Hi all. As some of you know, my elven sorceress, Alicia, recently soloed the SCS-Ascension Battle on insane following her nearly successful Trilogy No Reload attempt. This was a fun fight- fun enough that I thought I'd share.
I'm not super-comfortable with starting a thread for this really: It seems kind of self-indulgent (A certain Carly Simon song is running though my head right now in fact...). But since some might find this interesting -and it doesn't quite fit anywhere else- I've decided to go ahead with it. Don't think this deserves a thread? Don't get mad: just click away- I'm sure the offending lines will vanish soon enough (just like the clouds in my coffee, clouds in my coffee, and...).
Anyhoo: Here's Alicia, Elven Sorceress.
Her quirky yet workable spellbook appears below.
Level 1: Blindness, Shield, Chromatic Orb, Magic Missle, Pro Evil
Level 2: Invisibility, Mirror Image, Resist Fear, Melf's Acid Arrow, Blur
Level 3: Skull Trap, Remove Magic, Melf's Minute Meteors, Spell Thrust , Flame Arrow
Level 4: Teleport Field, Stoneskins, Improved Invisbility, Ice Storm, Fire Shield: Blue
Level 5: Sunfire, Spell Immunity, Spell Shield, Lower Resistance, Breach
Level 6: Protection from Magic Weapons, Globe of Invulnerability, Spell Deflection, Death Fog, Contingency
Level 7: Spell Sequencer, Ruby Ray of Reversal, Projected Image, Limited Wish, Power Word: Stun
Level 8: Spell Trigger, Protection from Energy, Horrid Wilting, Power Word: Blind
Level 9: Spell Trap, Chain Contingency, Wish, Power Word: Kill
Her adventures from The Keep to The Throne (SCS-Ascension) can be found in the No Reload Challenge Thread.
BGI
http://social.biowar...dex/3124065/274
BG II
http://social.biowar...dex/3120942/222
(And that's enough of that...)
So: Mel and The Five. As mentioned, this was a fun fight. It was easier than I expected actually. I'm not sure if it was on purpose or not, but SCS seems to have toned down Mel's demon summoning. That's not to say it was a breeze, but The Throne was far less crowded than I was expecting. This seems like a manageable solo in the No Reload context to my eye. Here's how it went.
The Plan:
(NW: This section is mostly copied from Alicia's epilogue post in the No Reload Challenge Thread. If you've read that, you can skim this. Changes and additions are italicized)
Set Spell Sequencer: Teleport Field x 3; Spell Trigger: ProMW, Spell Defection, Spell Shield; Contingency: Hit- ProMW; Chain Contingency: Helpess- ProMW, Teleport Field, Teleport Field. Buff with Spell Trap (SotM), Improved Alacrity-> Shield, Blur, Mirror Image, Resist Fear, Improved Invisibility, Spell Immunity: Abjuration, Spell Immunity: Divination, Spell Immunity: Conjuration, Spell Shield, Spell Deflection, Globe of Invulnerability, Protection from Energy. Summon a Planetar and place it near Sendai's arrival spot then touch the pool. During the waiting period, have the Planetar take a Globe of Blades and have Alicia drink a Potion of Magic Shielding. Cast Farsight via the Book of Infinite Spells on Illasera's position and await Mel's arrival.
When the battle begins, move south to the edge of the field and then cast Projected Image, triggering the helpless Chain. Have the PI cast Improved Alacrity immediately and then obliterate Illasera- being sure to hit her with Power Word: Kill as soon as she reaches Near Death to insure that she won't Heal or go Ethereal.
Target Sendai next. The presence of the Planetar should cause her to DDoor to the east putting her in range of the first PI while IA is still active. Try to unload as much as possible before Mel intervenes.
When Mel arrives, don't ignore her: She can't be killed but that doesn't me she can't be hampered. Ruby Ray her, LR her, and Blind her to keep Bathazar safe -feed her Planetars to keep her busy- and above all else disrupt her whenever she tries to go Alteration or Divination.
Hampering Mel, taking care of Balthazar - and summoning Planetars when freed from PI stasis- should create space to safely summon PIs: Find that space- and remember to use that Teleport Field x 3 Spell Sequencer if the situation demands. Note that preserving PIs may eliminate the need for Wishes and -consequently- free up L9 for Dragon Breaths. That in turn, may further reduce the need for Wishes by ending the fight quicker. Try to go Wishless if possible.
