Ascention.....any tips?

nightshift001 · Post by **nightshift001** » Fri Apr 05, 2002 5:51 pm

poss sploiler.....dont read unless u have ascention.
o
k
p
e
o
p
l
e

I have just reached the final battle....with irenicus bhodi and imoen becoming the slayer...
My op is it is much harder than the original battle and i keep getting toasted by irenicus and his comet and dragon breath spells...i use protection from energy and element protection ....
all sorts of spell deflection spells...(main chr is a sorcerer)
chain contingency u name it ive tried it...i think any way.
I have anomen.sarevok.valygar.haer dalis.and me after imoen gets turned into the slayer.
All help appreciated.
nightshift

Jerion · Post by **Jerion** » Sun Apr 07, 2002 5:39 am

Thats the Ascention....but look at me im playing "SOLO"...

Im dead....

Baldursgate Fan · Post by **Baldursgate Fan** » Sun Apr 07, 2002 6:47 am

I am not a good player, so please take this with a pinch of salt:

I have succeeded with a team, but it's not possible to solo Ascension! I am at Insane level, if you must know. Rather insane, come to think of it.

Anyway,

Let's see, you have 2 characters that can't be time stopped, so you will be cut down pretty fast after using up your spells if you are a magic user. And besides, can you rest? As it is, you barely have time to set traps without getting hit if you are a thief. Fighters might last a little longer against THAT bunch. But not much longer.

@nightshift001

S

P

O

I

L

E

R

Here's how I did it with my party. I didn't take Balthazar or anyone else. As you can guess, there were countless reloads!

1. Me - monk with fists, Ring of Gaax, Gauntlets of Crushing, Big Metal Unit (I got it the honest way - not much help though as I still get hit with AC of - 20 something! Go figure)

2. Aerie with Robe of Vecna, Amulet of Power, Sling of Everad, Staff of the Magi

3. Keldorn - Casomyr

4. Jan Jansen - Staff of the Ram

5. Sarevok with Ravager (switched him in place of Korgan; one word: Deathbringer). Note: be sure to turn him good, otherwise he will betray you like the brother he is.

6. Minsc (and Boo) dual wielding Spectral Brand (sp?) and Celestial Fury

This is not a magic heavy party because I knew melee is about the only way to get through the battle. And I was right. Most of the characters are immune to pierce magic or breach anyway. I tried those on Abazigal and they didn't affect him one bit. Either that, or I must have done something wrong. Oh well...

Pre-battle: the usual buffing up with stoneskins, potions and the like.

It: Summons! Lots of them. Solars help a great deal. Set Keldorn and myself on Irenicus right away. Dragon breath him with Aerie to soften him up. (and the Fallen Solar). The rest of the party (and summons) gang up on Bodhi.

Next; the Famous Five. All at once, which is a bit much to take. The priority is to get rid of Sendai first with her Time Stop. The annoying thing is, Balthazar is immune to that and he tends to kick butt, stun and quiver palm my party to death while they stand rooted. Have Jan Jansen set traps (admittedly he's lousy at that, but well, he has to make do) - killed Yaga watzisname and Grommy that way.

Meanwhile, summon more cannon fodder and don't hesitate to run around and drink potions while you are at it. Recycle a few times and I (finally) did them. I lost Sarevok thanks to Balthy, with the rest of the party badly injured.

Amelyssan: The mother of all battles. This one really takes the cake. She appeared after Sendai went down. I saved half of my Greater Whirlwinds just for her and it was still tough.She summons Cambions, bateezu and Fallen Planatars as if they come from the horn of plenty. My own summons died very quickly from this onslaught.

Keldorn with Casomyr disrupted a few of her spells while the other two tanks pounded her. Jan joined in the fun by wacking her with that Staff of his when his traps ran out. He died honourably in one of her Time Stops. Aerie casts Lower Resistance, Meteor, Horid Wiltings and unloaded the kitchen sink on her. She also helped my party with Regeneration, when I ran out of potions.

At long last, she died from a Critical Strike from my Monk. A fitting finale.

But man, this was tough!

Solo? Jerion, I wish you good luck!

Jerion · Post by **Jerion** » Sun Apr 07, 2002 8:51 am

I was going to see how long i would live.
Anyway, Ascention doesnt work for me...

Baldursgate Fan · Post by **Baldursgate Fan** » Sun Apr 07, 2002 9:01 am

Sorry to hear that.

Why not?

frudi · Post by **frudi** » Tue Apr 09, 2002 3:14 am

yup, soloing Ascension on Insane has been very frustrating so far...
i thought the first battle with irenicus, bodhi, imoen and the two fallen solars was tough

. finally got throught that one, imagine my surprise when i then got my behind handed to me by the hoards of demons at each energy pool.
well, even the demons are now all dead, but the final battle is... insane. i can kill of one or two of the bhaalspawn (usually illasera first, she's a pain with that bow of hers, then i go after gromnir), but then things just go waaaaaay out of control. maybe i could handle the six bhaalspawn by themselves, but then mellissan starts summoning... everything

.

i am really curious, has anyone ever beaten this fight solo on insane? makes me wish i had chosen a fighter/mage multi, not a fighter/thief...

Baldursgate Fan · Post by **Baldursgate Fan** » Tue Apr 09, 2002 4:13 am

There used to be a couple of good players here who could possibly solo the final battle on Insane mode with no reloads.

Don't see them anymore.

I did try soloing with a berzerker and Inquisitor, didn't pan out as you could imagine.

nightshift001 · Post by **nightshift001** » Thu Apr 25, 2002 5:34 pm

soloing ascention on insane...need i say hah!
One question.....how do u summon in time.....even when protected from magic energy (to stop the horid wilt cont on irenicus)the fallan solars seem to go straight for edwin and just rip through all his protection in seconds...ive tried and tried and tried .....i once got all the way to the five (bhodi as my ally) but then was pumped sideways by sendai and balthazar.
This is on core rules with Sarevok(gram sword) me(fighter)ravager
jan (ram staff) minsc(spectral brand and blackrazor) Anomen (flail ages +5) and edwin (magi staff).
Funny how the description of ascention says that it isnt intended to make the battle harder ....just longer and more fullfilling..........your kidding right?

Baldursgate Fan · Post by **Baldursgate Fan** » Fri Apr 26, 2002 8:35 am

Originally posted by nightshift001
One question.....how do u summon in time.....even when protected from magic energy (to stop the horid wilt cont on irenicus)the fallan solars seem to go straight for edwin and just rip through all his protection in seconds...ive tried and tried and tried .....i once got all the way to the five (bhodi as my ally) but then was pumped sideways by sendai and balthazar.
This is on core rules with Sarevok(gram sword) me(fighter)ravager
jan (ram staff) minsc(spectral brand and blackrazor) Anomen (flail ages +5) and edwin (magi staff).

The trick is to always stay a few steps ahead of the enemies with boots of speed on Jan and/Edwin or haste them. Run round in circles and then summon is the way to go. I like Planetar (casting speed 5) and hakeashars (1 round casting speed, good hp and immunity to normal weapons). Improved alacrity before summoning is also a thought, though I could not pull it off in time. (casting 9).