2.5 HoF Monk Solo possible?

Doxy

Hey all
Is it still possible to finish hof with a monk in 2.5?
So far, it takes me 5+ min to kill one blinded goblin with a sling, in starting area.
Thus im kinda doubting my further success with a solo monk)))

Doxy

Guess not.
Can't even land a single punch on orcs in the cave @ lvl7
With 13 thaco, is this norm?

sarevok57

i think there is something wrong with HoF in IWD at the moment, if im not mistaken enemies are only supposed to get a +5 bonus to AC but that seems to be doubled, i found that orcs were having ACs around -3 or -4 or some such, which i believe even in HoF terms it lower than anticipated

i also heard rumors that HoF mode is actually broken in the 2.5 of IWD ( which would explain the above ) but i cant confirm this rumor

Doxy

Seems so. Melee chars are barely able to hit goblins and orcs.
Druid on the other hand has 0 problems with clearing full cave of orcs with summon spell and a few AOE spells.

Ariakus

Is this still the case? I just finished a normal difficulty run and was thinking about a solo, no-reload HoF run but maybe not if this issue is still current?

Grond0

I think it is possible, though it's certainly time-consuming. From your reference to blind I assume you're using a Dark Moon monk, but you would probably find it easier to try with a standard monk to make use of stunning blows. Using stealth to attack and switching to dual-wielding against stunned opponents you can finish individual enemies off pretty quickly. The care needed is against large groups that all act together and make it extremely difficult to isolate just one of them. Use of area transitions and stealth can help in this situation.

I haven't completed the game, but when playing no-reload I've got close to the level cap a couple of times. Regular resting to allow you to use Quivering Palm enables relatively quick progress at higher levels, while the monk's immunity to normal weapons means many opponents can't damage you at all.

In earlier versions of the game, HoF mode gave attackers an advantage as there were +5 bonuses to attack, but no bonus to defense. This was the result of a coding error in the original game and v2.5 has implemented the original intention of a -11 bonus to AC. That totally reverses the situation people had previously been used to of attack being prioritised over defense and does take some getting used to . However, with warrior THAC0 and stealth bonuses, the monk does still have a realistic chance of hitting most enemies - while the use of stealth, decent weapon speed, high mobility and extra missile protection means it's hard for enemies to get an attack in on you (at least at higher levels).

Doxy

Might be true @Grond0. I'll give it a try.

@Ariakus im still struggling to get pass the 1st cave with melee fighters.
Most success i had was with a slightly cheated Paladin.
Had him in full plate, +2 in single wpn fighting and +2 long sword so that he can hit once in 10ish swings, thac0 8.
Did alright against orcs, until an ogre smacked me in the face for 30 dmg.
Gonna try @Grond0 suggestion.

jsaving

People have soloed IWD2 with each character class so yes, it is possible. But I would second everyone here in saying it is incredibly time consuming for most character classes and involves an extremely high number of reloads unless you are able to stun groups of foes and then keep them stunned long enough to wear them down with damage. If you are going to try this on a monk, my advice would be to ironman it so you can at least give up after 20-30 minutes rather than taking what will likely be 150+ hours to finish the game. However if you are truly determined then @Grond0 has excellent advice about how to minimize the pain of doing it.

Doxy

Even with regular monk it's impossible to land stunning blow reliably.
Thus it becomes a very long chain of reloads.
Guess i'll just have to play on insane or cheese the game with druid/cleric summons

Ariakus

I had to roll a 20 to hit the rats in the tavern cellar... (With 18 Str)