GameBanshee Forums

I've been playing the OC on and off for a couple of weeks now (halfway through chapter 2 now), and I'm seriously considering giving up on my character simply because the game is so ridiculously easy, even on highest difficulty.

I'm playing a half-orc ranger with quite moderate stats, wielding the greatsword Marrok makes in the first act and using an ordinary full plate +1, yet I've yet to meet an enemy that truly forces me to use every available resource and make some lucky dice rolls in order to overcome him. If things become a bit hard, I simply use one of the buff potions (of which I've already found dozens in every possible pile of rocks or loot bag), which make me near unstoppable. I realized that I've even stopped using my panther companion simply because I don't need his sneak attack to win fights.

Without resorting to the fallen beastmaster-technique, is there any way in which I can make the game more challenging? I've considered starting a magic-user, but that was before I read DW's thread on how melee classes are actually harder to play than casters...


On a side note: am I the only player irritated by the small variety in potions? In BG and BG2 I carried around dozens of different potions, yet I rarely used them because one of my party members could invariably do the same with a spell. Now there's only a single character to control, which severely limits your combat options, yet they've also limited potions to simple healing solutions and stat boosters. I want my Potion of Fire Breath!

I felt the same way defeating all the dragons, morag and other boseswithout taking a scratch. I played sorcerer. You can make the game harder by making some ridicolous build. hehe

Well, I guess the easiest way would be to give yourself a few rules to follow:

1. Rest only in inns
2. Solo ( if you're comfortable with not doing your henchmen(s) quest(s) )
3. Don't use the potions, or keep only one of each, sell the rest

One thing I don't quite understand is why you're using a full plate +1 if you're playing a ranger. To me, 'Ranger' always implied that you're spending the majority of your time out in the wilderness being a hunter, and a Ranger wearing full knight's garb while clomping through the forest kind of strikes me as odd. So how about exchanging that nice plate +1 for some simple leathers? Or how about exchanging that greatsword for a simpler weapon, like a bow ( there ARE some nice bows in the OC, too ), thus forcing yourself to employ tactics in a fight instead of wading right in? That alone might make the fights a little more interesting.

The OC is not terrible difficult once you figure out the combat.
Arcane casters can be difficult in the beginning but will have it easier in the end while it can be reverse for meele depending on build. A meele type wearing heavy armor can cut through most of chapter 1 without a sweat, however situations in the later chapters will make it more difficult.

If you want difficulty then SoU will likely be the "hardest" of the 3 in terms of combat difficulty.

Ningengirai wrote: One thing I don't quite understand is why you're using a full plate +1 if you're playing a ranger. To me, 'Ranger' always implied that you're spending the majority of your time out in the wilderness being a hunter, and a Ranger wearing full knight's garb while clomping through the forest kind of strikes me as odd. So how about exchanging that nice plate +1 for some simple leathers? Or how about exchanging that greatsword for a simpler weapon, like a bow ( there ARE some nice bows in the OC, too ), thus forcing yourself to employ tactics in a fight instead of wading right in? That alone might make the fights a little more interesting.

I was planning on playing a fighter (my first char in any RPG is always a fighter, so that I can familiarize myself with the game rules) but I chose a combat-oriented ranger for the animal companion and to have set traps as a class skill.

Thanks for your advice everyone. I only just saw that my ranger got dualwield feats for free, so I think I'm going to put his full plate in my bag of holding for a while and see how things turn out. Pity that I've already picked weapon focus in greatsword some levels ago, but I can live with that.

Xandax wrote:If you want difficulty then SoU will likely be the "hardest" of the 3 in terms of combat difficulty.

Really? That's disappointing, then... I didn't have much trouble in SoU with a dwarf fighter/defender. The blackguard fight was nasty, and I had to reload a few times. I also rested in the shadow realm during the endgame battle, but if I'd had any electrical protection, I wouldn't have needed to. I thought the double-dragon and the endgame in the OC were significantly harder than anything in SoU.

Zebedee wrote:Really? That's disappointing, then... I didn't have much trouble in SoU with a dwarf fighter/defender. The blackguard fight was nasty, and I had to reload a few times. I also rested in the shadow realm during the endgame battle, but if I'd had any electrical protection, I wouldn't have needed to. I thought the double-dragon and the endgame in the OC were significantly harder than anything in SoU.

I had significant combat problems with a good number of non-fighter classes through out SoU. I never died so much in NwN as I did in the early parts with my level 1 sorcerer or monk
Combat there is definitely harder due to your lower level and the difficulty of opponents you actually have to fight.

For a bit of a challenge you could choose a class and then just hit the recommended button for everything else... or solo with a rogue, that would be a bit of a challenge.

BunnyMan wrote:or solo with a rogue, that would be a bit of a challenge.

Not really... I've soloed and had no problems completing it

Fiberfar wrote:Not really... I've soloed and had no problems completing it

I would think that fighting hordes of undead alone would be a bit tough... or at least take a while, unless you just run past them

Aaah... But the mighty hordes of undeads got about 2-6 hp each

Ye taketh a wand of fireballs, and turneth them to dust