A bit of help with Battle Squares please!
Do I have to complete the levels within a rank in any particular order? Doing rank 1, I did the 3 and 4 square wins, then did 7 6 and 5. I thought that after the last the golem would tell me that I'd completed rank 1, but nothing seems to have happened.
I vaguely remember that, after the 4-square level, the golem said something about having mastered that level of rank 1, but it never said a similar thing after any of the other six levels.
How do I know when I've successfully completed a level? Is it enough just to have got 3 squares in a row [party reappears, golem reenters etc]? Should the golem tell me?
If I go back to BS's after a while, can I find out what ranks/levels I've already completed?
battle squares help
for the initial level, you just have to get 3 squares on the battle square. to complete the battle square you then need to get 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 squares on every level of the battle square (order does not matter). once you get 3 squares, it will reset so you have to be careful when going for more than 3 squares that you never get 3 squares in a row til the last square. after you have done that the golem will reset and after doing all 5 parts of a level he will tell you that the level has been passed.
I find that sometimes, when I get the square which makes three-in-a-row, the golem says 'level x of current rank complete', but sometimes it doesn't. When it doesn't the game still resets as normal, and I assume that I've completed the level. Once I've completed [I think!] all 5 levels should something happen?
It'd be really useful to be able to check the status of the game. When the game resets without the golem confirming that I've completed a level I don't know whether I really have or not.
It'd be really useful to be able to check the status of the game. When the game resets without the golem confirming that I've completed a level I don't know whether I really have or not.
he will only say that the first time you complete that level of the rank, not everytime. so if you complete level1 of rank 1, say, 3 times, i think he will only say you have completed it the one time. i find the easiest way to keep track is to use a notebook to make a note of each level of a rank when you complete it so you always know what you have done already. you will also know when you have completed a rank as you get a prize for completing each rank
Climber, it's been a year or 2 since I actually bothered to complete battle squares. (I just use the "skip battle squares" submod within the Weimur Ease of Use mod, now.) However, I can answer most of your questions.
First of all, you absolutely do NOT need to do the 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 in any specific order. In fact, my standard tactic was to try to do them in reverse. Let me tell you why.
Obviously, winning 7 solo battles to complete the 3-in-a-row is tougher than simply doing 3. So I try to do the toughest one first. But if for some reason, I find that I've been hurt too greatly, I can bail out at a lesser number and still get credit for completing a level within the rank.
However, if you you start at 3 squares and progress upwards, and if you need to bail out early, you will not get any credit for completing an already uncompleted level. That is, if you are trying for the 7 squares level, but need to bail out with only 5 squares... if you've already completed the 5 squares level, you're not getting any credit. But if you try to complete the levels in reverse order, you have the opportunity to bail out early and still get credit for a level that you haven't already completed.
Another related tactic I've used is to go from one level within a rank and immediately start another level within the same rank, IF I finished the previous rank quickly and with plenty of time left on my buffs. Why bother resting and rebuffing between every single level of every rank, if you have plenty of time and are healthy? Yes, I would not try to go on after doing the 7 square level and try to then complete the 6 square level. That's going overboard. But if I've completed the 5 square level quickly, I might give the 3 square level a shot without rest and rebuffing.
All this said, I pretty much hated Battle Squares. Conceptually, the idea of a "battle test" is a great one. But having about 250 solo battles is simply way, wayyyyyyyy too many. I prefered the way that the BG1 expansion implemented it on one of the levels of Durlag's Castle (?). Something like 4 rooms, with 4 full party battles, in different environments. It was not nearly so tedious and much more entertaining than Battle Squares.
First of all, you absolutely do NOT need to do the 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 in any specific order. In fact, my standard tactic was to try to do them in reverse. Let me tell you why.
Obviously, winning 7 solo battles to complete the 3-in-a-row is tougher than simply doing 3. So I try to do the toughest one first. But if for some reason, I find that I've been hurt too greatly, I can bail out at a lesser number and still get credit for completing a level within the rank.
However, if you you start at 3 squares and progress upwards, and if you need to bail out early, you will not get any credit for completing an already uncompleted level. That is, if you are trying for the 7 squares level, but need to bail out with only 5 squares... if you've already completed the 5 squares level, you're not getting any credit. But if you try to complete the levels in reverse order, you have the opportunity to bail out early and still get credit for a level that you haven't already completed.
Another related tactic I've used is to go from one level within a rank and immediately start another level within the same rank, IF I finished the previous rank quickly and with plenty of time left on my buffs. Why bother resting and rebuffing between every single level of every rank, if you have plenty of time and are healthy? Yes, I would not try to go on after doing the 7 square level and try to then complete the 6 square level. That's going overboard. But if I've completed the 5 square level quickly, I might give the 3 square level a shot without rest and rebuffing.
All this said, I pretty much hated Battle Squares. Conceptually, the idea of a "battle test" is a great one. But having about 250 solo battles is simply way, wayyyyyyyy too many. I prefered the way that the BG1 expansion implemented it on one of the levels of Durlag's Castle (?). Something like 4 rooms, with 4 full party battles, in different environments. It was not nearly so tedious and much more entertaining than Battle Squares.
OK guys - thanks! Having a day off and with nothing better to do I've spent about 3 hours today on Battle Squares and I'm now bored with it!! Finished the 3rd rank and was 'rewarded' with an opal - it's hardly worth the effort!
Maybe I'll come back later.
[I was pleased with myself because I discovered that I could hide the rest of the party in the far corner of the room, then use ranged weapons on the monsters, but I've now found a thread that shows other people are sneaky too!]
Maybe I'll come back later.
[I was pleased with myself because I discovered that I could hide the rest of the party in the far corner of the room, then use ranged weapons on the monsters, but I've now found a thread that shows other people are sneaky too!]