Okay, with Eklun restored again – we buffed him up to maximum for Big B:
Head: Kiels Helmet Neck: Amulet of Protection +2 Armor: Ankheg Plate Hands: Legacy of the Masters Weapon: Icingdeath +3 Shield: Steadfast +2 Ring 1: Claw of Kazgaroth Ring 2: Ring of the Crusade Waist: Cloverleaf Feet: Boots of Speed Back: Displacer Cloak
Buffs: PfM, Violet Potion, Potion of Agility, Potion of Fortitude, Potion of Defense, 5+ Potions of Power, Regeneration Potion, Oil of Speed
HP: 200+ Damage: 20-27 Chance to Hit Big B: 50% Chance to get hit by Erinyes: 5%
With this setup we started the fight using the last Ankheg summons, Spirit Bears and Caelar to distract the demons as long as possible while getting in some first damage to Big B. It worked quite okay so once the front line disappeared he was already down to 934 HP.
The hit & run worked like a roller coaster ride. Sometimes Eklun was critting several times in a short row but then he started to miss again and again. Rebuffing also took some time as he always needed to stack at least three or four Potions of Power to stay supersafe.
With two Erinyes on the battlefield – who missed most of the time – Eklun had to take an even closer look at his HP to not run into some lucky „hit sequencer“ (Big B hitting + Erinyes critting at the same time). Time was running against us as the charges of Durlags Goblet dropped below 10 and the number of Invisbility Potions got smaller and smaller (even though never critical).
At the end it was all about psychology as the last 121 HP of Big B seemed to be tough like a chewing gum. After critting and hitting he was on the brink of death but thanks to several hits Eklun had to heal up and rebuff a lot of expiring potions – which costed him six rounds of running only while Big B had regenerated up to 66 HP again.
After several critical misses Eklun finally rolled higher numbers while the Erinyes Archers in the meanwhile had run out of arrows – very funny! After gulping Invisiblity Potion number 117 Eklun circled for a last time before rushing in to Big B once more to take him down with a 18 damage slash!
Thanks to the previous training with Ayacalla all in all that was quite okay for a Totemic Druid. Time to take a small rest before getting on with SoA. The masterplan there: Get Druid level 15 -> switch to Fighter -> use Gauth loop to push XP.
Eklun the Totemic Druid started SoA and had A LOT of fun in the Irenicus Prison. Or to be more precise: His Spirit Animals had the fun. As nearly no enemy can touch them they smashed all opposition into the ground so i could drink some more cups of tea while watching the slaughter. The most dangerous aspect were some traps – especially the one in Irencius sleeping chamber that could potentially instakill Eklun. But thats it. The rest was silence once the Spirit Animals rushed through...
After killing everything Eklun moved out with 626995 XP, five Invisibility Potions, three Oil of Speed, the Blunting Belt, Sarevoks Chaos Blade, the always precious Helm of Balduran, another Ring of Protection +1, Illychs personal Chain Mail and a Quarterstaff +2 instead of Varscona +2. Not a bad start!
Renfield + Harpers: Pixie Dust -> Retreat -> Spirit Lions. Prebek was killed by Spirit Wolves (more stunlocks) while the Harper Ghosts were tricked with Oil of Speed
Suna Seni: Pixie Dust -> Retreat -> Spirit Lions + Fire Elemental. Just make sure to focus Suna Seni first as the rest is no big deal
Maevar: Meeting Rayic again was very pleasing as the Spirit Wolves stunlocked him to death (with Insect Swarm also ticking!). The rest was walking and talking - until Maevar who was charmed before (!) talking to Renal so he will remain friendly even when getting back. This meant: Summon Spirit Lions + Fire Elemental and let them wrac havoc upon the Guards (who could not touch them!) while killing Maevar himself (who got backstabbed quite badly by his old friends) when he was nearly dead. This was no fight, this was a slaughter...
Maybe Eklun should play around with Mencar and friends a little bit! However: The Totemic Druid is still a real powerhouse as the Spirit Animals are making most encounters nearly trivial. Level 14 isnt that far anymore!
The Slaver Complex has been totally cleared thanks to Spirit Lions and Fire Elementals while invisbile Eklun was watching the fun - a lot of gold and XP! On the run through the sewers he solved Lilarcors riddle and avoided the dreaded Petrifying trap (Find Traps is my best friend now!). Mencar and friends got charmed and beaten to death even though Eklun needed one rest in between as Mencar really is a tough beast. Gaining the service of Sir Sarles was next - after some walking and talking the only tricky part followed: Beating Neb and his Spirits. At the end the Druid spirit proved to be victorious while Neb was quite helpless once his invisibiliy was dispelled. Another bonus: The XP reward from the Temple of Helm pushed Eklun up to level 14 - great!
Trademeet Genies: Summoned three Spirit Lions inside the tent around the Khan and killed the one outside with Harm + Fire Elemental. Back inside the summons focused on the Khan while Creeping Doom was also ticking. Invisible and True Sight running there was no escape for them...
Druid Grove: Killed most stuff on the run except for the hard hitting Trolls - maybe later - and grabbed Belm +2. The Shadow Druids gave the Spirit Summons some good beating so - for the first time - Eklun had to retreat. With the Gnasher Club and Firetongue Longsword he moved into the Grove facing Faldorn. For the following 1vs1 Eklun used a little trick: He buffed up and turned into a Mustard Jelly so none of her spells could touch him (Creeping Doom!). Normally you cant speak anymore but as the talking with Faldoorn triggered automatically he found himself in the arena. As his spirit summoning is not disabled he waited until Creeping Doom fizzled and called three Spirit Wolves as their cold damage goes right through the Iron Skin. Shortly after Faldorn was history. Eklun immediately went for the Greater Druid challenge with the three Spirit Wolves still waiting. They quickly disrupted the enemy spellcasting (he always summons first) while Eklun threw in a Creeping Doom - poor Druid...
Rejiek: Walking, talking and some beating using Spirit Lions - nothing special.
Fallen Paladins: They proved to be much easier than expected as Spirit Summons and Nymphs (Hold + Lightning) took them down quite fast. More XP, more gold and - the best - finally reputation at 20. Time for some shopping!
Destroying the Vampire Guild: At the end it was all about summons - and some splitpulling. Therefore Eklun called three Spirit Lions and two Fire Elementals over and over again killing one vampire after another (watching the show invisible while protected from level drain & charm). Even Lassal went down without much resistance while the incoming rats werent dangerous but quite annoying. Once Bodhi arrived Eklun retreated immediately and rested to trigger the final talking. With a lot of XP Eklun moved back to Aran Linvail who was most pleased about his progress...
With Eklun slowly nearing level 15 i calculated a bit. After dualing to Fighter at 15 Eklun will get 9 HLA´s max. Thats not much. Would he have dualed at level 13 he would reach 18 instead - but loosing some spell power. Damn it. A Fighter/Druid would get 19 - sounds even better. Maybe thats at the end the way to go even though i would miss the spirit summons for sure!
Update:
Umar Hills are cleared. Eklun used the Spirit Summons and Fire Elementals to kill every shadow around soaking up XP. The only tricky part was the Lich (thanks to his higher level) which was tricked with PfU. The Shade Lord himself was pretty straightforward: Get in with PfU still running and hack the Altar apart and then take down the Shade Lord himself. Eklun got lucky and landed the second Harm to destroy the evil with one more swing.
Ah, but it's not the quantity, but the quality that counts . Personally I would suggest slogging on to get to druid level 18. At a cost of 2 more fighter HLAs that could provide: - a deva (not only some useful spell support, but considerably more combat power than provided by a GWW) - an elemental prince (again better than GWW) - earth elemental form (with that you don't need any hardiness) - globe of blades (a bit of extra flavour and, if hasted, provides pretty good damage) Surely even the Beamdog sale doesn't offer such great bargains .
