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The no reload challenge (spoiler warning)

mumumomomumumomo Member Posts: 635
One of the most fun thing to do in BG is to play with no reload.

The point of the thread is for you to describe your attempts (failed or successful)

I'll start with mine (i just list the significative attempts, not the ones in which i died after 5 minutes). All these playthrough were on core rules difficulty (save for leveling, to get max hp)

- Fighter/mage/thief. Solo. Died in baldur's gate (level 5/5/6) from the mages upstairs of the magical shop (forgot their were casting horror...)
- Berserker. Solo. Died at level 6 from an ankheg, ambushing me while resting
- Inquisitor. In group of 4 (imoen, minsc, viconia). Still in progress (in cloakwoods)
- Berserker / mage (dual 7/8). Solo. Sill in progress (in catacombs at candlekeep). I should succeed it with this one (unless i do something dumb), as he is now 7/8 and almost unkillable (berserker kit is awesome)

My next try will be a solo sorcerer.

Some advices for those who want to try it :
- i find solo play easier than group play (as defense is paramount in no reload, and much easier to get on one character than on 6)
- very good knowledge of the game is necessary.
- when playing solo, never roll to save against a deadly effect (paralysis, horror, charm....) -> you need to get immunities (potions, items, abilities,spells) or you will die.
- always have an invisibility potion ready, as a panic button






Post edited by JuliusBorisov on
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  • EnterHaerDalisEnterHaerDalis Member Posts: 813
    Cool, I just made my second guy and I'm going to try this also.

    Currently doing a solo Blackguard, see how far I get. Will be interesting dealing with traps.



  • PantalionPantalion Member Posts: 2,137
    Solo Cleric/Rangers, four attempts so far.
    First attempt died ignominously right out of Candlekeep to a random travel encounter with a Ghast or something.
    Second was held by Bassilus and beaten to death. As was the third.
    Fourth is ongoing, going to get Boots of Speed pretty imminently and is now spending pretty much 24/7 under Sanctuary because he's capped and has no need to fight any more. I'm undecided if I'll bring him into Durlag's and try for the +3 Sling or not, currently leaning yes though.
  • EnterHaerDalisEnterHaerDalis Member Posts: 813
    edited December 2012
    So far

    Have slain Firebead Elvenhair and a Watcher bringing me down to 3 reputation upon leaving Candlekeep. Killed the Ogre rather easily with poison. Almost got killed by Tarnesh at the Friendly Arm Inn after he hit me with 2 magic missiles. Used 2 potions conservatively...

    Got to beregost and killed Marl without any reputation loss. Bought the book for Firebead and went to his house only to remember that I had slain him in cold blood. Arrived at Nashkel and an 6 Amnish warriors spawned on my screen. Forgot I was an evil bastard and 1 of them started shooting arrows at me. Only 1 of them would go hostile at a time though, and the non hostile ones would gang up on the guy shooting at me, lowering their numbers one by one. 2 of them chased me and I ran to claim the Ankheg Plate mail in the farms. Currently pondering how I'm going to raise my reputation... I donated 110 and then 250 gold at the Nashkel Temple trying to get a +1 but to no avail.

    Currently on my way to the Nashkel Mines, where I may consider taking on Prism.
  • mumumomomumumomo Member Posts: 635
    HaerDalis, Very courageous way to deal with the challenge (playing evil is much harder)

    Pantalion, as cleric/ranger, do you have access to all druid spells as well as clerics? (I'm too lazy to test it)
  • PantalionPantalion Member Posts: 2,137
    Sure do, Nymphs, Insect Plague, all the good stuff, though it gets even better in BG2.

    Update: Cloakwood done (worst part was the Battle Horror duet, since they insist on being melee'd), and almost got myself killed taking on Drizzt.

    Except I didn't, and now I have his stuff. His +4 Chain is a net -1 worse than Full Plate, since it can't be coupled with an amulet of protection, but it does allow Stealth, meaning I don't even have to cast sanctuary now.

