Concerning levels w/ my ideal party (MAJOR GAME PLOT SPOILERS!)

Galuf the Dwarf · Post by **Galuf the Dwarf** » Sun Mar 06, 2005 9:09 am

Hey there, I was thinking.

My ideal party is of these characters.

PC (Cavalier)
Minsc
Anomen
Jaheira (to be replaced w/ Sarevok in ToB)
Imoen
Aerie

When I reached the final battle last time, I came to find that a few of my characters, mainly Imoen, seemed to have insufficient levels. Imoen only had about 14 mage levels while Anomen had 22 or so Cleric levels.

Recently, I picked up at the beginning of SoA, repatched and raring to go. So, I thought I'd go through the whole kit & kaboodle to ensure that I don't tear out my scalp in frustration.

Questions:
1) Does the experience gained from battles really vary by difficulty. I swore it seems like such.

2) How many quests that can be done in Chapter 2 should I leave for my ideal party to finish? The only quests I've really started & completed in Chapter 2 were the circus tent, rescuing Rylock the poisoned Harper (but not the Montaron quest), and saving Nalia's keep.

3) This deals somewhat w/ question 2, but... how hard will the following chapters be without a lot of +3 or higher weapons from the passed-over quests? I know pretty well what weapons await me in Chapters 3 through 5, so I might get some use out of them. Still had to be asked anyways.

That's all I can think of for now, so fire away!

Deadalready · Post by **Deadalready** » Sun Mar 06, 2005 10:44 am

1) Does the experience gained from battles really vary by difficulty. I swore it seems like such.

That's the unsual thing, personally I haven't noticed any change in experience depending on difficultly level. Killing a monster in so mode isn't any more than killing a monster in so so mode, even though some fights are a little different in tactics.

2) How many quests that can be done in Chapter 2 should I leave for my ideal party to finish? The only quests I've really started & completed in Chapter 2 were the circus tent, rescuing Rylock the poisoned Harper (but not the Montaron quest), and saving Nalia's keep.

Personally I like to do them all before going overseas, though it's up to you and your party. Some quests have certain weapons or armour for rewards if you complete them, your party I would definately do Windspear Hills though for the stronghold quests.

3) This deals somewhat w/ question 2, but... how hard will the following chapters be without a lot of +3 or higher weapons from the passed-over quests? I know pretty well what weapons await me in Chapters 3 through 5, so I might get some use out of them. Still had to be asked anyways.

It can be harder though not impossible, I figure that you won't have nearly as much money to purchase the good items though and some of the other items you find in the chapters aren't necessarily that good at all.

Mazeh · Post by **Mazeh** » Sun Mar 06, 2005 10:45 am

In my opinion Aerie is just a... slot filler. I mean, her stats are all wrong! I would swap her with, say... Keldorn for holy avanger. Well, I would say Edwin, but it seems like you're going to a good aligned party... So, that´s just my opinion

Or else you could get Kelsey mod and have a nice Sorceror

fable · Post by **fable** » Sun Mar 06, 2005 11:31 am

Mazeh, he isn't for your opinion of his party. Please stick to the thread subject. Thanks.

Questions:
1) Does the experience gained from battles really vary by difficulty. I swore it seems like such.

No, it really doesn't. What differs are the number of enemies you face.

2) How many quests that can be done in Chapter 2 should I leave for my ideal party to finish? The only quests I've really started & completed in Chapter 2 were the circus tent, rescuing Rylock the poisoned Harper (but not the Montaron quest), and saving Nalia's keep.

As many as you want. There's literally no single answer to this. Some people favor jumping to rescue Imoen early on, while others prefer doing as many of the chapter 2 quests before, as possible. For what it's worth, I suggest finding a roleplaying answer.

3) This deals somewhat w/ question 2, but... how hard will the following chapters be without a lot of +3 or higher weapons from the passed-over quests? I know pretty well what weapons await me in Chapters 3 through 5, so I might get some use out of them. Still had to be asked anyways.

If you go quickly for Imoen, the chapter 2 quests you skipped will be ramped up in difficulty when you return to them. If you take your time building a party first, the Underdark and Keep areas will be correspondingly harder. I found that having the right high level spells was frankly more important than having high level weapons at that point.

Galuf the Dwarf · Post by **Galuf the Dwarf** » Sun Mar 06, 2005 11:08 pm

Replies to replies.

1) So I'm getting the impression that by turning back the difficulty, the most I might lose is an extra level per character?

2) Overall, I'm trying out going full-speed for Spellhold. I always did all of the quests before Chapter 3 the last times I played it, so this is pretty much trying something new. Besides, you only have Yoshimo for so long later on, minus cheats.

3) High-level spells are more important, eh? I might be alright, but that's to be tested regardless.

