Solo Monk run for BG2EE-need some opinion/advice

Bubbles

Hi everyone,

I am trying a solo monk run in BG2EE till ToB in core rules (have never even played a monk before O_O).
Should I use any mods or just do unmodded run?
Any other advice/opinion are all welcome ^^

caes

gamefaqs.com/pc/258273-baldurs-gate-ii-shadows-of-amn/faqs/65330

But I bet you'll get bored long before setting of to Spellhold.

Bubbles

@caes
I saw that guide but as it was in such a boring way of presentaion I kinda fell asleep ^^.
The starting part was really tough but once I hit level 13 all is so much smoother and now I am at level 17
still haven't leave for spellhold yet with 3 major quests undone (planar sphere, Umr Hills and windspear).

Make 2 critical mistake in this run, did Nalia's major quests and planar prison at level 10-11, should have done at lower levels (that "shoe" is sooooooo important x_x and that darn troll is so tough once charname hit level 10).

Btw monk saving throw is based on cleric or warrior, anyone any idea?

Lord_Tansheron

IIRC Monks save as other warrior-types, however they get various bonuses (2 to spell right away, 1 to all at lvl 9 iirc).

Bubbles

@Lord_Tansheron
Yeah the monk is really insane ^^. I haven't bddn much of a melee fan, but this monk makes me love melee,
eh ofc not when the monk is still pretty squishy though xD.

Bubbles

For those who are curious:
If not wrong, after doing all the the do-able quests just before going to Graveyard for the 1st time, the monk is now level 28 O_O

Edit: Oops missed out Neb's quest not done but avoiding level drain for now I guess.

Bubbles

Was it my imaginations or did the major fights have an upgrade done?
Almost all major bosses of fights the opponents are able to match my monk's speed + paws of the cheetah X_X ... I feel so nerfed ...

Grond0

Lord_Tansheron said:

IIRC Monks save as other warrior-types, however they get various bonuses (2 to spell right away, 1 to all at lvl 9 iirc).

Monks saves are based on clerics not fighters, but with the bonuses as Lord_Tansheron describes.

Grond0

Bubbles said:

Was it my imaginations or did the major fights have an upgrade done?
Almost all major bosses of fights the opponents are able to match my monk's speed + paws of the cheetah X_X ... I feel so nerfed ...

That's the problem of the monk not being able to be hasted. However, you do have the ability to use GWWs and there are occasions where you may want to do that to help you run away (rather than fight ...)

Bubbles

@Grond0
Currently I am stuck at fighting that "APE" aka The Imprisoned One ... His 2 6 handed girlfriends keeps interrupting my GW assault on him X_X

Grond0

GWWs are not instant, so can be interrupted. However, they do cast pretty quickly - so, if before casting you move away from attackers just slightly, that will give you the moment you need to complete the casting successfully.

Bubbles

@Grond0
It wasn't the casting that was interrupted, it was the attacks.
Not sure exactly but I did often play with a modded bolt that do 10 APRs on other runs and I notice having 10 APRs can disrupt monsters physical attacks (it somehow has no time to attack but just do the pain grunt). Likewise in this case my physical attacks seemed to be interrupter by 12 APRs from 2 demoness + 4 APRs i think from that APE and I hard see any attacks of my own in the info screen but hearing the expiry of my GWW sound effect .... (I was busy grunting "Rah" pain grunt X_X)

Grond0

OK. It is the case that being hit causes a slight delay in movement or attacks - typically that works in your favour, but it sounds like you've been on the wrong end of it. Perhaps you would be better off concentrating your attacks on each of the demons separately to kill them before turning to the Imprisoned One. You may find that putting up a summons is helpful to give you the extra bit of time and space to do that - for a monk Ras can be particularly helpful for this purpose as it's not damaged by physical attacks.

Bubbles

@Grond0
Hehe too late Ras is in Trademeet I am in ToB xD
I am not sure but I think Mr APE will resummon more girfriends if they are killed, and those girls love Protection from Magical Weapons X_X (I can't do any "fisting" on them most of the time and meanwhile their 6 arms are dicing me up like some food).

Grond0

If they're abusing PFMW then the logic for using summons to draw the heat is all the stronger . If you still have to fight then potions may help to tilt the balance - particularly if they're not regularly using dispel. Potions of mind focusing (to reduce hits on you) and giant strength are most likely to be useful, but power and invulnerability may be handy as well in some situations. You might also want to review your equipment to see if changing things around can give you a better AC against the demon attacks.

Bubbles

@Grond0
Yes, some situations, but I noticed the dragons are particular nuisance almost every color encountered when my monk level is too high (the reds are especially badass since monk range is crap).
1 quick question, how doable is a F/T with a godbow at LoB solo and possibly no reload(since i accidentally deleted a save file of my monk fighting that APE and I am lazy to do the last level quests over again for the monk).

Bubbles

Nvm the question .. died by 1 single backstab in the planar prison .... aargghhh

billy_pilgrim

I'm trying a solo monk run through BG2 with SCS. I stealth cheesed through most of chateaux irenicus, however the room with the portal key is prooving a problem. Maybe get Imoen to do this part for me? I might EE keeper a bit more xp to start with to emulate a solo BGI play through. SCS makes things quite rough.

