Lol @chimaera! Fafnir the Great Feebleminder is creating a world of stupidity - what are his intentions? Will we ever know it or will his Feeblemindness also target us? Maybe Braxx should throw in a Time Stop Trap - time out, time out! Or something like that! Will it also work with Demons? Or Belhifet? Probably not!
Braxx cleared the Planar Sphere and had big fun using his new HLA´s!
The main challenge in this area are normally the Mages that are all over the place. But with Time Traps placed behind doors plus some GWW´s they went down without much resistance! For the Golems Braxx build up a small street of Time Stop Traps luring them into all of them one after another. Holy cow – this HLA is out of this world. Add in improved Haste Assassination and Braxx will obliterate nearly anyone in seconds. To make it short: With his new HLA´s he will have a lot of fun when going for Spellhold soon. But first: Aran Linvail. Poor guy – he will not even see what is striking him!
Not to forget: It seems that one Time Trap can trigger two (!) times – which increases the duration from 10 to 20 seconds. Is this intended or a bug? Anyway: Braxx reached level 15/19!
Hm, I don't remember Time Traps triggering twice. Back when I soloed SoA and ToB with my blade (years ago, still on insane SCS) I didn't pick Spike Traps, because with regular monster hp it was super cheesy. I used Time Traps a lot, for example on Kangaxx, to kill his first form, without it ever triggering the precast spells, but if it triggered twice I should have been able to kill both forms, so I don't think it did.
Very strange indeed. It happens over and over again - but not always. At first i thought that the trap would shoot at several enemies so it would trigger with each hit but - no: It also works against single enemies. They ran into trap range -> Time stops -> Braxx attacks -> Time Stop expires -> after a very brief moment the trigger sound fires again -> Time stops for another 10 seconds. When Improved Haste plus Assassination is added in there the enemies explode without any chance of retaliation. More opinions on that one?
I wouldn't worry too much about it, since it still is less good than regular time stop + alacrity on mage and if it's inconsistent on top don't feel like you're abusing anything. It sure sounds awesome with Assassination, but hey why not, for me stuff like that makes a char more fun. There's chesier things like mislead bsing/spiketrapping or as mentioned even regular time stops.
Yeah, you might be right @Victor_Creed_SFV but - damn - this char feels too powerful atm. No "hard work" like Su´kka before. I am really tempted to restart with a pure Thief but - damn again - the huge possibilities of Fighter/Thief HLA´s are making a lot of fun. Maybe i will try a pure or Dual Class Thief after that. We will see. Braxx in the meanwhile is murdering everything with Assassination. I never used this skill before - dont ask me why - so its making even more fun right now.
EDIT: Holy Cow - Thief HLA´s are so godlike! - Aran Linvail was absolutely destroyed by Braxx. Time Trap right before the door -> Invisibility -> Holy Might -> Improved Haste -> Open Door to trigger Time Trap -> Assassination -> Death in under 5 seconds -> grab all the loot and sneak out again unseen. Has something happened? Nah! Poor Shadow Thieves - they never ever had a chance.
The game strikes back because Braxx has run into some nasty bug. After getting into the Asylum the dream started where you have to lure Bhaal into the Library and Imoen. But: Bhaal wont follow Braxx into the building - regardless what he is trying. I checked every line, changed the sequence of talking - without success. I am also running into many "INVALID LINES" - and i dont know why. Everyting started after i added the Fallen-Solar-Ascenscion-Fix some time ago. Maybe i will have to rebuild the whole installation.
Well @Arctodus - no reload might be an option but i was never a big fan of these type of challenges. At the moment i cannot see any reason why the Fighter/Thief should roll on like this till Ascension. So the other option would be to restart with a weaker class combo. Pure Thief sounds cool or - to get around SoD - a Dual Class Fighter/Thief. But first: Reinstallation!
Concerning no-reload, I totally understand. If you're not into it, then there's no point. It's just that, from what I'm getting from your runs, you pretty much seem to be a rock-solid solo player.
