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+3 cursed two-handed sword

yksimaltyksimalt Member Posts: 115
Soloing through the game with a +3 cursed two-handed sword might be fun...

Has anyone tried it?

/A.

Comments

  • alceryesalceryes Member Posts: 380
    It's a powerful sword, yes, but becomes annoying when fighting enemies around innocents.
    Hmmm, do you actually get the berzerker rage bonuses in addition to not being able to control your PC?
  • yksimaltyksimalt Member Posts: 115
    edited September 2016
    Using advanced AI script might work, allowing CHARNAME to "cast" 'berserk' by default as any combat commences.
  • RaduzielRaduziel Member Posts: 4,714
    I can't see how can this be fun.

    You just click and go to a groceries' store. Once you're back a chapter is done.
  • yksimaltyksimalt Member Posts: 115
    Well..

    'Fun' includes a broad range of meaning.

    Since the sword is cursed and one looses micromanagement of CHARNAME when berserking, one might find situations where he/she runs into traps or areas where more foes await.

    Adding a considerable difficulty to the game playthrough.

    Picture Durlag's Tower, first cellar level. Ouch!

    /A.

  • KuronaKurona Member Posts: 881
    In a solo you rather need precise control of your character. Worse, because the sword makes you berserk as soon as combat starts you can't even flee if you happen to stumble onto an encounter too high level for you.

    And of course, the sword only causes Moral Failure: Berserk, you don't actually get the benefits of a true berserker rage...
  • yksimaltyksimalt Member Posts: 115
    Exactly. Thus making playthrough more difficult (= fun for some).

    /A.
  • RaduzielRaduziel Member Posts: 4,714
    Kurona said:

    you would essentially do nothing but watch during battles. This is boring as hell.

    Precisely.
  • yksimaltyksimalt Member Posts: 115
    I agree partly, though I think there might be some real enjoyable facepalm moments when the berserking hero falls at a crucial moment, and a few good lulz as well when he just makes it.

    As for roleplay, the haunted warrior is an enjoyable character to play, e.g. Elric and his daemon blade.

    /A.
  • yksimaltyksimalt Member Posts: 115
    What is the difference in game mechanics between a +3 and a + 2 sword?

    Is it as simple as the 1+?

    /A.
  • JuliusBorisovJuliusBorisov Member, Administrator, Moderator, Developer Posts: 22,752
    The difference is +1 damage and +1 THAC0. Also, the difference is the enchantment level - there're enemies in BG2 (not in BG1) that are immune to +2 weapons but not immune to +3 weapons. The wizard's spell Mantle (again, available in BG2, not in BG1) protects against weapons with +2 enchantment and lower, but not against weapons with +3 enchantment and higher.
  • yksimaltyksimalt Member Posts: 115
    Thank you for the clear answer.

    /A.
  • PeldinPeldin Member Posts: 46
    Kilivitz said:

    I did it with a solo evil Berserker, but only until Chapter 4 when I could get Spider's Bane. Permanent Free Action is much more useful than the extra +1 to hit and damage.

    And yes, picking fights around innocent NPCs caused disaster more often than not, when the PC would end up turning on an innocent. I've had to actually play nice and do some good acts every now and then to stop the Flaming Fist from trying to kill me every time I entered a populated area.

    But it was worth it for the forest areas alone. I lost count of how many times, after slaying a bandit or monster, my Berserker would turn its blind rage on a squirrel. Epic fights indeed.

    Don't you find Free Action to be more of a hindrance than a help once your mage(s) can learn haste?
  • thelovebatthelovebat Member Posts: 218
    Peldin said:

    Kilivitz said:

    I did it with a solo evil Berserker, but only until Chapter 4 when I could get Spider's Bane. Permanent Free Action is much more useful than the extra +1 to hit and damage.

    And yes, picking fights around innocent NPCs caused disaster more often than not, when the PC would end up turning on an innocent. I've had to actually play nice and do some good acts every now and then to stop the Flaming Fist from trying to kill me every time I entered a populated area.

    But it was worth it for the forest areas alone. I lost count of how many times, after slaying a bandit or monster, my Berserker would turn its blind rage on a squirrel. Epic fights indeed.

    Don't you find Free Action to be more of a hindrance than a help once your mage(s) can learn haste?
    Spiders Bane doesn't negate Haste or the Boots of Speed like the Rings of Free Action do, making it an ideal piece of equipment for someone who wants to close in fast on ranged attackers instead of using a shield to help them out against ranged attacks. Two Handed Combat Style also is much better than Sword & Shield Style and IMO One Handed Style, so it's a pretty good way to go if you have Mages with crowd control spells and having someone to set off and deal with web traps if you don't have a Thief (or don't have a Thief good enough to disarm midgame traps).

    It's a really good weapon that does nice damage and doesn't have any downside to it, one of the best in the game comboed with other equipment. A Cavalier with Spiders Bane will be really tough to take down and can help tank traps as well as fighting in webbed areas while others help at range away from the traps.

    What's nice about it too is that there are two nice party members for Good and Evil aligned parties who even if you don't use two handed swords, they can definitely use Spiders Bane to high effectiveness (and both have super high Strength). Spiders Bane + Boots of Speed is a really good combination.

