Need Some Suggestions for EXP/Gear (Stuck in Chapter 2)
kryptix
Member Posts: 741
I'm definitely doing this to myself, but here's the situation. I'm playing on Insane and only using male characters for their specific quests, most of SCS installed.
I'm in Chapter 2 right now, in the slums having done the Slavers quests in the Slums. CHARNAME is Fighter/Illusionist (EEKeepered to equal a 92 roll imported from BG1 since I wanted to play the class without another run through BG1 first) dual wielding Stone Fire and Sword of Flame (early in the game still). Party is CHARNAME, Jaheira, Nalia, Viconia. The problem is that when I leave the slums because Nalia is angry about not going to D'Arnise Keep fast enough, I'm getting waylaid by a random encounter with 2 mages, bandits, and 10 orogs... Mages are bad enough with SCS, but on insane, Nalia and Viconia are getting chunked in 2 hits from the orogs who run faster than them... Nalia survives a bit longer with stoneskin and then mirror images (if I can get them up in time) but Viconia simply gets chunked as soon as the encounter starts because the orogs are literally on top of me. I'm wondering if there is anything I can get without leaving the slums that will help?
I haven't tried trying to go get Hexxat first, I'm just a bit hesitant that another detour will make Nalia leave. I'm almost thinking it might actually be easier to do the fight with CHARNAME solo at this point, but I'm not sure how I can do that without getting the others chunked first... I figure I can probably web x2 and pump cloudkill/fireball...
I do find it just a bit ridiculous to run into a random encounter this early in the game with ~20 enemies in it that all hit so hard though.
I know I can probably get through a lot easier if I just dropped the difficulty to core rules or removed the random encounter buff in SCS but that just feels like cheating...
I'm in Chapter 2 right now, in the slums having done the Slavers quests in the Slums. CHARNAME is Fighter/Illusionist (EEKeepered to equal a 92 roll imported from BG1 since I wanted to play the class without another run through BG1 first) dual wielding Stone Fire and Sword of Flame (early in the game still). Party is CHARNAME, Jaheira, Nalia, Viconia. The problem is that when I leave the slums because Nalia is angry about not going to D'Arnise Keep fast enough, I'm getting waylaid by a random encounter with 2 mages, bandits, and 10 orogs... Mages are bad enough with SCS, but on insane, Nalia and Viconia are getting chunked in 2 hits from the orogs who run faster than them... Nalia survives a bit longer with stoneskin and then mirror images (if I can get them up in time) but Viconia simply gets chunked as soon as the encounter starts because the orogs are literally on top of me. I'm wondering if there is anything I can get without leaving the slums that will help?
I haven't tried trying to go get Hexxat first, I'm just a bit hesitant that another detour will make Nalia leave. I'm almost thinking it might actually be easier to do the fight with CHARNAME solo at this point, but I'm not sure how I can do that without getting the others chunked first... I figure I can probably web x2 and pump cloudkill/fireball...
I do find it just a bit ridiculous to run into a random encounter this early in the game with ~20 enemies in it that all hit so hard though.
I know I can probably get through a lot easier if I just dropped the difficulty to core rules or removed the random encounter buff in SCS but that just feels like cheating...
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The problem is I can't prebuff for this fight because I'm getting waylaid after 4 hours of travel so the only things that stay on me are stone/iron skin. Also its early enough in the game that only my CHARNAME has chaos, so I guess when I get home I'll try having skins prebuffed and having Nalia web while CHARNAME double chaos right on top of my party. This also seems like a good way to get my own team CCed though...
It was just a bit frustrating that Viconia was getting chunked before I could even get one spell off from her...
The things you don't remember in 8-9 years away from this game...
I'm 90% sure I can win the encounter with just CHARNAME and Jahiera, I just don't know of a way to get the other two out of the way without them being chunked, even dead is fine as I can then raise them (well I'm cheating a bit because Harper's Call is bugged so I just console rez while keeping a slot occupied with Harper's Call).
I'm going to try instantly sanctuary on Viconia and Minor Globe of Invulnerability on Nalia and having them GTFO, maybe that will turn the tide...
But, if it is an outdoor fight, that means you can travel safely within the city. Try going to the Adventurer's Mart and see if you can buy a Contingency scroll. Cast it on Nalia with Haste upon seeing an enemy, then travel to wherever you're going. (I'm assuming she's not high enough level to use Contingency yet.) You might also have to find some potions of clarity to avoid chaos effects, since Chaotic Commands wouldn't be an option, but at least you'd be fast enough to get away from the orogs.