Fighter/thief dualled early perhaps would be a better option. Decent enough thac0, specialization/mastery/grand mastery on weapons (depends on when you dual), but no HLA from fighter side. It would not be THAT much of a difference from what you're doing now, though. The strategy against Aran Linvail would unfold pretty much the same way, for example.
Pure thief would be more of a challenge : less APR (even during time-stop trap), squishier, much worst thac0, ... Strategically, it would be more different than with Braxx. Perhaps more fun too...
Good summary @Arctodus! Maybe i could use the console but i never managed to activate it.
Rock-solid solo player - cool definition! Thats pretty much how my old Chess Trainer summarized my style - lol. When going dual Fighter/Thief i would left the Fighter part very low because otherwise it would feel pretty much like the Multi Class - as you mentioned. Assassin or Bounty Hunter would be very interesting but a real nightmare in late SoD vs Belhifet without proper Fear Protection. I think that the Greenstone Amulet wont be enough as this battle lasts very long and one missing recast will lead to a quick end of the show.
At least this would force me to get a bit more creative again - or a bit cheesier. *cough*
What i am wondering about over and over again: In old BG1 i could spent 4 points in one weapon category right at the start as a Fighter - which was quite cool. Why is this no longer possible in EE? Which one is closer to D&D rules?
I cant get the CLUAConsole - old keyboard problem. Finally a monster immune to Feeblemind? Hah! But they still got destroyed - as usual.
But can anyone solve the question i posted above? "In old BG1 i could spent 4 points in one weapon category right at the start as a Fighter - which was quite cool. Why is this no longer possible in EE? Which one is closer to D&D rules?" Thanks a lot!
I am playing around with the idea of Dual Fighter Thief and stopped Braxx for now - will have to sleep about this.
Good summary @Arctodus! Maybe i could use the console but i never managed to activate it.
Rock-solid solo player - cool definition! Thats pretty much how my old Chess Trainer summarized my style - lol. When going dual Fighter/Thief i would left the Fighter part very low because otherwise it would feel pretty much like the Multi Class - as you mentioned. Assassin or Bounty Hunter would be very interesting but a real nightmare in late SoD vs Belhifet without proper Fear Protection. I think that the Greenstone Amulet wont be enough as this battle lasts very long and one missing recast will lead to a quick end of the show.
At least this would force me to get a bit more creative again - or a bit cheesier. *cough*
What i am wondering about over and over again: In old BG1 i could spent 4 points in one weapon category right at the start as a Fighter - which was quite cool. Why is this no longer possible in EE? Which one is closer to D&D rules?
A fellow chess player, cool. I think they fixed the 4 pips at the start in EE, only way around is to cheat yourself xp via EE-Keeper or just reallocate the pips via keeper.
In AD&D Complete Fighter's Handbook, it is written that you can only specialized with a weapon at character creation (p. 58).
I also think it makes more conceptual sense that you can't be THAT good with a weapon at level 1. Nonetheless, you could just use EEKeeper to add them straight away.
Ah, thanks a lot for this information @Arctodus! It makes sense that you cannot create a Weaponmaster at level 1 so i would have stomachache to change this via EE-Keeper. Too bad that this cuts down the strength of early dual classing to some degree. On the other hand it will get more challenging - not bad too!
I wouldn't dual a fighter before level 7 for the extra half APR. It's not that much xp taken from the thief and in BG1 it will also be more Thac0 than the thief would get. Till level 6 you get 2 more pips so you can put 4 points.
Not sure about how far i should push the Fighter part cause normally i would love to roll a pure Thief. But thanks to SoD Belhifet this one would fail for sure so a minimum level of Fighter should - hopefully - do the trick. Level 3 sounds like a decent compromise. Nearly a pure Thief but with a little bit more durability. Will have to sleep about this.
I wouldn't dual a fighter before level 7 for the extra half APR. It's not that much xp taken from the thief and in BG1 it will also be more Thac0 than the thief would get. Till level 6 you get 2 more pips so you can put 4 points.
