Skip to content

The Adventurer's Lounge: Guidance and Support for No Reload Challengers- Newbie or Veteran

1414244464767

Comments

  • Wise_GrimwaldWise_Grimwald Member Posts: 3,848
    lroumen wrote: »
    I never even get the cloak anymore just to not use it

    If you have a thief it is worth getting for the extra charisma.
    StummvonBordwehr
  • ithildurnewithildurnew Member Posts: 273
    edited January 2020
    Ludwig_II wrote: »
    There are more things to worry about if you use SCS. Balors on SCS have vorpal hits with no save (not sure on exactly which difficulty levels, but at least on Insane it's like this). Only death ward and protection from magical weapons protect against it as far as I know.

    Can someone confirm whether this is true? I don't believe unmodded vorpal hit death is blocked by (unmodded) death ward, and I'm pretty sure SCS doesn't change that. iirc there's an optional aTweaks component that mods death ward to block vorpal hits, which would seem to support my suspicions.
  • NeverusedNeverused Member Posts: 803
    Aren’t there also threats that can dispel on-hit as well as have a chance to vorpal? I recall a discussion about how the only character that could safely survive that thing was a mage with PfMW and other defenses to stop the dispel from taking place. I want to say it was the Planetar, but I’m probably wrong and suffering from bad memories about them.
  • Ludwig_IILudwig_II Member Posts: 369
    edited January 2020
    Planetar does have vorpal hits as well, but I believe you can save against it. Against Insane SCS Balor, you can't.

    ithildurnew you brought up a good point, I have that aTweaks component installed. But thank you semiticgod for clarifying it for the unmodded version
    StummvonBordwehr
  • velehalvelehal Member Posts: 299
    Does anybody know how to reliably beat Bassilus with low level (3) party? Because with the SCS he can have access to spells like Divine Protection or Entropy Shield. With these spells it is difficult/impossible to interrupt his spellcasting and he can cast his high level spells And if he has memorized Aerial Servat (this is random) and summons him, you have to quickly run away from that location.
    Because with SCS spell selection is random, he can has completly different spell and then Wand of Magic Missile can interrupt all his spells. But on no reload run you can´t bet on the possibility that his spell selection will be favourable for charname.
    Blackraven
  • ithildurnewithildurnew Member Posts: 273
    edited January 2020
    SCS 32 with IWD spells does change the game for clerics rather significantly; no longer are they pushovers compared to SCS mages.

    Asking for a reliable strategy without specific party makeup/equipment is a shot in the dark, but one approach for minimizing risk is to use positioning/strategically placed summons (or a sacrificial target) to get him to waste some of his arsenal while Divine Protection runs out. You're going to want to have in reserve magic missile/chromatic orb etc to disrupt and someone (Kivan with Archer kit works well) with as good a ranged THAC0 as you can get at that level. Clear out the rest of the map before taking him on. I assume you plan on dealing with his minions using the conversation options. If he pulls an Aerial Servant... do you have aTweaks installed?

    Generally a level 3 party doesn't have a lot of options for taking on an enemy caster whose levels are that much higher unless using lots of thick cheese; you're essentially playing craps which for a no reload run is not a good strategy. Aerial Servant vs level 3 party is a bad idea (especially if you have aTweaks installed with their instant invisibility)

    Nothing wrong with waiting until the party gains some levels for a no reload run.

    @semiticgod Thanks for clarification; still have some bits where I'm not quite sure what EE changed vs classic, that's good to know... vorpal hits are a good way to end no reload runs.
    jessejmcBlackravenJuliusBorisov
  • Wise_GrimwaldWise_Grimwald Member Posts: 3,848
    Silence is a good spell if he fails. Be prepared to run if he doesn't.

    Does Algernon's Cloak work in your set-up.
    If it does, you can charm him and get him to fight Zargal. If Bassilus wins, put him next to a ghoul until he is held and then fight him.

    Invisibility can be useful. Use a mage to lure Aerial Servant away and then cast invisibility or use an invisibility potion.

    You can also wait him out until his spells wear off.
    jessejmcStummvonBordwehrGrond0
  • velehalvelehal Member Posts: 299
    No, I don´t have this part of Atweak. I remeber that when I played with Atweak, I was afraid of Aerial Servant even in Underdark.
    My party is kensai, Ajantis, Kagain, Branwen, Imoen and Neera. I will send Korgan with The One Gift Lost to clear the zombies and interrupt his first spell. Branwen will be casting Silence and Neera Larloch´s Minor Drain. If he fail his save against Silence, it is over. If he cast Aerial Servant, I will run away.
  • jessejmcjessejmc Member Posts: 141
    Silence is a good spell if he fails. Be prepared to run if he doesn't.

    Does Algernon's Cloak work in your set-up.

    These are the most reliable methods. If you're willing to exploit line of sight, you can try multiple casts of silence from off screen until one of them lands.
    StummvonBordwehr
  • lroumenlroumen Member Posts: 2,508
    What is the point of installing scs if you are just going to cheese in different ways?
    Serg_BlackStriderWise_GrimwaldmonicoMantis37
  • Wise_GrimwaldWise_Grimwald Member Posts: 3,848
    velehal wrote: »
    So I killed him. Ajantis and Kagain are dead but not chunked. It didn´t work how I planned it (he hit Branwen and kensai with Greater Command but it took him some time to kill Ajantis and Kagain so Branwen and kensai woke up and killed him) but charname is alive.
    What I like about the game, is that so often it doesn't pan out as planned. If it did, we would soon get bored.
    monicoJuliusBorisovAerakar
  • jessejmcjessejmc Member Posts: 141
    What are y'alls opinions on maintaining a completely separate reload practice run while attempting a main run? It would be used to practice encounters and unknown zones.

