Help with Solo Sorcerer vs. Balthazar

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I suck at magic.

I’m getting near the end of my first solo sorcerer run (and, in fact, my first game where I have to rely on magic). So far, I haven’t had much trouble, but I can’t get past Balthazar. He’s a piece of cake with a tank, but here…

Aside from the basics, I start with summoning Skeleton Warriors (hasted), with Greater Malison and 2 Pierce Magics in a chain contingency set to trigger the nearest enemy on sight, and Energy Blades ready to go. The battle starts, the contingency fires properly, and I’m OK for awhile. I can get him down to Badly Injured, but then his Second Wind kicks in, and it goes downhill. During the battle, I’ve tried Energy Blades, ADHW, Dragon’s Breath, Flame Arrow, Shapechange (Mindflayer) – it all works, but not fast enough to kill him before he kills me. The best tactic seems to be to keep my distance and get off an attack when I can, but eventually he catches me, and that’s it. He’s immune to Time Stop, so while that’s good for keeping his buddies at bay for awhile, it’s only a short-term solution.

I have basically used Earl Grey's spell list, except I substituted Minor Sequencer for Polymorph Self, and Delayed Blast Fireball for Finger of Death.

Did I mention that I suck at magic?

 

That is why Protection from Magical Weapons is useful for a solo sorcerer - you could try scrolls.

As for offense - Protection from Magic Energy on your sorcerer, prepare a Spell Sequencer: triple Skull Trap and a Spell Trigger: triple Skull Trap before battle; just cast it when near Balthazar (Skull Trap has a short range, cast it too far away and the triggers will fail)
Or if you want to play unfair: cast the triggers on yourself while standing next to the target.

Improved Alacrity combined with casting spells using Spell Sequencer/Trigger/Chain Contingency should allow for enough firepower even without Time Stop.

Autopause: spell cast is also recommended.

 

This talk of skull trap makes me think of sunfire spell. Just how useful is that one in this game?

 

Don't you have Time Stop?? If you do, cast Time Stop, then cast Melf's Minute Meteors and go to town. You get 15 auto-hit attacks guaranteed which do 10 dmg per meteor IIRC if you have a DEX of 18. Rinse and repeat. Those meteors are enchanted to be +4 weapons, so they should be able to hurt him. I say use Melf's Minute Meteors because Energy Blades will use up your precious Time Stop slots.

If you attack them while in Time Stop, you CANNOT miss, Mage THAC0 be damned.

I know he's immune to Time Stop..that's what Summon Planetar is for! Get a Planetar to occupy Balthazar while you BEAT the **** out of him. At a distance of course.

I'm not sure if the auto-hit thing is valid for characters who are immune to Time Stop, but I'm thinking it is. Try it out. Cheers!

Edit: Forgot to add, do NOT summon Skeleton Knights. He's a monk. He does bludgeoning damage. Your Skelly Knights have partial damage immunity to slashing and piercing, but NOT bludgeoning...use something beefier. As I mentioned already, Planetars are good.

 

And you're wrong. It's the same deal as Hold spells. If they're immobilized, whether by Hold or Time Stop, then they're easy pickings because they can't dodge your attacks, but if they're not immobilized, then they still can dodge, and their AC & your THAC0 remain a factor.

 

Ah..well, in that case, just nuke Balthazar once he's isolated by Time Stop. Cast Improved Alacrity, and nuke as required.

 

Thanks, guys. I just tried out your suggestions, and it worked like a charm. Planetar was the key (I forgot about that one). TS an IA weren't even needed. As an aside, I am astounded at how useful MMM continue to be even this late in the game.

I'll probably be back looking for advice on the remaining battles.

As I said, I suck at magic.

 

Hey, nice to hear that one worked.

Out of curiosity, are you using the Tactics mod or Improved Battles mod at all??

 

No. As I said, I really suck at magic. I've always relied on melee, with magic as support only, even with Tactics. But I wanted to try something different, so for this attempt, I uninstalled anything that made the game more difficult, kept the stuff that made it easier, and gave it a go. So far, I've really enjoyed it, but I think Tactics would have made it too frustrating. But now that I've had some experirence with it, I think I'll try Tactics with a magic-based approach. Not necessarily with a solo sorcerer, though.

 

Cast Improved Alacrity, PfMW (refresh as needed), lower his resistance, and blast him with ABDHWs, or anything you want. Set Autopause when spell is casted for best results. I see no problem with that fight, though I never battled him, always persuaded to join my cause so far.

 

Yeah Planetars/Devas and then normal monster critters to keep him busy (replace as needed), and batter from distance. get yourself hasted and fire in whatever spells or missiles are at hand.

I am thinking that he regens quickly and is rather magic imune though as most spells I threw his way had almost zero effect including a x3 Chrom Orb.

I had an Assassin/Mage so was a tad better in combat but you should still find these tactics prevail (yes I know you have now won...but for future reference... ).