Soloing with Tactics / Ascension

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After finishing BG2 for the tenth or so time, I've finally decided to try something different and use some mods. I'm thinking Tactics (all parts), Ascension, and a bit of Ease-of-Use (mostly so I can carry more). I also do want to try it solo, preferably on Insane difficulty (I want to be challenging, for once ). So, my questions are: Which class(es) do you suggest I should try this with (excluding kensai, mage, or sorcerer.. I've had enough of those), and am I going to end up beating my head against a wall because it will be too difficult?

Oh, and hello to everyone

 

At the moment, I'm soloing Sola, Tactics and Ascension with a Blade on Core.
Currently my character is LVL 23 (full SoA potential), and it's been moderately difficult. I've yet to go to Brynnlaw though. Sooner or later I might open up a thread to discuss my adventure in detail. Might help other characters in the future.

Impossible with most classes - in the sense that the you'll probably get frustrated after having to reload again and again. But if you have the time, then don't let me stop you from trying.

A class that doesn't get hit often (high AC or the ability to cast Iron/Stone Skins, since 2 hits will be all that it takes to kill you in Impossible), and who can bring down the protections of enemy mages. (or who can potentially outlast them)

...

 

Well, I do have enough free time, so reloading over and over isn't too much of an issue. I think most of the head-bashing would be in trying to escape the first dungeon with sub-standard equipment and some major resting restrictions (like the enemies spawning after rest).

For a character, I hadn't even considered a bard, and it would probably be a good choice if nothing else works. Druid or Ranger/Cleric would allow me ironskins, though the plain druid would probably have some AC problems until I could make some decent light armor. The Anti-Paladin that comes with Tactics could work too (dispel magic every hit would take care of mages), though lacking stone/iron skin would most likely end up with me getting hit faster than I can drink potions if I can't get a decent AC.

I've never played a Ranger/Cleric before. Anyone have some advice for playing them? Do they work best as a dual or multi-class character? Do they have any major weaknesses? I'm sure I can find some of those answers in old topics, but I would like to hear an opinion or two if anyone has played them (or another class that might be worth considering for solo).

 

There are some classes that can do very well with Tactics, Ascension and Insane difficulty. Here's my rank:

1. Fighter/Mage/Thief multiclass
2. Fighter/Mage multiclass
3. Sorcerer
4. Fighter/Mage/Cleric multiclass
5. Ranger/Cleric multiclass
6. Blade
7. Fighter/Thief multiclass

Ranger/Cleric is an incredibly powerful character especially solo.

Here's one thread from Ironworks forum that you might like:

http://www.ironworksforum.com/ubb/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=021195#000000

 

Thanks for the link. A nice little story, too bad the pictures aren't available anymore. Oh well.
Seems like Ranger/Cleric is the way to go (excluding the mages, of course). I've tried looking for tactics for Tactics (apparantly it's not a favourite for soloists), might be able to use / adapt some of the strategies I've found while searching (some might not be relevant anymore though). So between those, the hints that came with Tactics, and some if neccessary, it should be possible to do. Time consuming, probably very irritating at times, but possible (I hope!).

One thing I can't find, however, is anything on how to play a R/C (though there's lots on sorcerers and mages, of course ). So, if anyone can give me some tips on spells, such as which buffs, and what I should always keep memorized, I'd be grateful (the only time I've used a cleric was in a party, and then they were mostly people who stood behind the tanks to conserve potions or occasionally add a bless or something).

Thanks for the input so far

 

You have many dualwielding options - Flail of Ages is a must (the BEST weapon IMO), Mace of Disruption +2, Crom Faeyr, ...

Always use Ironskins if you play on Insane. The damage that you sustain is ... "insane".

Chaotic Commands, Resist Fear, Death Ward

With these 4 spells you can go through 90% of SOA. Use other protective spells when needed - Prot. from Fire, Prot. from Electricity, Armor of Faith, ...

Get a lot of Oils of Speed to get an extra attack since no one can haste you. You can find some items with improved haste...

To get really nasty use Draw Upon Holy Might and Righteous Magic - your STR will be very high and you have a very long duration "kai" activated.

For summons use Fire Elementals (immune to normal weapons, not sure about +1), Skeleton Warriors and Devas.