AnonymousHero

billy_pilgrim said:

I'm trying a solo monk run through BG2 with SCS. I stealth cheesed through most of chateaux irenicus, however the room with the portal key is prooving a problem. Maybe get Imoen to do this part for me? I might EE keeper a bit more xp to start with to emulate a solo BGI play through. SCS makes things quite rough.

AFAIK there's only one way to do this for a solo monk that's (almost) 100% reliable, but it requires an item (which auto-imports in 'classic' the BG1->BG2 transition, not sure about EE). The item is:

Horn of Kazgaroth

Assuming unmodded mephits, the item's activation renders you immune to the mephit spells for 2 rounds, during which you just have time to kill the Radiant mephit. Using the item, it's also possible to kill all the other mephits in Casa Irenicus, but as you've discovered you can just stealth past those.

(Funnily enough a similar thing also applies to Kensai. Those mephits are a real pain for any Trilogy runners )

Grond0

billy_pilgrim said:

I'm trying a solo monk run through BG2 with SCS. I stealth cheesed through most of chateaux irenicus, however the room with the portal key is prooving a problem. Maybe get Imoen to do this part for me? I might EE keeper a bit more xp to start with to emulate a solo BGI play through. SCS makes things quite rough.

You refer to the portal key. Is that what you mean? The traps in that room can be nasty, but aren't likely to kill a monk from max HPs. If you're referring to the mephit portals AnonymousHero has given you one possible solution. I would normally do that area using stealth - show yourself briefly to a mephit, then retreat and hide while the mephits go chasing after you, allowing you to bash the portals behind them.

AnonymousHero

Grond0 said:

show yourself briefly to a mephit, then retreat and hide while the mephits go chasing after you, allowing you to bash the portals behind them.

Ah, yes, I knew I was forgetting something. When I did this (before discovering the item in question), I'd burn a Potion of Speed just to have a better chance at making it back and hiding + closing the door, but I suppose you could actually even retreat through Irenicus' portal, Hide in Shadows on the safe side and re-enter to be extra safe.

gorgonzola

Everybody can play HIS game as he likes, as long as he is having fun. EEkeepering xp or items that should not be available when someone find a fight that he can not win is a possibility, nothing wrong about it. I have tried it, but I have also tried to win the battle without those cheats and in my experience is much more rewarding. Even if it can be utterly frustrating until you find a way.

Bubbles

The portal key is in a trapped drawer, I remember I got killed flat in core rules no damage just die, not sure if it is one of those instant-death thing. I usually do Irenicus dungeon as a party then solo after I reach the exit. If playing modded, one can always use dungeon be gone to shorten the process.

gorgonzola

Dungeon be gone was born for those players who are bored to play again and again the starting dungeon, not to help those who can not survive at it.
About that trap now I don't remember but I suppose that is not an instant-death thing. And I may be wrong about it.

AnonymousHero

Bubbles said:

The portal key is in a trapped drawer, I remember I got killed flat in core rules no damage just die, not sure if it is one of those instant-death thing. I usually do Irenicus dungeon as a party then solo after I reach the exit. If playing modded, one can always use dungeon be gone to shorten the process.

Ah, OK, sorry, I thought you were talking about the mephit portals. They're... interesting for a solo monk too.

I wouldn't feel too bad about just bringing Imoen along for de-trapping the initial dungeon.

Btw, the trap is just for straight up damage. Not sure what the "average" chances of surviving are since I stopped playing with traps a loooong time ago. (This is 'classic' BG2, wouldn't think EE would have changed it.)

Noobacca

Do any of the SoD monk only items transfer to SoA? If so, I think that would make a solo monk run an absolute breeze, especially when using the Bracers of Blinding Strike with the critical strike HLA (blind target on each hit with no save? That'll be pretty broken).

gorgonzola

Please hide the answer to @Noobacca in a spoiler as I don't want to be spoiled about SoD, thanks.

Bubbles

@gorgonzola
Actually some posts in here has already listed what are the items that went into bg2ee patch from SoD.
But most items that came over did not appear as game drops, so if someone needed those items they have to use EEkeeper to get it X_X.
@Noobacca, improved haste do not work on monks that are immune to slow effect X_X, otherwise that Rigng of Gaxx would have done nicely in many situations. Anyway, just for fun I have even made a "ranged" fist attack xD since in chinese KungFu stories, they very often portray such capabilities by the highly skilled characters (it is actually palm but since the most convenient way to edit is with fist so I decided to go with fist ^^).
@AnonymousHero, the most dangerous mephits in the dungeon is the color spraying one (I have been knocked unconscious and diced as a result hahaha).

BTW, anyone knows of any weapon that has acid damage, usable by monk availble in BG2EE from shops or drops? Needed that for desert Trolls.

gorgonzola

@Bubbles true, but the fact that I like not to be spoiled more then what I have already been remains.

Bubbles

@gorgonzola
Yeah, I understand, thus I never list them xD.
I just can't seemed to find a weapon usable by monk that does acid damage .... and I don't wanna add in manually from EEkeeper. For some strange reason (i do not know how to make it happen) sometimes after taking to that demon I get the colored damage or sometimes if I reload in that map. Only then the desert Trolls can be perma-killed ...

Grond0

Bubbles said:

BTW, anyone knows of any weapon that has acid damage, usable by monk availble in BG2EE from shops or drops? Needed that for desert Trolls.

You can get Blackblood in Trademeet if you want a weapon. Alternatively you can just use your fists - either greater deathblow or quivering palm should work.