Yeah, there is some logic behind. Getting Deva and Elemental Prince would fit really good into the "i-will-summon-all-day-long" game Eklun is playing for so long now. As i play without improved Earth Elemental i will most likely skip it.
Plan to 18
Level 15: Fire Elemental Form Level 16: Deva Level 17: Elemental Summoning Level 18: Greater Elemental Summoning
Or maybe change Fire Elemental Form with Globe of Blades?
Update:
Troll Mound finally cleared. Eklun always buffed up with Iron Skin + Chaotic Command went invisible and used True Seeing to get a safe spot for summoning three Spirit Lions and two Fire Elementals. With Creeping Doom and several retreats they managed to beat down all Trolls grabbing the Spear of the Unicorn and the Dales Protector. XP >2,5 million - i can almost smell the first HLA!
P.S. Dont forget that level 18 would grant Eklun also another Spirit Summoning charge!
How do you guys usually handle Allied Siege Camp when they strike. On LOB SCS new waves come pretty much before previous are done, is this still hit and run? Isn't this a timed (they destroy the barrels) event?
The Crusader Attacks on Coalition Camp are all about preparation. And: You must prevent the enemies to slip through cause if they manage to get near the barrels this will trigger the next waves and they will come one after another without another resting option. But if you keep them in place they are not dangerous!
- 4 APR Detonation Arrows is king here (or any other form of constant AoE damage) - Use summons to keep the enemies busy (Fire Elementals work great as most enemies only use normal weapons!) - Heavy CC like Web can work wonders but avoid spells like Horror or Chaos (see above!) - Dispelling Arrows will soften the Mages and make them easy targets - The most trusted allies are: First Wave -> Dwarves or Undead, Second Wave: Wizard Slayers, Third Wave: Battle Mages - You might charm some NPC Mages like Dynaheir to get a free Web for the first wave - Prebuff allies with Protection from Fire to lower the damage from Detonation Arrows - Trapstacking also works great if a Thief is around (mostly relevant for first wave) - Insect Swarm works wonders against all waves (especially the third one to negate healing) - Never forget that Dosia can give you at least two rests - refreshing all of your spells! - The Fourth Wave with the Crusader Generals is trivial thanks to immortal ally bosses - To point it out again: There is no timer IF you prevent enemies from getting to the barrels!
Thats the experience collected with my characters so far - mostly Fighters, Thieves and Druids.
Should work nearly 100% - even in a no reload run.
...if they manage to get near the barrels this will trigger the next waves...
Mr @Harpagornis, this is exactly what I did not know. My first SOD run ever perfect info that I was missing. It seems that when I blinded those hasted trolls/ogres they started running around like mad triggering next waves. Great to know! thanks mate.
Just finished battle successfully, off to castle.
Btw I got another two odd ones that I couldn't find info about.
#1 In underground river when you reach basement if you go to Hephernaan chambers doesn't matter what you do he triggers a fight but with him entire castle is getting alerted. Because of this you need to fight your way out through like 100 of enemies for hours, yes you can also invis (but I don't stand away from battle you know!). Are you supposed to take entire castle head on, if so any gathered knowledge here? ps. I don't have poison at this part as I refused it in the camp.
#2 I've pulled lich with spectacles in Kanaglym for his amazing Robe of Arcane Aptitude (3x skull trap or glitter dust/slow/malison combos are nice) but no matter the conversation path he always gives me ring and bounces off.
In my very first SoD solo run i got stuck at the Crusader Attacks cause my Cavalier lacked DPS. That was quite painful.
With regard to Hephernaan @Myrag: You are supposed to get out as fast as you can - invisibility is your best friend here. Fighting the huge incoming groups is possible abusing heavy AoE damage and CC. Or you can charm as many guards as possible before meeting Hephernaan. Thieves work great here as you can abuse the elevator shooting one Detonation Arrow after another out of stealth - retreat and repeat until everyone is dead. Normally i just retreat and get out as fast as i can...
Regarding the Lich: As i never play Mages i always skip him - maybe another one can help here!
@Myrag, you need to kill the Lich and take the robe from it. The only time I even made it that far in the game, I used my last green PfUndead scroll so I had no trouble with it. Once you've killed the Lich using PfU, a Warden who's supposed to be friendly will be hostile. You can kill it for a very nice crossbow.
@Myrag, you need to kill the Lich and take the robe from it. The only time I even made it that far in the game, I used my last green PfUndead scroll so I had no trouble with it. Once you've killed the Lich using PfU, a Warden who's supposed to be friendly will be hostile. You can kill it for a very nice crossbow.
@Blackraven yea I do get that. Problem is no talking option is triggering the hostility for me, all options end with him giving me ring as reward and then teleporting off.
The Windspear Hills were quite funny and thanks to some Ankheg killing Eklun now wears the precious Ankheg Armor.
Ruhk Transmuter: Three Spirit Lions plus two Fire Elementals Samia and party: Lions + Fire Elementals + Creeping Doom Greater Wolfweres: Spirit Lions + Fire Elementals Tazok: Spirit Lions + Fire Elementals Golems: Spirit Lions + Fire Elementals Guardians: Spirit Lions + Fire Elementals Conster: Spirit Lions + Fire Elementals + Nymphs Orcs and Ogres: Spirit Lions + Fire Elementals
As you can see: Summons are still the name of the game. With Eklun fully buffed and invsible they stormed quite hard through the dungeon. Detect Traps - like always - was very helpful to avoid trapped fake doors. Eklun did not bother about Firkraag himself as the risk of getting blown away felt to high. Maybe later. With 2,9 million XP reached the first HLA is only a stone´s throw away!
@Myrag, you need to kill the Lich and take the robe from it. The only time I even made it that far in the game, I used my last green PfUndead scroll so I had no trouble with it. Once you've killed the Lich using PfU, a Warden who's supposed to be friendly will be hostile. You can kill it for a very nice crossbow.
@Blackraven yea I do get that. Problem is no talking option is triggering the hostility for me, all options end with him giving me ring as reward and then teleporting off.
Just fought Belhifet in a MP game. That was on core, so obviously much easier, but gives me a better idea of what to watch out for if I ever get that far in a game. I also noted a bit of corrupted ground near one of the pillars - getting stuck on that wasn't quite fatal in the MP game, but probably would have been in LoB, so that's something else to watch out for.
Not really anything new for you, no. My character was only kept alive after getting stuck by taking several potions of power - but you're already well aware of that one . I also noted that Belhifet's regeneration is relatively slow - hence it's a reasonable tactic for the PC to run round and regenerate (though that's really only an issue for me as others will just use healing items).
Eklun cleaned the floors of the de'Arnise Keep and faced Torgal once more!
The combination of Fire Elementals and Spirt Lions proved to be enough for most Troll groups while Eklun himself was either waiting or throwing in Creeping Doom and Call Lightning. It did not take too ling and the magic level of 15 was reached deciding to go with the powerful Deva. This choice apeared to be quite good as the Deva not only can take some punches but also deals significant damage (Globe od Blades). Once room after another was cleared while always buffing up aginst potential Spirit Troll magic. Only one time - when i had switched the Ring of Fire Protection for Sandthief Ring - a Flame Strike landed out of nowhere bringin Eklun down to 7 HP. A quick retreat and invisibility gave him the chance to heal up again - reminding him to always keep Fire Resistance up. With no further problems the Flail of Ages was restored (not bothering about the Golems) and the Umber Hulks were lured away using the Dog Stew.
