Thoughts on Survival Rate and Reloading

Kaitsuburi · Post by **Kaitsuburi** » Thu May 06, 2004 12:20 am

Bearing in mind all those nasty naughty anti-cheese mods that Weimer,Compton&Co. have created for us all (thank you

), I have been wondering: how much do you guys reload on average per game? I know there are sume "purist" players among us who reload after a NPC dies (though she/he can be resurrected) or in similar situations. Those cases aside, how often do you need to reload?

I have tried to go straight without reloads but with Ascension/Tactics mods (heh, it's Improved Illych for starters!), but I haven't been able to get far. Improved Mae'var, Improved Illych, Improved Torgal, Improved Troll Lair in Druid Grove, Improved Liches in the City (excluding Kangaxx and his new guard-crew) are all manageable early-on battles, but somehow I often manage to get myself killed

. There is always luck involved, of course (dice rolling), but I wonder if it says something about my skill/tactical laziness/bad luck/lack of knowledge or experience. Even when successful, I sometimes save and then fight over to see if I can win again. I think I've reached a stage (at least with the early improved battles - practice makes perfect

) where I can win more than half of the times I try, but 100% success rate seems out of reach...

And there's another thing I noticed; I rarely get my whole party killed unless the enemy is hopelessly beyond my level (e.g. trying Ponty at level 12 or something). I know the first-person perspective is a cornerstone of RPGs, but sometimes I wish I could die and be raised just like Jaheira dies (her saving throws are pretty bad early on) and can be resurrected to rejoin the battle. If death of the protagonist didn't automatically mean Game Over, I think my battle win-to-lose will be significantly higher.

What are people's thoughts on this?

-kaitsuburi

Sytze · Post by **Sytze** » Thu May 06, 2004 2:40 am

spoilers of course

I tried that to actually; no deaths, no reloads...

However, I have tactics, battles, ascension, improved oasis and tons of other mods installed and these really increase the battle difficulty.

Most of the time, when I start a new game, I give my party 2 extra levels (I played BG I and TotSC you know...), so I stand a bit more chance in the John dungeon.

With alot of luck and strategy I manage to kill Illych and co, however, that’s 1 out of 5 tries or something. Then, when I go on, I am able to play half of the game without dying. However, at certain moments you forget that you are playing no deaths, no reloads and you get killed in stupid battles (I hate thieves with x5 backstab

). Plus you need alot of luck when dealing with enemies who cast ADHW, like the sewers party, shadelord, etc.

Often, it’s either hit and run, or hit fast and hard and hope for survival... Now, I am sure it is possible to play the game with no death or reloads, but sometimes its just not up to the player.

For example:
You venture into the Underdark, first to the beholder lair, and a beholder casts the "flesh-to-stone" spell... Well, you only have to fail your savingthrow ones and its; bey bey bhaalspwan

Same goes with the improved mindflayers…
Or you fight against improved firekraag or the ritual dragon and they cast timestop. Now, if you are accidentally to close to them, its; chunck chunck bhaalspawn

Without all the mods installed, which I mentioned before, I am sure its possible to play the game with no death or reloads. However, with those mods, it often comes down to that tiny bit of luck you need in a battle...

kopywrite · Post by **kopywrite** » Thu May 06, 2004 6:07 am

If you haven't already, check this legendary thread.

Sytze · Post by **Sytze** » Thu May 06, 2004 7:59 am

I already know of that one.

However, that thread only partially includes that what is being discussed here.
He didnt use a party, and he didnt had tactics, battles, etc installed. Theres a huge difference...

Like I said, doing no death, no reloads without any mods is very doable. But the trick is doing that with all those mods out there

kopywrite · Post by **kopywrite** » Thu May 06, 2004 8:31 am

Originally posted by Sytze
I already know of that one.

However, that thread only partially includes that what is being discussed here.
He didnt use a party, and he didnt had tactics, battles, etc installed. Theres a huge difference...

Like I said, doing no death, no reloads without any mods is very doable. But the trick is doing that with all those mods out there

Obviously

I provided a link to that thread to give some background to people that mightn't be aware of it...plus its a damn good read.

Surely it would be easier using a party though...I mean you could just baby sit CHARNAME through out. Soloing no death/reloads Tactics/Ascension...the ultimate challenge? (With a beastmaster. On Insane

)

Kaitsuburi · Post by **Kaitsuburi** » Thu May 06, 2004 9:05 am

Thanks for the bit of "archeology" @kopywrite!! Always refreshing to read old threads

Soloing Tactics/Ascension with a non-powerplay character is going to be so ridden with reloads, I fear, that it'd be incredibly frustrating to even play. At least for me

It's nice that the Tactics/Ascension (and others probably) were fine-tuned so that enemies do not resort to their full unrestrained power when you play at a lower difficulty setting. Still it's hard to win!

BTW, my comments above assume gameplay on hard or core (I usually play either of the two). Insane is kind of scaring me; it may be fine for a vanilla game (I've done it 1-2 times), but with mods it would mean a lot more reloads for me...

-kaitsuburi

Sytze · Post by **Sytze** » Thu May 06, 2004 9:19 am

Actually, that isnt the point of a party Kopywrite. And I will try to prove that it is possible to play tactics, battles and ascension without dying

(at least, I hope it is possible....and Im sure with alot of preperation I can get far enough)

My party will be me (Archer-Thief)
Jaheira
Minsc
Imoen/Yoshimo
Tashia
Hear Dhalis

I will play the game on core rules. I truly wonder how long I will last....
Certain aspects of tactics and battles I wont install, but I will name then later (yes, I just now decided , that I will dedicate a seperate thread to my attempt)
I am installing right now

Kaitsuburi · Post by **Kaitsuburi** » Thu May 06, 2004 9:34 am

Alright, the challenge is on

Cool, I'd like to try as well

I'd really like to finish my current game first, though...

It'd be intriguing to hear about your progress @Sytze! Please post exact stats for your character and game/mod environment so I and/or maybe someone else can replicate your attempt

-kaitsuburi

kopywrite · Post by **kopywrite** » Thu May 06, 2004 9:54 am

Originally posted by Sytze
Actually, that isnt the point of a party Kopywrite.

I know, I was only speculating

Very much looking forward to reading how you do, especially as I'm playing a (generic) archer/thief at the moment. Good luck!

Sytze · Post by **Sytze** » Thu May 06, 2004 9:57 am

Thank you both

I am not sure yet whetether I pick an Archer-Mage or an Archer-Thief yet, but I will see. I just finished installing and will start playing in a few minutes.

Been a while since I was this anxious to play a game.