Legacy of Bhaal Mode Question
Shangeroo
Member Posts: 84
Just curious, was the LOB mode intended for brand new characters or was this mode really designed for challenge of established characters to be imported?
I tried the LOB mode the other day with a brand new level 1 sorcerer. That first assassin seemed to have to many hps that I had to run outside and use the guards to help me kill him. If every low level enemy - gibberlings, wolves, xvarts have that many hps and I have to keep kiting at every single random encounter, I don't think this mode of play would be very enjoyable. (plus I can't imagine how many darts I have to keep in my inventory as I'm sure I'll go through them too quickly).
I tried the LOB mode the other day with a brand new level 1 sorcerer. That first assassin seemed to have to many hps that I had to run outside and use the guards to help me kill him. If every low level enemy - gibberlings, wolves, xvarts have that many hps and I have to keep kiting at every single random encounter, I don't think this mode of play would be very enjoyable. (plus I can't imagine how many darts I have to keep in my inventory as I'm sure I'll go through them too quickly).
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legacy of bhaal is actually a derivative of hearty of fury mode from IWD, but unlike IWD which there actually might be a point in replaying the game on hearty of fury mode, its pretty pointless in BG unless you are a true masochistic
even with an imported party i found the mode to be boring as enemies were just such a chore to cut through ( lowly kobolds with 92 HP, ugh ) and as soon as i found invisibility 10' radius i just invisibled my way through the game until i hit the last boss
Not to forget that enemies AC is improved by 11 (!!).
In my LoB runs, that AC boost has been the most problematic change. I am often relying on Webs, Holds and stuns because of that (no AC check for critters rendered helpless by those spells).
Blindness & Slow are also very good debuffs to (somewhat) counter the improved thac0 & AC of enemies.
Also note, for LoB mode, that your summons are improved as well (not as much as enemies, but still quite an improvement).
As such, LoB gameplay is very different than normal mode:
- damage spells are almost useless, CC (crowd control) spells are kings (e.g.: replace Magic Missile by Blindness, Spook or even Grease)
- Ranged weapons, especially in BG1, have in general better thac0 than melee weapons, with the added effect of battlefield control, a party of snipers can be very strong even at low levels;
- Summons are really effective, they can both tank and damage enemies, often better than your own companions.
LoB is not for casual gameplay, it is very intensive (and for many players, just boring), even normal fights can last for 10 or more real-time minutes, and effective strategies are different.
If you want to have a go at LoB without too much problems, I'd suggest for your first run making a custom party, and strongly recommand bringing a Totemic Druid (his summons, especially at level cap, can solo BG1), and maybe a Scald also (his song boosts also the summons).
But outside those first few levels, I found it very interesting to change my old habits and had to discover new spells/strategies.
For example: no more "sleep takes care of 66% of BG1", "let's send a fireball or two from out of sight" or "hey, get that thief to one-shot the enemy mage with a backstab".
Don't get me wrong, LoB often ends up relying on cheese (even more so than normal play), but at least you discover new cheese
I don't think I ever realized before playing LoB how powerful the spells Blindness, Slow, Silence 15' radius and even Ray of Enfeeblement (to immobilize almost any enemy from being encumbered) were.
But to each his own fun, LoB has definitely its downsides too. And the upgrade of HP/stats doesn't make the enemies smarter.
I think you would probably prefer the challenge imposed by AI improvements like Sword Coast Stratagems (SCS).