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SPOILER WARNING - Aec'Letec

FinaLfrontFinaLfront Member Posts: 260
in General Discussion (Spoiler Warning!)
I've actually never messed with all of ToTSC in previous runs, opting to finish the game and export my character into BGII. But I'm doing a complete run through BG1:EE to get my character ready for II:EE.

So this Aec'Letec... Omg, this guy...

I just want to see what opinions and strats people used for this encounter.

The main issue I have is the super cheesy death-gaze-your-whole-party thing. I play core rules, so unless I purposely kill one of my own, they soon become gibbed out of existence. I haven't tried everything yet, but so far, a couple dispel attempts hasn't cleared the dying status yet.

As far as strats go, I tend to shy away from any meta gaming, but due to the sheer cheese in this encounter, there is no other way. The way I am justifying pre-buffing the party for this encounter is for one, you are warned in advance to the possiblity of running into a powerful demon, and two, my charname is a bard so he would know of tales of such beasts, knowing what to prepare for etc... So far the best run of him has gotten me 2 dead party members that I've had to kill myself in order to keep them from gibbing.

Ok, so does Death Ward work? Viconia can only memorize three of them, and kinda pointless not having it on everyone anyways. When I get back at it, I'm going to see what free action pots and protect evil 10' radius gets me. Lol.

I'll be back with updates!
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Comments

  • ManchildKartManchildKart Member Posts: 208
    Yeah, Death Ward works, and you can also Dispel the Death Gaze effect before it kills people. The cheese-tactic I used was to kill some of the adds, then run out and rest. The caster might follow you, but the fanatics and Aec himself won't.
  • EudaemoniumEudaemonium Member Posts: 3,199
    His gaze can be blocked by Potions of Mirrored Eyes as well as (I think) potions of Magic Blocking. You should be able to Dispel it, but if you can't the above potions are surefire ways to prevent it.

    I'm not sure if Death Ward works against his gaze attack, though.

    As for strategy. Have one character 'tank' him, basically keep him distracted while you kill all the cultists (trust me you want to do this: if you don't want to meta-game, then leave a few alive and find out why you didn't want to do that). I usually take him out with some tactical backstabs. I hit him for 150 damage with one once (21 buffed Str, 4x backstab with Aule's Staff and Quartstaff grand mastery =P).
  • JaceJace Member Posts: 193
    The best defense against death gaze is super low saving throws. You should have your fighters gulp Potions of Invulnerability and the rest of the party gulp Potions of Magic Shielding. Alternatively, two Potions of Magic Protection can stack on the same person (preferably your tank) to give 100% magic resistance, making you immune to death gaze and vampiric touch altogether.
  • CorvinoCorvino Member Posts: 2,269
    There are a couple of ways to avoid a number of the nastier effects. Try potions of invulnerability to boost your saves, as well as potions of magic shielding which mean you automatically pass saves. Apart from this buff up fully, don't be afraid to use every potion and wand at your disposal. He is the toughest fight in the game, what else are you going to use them for?

    Generally, always kill the cultists first. You may want to distract Aec'Letec himself with a few summons to keep your party in one piece.
  • mjsmjs Member Posts: 742
    Agree with @jace about the super low saving throws, and @eudaemonium mentioning potions of magic blocking which essentially means all your saves are successful (therefore you can't be death gazed)

    one or two of these potions of magic blocking on one or tanks to occupy dec, everyone else killing the mage and then the cultists
  • TsyrithTsyrith Member Posts: 180
    Try some gaze protection, your journal specifically mentions the death-gaze if you talk to the ghoulish fellow at the bottom of Durlag's Tower, maybe not if you're all leik "DIE, UNHOLY ABOMINATION!"

    Fair-use'd directly from the journal:
    Inside of Durlag's Tower I encountered a ghoul of great power named
    Grael. He offered a warning about something called a tanar'ri, and the
    horrible "death-gaze" it wields. A "gaze that is not a gaze." It sounds
    more insidious than eventhe gaze of the basilisk. I wonder if the
    traditional precautions will even function against it? I shall keep this in
    mind, though I doubt I will meet such a creature. It has been ages since
    Grael's battle took place.

    I went with the level 1 arcane spell myself, and didn't experience any discomfiture, though, could have been lucky with saving throws, however, you never know.

    Unless...

    Unless you do.

    Then you do know.
  • HeindrichHeindrich Member, Moderator Posts: 2,959
    Aec'Letec is literally the last battle I fought before taking on Sarevok, so I unloaded everything I had been hoarding throughout the game. I think I gave Potion of Mirrored Eyes for most party members, doesn't Protection Against Petrification work as well?

