Help with new encounter with mods !!!

lompo · Post by **lompo** » Mon Nov 17, 2003 3:03 am

I installed tactics and battle mods (no smarter mage/liches though) and started a new party (me= sorc.). I'm still in the beginning (about lev 9) with Jah., Anomen and a F/T and went to the docks where we met the Ciryc priest: I know that was transformed into a mage and was made more difficoult, but he is using Time stop, Incendiary cloud, Adhw and so on, he is a very high lev. mage, how can you deal with him?
I know you should be able to avoid the fight, but so what's the use of installing the mods? But the problem is that you can't even avoid the fight and leave it for later whan you are stronger because he is in the middle of the road and aproach you, so unless you avoid almost completly the docks area you have to fight and at such a low lev. you can't win (or somebody has some suggestion?).
I think that this component is not balanced, you can't put such a powerful unavoidable encounter in an area where you are almost forced to go in the early part of the game ( the improved crypt King for example was better balanced (decent fight)).
I think that I'll have to disinstall the component, but are the other components so unbalanced?

Sytze · Post by **Sytze** » Mon Nov 17, 2003 7:33 am

Most of those improved encounter are over the top

Even the Shade Lord uses the ADHW spell...

Mencar Pebblecrusher and his mates got the Flail of Ages and Crom faeyr, but they are undroppable, so you cant use them...

However, most of those improved battles are indeed a bit to hard for a low level party....

lompo · Post by **lompo** » Mon Nov 17, 2003 10:37 am

I was expecting that modded encounters would have been harder, but one thing is to fight a better quest boss or to get more difficoulties on solving a quest, another thing is to get encounter completly over the top; in my case the encounter with the priest is totally unbalanced, there is no way a low lev. party can beat such an high lev. char. and he is unavoidable so either you don't fight (so why install the mod?) or don't go to the docks (!!??).
Does anybody have knowledge of these mods and give advice regarding which are unbalanced and which are hard but still balanced with game: I consider unbalanced an unavoidable fight with overpowered monster, while the dragons, Kangax and the other tougher guy are hard but balanced (you can avoid the fight or take it when you feel strong enough), some encounters (eclipse, acid katana) trigger when you have certain power etc. (so you should be able to deal with them).

Sytze · Post by **Sytze** » Mon Nov 17, 2003 1:07 pm

As far as i know the temple Sewers party is quite hard, or bosses like the Shade Lord...

I havent experienced all the encounters, but most of them really ARE hard...

UserUnfriendly · Post by **UserUnfriendly** » Mon Nov 17, 2003 7:43 pm

some tips...

try a web and wands of cloudkill for the sewer party and mencar...

the mages cast zosa, zone of sweet air, so normally a cloudkill will just annoy them...but i've discovered that if you can web the mage, he won't be able to cast zosa, and cloudkill will kill off the party...for some reason, he won't be killed, but he's a lot easier without his friends...also, firestorm, ice storm, meteor storm are NOT affected by zone of sweet air...storm of vengence...etc...anything with a cloud in the name is...

install item upgrade mod...the immediate attack with azuredge in my cheese guide will still kill off 90% of all the liches in the game...

http://www.sorcerers.net/Games/BG2/cheese_guide.zip

the mad cleric...sigh...

that one just is evil...

I had my sorceror spell sequencer a triple bolt of glory, that did the trick...waited until i could just see him walking tword me, and before he initiated dialog, hit him with magic resistance ignoring spell..my first attempt with a triple flame arrow did nada..i suspect he's been made immune to fire...

so this might work...prepare all your mages with spell sequencers of magic missiles, and as soon as the lure sees the cleric, the lure runs back to the party, who unleash every sequencer and minor sequencer spells you got...kill him before dialog, and he's easy...

now the other trick is even more fun...have someone buffed heavily, viconia would be idea, talk to him alone, and run away tword a bunch of traps...he should follow viconia and die from the traps...

tricks of the trade...

understand the enemy, what tricks they use, and how they react...

prepare the killing ground, use a lure if you have to...and never ever be afraid of overkill...

Baked Goods · Post by **Baked Goods** » Mon Nov 17, 2003 11:07 pm

Elemental damage is the key without using spells (especially because your at such a low level. If you can interupt spell casting he aint so hot anymore. Ranged weapons (arrows) of fire, and melee weapons (sword of flame) are perfect. Haste and charge- of course a trap set up is a good way to start...

