A cleric is having fun ...

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I never get imprisoned in that fight. Maybe you are using another version of the mod? I can'T recall him casting Wave of Obliteration, that 9th level spell is super powerful, able to disintegrate everybody! He casted Melanthium's Rain of Terror which did massive damage, and sorcerous bolts too!

The trick is, surviving. My whole party was slaughtered by a single Rain of Terror on insane, but my PC, who has %100+ MR (though most of his spells ignore MR right away) and gulped protection potions, armed with protection spells, and SI:Abjuration, Evocation and Necromancy. Once you have %100+ Magic Damage Resistance, and Deatward, he can not hurt you.

His shield of oblivion just makes him immune to basically everything, you must wait till it is done and then strike! Run away again when he re-casts again. Timing is the key here.

You need to bring him down to Near Death but also survive his many many sorcerous bolts+other spells, only then he will agree he is defeated. It is not that hard, but you need to survive!

 

UPDATE


I have just finished Watcher's Keep.


Highlights:


- Improved Chromatic Demon was easily defeated with a successful Harm.


- Killing 2 (improved) Pit Fiends in a Dead-magic room for my cleric was extremely difficult.I killed them with my simulacrum and imp.hasted from the ring of Gaxx (the only ''magic'' I could use).


- Wild-magic room: Lot of fun here.

Everything was fine until, a tiefling mage casts Symbol Stun and my priest suddenly became ... priestess (isn't she cute ? )
A few...wild surges later my priest, ehm sorry I meant priestess , casts an ''innocent'' Boon of Lathander and this was the result ... I love Wild magic


- The Demi-Lich in the 4th level could not be turned.And when I was attacking him with the upgradded Mace of Dis.,I saw many times the ''Undead destroyed'' message in the text although the lich was still alive!( bug?)


- The Final-seal battle was very easy once the Hive Mother was dead.


- Improved Demogorgon:

Insane ... He was cheating a lot,summoning more than the usual 5 demons .
I used every possible buff in this battle and especially Holy Power and Potions of Power were very useful,since for the first time I encountered an enemy that I could not hit enough with my usual buffs.Also scrolls of restoration ''cured'' Demogorgon's insanity-gaze attacks.And many times I had to run away from Dem. and his demons to heal myself with the rod or to recast buffs.
Energy Blades helped to kill many of his summoned demons but didn't do much against the same Demogorgon (100% electricity res.).The only solution was to engage in melee and after a very hard battle and with the assistance of my simul. he was finally dead .And here .

 

Congratulations, pal, really well done! Now you will challenge Bodhi and then Suldenesellar awaits huh? I can not wait to see your priest face to face with Improved JonBon and his happy friends!

 

Hey. I love wild surges too. It's why I play Wild Mages Regularly.

 

@thetruth & Silverstar: Well, I haven't had any screenshots taken so far, mostly because I just started this yesterday, and not much time to play because of Uni work. I've got mondays and tuesdays off though, so I should get loads more done then.

As of now, I have completed Chateau Irenicus, Circus Quest, Renal Bloodscalp's quest...except I've left Improved Maevar for later, like when I have my cheesy items of DOOM!!

I've started on the Astral Prison quest and by tomorrow I should hopefully have the Boots of Speed once I get to play some more.

You know...I've been thinking...to add another degree of challenge to my game, how about NOT getting the Staff of the Magi until AFTER I've re-activated my Mage class? I.E once I've dual-classed, its open season on the Twisted Rune, as a cleric can't use it anyway.

This should definitely make the run very interesting for my Mage instead of just a formality, as I usually rely on it quite a lot to solo effortlessly throughout the Illithid Lair, Beholder's Lair etc etc.

Let's see...

I'll take some screenshots in case I do something new with my Mage. (Hey, it COULD happen? )

EditS: OH YEAH!!! Rods of Resurrection can double up as instant heal rods!! DUH! Why didn't I think of that?? My mage shall be using this to his advantage soon!

 

Well as you can see, rod of ressurection is an invaluable tool for the willy solo-runner!

