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"Maybe this time" [NO-RELOAD THREAD]: "The Tale of TEN THOUSAND Trials"

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  • Wise_GrimwaldWise_Grimwald Member Posts: 3,848
    edited February 2019
    @CharlestonianTemplar Somebody seems to want me to dredge up my limited knowledge of the Greek alphabet from the dim recesses of my memory. I was surprised to find that it is still there, but then I did have a minor refresher course by going to Rhodes this year. :) I was surprised by how much I still knew since the only Greek that I learned was in mathematics and physics classes 45 years ago.
    EDIT
    My party in Severed Hand are looking for pieces of the Astrolabe. I think that some of them might be downstairs.
    The party is ready to go looking but my wife is ready for bed... To sleep. :D
    Post edited by Wise_Grimwald on
    CharlestonianTemplarStummvonBordwehr
  • @CharlestonianTemplar Somebody seems to want me to dredge up my limited knowledge of the Greek alphabet from the dim recesses of my memory. I was surprised to find that it is still there, but then I did have a minor refresher course by going to Rhodes this year. :) I was surprised by how much I still knew since the only Greek that I learned was in mathematics and physics classes 45 years ago.
    EDIT
    My party in Severed Hand are looking for pieces of the Astrolabe. I think that some of them might be downstairs.
    The party is ready to go looking but my wife is ready for bed... To sleep. :D

    Go to bed! >:) As for the Greek, I just thought it looked cool when used to spell deity names - don't know where that came from but hey. I'm a seminary student so Greek is part of the deal, you know?
    RaduzielGrond0Wise_Grimwald
  • I have a question from a gameplay standpoint.

    When encountering people/monsters in the game, is their reaction determined by my PCs charisma or the charisma of the NPC I send to communicate with them?

    I normally use my NPC with the highest charisma to talk to people. But I wonder, does that matter at all?
  • CharlestonianTemplarCharlestonianTemplar Member Posts: 855
    OlvynChuru wrote: »
    Summonless Solo: A Cleric/Ranger vs. Legacy of Bhaal, Part 1



    Before leaving Candlekeep, Lianna gained a few levels by killing the cows in the keep. Cows don't fight back.

    [

    You killed the cows in Candlekeep? Too funny. :D:):p
    OlvynChuruWise_GrimwaldMantis37
  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    I'm running a solo unkitted fighter right now and I'm considering whether to reload. I just died in Hell to a Balor.

    Here's the problem. In ATweaks, Balors have a 15% chance of landing a vorpal strike per hit.

    There is no saving throw.

    Magic resistance cannot block it.

    The only way for a single-classed warrior to block it is to equip Hindo's Doom.

    The upgraded form of Hindo's Doom.

    Which requires Hindo's Hand.

    Which you only get in Abazigal's lair.

    Long after you already have to fight multiple Balors in Hell.

    This means that, with ATweaks installed, it is impossible for any single-classed warrior to beat the game solo without relying entirely on luck to survive in Hell. The reality is that, sooner or later, the numerous gated demons will box you in, and it's simply not possible to kill them quickly enough to thin the herd. Their ability to teleport at will means you can't run away from them for more than a few moments. Eventually, you will be surrounded by ten or more demons.

    Earlier, I noticed that mephits in ATweaks had a similar problem. Some mephit attacks and spells have a 50% chance of stunning the target for 6 seconds with no save. I nearly died early in SoA to the mephits before Rayic Gethras, which is when I discovered it. It seems that ATweaks has many examples of status effects and even instant death effects which many different character builds cannot block through any means whatsoever, unless they have some other mod-introduced item that will grant an immunity. In fact, the only item that I can think of that would have solved this problem would be the Staff of Zoltan (or whatever it's called), which is by far the most overpowered mod item in existence.