    I've already done most of the non-Totsc quests outside of Baldur's Gate, just Firewine to do.
  • bbearbbear Member Posts: 1,180
    I just started a no reload challenge in bg2 (still havent brought bgee since I have the Intel graphic cards in my old laptop and my new laptop is a linux os). I set my game at solo insane no reload challenge. In the current game, I played as FMT, and he is still alive.
  • EnterHaerDalisEnterHaerDalis Member Posts: 813
    edited December 2012
    Fuck I failed pretty hard

    Died to Zordal at the Carnival...

    Let him get his Mirror Image off and ate 2 Melf's Acid arrows. Had no healing potions cause I was zoned out of the Temple by the Amnish Soldiers :(


    sighh
  • WanderonWanderon Member Posts: 1,418
    edited December 2012
    Meet my latest No Reload Campaigner:

    Mugsy Mugyvar
    Gnome Thief/Illusionist -
    stats: 18/18/16/19/9/7 (3rd roll-redistributed)
    *scimitar
    *shortbow
    Thief skills: OL-40, FT-45, PP-25, MS-30, HIS-20, DI-10, ST-10,
    Backstab-X2

    Playing on Core mostly - dropping to Normal for level-ups
    (and occasionally forgetting to go back to Core for a bit after that ;-) )

    Currently in Candlekeep gathering supplies and thinking about who to take along for the ride...

    Ahhh well apparently was not meant to be - had issues recruiting for some reason - charisma 7 apparently gave me a -4 reaction adjustment (even tho manual said -1) Xzar & Monty wouldn't go to FAI ( they left when I asked them) then I reloaded to get Viccy after she walked off the first time we saved her dark hide then Mugsy died trying to save some wild mage in Beregost...

    I may revive him in Candlekeep for another run but first I have to go watch the Giants beat Atlanta... ;-)
    Post edited by Wanderon on
  • IgnatiusIgnatius Member Posts: 624
    Aaargh... I feel like an amateur really. Was really enjoying my no-reload with a Halfling Cleric who went solo for a while until he hit lvl.8, then picked up Imoen who quickly reached lvl.7. The duo was rocking so far, an easy ride and this is when you sometimes get over-confident.

    2nd level of the Cloakwood mines, I melee my way through with Ashideena, my Boots of Speed give me the feeling of being a semi-god. I sanctuarize and check that room full of guards with the female mage Areishan. I blast them with sleep+fireball+silence and just to be safe, use a mind shield on my PC with the Greenstone amulet. I enter the room and everyone is agonizing, but Asheidina saved vs silence and casts invisibility. I proceed to finish off the guards who are "near death", and while I am in a corner of the room she re-appears right next to me and without me being able to do anything, casts a lightning bolt. It catches one of those terrible multiple bounces right in that corner and goes through me 3 or 4 times. Despite my 62HP: I am dead in an instant.

    What a waste, I really enjoyed that halfling and the pairing with Imoen. 100% my mistake on this one, too much complacency. I should have sent in the summons first / made sure she was silenced / protect myself from lightning or fire. Idiot.
  • lunarlunar Member Posts: 3,460
    Ignatius said:

    Aaargh... I feel like an amateur really. Was really enjoying my no-reload with a Halfling Cleric who went solo for a while until he hit lvl.8, then picked up Imoen who quickly reached lvl.7. The duo was rocking so far, an easy ride and this is when you sometimes get over-confident.

    2nd level of the Cloakwood mines, I melee my way through with Ashideena, my Boots of Speed give me the feeling of being a semi-god. I sanctuarize and check that room full of guards with the female mage Areishan. I blast them with sleep+fireball+silence and just to be safe, use a mind shield on my PC with the Greenstone amulet. I enter the room and everyone is agonizing, but Asheidina saved vs silence and casts invisibility. I proceed to finish off the guards who are "near death", and while I am in a corner of the room she re-appears right next to me and without me being able to do anything, casts a lightning bolt. It catches one of those terrible multiple bounces right in that corner and goes through me 3 or 4 times. Despite my 62HP: I am dead in an instant.

