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Enemy mages are suddenly noobs :)

LathlaerLathlaer Member Posts: 475
edited December 2013 in Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition
I don't remember if this was the case in original BG2, but in EE sometimes, when I fight mages (be it wizards or Yuan-Ti), they seem to hinder themself on purpose. With one particular spell: True Seeing. They suddenly cast it even though no one in my party is invisible and/or has other Illusion effect (blur/mirror image etc.).

Anyone else noticed it?

So there is this Lich, pounded from three sides by my warriors and what does he do? Casts True Seeing, lol.

Comments

  • ItstucktwiceItstucktwice Member Posts: 182
    Seeing is believing.
  • AranthysAranthys Member Posts: 722
    I also noticed that.
    I believe it started when I used the cloak of displacement on one of my characters
  • ParoniParoni Member Posts: 10
    Remember, True Seeing works for a while, so they are pre-emptively countering any invisibility spell you might have in your contingencies and so on. Also, how can they know no-one is invisible in your group unless they cast something like that? :D
  • nanonano Member Posts: 1,632
    Scio. Didici. Pecto!

    It's a fun spell to say :)
  • PantalionPantalion Member Posts: 2,137
    Considering how many thiefy sorts like to Hide their way over and introduce themselves via a quick shank to the kidney, I'd probably be burning my spell slots on True Seeing as well if I were them.
  • kryptixkryptix Member Posts: 741
    Could also be that they got some AI enhancements from some mods... I always have someone cast true seeing in those fights to get rid of mirror images etc, and true seeing might get rid of simulacrum and project image if I remember right so he could be countering your mages.
  • ShinShin Member Posts: 2,345
    True Seeing is a good semi-preemptive spell to cast, but when you're behind PFMW, stoneskin and a few spell protections, getting backstabbed probably isn't your biggest worry. In general though, the vanilla caster AI is rather lackluster - I'd recommend using Sword Coast Stratagems to alleviate this.
  • KhyronKhyron Member Posts: 627
    nano said:

    Scio. Didici. Pecto!

    It's a fun spell to say :)

    Wingardium leviosaaaaa..

    Back to matter at hand:
    I have noticed this too, and in general i find the liches and mages far easier to deal with in EE than in vanilla. It seems as though their increased spell repertoire have them using some pretty shoddy spells.. like horror and true seeing. Both of wich are useless against any half-assed party..
  • kryptixkryptix Member Posts: 741
    Khyron said:

    nano said:

    Scio. Didici. Pecto!

    It's a fun spell to say :)

    Wingardium leviosaaaaa..

    Back to matter at hand:
    I have noticed this too, and in general i find the liches and mages far easier to deal with in EE than in vanilla. It seems as though their increased spell repertoire have them using some pretty shoddy spells.. like horror and true seeing. Both of wich are useless against any half-assed party..
    I haven't tried EE without SCS so I don't know, but with SCS, all of their protections usually pop on instantly at the start of the fight (simulates prebuffing or something) including spell immunities etc. With those all running already, why not cast true seeing to dispell any illusions etc. Then again the start of the fight usually goes something like time stop triple horrid wilting then a gated demon or something...

    I've also noticed that for some reason I don't think protection from evil is working at all for pit fiends in my play through, has this been nerfed? I have literally no way to take down a pit fiend right now (at least I can try to out last a lich's spells then pound him). Pit fiends chunk my charname even in one round...
  • nanonano Member Posts: 1,632
    @kryptix PfE never stopped gated demons from going after me. at best it deters them a little but if they have no other targets they'll happily turn on you. The best defense is to not be there when it arrives. Run around the corner or something and it'll attack the lich instead. It's actually kind of useful because all the liches I've fought open with Dark Planetar, and if it follows up with Gate then the demon sometimes takes out the planetar for you :D
  • kryptixkryptix Member Posts: 741
    @nano Hmmm... Could have sworn it used to do something. well I'm almost Positive in quite a few mage fights the pit fiend has never gone for the summoner in my play through, this includes 2 of the liches in Athkatla, Guarded compound, Lavok, Tolgerias (who decided giving this guy 9th level spells was a good idea??) and even some random Yuan-Ti mage I think gated in a fiend...

