@AndreaColombo Wait... you mean to tell me that a scroll of protection from undead, can let you defeat one of the biggest pains in the rear, in all of shadows of Amn Kangaxx?! THAT ACTUALLY WORKS?! O_O
It works. Tactics gives him the ai he needs to dispel it ('I'm an all powerful wizard taking damage for no reason, I better sit here and do it some more instead of doing something about it!')
I did Ascension!... On easy, lol... Seriously though I did the whole game on core rules then put it down for that last battle which was kinda annoying. Having said that I bet playing ascension on easy was harder than vanilla on hard, lol. I never did the vanilla final encounter either
From my few playthroughs (when I was 14 mind you) I remember there being creatures that turned you to stone. I simply stopped going to that part of the map. Can't wait to get back in the saddle and figure out how to beat them!
Basilisks really hold a special place in my heart, as possibly the most fearful opponent in the game. I really needed a lot of time to perfection that area, but now I know their EXACT location, where they hang, how many there are and what approach to take. After basically years of practice, I came up with the "Basilisk hunt", which is a feat that I accomplish with most new characters - going straight to that area, solo, on level 1 and kill them all. Feels good to be able to do it actually. :P
I never remember the Wyvern random encounters in Cloakwood. I step out of the mines, click the Friendly Arm and get halfway through a sigh of relief before "you have been waylaid by enemies and must defend yourself". Then my mages get ganked.
hahahah yes i totally forgot about that the sword spider ambushes are my favourite actually
Bandits with arrows when you're level 1-3. *Tschak* *Tschak* *Tschak* *Tschak* *Tschak* *Tschak* Imoen dead, Dynaheir dead, Minsc badly injured, me badly injured. Bastards. I'll take Wyverns over them anyday, at least there's only two of them (and I always had at least 3 antidotes per person in their quickslots because of poison paranoia)
Did'nt even though of trying protection from death or undead back then, probly cause I did'nt have it or it did'nt work for some reason. The only strat I remember reading was to summon a big load of creeps and hope that he would cast death on them instead of your party members lol
@jaysl659 I know the feeling, I've never been further than Abazigal in ToB, ever. I always reroll at some point in ToB because it doesn't appeal me much.
@Lemernis That last fight of The Grey Clan is really tough yeh, never let the fighter in weapon range of any of your characters or they're soon dead. And the sorceresses have some unusual spells for a BG1 encounter ><
There were two places I would always find excruciatingly difficult. Having said that, I found them some of them more rewarding moments in the game, as well.
For BG1, I only need to say 2 words: Iron Throne...
For BG2, there was an inn in Athkatla which had an upstairs right next to the door (I can't remember the details). There would be 4-5 enemies there and they would slaughter me almost all the time. I probably was too low level, the more I think about it.
Kangaxx the Demi-lich is the victim of one of my favorite bits of cheesy play. You can get 2 protection from magic scrolls from the Adventurer's mart. Cast them on yourself and wahey, you're immune to magic for the duration of the scroll. Cast them on an enemy and it removes all magical protections and prevents them from casting. Use one of those on Kangaxx, or even better do it from a simulacrum double's quickslot to avoid consuming the scroll, and bingo: one big squishy target. You still need a +4 weapon to hit him, but meh.
Just pointing out that I've never done this myself (but have contemplated it after the 3rd reload sometimes). This may well be a bug that requires fixing, I'm not sure.
Okay I'd like to say here and now that protection from Undead does NOT work on Kangaxx. Here is the description and in it, it explicitly says that it protects you from the physical attacks of undead, NOT THE MAGICAL. As such it's a defective strategy... and I got my arse handed to me when I tried it >_>
Although I am kind of tempted to try that protection from magic idea next... that's pretty crafty really.
Protection from Undead is also coded to make you undetectable to undead creatures. That includes Kangaxx. If he casts non-targeted spells when you're standing there, you'll get hit; but if his AI doesn't tell him to cast spells when he's taking damage, this won't happen.
