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cannot solo past first dungeon.

Discussion in 'BG2: Shadows of Amn (Classic)' started by ayyiniwindryder, May 8, 2004.

  1. ayyiniwindryder Gems: 1/31
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    well, its been a year+ since ive last played this game, but i got the urge to go for it again, heh. all my other run-throughs were full 6-person parties, so i wanted to do something different this time. i decided on the solo assassin, just because. so i created my guy. halfling, stats of 17/19/16/10/17/6. i evenly distributed my theif points between hide/ms/find traps/open locks. weapons of short bow, long sword, katana, 2-weap fighting.

    im having an extremely hard time with irenicus's dungeon at the beginning. it takes me like a week to hit a simple mephit, even when only using 1 weapon. i died like 10 minutes into the dungeon, and i wasnt very far. resting to get back hp is out, because i only get back 1 per 8hrs.

    ive searched the boards and havent really found anything useful. any help, suggestions, tricks, or whatever would be great. thanks a bunch.

    note - i want this game solo. that means no taking minsc and jaheria with me.
     
  2. Cambria Gems: 1/31
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    Well, remember your Bhaalspawn abilities. Depending on your alignment, these could come in handy. As well, use missile weapons if possible, or backstab.
     
  3. Harkle Gems: 16/31
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    When you are soloing, you should use your character strengths - for assassin that means backstabbing. That's one intereting thing in soloing - you learn to use your character's skills.

    And, hit-and-run tactic helps when attacking with ranged weapons.
     
  4. Nizidramanii'yt Gems: 10/31
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    Soloing is better for Wizards and such. Still, you might want to consider taking Minsc along just for now, and then later kill him or whatever.

    Just enable the rest until full health option. Sometimes it doesn't work properly. In that case reload the game. Normally you must manage to complete it without dieing.
     
  5. Vandred Gems: 2/31
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    Or download dungeon-be-gone, that way you'll get all the stuff you need and then you can go about your regular business in Athkatla.
     
  6. Splunge

    Splunge Bhaal’s financial advisor Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    I'm pretty sure your resting problem is a bug. I had the same problem recently; check out this tread.
     
  7. Earl Grey

    Earl Grey Mmm... hot tea! Veteran

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    Shame on you, Nizidramanii'yt and Vandred! :nolike: He specifically stated that he wants to solo and even wrote "...no taking minsc".

    First weapon selection. IMO you should take Single Weapon Style for the increased chance of getting a critical and for the bonus to AC. Two Weapon Style does not make sense to me for this character.
    Katana, Long Sword and Short Bow are fine choices.

    In which encounter did you fail? There are mephits all over the place. The mephit encounters in the Air pocket plane and around the four mephit portals are the hardest encounters in Irenicus' Dungeon, so it's not surprising if you have a few problems there.

    I started a halfling assassin like your character (but with "only" 15 strength instead of 17) and made my way through the dungeon. By using much hide-backstab-run-repeat it was quite easy.

    You get two Potions of Speed on level 1 and those can come in handy in an emergency. You also get plenty of healing potions, both normal and extra, so use them if you're in trouble.

    Special abilities. You get at least three different ones and after looking through them you will notice that one or more of those will help you offensively.
    - Varmpiric Touch can be used either in place of a "backstab" or you can try using it in melee and hope you get it in before you get hit yourself.
    - Larloch's Minor Drain really does very little, but you can use it at a distance so it's nice.
    - Horror is absolutely brilliant if you have it and face many mephits like the portals on level 2.
    - Cure Light Wounds is never bad.
    - Draw Upon Holy Might is great since it should improve your THAC0 and damage.
    - Slow Poison is practically useless for an assassin since you should find and disarm all traps anyway, so there is no reason for you to get poisoned.

    The mephit portals on level 2 might be the hardest obstacle and here is what I recommend:
    1. Hide, then open the door to the Mephit Portal (MP) room.
    2. Drink a Potion of Haste and Hide again.
    3. Move in and scout the MP room then move back out.
    4. If you have it then cast a Horror spell targeted just beyond the second portal.
    5. If you have it then cast Draw Upon Holy Might.
    6. Attack and destroy each portal in turn. Avoid fighting the mephits.

    If you get blinded by a mephit you really can't hit anything for a few rounds, so typically the best action is to run until the blindness passes.
    Remember to use hit and run tactics and use those healing potions in battle.
     
  8. Aikanaro Gems: 31/31
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    When soloing my character with crap stats I found the 'run like hell' tactic to be remarkably effective. The 'empty the quiver' tactic works well with that one.
    Maybe you could try locking the things into various unimportant rooms. Lead them in, circle about, and close the door.
     
  9. ayyiniwindryder Gems: 1/31
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    well, the reason that i did 2-weapon instead of 1 is beacuse i tried it first with one and i couldn't hit a thing either. but you are right, 1 is better. i was backstabbing and all that...but i hit very rarely, so it wasn't too useful. on top of that, the run away and hide thing never wored because anytime i tried to do it, the enemy moved as fast as i did, so i couldnt get away. *shrug*

    after much frustration, i ended up canning the character in favor of an elven fighter/thief. 2-weap, katana, long sword. i had many more thief points, so i can hide/ms better than with the assassin. enough thac0 to actually hit stuff, with the ac and hp to stand up somewhat in melee.

    irenicus's place was a relative breeze with this guy. thanks for the help though guys.
     
  10. Tassadar Gems: 23/31
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    Also make use of your assassin's poison weapon, and use a shortbow whenever possible. You will hit often with your high dex, and the poison should take care of the rest. Avoid melee, unless you want to backstab Ilyich's mage.
     
  11. Earl Grey

    Earl Grey Mmm... hot tea! Veteran

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    You should hit fairly often when using backstab. Did you make sure to stand behind the one you were trying to backstab? Go to Feedback and enable To Hit Rolls so you can see what bonus you get.
    Trying to run away as a halfling is not easy, but it's a major tactic for an assassin, so try to do it anyway. You can split up the enemies.


    Yes, a F/T is far easier to solo with. :)
     
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