Hello,
I've heard it told that IWD2 is supposedly the hardest of the Infinity Engine games to solo. Knowing this, I decided to read around for some tips before attempting to solo it myself.
Despite there being a number of threads on the topic, I've yet to find a an answer I am satisfied with, so I figured I'd try asking about it myself as well.
Rather than asking the rather vague question of "What is the best way to solo IWD2" I will try to be a bit more specific in my inquires.
- I've never played IWD2 before, should I even attempt to solo it? (I have cleared IWD1 and both Baldur's Gate games though.)
- From what I've read, the best kind of character to solo the game with is probably Aasimar Paladin which you multi-class into Sorcerer early on. Is this combination as awesome as it is described?
- Apart from Charisma and Constitution, what stats should I focus on? (Assuming I go for the combination mentioned above)
- I've also read that you'll need either a high Intimidate or a high Alchemy skill later in the game. Should I spend my skill-points on anything apart from one of those two?
- I'm assuming Large Sword is a pretty good feat to focus on. Is there anything else I'll need?
- Any other advice to offer?
Soloing IWD2 - Any advice to offer?
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Crenshinibon
- Posts: 2665
- Joined: Wed Mar 22, 2006 5:35 pm
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I just soloed IWD II on normal with the Spellsword character created by silverdragon72, in the [url="http://www.gamebanshee.com/forums/icewind-dale-ii-31/iwd2-powergaming-guide-62441.html"]thread[/url] (section 7.1) stickied within this subforum. As such, yes, you can solo it. Unlike the Baldur's Gate series, you don't really lose much by having a single character in terms of gameplay as there are only a few class-specific dialogs and only two class-specific quests/events.
I may be biased, but I find Drow to be the best race to solo with because of their great stats, helpful abilities (early on) and of course their *amazing* spell resistance. The combination your proposed is potent, especially due to having high saving throws but is somewhat limited due to the loss of other classes (better base attack bonus with fighter levels, better speed and rage with barbarian and evasion with rogue - plus all the items they can use).
I would strongly recommend being at least part spellcaster (arcane is stronger than divine though, but both can solo on normal from what I've seen).
For stats, I would say that constitution of 12-14 is enough. If you plan on casting level 9 spells, do not increase your charisma any further... unless you plan on being more of a spell caster than a melee fighter. I like to have a high dexterity for the armor class bonus it provides. A minimum of 13 Intelligence for the Combat Expertise feat and no Wisdom, as you won't get high enough with paladin to cast divine spells. If you're using large weapons, put points into Strength. If you're using small blades, focus in Dexterity and take the Weapon Finesse feat.
There is ONE encounter where you *might* need intimidate IF your alchemy is BELOW eight. It's an either or choice.
Personally, I like to use axes because there are plenty of good ones and they have a triple critical hit multiplier. However, I felt that the difference between having points in them or not hardly mattered. If you're fighting in melee, your self buffing spells (Tenser's Transformation or Mordenkainen's Sword) will get your BAB high enough to hit.
For your first playthrough, pick a class that's fun. I'm entertaining the idea of going as a Bard/Sorcerer/Fighter for example, mainly because I really enjoy bards.
Level squat! This means that you level only when you need to. For example, You have two levels of paladin and five levels of sorcerer. When you gain a level up, don't take it until you feel that your enemies are wiping the floor with you. The purpose of this is to keep your party level low, which ends up netting you A LOT of bonus experience. If for example you would take a level each time you got it, you'd see that enemies would give little experience, or none at all.
Almost forgot, keep all protection scrolls you find, especially Protection from Magic.
I may be biased, but I find Drow to be the best race to solo with because of their great stats, helpful abilities (early on) and of course their *amazing* spell resistance. The combination your proposed is potent, especially due to having high saving throws but is somewhat limited due to the loss of other classes (better base attack bonus with fighter levels, better speed and rage with barbarian and evasion with rogue - plus all the items they can use).
I would strongly recommend being at least part spellcaster (arcane is stronger than divine though, but both can solo on normal from what I've seen).
For stats, I would say that constitution of 12-14 is enough. If you plan on casting level 9 spells, do not increase your charisma any further... unless you plan on being more of a spell caster than a melee fighter. I like to have a high dexterity for the armor class bonus it provides. A minimum of 13 Intelligence for the Combat Expertise feat and no Wisdom, as you won't get high enough with paladin to cast divine spells. If you're using large weapons, put points into Strength. If you're using small blades, focus in Dexterity and take the Weapon Finesse feat.
There is ONE encounter where you *might* need intimidate IF your alchemy is BELOW eight. It's an either or choice.
Personally, I like to use axes because there are plenty of good ones and they have a triple critical hit multiplier. However, I felt that the difference between having points in them or not hardly mattered. If you're fighting in melee, your self buffing spells (Tenser's Transformation or Mordenkainen's Sword) will get your BAB high enough to hit.
For your first playthrough, pick a class that's fun. I'm entertaining the idea of going as a Bard/Sorcerer/Fighter for example, mainly because I really enjoy bards.
Level squat! This means that you level only when you need to. For example, You have two levels of paladin and five levels of sorcerer. When you gain a level up, don't take it until you feel that your enemies are wiping the floor with you. The purpose of this is to keep your party level low, which ends up netting you A LOT of bonus experience. If for example you would take a level each time you got it, you'd see that enemies would give little experience, or none at all.
Almost forgot, keep all protection scrolls you find, especially Protection from Magic.
“The world breaks every one and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially.”
1.) Don't solo. Play a party of 6 in an unspoiled no reload (or as few reloads as possible, count them) game. You only have one unspoiled run, don't waste it for a cheesy unbalanced game mechanics abusing solo.
2.) A solo human levels faster unless you use the level squat exploit. Sorcerers and bards can cast spontaneously without having to decide one day before casting the spell. It will take a lot of time to rest until healed for a character without healing spells. Saving throw bonuses are overrated. Barbarian speed bonus is more useful for a solo game.
3.) If you really want an aasimar paladin/sorcerer I recommend the following stats (str-dex-con-int-wis-cha): 18-18-16-3-5-20 or 18-16-18-3-5-20. Strength is essential for doing physical damage.
4.) You neither need intimidate nor alchemy (I've soloed 4 games with characters who had neither skill), but you can do without the other skills too.
5.) 1-handed weapons like large swords do low damage. Weapon focus won't make a big difference. The biggest effect will be that you'll feel bad about using weapons you're not focused in.
6.) This masterpiece was created and balanced for playing a party of 6 without abusing the game mechanics.
2.) A solo human levels faster unless you use the level squat exploit. Sorcerers and bards can cast spontaneously without having to decide one day before casting the spell. It will take a lot of time to rest until healed for a character without healing spells. Saving throw bonuses are overrated. Barbarian speed bonus is more useful for a solo game.
3.) If you really want an aasimar paladin/sorcerer I recommend the following stats (str-dex-con-int-wis-cha): 18-18-16-3-5-20 or 18-16-18-3-5-20. Strength is essential for doing physical damage.
4.) You neither need intimidate nor alchemy (I've soloed 4 games with characters who had neither skill), but you can do without the other skills too.
5.) 1-handed weapons like large swords do low damage. Weapon focus won't make a big difference. The biggest effect will be that you'll feel bad about using weapons you're not focused in.
6.) This masterpiece was created and balanced for playing a party of 6 without abusing the game mechanics.