You can also Bless and Chant them...

Remember to use Insect Plague on mages or anyone for that matter. This is one cheesy spell. Oh, and when talking about cheese check Nature's Beauty description.

 

The trick may be leveling up to the point where you -get- Ironskins, particularly if you're really planning to kill (not just avoid) those damn "improved" duergar.

Armor of Faith is great if you're ever actually going to get hit.

 

*shudder* I don't think it's possible to solo through Improved Illyich, especially if you're not a pure class. Whatever you decide to do, it's your game so just enjoy it. And good luck.

 

Leslie:
I almost forgot about the Flail of Ages (thinking too much about Crom Faeyr). Dual wielding seems like a good option, though since a R/C multiclass can't get more than 2 points into dual wielding (and suffering -4 to the other hand), using a shield is probably going to happen quite a bit, or atleast until I can get a good THAC0. I didn't know Draw Upon Holy Might and Righteous Magic stacked, thanks for that tip Not quite sure about the summons though... they may not buy much time to even bother with on insane.

s_c:
Yeah, getting to iron skins is going to be tough. (starting at level 6 with level 3 spells, need level 9 for level 5 spells, and about 200k more exp in cleric? Multiclass though, so 400k.. I think this will be the hardest part of the game.) I'll probably end up following Imoen's example (and run screaming through the dungeon ) and pick up everything I can on the way out. Sanctuary and healing spells through all of chapter 1 will probably get me through until I can get some of the easy quests.

Ravynn:
Guess Illyich gets to live this time... too bad you can't go back later.

dmc:
Too bad you can't choose Ranger/Cleric/Thief . I understand you soloed a no-reload game with parts of Tactics (waaaaay back in 2003 iirc). Was there anything you found a bit difficult (aside from almost being taken down by that one mage), and if so, any advice?

 

Improved Illyich is soloable with every class(ideally). It can be done with the proper spells. It's the number of reloads which poses a challenge.

At first I thought the quest was un-doable only for Fighters. I found myself proven wrong about a week ago.

 

Okay, I started a Ranger/Cleric, with favoured enemy dragons. Irenicus' Dungeon wasn't too much trouble (wearing sanctuary most of the time ), also didn't fight any of the patrols since 3 hits was death. Had to buff my hp up quite a bit just to grab the portal key and some treasures, and only missed the sword of chaos and the acorns (and everything else Illyich and friends have). Hardest part was definately the mephits, since once they put me to sleep it was over.

Well, thanks for all the help, I hope it doesn't go to waste...

 

Hmm, you should be able to put *** in dual-wielding with cleric/ranger. Are you fully patched?

Here's the patch info:
Weapon Proficiencies Table Fix Fighter/mage/clerics and ranger/clerics were only being allowed one proficiency point in Two-Handed instead of two, as all other warrior multiclasses are allowed, Cleric/thieves were being allowed a proficiency in darts though any multiclass of cleric cannot use darts, fighter/druids, fighter/mage/clerics and ranger/clerics were only being allowed two proficiency points in Two-Weapon (dual-wielding) whereas all other fighter multiclasses are allowed three (rangers also were specifically stated to be the most Two-Weapon class, getting two free proficiencies on character creation.) (Note: Characters overproficient in any reduced proficiency will not lose the specialization point by installing this fix; it only affects future proficiency point assignment.) Many errors in the table in Shadows Of Amn were resolved by Bioware for the official copy Throne Of Bhaal uses.

And the link:
http://www.baldurdash.org/ToB/Fixes/TOBfixes.html

 

Bah! Beren, it seems to me you once said the same thing about the Circus Tent with difficulty set on Easy.

 

Leslie:
Thanks for that. I just had the patch from here. I think I'll use SK to move one of my proficiency points to two weapon fighting (since that's where it would have gone anyway). Maybe now I'll use two weapons more often, though I really like my current AC with a shield.

I think I've encountered a bug (not quite sure if it's supposed to be this way or not), but my Ranger/Cleric started getting HLA's before he even had level 7 spells (and could only pick ranger HLAs), though he has yet to get a HLA from his ranger half.

 

Yes, that is a known bug and has not been fixed yet. Just enjoy it while you can...