HoF is a bit boring...

Remove all ads!

I've found that mass (3x) Meteor Swarm creates an awesome killzone. Wiz, sorc, and Cleric all drop MS just out of LoS of a mass of enemies. Some of 'em get hit, which triggers the rest, and a whole bunch of silly bastards run into the falling sky before the flames go away. Doesn't hit all the enemies, doesn't usually kill many enemies, but everyone who walks into it will be hurting. Cleric follows up with a firestorm, wiz with Horrid Wilting and then PW: Blind, sorc starts spamming Symbol of Hopelessness, sometimes working in WotB or Finger of Death (why silence their casters when you can kill them?) if enough of the heavy melee critters decide they really want to stand around and let me stab them for ten rounds.

As far as buffing, I'm pretty much limiting myself to mass haste and stoneskin with occassional resort to Executioner's Eyes(barkskin stacks with stoneskin? Dammit. Guess I should've made a druid. As is, my party is 1 pal,1 ftr, 1 clr, 1 rog, 1 wiz, 1 sorc).

 

You're unleashing some really high-level spells, as if lower level ones have lost their usefulness. Believe me - they haven't.
The level 1 Chromatic Orb uses a reflex save to stun/hold opponents for ages, practically killing them. Where other enchantments like Hold Person use the will save, this spell even works well on clerics and large monsters!
Level 2 Mirror Images save you wearing out your Stoneskins unnecessarily - cast it when you know you'll be attacked soon.
Lvl 3 Skull Traps aren't capped, so deal 30d6 damage at level 30.
If you had a bard, you wouldn't need to choose between Stoneskin and Emotion: Hope at level 4, because bards get it at lvl3.
At level 5 memorize summons, like Greater Shadow Conjuration.
Mass Haste at lvl6 is great, especially after summoning.

And for divine spells:
Lvl1 Bless lasts very long, and +1 attack bonus is always handy, if only for your summons and archers... Druids get the awesome Entangle for outdoors
Lvl2 has Bull's Strength, Remove Paralysis (just in case) and Hold Person. DUHM is good after level 11. Druids should use Barkskin here
Lvl3 Animate Dead is best, but memorizing a casting of Dispel Magic and/or Invisibility Purge is handy. Druids have, eh, Call Lightning and Spike Growth...
Lvl4 Recitation rocks, but a casting of Holy Power and maybe Restoration can help (shift-click to heal if it isn't used). Druids get Spike Stones and Flame Strike, but with Ease-of-use mod they get Stoneskin
Lvl5 Greater Command is excellent with GSF:Enchantment and tyrant's dictum, but there's lots here: Raise Dead, Champion's, Iron Skins... Druids can memorize Insect Swarm or Static Charge here.
Lvl6 Heal has little competition. Druids get great spells with Ease-of-use on level 6, otherwise not so.

Without using these, it seems to me that you'll have a mass of low level spells left over before you need to rest. It's such a waste...

Why use a level 9 spell if a level 2 will do?

 

Definitely. At the same time, there are so damn many critters running around in HoF that I much prefer Symbol of Hopelessness or Hold Person or whatever; more effective, and pretty much guaranteed to hold something.

In general, I figure that if my sorc/wiz are being stabbified, I've done something wrong. I do usually give 'em protection from arrows, but Mirror Image/Blur I usually only bother with when I'm walking into something like the courtyard of the horde fortress: MONSTERS EVERYWHERE!

Okay. Definitely going to be using those now.

As far as summons, I try to avoid using them. They annoy me for no apparent reason. When I do use them, I use Shades.

Er. My archers have--lesse, Crossbow Lady has +25/20 with haste, whereas Longbow Lass has +20/15/10. And they're usually too busy casting to do much shooting.

I hate Iron Skins. My clr kept dying on normal (normal normal!) until I figured out it disappears after the first 8 hits. Stoneskin or bust. Er. They don't stack, right?

Yeah, but I've usually used up all my mass and regular heals after one or two encounters, so I need to rest anyway.

 

To me this would mean you're doing things inefficiently. I rested less than 10 times in my HoF run through (OK, i skipped the Ice Challenges stuff, but it was just too monotonous). I like to go on for days on end, well beyond the duration of my usual buffs like Stoneskins and such. I have enough Bull's and Cat's to cast it a second time after it wears off.
Mass Heal I never really liked, because I try to get all my party down to near death before I feel it's worthwhile to cast. With Tactics mod, it has a wonderful new function as a buff spell for your summons!
Try to avoid overkilling the enemy - it's very satisfying to know that you tackled them with cheap spells. And when you've depleted 75%+ of your spells, then you feel like you've really had a hard days work, and deserve the rest Actually, I hate rearranging spell picks, because it takes me ages to decide, and there's always a chance I overlooked an important spell

I recently defeated the monks in Insane (double damage, they can do up to 80 dmg in one blow), with NO Bull's or Cat's, NO Stoneskins, even forgot Mage Armour in the first part of the battle. I utilized their limited fortitude with Cloudkill and Stinking Cloud, cast a Web, Recitation, Spike Growth, a few summons, and they were not too difficult. I just couldn't be arsed to sleep, and I had plenty of spells left, so I wanted to use them

And a fun tip for before you rest: If you've got some useful spells left, try to rest in an area where enemies will spawn. If you successfully rested, just reload, because you want to be ambushed A neat way to gain experience. But in HoF, some of the enemies don't give XP, unless you alter your MONCRATE.2DA file...

 

Ahem. "There is no overkill. There is only 'open fire' and 'time to reload'."

Efficiency is for bookkeepers

I pretty much only alter my selections when I gain new slots. And then I'm typically only filling the new slots.

 

It's how I like to play the game, and add to the level of challenge presented. Everyone has their own playing style, and I just suggested what I like to do. I also use mods and alterations to the game, which some consider cheating, like bottomless bags and an altered MONCRATE.2DA (XP table adjusted for level 40, and you always get a little XP even for minor kills).
I was still offering suggestions to add to the challenge presented, but now that you've activated your HoF mode successfully, it's a bit unnecessary
Just wanted to let you know that your 'sorc's wail of the banshee/PW:Blind/Symbol of Hopelessness' combo isn't the only thing that can pull you through difficult battles, and the fight doesn't have to end when the Stoneskins wear off.

 

It's appreciated. Sissy.

 

Sissy? SISSY?!? Why don't ya try ta refrain from pulling out the big guns every time ye see an enemy? Wail o/t Banshee in every battle, sheesh... Sounds like yer party's terrified of the smallest pack of lowly goblins, bunch a' wimps!

Usstan ssinssrigg ula Goln! I long for goblins!

In the storyline, it is made clear that you need to defeat the legion quickly before it can consolidate its power. So why don't you 'roleplay' your part, and try to run the gauntlet as quickly as possible?