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The LoB + SCS Solo Challenge vs Bhaal´s Cataclysm

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  • histamiinihistamiini Member Posts: 1,428
    edited January 2018
    Tanked all the undead and helped the dwarves, although Deepvein was the only one to survive, but as I got them all attacking me in the end, it wasn't really close.


    Invisibility and gathered all the undead in the crypt for some roasting, used two PfU's to hunt all of them.


    Lich Coldharbor was Secret Revealed, and I hid for the parlay behind the tent. That was it really for Chapter 8, hit already 420k xp so level cap soon.
    ArctodusStummvonBordwehrHarpagornisVictor_Creed_SFV
  • Grond0Grond0 Member Posts: 7,305
    Thinking about when a Wizard Slayer should dual to a druid:
    - my natural instinct for fighter duals is to do it late, but I can't see any way to have even a remote chance of winning the Sarevok fight in LoB as a wizard slayer.
    - dualling at level 8 would limit druid to level 7, which again would seem to give little chance against Sarevok (remembering that magical items can't be used).
    - dualling at level 7 to get the extra 0.5 APR would be very handy and that would allow druid level 9.
    - dualling at level 6 allows the druid to get to level 10 as usual. That's not as big a deal as with a totemic druid, but would still give one extra 4th and 5th level spell.
    - earlier dualling only has the advantage of less grinding for the Wizard Slayer.

    I'm currently minded to hold out until level 7.
    StummvonBordwehrhistamiiniVictor_Creed_SFV
  • HarpagornisHarpagornis Member Posts: 1,658
    PfM also does the job for me @semiticgod but Potion of Magic Shielding is always the backup option! SoA should be a walk in the park now! :D

    Same problem here @Grond0! Level 7 would be perfect but without XP loop getting the Druid up seems to be not much fun. The loss of level 4 & 5 spells might be important against Sarevok - might be not. Too bad that Wisdom 21 is not in reach...

    Take your pick! ;)
    StummvonBordwehrVictor_Creed_SFV
  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    @Harpagornis: According to Near Infinity, Absorb Health is a level 0 spell and will bypass a Protection from Magic scroll.
    StummvonBordwehrVictor_Creed_SFV
  • HarpagornisHarpagornis Member Posts: 1,658
    edited January 2018
    Might be @semiticgod but i used PfM nearly all the time and Absorb Health was never a problem as the Cornugons did not use it. ;)
    histamiiniVictor_Creed_SFV
  • Grond0Grond0 Member Posts: 7,305
    edited January 2018
    This morning's progress saw the first order of business being to pick up the Ring of Wizardry and swap it for full plate. I very rarely buy anything expensive until reputation is maximized, but as the Wizard Slayer is unable to use much equipment money is really not a concern.

    Next he watched Drizzt being cut down and inherited Icingdeath (he can't use Twinkle as he's neutral in order to dual to druid).

    He went to Nashkel to learn Bhaal CLW, but also got a level there thanks to talking to Noober and shooting down Vitiare. Rather more XP and a further level was gained by sticking Shoal full of throwing daggers. Another level wasn't long in coming, courtesy of a ghast that tried a travel ambush.

    Bjornin's half-ogres were taught a painful lesson about the value of weapon speed. Frere then had his first stand up fight with a wolf - that was successful, but the effort to revive Melicamp failed. It was back to throwing daggers for Greywolf (over 100 used for him).

    A few attempts suggested that helping Ardrouine would be a bit of a pain at the moment (due to the worgs ability to get criticals with a 19 and relatively high damage), but Charleston Nib and Brage were no problem and got Frere up to level 5.

    Arabelle, Samuel and Joia were all done without trouble before Frere headed for the Cloud Peaks. Caldo & Krumm were not their usual prize as Frere can't use magic belts, but the Dryad did push reputation up to 20. Continuing on, he picked up the charisma tome (Wizard Slayers can use tomes, though solo characters unfortunately have no way to get the strength tome) before shooting a bear to the north (but finding even with reputation 20 his charisma was not good enough to be gifted some boots).

