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How to kill Arkanis Gath...?



Here is what happened. I wanted to get the nice speed boots Renal Bloodscalp was wearing. I attacked him at his base and this guy called Arkanis Gath appeared out of nowhere and 1-shot all my party members.

AFAIK he could not be killed in BG2:EE so I tried to kill Renal and run the hell out of the place so many times. It was very difficult because Arkanis Gath kept switching targets to my MC or party members unprotected by death ward and he has a short sword with a range longer than bows. He automatically detects invisibility even if you are wearing cloak of concealment. I even used enfeeblement(lvl 5) spell successuly but he kept attacking(!!) despite being enfeebled.

After many tries, I finally managed to escape him and left him on the first floor of the Thieves Guild using one of party members as a sacrifice, because otherwise he would chase me all the way outside the building. Unsuspecting, I saved my game and continued doing quests. (I only use 1 save slot to prevent save scumming)

Then Bodhi told me to kill the shadow master... except Arkanis Gath is standing right there on the first floor near the entrance. Ever since I've been trying to kill Arkanis Gath using all kinds of methods to no avail. His hp never drops below 1, and at hp 1 he is immune to stat/level draining, poison, and all elemental/magic/weapon damage types. Magical status does not affect him, and even when surrounded by summons, he somehow teleports to next area if you wait 1~2 seconds. (I had to use haste + speed boots to run away) Even ctrl+y cheat can't kill him. I'm stuck on my quest.

Is there anyway to kill him in game? If not possible, is it possible to unsummon him or delete him from my save using the keeper? I usually sublate from cheese tactics but as long as this guy is standing at the entrance not even a trio of Mellisan + Demogorgon + Irenicus can infiltrate the thieves guild; more likely they will all get 1-shot to death in one sec. Bodhi is asking for the impossible and my save seems ruined.
lolien
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Comments

  • ZalsonZalson Member Posts: 103
    One method that works is stat-drain. Shapechange:Mind Flayer + Timestop is the ... poster child combo to defeat him. That might be inaccessible at this point in time. I think Haer'Dalis has a blade that drains Dexterity which can kill him. One of the weapons from Joluv might kill him to.

    The real reason for his invincibility/vorpal sword is to prevent you from breaking the game by going to war with the Shadow Thieves before you've made a deal with Bodhi. Otherwise it would be easy to strand yourselves from being able to get to Spellhold.

    I'd say, reload your save, don't attack Renal, and be patient. You can get boots of speed for your entire party, eventually.

    lunarpplrJuliusBorisovThacoBell
  • argent77argent77 Member Posts: 3,431
    Imo, using Arkanis Gath to prevent the player from derailing the plot was a bad move by the developers. But there are still ways to work around it.

    Try out the following: Enter the Thieves HQ and pause the game as soon as you see Arkanis Gath. Open the game console with Ctrl-Space and enter the following command while your mouse cursor is placed over Arkanis Gath:
    C:Eval("DestroySelf()")
    The character should be removed from the map as soon as you hit Enter. Not sure though if you can still finish this quest successfully.
    lolienpplrJuliusBorisov
  • IntoTheDarknessIntoTheDarkness Member Posts: 118
    edited May 2015
    Zalson said:

    One method that works is stat-drain. Shapechange:Mind Flayer + Timestop is the ... poster child combo to defeat him. That might be inaccessible at this point in time. I think Haer'Dalis has a blade that drains Dexterity which can kill him. One of the weapons from Joluv might kill him to.

    The real reason for his invincibility/vorpal sword is to prevent you from breaking the game by going to war with the Shadow Thieves before you've made a deal with Bodhi. Otherwise it would be easy to strand yourselves from being able to get to Spellhold.

    I'd say, reload your save, don't attack Renal, and be patient. You can get boots of speed for your entire party, eventually.

    It doesn't work on EE as far as I know; From what I've read, invincible NPCs are immune to stat draining death in EE. I used to kill those NPCs by mind flayer transformation.

    You have 3 speed boots in SOA including Renal's and 3 in TOB. 2 from BGEE don't import. I figured I have to kill Renal to get 6 speed boots.

    I only have on 1 save file, btw...
    Post edited by IntoTheDarkness on
  • IntoTheDarknessIntoTheDarkness Member Posts: 118
    argent77 said:

    Imo, using Arkanis Gath to prevent the player from derailing the plot was a bad move by the developers. But there are still ways to work around it.

    Try out the following: Enter the Thieves HQ and pause the game as soon as you see Arkanis Gath. Open the game console with Ctrl-Space and enter the following command while your mouse cursor is placed over Arkanis Gath:
    C:Eval("DestroySelf()")
    The character should be removed from the map as soon as you hit Enter. Not sure though if you can still finish this quest successfully.

