Monday, August 20, 2012

Baldur's Gate Soloed

I actually started this playthrough quite a few months back but it got interrupted by something (probably Mass Effect 3). Last weekend I launched the game again, however, and finished my solo adventure as an Elven Fighter/Mage/Thief, the same kit I used in Icewind Dale.

Once again there was lots of kiting and shooting with a bow. And that's how it stayed most of the game since Baldur's Gate is quite lacking in spells compared to IWD; going into melee without Stoneskin is risky. Those natural 20's (Core D&D rules ftw) just keep happening and you can be hit through Mirror Image.

I could've bypassed the spell limitations of BG by choosing the Sorcerer as I had modded the game to Baldur's Gate 2's enhanced engine as usual -- no way I could play the game without a proper resolution and container hilighting -- but I decided F/M/T gives more utility in the long run. I plan to take the same character to the next game, though after removing the level cap I wondered awhile if she would end up too powerful.

I guess F/M/T's level cap was passed eventually but not by much. And in fact, even with a full party, my main character always hits the cap if it's not removed, so no worries. I think it's the areas Tales of the Sword Coast that really ramp up the experience gain. Aside from that, though, TotSC adds very few good rewards for the multiple difficult fights and trap-filled dungeons it brings.

Once again, Aec'Letec the demon was a huge challenge. That Death Gaze spam of his just instantly kills you and I'm not sure what exactly counters it or do you just have to hope you will make the saving throw for every single one. Taking down his magic resistant and quickly regenerating ass seemed nigh impossible this time. Then I found that as a solo character I can get out of his field of vision and hide in shadows to backstab him. But even with that tactic it took a handful of tries. Death Gaze knows no mercy.

Sarevok wasn't as challenging but still took three attempts. TotSC really beefs up the battle and you can't cheese it as you could without the expansion; Sarevok's sidekicks can't be pulled one by one and they have a handful of protections up. And couple Stinking Cloud and Web spells limit the benefit you would gain from spamming a wand of monster summoning.

It's funny that in BG2 you can no longer control more than five summons at the same time, and BG TuTu does give you the error message but doesn't stop the actual summons appearing. I guess the modders didn't want to take the cheesiness away from people. I ended up just whacking Sarevok to death in melee with a two handed sword +3 while a multitude of different buffs protected me from his cohorts.

I have a feeling BG2 will offer an easier solo ride, especially once Throne of Bhaal's high level abilities kick in. It will be silly.

No comments:

Post a Comment