    Anyway strategy wise, I tried to kill his minions asap by nuking the room with fireballs and arrows of detonation, and then engaged Aec in combat with Minsc, Khalid and Charname, all pumped up on potions.
  • SceptenarSceptenar Member Posts: 606
    My strategy for killing him is pretty simple. I take my tank and use a scroll of protection from magic on him (they are for sale at Sorcerous Sundries) and send him into the room first, then he leads the demon and the others into the center of the room and keep them there. Then I send in my mage and cast two cloudkill spells on the floor so they cover the center and all of the cultists. I pull my mage out and send in my archer(s) and use them to kill the cultists while the tank just keeps the demon occupied and inside the cloudkills. The cloudkill spells do a ton of damage to Aec Letec and kills him pretty fast, it's by far the safest and most effective way I've found to kill him, just let him chase your magic immune tank inside the cloud.
  • the_spyderthe_spyder Member Posts: 5,018
    Eudaemonium said:

    His gaze can be blocked by Potions of Mirrored Eyes as well as (I think) potions of Magic Blocking. You should be able to Dispel it, but if you can't the above potions are surefire ways to prevent it.

    If Mirrored Eyes works, shouldn't Gaze Reflect? I ask merely because (I think) when you cast protection from petrification, the verbiage actually reads 'Gaze reflect' on the target. I haven't tried this, nor do I think it works. Just wanted to point out that I thought it was funny.
    FinaLfront said:

    I
    As far as strats go, I tend to shy away from any meta gaming, but due to the sheer cheese in this encounter, there is no other way. The way I am justifying pre-buffing the party for this encounter is for one, you are warned in advance to the possiblity of running into a powerful demon, and two, my charname is a bard so he would know of tales of such beasts, knowing what to prepare for etc...

    this is more or less my view. Cheese should be a valid option, if you are facing excessive cheese.

  • recklessheartrecklessheart Member Posts: 692
    Aec'Letec is a handful: his fanatics don't help. It may seem tactless, but launching potions of explosion, oils of fiery burning, and wand of fire charges into the room will save you a lot of time. Cast 3 such potions just ahead of the spot on which Aec'Letec spawns, and another 3 just behind it. This should take out all of the cultists, or leave them so badly wounded that your archers should be able to wittle them down without a problem. Then you can utilise the strategies described above by the other forum members to deal with Aec'Letec.

    Like I said, it's a fairly inelegant solution, but so is Aec'Letec's death gaze, so I feel no guiltier than he should: and at least my tactic worked. :)
  • KidCarnivalKidCarnival Member Posts: 3,747
    Saving throws are the key. Fully buffed Kagain and Montaron usually go melee, possibly along with a skeleton summon. The rest of the party stays ranged and takes out the cultists. What can help is having your cleric (or in my case, mage/cleric Xzar) Improved Invisible in the background to remove any nasty effects from Kagain and Monty, heal them and re-new buffs.
  • AlkaluropsAlkalurops Member Posts: 269
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJ9KimGOk3M
  • elementelement Member Posts: 833
    edited November 2013
    you can try having casters use greater Malison if he is hit he becomes very vulnerable to wand of paralysis which naturally makes things a lot easier

    you can then clean up in what ever way you feel is best

    this is the tactic i've always used for him
  • SilenceSilence Member Posts: 437
    http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/comment/377908/#Comment_377908

    Several more strategies. I actually kill the cultists with a hide in shadows missile character before attacking Aec Lectec.

    I'd recommend potions of freedom and rings of free action to block the paralyzing attacks.

    I'd keep several protection from magic scrolls handy. Have the death-gazed characters read these in emergencies. Also, have Dispel Magic memorized on any magic-using characters. This can remove Death Gaze, if I'm not mistaken.
  • BearThingBearThing Member Posts: 2
    These are all strategies which seem to have worked in the past, but I just ran the encounter again for the first time post 1.2. There appear to be some changes:

    1) Can't stealth in and pick off cultists without alerting the cult leader--- who promptly starts her conversation and summons Aec'Letec.
    2) Dispel Magic does NOT remove "Dying" effect.
    3) After killing your transformed party member they leave behind a body you can haul to the nearest temple for a "Raise Dead" spell.
  • MiloMilo Member Posts: 59
    Use potions of magic *shielding* which guarantee successful saving throws for the duration, making his death gaze a non-issue provided the encounter is beaten within those 3 turns. There are six potions in the game (1 in a chest on the cloakwood mines entrance map, 3 bought in Sorcerous Sundries, 1 bought in the Thieve's Guild, 1 bought in the potion shop in SW Baldur's Gate) so your entire party can be protected.
  • moody_magemoody_mage Member Posts: 2,054
    edited November 2013
    Cloud Kill should insta-kill him unless that's been patched out in 1.2.

    Although that can potentially lead to the slight glitch where he then takes over all the cultists at the same time (assuming you didn't kill them first) and you end up with a dozen demons running around at the same time.
  • SceptenarSceptenar Member Posts: 606
    decado said:

    Cloud Kill should insta-kill him unless that's been patched out in 1.2.

    Although that can potentially lead to the slight glitch where he then takes over all the cultists at the same time (assuming you didn't kill them first) and you end up with a dozen demons running around at the same time.

    Insta kill cloudkill doesn't seem to work any more, but it still does a lot of damage to him.
  • SilenceSilence Member Posts: 437
    edited November 2013
    I always alert the cult leader. It doesn't matter if Aec Lectec is summoned. If you flee, and re-enter the basement under some form of concealment/invisibility, he cannot see you. You then pick off the lead caster, and then the cultists. This definitely works in v1.2. It's pretty foolproof, but is slow.