While everything you say is true @Victor_Creed_SFV , it all depends on what type of challenge @Harpagornis wants. If dualled late, the fighter/thief is not that different than a multiclass one. If, on the contrary, you dual really early (let's say level 3), you will have some benefits of a fighter (hp, thac0, some damage, ...), but still have the feel and strategy of a trueclass thief.
Something else to consider : in BGEE 1.3, I remember that you could still put proficiencies in a weapon after dualclassing, a.k.a. : becoming grandmaster in long swords even though you dual from fighter at level 3. If it's still the case in BGEE 2.xx, you have two choices : either take advantage of that at the cost of flexibility (thieves don't have a lot of proficiency points), or refuse to advance in mastery after dualclassing. Conceptually, I don't like this mechanic and almost consider this a bug, but that's up to you, because there is actually a drawback to it, even moreso because we're playing solo.
I remember this "bug" too @Arctodus and yes: It still works. I think that its an interesting option especially cause there is a big downside - you already mentioned it. I rolled a lot and came up with these stats - say hello to Xizhanna, the Human Berserker Lady who will tranform her Rageness into the darkest Shadows:
Too bad i have no time playing here atm - but isnt the joy of anticipation really the greatest joy? Good night!
Btw, I had one of those theory crafting happy days today and came up with the most broken character in the game. I'm gonna send it thru Ascension/SCS/LoB ridden ToB, but probably never have the balls to play the whole game with it. It's a Wizard Slayer dualed into Thief. The char I created with EE-Keeper is dualed at 21, but you can dual it as early as 10, 13 would probably be ideal.
Now the trickiest part about this character is getting the wizard slayer to whichever level you want to dual at, but since it basically a fighter, there are worse classes to play, even tho it hurts, that you can't use bracers or rings.
But the end result is a glorious character, 100% Magic resistance, even if dualed at 10, using Purifier in the offhand, Human Flesh, 2 rings of Gaxx (not necessary if you dual at 20+) and the Amulet of Power. 4 hits on a mage result in 100% spell failure for it and other than that this char is no different than an ordinary Fighter/Thief, as we know from Harpagornis adventures and many other sources this is one of the most powerful classes in the game.
I'll probably make a video of some key fights to show how good this char is, but my main focus will stay on the challenge, but since I'm recording it, I sometimes also wish to play off screen, that's why I created the WS/Thief.
This should indeed be a deadly combo @Victor_Creed_SFV - if one gets the WS to these levels. Should be possible but some work will be required. For me this sounds "too powerful".
On the other hand: Su´kka had absolutely no problems with Mages from late SoA up to the end of ToB so the 100% magic resistance is in my eyes not essential. But it will make things a bit easier - especially with the incoming spell failure.
I did manage to no-reload a WS dualled to thief in unmodded EE, but it took a long while . The build will eventually become very powerful, but I agree with Harpagornis that it will take work to get to that stage ...
I've had 3 more attempts with Frey the sorcerer, but not got past the Bandit Camp - there are no problems in principle, just lots of opportunities to make mistakes .
I did manage to no-reload a WS dualled to thief in unmodded EE, but it took a long while . The build will eventually become very powerful, but I agree with Harpagornis that it will take work to get to that stage ...
I've had 3 more attempts with Frey the sorcerer, but not got past the Bandit Camp - there are no problems in principle, just lots of opportunities to make mistakes .
Only later I realized that the WS can't even use potions, so it really takes a lot of patience to get to level 10 or even higher. Also I guess before UaI even dualed into thief he will not be much stronger than the WS, except ofc for thief abilities, but still no potions is kinda rough for a non magic class.
The inability to use magical protection items is also a serious drawback. It's not so bad for a pure WS who can get shorty saving throws, but a human looking to dual is in danger from status effects for a long time ...
----- Killed four Ankhegs and reached Berserker Level 3 ----- Dualclassed to Thief ----- Returned Brun´s dead son ----- brought Joias ring back ----- retrieved a bowl from three fisherman to the young priestress of Umberlee ----- pacified frenzied Brage ----- nooberized Noober ----- reached Thief Level 4 ----- killed Meilum to get Gauntlets of Weapon Expertise -----
Longsword is now at 4 points and will get to Grand Master at level 8 – this will be cool. Still not 100% sure which weapon class should get 5 points too - Axes, Flails, Bastard Swords?! Anyway: Thanks to the lower HP and THAC0 some battles will get more challenging - i like that!
