15235 réponses à ce sujet

[corey_russell]

Alesia_BH wrote...

Sorry for your loss Corey. Are you thinking of trying another caster?

(And yes: Spell Deflection would have worked. Since Maze casts at level 8 it gets over the top of the minors. Spell Deflection, Spell Turning, and Spell Trap will foil it. Spell Immunity: Conjuration is another option- though I personally wouldn't bank on the trap based versions being assigned the correct school; I'd stick with the spell protection angle if I needed to set off a Maze trap.)

Thank you Alesia_BH. I knew the maze trap is a game ender, I should have read the spell description for minor spell turning first before trying it, since I have never done this exact thing before. I think the fact I didn't is a symptom of BG fatigue. So I will finish my Dragon Age game I have in progress (be a while, week or two maybe), then try another solo caster. I got a pure mage to level 5 once, solo, and it was one of the most tedious things I ever did in my life. At the gnoll fortress, for example, I had to sleep xvarts twice, then it took forever with my 1 APR sling and mage thac0 to kill them all. Only two fights like this and I had to retreat and rest at an inn, and repeat.. I know wands would have made a big difference, but that was the point, I didn't have the resources/experience/spells yet to get them. So what caster it willl be, will be anything but a pure caster.

I will still monitor the boards though.

[Grond0]

Hard luck Corey - sounds like one of my typical endings! Just for info there are 2 types of limitation on spell turning. The first is the number of spell levels that can be turned in total, but if even 1 level is left available on your spell that will foil an attack. It was the second limitation that caught you, i.e. the level of the attacking spell was too high to be turned at all.

I'll look forward to seeing your next caster in due course.

[Serg BlackStrider]

Sad for your loss, Corey. At least there is a good company already in the place where Maze takes her victims.

[Gate70]

A sad welcome to Maze club Corey.

Day 35 hour 18. Session time 24 hours
(not sure how, maybe time passes in the chateau escape cutscene or the Gaelan Bayle cutscene).

Carthusian starts at the circus, killing 7 shadows and Kalah. An influential ring means he can purchase a gem bag, scroll case and Ring of Air Control but nothing else. On to the Copper Coronet where he asks Unger Hilldark to watch over a table full of loot (hmm).

A couple of jobs are completed, yielding a cloak of the sewers and the satisfaction around homing an orphan with a grieving paladin.

Various jobs are picked up for later but first a series of ambushes must be dealt with. Suna Seni and her slavers are RoAC'd easily while Renfeld is rescued after an invisible attack. Carthusian isn't expecting an immediate ambush by orog slavers and goes through half a dozen potions to win the day.

A lack of resting means the Glasses of Identification aren't worth purchasing. The stock of potions is running low so Carthusian may be forced to rest soon unless he can come up with another plan. A protection from undead scroll, 3 lesser restorations and a storm giant potion are just affordable. Carthusian is able to sneal to Gaal and out again so his plan switches to the execution phase.

A brief relapse is suffered as he forgets to switch from Arbane to fists, allowing an ooze mephit to send him unconscious as two shadows observe through a nearby grill and join in the attack. Carthasian moves out of the mist and kills the mephit then the shadows. Back to the execution.

As Carthusian prepares to buff he realises he needs more equipment. The RoAC is depleted, will potions of invulnerability and stone form stack their saving throws? Protection from Petrification is found first so that is purchased instead. Back to the execution?

PfU > Storm Giant > pummeled Shade Lich.
Detect Traps (15%) > Force door > pummeled City Gate Lich.
PfP > Open door (save vs spell of 13, 7 required) > pummeled Elemental Lich.
(Decided not to force the Twisted Rune door with current save vs spell)
Sneak past Mad Cleric > Force door > Lesser restoration scroll > pummeled Kangaxx the Lich.
Daystar attacks killed Kangaxx afte a short while.

Rests during session: 0. Fatigued after lesser restoration.
Monk 10: 242 kills, Kangaxx.

Modifié par Gate70, 17 septembre 2013 - 10:12 .

[Gate70]

Day 38 hour 17
The trip to Watchers Keep was poorly planned, forgetting to take a strength potion. Even after a rest Carthusian was unable to open the desired (Crimson Dart) container with a DUHM strength of 22. He now has a potion case so will make a second visit later.
(The dart is a great ranged weapon for a monk although the Firetooth dagger is the eventual aim).