    What a waste, I really enjoyed that halfling and the pairing with Imoen. 100% my mistake on this one, too much complacency. I should have sent in the summons first / made sure she was silenced / protect myself from lightning or fire. Idiot.

    Ouch. That must have sucked. Didn't you have boots of grounding from Mulahey? You could have switched to them instantly when you saw the sorceress casting lightning at you. Cheesy, yeah, but it is no reload. They help immensely against lightning attacks.
  • AllbrotherAllbrother Member Posts: 261
    edited December 2012
    My half-orc baarbarian went at it solo on insane difficulty. Got all the way to the Duchal Palace (slaughtering battle horrors, phoenix wannabes and drizzt along the way) but then the bloody doppelgangers killed Belt before I could deal with them and I couldn't progress. Bummer
  • bbearbbear Member Posts: 1,180
    bbear said:

    I just started a no reload challenge in bg2 (still havent brought bgee since I have the Intel graphic cards in my old laptop and my new laptop is a linux os). I set my game at solo insane no reload challenge. In the current game, I played as FMT, and he is still alive.

    Just got killed by Kangaax :(. He launched the symbol, stun on me despite facing my group of summons right in front of him.
  • lunarlunar Member Posts: 3,460
    bbear said:


    Just got killed by Kangaax :(. He launched the symbol, stun on me despite facing my group of summons right in front of him.

    Bummer. His lich form killed you, right? A potion of magic shielding or protection could have been helpful. :(
  • AllbrotherAllbrother Member Posts: 261
    Or protection from undead
  • IgnatiusIgnatius Member Posts: 624
    lunar said:


    Ouch. That must have sucked. Didn't you have boots of grounding from Mulahey? You could have switched to them instantly when you saw the sorceress casting lightning at you. Cheesy, yeah, but it is no reload. They help immensely against lightning attacks.

    No I statched them in a container in the FAI. I had a potion of absorption but for some amazing reason I was caught totally by surprise, thinking "how the heck did I let myself corner like an amateur vs an invisble mage" and did not even have the reflex to pause and drink a potion. The bounces were extremely quick and in the blink of an eye, I was dead. I was expecting Asheidina to try to charm/confuse/horrify me... but not that. The fact that she also killed herself in the process does not make this less saur...
  • lunarlunar Member Posts: 3,460
    Ignatius said:


    No I statched them in a container in the FAI. I had a potion of absorption but for some amazing reason I was caught totally by surprise, thinking "how the heck did I let myself corner like an amateur vs an invisble mage" and did not even have the reflex to pause and drink a potion. The bounces were extremely quick and in the blink of an eye, I was dead. I was expecting Asheidina to try to charm/confuse/horrify me... but not that. The fact that she also killed herself in the process does not make this less saur...

    I see. Okay then, we have a valuable lesson here:always keep boots of grounding at hand when fighting mages. AND druids, yeah. Stinking druids.
  • IgnatiusIgnatius Member Posts: 624
    @lunar: the thing with boots is that early to mid-game there are 3 excellent pairs to chose from: Speed, Avoidance and Grounding. When you solo, it is a lot to carry...
  • bbearbbear Member Posts: 1,180
    Silchas said:

    Or protection from undead

    I didnt because protection from undead prevents the demi-lich from spawning. I think I got unlucky in rng too since my saves were pretty low (all 5 or below) and I have some magic resistance (15%).

    Yea my character was just below 3 million exp too...feels kind of bummer that I spent so much effort on him.
  • lunarlunar Member Posts: 3,460
    bbear said:

    <

    I didnt because protection from undead prevents the demi-lich from spawning. I think I got unlucky in rng too since my saves were pretty low (all 5 or below) and I have some magic resistance (15%).

    Yea my character was just below 3 million exp too...feels kind of bummer that I spent so much effort on him.

