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Newbie and need help!

Discussion in 'BG2: Shadows of Amn (Classic)' started by Dakhathsk, Nov 7, 2009.

  1. Dakhathsk Gems: 1/31
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    Hey guys I've just recently started into Baldur's Gate 2. I'm very new to this type of RPG so I'm hoping someone can give me some combat pointers, specifically to counter stuns/mind control/confusion etc casting enemies.

    It seems almost every battle I fight my main two melee guys are out of the battle for the first 20 seconds at least due to these types of spells while my casters/healers get their asses kicked. I have my priests cast Chaotic Commands on my melee characters which supposedly makes them immune to such things but they end up getting hit with it anyways.

    I'm enjoying the story line and the game but I'm getting tired of not being able to use my main guy in any fight where the enemy has a wizard pretty much.

    Can anyone give me some tips or tactics? Maybe I'm missing a protection spell of some sort?
     
  2. pplr Gems: 18/31
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    try dispel magic to undo some of the charm spells. Free action may help you with getting stunned.

    Also there are some items that help resist charm & stun spells. How far are you and what areas are you having trouble with?
     
  3. Morthond Gems: 3/31
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    Well, a general tactic is to target the spellcasters first with melee and ranged to interrupt their spell casting. You can also use summons (animals, monsters, elementals, demons, nymphs, skeletons etc.) so that these spells aren't targeted at your main party. Avoidance is really the best defense against these types of spells. However, there are various weapons and armours in the game that give you immunities or protections against them, one example being Aeger's Hide armour in the Adventurer's Mart which gives immunity against confusion (very useful against Umber Hulks).

    Beserkers and Barbarians have a rage ability which protects them from lots of different types of disabling spells.
     
  4. NOG (No Other Gods)

    NOG (No Other Gods) Going to church doesn't make you a Christian

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    My advice, so long as there aren't too many of these casters, is Magic Missle. Have a caster or two of your own hold back on spells and just MM their casters every time they start to cast. MM is quick and guarateed multiple hits, meaning it almost always disrupts castings and almost always goes off before their casting, even if you started a second later.
     
  5. Dakhathsk Gems: 1/31
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    The particular instance I'm having trouble with is when you re-enter the Graveyard in pursuit of Bohdi after the Underdark section of the game. You get jumped by several vampires and have no time to manuever. I have the game set to pause as soon as an enemy is sighted so I can set my casters to cast various spells but the vampires always seem to get theirs off first. From that point on most of my characters are running around out of my control and I slowly watch them die.

    Thanks for all the info though I'll try some of these strategies out
     
  6. Saber

    Saber A revolution without dancing is not worth having! Veteran

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    Negative Plane Protection works wonders against vampires - the reason you die so quickly is because they level drain you. Basically, your macho Level 40 Half-Orc Barbarian can get reduced to a level 4 ninny in a matter of seconds.

    Mace of Disruption (+1) works wonders against vampires as well - I believe it not only protects you from level drain, but it also kills them quickly.
     
  7. pplr Gems: 18/31
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    The Mace of Disruption provides negative energy protection if (and I think only if) you had it upgraded with the metal Sir Sarles wanted in the quest where one of the temples wants new art.

    I believe there are a helmet and/or shield that protect against charm (works well). In SoA the items that protect against negative energy are few. Having a cleric use his/her turning ability can sometimes give you a bit of breathing room to take on only a few vampires at a time or hit them with spells (fireball and smite come to mind).

    If you have the mace of disruption the person carrying it should be at the front and act as a shield for the group. When vamps surround your party hit the one that is alone and/or at your party's rear hardest to give yourself a safe direction pull some people back to if they need it.

    Summoned monsters can serve as distractions.

    The mage or cleric negative energy protection spell is useful but short lived.

    If you have a cleric of lathander (the kit) the boon spell is much more usefull. An undead hunter paladin kit is as useful as someone with the upgraded Mace of Disruption. But you may or may not have either of those kits in your party.

    You may want to have dispel magic or your own charm spells ready to undo charms on your party or charm/dominate them back to your control.
     
  8. kmonster Gems: 24/31
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    Have " protection from evil 10' " active all the time to improve saving throws, a great anti-caster spell is mass invisibility since invisible characters can't be targeted with spells.
     
  9. Jezgar the Red Gems: 2/31
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    The amulet of power will will give protection from energy drain, the mace of disruption will destroy undead (-4 penlty saving throw) the same as azuredge hand axe, which can be thrown (very handy if you don't wish to get close and personal). Also have lesser restoration spells ready. Bring the vampires to you, use a door frame or narrow passage for protection. Do not let them surround your party. Whoever has the amulet and mace keep them up front, directly behind them someone with healing powers. Missile wepons at the back along with azuredge (they don't like magic missiles either) as for the mace of disruption I haven't upgraded so I can't say either way if it will grant its wielder protection from energy drain.

    PS you loose two levels per energy dain. good luck
     
  10. starfox64 Gems: 12/31
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    Mace of Disruption +2 grants Protection from Level Drain.
     
  11. Montresor

    Montresor Mostly Harmless Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder

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    If you can get off a Sunray spell (7th level Cleric spell, or use the long sword Daystar), it'll do massive damage to all nearby undead. Most vampires are killed instantly.

    EDIT: Sorry, starfox64. :o Error fixed.
     
    Last edited: Apr 26, 2010
  12. starfox64 Gems: 12/31
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    Daystar's actually a long sword. It also has +4 Thac0 and Damage to Evil creatures; so you can keep fighiting with it even after you use it's once per day Sunray spell.
     
  13. nior Gems: 24/31
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    Lilarcor, the two-handed sword from the sewers of the Slaver's Quest gives some nice protection from mind spells.

    One of the easiest (cheesy to some) way of dealing with undeads is to utilize a high level cleric or paladin's Turn-Undead feature. Cast level 1 spell Sanctuary on your cleric/paladin and walk him/her right into the midst of the undeads and start turning. By far the easiest way to deal with undeads.
     
  14. sarevok66 Gems: 9/31
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    i once soloed the entire game with a berserker and from what i recall his frenzy ability makes him immune to nearly any kind of control spell

    try soloing (especially the tough parts), it's much less a hassle than to keep track of each of a 6 member party
     
  15. harmonium123 Gems: 1/31
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    chaotic commands will protect from psionic spells (like confusion, rigid thinking...etc.) but you might want to get a helmet of charm protection, as that can prove really difficult when your main tank gets turned against you. Also look at remove fear but cast it BEFORE the fight to prevent fear. free action can be useful to prevent hold and stun BUT you can't haste with free action, so that's a bit of a toss up.

    Shouldn't be too difficult if you've got your healers on alert and maybe a mage/ thief to do some long range damage. and always use wands and potions, i make the mistake all the time by not using them and they go to waste. if you're finding it hard, use them. :)
     
  16. Zaleth Gems: 1/31
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    You can try casting heal spells on the undead creatures such as vampires, it hurts them where as neg energy spells heal the undead.
     
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