Your idea of getting the staff after you re-activated your mage-class sounds fine, but do you have any idea how much XP do you need for that?
8.000.000 XP for mage class and a good 7.000.000+ for cleric levels.

Hmm, now I think about it, easily doable with Improved Planar Sphere...

 

^^^^^^^@theTruth & Silverstar

Hold that thought...he's dead. And it was surprisingly easy, if not entirely legit.

I actually got him last night, but couldn't post again til someone else replied, yadda yadda yadda. I did some further research after my rant above, and found a few sources with the strategy you guys mentioned: namely, wait him out and try and stay alive. So I resolved to give that a try. Went through the Planar portal, summoned a skeleton warrior and an elemental lord before getting hit by the magic missiles (which hurt Edwin, Imoen, and Aerie, too, despite them ALL having SI: Evoc up ) Then I let my summomened goons go wail on him while I moved everyone else back, and waited for him to rip through my stooges, at which point, I'd summon some more. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Except...

He never really attacked the ones I had, and after his initial WoO, he didn't attack the party too much either, other than a few Rain of Terrors, which were relatively minor inconveniences when not followed by another attack. After he did his Dimension Door thing, up to the north east of the prison, he mostly just stood there and let my goons wail on him, until finally his shield ran out. AND DIDN'T COME BACK, although it was WAY too early for him to be out of spells. After several rounds of satisfying thunking sounds, down he went.

I think what happened was that, although I could see my goons, the big M was still hidden by the Fog of War. Since he didn't have visual contact with me, his defensive spells didn't trigger. He obviously didn't take my summoned stooges seriously (his mistake!). So, once his initial shield went down, he never cast another one, and it was pretty much smooth sailing after that.

I'd feel guilty about such a cheesy victory, if the bad guy hadn't been so overwhelmingly cheesy himself!

Anyway, thanks for the input. I'm glad I didn't have to go through a real fight to the death with this guy, but it'll be nice to have tactics to employ when I (inevitably) face him again.

BTW, Anomen couldn't turn Vecna despite being level 32. How freakin' high does he have to be? I had to totally cheat and use a Prot from Magic in that battle: I kept getting imprisoned right and left.

Keep the screenshots coming, TT! And by the way, nice rack (on your new female cleric)!

 

@ Gregor

Hehe, that's why I wrote to summon the 5 sk.warriors .But I didn't want to suggest it as a tactic, since it is a bit cheesy.Anyway you could have killed him,even without using the summons.The important is to wait his cheesy shield to run out, then there are many ways to kill him...

My cleric was at the XP cap (40 level) when he turned it.
Another easy way to kill Vecna's Shade (and any lich) is to wait it's Prot.f.Magic weapons to run out and then 1 GWW attack with the axe Azuredge or the Mace of Disruption +2 is enough.

Heh yes,but unfortunately it didn't last long.It would be cool to kill Demogorgon as a priestess

 

@Gregor

Glad that you made it. I bet you really enjoy the immense XP rewards, plus Vecna's cloak and eye! These are very potent items! And you now have a new ability called Sorcery! Have you ever tried it?

 

Didn't even know I had it! Just tried it. Stepped away from the party, hit the button...and watched FOREVER while my PC did this conjuring bit. Finally, this huge magic effect happened, and I'm thinking, "Holy ****, this was a bad idea". The magic reached a crescendo, and my PC yelled out "Die, all of you!"...and summoned some bats. Four bats. And killed them. Four. Bats.

And this FATIGUED him!

On the whole, I'd say Minsc's "Boolet" making ability is a hell of a lot more impressive.

 

Well, that ability does 100 damage to all surrounding enemies, no save, no MR, no resistance, nothing can stop it AFAIK, so I guess it is very useful. Plus it is cool beyond words! Try it against enemies next time!

 

Oh. Well, that's different.

However, does this fatigue thing ever go away??? I've slept for a week!

 

Now, as you mention it, I remember my mighty Druidic Sorcerer was always fatigued ever since I used the ability once. And he has stayed FATIGUED for months of game-time. He is still always fatigued in ToB.