With level 16 already reached and choosing Elemental Summoning it was now time to face Torgal himself. Eklun buffed up and summoned three Spirit Bears and one Deva. He went invisible, lured Torgal away from the Mages and immediately gulped a Potion of Magic Shielding to make sure he will never miss his save against the Cloak of Fear. Once his summones started tanking Eklun called in the Efreeti who waited in the background for his call of action. Now Eklun started his "Harm"onization and tried to bring down Torgal to 1 HP (rolling 11+ and bypassing Torgals 30% MR). On his third try damage went through - time for the Efreeti to join the party casting his Flame Strike. Torgal got hit for 96 damage and died immediately - job done!
With level 17 also no far away its now time to grab the loot and take some rest. More adventures are waiting soon!
Update: The combination of Fire Elementals + Spirit Bears (!) + Deva + Zaaman Rul (lucky 10% roll) were able to kill all Golems. Together with some more Spirit Trolls and the final reward from Nalia this was engouh to push Eklun up to level 17 where i quickly picked the Greater Elemental Summoning HLA. More, big friends incoming - this should get funny!
The Planar Sphere was cleared and Eklun reached level 18!
Not much to tell here as the summons - now powered up with Elemental Princes - smashed any oppostion into the ground. Eklun dualed to Fighter right before getting in the double 45.5k XP reward and - back in the city - he grabbed his Sling of Everard + Shield of Balduran + Vhailor´s Helm sneaking down to the Beholder Lair we he just started the Gauth XP loop. This will take some time but once finished this already wicked character will be even more powerful. So far SoA feels more or less like a walk in the park - with Eklun riding his summons through it all day long. But first: Lets sling down "some" Gauths!
However: @Grond0 was damn right going for level 18. More summons, more spells, 10% Elemental Resistances while only loosing two Fighter HLA is really a good trade-off especially as the Druid levels up quite quickly after reaching L15. It cant get much better no?
However 2: The game so far reminds me heavily on the LoB solo run in IWD where my Druid was summoning Shambling Mounds all day long while casting endless stacks of AoE DoT´s. With all his buffs - Shield of Archons is really great - the Totemic Druid is nearly untouchable for most enemies.
Update: Spending the afternoon slinging Gauths (GM Slings!!) Eklun finally reached level 19 reactivating his druidic powers. With fast rest clicking he was sometimes able to spawn eight Gauths which - like predicted - did nothing once they realized Baldurans Shield. With Simulacrum (hasted!) he leveled up slowly but surely reaching nearly 200 ingame days for now. I think i will let him go for some more time to get the first Fighter HLA´s and after that its time to crush SoA into the ground even more!
Update 2: Eklun stormed through the Planar Prison using his summons as an unstoppable army. The only realy nasty enemies - the Yuan-Ti Mages - were lured to the west so the path was clear for the Warden. This poor guy had no chance against Chan and Deva combined with GWW slinging and dropped like a sack of potatoes.
The Liches were treated with PfU + Harm + GWW to nearly instakill them. This worked even on the first form from Kangaxx but not against the Demi-Lich as it resisted everything (targeting him with Magic Resistance was not possible thanks to Improved Invisibility). No problem Eklun thought and switched to slinging while retreating whenever Kangaxx started summoning. Once the evil one was out of help - and Eklun still buffed up with PfU - he continued slinging with DUHM + GWW until the Lich dropped to the ground.
With Boots of Speed and the Ring of Gaxx its maybe time to follow the main quest line again!
Two cool things i havent noticed earlier as i never got that deep into SoA:
1. Power Attack works with Slings too and can be combined with GWW 2. Nature´s Beauty does not break invisibility: Say hello mass blindness!
However: Eklun reached level 23 and thanks to Displacer Cloak + Ring of Gaxx + Ring of Protection +2 & Baldurans Helm his saves are all negative - except for spells. With base THAC0 -1 Harm should be landing quite often so i might skip Critical Strike - or not? GWW and Power Strike seems the way to go even though it will still not be enough to stunlock Melissan later on - here the Multi-Class Fighter/Druid defintely has the upper hand.
I am missing the improved Earth Elemental Form? Not really! GM Sling + DUHM + GWW + Simulacrum - like @Arctodus stated earlier is a really powerful tool that should work until the end. Spirit Summons are still strong enough for most opposition. Bears worked fine against Golems, Wolves are still superb for stunlocking Mages while Lions are good for fast cleanups. For instance: Four Spirit Wolves + Pixie Dust + Power Strike + GWW -> Stunlocked & dead Mage in seconds! The spells i like most at the moment are Find Traps (lifesaver more than one time as it gave time to prepare for or avoid traps) and also Shield of Archons - the lazy man´s life insurance! Devas and Elemental Princes are playing in a league of their own and so far only the Yuan-Ti-Mages were able to wear them down.
As summons are still proving to be so strong i am nearly never casting the always cheesy "Harm" and used it against the Liches (and Torgal) mostly to save time. ToB will be the area where this 100 to 1 spell will really shine - landing it on Melissan would be a dream scenario. If we get this far. The only troublesome fight in the next time will be the first battle against Irenicus in the Asylum as it feels somehow chaotic with all the Mages around. If someone knows a proven strategy for this one: Feel free to post it!
Hey guys ! I'm back in the challenge and, to make things different from a pure fighter (and also to bother @Harpagornis a bit ), I decided to go with a mage-thief. Here's Ellethil :
He's doing good for now, sitting at level 3/4 after having killed Greywolf. Seems like I have some @Grond0 in me, because I refuse to use the Scroll of Stone to Flesh trick on the Basilisks. I like the pain I guess !
He was preceded by an earlier attempt, which (stupidly) failed at Bassilus : I had 7 traps ready for him and decided to open the fight with a backstab : a crit for 64 damage ! Yeah ! ...except that I hadn't talk to him prior : all his skeletons went aggro and made a pincushion out of my character. I thought that, even if you attack Bassilus directly, his talk would trigger anyway, like it happens with Mulahey, thus making it possible to get rid of his skellies. Nope, that didn't happen... You live and you learn I guess...
Well, I won't do the same mistake twice, so stay tune for more !
Very cool to see you on the run again @Arctodus! But a Mage? Well ------ okay!
Next time Bassilus will have a harder time to trick you! Well - Eklun tricked his way into the Asylum by nearly instakilling Perth with four Spirit Wolves and a Power Strike + GWW combo. The poor Mage dropped to the ground before knowing what hit him. Too bad the dream bug appeared again with Bhaal not following into the building so i had to use console to place him manually. At the moment Eklun is in the Spellhold labyrinth with level 24 nearly reached. Hope i can give some more updates soon!
Okay - Eklun managed to get through the labyrinth and faced Irenicus for the first time!!
The labyrinth itself was quite easy: Solve some puzzles and let the summons do their job! One amazing thing that i discovered there: The Spirit Bears also work pretty good against Liches! It looks really funny to see the Lich running around in panick while the Bears smacked it down once they cornered it. With the Bag of Holding and some more items Eklun met Bodhi again - who retreated when seeing the Slayer. The following tests of the Ghosts were solved so Eklun was ported back to Spellhold - ready to meet Irenicus.
And here the real cheese started as i did not want to face this chaotic mage battle once more. Yes, the Mages are needed cause Irenicus would instakill Eklun if he attacks the Mage alone but why not let the summons do the job? First Eklun casted "Farsight" into the room where Irenicus was waiting. Then one Fire Elemental and four Spirit Wolves moved in attacking the evil Mage. With all the incoming damage his Death Spell failed and his HP dropped to "nearly dead" within ten seconds. Only now Eklun quickly moved upstairs convincing the Mages to join the party. Together they ported to Irenicus who was left with 1 HP and after the talking the usual battle started. Well. Not really. Cause thanks to the work of the Spirit Wolves and Fire Elemental the escape talking nearly immediately triggered and Irenicus vanished. The incoming Assassins could not touch the Spirit Wolves who got another easy meal. Time to move back to Brynnlaw sailing once more with the devious Saemon...
