Need help with Abazigal (Ascension)

Dragonphly · Post by **Dragonphly** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 10:03 am

Hello all, this is my first run using mods (ascension, redemption, improved battles). I really need help with the improved Abazigal battle (Abazigal, another dragon, some wyverns that drain levels and regularly turn themselves invisible, and salamanders). Here's my party (I'm playing on the most difficult setting). It can seem weak but on my last run I had the extreme cheese party (Vecna + project image sorcerer, would just summon 20 planetars to wipe the map clean) so I wanted some challenge.

Me (Kensai/thief), Spectral Brand and Short Sword of Mask, can get my AC in the -20s with improved evasion

Sarevok, with the Ixil spear +6 (I have the game in French, don't know the exact names)

Viconia, Cernd, Imoen and Edwin.

The only time I actually managed to kill them all, Sarevok got killed and his portrait was gone, couldn't resurrect him...

The battle usually goes this way: I summon elemental princes with Cernd, Planetar with Imoen, some skeleton with Viconia for fodder, when Abazigal appears I launch timestop with Edwin and launch the bomb (2 dragon breaths, 1 comet, 1 horrid wilting) which usually forces Abazigal into dragon form (this is the best way I've found to deal with his kensai form, he deals 70 damage per hit and he activates whirlwinds...), and that's when the real trouble starts.

At this point I usually get my ass kicked by both dragons just doing those damn wing buffets on my party; the only thing I've managed to do to survive is use a timestop scroll with my kensai and hack up Abazigal. I have 3 scrolls so I can hack him for quite a while (I get to him grievously wounded, max). I've also tried hacking him up in slayer form but I usually lose control of the character and end up losing time. Either way after the chained timestops my party gets whooped and at least one portrait dissapears. And even if I kill Abazigal, I still have to empty kill the rest of the dragons once the cutscene is over.

Any suggestions? I managed to kill improved Demogorgon (spike traps) and Sendai, but this battle is impossible in hard mode.

Ian Kognitow · Post by **Ian Kognitow** » Tue Oct 17, 2006 1:21 am

Some brief suggestions:

-Hold off on the 'bombs' at the start so that Abazigal *doesn't* change. Just let him run around a bit while you try to take care of the other dragons first.

- Imprison can be useful against the smaller wyrms if you can catch them when they're visible. Also, power word kill will finish them off after just a couple hits from one of your fighters. It would be useful to have viconia and at least one of the mages with true sight up before going in.

- Breach the larger dragons with wands of spell striking instead of spells. Be sure that your fighters can follow up quickly via greater whirlwinds before they can get protections back up.

- x3 horrid wilting from a chain-contingency in the middle of battle.

Dragonphly · Post by **Dragonphly** » Sun Oct 22, 2006 4:28 am

Thanks, finally managed to kill him after around 10 tries using that strategy. Damn that purple dragon's breath that just kills you in one hit...

Ian Kognitow · Post by **Ian Kognitow** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 4:46 am

Congrats. That's one of my favorite battles to take on. I don't find it particularly tricky, but you really need to bring all the power you can muster to beat it. Now, if you thought that was hard...

Luis Antonio · Post by **Luis Antonio** » Tue Oct 24, 2006 10:10 am

Ian Kognitow wrote:Congrats. That's one of my favorite battles to take on. I don't find it particularly tricky, but you really need to bring all the power you can muster to beat it. Now, if you thought that was hard...

Heh, I think improved Ilaseera (there's a mod that does it outside ascencion, doesnt it?) is way worst.

My strategy is pretty much the same as Ian's, I just tend to go timestop with two mages one slightly after the other so that I can slay two or maybe three dragonetes (specially the one who level drains you) and then I either wish one of my melee characters to time stop and slay the other normal sized dragon (four dragonetes and a dragon doenst it? I'm not meaning abazigal here). Abazigal is a piece of cake after that. I used the same strategy with his normal form - kill all the enemies, beat him, he raises, beat him to death...

Someone said once: (I think it was Sixofspades): Every dragon looks pretty much the same to me after time stop. And that is really true.

Ian Kognitow · Post by **Ian Kognitow** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 12:25 am

spoiler for 'The Ritual' mod

Luis Antonio wrote: Someone said once: (I think it was Sixofspades): Every dragon looks pretty much the same to me after time stop. And that is really true.

(spoilers)

Maybe that was the inspiration between The Ritual-mod's Yellow Dragon, and its own immediate time stop. Dragons are pretty routine for me as well, even without using time stop (which I grew bored of). But for somet reason that Yellow Dragon may be the most consistently hard battle for me that's been out there.

Jedi_Sauraus · Post by **Jedi_Sauraus** » Sat Nov 18, 2006 4:24 am

I just did Improved Abazigal took me 3 hours or so to perfect my tactic against him

my team had 3 tanks: Korgan, Cavalier, and Minsc furthermore Korgan was Crippled

after the fight was over I realised he was using the anti beholder shield instead of Crom for off-hand.

Minsc had FoA +4 and Belm Cavalier had Carsomyr

Now my tactic is as follows: Tanks

1) cast a few long lasting buffs protection from evil, armour of faith ect.

2) rush tanks into the center of the room leave Abazigal alone. he is harmless in human form, if he attacks you, run away.

3) Prioritize who to kill, Ignore salamanders they're pretty harmless. Kill the minor dragons and the purple one first. between the buffets your tanks will be scattered about, just take opportunities when they arise when something is close greater WW it to kill it.

Mages:

1) cast breach on the purple Dragon asap so it is vulnerable to GWW.
Don't use abu Dazim's wilting; for some reason it kills Modrakeinen swords which is'nt good. In fact I got past this fight with out any nukes.

2 Don't waste all your swords at once in chain contingencies try leave 3-4 swords for the final fight in case something goes wrong.

3) your mages should generally sit in a corner out of the way casting Modrakeinen swords Planetars and greater elementals.

4) when a Tank needs healing bring the tank to the cleric not vice versa, if humanly possible. use potions liberaly any time your tank is out of the fight due to a buffet.

try to keep Abazigal busy with an M Sword it's as good as mazing him, he's too stupid to stop attacking it when he realises than he does no damage to the sword

now when everyone is dead, rush abazigal with the tanks. with Greateer WW you should get him into dragon form within 1 round or 2 at most.

here is where it pays to have Aeire in the Team; have a mage breach his defenses as soon as they go up, at the same time Aire should be casting a time stop. once it kicks in, walk up to him cast harm and attack. he will now have 1 hp

I really stood in awe as one of my weakest NPC's whom I used only for healing and romance whacked a Abazigal. thats 2 Dragons to her name the other being Firkraag

Oh and as a side note anybody else here think this fight is a cakewalk compared to Improvved Yaga shura ?? that fight also took me like an hour but this time it was one fight, not multiple reloads with 3 team members dieing and Yaga shura finally falling to the last of my Acid Missles

hope this helps