    IIRC Symbol of Stun and Fear have -4 penalty to saving throw, so even a save value of 5 is not very safe bet. (You need to roll 9 or higher to save vs symbol, it equals %40 chance of failing a save. If the mage employed greater malison beforehand, it is even worse.) I've found that when fighting high level mages, that potion which makes all saves succesful (was it magic shielding or protection?) is essential.
  • IgnatiusIgnatius Member Posts: 624
    Ok I just started a new no-reload game. It is not a solo, but since I am not fond of large parties I went with a 4-characters canon party.

    AMIND is a Neutral Good, Halfling PRIEST of LATHANDER.

    There was no way this good-doer would let his childhood sibling Imoen behind.

    When he met Ajantis, he knew he was the hand of Justice that Helm providentially lent to Lathander's servant in the Sword Coast.

    The above trio just could not sit idle, and helped Neera out of the claws of the wizards of Thay.

    So far Amind, Imoen, Ajantis and Neera are doing fine. They cleared up the Nashkel Mines and the Bandit Camp with ease and without a single scary moment. I have not yet had to raise any of the NPC's.

    I am using Ajantis as my tank. Getting him the Gloves of Dexterity really helped. I wanted him to have the lowest AC possible so he is carrying a shield and wielding a bastard sword. No two-handed sword, no bow and no dual-wield I am afraid. He is AC-6 already, wearing the boots of Avoidance and full plate mail. His STR 17 does not make him very destructive but that's fine, he is more helpful as a solid tank.

    Amind is extremely versatile - between the very useful low level spells (command, hold person, silence), the healing and the sling damage (he is a Halfling with DEX 19 and STR 17). He can also melee in with Stupefier.

    I am dedicating Imoen to trap finding/disarming and lock opening. No real need for backstab so far, nor trap setting. She is very useful with her short bow already, her wand of sleep and necklace of missiles (fireball). She deserved the investment in the Shadow Armor!

    Neera is entertaining. I don't yet dare go and do her quest. She was extremely unlucky with her level-ups: she is lvl.4 Wild Mage with 10 HP (!!!). A kitten. But a mage. She throws in the occasional sleep/orb/magic missile/blindness and so far, that's been more than enough. Most of the time she sits idle for fear of getting hit by an arrow or something... have not had too much trouble with wild surges so far. Once she healed my entire party during combat which was actually very welcome; recently in Tazok's tent, she thought it would be a good idea if she hasted all our ennemies - fortunately, they were all about dead and this did not turn the tide...

    I want this party to strengthen before doing any side quests (well, except I have already killed Bassilus since this was a direct request from the temple of Lathander), so off we are to Cloakwood... everyone is lvl.4, except Imoen lvl.5.
  • PantalionPantalion Member Posts: 2,137
    Ignatius said:

    There was no way this good-doer would let his childhood sibling Imoen behind.

    When soloing, if you can quickly start moving East as soon as the cutscene ends, you'll move her out of view and your character will never even know she left Candlekeep.
  • IgnatiusIgnatius Member Posts: 624
    Pantalion said:


    When soloing, if you can quickly start moving East as soon as the cutscene ends, you'll move her out of view and your character will never even know she left Candlekeep.

    Ah, never tried that, interesting.
  • IgnatiusIgnatius Member Posts: 624
    Amind (PC, Halfling Priest.o.L), Ajantis, Imoen and Neera changed their minds and went into the wild a bit, before Cloakwood.

    They cleared Ulcaster without no issue, Imoen now being a master trap disarmer. Ajantis and Amind, safe with their -6 AC, happily meleed their way around wolves (including vampiric), oozes and jellys.

    It was an unexpected face-off vs Molkar and his band. 4 vs 4 showdown! Fireballs + hold person + sleep on my side, while they only managed to confuse Imoen in return. They did not stand a chance and it was all over very quickly. Amind is seriously considering helping out his short folks at Gullykin, although Ajantis-the-wise is warning everyone about how dreadfull Firewine dungeon is...