Ugh, Draconis gave me the hardest time. I had myself a little party when I finally killed the bugger. Amelyssan also gave me trouble. I had to resort to spamming spike traps for the last two fights with her.
Aec'Letec always gave me fits. ALWAYS. So I would save right before the fight and play it over and over again until everything just worked out right and I won the fight and didn't get death gazed before he was killed.
Now, I'm the first to admit, I play games for the "hey that was cool" factor rather than being a power gamer. I'd rather die awesome than win because I did all the math and calculated the best method to win. That just ain't me.
BUT, it was embarrassing. My son was 1 year old when Baldur's Gate came out. I introduced him to the game when he was like 12 or 13 and, to my shame, he beat Aec'Letec his first try. His tactic was so mind numbingly simple (using otiluke's resilient sphere) that this dungeon master of 30 years had to hang his head in shame.
@Bobby-Singer I had a similarly hard time against Aec'Letec the very first time I played against him. I had to keep shooting my own guys with arrows of dispelling so that they didn't permanently die from his stupid death gaze! It sort of reminds me of this now...
Then I used my end all solution to any major battle I had problems with in BG1, the wand of monster... summoning... Oh god, I just realized that if they're going to run BG1 on the BG2 TOB Engine... I'll only be able to summon 5 monsters at a time?! O_O I'm RUINED!
LOL! That was my strategy! Use wand of monster summoning until I killed all the cultists! My son came up with the idea of casting otiluke's resilient sphere on Aec'Letec rendering him unable to act. Then run around and kill all the cultists. When the sphere runs out, hit him with everything, including Monster Summoning. You are not ruined. You are a scion of Bhaal! :-D
Kangaxx in BG2, I made the mistake to go upstair after he changed form and save, each time I went back down I had a finger of death spell cast on me instanly and died each time lol
best on kangaxx is spell protection scroll and then you can beat him on very low level
I would have to strongly disagree with being able to beat Kangaxx at a very low level, or even at a low level. While it's true that you can use the spell protection spell, you do still need +4 or better weapons to hurt him.
I just came back from my BG2 playing to say that the strategy of using the scrolls of protection from magic worked on Kangaxx like a charm! Although one should not try to use it on his Demi-Lich form, as it seems he's still able to work around it to spell cast doom and death at you. Still for the first half of the battle against him as a normal lich, it works perfectly to put the scroll on him, and then for the second half, put it on your super fighter with something like the flaming sword, or the holy avenger for paladins, or whatever can use a +4 or better weapon. Then have the rest of your spell casters pelt him with melf's minature meteors! You'll get him eventually, and you're totally protected from his death, doom, and destruction while in that protection from magic sphere.
The only problem I recall running up against was that he actually started to bite me or something, which paralyzed my character. But by that point he suffered moral failure and was running floating around for his life undeath. (Who would have thought Demi-Liches actually can suffer moral failures? o_O)
My original (pre-tactics) anti-Kangaxx strategy was to kit up a Berserker with Azuredge and just have him go nuts and axe the guy to death, then do it again. It was entirely doable at quite low level. Thrown weapons eat combat protections quite quickly, after which point he's suffering spell failure every round until he fails his saving throw and goes down.
I have never been able to discern exactly where Minsc keeps Boo when he needs to hide him from would-be captors. I mean.. I've got a hunch.. but I've never actually figured it out with 100% certainty.
I have never been able to discern exactly where Minsc keeps Boo when he needs to hide him from would-be captors. I mean.. I've got a hunch.. but I've never actually figured it out with 100% certainty.
Well obviously he is hidden in the dark crevasses of Minsc's ... cage
@jaysl659 More helpful, thank you. And thanks for being considerate of me possibly not wanting to know. What a guy.
And there was a "friendly" ghoul at the basilisk infested map who never fails save vs death rolls. Just take him with you, let him tank and kill them at range.
