Is solo possible (HoF mode)?

Klorox

I love trying to solo a game, but I’m having trouble with this one.

HoF is such a grind as it is.

Grond0

I've been trying it no-reload with various characters fairly recently and I agree it's a problem. The scarcity of mage scrolls is one issue, though I'm sure that could be greatly helped with meta-knowledge (I know BG far, far better than IWD). Another is that enemies come in groups that it's very difficult to break apart, even using stealth.

I was trying to avoid it, but I think the most obvious solution remains using summons. A cleric, druid or sorcerer can all pretty easily get sufficient levels for summons to be competitive with enemies - and can all rest safely in the wilderness to make exploration much easier.

smyth25

I'm currently doing a solo F/C/M, and I can concur that summons are your best friend as they can tank so much damage, and also deal a lot with Strength of One and other cleric buffs and haste (a scroll of haste can be found in Kresselack's tomb, non-random).

I was initially having trouble distributing stats for my character, since a F/C/M benefits from all stats, but it turns out strength and dexterity aren't actually as important because the mage spells Strength (found in vale of shadows) and Cat's grace (bought from Orrick) will increase them drastically for 1 hour/level.

Also, Find familiar is incredibly powerful on HoF, as the familiar gains increased HP, which your character will be granted half of. Also their armour class is very high, so they make a good tank before you have access to Animate Dead. I personally went true neutral to get the rabbit, as it can carry stuff for me and has decent detect traps (especially when you cast Cat's grace on it).

Grond0

I prefer one of the familiars with regeneration to increase their ability to tank. However, I certainly agree all the familiars are a lot more useful in HoF.

Balrog99

smyth25 said:

I'm currently doing a solo F/C/M, and I can concur that summons are your best friend as they can tank so much damage, and also deal a lot with Strength of One and other cleric buffs and haste (a scroll of haste can be found in Kresselack's tomb, non-random).

I was initially having trouble distributing stats for my character, since a F/C/M benefits from all stats, but it turns out strength and dexterity aren't actually as important because the mage spells Strength (found in vale of shadows) and Cat's grace (bought from Orrick) will increase them drastically for 1 hour/level.

Also, Find familiar is incredibly powerful on HoF, as the familiar gains increased HP, which your character will be granted half of. Also their armour class is very high, so they make a good tank before you have access to Animate Dead. I personally went true neutral to get the rabbit, as it can carry stuff for me and has decent detect traps (especially when you cast Cat's grace on it).

Cast Luck and Invisibility on the rabbit and it's even better at disarming traps! Almost as good as a thief...

Aerich

Yes, solo is possible. I have a maxed-out solo dc Cleric29>Mage30 in TotL - check out the thread. The early levels are so painful, as summons have to do most of your tanking and killing - it's slow, but faster and certainly less risky than kiting with missile weapons. If running a cleric class, the key spell levels are 3 (Animate Dead) and 6 (Aerial Servant).

WoYu

Iv'e started fresh with Dragon Disciple and till I got to Kuldahar for the first time it was quite challenging sometimes, I was lvl 12 as I remember correctly. I went HoW and TotLM right away and... game ended.. Im at the dungeons now at lvl 30. It got super easy when I got 100% fire res (as dragon disciple) and Incendiary Cloud. Stone skin, protection from normal/magic weapons, lure everything at me, spam cloud and get invisible. Everything dies in matter of seconds. If I find some immune mob - transform to mindflayer - eat brain - done. It is not fun anymore. Ofc you can abuse Wish all You want. Summon shadows scale with lvl so they are very hard to kill and I have LOADS of summons. I wonder if it can be done the same way with ID2 or BG2EE..

Aerich

Class makes a huge difference in the solo (HoF) experience. IMO, the 'easiest' solo experience is with a class that automatically obtains spell access on levelling up: cleric, druid, sorceror.

Harpagornis

I have done several solo HoF runs even with melee chars. Monk is superfun once you get immunity to normal weapons with makes many parts of the game trivial while Quivering Palm can even kill big bosses like Yxunomei. Druids are also fun thanks to the powerful summons while also being able to stack-kill big groups with Spike Growth + Spike Thorns. So many options...

Klorox

Harpagornis wrote: »

I have done several solo HoF runs even with melee chars. Monk is superfun once you get immunity to normal weapons with makes many parts of the game trivial while Quivering Palm can even kill big bosses like Yxunomei. Druids are also fun thanks to the powerful summons while also being able to stack-kill big groups with Spike Growth + Spike Thorns. So many options...

The tough part is getting there.