Not to forget: Level 25 reached - only one more to go!!
Update: Sahuagin City is cleared - the Rebel Kind is dead. After cleaning the house with summons and solving the Imp riddle in between Eklun only made sure to grab the Cloak of Mirroring from the Priestress before heading into the Underkark. Its time saying "Hello" to the Drow once more! This should get interesting...
Update 2: I HATE MINDFLAYERS!!! Damn it. Not again. For some very strange reason i am always struggling with this Mindflayer Ambush and even the Deva and Elemental Prince could not change that. I protected Phaere quite well but these slippery Mindflayers somehow managed to kill Solaufein really quickly not bothering about my summons. Phaere turned hostile and with it the whole Drow Questline cracked. Damn it again! This meant: Eklun had to face Adalon herself to get out of the Underdark. With max XP already reached this wasnt a big deal so Eklun called in his Spirit Summons and one Deva. First he casted MR on her - which did not turned her hostile - so he got time to cast "Harm". Some seconds later it was clear: Harm landed and took her HP down to 1 - shortly after she was history! Time to get out of this unholy place......
Update 3: The rage about the Mindflayers still in mind Eklun tried to escape the Underdark - and nearly paid the price for sloppy play. The reason was simple: The Kua-Toa surrounded him and the summons and after not taking attention to a Remove Magic his HP dropped to two within seconds. With Oil of Speed he quickly retreated and left the map but two Kua Toas still followed him. It was his luck that they could not shoot him so he slinged them down one after another, healed up again and took more care this time. Once the Kua Toas were down he lured the Demons and Drows away from the gate and slipped through unseen...
Sorry you missed the opportunity to play with the drow - as you say though it's not like you needed the XP . Those illithid are coded as summons, so even with LoB I think should evaporate in a death spell - so that would provide a handy short-cut for arcane or thief classes.
If Adalon had been a threat to you rather than a plaything you could have just made her hostile - the door would be open then anyway.
More than one time Eklun was only a small step away from his doom. One reason why i am getting into trouble at the moment is that with all the options the game doesnt feel challenging anymore - its getting a bit boring and with it motivation and concentration slips away...
Maybe i should take a small break to get them back again before facing the final encounters in SoA!
Update: Bodhi is dead. Clearing the Vampires with summons took several rest-retreats while Bodhi herself was tricked with PfU + MR + Harm with one quick retreat cause after the first takedown the PfU somehow is negated. Time to put an end to SoA soon!
I know what you mean. I'm trying at the moment to run a mage through on Core and getting the balance right to maintain interest without too much risk is tricky . I just tried taking Draconis on without any protection against acid and got taken down to 3 HPs by his breath - I might have overdone the risk there a tad ...
Finally its done: Irenicus is dead - SoA is finished...
In Suldanessalar Eklun tricked the enemies with invisibility and summons, bribed the Dragon (while hiding his stuff near the exit), tricked the tough enemies in the temple with calling in the Guardian immediately so he killed them right after the talking and let Irenicus waste all his spells on summons so the final Deva and Fire Prince smashed him to hell.
In the Hell Trials Eklun chose one time the evil path so once his alignment changed to Neutral Evil he switched his Armor to wear the improved Human Flesh (thanks Adalon!) for the final fight. Here he distracted the hunting Demons with a quick Fire Elemental from the Staff of Fire and engaged Slayer Irenicus. One more Fire Elemental was used to let him waste his Time Stop and the Dark Planetar. Once it vanished Eklun called in three Spirit Bears, the Deva and shortly after the final Elemental Prince - Sunnis. Together with GWW slinging Slayer Irenicus dropped in half a minute triggering the final cutscenes.
Like always the game crashed so i have to import Eklun manually into ToB - with all containers lost again. I hate this bug...
I must admit that SoA so far was the most boring part of the challenge. The start was okay but after Eklun got his levels and especially finished dual classing most enemies were no threat anymore. It was more about keeping the focus then anything else. I dropped concentration (and motivation) at the end more than one time - which could have been fatal. Dropping to two HP once, or getting confused cause i was too lazy with buffing. At the end the summons safed the day - again and again. So far it looks like that Totemic Druids dualed to Fighter is a really, really powerful combo. In ToB there are some big challenges waiting and i wouldnt be surprised if Eklun drops before reaching Melissan. But the summons will help - anywhere, everytime. Hopefully!
For ToB, remember that Sendai and company aren't very good at handling invisibility--I've not seen them use divination spells, the Cloak of Non-Detection should work anyway, and none of the enemies can innately see through invisibility. Potions of Invisibility should give you plenty of downtime if you get hurt.
And I'm sure you will get hurt. Some of those drow are high-level Kensais with high APR and high DPS. They should be able to cut through your Ironskins very, very fast, and if you're not using the improved earth elemental form, you won't be able to survive much longer, even with Hardiness.
Drink lots of Potions of Genius when you enter the penultimate room of Sendai's lair. They're your only defense against the mind flayers there.
Several no-reload runs have fallen to Abazigal when people got stuck in a corner. Try not to let him knock you into a corner with Wing Buffet, as you won't be able to escape with Teleport Field or whatever.
Do you have the Shield of Reflection? If not, the Fallen Solars in the final battle have Arrows of Dispelling that you will really need to worry about. Illasera also merits the shield, if you have it.
If you were considering taking on Watcher's Keep, I wouldn't bother. I can't think of any meaningful loot to be had in WK for a druid besides Spectral Brand (which I think involves heavy risk with the Deck of Many Things). The Machine of Lum the Mad probably isn't worth having to tackle the demons on the second level--or those awful mind flayers.
Depending on your install, you might not find the rope in Abazigal's lair. If you have to travel back to Amkethran to buy it, you'll have to deal with a quadruple dragon ambush when you get back to Draconis' place. Two acid dragons, then a green dragon with poison breath, then a red dragon.
Also depending on your install, Abazigal might come paired with a purple dragon, Tamah, whose breath weapon deals crushing damage and can be blocked by Ironskins. I always see two copies of Tamah, so you might have to deal with three dragons at once.
Also don't underestimate those lizard men in Abazigal's lair. They use fighters HLAs and hit harder than you'd think.
And keep the Cloak of Mirroring on hand for those eyeballs. And scout around the area; you might find some Death Tyrants and Tyrant Golems (magic-immune beholders with golem-style immunities) in the same area.
Balthazar can be bargained into joining you, but I'm not sure it's possible for an evil character to do it. If it is, you need very high unmodified Charisma and like 20 reputation. Look up his dialogue and figure out if it's possible; there's no reason to tackle him in the final battle if you don't have to.
Make sure you're rude to the Solar in the last dialogue before the Ravager fight opens up. If you're rude to her, beating the Ravager will net you +25% physical damage resistance, which might be the only way to survive Melissan's Time Stop->Teleport Without Error->Greater Whirlwind Attack combo. You can give yourself immunity to Time Stop with the Ascension ability Focus, granted by one of the energy pools, but it only lasts 30 seconds and can only be cast every 60 seconds, so you'll need to make sure your aura is clear if Melissan starts casting Time Stop (listen for the "praesis" incantation).
For the final battle, don't forget to nail Sendai with a Protection from Magic scroll, and Abazigal if you can spare it. And there's a special strategy invented by @Alesia_B_H that helps solo characters: instead of killing one of the Five and then proceeding to the next phase, bring as many of the Five to Near Death as you can before killing any one of them. This way, you'll be able to stun-lock Melissan for several rounds by finishing off the already-wounded Five. With kiting and two Protection from Magic scrolls, none of the Five should be able to touch you (except for Illasera, if you don't have the Shield of Reflection).