    As for the +3 cursed sword, it suffers major drawbacks that make it pretty much unusable as a primary weapon, much like the +3 cursed spear that appears in the game. Unless you have an extremely specific setup a lot of the cursed equipment in the game was just made almost intentionally unusable, instead of similar to things like unique items in the Diablo games that had strengths as well as weaknesses when you used it.

    There's a cursed ring you can buy at a shop in BG1 that is really good (and expensive), but the drawback for it isn't gamebreaking and it can be plenty useful depending who wears it. The upside apart from that ring being really good on it's own, is that it provides extra AC like a protection ring/amulet or whatever but isn't exclusive if you're wearing other protection equipment, so you can equip both it and a Ring of Protection or whatever else you have.

    So yeah I just wish the cursed items in the game were made more usable for more than just maybe a battle or two, and the extra +1 damage/THACO isn't worth the drawback with the +3 sword. It's more of a plot based item than something you'd use, but many other cursed items simply don't feel like they have any purpose at all other than to fool you into equipping them if you thought it was a good idea to put it on without identifying it.

    It would have been nice to get more equipment in the game that was like that enchanted Halberd that did a lot of damage but allowed you to only make one attack per round. A tactical decision of damage versus attacks per round, pluses and minuses to the weapon and it isn't cursed.
  • yksimaltyksimalt Member Posts: 115
    If using a spoiler tag, could you please foreclose the location of the shop and the name of the ring that is combinable with other protection equipment?

    Thanks!

    /A.
  • TressetTresset Member, Moderator Posts: 8,268
    yksimalt said:

    If using a spoiler tag, could you please foreclose the location of the shop and the name of the ring that is combinable with other protection equipment?

    Thanks!

    /A.

    @yksimalt I believe the ring he is referring to is...
    The Claw of Kazgaroth, available at the High Hedge.
  • yksimaltyksimalt Member Posts: 115
    Aaah...

    Thank you!
  • Grond0Grond0 Member Posts: 7,450
    In answer to the original question I have tried quite a few times soloing the game with that sword (trying to complete the game without ever killing anything except using the sword) - and it was a lot of fun. My memory being very poor I can't remember from years ago whether I was successful or not, but it's certainly possible to go a long way on a no-reload basis (that was in BGT though and some encounters would need to be managed differently in BGEE - perhaps I should have a go at that :smile:). @Gate70 has also tried this type of challenge and might be able to remember more about the outcome.

    The fun part of it is partly in setting up combats in situations where the PC does not get dragged into facing impossible odds. It's also partly in the suspense as your character chops down the final enemy and bears down on a helpless villager with sword aloft - will you claim another victim and push your reputation further into the toilet or will you snap out of the rage just in time?
  • thelovebatthelovebat Member Posts: 218


    Spiders Bane doesn't negate Haste or the Boots of Speed like the Rings of Free Action do

    I believe it does since the recent patch, unfortunately.
    What? Why?
  • Gate70Gate70 Member, Developer Posts: 3,883
    I tried the cursed sword a number of times about 5 years ago with a solo character as mentioned by @Grond0 and eventually beat BG1. Details would have been in the thread, afraid I can't remember much about it other than the weapon operated as +5/+5 and we had a discussion why that was. @Corey_Russell also beat BG1, in rather fewer attempts than it took me.
  • TressetTresset Member, Moderator Posts: 8,268
    Gate70 said:

    Details would have been in the thread, afraid I can't remember much about it other than the weapon operated as +5/+5 and we had a discussion why that was.

    @Gate70 I do hope you know why it operates as a +5/+5 weapon now, right?
  • SelabocSelaboc Member Posts: 64


    Unless you have an extremely specific setup a lot of the cursed equipment in the game was just made almost intentionally unusable,

    There's a reason they call those items "cursed".
  • CrevsDaakCrevsDaak Member Posts: 7,155
    I've completed a run with a Cavalier whom I used to get drunk all the time, besides using that sword for almost the whole game, but I played it smart so I wouldn't kill any bystanders (you can avoid fighting a lot of times in BG1, so I did that and even probably ended with 20 Reputation as well). Of course, fighting isn't funny and it's actually rather hard sometimes, but vanilla will always be vanilla, and Warrior classes in vanilla BG1 will always be Warrior classes in vanilla BG1 so it wasn't *hard* anyway (the run was like: get into a fight and alt-tab till everyone is dead).
  • IrbisIrbis Member Posts: 49
    Don't know if you guys are aware of this but all you need to do is to have buff that fixes morale break. Because Berzerk is consider as Morale Failure or something. Try rolling a Paladin-Cavalier and grab the sword. Nothing will ever happen because Cavalier is immune to Morale Failure (als charm, fear and poison:P ).
    A bit chessy you can get the sword very soon in game. And its one of the strongest weapons in game. But its kind of a boring because you will be stuck with it for the rest of the game (due to lack of better alternatives).
  • GodGod Member Posts: 1,150
    Used the sword in a fallen inquisitor playthrough I mentioned a while back. Loads of funny shenanigans, like that moment when he would kill a monster, turn around, walk up to some nearby unsuspecting chicken to grimly say something like you could never understand, and then chop the confused poultry into tiny bits :lol:
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