    Thank you so much! You saved my 40 hour long save game.

    I don't know the cheat does but he disappeared from the game. I hope it doesn't cause problems further down the road, but for now I can proceed with the main quest!
    lolienJuliusBorisov
  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    Called Shot also works, and can be done at a much lower level than using Mind Flayer form.

    If stat drain won't work in EE, you should still be able to weather his attacks with Death Ward. In vanilla at least, his short sword (which should have a range of 15, like a dagger, not as long as a shortbow) kills with opcode 55, same as Finger of Death. So you can still trigger his appearance and not die, even if you can't quite kill him in EE.
    pplrJuliusBorisov
  • mrb101mrb101 Member Posts: 66
    you can kill renal for the boots in chapter 6 without him spawning
    lolienfrancis369sarevok57
  • YannirYannir Member Posts: 595
    Besides, you only need 5 pairs of Roadrunner Boots + Grandmasters Armor.
    ThacoBell
  • GrumGrum Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 2,100
    Can you imprison him? It's like killing him, only less messy.
  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    @Grum: Immune to Imprisonment. Maze, too. And polymorph. And Resilient Sphere. I've checked his files. Unless they removed some immunities in EE, he's immune to absolutely everything that could disable him or kill him. And if he's immune to stat drain in EE, then the only thing you can do is weather his attacks with Death Ward, distract him with summons, run away, hit him with Mazzy's sword to slow him down, or use Entangle on him.
  • IntoTheDarknessIntoTheDarkness Member Posts: 118

    @Grum: Immune to Imprisonment. Maze, too. And polymorph. And Resilient Sphere. I've checked his files. Unless they removed some immunities in EE, he's immune to absolutely everything that could disable him or kill him. And if he's immune to stat drain in EE, then the only thing you can do is weather his attacks with Death Ward, distract him with summons, run away, hit him with Mazzy's sword to slow him down, or use Entangle on him.

    Stat drain is blocked in EE.

    He doesn't get distracted. He will never change target once his health is at 1. Even if you surround him with summons, he will ignore summons and teleport after you when you move to next area. (ex. interior to exterior) He also doesn't need sight. even if you are standing at the end of the map, if he is on the same map, he targets the MC and comes straight for him.

    I think 'blocking exploit' went too far with Arkanis Gath. Bullshitting is strong with this one.
    pplrsmeagolheart
  • wraith5641wraith5641 Member Posts: 500
    Why do you want those boots? You don't get the extra attack in EE like you do in the original, so Boots of Speed aren't that good now. Sure, they're good for a quick getaway, but they're not THAT good that you need every pair in the game.
  • GrumGrum Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 2,100
    Rather than. Shadow thief demigod, I'd rather have the solar appear and tell you to know it off. It'd make more sense that way. :persevere:
    [Deleted User]
  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    @IntoTheDarkness: Hm. He got distracted in vanilla. In a past run with a Cleric/Mage/Thief, I could keep him occupied with a group of Skeletons from Animate Dead, and run away while he wasted time on the Skeletons blocking his way. And he didn't always target Charname when I fought him in parties.

    Can you still block his instant death attack with Death Ward?

    @wraith5641: Extra mobility is extremely useful. It lets you manage a lot of problems much more effectively, and not just for fleeing--you can dodge an area effect spell, get 6 seconds of freedom from melee to drink another potion, move in place to cast a quick spell against a runaway target, get to a caster before their first spell gets off, overcome an SCS2 Teleport Field... lots of little benefits all over most any battle. Sometimes the intangibles make the difference in a battle, not APR or damage per hit or saves or any other countable variable.
    lolienThacoBell
  • wraith5641wraith5641 Member Posts: 500
    @Grum Lol But I thought she wasn't allowed to intervene.

    "This isn't your path, godchild."

    "I choose my path."

    "Wait, wh.....listen, kid. I've got better things to do. If you even so much as *blink* at Renal again, I'll make cornflakes out of your ashes. Got it?"
    GrumlolienArtona
  • wraith5641wraith5641 Member Posts: 500
    @semiticgod Yeah, they are useful. They're just not AS useful as they used to be. I'm not too bothered about equipping every party member with them anymore. Especially when there are plenty of Oils of Speed lying around. Not to mention having a Mage that can cast Haste.
    semiticgoddesslolien
  • GodGod Member Posts: 1,150
    For dealing with faulty plot devices such as this, I usually have a variety of Flesh to Stone that allows no save memorized.
  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    @God: He's also immune to petrification. The save doesn't matter; the effect won't do anything to him. It's an immunity to the opcode, not a guaranteed save.
    Godelminster
  • wraith5641wraith5641 Member Posts: 500
    I've mentioned a few times on these forums that stat drain used to work in the original. I'm really not sure if that works anymore because I've never tried to kill Arkanis in EE.
  • IntoTheDarknessIntoTheDarkness Member Posts: 118
    edited May 2015

    @IntoTheDarkness: Hm. He got distracted in vanilla. In a past run with a Cleric/Mage/Thief, I could keep him occupied with a group of Skeletons from Animate Dead, and run away while he wasted time on the Skeletons blocking his way. And he didn't always target Charname when I fought him in parties.