The Shield of Reflection can also protect you from Melissan's darts, keeping you safe while kiting. If you don't have it, make sure your saves are low so you don't get stun-locked, as Melissan's weapons can lower your saving throws on hit. Probably best to save Smite for Melissan herself, but I think the truly dangerous part will be when the Five are all on the screen at the same time.
Also bear in mind that those energy pools in Ascension all rest you, so it's a good idea to summon as many critters and cast as many buffs as possibly can before activating each one. I like to avoid using the energy pools until all the demons are gone, so I can activate each pool one after another, in between casting buffs and summoning critters.
And don't lose focus! It's better to spend a little extra time making sure this run is a success than risk getting sent back to Candlekeep.
And if you're not sure about a fight, take a day, or even two, to mull it over and consider your options. You might get a new idea or optimization that could save the run.
Thanks for the input @semiticgod! Thanks to my previous runs i know the coming enemies "pretty well".
Sendai: Yeah, i abused Invisibility heavily in my last runs and will try to do the same with Eklun including retreat-resting to the Pocket Plane whenever needed. This should potentially give him „endless“ summon calls. Oh, the Mindflayers before Sendai can be skipped. I always used Oil of Speed and directly rushed through to Sendai – no need to fight them!
Abazigal: The key for him will be landing „Harm“ after reducing his MR. If „Harm“ lands its over before it begins. If not some quick distraction plus pocket plane retreat might be needed. The multi dragons outside could be troublesome but Harm plus summons should do the job. The Amulet you get inside Abzigals Lair (forgot the name) will save him from any knockback! Tamah + Abazigal might be a problem so maybe Eklun will have to deal with her first – we will see! The Lizard Men can be skipped.
Fallen Solars and Illasera: Yes Shield of Reflection is there so no need to worry about these one!
Balthazar: Yes, its possible for evil characters to convince him joining – i posted the requirements and the dialogue route earlier (its hiding somewhere!).
Melissan: Yeah, the PfM trick is known as well as the "bring everyone down to nearly dead“ for some stunning action. Triggering Melissan too early is suicide. But even with these tricks the battle will be very tough depending on her Time Stop timing and Demon gating!
I would like to write more but have to go offline now. Time for some resting before moving on!
Comments
Head: Kiels Helmet
Neck: Amulet of Protection +2
Armor: Ankheg Plate
Hands: Legacy of the Masters
Weapon: Icingdeath +3
Shield: Steadfast +2
Ring 1: Claw of Kazgaroth
Ring 2: Ring of the Crusade
Waist: Cloverleaf
Feet: Boots of Speed
Back: Displacer Cloak
Buffs:
PfM, Violet Potion, Potion of Agility, Potion of Fortitude, Potion of Defense, 5+ Potions of Power, Regeneration Potion, Oil of Speed
HP: 200+
Damage: 20-27
Chance to Hit Big B: 50%
Chance to get hit by Erinyes: 5%
With this setup we started the fight using the last Ankheg summons, Spirit Bears and Caelar to distract the demons as long as possible while getting in some first damage to Big B. It worked quite okay so once the front line disappeared he was already down to 934 HP.
The hit & run worked like a roller coaster ride. Sometimes Eklun was critting several times in a short row but then he started to miss again and again. Rebuffing also took some time as he always needed to stack at least three or four Potions of Power to stay supersafe.
With two Erinyes on the battlefield – who missed most of the time – Eklun had to take an even closer look at his HP to not run into some lucky „hit sequencer“ (Big B hitting + Erinyes critting at the same time). Time was running against us as the charges of Durlags Goblet dropped below 10 and the number of Invisbility Potions got smaller and smaller (even though never critical).
At the end it was all about psychology as the last 121 HP of Big B seemed to be tough like a chewing gum. After critting and hitting he was on the brink of death but thanks to several hits Eklun had to heal up and rebuff a lot of expiring potions – which costed him six rounds of running only while Big B had regenerated up to 66 HP again.
After several critical misses Eklun finally rolled higher numbers while the Erinyes Archers in the meanwhile had run out of arrows – very funny! After gulping Invisiblity Potion number 117 Eklun circled for a last time before rushing in to Big B once more to take him down with a 18 damage slash!
Thanks to the previous training with Ayacalla all in all that was quite okay for a Totemic Druid. Time to take a small rest before getting on with SoA. The masterplan there: Get Druid level 15 -> switch to Fighter -> use Gauth loop to push XP.
Lets see if we can do it!
EDIT: 2k posts reached - how fitting!
After killing everything Eklun moved out with 626995 XP, five Invisibility Potions, three Oil of Speed, the Blunting Belt, Sarevoks Chaos Blade, the always precious Helm of Balduran, another Ring of Protection +1, Illychs personal Chain Mail and a Quarterstaff +2 instead of Varscona +2. Not a bad start!
More action coming soon...
Circus Tent: Spirit Wolves for stunlock
Hendak and the Slaves: Some more Spirit Wolves
Bridge District & Graveyard: Walking and talking
Renfield + Harpers: Pixie Dust -> Retreat -> Spirit Lions. Prebek was killed by Spirit Wolves (more stunlocks) while the Harper Ghosts were tricked with Oil of Speed
Suna Seni: Pixie Dust -> Retreat -> Spirit Lions + Fire Elemental. Just make sure to focus Suna Seni first as the rest is no big deal
Maevar: Meeting Rayic again was very pleasing as the Spirit Wolves stunlocked him to death (with Insect Swarm also ticking!). The rest was walking and talking - until Maevar who was charmed before (!) talking to Renal so he will remain friendly even when getting back. This meant: Summon Spirit Lions + Fire Elemental and let them wrac havoc upon the Guards (who could not touch them!) while killing Maevar himself (who got backstabbed quite badly by his old friends) when he was nearly dead. This was no fight, this was a slaughter...
Maybe Eklun should play around with Mencar and friends a little bit! However: The Totemic Druid is still a real powerhouse as the Spirit Animals are making most encounters nearly trivial. Level 14 isnt that far anymore!
P.S. Just playing the game @Blackraven...
Update:
The Slaver Complex has been totally cleared thanks to Spirit Lions and Fire Elementals while invisbile Eklun was watching the fun - a lot of gold and XP! On the run through the sewers he solved Lilarcors riddle and avoided the dreaded Petrifying trap (Find Traps is my best friend now!). Mencar and friends got charmed and beaten to death even though Eklun needed one rest in between as Mencar really is a tough beast. Gaining the service of Sir Sarles was next - after some walking and talking the only tricky part followed: Beating Neb and his Spirits. At the end the Druid spirit proved to be victorious while Neb was quite helpless once his invisibiliy was dispelled. Another bonus: The XP reward from the Temple of Helm pushed Eklun up to level 14 - great!
Trademeet Genies: Summoned three Spirit Lions inside the tent around the Khan and killed the one outside with Harm + Fire Elemental. Back inside the summons focused on the Khan while Creeping Doom was also ticking. Invisible and True Sight running there was no escape for them...
Druid Grove: Killed most stuff on the run except for the hard hitting Trolls - maybe later - and grabbed Belm +2. The Shadow Druids gave the Spirit Summons some good beating so - for the first time - Eklun had to retreat. With the Gnasher Club and Firetongue Longsword he moved into the Grove facing Faldorn. For the following 1vs1 Eklun used a little trick: He buffed up and turned into a Mustard Jelly so none of her spells could touch him (Creeping Doom!). Normally you cant speak anymore but as the talking with Faldoorn triggered automatically he found himself in the arena. As his spirit summoning is not disabled he waited until Creeping Doom fizzled and called three Spirit Wolves as their cold damage goes right through the Iron Skin. Shortly after Faldorn was history. Eklun immediately went for the Greater Druid challenge with the three Spirit Wolves still waiting. They quickly disrupted the enemy spellcasting (he always summons first) while Eklun threw in a Creeping Doom - poor Druid...