    I will check on Dispel Magic vs. Death effect tonight. I think the efficacy of Dispel Magic is based upon your caster level, so it is an ineffective way of removing Deathgaze (unless you're an Inquisitor).
  • SpiffyMcBangSpiffyMcBang Member Posts: 160
    My two main characters for BG were a thief and an archer kit ranger, so in both cases I snuck into a corner and plugged the motionless minions. There's only one you can't get from out of sight. Then you have the whole party bomb Aec'Letec as previously described while one person finishes the final minion.

    There are no rules in war!
  • TzampapaizeisTzampapaizeis Member Posts: 67
    i just hit him in the head till he was dead with my barb
  • GoodSteveGoodSteve Member Posts: 607
    I kicked him in the head til he was dead, haha! ...With my bandit.
  • ZoimosZoimos Member Posts: 81
    just done this fight a few hours ago, dispel didn't seem to work anymore but you can buy 4 potions of mirrored eyes from the inn in Ulgoth's Beard. buffed up a bit and had fighters kill cultists at the front while ranged cleared the back then nuked the boss. mirrored eyes potions don't last that long so have to be quick!
  • elminsterelminster Member, Developer Posts: 16,315
    edited November 2013
    decado said:

    Cloud Kill should insta-kill him unless that's been patched out in 1.2.

    Although that can potentially lead to the slight glitch where he then takes over all the cultists at the same time (assuming you didn't kill them first) and you end up with a dozen demons running around at the same time.

    He is level 10 so at least the slaying aspect of Cloudkill shouldn't work on him.
  • SceptenarSceptenar Member Posts: 606
    FinaLfront said:

    Thanks everyone for your feedback!
    One by one the cultists fell to Xzar and Charname's fireball wands, all the while Kagain valiantly dancing with the demon. Thanks to his scroll of magic protection, he was able to take a much needed sip from Durlag's Goblet without fear, freeing up Charname from singing. When the last cultist fell, the demon had already sustained significant wounds from his bout with Kagain, and by the time Dorn came up behind the demon, it took only one swing with the mighty Spider's Bane to banish the demon from our plane!

    What a fun little fight
    Thanks again everyone for your wisdom :)

    Wait, The Spider's Bane? Didn't you get The World's Edge (+3 two handed sword) from the chess room when you went down into Durlag's Tower?
  • GoodSteveGoodSteve Member Posts: 607
    Sceptenar said:

    FinaLfront said:

    Thanks everyone for your feedback!
    One by one the cultists fell to Xzar and Charname's fireball wands, all the while Kagain valiantly dancing with the demon. Thanks to his scroll of magic protection, he was able to take a much needed sip from Durlag's Goblet without fear, freeing up Charname from singing. When the last cultist fell, the demon had already sustained significant wounds from his bout with Kagain, and by the time Dorn came up behind the demon, it took only one swing with the mighty Spider's Bane to banish the demon from our plane!

    What a fun little fight
    Thanks again everyone for your wisdom :)

    Wait, The Spider's Bane? Didn't you get The World's Edge (+3 two handed sword) from the chess room when you went down into Durlag's Tower?
    Meh, I personally prefer the constant free action of spiders bane and don't typically use The World's Edge unless I have two characters who use 2-Handed Swords.
  • FinaLfrontFinaLfront Member Posts: 260
    Sceptenar said:


    Wait, The Spider's Bane? Didn't you get The World's Edge (+3 two handed sword) from the chess room when you went down into Durlag's Tower?

    Indeed I did! Dorn does use World's Edge for most hand to hand, but as GoodSteve mentioned, I opted for the constant free action effect. This meant Dorn didn't have to drink a freedom potion. (I said everyone drank a potion of freedom for the sake of a smaller sentence.)

  • bbearbbear Member Posts: 1,180
    Haha, I just necromanced this thread.

    I fought him for the first time (never played the original Baldur's Gate). He wasnt that bad. I had a cavalier charge down stair to see what is going on. I killed the female cultist and went straight for the demon. I knew it was fishy that the other male cultists just stood there and didnt do anything. Regardless, I fought the demon at opposite of the stair and brought my party of archers down. After I killed the demon, one of the cultist polymorphed into another demon.

    Once I saw through this trick, I reloaded (my cavalier had 1/4 hp left). This time, I just parked my cavalier at the corner while the rest of the party killed the decoys. When all the decoys were dead, I went on to slay the demon. I was super excited when the sweet and adorable Alora made the final kill. Boy, I was surprised in the immediate aftermath. I never knew in my BG playing life that there is this nasty "dying" status. Imoen got chunked and turned into a Ghast! NO!! I overrided my save too (I only quick and auto save).

    Well, I guess a little cheating here wont hurt. Cltr+R and Imoen is given a second life. In the future, I just need to have full protections on my party.

    Edit: Nevermind. My autosave was at the entrance of the village. I just had to kill those cult guards again.
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