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First off, I've only completed Baldur's Gate 1 once (with a Fighter/Thief) and the furthest I've got in BG2 is to Ust'Natha. However I'm not exactly a newbie, I have been playing the games for around 2 years, and my lack of completion is mainly due to me constantly restarting for the experience of different classes etc. But this time I've decided to try and solo SoA (maybe ToB after if I get that far) with an elven Fighter/Mage/Thief (currently levels 8/9/9)

My stats are:
Strength 19
Dexterity 20
Constitution 18
Intelligence 19
Wisdom 11
Charisma 11

As you can notice, my stats are a point higher in each ability, as I added them to what it would be if I had played through the whole of BG1 (I did roll the character in BG1 however).

At the moment it is going pretty well, no reloads or anything, but I'm looking for any advice you can give me on anything to do with soloing in this class, for example possible problems I may come across, tactics, weapons to use, rings, armour, anything. I am specialised in Short Bows, Long Swords and Quarter Staffs. Thanks.

I've been playing through SoA with a solo F/M/T (though I'm not to far in) so I would be interested in advice too.

What I can say is that at the beginning you'll be rested for many days in a row to completely heal injuries (which I always felt slightly guilty about) though this can be offset with any item of regeneration. Spoiler- Pickpocket Ribald in the Adventurer's Mart for a very useful Ring of Regeneration.
Generally I have a good set of plate armour on hand so the character can be effective in melee and sometimes cast protective spells such as Stoneskin beforehand. I think my character has a DEX of 19 and with Full Plate Armour, Ring of Protection and a Buckler +1 (from Mae'var's Guildhouse- Useful for theives) his AC is -7.
Using bows in close combat grants penalties in BGII so if you plan on using them you should summon support to take an enemies' attention. Soloing quickly nets you lots of XP even when spread over 3 classes- the best places to start are the Circus and the Skinner quest in the Bridge district- easily gained XP.
You'll have to stash lots of items at least until you receive the Bag of Holding in Chapter 4. One of the best places to do this is in the Copper Coronet.

So far I've completed many Athkatla quests and the De'Arnise keep and Torgal was very difficult, though much of the time I have dualed instead of soloed to get the benefit of clerical spells.

The gold and experience received from assisting in Trademeet makes this a good early quest for you too, you'll probably sell a lot of equipment you find and be able to spend a lot of money in Trademeet on the local merchants.

One of the bigger benefits is the ability to use area effect spells without worrying about hurting others in your party. Spells like Sunfire that explode at the feet of the caster (without damaging the caster, I believe) are the perfect example of this.

Hope all the above helps.

[QUOTE=Ravager]What I can say is that at the beginning you'll be rested for many days in a row to completely heal injuries (which I always felt slightly guilty about) though this can be offset with any item of regeneration.[/QUOTE]

That only happens if you play a lawful neutral, chaotic evil or neutral evil character, as all other alignments have cure light wounds as a bhaalspawn ability.

[QUOTE=foot]That only happens if you play a lawful neutral, chaotic evil or neutral evil character, as all other alignments have cure light wounds as a bhaalspawn ability.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, that's true. I forgot about that. Spoilers- When the Slayer Change occurs and your special abilities get removed and changed to the Slayer Transformation you'd get the same situation though. Unless you had a regeneration item.

There are healing potions a plenty for that, not to mention Vampiric Touch.

Well I've done the Bridge killings, Cult of the Unseeing Eye, Harper Hideout and a few other quests, currently doing De'Arnise Keep and it is pretty easy so far (backwhacked a Yuan-Ti mage for 118 damage ). Just about to clear out the dungeon. Level 9/11/12.
Killed the iron golem using tensor's.

Deadalready wrote:There are healing potions a plenty for that, not to mention Vampiric Touch.

There are a huge amount of potions in the game, I agree. I just have a personal dislike of using expendable items that I have to get over

@Rhûn, you seem to be doing well enough . I would suggest you go to Trademeet next, get the gold, XP and buy some of the excellent items available there. The Shield of Harmony quest reward is definitely one of the better items in the game, IMO (if you can use as a F/M/T- I'm not sure).

Killed the iron golem using tensor's.

I always use a +3 missile weapon like Azuredge on golems that are too big to fit on walkways or through doors. Sometimes feels like cheating with the golem unable to react, but it's better than being beaten to a pulp.

Yep done all of Trademeet, use two attack styles:
Longsword and Shield of Harmony or...
Staff of Rhynn +4/Shortbow +3 (Tuigan's Bow)?

Also switching between Robe of Vecna and Full Plate +2 [SPOILER -from the limited wish spell]

Not sure where to go next though, I'm too weak to take on so many shades at Umar Hills and Windspear is out of the question I think. There isn't a lot to do back in Athkatla, haven't done the first quest for Edwin, since Rayic is a bit of a toughie. Considering backwhacking + potion of magic shielding combo.

