Watcher's Keep - When?

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I am playing through SOA but have TOB installed and was wondering when is it best to do Watcher's Keep at the end of SOA or sometime else ??//. I dont want to get to the end of SOA only to find that it would of been better to do the keep before then ????

[ September 22, 2006, 20:24: Message edited by: Taluntain ]

 

I tend to do it when I finish the start of TOB. First chance to travel on the map is when I do it.

 

But I am on Chapter 2 of SOA and it shows up that you can travel to it now ????????

 

Yes, once you install ToB, WK is available at any point in time. The first level of the keep is actually fairly easy, and you should be more than capable of handling it with a mid-level party. However, I like to go there and do the whole thing all at once. Because of that, I, like Takara, finish SoA, and do WK after leaving Saradush for the first time.

The only reason to go there a bit earlier is there are some decent items for purchase by the merchants on top of the keep, and you can grab a few items from the easier rooms on the first level of the keep. Honestly though, it really isn't possible to go beyond level 1 with an inexperienced party. The fight to get to level 2 alone is very tough, and once you hit level 2, you start running into things like fire giants, which will just wreck a low level party.

 

Yes you can get access in SOA, but like I said I did, and how Aldeth does it is the beginning of TOB.

 

Watcher's Keep is tough. You may not be powerful enough until chapter 6. However, you can buy some good stuff early on (like a great crossbow, potion pouches, etc) and there are some very useful items on the first level (quiver of plenty and ammo belt come to mind).

A common ploy is to go and do a little bit to get some useful items (and shop) and then go again later. You may not be able to finish the Keep until you're in ToB.

I heard the npc's do not talk much in Watcher's Keep during SoA, but I know they DO talk during ToB. So, if interactions are important in your game you may want to wait.

 

I usually do WK after tying up all the remaining quests in chapter 6. The items found in the keep really make the final battles easier.

 

I usually do it in ToB after Saradush. I tried the first level with a level 10ish party and found it not hard. There's good stuff to be had that helps for the rest of the game.

 

I've gone and cleaned out the first level with a low level party and waited to do the whole thing with my high level party. Good stuff to be had there!

 

I don't think I ever went in cuz they say if you enter, you can't leave til it's finished or can you leave as you want?

 

You can't even get into WK if you have really low level party...IIRC the message shows up when you get close to WK saying something like you are too inexperienced to go in.

 

Bioware really screwed up this bit. Many of the 'No Valid Links or Replies' dialogue bugs in WK were caused by the interjections trying to occur in SoA. BG2 Fixpack ensures all of the interjections and dialogue that would occur in ToB also occurs if you're in SoA.

You can leave and return as you please.

 

Really? I did most of the optional quests before going to spellhold (firkraag, planar sphere etc) so I've just entered the underdark and my highest level character is a level 15 sorc. So I should be able to handle the first level? I remember doing the whole thing (except demogorgon) a while ago, but I was using a much higher level party so I had access to things like timestop. Although, when I exit the underdark, I will have (or will be able to make) crom feyr, carsomyr, celestial fury and robe of vecna. so maybe I will do the first level or two. get some nice xp and items.

 

I don't really see the allure of doing WK before ToB. While it is true that there are a great many items that are very useful through WK, most of these are not nearly as useful until after you upgrade them - and it's simply not possible to upgrade them in the SoA portion of the game. AFAIK, Cromwell does not offer to make the same upgrades that Cepenar makes. So when you get the 4th head for the FoA on level 2, you can't add it on until after you reach ToB. That's why I usually wait.

Additionally, for some reason I never have any problem exceeding 3 million XP in SoA. Since SoA is obviously very winnable even if you have all of your characters capped at 2.95 million XP, having most of your characters with a couple of HLAs makes in very doable. I find that I don't really need the extra XPs or items in the SoA segment of the game.

 

I'm hoping to get that amount of experience. In truth I'm worried I wont. I think most of my characters are sitting at about 1.2 million, and I've done basically all the quests I want to do, so all thats left are the story quests. which arguably give the most xp, but I only have about 1.2 mil as I said.

As soon as I get back to Amn, I'll probably kill a few liches (if possible, I wont have timestop so I might have to retreat). not much left but to go after bodhi and irenicus then.

 

I recommend doing it in ToB, else

- SoA will get too easy
- The joinable NPC you meet at the start of ToB will be far behind in XP.
- You find many stuff which you might consider useless until it is upgraded in ToB and some hints which are also only useful for ToB.
So if you decide just to do only the first level you'll either have to put stuff back into containers there and remember them or to waste inventory space and time for inventory management for those hint notes and other things.

 

I personally prefer to finish WK in Chapter 6 of SoA. It's not at all hard(except for maybe Demogorgon...) and the items them are just terrific. But as someone stated, it makes you so overpowered that the final battle with Irenicus is cake.. Simply too easy. So I suppose it depends on whether you want to be strong or have a challenge.

While you get many upgradeable items which you can't upgrade in SoA, you get even more items that are +3/+4 that are better than any SoA items, with the exception of a few. Altogether, it's worth it to go either at the end of SoA or the beginning of ToB. I imagine it doesn't make THAT much of a difference either way considering the time between those two periods is, what, 2 playing hours?

 

Proteus - If your party already has 1.2 million XP each, and you're just starting underdark, you can come close to doubling that experience total by the time you hit chapter 6. Chapter 5 in the Underdark is massive - not so much in size but in the amount of stuff to do. There's a few side quests before you even enter Ust Natha that will net you tens of thousands of experience points. I'd also recommend doing all three of the Lairs in the Underdark (Kuo-Toas, Beholders, Illithids), just for the experience points. All three are loaded with expereince points. I've never bothered actually figuring out how much, but definitely there are hundreds of thousands of experiences points in each one.

Other than that, make sure you do all the quests you can in Amn. Have you done the Guarded Compound, the Twisted Rune, and the Kangaax quest? I don't know if you'll hit 3 million before chapter 7 (when I go over 3 million, it usually occurs while I'm in Suldenesselar). Even so, if you do everything, you should definitely have a party in the low 20s if you start WK before finishing SoA. Of course, if you do go through WK, you'll have WAAAAY more than 3 million XP by the end of SoA.

 

Sorry I screwed up there, I had more than 1.2 million but I couldnt remember the exact amount. I think at the time it was more like 1.5 million. I've just exited the underdark, killed the alhoon and claimed my crom feyr. I have about 2.4 million experience per character now, my sorc (PC) got his first level 8 spell a while ago, next level up will be more level 8 spells. I think I'll go on a lich hunt for a bit (I have daystar and mace of disruption). where is the twisted rune thingy anyway?

after that I'll revisit bodhi and say hi, if I dont have the amount if experience I want by then I might visit wk. In fact I want to pick up usunos blade and spectral brand.

 

@Proteus_za: Twisted Rune is one of the trapped doors near the bottom of the Bridge district. You will see a blank opening unless you have a Rogue Stone with you.