How to deal with Shadows?

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Hello,
I´m having some problem with the Shadows in the first dungeon level. I suppose you can only damage them with magical weapons and spells? From what I´ve read here they are vulnerable to Cone of Cold. Unfortunately I don´t have that spell. My company are the same as in the PoR 2 demo: Corran D´arcey, Skylar, Ghleanna Stormlake, Durwyn. Any advice?
Thanks
/Andreas

 

Save before the encounters. When the fight starts use "turn undead". While the shadow is held you can test which weapons work. Your cleric can turn undead up to 4 levels higher when you get a lucky roll for the maximum turnable undead level. If turning doesn't work reload, if your level is too low go elsewhere to gain XP or better equipment, nearly all shadows can be avoided, avoiding them is in fact the best tactic, you can mark their locations on the map and return later.

 

This has been discussed before, and a simple search for "shadows" would have netted you with some answers.
However, I'll give a few tips:

#1: Only magic weapons have a CHANCE of hurting them. Normal weapons will be ineffective. You still suffer from an additional 50% miss penalty in addition to your normal miss chance. Like you don't miss enough at these levels.
#2. If you pick the right path, you find a wand of cone-of-cold early on. While it is tempting to save it for the tougher stuff later, it is very effective against shadows. By the time you fight the tougher undead, you have proper defenses and spells like spiritual hammer, acid arrow, and your magic missile spell is high enough in level to fire more than one missile.
#3. Magic Missile and disrupt undead work. I believe most other spells that do damage also work. Acid Arrows work, and I believe Nottle sells a wand with that spell. If you have any wands with damaging spells, use them. Especially the magic missile wands as they lose effectiveness in later levels once you get out of the Dwarven Halls as your own sorcerer's version gets more powerful. Same for the scrolls with offensive spells, although you might want to horde the fireballs and lightning bolts for sticky situations with multiple foes.
#4. The cure light wounds (and all other cure spells including heal. Cure and Inflict spells have the opposite effect on undead) and the paladin's lay on hands will work, BUT you suffer an attack of opportunity. When you get a high enough level, spiritual hammer becomes a GREAT shadow & wraith killing spell.
#5. Basically any damage dealing spell is effective on incorporeal undead in this game. If you have an item besides a scroll or wand that casts a damage dealing spell you wouldn't normally want like "shocking grasp", give it to a front-liner so they can use it. You can equip most items except armor in combat, so switch out when facing shadows and blast away. When they run out of charges you can sell the item. Save the scrolls and items for incorporeal undead. Although you might want to hold onto lightning bolt spells until there is a line of enemies and blast them reguardless of whether or not they are undead.

Everything that works on shadows also works on wraiths and the like.


http://www.sorcerers.net/forums/showthread.php?t=12062&highlight=shadows
http://www.sorcerers.net/forums/showthread.php?t=11946&highlight=shadows

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One other thought on scrolls and wands. You get a lot of magic stuff in those dungeons, and your characters will quickly get overloaded if you horde them. To my knowledge there is no way to store items for later use. You can't stash them in a chest like in Baldur's Gate, and Nottle's inventory gets reset every time you reenter the dungeons. So, while you should save them for tougher fights, don't feel too bad about using your scrolls & wands of magic missiles or acid arrows against shadows & wraiths at low levels. They are meant to be used. Blast away with the low-level damaging spells. Don't forget burning hands and shocking grasp as well, you might not want to pick them for your sorcerer, but feel free to blast those shadows with any scrolls/items/wands you find.

Although you might want to save the items of Restoration for when you've been level drained.

 

I just thought I'd add that once you get it, the spell "Spiritual Hammer" is awesome for killing shadows and wraiths.

Just about every spell that does damage is effective against them, and the "searing light" spell is also extremely effective.

Of course, that does you no good at level 1 or 2. I think the game was poorly designed in that you can easily encounter the shadows right off the bat before you've discovered any magic weapons and might not have chosen magic missile for your sorcerer.

If you could run away from them, that would be another story, but I see it as a no warning death trap. There should be warning before you fight the shadows or wraiths in the main hall. By the time you reach the Deep Halls or the Halls of Stone, you should be able to handle the shadows, but putting them in the western (early) half of Main Halls is a bit unfair.

The eastern half would have been acceptable given how much treasure you get along the way.

 

Turn Undead is the way forward.

 

I actually like this aspect. Doesn't feel like I'm being railroaded in terms of my fighting level. I used to be terrified of shadows (I don't have a cleric in the group) but as I found weapons and leveled up, I now welcome the challenge. In that way, the game reminds me a little of BG 2. you could encounter something way out of your league early on in the game.

Also, sometimes even if you have a magical weapon and you do hit a shadow, it will say that your weapon is ineffective. Do not give up. Keep hitting and eventually you should be able to do some damage.

 

It was more like the wolves in BG1. However, unlike the wolves in BG1, there is no way to run away from the shadows. Nor is there any warning. Only that one master shadow has any warning.

The shadows should have been put SLIGHTLY farther in to the main halls, where you had to pass a chest with a wand or item that can hurt them along the way in addition to collecting magic weapons before encountering them.

I'm not saying it should have been on the other side of the main halls, but far enough in that you had a chance to collect some stuff to use to fight them before you stumble upon them. Otherwise if you picked the wrong classes or spells for your characters, you were screwed.
With +1 weapons and a wand of magic missiles (or any other damaging spell such as that greatsword that casts burning hands or a wand of acid arrows), the shadows were a challenge for the level 1 or 2 party, but not the instant death since you can't harm them they otherwise are.