Rejiek: Walking, talking and some beating using Spirit Lions - nothing special.
Fallen Paladins: They proved to be much easier than expected as Spirit Summons and Nymphs (Hold + Lightning) took them down quite fast. More XP, more gold and - the best - finally reputation at 20. Time for some shopping!
Destroying the Vampire Guild: At the end it was all about summons - and some splitpulling. Therefore Eklun called three Spirit Lions and two Fire Elementals over and over again killing one vampire after another (watching the show invisible while protected from level drain & charm). Even Lassal went down without much resistance while the incoming rats werent dangerous but quite annoying. Once Bodhi arrived Eklun retreated immediately and rested to trigger the final talking. With a lot of XP Eklun moved back to Aran Linvail who was most pleased about his progress...
Update:
Umar Hills are cleared. Eklun used the Spirit Summons and Fire Elementals to kill every shadow around soaking up XP. The only tricky part was the Lich (thanks to his higher level) which was tricked with PfU. The Shade Lord himself was pretty straightforward: Get in with PfU still running and hack the Altar apart and then take down the Shade Lord himself. Eklun got lucky and landed the second Harm to destroy the evil with one more swing.
- a deva (not only some useful spell support, but considerably more combat power than provided by a GWW)
- an elemental prince (again better than GWW)
- earth elemental form (with that you don't need any hardiness)
- globe of blades (a bit of extra flavour and, if hasted, provides pretty good damage)
Surely even the Beamdog sale doesn't offer such great bargains
Plan to 18
Level 15: Fire Elemental Form
Level 16: Deva
Level 17: Elemental Summoning
Level 18: Greater Elemental Summoning
Or maybe change Fire Elemental Form with Globe of Blades?
Update:
Troll Mound finally cleared. Eklun always buffed up with Iron Skin + Chaotic Command went invisible and used True Seeing to get a safe spot for summoning three Spirit Lions and two Fire Elementals. With Creeping Doom and several retreats they managed to beat down all Trolls grabbing the Spear of the Unicorn and the Dales Protector. XP >2,5 million - i can almost smell the first HLA!
P.S. Dont forget that level 18 would grant Eklun also another Spirit Summoning charge!
- 4 APR Detonation Arrows is king here (or any other form of constant AoE damage)
- Use summons to keep the enemies busy (Fire Elementals work great as most enemies only use normal weapons!)
- Heavy CC like Web can work wonders but avoid spells like Horror or Chaos (see above!)
- Dispelling Arrows will soften the Mages and make them easy targets
- The most trusted allies are: First Wave -> Dwarves or Undead, Second Wave: Wizard Slayers, Third Wave: Battle Mages
- You might charm some NPC Mages like Dynaheir to get a free Web for the first wave
- Prebuff allies with Protection from Fire to lower the damage from Detonation Arrows
- Trapstacking also works great if a Thief is around (mostly relevant for first wave)
- Insect Swarm works wonders against all waves (especially the third one to negate healing)
- Never forget that Dosia can give you at least two rests - refreshing all of your spells!
- The Fourth Wave with the Crusader Generals is trivial thanks to immortal ally bosses
- To point it out again: There is no timer IF you prevent enemies from getting to the barrels!
Thats the experience collected with my characters so far - mostly Fighters, Thieves and Druids.
Should work nearly 100% - even in a no reload run.
Just finished battle successfully, off to castle.
Btw I got another two odd ones that I couldn't find info about.
#1 In underground river when you reach basement if you go to Hephernaan chambers doesn't matter what you do he triggers a fight but with him entire castle is getting alerted. Because of this you need to fight your way out through like 100 of enemies for hours, yes you can also invis (but I don't stand away from battle you know!). Are you supposed to take entire castle head on, if so any gathered knowledge here? ps. I don't have poison at this part as I refused it in the camp.
#2 I've pulled lich with spectacles in Kanaglym for his amazing Robe of Arcane Aptitude (3x skull trap or glitter dust/slow/malison combos are nice) but no matter the conversation path he always gives me ring and bounces off.
With regard to Hephernaan @Myrag: You are supposed to get out as fast as you can - invisibility is your best friend here. Fighting the huge incoming groups is possible abusing heavy AoE damage and CC. Or you can charm as many guards as possible before meeting Hephernaan. Thieves work great here as you can abuse the elevator shooting one Detonation Arrow after another out of stealth - retreat and repeat until everyone is dead. Normally i just retreat and get out as fast as i can...
Regarding the Lich: As i never play Mages i always skip him - maybe another one can help here!
The Windspear Hills were quite funny and thanks to some Ankheg killing Eklun now wears the precious Ankheg Armor.
Ruhk Transmuter: Three Spirit Lions plus two Fire Elementals
Samia and party: Lions + Fire Elementals + Creeping Doom
Greater Wolfweres: Spirit Lions + Fire Elementals
Tazok: Spirit Lions + Fire Elementals
Golems: Spirit Lions + Fire Elementals
Guardians: Spirit Lions + Fire Elementals
Conster: Spirit Lions + Fire Elementals + Nymphs
Orcs and Ogres: Spirit Lions + Fire Elementals
As you can see: Summons are still the name of the game. With Eklun fully buffed and invsible they stormed quite hard through the dungeon. Detect Traps - like always - was very helpful to avoid trapped fake doors. Eklun did not bother about Firkraag himself as the risk of getting blown away felt to high. Maybe later. With 2,9 million XP reached the first HLA is only a stone´s throw away!
Oh, i never noticed the corrupted ground you mentioned. But i must admit that i always keep some distance to them...
The combination of Fire Elementals and Spirt Lions proved to be enough for most Troll groups while Eklun himself was either waiting or throwing in Creeping Doom and Call Lightning. It did not take too ling and the magic level of 15 was reached deciding to go with the powerful Deva. This choice apeared to be quite good as the Deva not only can take some punches but also deals significant damage (Globe od Blades). Once room after another was cleared while always buffing up aginst potential Spirit Troll magic. Only one time - when i had switched the Ring of Fire Protection for Sandthief Ring - a Flame Strike landed out of nowhere bringin Eklun down to 7 HP. A quick retreat and invisibility gave him the chance to heal up again - reminding him to always keep Fire Resistance up. With no further problems the Flail of Ages was restored (not bothering about the Golems) and the Umber Hulks were lured away using the Dog Stew.
With level 16 already reached and choosing Elemental Summoning it was now time to face Torgal himself. Eklun buffed up and summoned three Spirit Bears and one Deva. He went invisible, lured Torgal away from the Mages and immediately gulped a Potion of Magic Shielding to make sure he will never miss his save against the Cloak of Fear. Once his summones started tanking Eklun called in the Efreeti who waited in the background for his call of action. Now Eklun started his "Harm"onization and tried to bring down Torgal to 1 HP (rolling 11+ and bypassing Torgals 30% MR). On his third try damage went through - time for the Efreeti to join the party casting his Flame Strike. Torgal got hit for 96 damage and died immediately - job done!
With level 17 also no far away its now time to grab the loot and take some rest. More adventures are waiting soon!
Update:
The combination of Fire Elementals + Spirit Bears (!) + Deva + Zaaman Rul (lucky 10% roll) were able to kill all Golems. Together with some more Spirit Trolls and the final reward from Nalia this was engouh to push Eklun up to level 17 where i quickly picked the Greater Elemental Summoning HLA. More, big friends incoming - this should get funny!