    After identifying the tome at High Hedge, Frere killed quite a few skeletons to renew his stock of throwing daggers. A series of generally low value encounters followed, including the Beregost spiders. That led him to the FAI where he used his WS abilities for the first time - a thrown dagger disrupting an attempted mirror image was followed by further hits to shut down Tarnesh's casting before he could try another spell. As the ogre belt is no good to Frere, he also handed that back to Unshey.

    Moving on north, the fishermen provided a bowl to return to Tenya. With the next level not too far away Frere then went to help a farmer with a zombie problem to get the remaining XP needed.

    With level 7 seeming a long way off Frere decided to invest some resources in a couple of protection from acid scrolls - without using those tackling ankhegs would be too dangerous as he would have to retreat after a single hit and could easily be hit again and killed before getting out of range. The scrolls allowed him to kill 3 ankhegs and grab their treasure before the criticals mounted up and he had to run (that was a bit of a waste of the scrolls - it's the sort of situation where I miss not using healing potions ;)).

    In Beregost Frere attacked Silke with a dart of wounding - successfully poisoning her. Several other hits followed to shut standard casting down, but she used a minor sequencer invisibility to buff up and recover her casting abilities and Frere had to run away quickly to survive. After resting up he tried again and this time Silke had no answer to run and shoot tactics.

    Returning to the coast, the extra couple of levels (including a weapon speed bonus for scimitar high mastery) made killing Ardrouine's worgs much easier. Frere then took on the sirines - drawing out their charms and poison arrows at long range and resting whenever one of them went invisible nearby. Once distance attacks were gone they were simple to finish off using run and shoot. Two of the golems were drawn out of the cave and shot up, but the final one hid behind the hold and charm traps and refused to move despite multiple resting and leaving the area - that golem was eventually left. The constitution tome is handy as, in conjunction with Buckley's Buckler, that allows regeneration to make up a bit for Frere's lack of healing or other regeneration.

    Moving on to the Valley of the Tombs Frere had a number of attempts at killing one of Narcillicus' mustard jellies before deciding he had no realistic chance against that without some assistance - he had to be satisfied with pulling a few ghasts out of their tomb there to shoot up. That still leaves him nearly 5,000 XP short of dualling at level 7, so there's some grinding to be done yet before the druid gets his chance.
    ArctodushistamiiniHarpagornisStummvonBordwehr
  • Grond0Grond0 Member Posts: 7,305
    edited January 2018

    Same problem here @Grond0! Level 7 would be perfect but without XP loop getting the Druid up seems to be not much fun. The loss of level 4 & 5 spells might be important against Sarevok - might be not. Too bad that Wisdom 21 is not in reach...

    Are you sure you can't get wisdom 21? I had a feeling that 21 strength was sufficient to kick open the tomb with the final tome in (or is it 22?).

    Might be @semiticgod but i used PfM nearly all the time and Absorb Health was never a problem as the Cornugons did not use it. ;)

    That could well be a scripting issue. I could easily imagine the Cornugons would be scripted not to use the spell against someone protected from magic.
    StummvonBordwehrsemiticgoddess
  • Victor_Creed_SFVVictor_Creed_SFV Member Posts: 609
    edited January 2018

    Might be @semiticgod but i used PfM nearly all the time and Absorb Health was never a problem as the Cornugons did not use it. ;)

    Might be shades of SCS AI.
    SCS never uses Dispel magic on Improved Invisibility or Imprisonment/Maze on Cloak of Mirroring, even tho they would work.
    Congratz on that fight @semiticgod awesome stratgy and clutch execution. :P
    ArctodusHarpagornissemiticgoddess
  • HarpagornisHarpagornis Member Posts: 1,658
    edited January 2018
    I started with the Wizard Slayer to follow @Grond0 but realized soon that i have to stop this. Maybe its some kind of Druid overkill after playing so many poverty runs with this class only. Damn it. Thinking about an alternative my good old Beast Mistress Lyzz came to mind who was still waiting before Big B.

