A cleric is having fun ...

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I don'T think you will have a hard time with Imp.Bodhi. You are a cleric afterall eh?

TIP:Bring Sola with you to the graveyard, it will prove to be really really interesting! TRY and SEE! It will be a battle worths remembering!


And come on, you can do Imp.Irenicus as well...maybe. Use MF circlets and that staff of dominating, they may work wonders! Cheesy I know, but...

Offtopic:Well I lastly battled Improved Sendai on insane. Man, she was tough. I turned all my party invisible and my F/M/T used DI to dispel her 4 Project Images.

BUT, her apprentices used their Sequencers to unleash 3 Lower Resistances on my DS. He had %100 MR, but he was lowered. Argh! Then REAL Sendai unleashed 3 Unholy Blights, which hurted my poor DS BADLY on insane.

Imp. Sendai on insane is a real b**ch! She used her cheesy harm (ignore resistance, ranged, no save) THREE times on my PC, luckily I had SPell Trap, courtesy of SoM. :whew:

I TSed, IAed, and A LOT OF Sunfires, Dragon Breaths, FireStorms did kill all of the pesky drow. I counted 30+. They all died, together, crisped. It was fun!

Sendai is soo cheesy, whenever my fighters manage to hit her, a contingency triggersfromMagical weapons. Immy uses Breach and we hit again. ContingencyFMW again! WTF! It was fun though, once my DS crushed her army and she had to retreat in to defensive (She tried to re-cast all of her buffs) she lost the battle, though she managed to kill Viccy with a lousy ADHW! Oh well...

Now I was going to tackle Imp. Abazigal, but you see, I recently got HoF and ToTLM and was busy playing IWD.

Then I had to leave me home. I will only be able to go back to my home, PC and Fearun, umm two weeks later, so I am waiting.

 

I don't have Solaufein mod installed in this game.And since it's a solo better not taking anyone with me.But I know why you are saying this.I have defeated undead Sola in my previous game with a party and he was real tough.But,if someone wants to be cheesy: if you escape the battle,waiting for Sola's buffs to run out then the fight becomes a looot easier
Anyway I am 99% sure that undead Sola can be turned,since he becomes a lich.Or am I wrong

Hehe,I know...I hope to keep my cleric alive untill ToB and then I will start worrying about her too

After that battle,and since you have Sola mod, comes the best and most challenging encounter in all BG2 IMHO.Just be sure to avoid any spoilers for that battle and I am sure that you will enjoy it much

 

You may be able to turn Undead Sola, but you can never be sure. He is designed to be invincible, with his SI:Abj, Div, Evoc. and all other buffs. It would be lame if you could just 'Turn' him into oblivion.

 

Well Even the most powerful enemies have a fatal weakness. Look at Achilles. if it wasn't for that damned heel of his....

just give him an ungodly level to be turned at and only you crazy heavily modded solo'ers would ever pull it off.

 

Just remembered that in my previous game I killed undead Sola with the axe Azuredge + 1 GWW attack.This means that he CAN be turned ,but I don't know at what level...

 

Your list doesn't include what levels dragons are killed... do you know?


By the way.... amazing! Un-freakin'-believable!

 

Hehe thanks.People tend to consider clerics mainly as healers or defensive spellcasters but at high levels they have much offensive power too.
And dragons have never been much of a problem for my cleric with his energy blades,harm or even implosion.It's a very powerful class.

 

This seems like the place to attach this little tidbit. For the first time ever that I can think of I waited a real long time to take Kangaxx out. I'd never had the mace of disruption when taking him on and it turns out the improved mace of disruption can and will dispel his demi liche form.

Korgan had it because it was a weapon that could hit Kangaxx. I berserked him to stop the imprisonments and then Korgan laid into him. A single hit and it dispelled Kangaxx.

 

^You mean disrupted, or destroyed eh?

Hmm I totally agree that clerics have much offense power. Harm is by all means the most dangerous spell around!

 

I did all of 2 damage to him and he exploded. Destroyed. Disrupted. He was gone really quick. It doesn't seem to work on his first form though. I had to fight that normally.

 

@Thetruth: I've got a couple of questions for you...

I understand that clerics can melee very well when they are buffed, but how on earth do you deal with normal mobs?

You can cast longterm buffs, but you don't have some of the excellent offensively oriented spells that mages and druids get such as Mirror Image, Stoneskin/Ironskin and their ilk. You're offensive abilities early game suck, because you have too few offensive spells, and the ones you do have aren't good enough early game to take out large numbers of enemies...

Also, your melee capability would be...bad. You have horrid THAC0, you only get proficiency in weapons, if you dual weild with a single prof. point, your THAC0 goes through the roof! Basically, with the Boon of Lathander, you'd have 3 attacks per round, and you would hit only on criticals anyway!

So...I've brought up all the problems that would be faced by a solo cleric, and I would like to hear how you dealt with these issues.

Please ignore the part of the game when you used Harm, Heal, Globe of Blades, Implosion etc. I want to know how you deal with common, but not so easy enemies by melee, spellcasting etc.