    I have no idea what I should expect in Adoy's enclave. Maybe I will visit there first, before Neera gets killed by an unfortunate arrow (her and her puny 10HP...).
  • IgnatiusIgnatius Member Posts: 624
    Amind, Ajantis, Imoen and Neera... chickened out of Firewine. I stumbled upon the ogre mage who went invisible and disappeared. After bravely fending off kobold and ogrillon assaults, Imoen was sent out looking for traps. A pesky mage was waiting for her hidden in a corner, and as she ran for safety, caught her with a bouncing lightning bolt. One down. We raised her in Gullykin's temple and left: I do not like seeing Imoen die.

    Andoy's enclave was a little... anti-climactic. The goblins were push-overs; the face-off with Ekandor a complete surprise. 2 wizards of Thay + 2 bodyguards + 1 ogre, I thought this could be the end of my run right there. I had however, summoned 2 skeleton warriors upon entering the cavern and Amind had protected the party from horror. When I saw Ekandor fail his save on my very first silence spell, I knew it was all over; his death was horrible: chunked by skeletons. The other wizard was interrupted and slinged down while Ajantis held ground vs the 3 melee combattants. An easy victory, and a nice life-saving belt donated by Andoy!

    Once again I was baffled by the incredible versality of my priest. Amind silenced a mage, then took the best share of slinging down the other (a Dex 19 Str 17 Halfling is one heck of a slinger), held a bodyguard and finished off wielding the Stupefier. Healed Ajantis after the battle. Had protected the party vs horror before and summoned skeleton warriors to help. No other class in the game, for me, offers that range of versatility. That is why I just love playig clerics so much.

    In this game so far, Amind is :

    - on par with Ajantis as a tank and actually dealing more damage in melee when using the boon of Lathander / DUHM
    - by far the best ranged combattant
    - the best at incapacitating ennemies, to a point that he wins battles before they even start
    - the best party buffer
    - the only healer

    The only thing he cannot do is disarm traps, and he is inferior to Neera at dealing direct magical damage to a single target (the usefulness of MM, Larloch's and Chromatic Orb, is undoubtful).
  • IgnatiusIgnatius Member Posts: 624
    That's what BG is all about. Amazing battle by the sole Domino you pulled-off here, congrats!
  • IgnatiusIgnatius Member Posts: 624
    Amind, Ajantis, Imoen and Neera travelled through Cloakwood. Carefully. Centeol's lair was cleaned up relatively easily and all went smoothly until we met Drasus & co. I did not pre-buff the fight to make it tougher - we were meleeing just fine vs Drasus and Genthore, and had resisted a horror spell when confusion was cast by one the mages, followed by a fireball. Ajantis and Imoen failed their saves (Amind had mind shield on) and it complicated the battle a little. Neera magic missiles and Amind's hold person + silence eventually prevailed, but could not prevent both Ajantis (1st time) and Imoen (2nd time) from falling.

    We raised both of them at the FAI and are now preparing to explore the Cloakwood mines. Ajantis is wearing the Boots of Speed, and the no-reload challenge is still on.
  • bbearbbear Member Posts: 1,180
    Just played another one and failed. Technically I didnt die. I played as a BG2 solo FMT and I was trapped inside a cell in the underdark mindflayer dungeon. I accidentally attacked Simyaz and the Githyanki (leftover cloudkill from killing umber hulks) before the scripted battle where they would fend off the mindflayers (otherwise you get instant killed by the mindflayers trying to open a door). The Githyanki became hostile and the scripted battle refused to start. My character is stuck in the cell forever....




  • BelgarathMTHBelgarathMTH Member Posts: 5,653
    @Pantalion, way to go! What an intense story. I do hope you're having fun. Please don't feel like you need to prove anything if it stops being fun. I was just playing devil's advocate before, because that's how I am. I really don't like wild mages at all, but I know a lot of people do, and why.

    If you want to use reloads when the dying clearly wasn't caused by a wild surge, that would be okay. I would be genuinely interested to hear if it's possible to finish a run as a wild mage without the main character dying to a wild surge, and while not avoiding casting. (Because if you have a caster who can't cast, I think that kind of spoils it.)
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