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"Maybe this time" [NO-RELOAD THREAD]: "The Tale of TEN THOUSAND Trials"

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  • BlackravenBlackraven Member Posts: 3,486
    edited April 2015
    @semiticgod Hehe, sex scenes, did y'all read that? Hehe.
    I understand your point re: the crippling weaknesses. As to what to play, I don't know what to recommend, but I'm giving it one try: Cleric/Thief. One of my favorite combos. They're multiclass but they're the combination of the fastest leveling classes, so they don't feel that slow in that respect. You can play them in many different ways using Thief skills to enhance the Cleric and vice versa Cleric spells to enhance the Thief. Think of stealth, detect illusions skill freeing up level 5 spell slots (Chaotic Commands, Righteous Magic, Champion's Strength on summons), sanctuary, decoy summons, spell-enhanced backstabs, etc. You'll also be casting arcane spells from scrolls with UAI, and if you kit your character as a Swashbuckler to dualwield e.g. Flails (or WW staves or 2h swords), you'll end up with charname that combines melee, thieving, arcane and divine, with loads of options. And at the same time it's not one of those typical powerclasses like Thief/Mage, Fighter/Mage or Sorcerer.
    At the same time I'd also be interested to see how you'd fare with a less versatile character, like @bengoshi's Totemic Druid, or my Bounty Hunter. Maybe it could be a nice challenge for you to make the most out of your character's limited possibilities.
    Post edited by Blackraven on
    kcwiseJuliusBorisovlolien
  • ArnaeusArnaeus Member Posts: 90
    @blackraven you're powering through. Did you find item upgrades unbalanced it last time or you just like to mix things up for the sake of keeping it interesting and different?
    kcwiseJuliusBorisovlolien
  • BlackravenBlackraven Member Posts: 3,486
    Hey @Arnaeus, yes my current and probably last playthrough for a while is a limited one in terms of role-playing. I do try to make Scintilla stay true to her alignment (which hasn't kept her from becoming a heroine), but at the same time I metagame freely for lucrative quest rewards. I haven't been very succesful at combining true role-playing and no-reloading, and I'd like this to be a satisfactory run - hence the compromising on the role-playing.
    As to the item upgrades, I don't consider using one or two of Thalantyr's upgrades to be game-breaking (using all of them could be another matter, though I never tried that). It's more to keep things interesting and different as you say. I'd like Scintilla to not be a copy of Kathlen.
    kcwiseJuliusBorisovGoturallolien
  • JuliusBorisovJuliusBorisov Member, Administrator, Moderator, Developer Posts: 22,714
    I hope that you'll succeed with Scintilla, @Blackraven , before you take a hiatus from BG.

    I'm glad that you've finally made a decision, @semiticgod

    But which classes? I'm weary of sorcerors, I've played too many Archers, I'm tired of multiclasses' slow spell progression, I don't like thieves or bards, druids will get stuck at that irritating level 13/14/15 XP gap, single-classed clerics seem kind of boring, fighters won't get to use the new SR spells, mages won't get to use the new IR weapons, Fighter/Mages seem too easy, Kensais can't use the new IR armors... I've thought of using some illegal combinations, like a Monk/Sorceror, but the coolest combinations tend to be multiclasses, and I've been at low levels for far too long.

    I've even considered a solo Fighter/Ranger/Paladin/Thief/Bard/Monk/Mage/Sorceror/Cleric/Druid, or a character with all of the kits, but the former will be stuck with low-level spells, and the latter won't get to use any armor, any magic items, and the only weapon it could use would be a club, since Beastmasters can't use metal stuff, Monks can't use two-handed weapons, and Cavaliers can't use slings.

    I've also considered just creating whichever party seems most powerful in IR and SR, and blasting through the game. But I'm not a big fan of Inquisitors or Berserker/Clerics or Kensai/Mages or Sorcerors or Assassin/Mages... they seem overdone, even reductive. But I've already gone to the opposite extreme--using pathetically weak randomized characters--and all they do is struggle through the little battles and die in the big ones.

    Actually, these 3 paragraphs epitomize the feelings of a player who's been through the game too many times.

