty and I can barely scratch this guy. All party members are evil so I've decided to let Caelar join the demon and that's where all problems started. I had few tries when I asked her to join me and she can pretty much solo Belhifet on her own but without her I just feel like I don't have enough firepower to down the bastard. My party is
Charname - Fighter / Mage wielding Icingdeath+3 Thaco -1, AC -13
Viconia - Sundermaul +3 Thaco 5, AC -9
Dorn - Dragon Blade +3 Thaco 3 , AC -5
Safana - Fractal Blade + 3 Thaco 9 , AC 0
Edwin and Baeloth

Belhifet is immune to all magic and on top of that he's invisible so I can't even target him with Lower resistance which means my 2 casters are pretty much reduced to minion summoners. I tried to rush Belhifet while I'm fully buffed without any success. I was wondering why I can't hit him despite main -1 Thaco, is it because he's AC is so low or is it because he's protected by magic like Iron Skin or similar? Another problem is that he just refuses to focus Charname and every try he goes right after Dorn and Safana as their AC is the lowest, so I have to move them all the time before they even think about trying to hit him. Is there anything I am missing? All tips welcome

Daeros_Trollkiller

I guess he is considerably harder on hard. It might not apply since I was in normal mode on my first playthrough but I had good luck with wands of frost.

Ramiell

Thanks mate, tried those wands without any success but finally got lucky in melee and Dorn managed to get a few good hits on him while Charname finished him off. All those attempts convinced me that single class thief is a waste, the only thing Safana could do was keep on dying, I think I saw her hit Belhifet once only in like 50 tries. I wasn't a fan of hers before and after this fight I like her even less haha but yea, thanks for your reply once again

Abel

Please change the title of your thread, it spoils critical information about Belhifet being the final boss.
The demon apparently has an AC of -12, so it's normal if you can't hit him often. Potions of Strength and Heroism/Power would help lower your THAC0.

There's not much you can do regarding Belhifet targeting. Be glad you can actually use a decoy and avoid being hit. Dorn can use Crossbows so it may be a good idea to give him one and start hitting Belhifet from afar. Safana can use Bows too.

Arthas

which level should a kensai be to ensure he will never miss him with his hits?

semiticgoddess

@Arthas: A level 10 Kensai (the maximum without removing the XP cap) with

1) 25 Strength from a potion of giant strength combined with the Bhaalspawn power Draw Upon Holy Might (-7 THAC0)
2) a +3 weapon (-3 THAC0)
3) grandmastery (5 proficiency points) in the weapon style (-4 THAC0)
4) Kensai THAC0 bonuses from level 3, level 6, and level 9 (-3 THAC0)
5) a bard song from Voghiln the Vast or another Skald (-2 THAC0)
6) both Bless and Chant active (-2 THAC0)

...should have -10 THAC0, enough to hit Belhifet 85-90% of the time. You'd need an extra -1 or -2 THAC0 to get a 95% hit rate, which is the maximum possible considering critical misses are always possible.

An Archer can get -9 THAC0, as rangers can only reach level 9 with the XP cap. This requires drinking potions of Mind Focusing to boost Dexterity and combining +2 arrows with a good longbow (+3 arrows are rare and you'll still need to buff the Archer with Enchanted Weapon to kill Belhifet).

Ramiell

And what if I don't have Kensai or Archer in my party?

semiticgoddess

Even without Kensais or Archers, your fighters should be able to land hits fairly reliably if they drink some Potions of Power/Heroism/Fire Giant Strength. If your main character has -1 THAC0, that should amount to almost 50% hit chance. Also, drinking an Oil of Speed will keep them hasted longer than if you use the Haste spell, without worrying about fatigue effects.

Viconia should be able to remove Belhifet's invisibility by casting True Seeing (level 5 spell for clerics). Belhifet has 80% magic resistance; casting Lower Resistance on him 4 times should bring that down to zero. If you time your castings so they begin after Belhifet finishes casting a spell, that should prevent him from turning invisible while you're casting Lower Resistance, ensure that your LR spells don't get disrupted.

After his magic resistance goes down, Magic Missiles, Acid Arrows, and the Wand of Frost are all safe ways of dealing damage to him. Note that the Wand of Frost can bypass Improved Invisibility, unlike spells.

Ramiell

Cool, thank you for your help