With regards to The Five, feel free to employ the same strategy as earlier, but be a little less shy about using Power Word: Kill. It may seem wasteful when the opportunity cost is an HLA spell, but it foils all that miraculous Near Death healing that The Five are so fond of: It's worth it.
On Insane, Mel will summon Demons. Ignore them- except for the Fallen Solars: They should be killed as soon as possible after they arrive. Incinerate them with Dragon's Breaths and Sunfires. Don't be shy.
Finish Mel as before. Go ProMW->Improved Alacrity->Buff->Ruby Ray->LRx2->Power Word: Blind and then fade and hit her with Flame Arrows, Ice Storms, Death Fogs, and Dragon Breaths. Let the Planetar get into the action with Fire Storms as well. One PI and your own book should do it.
Execution: Alicia's plan worked surprisingly well. The teamwork between Alicia and Balthazar was what made this fight special though.
Alicia opened as planned: heading south, casting Projected Image, and watching her Chain fire. The PI then cast Improved Alacrity->Spell Immunity: Divination->ProMW and began her assault on Illasera. Her bow had to be taken out of the action quick.
LRx2->Flame Arrow x 6->Magic Missle x 6-> Power Word:Kill.
As planned, the PI targetted Sendai next. LR x 2 -> Power Word: Blind -> Melf's Acid Arrow x 6 -> Ice Storm x 6->Death Fog x 5-> Dragon's Breath x 4 (the latter 3 all targetted to catch others in the AoE as well.)
Hey Sendai: My magic just crushed you...
Abazigal (who had been tagged with Ruby Ray->Breach) and Gromnir survived, but took a beating.
With her book now essentially tapped, Alicia's PI summoned some fury protectors. Fortuitously, they were in place just as Mel attempted her first and only Time Stop melee assault. Note Balthazar going to work on Gromnir: Gromnir survived the Time Stop but fell to the Death Fog soon after.
Two notable events happened around this time. Alicia -seeking room to get another PI up and running- went west. Mel -seeking to replace her losses- summoned a pair of deadly Fallen Solars. As Alicia's PI headed back to the east she was stunned to see Balthazar taking on Mel and both Fallen Solars at the same time.
Swelling with newfound respect for Balthazar -but knowing that she couldn't let the opportunity to take down both Fallen Solars pass- Alicia reluctantly decided to unleash an unrestrained AoE assault. Forgive me Balthazar! I'll make it up to you, I promise!
Miraculously, he survived- Second Wind! :happy:
Both Fallen Solars had been destroyed, and Abazigal had been taken down to Near Death with his healing having already been spent. He only needed a nudge after that.
After re-buffing herself under Improved Alacrity...
Alicia headed west again to get another PI up and running only to find Balthazar in trouble again- this time at Near Death under assault from Mel, a Fallen Deva, and Yaga Shura. This was a fun sequence: A chance for Alicia to re-pay Balthazar for his heroism.
Recognizing that there wasn't time to summon a PI first -and still under Improved Alacrity- Alicia Power Word: Blinded Yaga and then summoned a Planetar to take the heat off and perhaps cast Heal.
But when the Planetar's Heal was interrupted, it was up to Alicia's Projected Image: Improved Alacrity->Si:D->ProMW->Power Word Stun (Fallen Deva)...
then LR x 2 (Sarevok)->Single Target Barrage (Sarevok) to take Mel out of the action for a round...
followed by Ruby Ray->LR x 3 (Melissan)->Power Word Blind (Melissan)...
and finally Regeneration (Balthazar)-> Wish x 2 (With the second yielding the desired option: Restoration on All Party Members).
Wow! We made it!:happy:
Let's finish it Balthy!
Time for some demons.
"Bring it on Mel!" "We shall not fail!"
Ruby Ray->LR->Power Word Blind->Ice Storm x X-> Death Fog x X->Dragon's Breath x X from Alicia's PI had incapacitated Mel and brought her down to injured. Alicia cast from her own book for the finish- rebuffing and then unloading.
The last barrage.
Fin!
Final Comments: That was a fun fight. The interplay between Alicia and Balthazar was really wonderful there. This is definitely one of the battles I'll remember fondly. I hope some of you enjoyed reading about it.
Best,
A.
Modifié par Alesia_BH, 17 mars 2013 - 12:17 .
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