    This is why I've actually always admired @Blackraven who seemed to find a new inspiration each time.
    GoturalBlackravenlolien
  • DemivrgvsDemivrgvs Member Posts: 315
    @semiticgod if you want to spice things up a bit you may want to try out Kit Revisions too considering you'are already using IR and SR (btw, update to latest SR build if you start a new game, it's worth it). It doesn't cover many classes ("only" fighters, monk, paladins and rangers) but rogues will be out soon, maybe for your next run. ;)

    Regarding Wand of Lightning, it's actually easy to tweak the number of bolts, do you need the technical explanation to tweak it yourself? On a side note, I wanted to make Flame Arrow spell work similarly (aka letting you pick the target of each arrow) but it would have not worked for the AI.
    Blackravenlolien
  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    @Demivrgvs: I've checked out Kit Revisions, but decided against it. It's balanced and everything, but it's not as exciting as IR and SR. The changes look more mild, and I tend to place more value on weirdness and novelty than balance or realism--all that roleplaying nonsense (what is this, an RPG?).

    I know how to tweak the number of bolts in DLTCEP, but I haven't been able to get DLTCEP to edit anything since I "upgraded" from Windows XP. I'm afraid Windows Vista, 7, and 8 have all been completely incapable of ever using DLTCEP outside of read-only mode, thanks to the infamous UAC bug... which last I heard was still unfixed. It renders folders and programs incapable of ever being edited, and the UAC that implements that will automatically turn itself on if you manually disable it. It doesn't apply to everything on my computer, and it's not as big a problem as it used to be, but DLTCEP has never worked properly.

    I've tried using Near Infinity instead, but I couldn't figure out how to manage it. How do you add multiple targets to a wand or spell?

    Could you do it with a weapon? Because firing multiple arrows in different directions would be very crazy.
    kcwiselolien
  • DemivrgvsDemivrgvs Member Posts: 315
    edited April 2015
    @semiticgod with NI open the ability header (in this case it's the 'magical' one), the row under icon is target assignment, the one after if is the # of selectable targets. I don't know why but I never tried using it for melee or ranged header, if you do, let me know. :smile:

    Regarding Kit Revisions, I didn't expected its changes could be considered "too mild", I was afraid of the opposite! :dizzy: It's cool though, it means I've been able to blend the huge changes really well. :wink:
    kcwisesemiticgoddesslolien
  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    @Demivrgvs: Maybe I've gotten used to utterly game-breaking changes, on account of the randomization thing. The new Wizard Slayer kit isn't immune to buffing spells? Totally overpowered. The new Kensai kit can't one-shot Firkraag? Laaaaame.

    I successfully created several copies of Wands of Lightning that fire up to 10 separate bolts. I had to take an extra step, though: I had to right-click on "Target Type" and choose a different method of inputting the number of targets, because I couldn't just select it from the list. I typed in a decimal, "001 010," which codes for 10 targets.
    image

    You can also type in a binary value or hex value, but that's more complicated. I tested it out and found the Wand of Lightning trick was then able to summon ten copies of Kitty.
    image

    I think I will test out this multiple target thing. Maybe it'll work with area-effect spells, or something like Dimension Door.
    kcwiseBlackravenYgramullolien
  • BlackravenBlackraven Member Posts: 3,486
    @Gotural: Nice use of Dorn as a ranger attacker (I like to equip him with the Army Scythe), and good job showing him who's the boss :p
    Your playthrough makes me want to go truly evil as well...
    kcwiseJuliusBorisovGoturallolien
  • GoturalGotural Member Posts: 1,229
    @Blackraven I put his proficiency points at level 3 and 6 in Crossbows and since level 7 he has 3 APR with the Army Scythe, he is indeed very good (he has 16 Dex if I remember correctly) at range.
    About 1/3rd of my playthroughs are evil, and when I do I love playing evil. I think that Baldur's Gate is such a great game because you only need to change your Charname to change the way you play and experience the game, but going evil goes even further than that. It is definitely something different and I would recommend to everyone who never tried.

    Especially in no-reload, the feeling of beeing hunted gives some adrenaline !

    @Arnaeus Thank you ! To be honest he is easier now since the patch, he still has his infamous AC, THAC0 and Magic Resistance, but he longer deals 30+ damages per hit. He now hits for about 15-20 damage from my experience, and with a Potion of Regeneration and Kagain's Defensive Stance, along some healing potions, he did a great job at tanking him.
    kcwiseJuliusBorisovBlackravenlolien
  • BlackravenBlackraven Member Posts: 3,486
    Interesting stuff @Gotural. Dark Horizons yes? I might add that mod sometime to BG1EE install (will ignore the OP loot though). Keep on rocking.
    GoturalkcwiseJuliusBorisovlolien
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