Sytze · Post by **Sytze** » Tue Nov 18, 2003 2:20 am

Originally posted by UserUnfriendly
some tips...
the mad cleric...sigh...

that one just is evil...

now the other trick is even more fun...have someone buffed heavily, viconia would be idea, talk to him alone, and run away tword a bunch of traps...he should follow viconia and die from the traps...

tricks of the trade...

understand the enemy, what tricks they use, and how they react...

prepare the killing ground, use a lure if you have to...and never ever be afraid of overkill...

The trap trick is the way I allways use...

Have Yoshimo set all the traps he can possible get and make sure his set trap ability is high enough....

Just make sure the cleric gets hit by the traps before he has his protections up, because I experienced it a couple of time, that the cleric wasnt affected by the traps...

UserUnfriendly · Post by **UserUnfriendly** » Tue Nov 18, 2003 5:59 pm

an archer might be the best way to kill this guy...plain unmagical arrows to punch thru protection from magic weapons, heavy crossbow of searing to punch thru stoneskin...and called shot drain strength to go for an attribute drain kill...

sounds like moony did some evil tricks on this guy...

lompo · Post by **lompo** » Thu Dec 04, 2003 3:25 am

Finally I 've killed that b....rd of Cyric cleric!!!
I wasn't playng for a while, but yesterday I decided I should give him a lesson.
My party is low lev., sorc. (11 lev) Jha., Anomen, a fight/thief (1/2 orc) all around 8/8 lev.
I went to call Aerie (that girl is amazing, one of my favourite, but for this run I had other ideas) and ask her to give me a hand (she joyfully accepted).
I loaded a sequencer with 2 spook and had Aerie do the same with Doom/Web.
I went to the docks and as soon as enter the area I saw the messages of the b...rd buffing; I scrolled them and no true seeing !!
My party was buffed with Prot. from evil and Aid
So I sent my invisible F/T (with normal l. sword and Arbane) to the guy, then my improved inv. Sorc. approched the cleric and casted Greater Malison on him.
As soon as he casted the guy started to approach for the speech Aerie shoot her sequencer, while my F/T was following him.
The Cleric had the speech and then turned hostile but at the same time he was doomed and webbed (he didn't saved with the doubble penalty of G.M. and Doom).
He should have had some contingency because he cast a ADHW tha instantly killed Anomen and badly injured the rest of my party but couldn't cast anything else.
My sorc. breached him and my F/T backstabbed him while Jah. was throwing normal bullets from afar (Aerie was webbed too).
My sorc. then cast his sequencer and the guy was spooked (nobody in SoA can save a double spook while G.Malisoned and doomed, save at -12!!).
Then was a breeze, when he was badly injured he had other contincgency (turned invisible), but I used a scrol of Oracle (loot from one of the many waylaids) and for him was the end.
The surprise came when I loot his body, very poor reward: some cash, a staff +1, Traveller robe and a pearl!!!
But it was a good fight after all; it needed a good planning ahead though.

VonDondu · Post by **VonDondu** » Thu Dec 04, 2003 4:22 am

Originally posted by Sytze
As far as i know the temple Sewers party is quite hard...

I don't mean to brag, but it didn't seem all that hard to me. It was just a good party-against-party kind of fight. My party consisted of a Wild Mage, a Sorcerer (Tashia), Minsc, Aerie, Jan, and Jaheira, who all had around 700,000 experience points (10th-11th Level, except Jaheira, who was 9th/12th Level). I used spells like Spook (which is vastly underrated), Glitterdust (also underrated), Emotion, Summon Fire Elemental, Doom/Greater Malison, Hold Monster, Magic Missile, Skull Trap, Glyph of Warding, Summon Insects (don't target the Mage), and True Sight/Breach to great effect. Minsc (my only melee fighter besides the Fire Elemental) took a beating at first, but I pulled him out of the way so that my casters could lob their "hand grenades" (my fire elemental was engaged with one of their fighters at a safe distance), and I sent Minsc back in after he drank a potion or two. Everyone in my party except Minsc was protected with Stoneskin or Ironskins, but they were dispelled halfway through the fight and I didn't bother to recast them. Half of their party was unconscious, held, blinded, or in panic at any given moment, and as you would know if your own party has ever been similarly afflicted, it wasn't their best day.