You know it's going to be an epic fight...

butteredsoul

...when your party's portraits look like this:

gorgonzola

i see it quite rarely in my games as i learned how to buff efficiently instead of over buff. rarely, even in an hard modded game, all that is really needed.
also going to a really hard battle with a toon fatigued, and possibly others that will be fatigued as the battle is going is not a thing i do any more.
but i know that situation...

a couple of questions:

F/T with 240 hp? a pure fighter, even playing on easy so rolling each time the maximum dice roll, gets at top level 9d10+93 that is 183 HP, a multi get less. how did you get that crazy high HP?

if you are not playing easy, but drop to easy before leveling up, do you realize that that is still playing easy, cause you have 45HP more for a single class fighter than what you are supposed to have, from lev 9 on, so everything is much easier than a proper not easy run?

assuming that you are playing easy, but even if you are not you are playing with those extra HP that make battles easy (your mages don't die for some spells, your tanks tank a lot longer) is the use of mislead really needed with a 3M+ xp full party that buff to the extent you do?

the purpose of my questions is that in vanilla all that is surely not needed, in a hard modded game why add difficulty and then use tactics, over buffing and maybe cheats (those charname HP...) that make the things easy again?

obviously you are completely free to have fun with your game in every way you like, there is no judgment about your own play style, i am only curious about it.

UnderstandMouseMagic

butteredsoul said:

...when your party's portraits look like this:

Love it.

I've never managed to get that many little blue icons on NPC. Usually get so mixed up with potions/spells and who's had what, I give up and go for the "aw fuck it" approach.

Permidion_Stark

It's impressive. I'm guessing from the number of gem bags you are carrying that you weren't just expecting an epic fight but an epic haul of loot to go with it.

gorgonzola

Well, it's one for the money
Two for the show
Three to get ready
Now go, cat, go
(blue suede bags lyrics)

also i go with 3 gem bags
one for the enchanted amulets and ring
one for the gems i loot
and a second one cause sometimes the first is full.
is true that at a certain point to throw away the less valuable gems makes no difference, but...

i am curious about how the OP uses his bags, he can have completely different reasons for having 3 of them.

butteredsoul

Hi @gorgonzola. You know the game very well! I definitely do not. This is my 4th time running BG->BG2, but the first time in over 15 years! Also first time each EE, SCS, and Ascension. Admittedly, I was unsure what would happen next. However, I also admit buffing with everything that I had left just for fun. ?. I usually subscribe to @UnderstandMouseMagic ‘s “to heck with it" approach. This was a rare and funny exception.

Good eye on my tired guys. Not to worry... this was before the third pool click, which meant refreshes for everyone!

Regarding your other two questions:

I’m playing core rules but with max HPs on level up. I only changed the difficulty to normal for scribing (that should be a clickable option, IMO).
I’m not on my computer right now, but what I can tell you is that I selfishly gave every permanent buff to my CHARNAME. I ran BGEE and BG2EE (don’t have SoD). All tomes, Lum the Mad buffs, etc, went to my greedy halfling. Add in the hell trials, UAI find familiar, buffs like potion of heroism, and you end up with a legitimate truckload of health.

As far as mislead usage goes, I don’t know. The battle ahead was a mystery. I’ll find out. ??

butteredsoul

I was using one bag each for gems, necklaces, and rings. Halfway through BGEE2 I learned that you can sell to merchants directly from the bags and realized that it may have been overkill. But I kept doing it like the creature of habit that I am. ?

gorgonzola

@butteredsoul
i am playing the game since a long time and i know quite a bit of it, but the real experts are others...

and if you play for the first time a battle like the ascension ones the more the better

also if someone does not try the buffs he will never know what is effective in a certain situation and what can be avoided.

try sometimes to play without maxed hp on level up, imo is more fun as you pay your errors much more, a toon with low hp can not survive that adhw that leave him with few hp if with maxed hp. also the kill faster than your enemy does tactic does not work so well starting from a lower hp pool, and it lead to a more balanced game style where to deal damage is still important but to avoid damage is at least as important.

anyway to beat ascension and scs on the first run, after only 3 previous runs done 15 years before is GREAT, chapeau!

thanx for the explanation about the legitimate truckload of health, it makes sense.

Dharius

Shabooya! At AC -21, I salute you (I'm saluting you now)

Demogorgon (my toughest fight) should be a piece of cake with those stats

butteredsoul

@gorgonzola - I don't know. I've read enough of your posts around here to recognize your name. You've helped me out a bunch, even if you didn't know it. I'll try out your HP/level-up suggestion. I'm sure that's the way it was when I used to play. Your insight into how it makes the game more fun is very good.

@Dharius - thank you! I just realized that I forgot to toss out Mass Improved Invisibility, too. This game has lots of buffs. Go mincemeat the Imprisoned One!!!!

Monotremata

butteredsoul said:

I’m not on my computer right now, but what I can tell you is that I selfishly gave every permanent buff to my CHARNAME. I ran BGEE and BG2EE (don’t have SoD). All tomes, Lum the Mad buffs, etc, went to my greedy halfling.

I wouldn't really call it greedy or selfish, more like proper planning ahead hah. You have to remember, if you plan on taking your character through the whole BG->SoD->BG2 run, CHARNAME is the only one that transfers from one game to the next. All that work you do with your party in BG goes to waste because they have new versions of themselves that show up in the next game. Might as well make CHARNAME as tough as he can be by the time you get to BG2.