Overall, thanks for the advice so far, guys. Much appreciated.

Mazeh · Post by **Mazeh** » Mon Mar 07, 2005 12:35 am

1) So I'm getting the impression that by turning back the difficulty, the most I might lose is an extra level per character?
- Well, actually, I don´t think you'll loose a level if you are to do all quests anyway. Else, just cheese a little, summon pit fiend or cargofiend with protection from evil '15, it'll give some easy xp

I dunno about the other two, it it's even questions at all

.

Ps. I'm sorry about before, i really didn´t see your question, but i still think Aerie's bad

krunchyfrogg · Post by **krunchyfrogg** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 9:30 pm

Galuf the Dwarf wrote: Questions:
1) Does the experience gained from battles really vary by difficulty. I swore it seems like such.

Nope.

2) How many quests that can be done in Chapter 2 should I leave for my ideal party to finish? The only quests I've really started & completed in Chapter 2 were the circus tent, rescuing Rylock the poisoned Harper (but not the Montaron quest), and saving Nalia's keep.

Since you're bringing Imoen along, the fewer quests you do before picking her up, the better off you'll be (because the XP will later be shared with her if you do those quests in chapter 6)

3) This deals somewhat w/ question 2, but... how hard will the following chapters be without a lot of +3 or higher weapons from the passed-over quests? I know pretty well what weapons await me in Chapters 3 through 5, so I might get some use out of them. Still had to be asked anyways.

Not too bad. You still will pick up some +3 weapons along the way. Enough of them, anyway.

VonDondu · Post by **VonDondu** » Tue Mar 15, 2005 12:21 am

[QUOTE=Galuf the Dwarf]My ideal party is of these characters.

PC (Cavalier)
Minsc
Anomen
Jaheira (to be replaced w/ Sarevok in ToB)
Imoen
Aerie...

2) How many quests that can be done in Chapter 2 should I leave for my ideal party to finish? The only quests I've really started & completed in Chapter 2 were the circus tent, rescuing Rylock the poisoned Harper (but not the Montaron quest), and saving Nalia's keep.[/QUOTE]
The simple answer is this. If Imoen is a member of your Ideal Party, then she should be present for most of the quests. Right?

I always do the following quests before heading off for Spellhold:
Circus Tent
Mencar Pebblecrusher's gang
loot the Graveyard (if your Cavalier can justify it)
do the minor Graveyard-associated quests, such as the Kidnappers Quest, the Orphan, Wellyn, etc.
The Bridge District murders (the kidnappers quest takes you there)
De'Arnise Keep
The Copper Coronet quests, including the Sewers, and the Slaver hideout
Nalia's father's funeral and her other personal quests (you can keep her in the party temporarily)
Renal Bloodscalp's quest (if your Paladin doesn't mind)
one major quest, depending on class--in your case, Windspear Hills (I pretend that the party responsible for the assault on Nalia's Keep is there)
start Chapter Three and do the quests (I have no idea which side a Paladin should choose in the guild war)
loose ends in Chapter Three, such as Kangaxx's quest, rescuing Viconia, Jaheira's personal problems, the Crooked Crane, the Fallen Paladins, the Guarded Compound (the Slave Lords stronghold), etc.
then off to Spellhold

There will be plenty of major quests left to do when you return to Athkatla with Imoen. (Trademeet, Umar Hills, Planar Sphere, the Lanthorn, the Astral Prison, the Unseeing Eye, the Harpers, the Twisted Rune, stronghold quests, the new areas, etc.). If you want the Improved Mace of Disruption +2 before you go to Spellhold (it comes in handy if you fight Kangaxx), you would have to do the Unseeing Eye quest and the subsequent Temple quests. But if your party members have over 500,000 experience points before you rescue Imoen, that's too many quests without her, in my opinion.

[QUOTE=Galuf the Dwarf]3) This deals somewhat w/ question 2, but... how hard will the following chapters be without a lot of +3 or higher weapons from the passed-over quests? I know pretty well what weapons await me in Chapters 3 through 5, so I might get some use out of them...[/QUOTE]
If you do Windspear Hills, De'Arnise Keep, the Copper Coronet Sewers, and the Guarded compound before you go to Spellhold (and possibly the Unseeing Eye and Temple quests), you'll have Carsomyr, Lilacor, the Flail of Ages, the Staff of Rynn, Celestial Fury, the Sling of Everard, the Sling of Seeking, and possibly the Improved Mace of Disruption. You can find a +3 spear in Chapter Four and buy a lot of +3 weapons in Chapter Five. Your Mages (Aerie and Imoen) will also pick up lots of spells along the way, and so will your Fighter/Cleric, your Fighter/Druid, and your Ranger. I'd say that such an arsenal is more than adequate.