    As i was in the mood for some good beating combined with a fresh mind i buffed her up. Ready for action? Ready!!! Once she was at full power i realized that she got a 95% hit chance with the Club +3 thanks to racial enemy Demonic/Fell - superb!!

    The start of the hunt was nothing special: Let Caelar soak up Dispel Magic and kick her out of the party so she doesnt take double damage anymore. Some lucky summon rolls followed with mostly three or four Myconids appearing around Big B which gave Lyzz time to shoot Void Arrows +3. This hurted Big B quite a lot so he was down to "injured" when Lyzz switched to hit & run cause Caelar and the Myconids could not hold the line any longer.

    Thanks to the high hit chance and the bonus damage Big B suffered a lot eating several crits. Even though the Potions of Power started to fade away Lyzz was never in any danger (still 11 charges of Durlags Goblet left) and finished the demon with another 36 damage hit right in his face. I forgot to count the number of Invisibility Potions but it must have been somewhere around 40 - maybe a bit less.

    Without decent armour i avoided tanking - especially as my "chicken nature" tries to avoid any damage. Hit & Run is much more my style and - at least this time - it worked nearly like in the old days. Lyzz will soon start SoA and at the moment i am thinking if i should dual class her to Cleric later on. We will see! ;)
    StummvonBordwehrhistamiiniArctodusGrond0
  • histamiinihistamiini Member Posts: 1,428
    edited January 2018
    Chapter 9. Morentherene daggered.

    Ziatar and the two mages OGL'd with 33 Strikes.

    Neothelid smacked down with three zips from the Goblet.

    Akanna smacked down with two zips from the Goblet, surrendered the fort.


    Bridge mage first dispelled, the killed by acid arrows, and then smacked rest of the mob. Hit lv10 which means 10 DR which together with Defensive Stance (50), Helmet (3) and Cloak (5) gives a collective 68 DR. Should be good against Bel. B)

    HarpagornisArctodusGrond0StummvonBordwehr
  • HarpagornisHarpagornis Member Posts: 1,658
    edited January 2018
    @histamiini is working like a clockwork! Are you sure that you are human? B)

    If you keep going your Dwarfen Defender will rock SoA soon as well. Too bad i lost my own one before he could start the Gauth XP loop... Like @Grond0 i think that this class has good potential for going deep into ToB! We will see. ;)

    The Beast Master - even though its rated by many as one of the weaker classes - is working surprisingly well but thats maybe cause it fits me quite well thanks to stealth and a bit of summoning. The wolves should be very helpful in the Irenicus starting dungeon... :)
    ArctodushistamiiniStummvonBordwehr
  • histamiinihistamiini Member Posts: 1,428
    edited January 2018
    @Harpagornis Don't say that, Crusaders are incoming. ;) I'm pretty OCD so repeating the same tactic over and over comes pretty easily, and I have to always try to powerplay or it bothers me. Pretty much every class there's two risky fights in BG+SoD, Palace ambush, and Crusader Attacks. And possibly Bel if you don't have enough Thac0. So other than that, it's mostly fetch this, overpower that. This was the first time I took points in Long Bow so with 4 apr Detonators Crusader Attack should not be that hard...

    How did you die with DD? I was thinking today how I'm going to clear out from the Irenicus dungeon without summons, nor Invisibility, is DD able to tank Duergar's with 60 DR? There's also the Memphit room which could be tricky.
    Harpagornis
  • HarpagornisHarpagornis Member Posts: 1,658
    edited January 2018
    My DD died to Rayic Gethras cause i forgot that he can use Spell Sequencer to fire a big volley of Fire Arrows - instadeath!! :D