I would like to write more but my time is very limited at the moment.
Dual Class from Beserker at level 3? Are you serious? Why? What happened to Braxx? I wanted to see how he fared with Amelyssan.
Well - you may have noticed that Braxx was steamrolling quite hard once he got his HLA´s. Yes, this was fun for some time but it absolutely killed the feeling of playing a challenge. I am 100% sure that Braxx would be able to beat ToB including Amelyssan. But not for now. And yes, i like borderline masochistic approaches - level 1 challenges ftw - so i restarted the game with a character that has nearly the touch of a pure Thief. I would love to start u pure Thief but SoD Belhifet would put an end to this one for sure. The Berserker level 3 is just a compromise - lets see how good or bad it will work in the long run.
Comments
The main challenge in this area are normally the Mages that are all over the place. But with Time Traps placed behind doors plus some GWW´s they went down without much resistance! For the Golems Braxx build up a small street of Time Stop Traps luring them into all of them one after another. Holy cow – this HLA is out of this world. Add in improved Haste Assassination and Braxx will obliterate nearly anyone in seconds. To make it short: With his new HLA´s he will have a lot of fun when going for Spellhold soon. But first: Aran Linvail. Poor guy – he will not even see what is striking him!
Not to forget: It seems that one Time Trap can trigger two (!) times – which increases the duration from 10 to 20 seconds. Is this intended or a bug? Anyway: Braxx reached level 15/19!
Back when I soloed SoA and ToB with my blade (years ago, still on insane SCS) I didn't pick Spike Traps, because with regular monster hp it was super cheesy.
I used Time Traps a lot, for example on Kangaxx, to kill his first form, without it ever triggering the precast spells, but if it triggered twice I should have been able to kill both forms, so I don't think it did.
It sure sounds awesome with Assassination, but hey why not, for me stuff like that makes a char more fun.
There's chesier things like mislead bsing/spiketrapping or as mentioned even regular time stops.
EDIT: Holy Cow - Thief HLA´s are so godlike! - Aran Linvail was absolutely destroyed by Braxx. Time Trap right before the door -> Invisibility -> Holy Might -> Improved Haste -> Open Door to trigger Time Trap -> Assassination -> Death in under 5 seconds -> grab all the loot and sneak out again unseen. Has something happened? Nah! Poor Shadow Thieves - they never ever had a chance.
Well @Arctodus - no reload might be an option but i was never a big fan of these type of challenges. At the moment i cannot see any reason why the Fighter/Thief should roll on like this till Ascension. So the other option would be to restart with a weaker class combo. Pure Thief sounds cool or - to get around SoD - a Dual Class Fighter/Thief. But first: Reinstallation!
Concerning no-reload, I totally understand. If you're not into it, then there's no point. It's just that, from what I'm getting from your runs, you pretty much seem to be a rock-solid solo player.
Fighter/thief dualled early perhaps would be a better option. Decent enough thac0, specialization/mastery/grand mastery on weapons (depends on when you dual), but no HLA from fighter side. It would not be THAT much of a difference from what you're doing now, though. The strategy against Aran Linvail would unfold pretty much the same way, for example.
Pure thief would be more of a challenge : less APR (even during time-stop trap), squishier, much worst thac0, ... Strategically, it would be more different than with Braxx. Perhaps more fun too...
Rock-solid solo player - cool definition! Thats pretty much how my old Chess Trainer summarized my style - lol. When going dual Fighter/Thief i would left the Fighter part very low because otherwise it would feel pretty much like the Multi Class - as you mentioned. Assassin or Bounty Hunter would be very interesting but a real nightmare in late SoD vs Belhifet without proper Fear Protection. I think that the Greenstone Amulet wont be enough as this battle lasts very long and one missing recast will lead to a quick end of the show.