A group of mephits cause problems for Carthusian and he turns back from the stone golems rather than push on to Rayic Gethras. Instead he investigates the home of Valygar Corthala and grabs a necklace from the temple of Talos.

The forlorn paladins (sic) are helped against smugglers but one of them attacks Carthusian (still showing a blue floor aura) so the monk hides to avoid further trouble. A second DUHM forces a door on the third attempt but Neb the child killer quaffs an alarming amount of healing potions while his enslaved spirits drain Carthusian down to level 6. A lesser restoration scroll is used (2nd of 3 originally purchased) and the next hit kills Neb. His head is kept for later as is a trapped painting (70hp, too risky) while the skinner murders are partially resolved by locking a trapdoor to retrieve Rejiek Hidesman later (rune assassins, no thank you).

The search for kidnappers has continued from before the Watchers Keep visit, Carthusian eventually realising Sethle has not been interrogated. Once this is done Am-Si deigns to arrive and is killed by his collaborators. Reti is easily killed but 4-5 hours of gametime is required to get rid of Camitis - with a quick shop for darts and throwing daggers mid battle. Day has broken so the ensuing ransom cannot be collected until nightfall.

A second rest is taken (thanks to Neb's endeavours leaving Carthusian fatigued) and Lieutenant Aegisfield was sent to investigate the skinner murders mid battle with Camitis.

Rests: 2

[corey_russell]

Gate70 wrote...

A sad welcome to Maze club Corey.
[u]

Oh, I've been a member of this club for a long time, Gate70. You must have forgotten about Noywad, my level 15 solo dwarven fighter. He was doing pretty well, but his run ended when  Tanova mazed him.

[Gate70]

Ah yes, Noywad. Forgotten, but not gone (for long).

Day 39 hour 1
(time seems to be slipping by again, haven't worked out if it is cutscene related or if a transition in the city is adding hours somewhere)

The Fallen Paladins drop another notch, falling to shadowy attacks. Welther hands over some pantaloons in exchange for Lady Elgea then Carthusian speaks to the circus guard and to Chief Inspector Brega to restore his reputation.

The premonition about a worm called Travin is just that, until Carthusian speaks to Dawnbringer Sain. Travin drops his price to nil meaning Gaelan Bayle can be paid off then kills Borinall to recover the holy relic - a Dawnbringer ring. Salia sends two thieves against me and I purchase a couple of protection from undead scrolls in case of emergencies.

Time to check out the +2 fists, stone golems guarding Rayic Gethras spring to mind. The first takes four hits unreturned, the second golem is already attacking and lands two hits in return for five. The monk attacks were impressive but the monk defences more so. Rayic can wait for now.
(AC -6, 29/72hp - had the girdle of bluntness backpacked so could have made it harder for them!)

Mook suggests I cast DUHM and use the RoAC, who am I to disagree (would have to rest if drained anyway).


Monk 12. 284 kills, Kangaxx.

[Grond0]

Grale - dwarf kensai (update 1)

Grale followed up his successes in BG1 with a rapid exit from the dungeon.  Most solo characters struggle to kill Ulvaryl, but a couple of kai swipes with his grand-master 2-handed sword were more than enough to finish her off.

Modifié par Grond0, 17 septembre 2013 - 05:27 .

[Gate70]

Day 39 Hour 15
Gracen and his latest pair of deserters are dead. Carthusian has purchased 3 more scrolls (2PfU, 1 Lesser Restoration) before returning to Aran Linvail. He promises to send help into the Graveyard where a nest of vampires reside. Carthusian nips into a large spider refuge and grabs an ioun stone (72 > 79hp) before killing Pai'Na. Her spiders are numerous but of little danger so the plan to use a Daystar Sunray changes to a stompfest as they are crunched underfoot.

Lassal issues a threat and retreats, leaving Carthusian at the mercy of Gellal until he uses a green scroll. Down goes Gellal (level 13), Tanova and a fledgling vampire retreat when badly wounded but everything else is killed up to Lassal. He refuses to talk so Carthusian loots the area and rests. Lassal notices him and agrees to fight upstairs in a spike room.