    SCS is great but sometimes I think the scaling is a bit off, because I usually like to do Planar Sphere very early but the difficulty was off the scale for the last two fights compared to most of the other quests you can get straight out of Chapter 1...

    I'm not sure if I'm looking forward to Kangaxx or just simply dreading the fight at this point, I think I might have to go cheese some of Watcher's keep for some good loot at this point.

  • nanonano Member Posts: 1,632
    @kryptix I don't think David designed it for insane, so if you play on that difficulty be prepared for some extreme damage :D

    The pit fiend goes for you first, but if he can't find you then he turns on the lich, in my experience. I have to run in and steal the kill from the fiend sometimes.

    Yeah, planar sphere is pretty tough because the main enemies are mages and SCS's improved AI has a big effect on them. I try to do the quests with fewer casters first.
  • kryptixkryptix Member Posts: 741
    Yeah, the Yuan Ti mage was by far the hardest enemy in D'Arnise Keep...
  • LathlaerLathlaer Member Posts: 475
    In my game PfE works fine. I like going one on one with a Lich and as soon as he starts casting time stop, I cast PfE on myself. Then he gates his Pit Fiend and although we both have protection, he tries to kill it :)

    In compoud PfE guaranteed that the Glabrezu turned on the Djinni (or was it Efreeti?). So yeah, it works.

    @kryptix
    Without SCS it's very similar. All the protections from countless spell triggers, then Time Stop and Protection from Evil, Meteor Swarm and Gate. Sometimes it's all the Symbols available instead.

    What bothered me, though, is that in vanilla enemy mages used to cast True Seeing in two instances:

    1) when someone invisible/hidden in shadows was near them (even if there was no fight) - so somehow they knew someone invisible is near
    2) when you turned invisible during the fight.

    Now the first point remained, but second got weird. They still cast TS but not when they really need it. As if they MIGHT need it in the future. Which they won't have because they're wasting precious time.
  • kryptixkryptix Member Posts: 741
    I really prefer the symbol barrage because Shorty Saves! Only Nalia can go immune to fire with my current available gear and just gearing for meteor swarm is useless when they just spam out ADHW instead etc... Sometimes a lucky azure edge throw is the easiest way...
  • PantalionPantalion Member Posts: 2,137
    Shin said:

    True Seeing is a good semi-preemptive spell to cast, but when you're behind PFMW, stoneskin and a few spell protections, getting backstabbed probably isn't your biggest worry. In general though, the vanilla caster AI is rather lackluster - I'd recommend using Sword Coast Stratagems to alleviate this.

    Sadly when I tried SCS the result was clerics appearing fully healed and fully buffed - even though they'd only been out of sight for a few rounds, mages that just disappeared from combat under invisibility, never to be seen again, and worst of all, enemies just standing motionless rather than attacking. The occasional thick mage seemed an acceptable tradeoff to get back melee enemies actually attacking again.
  • DavidWDavidW Member Posts: 823
    I'd be interested to know which version that's on. If it's a recent version I'd also be interested in knowing more about your playstyle, since those don't seem to be widely reported problems and I'd be keen to work out what's causing them on your install in particular.
  • koalabobkoalabob Member Posts: 22
    @DavidW I've had one instance of what Pantalion describes, albeit it was in BGEE. It was in the Ice Prison place in Tales of the Sword Coast, the mage with all the Ankhegs. I scouted out to him, he popped his spell protections and then I ran back to pretty much the first room and then came back with my full party but he was gone and I never saw him again.

    I *think* this was more a pathing issue than anything with SCS and I imagine there's still an invisible mage getting lost in the ice prison trying to find me.
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