Not much to tell here as the summons - now powered up with Elemental Princes - smashed any oppostion into the ground. Eklun dualed to Fighter right before getting in the double 45.5k XP reward and - back in the city - he grabbed his Sling of Everard + Shield of Balduran + Vhailor´s Helm sneaking down to the Beholder Lair we he just started the Gauth XP loop. This will take some time but once finished this already wicked character will be even more powerful. So far SoA feels more or less like a walk in the park - with Eklun riding his summons through it all day long. But first: Lets sling down "some" Gauths!
However: @Grond0 was damn right going for level 18. More summons, more spells, 10% Elemental Resistances while only loosing two Fighter HLA is really a good trade-off especially as the Druid levels up quite quickly after reaching L15. It cant get much better no?
However 2: The game so far reminds me heavily on the LoB solo run in IWD where my Druid was summoning Shambling Mounds all day long while casting endless stacks of AoE DoT´s. With all his buffs - Shield of Archons is really great - the Totemic Druid is nearly untouchable for most enemies.
Update:
Spending the afternoon slinging Gauths (GM Slings!!) Eklun finally reached level 19 reactivating his druidic powers. With fast rest clicking he was sometimes able to spawn eight Gauths which - like predicted - did nothing once they realized Baldurans Shield. With Simulacrum (hasted!) he leveled up slowly but surely reaching nearly 200 ingame days for now. I think i will let him go for some more time to get the first Fighter HLA´s and after that its time to crush SoA into the ground even more!
Update 2:
Eklun stormed through the Planar Prison using his summons as an unstoppable army. The only realy nasty enemies - the Yuan-Ti Mages - were lured to the west so the path was clear for the Warden. This poor guy had no chance against Chan and Deva combined with GWW slinging and dropped like a sack of potatoes.
The Liches were treated with PfU + Harm + GWW to nearly instakill them. This worked even on the first form from Kangaxx but not against the Demi-Lich as it resisted everything (targeting him with Magic Resistance was not possible thanks to Improved Invisibility). No problem Eklun thought and switched to slinging while retreating whenever Kangaxx started summoning. Once the evil one was out of help - and Eklun still buffed up with PfU - he continued slinging with DUHM + GWW until the Lich dropped to the ground.
With Boots of Speed and the Ring of Gaxx its maybe time to follow the main quest line again!
1. Power Attack works with Slings too and can be combined with GWW
2. Nature´s Beauty does not break invisibility: Say hello mass blindness!
However: Eklun reached level 23 and thanks to Displacer Cloak + Ring of Gaxx + Ring of Protection +2 & Baldurans Helm his saves are all negative - except for spells. With base THAC0 -1 Harm should be landing quite often so i might skip Critical Strike - or not? GWW and Power Strike seems the way to go even though it will still not be enough to stunlock Melissan later on - here the Multi-Class Fighter/Druid defintely has the upper hand.
I am missing the improved Earth Elemental Form? Not really! GM Sling + DUHM + GWW + Simulacrum - like @Arctodus stated earlier is a really powerful tool that should work until the end. Spirit Summons are still strong enough for most opposition. Bears worked fine against Golems, Wolves are still superb for stunlocking Mages while Lions are good for fast cleanups. For instance: Four Spirit Wolves + Pixie Dust + Power Strike + GWW -> Stunlocked & dead Mage in seconds! The spells i like most at the moment are Find Traps (lifesaver more than one time as it gave time to prepare for or avoid traps) and also Shield of Archons - the lazy man´s life insurance! Devas and Elemental Princes are playing in a league of their own and so far only the Yuan-Ti-Mages were able to wear them down.
As summons are still proving to be so strong i am nearly never casting the always cheesy "Harm" and used it against the Liches (and Torgal) mostly to save time. ToB will be the area where this 100 to 1 spell will really shine - landing it on Melissan would be a dream scenario. If we get this far. The only troublesome fight in the next time will be the first battle against Irenicus in the Asylum as it feels somehow chaotic with all the Mages around. If someone knows a proven strategy for this one: Feel free to post it!
He's doing good for now, sitting at level 3/4 after having killed Greywolf. Seems like I have some @Grond0 in me, because I refuse to use the Scroll of Stone to Flesh trick on the Basilisks. I like the pain I guess !
He was preceded by an earlier attempt, which (stupidly) failed at Bassilus : I had 7 traps ready for him and decided to open the fight with a backstab : a crit for 64 damage ! Yeah ! ...except that I hadn't talk to him prior : all his skeletons went aggro and made a pincushion out of my character. I thought that, even if you attack Bassilus directly, his talk would trigger anyway, like it happens with Mulahey, thus making it possible to get rid of his skellies. Nope, that didn't happen... You live and you learn I guess...
Well, I won't do the same mistake twice, so stay tune for more !
Next time Bassilus will have a harder time to trick you! Well - Eklun tricked his way into the Asylum by nearly instakilling Perth with four Spirit Wolves and a Power Strike + GWW combo. The poor Mage dropped to the ground before knowing what hit him. Too bad the dream bug appeared again with Bhaal not following into the building so i had to use console to place him manually. At the moment Eklun is in the Spellhold labyrinth with level 24 nearly reached. Hope i can give some more updates soon!
The labyrinth itself was quite easy: Solve some puzzles and let the summons do their job! One amazing thing that i discovered there: The Spirit Bears also work pretty good against Liches! It looks really funny to see the Lich running around in panick while the Bears smacked it down once they cornered it. With the Bag of Holding and some more items Eklun met Bodhi again - who retreated when seeing the Slayer. The following tests of the Ghosts were solved so Eklun was ported back to Spellhold - ready to meet Irenicus.
And here the real cheese started as i did not want to face this chaotic mage battle once more. Yes, the Mages are needed cause Irenicus would instakill Eklun if he attacks the Mage alone but why not let the summons do the job? First Eklun casted "Farsight" into the room where Irenicus was waiting. Then one Fire Elemental and four Spirit Wolves moved in attacking the evil Mage. With all the incoming damage his Death Spell failed and his HP dropped to "nearly dead" within ten seconds. Only now Eklun quickly moved upstairs convincing the Mages to join the party. Together they ported to Irenicus who was left with 1 HP and after the talking the usual battle started. Well. Not really. Cause thanks to the work of the Spirit Wolves and Fire Elemental the escape talking nearly immediately triggered and Irenicus vanished. The incoming Assassins could not touch the Spirit Wolves who got another easy meal. Time to move back to Brynnlaw sailing once more with the devious Saemon...
Not to forget: Level 25 reached - only one more to go!!
Update:
Sahuagin City is cleared - the Rebel Kind is dead. After cleaning the house with summons and solving the Imp riddle in between Eklun only made sure to grab the Cloak of Mirroring from the Priestress before heading into the Underkark. Its time saying "Hello" to the Drow once more! This should get interesting...
Update 2:
I HATE MINDFLAYERS!!! Damn it. Not again. For some very strange reason i am always struggling with this Mindflayer Ambush and even the Deva and Elemental Prince could not change that. I protected Phaere quite well but these slippery Mindflayers somehow managed to kill Solaufein really quickly not bothering about my summons. Phaere turned hostile and with it the whole Drow Questline cracked. Damn it again! This meant: Eklun had to face Adalon herself to get out of the Underdark. With max XP already reached this wasnt a big deal so Eklun called in his Spirit Summons and one Deva. First he casted MR on her - which did not turned her hostile - so he got time to cast "Harm". Some seconds later it was clear: Harm landed and took her HP down to 1 - shortly after she was history! Time to get out of this unholy place......