Carthusian uses another PfU scroll as Lassal attacks, then stakes him. Bodhi appears and vents her spleen before being kicked around the room without retaliating. Finally she has had enough and flees. Job done.

The Crypt King is next, followed by the undead lurking in the other tombs. The southern tombs looks to be trapped so Carthusian reports back to Aran Linvail instead (level 14 & 42% magic resistance plus 10% from Gaxx). A journey to Brynnlaw is on the cards but Carthusian tells Aran that he needs a bit more time before departing.

DUHM > RoAC. The two rune assassins and bone golem put up a serious fight and while Carthusian might have got away with glugging and punching he runs upstairs from the golem to glug another potion. Good job too as the final exchange of blows would have been fatal without the double potion glug.

[Alesia_BH]

corey_russell wrote...
So I will finish my Dragon Age game I have in progress (be a while, week or two maybe), then try another solo caster.

Understood. Have fun with your Dragon Age game Corey! I hope you'll be back in action here soon.

Best,

A.

[Alesia_BH]

Ashanti at Throne: The Final Confrontation

When players talk about the game's worst builds, beastmasters figure prominently. If you read the Gamebanshee and Ironworks forums, for example, you'll find countless posts bashing the beastmaster kit. Intermixed with the many ungenerous comments, you'll see a handful of beastmaster solo journals with the runs typically represented as stunts. One beastmaster journal began: "This should be fun in a terrible sadistic sort of way. What a LAME class." Followed by the explanation: "You trade plate armor and all melee weapons except clubs and staves for summoned animals that can't even hit goblins in the opening dungeon!" And that is representative of how many players view the beastmaster kit. They note that it sacrifices certain abilities with few compensatory advantages; from that they conclude that it must be terrible.

What's almost invariably missing from these discussions is a first hand play tested perspective. And unfortunately, those who have tried the class often seem motivated to overstate its weaknesses in the interest of aggrandizing their own exploits. What I've heard from this crowd over the years is: "We like having a punching bag and we like tests of mettle. The beastmaster fills those roles. We don't need or want evidence." 

In opposition to the roar of beastmaster bashers stands the few who have actually played the class without vested interest. That group has for many years now issued a collective and resounding: "Umm...They're not that bad actually..." But when you hear: "Bestmaster! Worst scum to ever walk the face of Faerun! Only class that can't solo the game! Fact!" Juxtaposed with: "Umm...They're not that bad actually..." which one sticks out in your head? And so the myth of beastlie incompetence has been perpetuated throughout the years.

Even those who take a more nuanced view of the kit sometimes condemn it on the grounds that it can't solo Ascension. I'm not sure where this idea came from but it's fairly common. In a discussion of the game's worst classes that took place on our forums, one poster (who I respect and admire) wrote "There are classes that no one has successfully soloed through Ascension. Beastmaster was one IIRC...." Now, I don't mean to critique the author of this comment, but having presided over the Ascension Solo Challenge for a number of years and having done a number of web searches, I've seen a fair number of Ascension solos and there are a lot of builds that I haven't seen. I've never come across a kensai->mage, for example. But I wouldn't conclude from that that it has never been done- and certainly not that is couldn't be done. Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.

More recently, the notion that beastmasters can't solo Ascension has been supported through a different strategy: an appeal to authority- with the quoted authority being me, ironically: "We already had this discussion on the old forum. Alesia one of the most experienced players couldn't finish (Ascension) Melissan with her beast master because it just wasn't possible." 



Interesting- given that I had never tried to solo Ascension with a beastmaster at the time of the quote and have never been under the impresson that it would be difficult. Later in the same thread I was cited to the effect that no solo warrior could solo Ascension on insane- which is again interesting because I distinctly recall both The_Truth's solo pure fighter on insane using the "death's door" strategy and Saros's solo wizard slayer using the "demon army" approach. Additionally, I've commented before on the folly of declaring anything impossible in the game given the power of careful study and experimentation in simple worlds.
http://social.biowar...ndex/3124065/58

Now I don't mean to critique this poster either (he or she definitely gets points for creativity!) but I guess I'm happy to put the notion that beastmasters can't solo Ascension to rest. And beyond that I'm glad to add my voice to chorus of brave adventurers who have come before me and boldly declared "Umm... They're not that bad actually..."  