I'll figure out a way I guess, it will probably just take a few tries.
You don't realize how much you miss the male characters until you try a run without them, Viconia and Nalia are so squishy on insane difficulty haha, they die in like 2 hits.
Does anyone have a list of the quests that must be started/completed by the end of Chapter 3 or they will be gone by Chapter 6? I think I will try to keep to only doing those for the most part so that I can avoid overleveling myself as compared to Imoen when I get her.
Also is there a point in keeping both Imoen and Nalia? I was thinking of keeping Hexxat and Neera and dropping Nalia.
As for the Nalia vs Imoen debate I don't use them the same way at all. Nalia is to me a mage who can use a bow when she runs out of spells. Imoen I use as both a mage and thief, sometimes I even actually use her backstab since she can magically enhance her strength and cast improved invisibility on herself. Imoen has more thief levels while Nalia can gain more mage levels, I've had them both before in the same party and never had a problem with it. But this is just my personal opinion so yeah.
Any opinions on whether it's worth it to pay off the cowled wizards with basically the first 5k I made? It's pretty annoying not being able to cast arcane with a party full of arcane casters.
As for Nalia being more of a Mage than Imoen I thought they cap out at the same Mage level... The difference between 4 and 7 is pretty inconsequential when you have millions of exp. I guess Nalia would be higher level when you get her back though if you keep her with you throughout Chapter 2-3.
Maybe I'll just have to improved invis everyone and hope SCS prebuffed mages don't screw me over when I try that.
I think it's not so much that I'm finding the encounter impossible but rather that without prebuffs, in the five or six tries I had time for last night viconia perma died in all but one and the other one Nalia did. I actually killed everything a couple of times so I'm tempted to say I'd be able to do it with just one or two spells from Nalia as long as I can keep them from getting chunked.
I guess I'd almost be fine if I just modded the game to avoid perma death.
That said, if I have hexxat in my party, will that keep me from using the last rotating slot to do any of the "good" people's quests?
I don't think I'd recommend my strategy though, its probably much more efficient to put up spell immunities, actually have things like ruby ray and take down the lich's protections before cratering him with melf's + fighters. (I don't have the melf's nerf installed from SCS because I feel like going out of my way to get +4 weapons early to deal with the upgraded enemies also destroys the flow of the game).
That said, things like timestop actually hurt the lich against what I was doing because it emptied out his spell book that much faster. He also never used wish to rest, but I guess implementing wish resting for liches would basically make the fights never ending...
One issue I definitely have with this game on insane is how squishy your guys are... Enemies that I can one hit kill can do the same to me, so without mage buffs up, I'm not sure how I'm supposed to survive. Its actually making Jahiera way superior to Viconia right now because Viconia just has to sit in a sanctuary and hope it doesn't get taken down because with the mod, every rogue has 2-3 invis potions and they just chain backstab her... (well usually she dies to just one).
I haven't played a rogue in a while but Hexxat is pretty awesome, almost makes me want to EE Keeper her to an assassin, but I'll try to hold off on that
Do you guys think I should go for level 1 of watcher's keep or planar sphere next?
It also lasts 12 hours (or is it 24?) so it's one of those prebuffs like stoneskin that you can have up any time. Except for those antimagic rooms in Watcher's Keep
SCS Liches do cast Wish but they use a modified version. They don't get all the same choices players do, only a set of 4 or so. I know there's Time Stop, mass Breach, mass Improved Haste, and one more that I can't remember atm.
To be fair I don't think DavidW intended SCS to be played on insane so some of the damage might be a little crazy. Though people do it anyways, of course
Viconia and plate.. just use strength buff from either her or the mages. Equip the plate, there you go. even after rest, it stays on, you just can't take it of, you won't beable to reequip it without the buff,
Quests. I can recommend doing all of the dialog quests in the GY, and returning the bear. Clear out some tombs. Remember to get Namara! The silence spell is so freaking gewd.
Bridge district, there is one activated from GY district and the tanner. those are easy to do and will gain you loads of exp.
Did you do the circuss tent in the promenade?
Trademeet is also realy easy to do, I would do that after the keep.
Liches are so easy with Inquisitors ^^
Does anyone know if MOD actually has to connect to do the instant death or if it can trigger from hitting a stoneskin or PfMW?
I'm sorry if, I offended you with my bad spelling and grammar. Maybe, just maybe, one day you will find it in your heart to forgive me.