[Big SPOILER] Final boss fight is hard!

Rickenbacker

Oh man! I've been playing with Core difficulty, so I can't undo it now. But I was up til ungodly hours last night trying over & over. I *may* need to start over at a much earlier part of the game to better prepare. I've come close a few times though. I have a ton of potions, weapons & Caelar (sp?) is on my side.

Any tips? I've been loading up on fire resistance & magic protection potions.

Abi_Dalzim

What's your party composition, and what magic items are available to you? We'd need to know those before we can help you much.

Also, I'm of the opinion that the fight is much, much easier than dealing with him in Icewind Dale, for what that's worth.

Rickenbacker

Let's see-

9th lvl Ranger (Fractal Blade +3, Ophyllis's short sword +2)
10th lvl Invoker (wands: frost, lightning, paralyzation, several robes, various spells)
multi-class: 10 druid/8 fighter (Aule's staff +3, wand of the heavens)
9th fighter (Sundermaul, +3 bolts)
9th Ranger (Echo of the Fiend staff +3, Greenstone amulet)

JuliusBorisov

@Rickenbacker Please, try to avoid spoilers in the thread title. Not everyone has played or finished SoD. Also, please, try not to use non PG-13 words, even with %@ symbols in them.

kensai

Do you have Durlag's Goblet? It fully heals target, and Caelar is immune to fear so it's perfect for her.
Use Sequencer with Web and Freedom combination to hold demons.
Or use summons and ankheg amulet to distract them.

Danacm

Yeah durlag goblet with kiels helmet is rock. Or use blackguard/cavalier etc fear immun class.

xzar_monty

@Rickenbacker: How exactly do you fail? I got seriously beaten on my first try, because my characters fell victim to his aura of fear (or somesuch). There are ways, however, of making you immune to fear, and once I did that, I found the battle to be quite doable on Core difficulty.

elminster

Strength boosting potions and anything that can protect against fear/magic are huge assets. Especially for a melee heavy party like your own.

Abi_Dalzim

Haste makes waste of the enemy, of course. I'd also have all the fighters down Heroism potions, and Potions of Invulnerability.

namarie

Give Caelar the Golden Girdle (AC-3 vs. slashing), Crusader's Ring (AC, saves -3 vs. fiends, stacks with magical armor and rings), Potion of Invulerability & Haste her (AFTER Belhifet attempts to dispel!) and she should be able to tank Belhifet fairly well. Everyone else should have had been warded against enchantments & fear (potions of clarity, resist fear) in the elevator, too. With Caelar in your party, she will likely take the first dispel from Belhifet. Make sure everyone stays back so that they don't get hit. The rest of the party should take out some of Belhifet's most dangerous minions while he fights Caelar (I usually start with Cornugon and Hamatula). Use scrolls of Greater Restoration or the Goblet of Durlag to keep her alive.

Depending on if you killed that Lich in Kanaglym, your Mage might have access to Spell Sequencer, load it with Skull Traps or Webs (Emotion: Hopelessness would've been better, but Dynaheir is prohibited from casting enchantment...). You should also have a minor spell sequencer, which can be loaded with Webs. If you boost her caster level with the cloak of minor arcana and unleash all three skull traps there is a good chance that you can kill Herphernaan instantly. And Webs can be used to ensnare some of the lesser Devils. Note that Dynaheir would need to approach Belhifet to cast the sequencer, so ward her with Spell Immunity: Abjuration.

brunardo

Yah I had to go through this battle several times with two different parties on insane got cheesed a bunch of times and the whole charm, stun, sleep, and all the poison and teleporting was frustrating...finally found out what to do through trial and error but dont think any fight was as tough as this.