So: to the fight. I'll begin by reminding everyone that this was done on core. The obvious question that will raise is: Can it be done on insane? My answer to that is: Sure, if I get bored enough. Or more precisely, if someone gets bored enough. And to be yet more precise, just swap out the sure for a probably; In other words, someone bored enough could probably do it. There's an Oatmeal comic that may help convey my thoughts on the issue. I'm willing to bet the army depicted here could get the job done. That army just isn't playing Baldur's Gate these days: there's just lighthearted dilletantes like me instead- with some of us having been around long enough to acquire an aura of expertise. 
http://theoatmeal.co...s/online_gaming

Anyhoo. I mentioned something about posting a battle didn't I? Time to come through...

The Plan: Equip unenchanted studded leather, the Gauntlets of Weapons Expertise, the Helm of Brilliance, the Amulet of Cheetah Speed, the Ring of Gaxx, the Claw of the Kazgaroth, the Improved Cloak of Protection +2, the Boots of Speed, the Belt of Inertial Barrier, and The Reflex. Buff with an oil of speed, a potion of power, a Shield Amulet charge a potion of clarity, a potion of fire resistance, a potion of invulnerability, a potion of cloud giant strength, hardiness, and armor of faith. Keep the Shield of Harmony at the ready along with potions of magic shielding and additional oils of speed, amongst others. Touch the pool and then await Mel's arrival.

Once the battle begins, stay on the move and work through The Five's healing supply. Beat them all down to near death before finishing one of them and triggering Mel's arrival. Stay on the move -keep your distance from Abazigal in particular- use The Reflex to ward off Illasera's arrows, 100% fire resistance to protect against Yaga's lava bombs, and above all else listen to Sendai's incantations. If it sounds like she is going implosion, immediately equip the Shield of Harmony even if that may court an arrow from Illasera. If she says anything else intimidating, remember that potions of magic shielding are available. Be patient; wear them down; try to conserve potions- rember that the supply is tight.

After the first of The Five falls -prefereably Sendai- Mel will join the fray. Listen intently to her incantations. If she says "Praeses" activate focus- never, ever, ever miss a focus: that is priority one. If and when time does stop prepare for an assault on the most vulnerable member of The Five. Try to finish the lot of them quickly in order to minimize exposure to Mel.

Aside from Mel's time stops, the greatest danger lies in her bone blades. Managing the damage from the blades will be the key to the battle. Try to keep hardiness and AoF active, but remember Mel will breach. On the one hand you'll need to counter damage promptly and stay out of PW:K range. On the other, you'll need to keep your aura clear if it may be needed for focus. It's a tightrope: walk it well. Do the smart thing- not the merely intuitive thing. When badly injured, running away from Mel and healing is a bad idea: distance from Mel combined with a clouded aura is a recipe for a missed focus and then death by time stop melee. Running towards her -causing her to activate greater whirlwind and thus clouding her aura- is a better move: you can safely use your aura to heal if hers is already clouded. Remember that you have the tree of life nuts if damage gets severe. (EDIT: The Cloak of Mirroring foils bone blades, but I don't like using it. The RoR would simplify things as well but again, I don't like using it. The core battle would be trivial with Mirroring and an RoR. On insane, I'd be willng to put them in play.)

As for damage, rely heavily on the sling. Feel her out with bullets when absolute immunity may be inactive. If one get's through, activate greater whirlwing. She'll refresh absolute immunity promptly, but you can widen the vulnerability window by duping her into using her aura on an offensive action. Turn those infinite greater whirwinds against her.   

When you are ready to finish her, activate hardiness and AoF along with fireshield:red from the Staff of Fire. Equip the Staff of Rynn and engage her in melee. Remember that her spear raises saves and also disables. Keep potions of magic shielding at the ready, and be ready to disengage. If possible, try to work some animals into the finish.

Execution: The battle basically went according to plan- though it did require two reloads. I need to get better at manipulating Mel and managing bone blade damage before I'll be ready for a beastmaster solo no reload.

The battle opened with Sendai, Yaga-Shura, and Sarevok to the west.


Abazigal, Gromnir, and Illasera to the east.