My nemesis was the flaming sword wielding guardians at BG1, that blasted beggars gave me such pain that i nearly cried of joy when i first defeated them. (after 20-25 tries...)
I got killed by Kangaxx a lot as well, but then I took Imoen and put up some traps all over the place. Then I made everyone rest and put up even some more traps, and more, and more, and more. I'm not sure if I got both of his "lives"(?) like this, but this is what I remember working.
In BG1 I, after many tries, I managed to kill Drizz't Do'Urden, by using Wands of Monster Summoning. Man, those wands could get you out of anything. Drizz't put up a hell of a fight though. It was a small genocide.
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Feels good to be able to do it actually. :P
*Tschak* *Tschak* *Tschak* *Tschak* *Tschak* *Tschak*
Imoen dead, Dynaheir dead, Minsc badly injured, me badly injured. Bastards. I'll take Wyverns over them anyday, at least there's only two of them (and I always had at least 3 antidotes per person in their quickslots because of poison paranoia)
@Lemernis That last fight of The Grey Clan is really tough yeh, never let the fighter in weapon range of any of your characters or they're soon dead. And the sorceresses have some unusual spells for a BG1 encounter ><
For BG1, I only need to say 2 words: Iron Throne...
For BG2, there was an inn in Athkatla which had an upstairs right next to the door (I can't remember the details). There would be 4-5 enemies there and they would slaughter me almost all the time. I probably was too low level, the more I think about it.
Just pointing out that I've never done this myself (but have contemplated it after the 3rd reload sometimes). This may well be a bug that requires fixing, I'm not sure.
Although I am kind of tempted to try that protection from magic idea next... that's pretty crafty really.
Amelyssan also gave me trouble. I had to resort to spamming spike traps for the last two fights with her.
Now, I'm the first to admit, I play games for the "hey that was cool" factor rather than being a power gamer. I'd rather die awesome than win because I did all the math and calculated the best method to win. That just ain't me.
BUT, it was embarrassing. My son was 1 year old when Baldur's Gate came out. I introduced him to the game when he was like 12 or 13 and, to my shame, he beat Aec'Letec his first try. His tactic was so mind numbingly simple (using otiluke's resilient sphere) that this dungeon master of 30 years had to hang his head in shame.
Then I used my end all solution to any major battle I had problems with in BG1, the wand of monster... summoning... Oh god, I just realized that if they're going to run BG1 on the BG2 TOB Engine... I'll only be able to summon 5 monsters at a time?! O_O I'm RUINED!
I just came back from my BG2 playing to say that the strategy of using the scrolls of protection from magic worked on Kangaxx like a charm! Although one should not try to use it on his Demi-Lich form, as it seems he's still able to work around it to spell cast doom and death at you. Still for the first half of the battle against him as a normal lich, it works perfectly to put the scroll on him, and then for the second half, put it on your super fighter with something like the flaming sword, or the holy avenger for paladins, or whatever can use a +4 or better weapon. Then have the rest of your spell casters pelt him with melf's minature meteors! You'll get him eventually, and you're totally protected from his death, doom, and destruction while in that protection from magic sphere.
The only problem I recall running up against was that he actually started to bite me or something, which paralyzed my character. But by that point he suffered moral failure and was running floating around for his life undeath. (Who would have thought Demi-Liches actually can suffer moral failures? o_O)
I mean.. I've got a hunch.. but I've never actually figured it out with 100% certainty.
My nemesis was the flaming sword wielding guardians at BG1, that blasted beggars gave me such pain that i nearly cried of joy when i first defeated them. (after 20-25 tries...)
In BG1 I, after many tries, I managed to kill Drizz't Do'Urden, by using Wands of Monster Summoning. Man, those wands could get you out of anything. Drizz't put up a hell of a fight though. It was a small genocide.
Also, just remembered that the Astral Prison is a much bigger challenge. Especially with those damn stomachs in the floor full of nasty encounters.