At least this would force me to get a bit more creative again - or a bit cheesier. *cough*
What i am wondering about over and over again: In old BG1 i could spent 4 points in one weapon category right at the start as a Fighter - which was quite cool. Why is this no longer possible in EE? Which one is closer to D&D rules?
But can anyone solve the question i posted above? "In old BG1 i could spent 4 points in one weapon category right at the start as a Fighter - which was quite cool. Why is this no longer possible in EE? Which one is closer to D&D rules?" Thanks a lot!
I am playing around with the idea of Dual Fighter Thief and stopped Braxx for now - will have to sleep about this.
I think they fixed the 4 pips at the start in EE, only way around is to cheat yourself xp via EE-Keeper or just reallocate the pips via keeper.
I also think it makes more conceptual sense that you can't be THAT good with a weapon at level 1. Nonetheless, you could just use EEKeeper to add them straight away.
It's not that much xp taken from the thief and in BG1 it will also be more Thac0 than the thief would get.
Till level 6 you get 2 more pips so you can put 4 points.
Something else to consider : in BGEE 1.3, I remember that you could still put proficiencies in a weapon after dualclassing, a.k.a. : becoming grandmaster in long swords even though you dual from fighter at level 3. If it's still the case in BGEE 2.xx, you have two choices : either take advantage of that at the cost of flexibility (thieves don't have a lot of proficiency points), or refuse to advance in mastery after dualclassing. Conceptually, I don't like this mechanic and almost consider this a bug, but that's up to you, because there is actually a drawback to it, even moreso because we're playing solo.
Too bad i have no time playing here atm - but isnt the joy of anticipation really the greatest joy? Good night!
I'm gonna send it thru Ascension/SCS/LoB ridden ToB, but probably never have the balls to play the whole game with it.
It's a Wizard Slayer dualed into Thief.
The char I created with EE-Keeper is dualed at 21, but you can dual it as early as 10, 13 would probably be ideal.
Now the trickiest part about this character is getting the wizard slayer to whichever level you want to dual at, but since it basically a fighter, there are worse classes to play, even tho it hurts, that you can't use bracers or rings.
But the end result is a glorious character, 100% Magic resistance, even if dualed at 10, using Purifier in the offhand, Human Flesh, 2 rings of Gaxx (not necessary if you dual at 20+) and the Amulet of Power.
4 hits on a mage result in 100% spell failure for it and other than that this char is no different than an ordinary Fighter/Thief, as we know from Harpagornis adventures and many other sources this is one of the most powerful classes in the game.
I'll probably make a video of some key fights to show how good this char is, but my main focus will stay on the challenge, but since I'm recording it, I sometimes also wish to play off screen, that's why I created the WS/Thief.
On the other hand: Su´kka had absolutely no problems with Mages from late SoA up to the end of ToB so the 100% magic resistance is in my eyes not essential. But it will make things a bit easier - especially with the incoming spell failure.
Test it - and show us its power!
I've had 3 more attempts with Frey the sorcerer, but not got past the Bandit Camp - there are no problems in principle, just lots of opportunities to make mistakes
But seriously: Its a real pity that Frey cracked at Bandit Camp - maybe you should give another class a chance?
I started Xizhanna but the start is slow - maybe there will be an update today - or tomorrow.
Also I guess before UaI even dualed into thief he will not be much stronger than the WS, except ofc for thief abilities, but still no potions is kinda rough for a non magic class.
Here some small notes from her journey:
----- Killed four Ankhegs and reached Berserker Level 3 ----- Dualclassed to Thief ----- Returned Brun´s dead son ----- brought Joias ring back ----- retrieved a bowl from three fisherman to the young priestress of Umberlee ----- pacified frenzied Brage ----- nooberized Noober ----- reached Thief Level 4 ----- killed Meilum to get Gauntlets of Weapon Expertise -----
Longsword is now at 4 points and will get to Grand Master at level 8 – this will be cool.
Still not 100% sure which weapon class should get 5 points too - Axes, Flails, Bastard Swords?!
Anyway: Thanks to the lower HP and THAC0 some battles will get more challenging - i like that!
I would like to write more but my time is very limited at the moment.