In the earliest phases of the battle, Ashanti took few offensive actions: she was primarily focused on evading Sendai's implosion. This was one part of the battle that was complicated slightly by beastmaster restrictions. Implosion applies Hold Creature (109) without offering a save. The Shield of Harmony stops that, but equipping Harmony crowds out The Reflex and invites Illasera to make a pincushion out of you. Had she not been a beastmaster, Ashanti could have kept a hold immunity granting weapon at hand and grabbed it when the dreaded incantation was heard. As is, she was forced to swap shields and run the risk of having her buffs dispelled by Illasera.

While waiting for Sendai to put her Implosion in play, Ashanti watched her make a wish.    


That further discouraged Ashanti from going on the offensive: there's little point in attacking the invulnerable.


Shortly thereafter, a Sendai time stop was countered by hitting the shadows. Precisely nothing happened.


Soon after, the implosion was absorbed and it was time for Ashanti to go on the offensive with her sling and an occasional dispelling arrow.


Ashanti stayed on the move and pounded The Five with her sling. Once their healing potions were tapped, and they were all near death, she went in for the finish- starting with Illasera.



The death of Illasera triggered Mel's arrival, Ashanti's positioning triggered a Mel time stop. Mel's time stop evoked a focus from Ashanti leading to the destruction of the already near death Sendai and Abazigal.



Gromnir fell next...


followed by Yaga-Shura...


and finally Sarevok.


By that time only Mel remained.


I'll post on the final showdown soon.

Best,

A.

Modifié par Alesia_BH, 19 septembre 2013 - 11:50 .

[corey_russell]

@Alesia: Question: For a solo fighter, would popping an invis potion have the safe effect on Mel Time Stop as your hiding in the shadows did? Does the cloak of non-detection need to be equipped?

Thanks for your write-up, it was interesting.

[Alesia_BH]

corey_russell wrote...
@Alesia: Question: For a solo fighter, would popping an invis potion have the same effect on Mel Time Stop as your hiding in the shadows did?

Yes: Quaffing an invisibility potion and hiding in shadows will have the exact same effect: In both cases, Mel will kick the living magarine out of you until you're stone cold dead...

(Mel detects the invisible via script. Warriors need to use the focus ability to evade her time stop melee assaults. Ashanti used HIS to foil Sendai's spell targetting during a TS cast prior to Mel's arrival.)

Thanks for your write-up, it was interesting.

That's kind of you to say. Going forward, intend to post more reports like this one. 

Best,

A.

Modifié par Alesia_BH, 17 septembre 2013 - 09:59 .

[Gate70]

Faldorn defeated after 41 days 7 hours.
Mantle of Waukeen returned to the mayor after 41 days 15 hours.
Rejiek Hidesman brought to justice at 41 days 15 hours.
Ilbratha equipped at 42 days 5 hours.
Planar Sphere opened up at 43 days 10 hours.
Hendak free at 43 days 11 hours.
(Beastmaster & Carthusian both pretend Tabitha hasn't already been Quivering Palmed)
Andorian revenged at 43 days 11 hours.
Lilacor retrieved at 43 days 12 hours.
Haegan killed at 43 days 12 hours.
Hendak told about the slaver stockade at 43 days 14 hours.
Had a rest as fatigued most of the session (from restoring Raissa) - 43 days 22 hours.

Monk 16, 461 kills, Kangaxx.

Modifié par Gate70, 17 septembre 2013 - 10:26 .

[Alesia_BH]

Looks like Carthusian is making excellent progress Gate! Best of luck!

[Grond0]

Grale - dwarf kensai (update 2)

After restoring the circus, Grale bought RoAC and went to report in to Gaelan Bayle.  In the Slums he handed the keys of the Copper Coronet to Hendak, though he took a severe beating from some bears (down to 17 HPs) in the process.

Opened up the Unseeing Eye quest and then went after the liches using potions of storm giant strength and speed along with scroll of protection from undead and Horn of Kazgoroth (to get saving throw down to 0 for the petrification trap).  Saved Renfeld on the way to the Docks and then failed to dodge the mad cleric.  Keen to avoid delays I decided to let Grale fight in the belief the cleric would be dead before he completed his spell.  I was wrong, but he was hurt enough to run away.  Those delays meant Grale's potion of speed ran out when attacking Kangaxx, but Daystar was sufficient to finish off the demi-lich at 1 APR anyway.

Prebek and Sanasha failed to get a word in against a kai assault and Grale looted the Harper HQ.  Also cleaned out a pirate nest in the area.