You could do the lich at the city gates? get daystar out of that and allowing you to easily destroy multiple undead. As for Rayic, I usually use dispel magic (to remove his skin) and pound away with my weapons while casting the occasional magic missle to keep him from casting some of the more powerful spells that you dont want to risk on whether you interrupt him or not.

There are tons of quests available in Athakatala that are quite easy to do, as a powerful triple class there really shouldn't be anything you can't attempt.

Personally when soloing I tend to do quests roughly in this order:

Circus
Copper Coronet
Slavers
Maevar
Harpers
Sewers
Illithium
Haer'dalis
Fallen Paladins

From this point you should really be strong enough to do any quest...

I didn't bother to add them but I do tend to fight the party in the Seven Dales and the Lich in the Gates immediately from get to go. If I'm feeling particularly lame I sometimes go for the Staff of Magi as soon as I've finished the Mae'var quest.

If you want to be super cheesey, gulp down a few potions of master thievery, steal everything you can in the city, memorize, erase and memorize spells again, and sell the crap you don't want back.

Before leaving the city, you'll be close to the SoA XP cap and have more money than you'll ever need.

I don't recommend this, BTW. It takes the fun out of the game.

Update: I'm in spellhold dungeon (nearly finished). Level 12 Fighter/13 Mage/15 Thief, haven't had any troubles really, apart from a battle involving greater mummies and a lich (had to reload, and when I did they weren't there anymore...).

Anyway, I've only been to the Underdark once before, and got as far as the dungeon-choosing point before quitting and choosing a new character. I can foresee some problems taking a solo through here, any tips from people about certain battles, tactics, etc?

Truthfully? I don't see any problems coming up. Perhaps a bit of Beholder and Mind Flayer trouble, but those can be solved easily.

Beholders: Protection spells. Nothing else. Keep reflecting those rays and protect yourself with stoneskin/mirror image should they come in close (that, and you need to finish them, non?). Should be very doable with level 14 to 15 Fighter and Mage classes (which you'll be once you take them out).

Mindflayers: These guys are trickier. Make sure you protect yourself more than enough against mind spells. Other advisable spells are: Skeleton Warriors and Mordenkainen's Swords. Combine these guys with haste, throw in some area spells during the battle, and finally wallow in yourself to do the cleanup.

Really, by the time you reach these guys, you should be at least a Fighter 14 / Mage 15 / Thief 17. You should be able to handle almost anything with those levels. Especially when you receive some nice Spiketraps sooner or later.

[QUOTE=Rhûn]Anyway, I've only been to the Underdark once before, and got as far as the dungeon-choosing point before quitting and choosing a new character. I can foresee some problems taking a solo through here, any tips from people about certain battles, tactics, etc?[/QUOTE]


Start every fight you can with a backstab.

its too late now, but if you have Deidre (merchant in Ribalds) she sells shield of Balduran and it refelcts all Beholder spells. truely an awsome item. im soloing as an Assassin and im level 17, waiting for 20 for UAI so i can take on Beholders

Yep I made sure to get THAT item

Tips on defeating the Baalor?

Traps? Best thing I can think of.

[QUOTE=Rhûn]Tips on defeating the Baalor?[/QUOTE]
What part of 'protection spells' did you not understand? Come on, you're a high level fighter/mage/thief with a bunch of traps and more protection spells you'll ever need. Don't waste your offensive magics on the demon, because he has a magic resistance of about 90. Go brute force on the being, and make sure he can't hit you (you know how to protect yourself right? You haven't made it all this way by backstabbing and running, now did you?). What weapons are you using? Celestial Fury might help. I recall stunning the demon a couple of times when I fought it.

[QUOTE=Sytze]What part of 'protection spells' did you not understand? Come on, you're a high level fighter/mage/thief with a bunch of traps and more protection spells you'll ever need. Don't waste your offensive magics on the demon, because he has a magic resistance of about 90. Go brute force on the being, and make sure he can't hit you (you know how to protect yourself right? You haven't made it all this way by backstabbing and running, now did you?). What weapons are you using? Celestial Fury might help. I recall stunning the demon a couple of times when I fought it.[/QUOTE]


Indeed!

Another method, if you would rather avoid brute force and direct mele, is to summon several Skeleton Warriors (if you are solo, you should be able to by the time you get to Balor) and/or Mordenkainen's swords, as both are highly magic resistant.
Haste and buff them all, turn the lever and head back a ways.

Then, as Balor is focusing his attention on your summons, pelt him with Lower Resistance spells. After you have cast 3 or 4, start a massive assault of magic missiles; Spell sequencers are very effective in this case.