Phantom Lord · Post by **Phantom Lord** » Tue Mar 15, 2005 1:43 am

1) Not really. Some encounters feature tougher enemies if you're higher level, resulting in more XP though.

2) Personal taste. I usually keep dragons and liches for later, but it depends on my mood when I leave. Leave when you feel it's time.

3) Well, you should have at least one 3+ weapon IMHO, but there is one hidden in the right place in the asylum when you'll really need it. The encounter in question varies with level and with tactics installed, it can be quite challenging. Certain enemies have certain immunities that you should be able to deal with.

Galuf the Dwarf · Post by **Galuf the Dwarf** » Tue Mar 15, 2005 10:28 am

1) Well, for the record, the only thing I have installed is the ToB patch, so any additional items or (enhanced) encounters by anything else are not going to be... well, encountered.

2) After a little testing of the waters, I found it best to take care of the Bridge Murders quest before questing out for the Shadow Thieves. Makes one of their missions easier. It might be worthwhile to take care of some of the non-playable-NPC quests in the Graveyard (likely the Kidnappers quest, possibly the ). Overall, that plan of action would be more to prevent many distractions while I'm doing the Chapter 3 quests.

3) I was wondering about the Improved Mace of Disruption. If I give Sir Sarles the Illithium substitute, will I just get a lighter experience & money award, or will I miss out on the Helm of Glory as well?

TheDude · Post by **TheDude** » Tue Mar 15, 2005 10:36 am

[QUOTE=Galuf the Dwarf]1)
3) I was wondering about the Improved Mace of Disruption. If I give Sir Sarles the Illithium substitute, will I just get a lighter experience & money award, or will I miss out on the Helm of Glory as well?[/QUOTE]

IIRC u only get less money from Sarles but u will get the helm

Galuf the Dwarf · Post by **Galuf the Dwarf** » Tue Mar 15, 2005 10:42 am

[QUOTE=TheDude]IIRC u only get less money from Sarles but u will get the helm[/QUOTE]

Nice. Finally, Anomen will have a powerful mace to wield in the final battle!

Not sure if I'll still give him Storm Star in ToB or not. I might likely give that to Minsc in ToB since Permanent Negative Energy protection on Aerie & Anomen is a must.

Overall, folks, thanks for not only the good tips, but for keeping this thread with a good purpose in mind as well.

Galuf the Dwarf · Post by **Galuf the Dwarf** » Thu Aug 11, 2005 7:13 pm

It's clobberin' time! No, really!

Well, I just thought I'd update you with my progress in this project.

As of now, I recently continued into the Underdark, and am currently plastering Kuo-Toa (sp?), Beholders and (as of now) Mind Flayers to the walls with my Cavalier PC. His equipment are as follows:
Main weapon: +3 Drow longsword
Side weapons: Daystar, Flail of Ages +3
Shield: Saving Grace
Headgear: Helm of Glory
Armor: Drow Full Plate
Amulet: Amulet of 5% Magic Resistance
Boots: Boots of Haste
Cloak: Cloak of Mirroring (more like Cloak of Warding, if you ask me); Nymph Cloak for trading and dialogues
Rings: Ring of Free Action

All unmentioned equipment sections are empty (or in the case of the ammo spot, just holding items for NPCs).

Overall, I'd have to say that the CoM is responsible for his... err, creature splatitude.

It even prevents Mind Flayers from chewing on his brain, for some reason!

Philos · Post by **Philos** » Fri Aug 12, 2005 1:42 pm

Ring of Regneration

I noticed you only listed 1 ring. Give him that great regeneration ring from the Asylum Dungeon (1 hp every 6 "seconds") and he will be even deadlier

Galuf the Dwarf · Post by **Galuf the Dwarf** » Fri Aug 12, 2005 3:44 pm

[QUOTE=Philos]I noticed you only listed 1 ring. Give him that great regeneration ring from the Asylum Dungeon (1 hp every 6 "seconds") and he will be even deadlier

[/QUOTE]

Yeah, he tends to have that on, but it often gets switched around with the other characters, mostly the ones that will expect the most punishment (and downtime because of such). I can't afford to have too many cure spells on Anomen, Jaheira, and Aerie.

As of last night, I just got out of the Underdark, so yaaaay! Just liberated the slaves in the slums a few hours ago (mostly for the magic bastard sword & Azuredge). Next stop: Windspeare Hills.

Current party levels (will edit errors later).
Jason (Cavalier): Lvl 14, closing on 15
Minsc: 14
Anomen: Clr 15/Ftr 7
Jaheira: Ftr 12/Drd 11
Imoen: Mage 14/Thief 6
Aerie: Cleric 11/Mage 12

On another note, I think I'm going to change the starting levels in my NPC stat project to lvl 10, noting how different experience and leveling up is between 2nd and 3.5 Edition.