Grale is still taking plenty of damage, but with Gaxx now equipped his use of game time to rest should radically reduce (currently at day 177).

[Serg BlackStrider]

Alesia wrote: Going forward, intend to post more reports like this one.

I'm looking forward for that as well! Great and detailed write-up, both educational and entertaining. Keep it up! :happy:

[Gate70]

Yep, keep posting Alesia. Final update for Carthusian below.

My problem with "smoothest run to date" is complacency and after a day of intense focus yesterday the same can't be said of the efforts today. I should have spotted this when meleeing Rayic Gethras - punched him out before he tried maze. Mae'Var and his thieves were plastered around their guild and Carthusian headed down into the temple sewers to deal with the money-grabbers.

I belatedly realised I'd used the Namarra silence on Rayic (it failed hence the punchfest). As I write I even more belatedly realise Namarra has 3 silence charges and I'd only used 1. A post mortem indicates Gaius was unlikely to be affected by it anyway, his unbuffed save vs spell is 1 (another lesson filed away for attempted recall later).

A Stunning Blow attack failed to work on Gaius, he remained both alive and active so run away when Gaius casts to have space to react. Tarnor the Hatchetman, Draug Fea and Gallchobhair gave chase and were cut down. Then back to Gaius but his stoneskins kept him alive long enough to cast. Carthusian was running again but turned back when it was just(!) a fireball. After removing another couple of stoneskins he ran again and kept running as Finger of Death was cast. Save vs spells is 2, magic resistance is 61%. A chance of death...

On the positive side I paused and considered my options. Unfortunately I chose to drop the ring of protection +2 and try an air control improved invisibility but the FoD was too quick and down Carthusian went.

I walked away, annoyed with myself, and about 30 seconds later realised the correct option was to have glugged the spare invulnerability potion I'd packed for such an occasion. Back to Candlekeep at some point. Monk or Kensai next, that's the question (or Cavalier or Stalker, ho hum).

[Serg BlackStrider]

Sad news, Gate...

[corey_russell]

 Corey_Russell/Dogdancing Multi-player No-Reload
Loqi - gnomish fighter/cleric, controlled by CR
Chunky - human level 18 fighter dualed to thief, controlled by Dogdancing
Gum - permanently killed
Bait - permanently killed

So Gum and Loqi proceed to Nyleee's Glade. This was pretty easy, as Loqi and Gum used pro undead scrolls for just such an occassion. Nylee said we had to go to Marching Mountains.

So the duo heads to Marching Mountains, summons some pets and tries to deal with the enemies. Quite frankly, the duo was heavily outclassed. The fire giants churned through Gum's 144 HP really, really fast. While the team did killl some of the giants, it was very touch and go, so much so the team withdrew to Nylee's Glade to regroup.

We concluded that tanking these things just wasn't working very well. Loqi can tank them with hardiness, but he only has two hardinesses. So we changed Gum's equipment slightly so she can backstab, run, hide, and repeat. We head back to Marching Mountains. Loqi summons skeletal warriors as backup, and waits for Gum. Gum tries to find some enemies but fails to do so. Then enemies spawn right by Loqi. Loqi runs away while the skeletal warriors are being destroyed....

Gum has some difficulty finding the fire giants, but after a  lot of verbal direction from Corey_Russell, she finds them...apparently, her hiding in the shadows fails RIGHT when she gets close to them, she hadn't even targeted one of them, then the giants quickly turned around and did a 1,2 punches...and CHUNKED GUM!

Losing Gum's UAI hurts..we had plans for the cloudkill wand...Dogdancing and Corey_Russell left the game paused quite to a while to try to decide what to do. What we ended up doing was ending the session, restarting the session, and letting Dogdancing re-roll a character. She rolled a human fighter then dualed to thief. Loqi then obtained her stuff via sanctuary, as the giants that klled her were still guarding her equipment.

Corey_Russell had enough excitement for one night, and ended the session here.

[Alesia_BH]

Condolences Gate. I hope your next run works out better.

Gate70 wrote...
I walked away, annoyed with myself, and about 30 seconds later realised the correct option was to have glugged the spare invulnerability potion I'd packed for such an occasion.

Makes sense. With my save v spells at 2, I would have opted for a potion of invulnerability as well. 