Update 3:
The rage about the Mindflayers still in mind Eklun tried to escape the Underdark - and nearly paid the price for sloppy play. The reason was simple: The Kua-Toa surrounded him and the summons and after not taking attention to a Remove Magic his HP dropped to two within seconds. With Oil of Speed he quickly retreated and left the map but two Kua Toas still followed him. It was his luck that they could not shoot him so he slinged them down one after another, healed up again and took more care this time. Once the Kua Toas were down he lured the Demons and Drows away from the gate and slipped through unseen...
If Adalon had been a threat to you rather than a plaything you could have just made her hostile - the door would be open then anyway.
More than one time Eklun was only a small step away from his doom. One reason why i am getting into trouble at the moment is that with all the options the game doesnt feel challenging anymore - its getting a bit boring and with it motivation and concentration slips away...
Maybe i should take a small break to get them back again before facing the final encounters in SoA!
Update:
Bodhi is dead. Clearing the Vampires with summons took several rest-retreats while Bodhi herself was tricked with PfU + MR + Harm with one quick retreat cause after the first takedown the PfU somehow is negated. Time to put an end to SoA soon!
In Suldanessalar Eklun tricked the enemies with invisibility and summons, bribed the Dragon (while hiding his stuff near the exit), tricked the tough enemies in the temple with calling in the Guardian immediately so he killed them right after the talking and let Irenicus waste all his spells on summons so the final Deva and Fire Prince smashed him to hell.
In the Hell Trials Eklun chose one time the evil path so once his alignment changed to Neutral Evil he switched his Armor to wear the improved Human Flesh (thanks Adalon!) for the final fight. Here he distracted the hunting Demons with a quick Fire Elemental from the Staff of Fire and engaged Slayer Irenicus. One more Fire Elemental was used to let him waste his Time Stop and the Dark Planetar. Once it vanished Eklun called in three Spirit Bears, the Deva and shortly after the final Elemental Prince - Sunnis. Together with GWW slinging Slayer Irenicus dropped in half a minute triggering the final cutscenes.
Like always the game crashed so i have to import Eklun manually into ToB - with all containers lost again. I hate this bug...
I must admit that SoA so far was the most boring part of the challenge. The start was okay but after Eklun got his levels and especially finished dual classing most enemies were no threat anymore. It was more about keeping the focus then anything else. I dropped concentration (and motivation) at the end more than one time - which could have been fatal. Dropping to two HP once, or getting confused cause i was too lazy with buffing. At the end the summons safed the day - again and again. So far it looks like that Totemic Druids dualed to Fighter is a really, really powerful combo. In ToB there are some big challenges waiting and i wouldnt be surprised if Eklun drops before reaching Melissan. But the summons will help - anywhere, everytime. Hopefully!
And I'm sure you will get hurt. Some of those drow are high-level Kensais with high APR and high DPS. They should be able to cut through your Ironskins very, very fast, and if you're not using the improved earth elemental form, you won't be able to survive much longer, even with Hardiness.
Drink lots of Potions of Genius when you enter the penultimate room of Sendai's lair. They're your only defense against the mind flayers there.
Several no-reload runs have fallen to Abazigal when people got stuck in a corner. Try not to let him knock you into a corner with Wing Buffet, as you won't be able to escape with Teleport Field or whatever.
Do you have the Shield of Reflection? If not, the Fallen Solars in the final battle have Arrows of Dispelling that you will really need to worry about. Illasera also merits the shield, if you have it.
If you were considering taking on Watcher's Keep, I wouldn't bother. I can't think of any meaningful loot to be had in WK for a druid besides Spectral Brand (which I think involves heavy risk with the Deck of Many Things). The Machine of Lum the Mad probably isn't worth having to tackle the demons on the second level--or those awful mind flayers.
Depending on your install, you might not find the rope in Abazigal's lair. If you have to travel back to Amkethran to buy it, you'll have to deal with a quadruple dragon ambush when you get back to Draconis' place. Two acid dragons, then a green dragon with poison breath, then a red dragon.
Also depending on your install, Abazigal might come paired with a purple dragon, Tamah, whose breath weapon deals crushing damage and can be blocked by Ironskins. I always see two copies of Tamah, so you might have to deal with three dragons at once.
Also don't underestimate those lizard men in Abazigal's lair. They use fighters HLAs and hit harder than you'd think.
And keep the Cloak of Mirroring on hand for those eyeballs. And scout around the area; you might find some Death Tyrants and Tyrant Golems (magic-immune beholders with golem-style immunities) in the same area.
Balthazar can be bargained into joining you, but I'm not sure it's possible for an evil character to do it. If it is, you need very high unmodified Charisma and like 20 reputation. Look up his dialogue and figure out if it's possible; there's no reason to tackle him in the final battle if you don't have to.
Make sure you're rude to the Solar in the last dialogue before the Ravager fight opens up. If you're rude to her, beating the Ravager will net you +25% physical damage resistance, which might be the only way to survive Melissan's Time Stop->Teleport Without Error->Greater Whirlwind Attack combo. You can give yourself immunity to Time Stop with the Ascension ability Focus, granted by one of the energy pools, but it only lasts 30 seconds and can only be cast every 60 seconds, so you'll need to make sure your aura is clear if Melissan starts casting Time Stop (listen for the "praesis" incantation).
For the final battle, don't forget to nail Sendai with a Protection from Magic scroll, and Abazigal if you can spare it. And there's a special strategy invented by @Alesia_B_H that helps solo characters: instead of killing one of the Five and then proceeding to the next phase, bring as many of the Five to Near Death as you can before killing any one of them. This way, you'll be able to stun-lock Melissan for several rounds by finishing off the already-wounded Five. With kiting and two Protection from Magic scrolls, none of the Five should be able to touch you (except for Illasera, if you don't have the Shield of Reflection).
The Shield of Reflection can also protect you from Melissan's darts, keeping you safe while kiting. If you don't have it, make sure your saves are low so you don't get stun-locked, as Melissan's weapons can lower your saving throws on hit. Probably best to save Smite for Melissan herself, but I think the truly dangerous part will be when the Five are all on the screen at the same time.
Also bear in mind that those energy pools in Ascension all rest you, so it's a good idea to summon as many critters and cast as many buffs as possibly can before activating each one. I like to avoid using the energy pools until all the demons are gone, so I can activate each pool one after another, in between casting buffs and summoning critters.
And don't lose focus! It's better to spend a little extra time making sure this run is a success than risk getting sent back to Candlekeep.
And if you're not sure about a fight, take a day, or even two, to mull it over and consider your options. You might get a new idea or optimization that could save the run.
Sendai: Yeah, i abused Invisibility heavily in my last runs and will try to do the same with Eklun including retreat-resting to the Pocket Plane whenever needed. This should potentially give him „endless“ summon calls. Oh, the Mindflayers before Sendai can be skipped. I always used Oil of Speed and directly rushed through to Sendai – no need to fight them!
Abazigal: The key for him will be landing „Harm“ after reducing his MR. If „Harm“ lands its over before it begins. If not some quick distraction plus pocket plane retreat might be needed. The multi dragons outside could be troublesome but Harm plus summons should do the job. The Amulet you get inside Abzigals Lair (forgot the name) will save him from any knockback! Tamah + Abazigal might be a problem so maybe Eklun will have to deal with her first – we will see! The Lizard Men can be skipped.
Fallen Solars and Illasera: Yes Shield of Reflection is there so no need to worry about these one!
Balthazar: Yes, its possible for evil characters to convince him joining – i posted the requirements and the dialogue route earlier (its hiding somewhere!).
Melissan: Yeah, the PfM trick is known as well as the "bring everyone down to nearly dead“ for some stunning action. Triggering Melissan too early is suicide. But even with these tricks the battle will be very tough depending on her Time Stop timing and Demon gating!
I would like to write more but have to go offline now. Time for some resting before moving on!