    My BG1 gameplay has gotten to the point where I can, with some consistency, get to SoD, but my SoD gameplay is progressing slowly because of having to restart. I can't consistently get to/past Bridgefort yet and haven't been to Athkatla since the original games came out.

    I'm getting a bit bored of BG1 and discouraged overall.
    StummvonBordwehrBlackravenmonicoJuliusBorisov
  • lroumenlroumen Member Posts: 2,508
    Basically you don't restart fifty times before you get past a certain encounter.
  • BlackravenBlackraven Member Posts: 3,486
    jessejmc wrote: »
    What are y'alls opinions on maintaining a completely separate reload practice run while attempting a main run? It would be used to practice encounters and unknown zones.

    My BG1 gameplay has gotten to the point where I can, with some consistency, get to SoD, but my SoD gameplay is progressing slowly because of having to restart. I can't consistently get to/past Bridgefort yet and haven't been to Athkatla since the original games came out.

    I'm getting a bit bored of BG1 and discouraged overall.

    Wouldn't that be even slower and more boring though? Maybe not if you're doing the practice run with a different character/party? I've tried something like that once or twice before, continuing a failed no-reload run to pioneer for a new reload run, but I lacked the discipline. I just felt more invested in the no-reload run.

    Like @Grond0, I do feel you on SoD though. Of all the no-reloaders on this forum I think I have the worst balance against Belhifet. So I'd say feel free to play with a separate test run. And if it doesn't work for you, why not share your bottlenecks with us and people will surely have some good tips for you. Also I think you tend to solo a lot. Playing a party might be something for you to try. Slower progress but more tactical options, more flexibility, more APR, etc. (If the slower progress really bothers you, try recruiting NPCs at the latest moment for them not to lag behind.)
    Grond0StummvonBordwehrWise_GrimwaldJuliusBorisov
  • NeverusedNeverused Member Posts: 803
    jessejmc wrote: »
    What are y'alls opinions on maintaining a completely separate reload practice run while attempting a main run? It would be used to practice encounters and unknown zones.

    My BG1 gameplay has gotten to the point where I can, with some consistency, get to SoD, but my SoD gameplay is progressing slowly because of having to restart. I can't consistently get to/past Bridgefort yet and haven't been to Athkatla since the original games came out.

    I'm getting a bit bored of BG1 and discouraged overall.

    I've done something similar for optional fights I deem too dangerous for my current runs. I only split off a save if I determine that I'm not keeping the result of a fight, successful or not, and if the practice goes well, I ban myself from that fight for the current run.

    For example, a run awhile back I wanted to test Mage vs Mage duels in the Ust Natha pits. I was pretty confident I would lose them and decided to make a save dedicated to that series of duels. I did end up losing to a Flesh to Stone at some point, but the important thing was I never intended to keep the result either way. And if I had won, I would bar myself from that fight until my next run.

    Also, to learn different things, it seems definitely OK to play no-reload for a bit: I made it to mid or late SoA with a Skald once before dying, but completed the game anyways. That extra bit of experience is probably what pushed my actually successful Skald run through.

    (As a side note, I'm feeling a little called out right now by @Blackraven as my two successful runs to date were the Shaman and Skald that were notoriously danger averse :tongue: )

    As for SoD, there's definitely a learning curve that will absolutely kill you if you're not prepared. I think it took me like 6-7 runs to get past all the "you die instantly if you're not prepared" moments, but once I figured out what they were I don't think I've lost a run in SoD since. A lot of that is that I stopped doing a lot of optional battles, since the additional experience and items are almost never worth it. If you want, I can try to remember each of the gotcha moments I lost to, and how I avoid them now.
    StummvonBordwehrBlackravenWise_GrimwaldJuliusBorisov
  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    @lroumen: I didn't think you were being judgmental. I don't recall seeing that kind of judgment on this forum for years. No need to apologize; you are A-okay.
    BlackravenWise_GrimwaldJuliusBorisovAerakar
  • BlackravenBlackraven Member Posts: 3,486
    Neverused wrote: »
    (As a side note, I'm feeling a little called out right now by @Blackraven as my two successful runs to date were the Shaman and Skald that were notoriously danger averse :tongue: )

    Ouch haha. In case you weren't joking: I mentioned those classes to soften my stance, naming them as examples of characters that I wouldn't expect anyone including myself to play very offensively in a party. o:)
    Wise_GrimwaldJuliusBorisovStummvonBordwehrNeverused
  • NeverusedNeverused Member Posts: 803
    I was kidding about that, though I will admit I was considering trying a run where my main character was allowed to contribute literally nothing to the game except staying alive outside the forced-solo areas like the Slayer Dream. I would've done it with some already finished class just to prove it was doable but I didn't think it would be very enjoyable. I think I just enjoy playing support classes more due to my personality, or at least feel more comfortable keeping them safe as a strategic decision.

    On a slightly different note, it's possible to bomb and kill Sarevok from out of vision in SCS? I thought his acolytes being alive gave him regeneration akin to the Sahuagin Prince, and with his innate Fire resistance I didn't think even 6 Fireballs/round were enough to make a dent on his hitpoints.
    Blackraven
Sign In or Register to comment.