    Tanking Duergar should be easy especially as you can split them! Mephit Room might be more tricky but with your godlike saves... ;)
    histamiini
  • histamiinihistamiini Member Posts: 1,428
    edited January 2018
    I'll actually lose most of my saves, Lucky Boots gone, Claw gone, items gone... With Balduran Helmet I've "only" 3 vs Spell which isn't guarantee against anything.
    semiticgoddessStummvonBordwehr
  • histamiinihistamiini Member Posts: 1,428
    @semiticgod Thanks, now that you said it I remember that I tried something similar with Cavalier, but it's so long time ago I forgot about it.
  • histamiinihistamiini Member Posts: 1,428
    edited January 2018
    Chapter 10, mostly dialogue and fetching. First smacking was against the Belben mob in the Dragon Spear Basement, freed Daeros and got his full plate, and quicly escaped, didn't bother with the mages. Crusaders Attack. 3x Mind Focusing, 2x Fire Resistance, Storm Giant, 7x Heroism, Clarity and Power Potions, and Troll attack was done after 15 Arrows of Detonation and three zips from the Goblet.



    Mage attack was easy, 23 arrows and no need for the Goblet. More Heroism Potions to 500 hp, and tanked the paladins, 23 arrows, 3x Goblet.


    End battle was target practice with my acid arrows, spent almost all 120. Ashatiel dispelled and smacked down easily. Bridge mob in the hell was simply smacked with one Speed, Storm potions and Defensive Stance, no other resources needed.

    Speaking of resources I have 20 Durlag's Goblet, 1 Violet, 20 Heroism, 5 Power potions and plenty of others, including 78 invisibility if something goes wrong... My saves are with Crusader Ring, Helm of Balduran, Cloak +2, Lucky Boots and Defensive Stance: -9,-7,-3,-3,-6 B) I wonder if that's enough not to bother with PfM at all?
    ArctodusHarpagornisStummvonBordwehr
  • Grond0Grond0 Member Posts: 7,305
    Frere did low value stuff like hobgoblins for a while, but then got bored of that and decided to attack the wolf pack at Beregost Temple for the XP needed for level 7. That required a lot of running round, but eventually nearly all the accompanying wolves were dead and he switched to bullets of fire. Sixty or so of those later the first vampiric wolf was dead and Frere finally achieved his desired level as a WS.

    At that point he aimed to dual to druid, only to remember too late that requires 17 charisma - which despite his good starting stats he doesn't have ;). Rather than start again and go through yet more kiting I decided to dual him to thief instead as that will also allow him to recover fighting abilities in BG1.

    As he can't use protection equipment, the Shadow Armor is by far the best choice for him and that was immediately purchased. He already had the +3 staff for backstabbing and acquired a +1 short bow for kiting where necessary.

    The first item of business was to finish off the last of the wolves - as they have a follow-me script there's a danger of getting attacked unawares by those if left. About a hundred +1 arrows and a few backstabs later the job was done and Frere up to level 3. Back at the Coast he tracked down the missing golem and a series of stealth attacks on it provided a further level.

    Returning to the Valley of the Tombs, Frere found that Narcillicus' jellies were less able to deal with stealth attacks than frontal ones. That was also the case with Bentan at Firewine Bridge - his PfM scroll is particularly useful for Frere as his only source of magical protection. Sneaking past the kobolds to Meilum Frere used run and shoot around his rockpile (not wanting to stray far and risk encountering kobolds). He needed a 17 to hit, which meant several hundred arrows - but he had just enough on him and the XP was enough to take him to level 5.
    histamiiniVictor_Creed_SFVStummvonBordwehrAerakar
  • histamiinihistamiini Member Posts: 1,428
    edited January 2018
    Seven vs Bel. Decided to use PfM (and Speed boots) anyway, Violet, Fortitude, Agility, 3x Mind Focusing, Speed, 20 Heroism, 2 Power, Speed and Clarity potions put me exactly 500 hp. And tanked Bel pretty effortlessly, didn't even bother with Defensive Stance because it makes you so slow moving. Somebody still got me bleeding with PfM and -6,-4,1,1,-3 saves. But after seven invisibility potions and zips from the Goblet Bel fell. Wasn't close, but wasn't close of Sir Vanderley either who tanked Bel in about 100 seconds, which is probably is going to stay as a record forever.

    StummvonBordwehrArctodusHarpagornis
  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    @histamiini: The Cornugon's bleeding effect offers no save. Every hit has a 50% chance of applying it.