In addition to filing away Gaius's save number, remember that there is a slight delay when activating items such as the RoAC and the Greenstone Amulet. That's an important lesson. 

Back to Candlekeep at some point. Monk or Kensai next, that's the question (or Cavalier or Stalker, ho hum).

It's interesting Gate. Your three preferred builds (monk, kensai, and cavalier) are the ones I've always avoided: I'm too fond of bows and shields to run any of those. My install is much tougher on shield-less warriors, however.

Modifié par Alesia_BH, 18 septembre 2013 - 12:02 .

[Alesia_BH]

Condolences on the loss of Gum. Keep fighting!

corey_russell wrote...
We concluded that tanking these things just wasn't working very well. Loqi can tank them with hardiness, but he only has two hardinesses.

As a reminder, a fighter/cleric can get his or her crushing resistance to 115% by combining Hardiness with Roranach's Horn and Armor of Faith. In a bonus merchant install, that number can reach 127% with the Defender of Easthaven equipped. At those resistance levels hits from the hammer wielding giants will actually heal you assuming you've also buffed your fire resistance.

Not all the giants are crushers: the elites wield axes, making them slashers. One option is to take down the elites at range before engaging the rest in melee. Another is to position yourself so that you'll been able to take enough healing off the hammers of the generic giants to offset the damage from the slashing elites.

If you intend to try this approach it would behoove you to round count- having your Hardiness expire at the wrong time could definitely ruin your day. It's also advisable to keep the AoP equipped in case you need to refresh your AoF or Hardiness in traffic. Timing refresh casts in between potentially disruptive melee strikes is a good idea as well.

Of course, having only two Hardinesses does limit Loqi's ability to employ this approach. At the very least, consider wearing Roranach's Horn and casting Armor of Faith the next time you face giants.   

Best,

A.

Modifié par Alesia_BH, 18 septembre 2013 - 12:09 .

[corey_russell]

Alesia_BH wrote...

Condolences on the loss of Gum. Keep fighting!

corey_russell wrote...
We concluded that tanking these things just wasn't working very well. Loqi can tank them with hardiness, but he only has two hardinesses.

As a reminder, a fighter/cleric can get his or her crushing resistance to 115% by combining Hardiness with Roranach's Horn and Armor of Faith. In a bonus merchant install, that number can reach 127% with the Defender of Easthaven equipped. At those resistance levels hits from the hammer wielding giants will actually heal you assuming you've also buffed your fire resistance.

Not all the giants are crushers: the elites wield axes, making them slashers. One option is to take down the elites at range before engaging the rest in melee. Another is to position yourself so that you'll been able to take enough healing off the hammers of the generic giants to offset the damage from the slashing elites.

If you intend to try this approach it would behoove you to round count- having your Hardiness expire at the wrong time could definitely ruin your day. It's also advisable to keep the AoP equipped in case you need to refresh your AoF or Hardiness in traffic. Timing refresh casts in between potentially disruptive melee strikes is a good idea as well.

Of course, having only two Hardinesses does limit Loqi's ability to employ this approach. At the very least, consider wearing Roranach's Horn and casting Armor of Faith the next time you face giants.   

Best,

A.

Thanks for your tips. What you are suggesting will work for the giants outside, but I'm not sure I can carry them out in the hardest part of the Temple - the 6-8 giants at the entrance. I'm uncertain there is enough room to range attack them and I could get boxed in if not careful.

[Gate70]

I can relate to multiplayer hide in shadows failing Corey, has happened to me with nasty results a few times. Never noticed when I was hosting the game so suspect it is the client player that suffers.

Edit. How many wands of frost can you get your mits on?

Modifié par Gate70, 18 septembre 2013 - 12:23 .

[Alesia_BH]

corey_russell wrote...
Thanks for your tips. What you are suggesting will work for the giants outside, but I'm not sure I can carry them out in the hardest part of the Temple - the 6-8 giants at the entrance. I'm uncertain there is enough room to range attack them and I could get boxed in if not careful.

I can understand your hesitance. I find the aforementioned approaches workable, but they may not be for everyone. Further, multiplayer may make execution more difficult: I can't say. 

Minimally, I'd encourage you to consider working Roranach's and AoF into your battle plans if you haven't done so already..

Best,

A.