    This vorpal effect makes it virtually impossible for the following characters to beat the game solo without relying on a mod-introduced item or blind luck:

    Fighter
    Kensai
    Berserker
    Wizard Slayer
    Barbarian
    Dwarven Defender
    Monk
    Sun Soul Monk
    Dark Moon Monk
    Ranger
    Stalker
    Archer
    Beastmaster
    Paladin
    Cavalier
    Inquisitor
    Undead Hunter

    If you don't remove the XP cap (which would let Death Ward be undispellable at a sufficiently high level), the following classes are also locked out:

    Druid
    Avenger
    Totemic Druid
    Shapeshifter
    All Fighter/Druids
    Cleric
    Cleric of Lathander
    Cleric of Helm
    Cleric of Talos
    Cleric of Tyr
    Cleric of Tempus
    All Fighter/Clerics
    Any Thief->Cleric that dual-classes before level 24

    There are plenty of mods that are especially difficult for certain classes, but I've never seen a mod component that so thoroughly broke the metagame for so many classes at the same time. The closest example is Ascension, which locks out single-classed druids, but you can get around that by installing a component that allows druids to equip the Shield of Reflection. Otherwise, only Wizard Slayers have to rely on luck.

    Normally, this would be the end of the run for me, but the sheer, indefensible unreasonableness of ATweaks demons is making me consider uninstalling ATweaks and proceeding without. I already considered uninstalling ATweaks after the game crashed midway through the Hell fight, but I just barely decided against it before this happened. Thoughts?

    At any rate, I have to strongly recommend that anyone considering a no-reload run never install ATweaks demons, elementals, or mephits. Even outside of these game-breaking no-save instant death effects and unstoppable disablers, I've long noticed that demons and elementals have an incredibly frustrating habit of constantly going invisible or ethereal, which artificially dragged out these encounters and completely took all the fun out of fighting them. That particular component is neither balanced nor fair nor fun.
    StummvonBordwehrWise_GrimwaldhistamiiniCrevsDaak
  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    @Corey_Russell: Maybe I won't continue. It feels compromised. But I don't think kiting is practical. I did have an Oil of Speed active on top of the Boots of Speed, and no summons available to a warrior would last more than a round, putting aside the problem of the 2 seconds I'd need to spend stuck in place to summon a new one.

    @Blackraven: Did you have "Fiendish Gating" installed in Norgath's run? Because I see four teleporting demons in your screenshot, and I had eight.

    This is what the fight looked like after 10 seconds of combat, not counting a Time Stop. This happened while I was running.

    bjfkjv8w5dzi.jpg
    StummvonBordwehrCrevsDaak
  • lroumenlroumen Member Posts: 2,508
    @semiticgod Why don't you just mod out that particular ATweaks component of replace it with an irresistible large amount of damage?
    Wise_Grimwald
  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    @Grond0: The teleportation looks instantaneous, though I'm not sure precisely what you mean by instantaneous. The teleportation occurs instantaneously (you disappear from one part of the map and immediately appear elsewhere), but it doesn't seem to happen more than once or twice per round, so if you did manage to escape, you wouldn't immediately get surrounded again.

    That particular screenshot occurred directly after a Time Stop that ended up dispelling my Oil of Speed, so that may have played a role. But I think the root problem is simple: one enemy teleports over to you, which sometimes results in that enemy appearing in front of you--that is, if you're running northeast, as I was, a single demon can appear to the northeast, and then your character stops moving for a few frames while he or she tries to figure out which way to walk around the demon.

    During that brief delay, a bunch of other demons can then teleport around you, cutting off your other routes of escape. The demons don't all teleport at the same time, but they only teleport a few frames apart, and a few frames of being stuck behind a demon can result in the whole herd converging around you before you have a chance to escape. Similarly, stopping for a few frames to make an attack roll, use an item, or cast a spell--the only way to clear the field--can make it even easier for the enemy to box you in.

    Mostly I just wanted to complain about the component, and warn about its use. I'll occasionally ask people about reloading in weird circumstances, but I don't remember the last time I actually did reload and kept going. If there's any doubt about a run's legitimacy, I just abandon it.
    Grond0StummvonBordwehrWise_GrimwaldBlind_Visionary
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