Mostly because I'm planning on playing a mage solo'd to lvl 34...then DUAL-CLASSED!!

That would be SO WICKED! And it is very easy to accomplish...just that you would be playing two solo's in one basically, until you reactivate the mage class...And I can be a specialist Wizard too...

Anyway, my plans apart...I'm really looking forward to your reply.

 

A mage soloed to 34 and then DUAL-CLASSED?

This sounds soo crazy and insane, why don't you just become a MC cleric/mage and give yourself a kit via SK, be it a priest kit or specialist wizard! And save yourself A LOT OF trouble!

That is, ofcourse, if you like challenges and frustration, go for it.

But the power gap between a level 34 mage and level 1 cleric...is insane. One moment you are ripping through EVERYTHING, the next moment (when you freshly dual) you are running away in fear, with Sanctuary active.

 

@Silverstar: I've had well over 70 solo runs through Baldurs Gate 2 SoA AND ToB ever since the year 2002...

I've lost count of the number of mods and weird combinations I've had through BG2...

Usually, I leave some half-way through because they are just not powerful enough for the munchkin in me! But this one is! Definitely so!!

Think about it, its different...its a fresh concept as I'm sure NO one has done this before, its not quite as cheesy as a multiclass...as you would have earned all those levels the harder way, rather than having the luxuries of a multiclassed M/C the entire game.

The more I think about it, the more fun it is. The only thing stopping me is the actual practicability of this particular character concept. Hence...my questions for thetruth.

@Truth: Oi...hurry up and update!

 

@ Faraaz

In EARLY GAME: as you said my THACO was really bad,so I had to fight buffed especially against high level enemies.
Holy Power(used it only in low levels),Righteous Magic,Boon of Lathander,Armor of Faith sometimes even DUHM and oils of speed for the harder battles made my cleric a very good fighter.I started with 19 STR (which helped much) and all those buffs improve my THACO a lot.Look what happened to Zhivago (yep with some lucky criticals,but with my buffs I could hit him anytime).I used spells like doom,hold person,domination,silence(excellent for mages) only in the early game and my skeletons helped a lot too.
Having 21 WIS gives some bonus spells too.And I wasn't afraid to rest when I ran out of spells.This in early game only.And trust me with all those mods and if you know the game well enough,doing the easy quests for fast XP will make your cleric level-up quickly enough.
Quests I do in early game: Circus,Slavers quest,Graveyard,Harpers,start the strongholds quests (if you have the multiple strongholds comp. from Ease of use) and other easy quests from UB,QP.Visit Umar Hills and Trademeet for some other easy XP.And then proceed with the Planar prison and the more serious ones.
Early game requires patience and good planning.

MID GAME: From the moment you get your skel.warriors and your first aerial servant,things go MUCH better.I dual wield 2 good flails (FoA main,Defender o. Eastheaven off),+1 THACO guantlets and can fight unbuffed too.Of course in a difficult fight buffs: AoF+Rig.M+Boon + an oil of speed make my cleric a very good fighter, with 50% resistance to physical damage etc.

First HLA and LATE GAME: Just two words - Energy Blades. This is my GWW attack.9 attacks/round ,10 if I dual wield, combined with Righteous Magic makes my cleric a SUPER fighter in any situation. An example.You remember the toughest group from the Tactics' random encounters,the one with the bounty hunter etc. which you meet every night... Well Righteous Magic + Energy blades (3 sets) + True Seeing (and with the shield of Reflection equipped) kill them in less than 10 rounds without taking a scratch.And I do it every night when I need XP or money
Energy blades can take care of almost anything.Harm,implosion and firestorms (trolls) are just an optional.

Well,I say...Go for it

It's a very good idea to add challenge in the game.

You know this game very well,so you don't need any tips,but plan very carefuly your game.Don't do the easy quests before dual-classing.Also leave some easy quests unfinished for your cleric class.An example: do the murders in the Bridge district but talk to the Officer after you dual class.Things like that...


Clerics level up quickly since they use the rogues'XP table and if you install the mods I have(look at the 1st page of the topic) there is over 10-12 M of XP only in ch. 2 !! (without including Watcher's Keep).
Also before you dual class and since you will have a lot of money,you can have ready the best equipment for your cleric,including wands,staff of fire,air (for summons),rings of air control etc.which will help your cleric to survive in early levels.

[ March 13, 2006, 16:51: Message edited by: thetruth ]

 

Clerics do NOT use rogue XP table, though they need lower amount of XP than a mage in epic levels, in low levels, somewhere in the middle, cleric demands more XP than a mage. Just so you know.

OMG, dualling at level 34 is CRAZY I will never try it!

 

@ Silverstar

Oops,you are right.Don't know what I was thinking when I wrote this

And I just noticed the ''34'' of Faraaz's mage,much over 8 M of XP ! Well that would make things a LOT more difficult,but I still can't say impossible...