So I guess it is a bug. Oh well, my DS can live with it. How about your character?

 

He can live with it. My Ranger is invincible!

 

UPDATE


Bodhi :


I had to do one more thing in Athkatla.Destroying Bodhi once and for all.
An undead shouldn't present a threat for my cleric,although improved Bodhi is a very special one.
I had decided to face Bodhi alone and I didn't gather any allies.So no Drizzt,Arkanis or paladins with me in the fight against Bodhi.
I went at the graveyard and started turning everything in my way.I found many vampires on the first level and all of them were naturally turned
Downstairs I found Bodhi with her undead friends and only these were the undeads that could be turned.I ignored Bodhi until everyone else was dead.Grim Warder archers,summons and the two vampire-mages.
Although I had every possible protection Bodhi could damage me a lot.I kept attacking with my energy blades and I used many times the rod of res. for healing.And when I summoned my simulacrum and both of us started to hit her with energy blades,she finally died ...


Chapter 7 :


- I had no problems in Suldanessellar, except for the Black Dragon who had the golden cup.His wing buffets and the insane damage from his breath weapon plus the fact that he was always hasted and his lair too small,made me reload many times before he finally fell to my Energy Blades .

- The fight on the Tree of Life was too easy and I killed Irenicus quickly.


- Hell - Tears : Took the first four tears without any problems.Taking the final one was more complicated since Wraith Sarevok was very tough but I have managed to kill him with the assistance of my simulacrum.


Tomorrow (I hope) the last update for SoA ...

 

^Oooo I can not wait for he Imp.Irenicus and his crones! Happy hunting!

 

UPDATE (warning: very long post)


Hell - Final Battle :


I insert the first four tears and then I rest.Before clicking the door for the last time I used every possible protection.Prot.from fire,cold,acid,electricity (scrolls),2 potions of mind focusing,death ward,ch.commands,oil of speed.Then I summon 5 aerial servants and cast prot.f.evil and remove fear.I place my a.servants at the spot where the Wraith of Wrath would appear.I save the game.


PART ONE - Unsuccessful attempts (trying to find the right tactic)


I have thought a lot about what tactic I would use in this fight.I wanted to be fair and let Irenicus steal my precious items (amulet of power,Crom Fayer,shield of Balduran,cloak of cheese),although I knew that this would make the battle extremely difficult.
Anyway I cast Holy power+Righteous Magic and insert the final tear.The door opens,Irenicus makes his entrance and presents his new ''friends'' .They steal my items and the fight begins...

Immediately I pause the game and start casting a Harm.The shadows near my cleric could not interrupt me.Then I run down towards the Sword of Greed and attack it.
Nothing ! Critical miss!
Reload,cast harm,attack the sword,...again missed! Looking at the stats of the sword,with SK, I found out that it has an AC of -20 !
It would be very hard to hit it,since when Harm is active it sets my THACO to -3,ignoring buffs like Holy Power and Righteous Magic (bug?).I tried a few more times but,when I finally managed to hit it, this is what happened and I could not believe my eyes !!!
At the same time the sword had hit me, healing itself ! It had a chance of only 15%, but it did happen

I was really angry.Reloaded and decided to change tactic.This time when the fight started,ignoring everyone, I went down at the narrow path that was guarded by the Dragon of Pride.It was the same tactic I had used with my solo fighter, but this time I chose to enter the right path since at the other one was the Wraith of Wrath who could kill my cleric in seconds.Again the Dragon ''close'',with his body, the passage to everyone else but at the same time could not reach me with his wing buffets or breath weapon.I was safe for the moment.Then,knowing that the Sword of Greed (like everyone else) was behind the dragon, I cast 3 Holy Smites which killed it! The h.smites could even hurt Irenicus (40% MR),the Dragon (80% MR) and the Orb of Fear (75% MR), when passed through their MR, but they were not enough to kill them,since Irenicus kept casting cure crit.wounds and the Dragon heal.So I decided to cast something more powerful...
I cast 4 firestorms at once which killed both Irenicus and the Dragon! I was so excited that I forgot to drink a potion of magic protection (for 100 % MR) and unfortunately Orb of Fear with his beholders attacked me immediately, dispelling any protections and killing me in seconds!