    Can you still block his instant death attack with Death Ward?

    Yes, you can. That's how I escaped with speed boots in the first place. Death Ward on my PC and the tank, though Gath didn't bother attacking the tank despite being nearer.

    I've mentioned a few times on these forums that stat drain used to work in the original. I'm really not sure if that works anymore because I've never tried to kill Arkanis in EE.

    It doesn't work in EE.
    semiticgoddesswraith5641
  • wraith5641wraith5641 Member Posts: 500
    @IntoTheDarkness Gah! Those cursed devs! They really hate exploits, don't they?

    @Beamdog Gimme back my flesh golem cave :'(
    lolienJuliusBorisov
  • lunarlunar Member Posts: 3,460
    Pro from magic weapons should block his sword, as long as it lasts AFAIK
    JuliusBorisovBlades
  • GodGod Member Posts: 1,150

    He's also immune to petrification. The save doesn't matter; the effect won't do anything to him. It's an immunity to the opcode, not a guaranteed save.

    I know. I was not referring to the mechanic but to the name of that particular spell, it says something like 'Flesh to Stone (No Save)' and I think it's the spell Irenicus uses in the Waukeen Promenade cutscene. I recall killing literally everything with it, Arkanis Gath included. But admittedly it's been a while since I played BG2EE and I don't have it installed now to check if it somehow bypasses opcode immunity or uses a different opcode. Might have also been my modded game, since I once ran a playthrough where I killed every single thing alive, and to do this I removed stuff such as immunities, capped minimum HP etc. from every creature in bulk with a script. I can't remember if I turned Arkanis to stone before or after this endeavour. My mods always form a huge buggy mess and sometimes features fail to uninstall properly between playthroughs, so everything is possible :smile:

    As for ways to get rid of him peacefully, it should also be possible to make him join your party using the console and then dump him someplace else.
    lunarlolienJuliusBorisov
  • SeldarSeldar Member Posts: 438
    can you Ctrl+Q him ? That means taking him in your party ? :smiley:

    then leave him somewhere in a random house
  • datrandomguydatrandomguy Member Posts: 11
    why would you even need those boots? sure its nice to have double Speed Bonus for movement(after casting haste)but since boots dont increase attack and cast speed like the spell they are of minor use in a fight
  • GrumGrum Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 2,100

    why would you even need those boots? sure its nice to have double Speed Bonus for movement(after casting haste)but since boots dont increase attack and cast speed like the spell they are of minor use in a fight

    Because having a party that all has double movement speed...well, it's awesome. There are 5 boots of speed. If you can get the sixth, then in ToB you can cast haste and instantaneously move your entire party across any map. Sure, it's not *that* helpful, but it's cool.

    Monk: "The Bhaalspawn approaches! In the name of all that is holy, k-...hey, where'd they go?"
  • wraith5641wraith5641 Member Posts: 500
    @Grum "Fleet of foot, and all that." - Yoshimo
    GrumJuliusBorisovThacoBell
  • GodGod Member Posts: 1,150

    Bioware's idea was "an unstoppable assassin will immediately kill the party, forcing the player to reload and not do the forbidden action". This isn't inherently too bad a way of enforcing necessary restrictions to keep the plot on track; I reckon it's less immersion-breaking than (for example) arbitrarily going straight to the "Game Over" screen with a footnote saying "(You shouldn't have done that.)".

    They adapted this more immersion-breaking solution in IWD2 and, for me, it's nowhere near as immersion-breaking as forcing the player to choose between Bodhi and the Shadow Thieves. Options should be provided to e.g. raid Bodhi's lair with the Radiant Heart, side with Mae'Var to overthrow Athkatla's Shadow Thieves, join the Cowled Wizards etc. The way this part of the plot is designed is inherently broken, therefore it clumsily tries to solve anticipatable problems with a broken solution. As a game developer, I know this is all because of the original game's insufficient funding, however. It's sad that Beamdog weren't permitted to meddle with the original questline due to licensing limitations; they would surely have addressed this and many other weak points of the plot.
    semiticgoddessJuliusBorisovsmeagolheartArtona
  • JuliusBorisovJuliusBorisov Member, Administrator, Moderator, Developer Posts: 22,714



    @Beamdog Gimme back my flesh golem cave :'(

    Thank gods we don't have such a user here yet. They would be overwhelmed with notifications ...
    ThacoBell
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