 

Eh...I thought Mages hit lvl 34 at 8 million XP. Must be fighters who cap out at lvl 34...I'm really out of touch with the bean counting in BG2. Whatever...I'm going to stop at 8 million XP with my mage, and then shift over to Cleric.

@Silverstar: I dunno, it won't be THAT drastic. For instance, I can do what truth suggested, i.e not talking to certain characters until after I've dual-classed to gain my rewards. In addition to Lt. Aegisfield, the Mayor of Trademeet, Mayor of Umar Hills, Hendak from the Copper Coronet etc can be contacted later on for much XP.

Also, the way I'm thinking of doing this...I will only do enough quests until I get the 15000 gold I need to pay off the Shadow Thieves, and then I am going to get Robe of Vecna, Staff of the Magi, Cloak of The Sewers, Amulet of Power, Belt of Inertial Barrier.

Once I have these, I'm off to Spellhold to save Imoen. I should be around lvl 17 or so if I take my time about it, OR I could just get Haer'Dalis to spam steal/sell the wands from Chateau Irenicus after which I can buy what I need and leave for Spellhold at lvl 13-14 or so.

Fighting through the maze in Spellhold, Underdark, Sahuagin City etc should EASILY be able to get me up to level 25+. After that, its just a matter of putzing around Athkatla in Chapter 6 till I hit 8 million XP after which I dual-class. This way, the timing is perfect. I then run around and collect my million XP or so waiting for me!

Once I've done that...the troubles begin. I'll have a LOAD of tough encounters ahead of me. Improved Firkraag, all the new bosses from the Planar Sphere Mod etc etc...all to be defeated as a solo cleric of approximately lvl 9-10 or so.

However...note that I am going to be easily able to re-activate my mage class by the time I hit Suldnesselar, or at most first level of Watcher's Keep in ToB.

After that...ToB is going to be an exercise in CARNAGE! I'll see if I can get some screenshots of this going once I get around to it. With credits to thetruth of course!

 

OK while you draw a pretty picture, it will still be really really hard, but it is your game, pal, I wish you good luck! Yes definitely surrender some Screen Shots to us, if you do so! Have fun!

 

Well, I'd sure as hell like to know what protections/tactics you used! I've got a full six-person party (Ranger PC, Sarelith, Anomen, Aerie, Edwin, Imoen), and I've only been able to actually HIT the bastard maybe twice on Bhaal knows how many tries! I don't know what that freakin' Shield of Oblivion thing he uses is, but it's apparently proof against anything and everything. I hit him with about 10 Spellstrikes, Pierce Shield, Warding Whip...went through three Breach wands, and NOTHING seems to bring that thing down. The time I was actually ABLE to hit him, I got Imprisoned immediately after, so I don't even know what worked! I even switched the setting to easy and SK'd myself a party-pack of Prot from Magic scrolls, but whoever designed the mod apparently neglected to make those effective against any of the new spells, as this Wave of Obliteration thing ripped through us like butter. I'm THIS CLOSE to Ctrl-Ying that a-hole!

Ahem. Any advice you could offer would be welcome.

 

@ Gregor

Exactly.Shield of Oblivion makes him invulnerable to EVERYTHING.When he is protected from this shield, keep out of his visual range if possible and just wait for the shield's duration to run out.

I used protection from every element (scrolls of fire,electricity,acid,cold resistance), a potion of magic shielding (the light yellow ones) which gives 50% resistance to magical damage.I had the belt of inertial barrier for a total 100% resistance against m.damage.Also I casted Shield of the Archons although I am not sure if it has protected from something.My cleric has high MR with cloak of Balduran,ring of Gaxx etc.But although I had all these protections I took a lot of damage in this fight.Especially his sorcerous bolts could damage me a lot,so I had to use the Rod of Resurrection for instant healing.When Melanthium wasn't protected from his shield I kept attacking with Energy Blades + Righteous Magic.When he casted another shield I kept my PC out of his sight and waited.This is how I killed him.

In battles like this one character is easier to protect than a whole party.Anyway I would try this tactic:

Protect every member of your party from elemental damage (scrolls or potions).Cast just before the battle protection from Magic Energy (6th level spell) on everyone if possible.
Put on Edwin all the protections I mentioned + Belt of inertial barrier + Spell Trap from the Staff of the Magi + cast Spell Immunity: Evocation,Necromancy,Abjuration.
Also try to give him high MR (from items and/or from the other yellow potions which sells Roger in the sewers).

When the battle starts leave Edwin alone ahead and keep back all your other characters.If Melanthium doesn't follow you keep back even Edwin.Then summon 5 sk.warriors and wait for Melanthium's shield to run out,using Edwin to watch out.When his shield is off, attack with everyone.GWW attacks or improved haste can help.Again try to have Edwin ahead so Melanthium targets only him with his spells.And use the rod of res. for healing or Greater Restoration (7 level cleric spell).

Strange.Melanthium didn't use this spell with me.Anyway Spell Trap or SI Abjuration will protect you from Imprisonment.


@ Faraaz


Good luck and keep us updated