Once more time I had to reload.This time I decided to drop on the ground the 4 items,before Irenicus steals them,because I was really tired.Following the same tactic,I kill the Sword of Greed but when I cast my Firestorms I read in the text : Jon Irenicus - Spell ineffective !!
For a moment I thought that I am .
How is it possible if, just some minutes ago, firestorms could damage him ?
After some tests (more reloads...) I found out that if you choose to keep the cloak of cheese then Irenicus becomes immune to area effect spells like firestorm,Holy smite etc.And ...don't ask me why it happens.Maybe only Weimer could answer this question...


PART TWO - The successful one


First Phase :

Fortunately this time everything went fine.
I decided to let Irenicus steal my items and following again the above tactic, I kill:

a) Sword of Greed

b) Irenicus

c) This time the Dragon of Pride has managed to full-heal himself under 4 firestorms!!!But I could not reload again.
I cast Holy Power+Righteous Magic+Boon of Lathander (provides also immunity to level drain) and with Erinne sling and 3 attacks/round I start attacking him.It was extremely hard because I could not avoid his wing buffets and also he managed to full-heal himself twice, but finally I have managed to kill him.

d) After the Dragon died,... this is what I ''found'' behind him
Maybe a more ...reasonable person would think that, without the shield of Balduran or the cloak of cheese, the fight is long lost.But I couldn't give up now.
Immediately I pause the game,drink a potion of magic protection (for >100% MR) and put on the preserving boots.Now I was immune to the Beholders' rays.With my sling I kill the,already badly injured, Orb of Fear and after some time(a lot of time) every wyvern and beholder was dead.

e) In the meantime the Wraith of Wrath was busy with my aerial servants.With his -25 AC ! he was almost invulnerable to their attacks and killed them quickly.The Wraith of Wrath is immune to magic and only a high level fighter could kill him in melee (if he could avoid his STR-draining hits).But fortunately he is very slow.With boots of speed and hasted, I could run away from him to cast my buffs (h.power,right.magic,boon) and I killed him with my sling and +3 bullets.


Second Phase :


I was still hasted.I run quickly to take my dropped equipment,drank a potion of Defense (I had no armor) and I killed Irenicus the Slayer without much difficulty.


Third Phase :


I had still 5 Energy Blades-spells memorized which I kept for the final incarnation of Irenicus .Also I could use my simulacrum for more energy blades-attacks.I thought that when Irenicus would cast imp.mantle instead of Pr.f.magical weapons,I would be able to kill him quickly...
But then something unexpected happened.
The lich which was supposed to be summoned in the 1st phase of the battle appeared only now (maybe because,in the 1st phase,Irenicus died without ever even seeing me ?) !
Of course I turned it ,but like with every other lich, an (improved) Pit Fiend appeared.I was sure that it could kill Irenicus (I had prot.f.evil on), so I started attacking it.
I wanted to kill Irenicus myself
After some ... gates I kill the third (!) Pit Fiend , fortunately before it casts Gate again.Then I waited...
When Irenicus casted improved Mantle,I used Vhailor's helm and with my simulacrum,I started attacking him with energy blades.20 energy blades/round destroyed his stoneskin at once and Irenicus was taking some serious damage.He couldn't cast a single spell and although he teleported away a couple of times,he couldn't do anything else.I was after him and he was dead for the the third and final time...


And that's all for SoA.

 

Thetruth!! Du roxors teh boxors l337!!

Ha ha! Seriously though, HATS off!! Let us know about ToB asap...I'm very eagerly awaiting further updates.

PS: Do you have Ascension installed?

 

wow that was some reading, congrats
maybe one of this days I'll try to solo through this game, u guys make it look like it's such a fun

 

You really are the best BG2 player I know. Congratulataions! I was really awed by the SSs too! All those wyrens and Beholders and crap...You rule! Definitely continue through ToB and sweet sweet Ascension!