    I notice that your maximum HP is only 400-something in that screenshot, despite your previous maximum being 500, yet you've still got 280 current HP. Is this because you unequipped the Helm of Balduran or the Ring of Purity or another HP-boosting item? Because if that's a Potion of Power wearing off, your install doesn't work the same as mine; my current HP drops down to 150 in seconds when Potions of Power wear off, no matter how high the maximum HP goes.
    histamiiniStummvonBordwehrHarpagornis
  • histamiinihistamiini Member Posts: 1,428
    edited January 2018
    @semiticgod I took one Power potion pretty early in the lift to speed the smacking so that probably weared off for max hp 500. I was naturally that low in the picture, just using the Goblet last time. But I did notice the thing you described in the Crusader Attack where I used one Power Potion, where current hp (not max hp) dropped dramatically when it weared off.

    EDIT: tested it out, 9 Heroism 306 hp, 1 Power 337 hp, waited 4 turns, 306 hp. So I don't know what I noticed before.
    Post edited by histamiini on
    StummvonBordwehrHarpagornis
  • histamiinihistamiini Member Posts: 1,428
    edited January 2018
    Irenicus Dungeon, Aataqah summoned 4 Gibberlings who almost killed me because I didn't have my trusty Scimitars, even with Duhm and DS, but one retreat eventually saved the three Health potions. First Duergar party, tanked both melee versions one by one, resting between, and the ranged ones at the same time. Found two Scimitars from the Golem room which made smacking easier, also got couple Extra Health potions. The next four Duergar party attacked me all at once, which I was able to tank using all four normal Health potions.

    Lesser Clay Golems smacked one by one, only with Duhm and DS. Then the next couple Duergar parties dispersed, lured and killed, which consisted also lot of resting between. Found the first Speed potion from the library. Was able to tank Otyugh using couple healing potions, tanked the next Duergar party and found the Helm of Balduran. Looted the level, 2 Speed, 6 Extra and 8 normal Health potions.

    2nd level, used the Speed potion, and lured the four Mephits in the room below and trapped them there, one of them blinded me, which didn't matter, smacked the four portals down. Killed the clone, used Speed potion and ran out of the dungeon to Athkatla.

    Had 3k money so I bought 4x Scimitars, arrows, Gem Bag and Scroll Case, and I'm now wondering what on earth to do next. Feeling quite small and feeble in the big world, first time LoB with character who doesn't have Invisibility or can't summon. :#
    Grond0StummvonBordwehrHarpagornisArctodus
  • histamiinihistamiini Member Posts: 1,428
    edited January 2018
    Tried charming (10) Rengaard in Temple Sewers to no avail, so I left them be for now. Picked up Staff of Curing and Battle Axe +2 from Graveyard, helping the Orphan and the Ghost. Hit lv11, picked up Potion Case.

    De'Arnise Keep, Trolls were easy pray 1on1, with invisibility looted the place. Tried to charm Glaicus but it didn't work, then tried to tank him, nope, drank invisbility, waited his haste to end, and then kited him with arrows. Had to waste two invisibility potions in here but gained a lot of loot, FoA +3, Elven Court Bow +3 and Frostreaver +3. After selling the loot, bying Shield of Balduran and one PfU, I still have 4k gold left. Time to smack some Gauths, a lot of Gauths!
    HarpagornisStummvonBordwehr
  • histamiinihistamiini Member Posts: 1,428
    edited January 2018

    Next stop was Irenicus in Spellhold. In the past this was sometimes tricky but with good old Far Sight Krell send in his Spirit Lions to bring the evil mage down to 1 HP before going upstairs. The result of this: Once you get in with all the crazy mages and the talking finishes the fight is over as well as the final speech of Irenicus nearly immediately triggers. Easy! :D

    Nice one, didn't know this was a thing.

    Btw you tested this once, did Blackrazor work against Mel? I'm now at the point of do I take Long Swords or not.
    semiticgoddessArctodusStummvonBordwehr
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