Newbie HoF Questions

Lipe82

I've never finished the game on normal, but I gave it a try on HoF and just feel compelled to play that way now (albeit with the option not to add obscene damage due difficulty).

I noticed off the bat that HoF has less room for mistakes so I decided to make a few questions about it here.

1) is it too crazy to try it before a full play through?

2) It seems that dual class is the norm for HoF, but I wonder - how a single class Thief, Mage or Cleric would fare?

3) What are good Mage spells for HoF? I assume control, but I don't know much of the class so names could be handy.

4) Game time (advanced when resting for example) has any relevance at all?

5) Is a backstabbing thief worth it at all in a mode where everything has stupid amounts of HP?

Chidojuan

Best of luck my friend, it's a fun challenge.

Lipe82 said:

I've never finished the game on normal, but I gave it a try on HoF and just feel compelled to play that way now (albeit with the option not to add obscene damage due difficulty).

I noticed off the bat that HoF has less room for mistakes so I decided to make a few questions about it here.

1) is it too crazy to try it before a full play through?
No, but you'll have to reevaluate your approach and strategies, it's not easy, but it's doable.

2) It seems that dual class is the norm for HoF, but I wonder - how a single class Thief, Mage or Cleric would fare?
Single class will work fine, but you need to make sure you're party has classes that complement each other's abilities.

3) What are good Mage spells for HoF? I assume control, but I don't know much of the class so names could be handy.
Summons and Party buffing spells work best. Icewind Dale doesn't require you to de-buff a lot of enemies, and damaging spells won't do enough damage to enemies. AoE can sometimes be useful, but it's usually best to focus on turning your party into juggernauts and having them decimate the enemies.

4) Game time (advanced when resting for example) has any relevance at all?
If you're referring to time specific quests, I can't recall any.

5) Is a backstabbing thief worth it at all in a mode where everything has stupid amounts of HP?
It is if you have a thief that can continually backstab, such as a mage/thief or fighter/mage/thief with Mislead.

Lipe82

Well that was hard.

I basically cant clear the Orc cave. The very first shit.

If I manage to tank properly, tanks are demolished before the ranger kills even half of the orcs. If I don't, the party gets raped really fast.

I will try different compositions, but I probably am missing something here.

Lipe82

Woah.
Switched main tank from pally to fighter;
Switched archer for melee fighter/thief
Added druid.
Added a long bow fighter.

I'm freaking unstoppable. Takes some micro management of druid spells and thief positioning, but I'm nearly facerolling Valley of Shadows now.

Waiting for lv 9 to dual the other fighter into cleric. That would be the optimal level, right?

Wesboi

Sorcerer is a pretty good option for HoF mode as you can get higher level spells way earlier than your supposed to which help a lot. CC is far more important on HoF too. I can't imagine playing on any other mode but HoF now.