How to beat Firkraag at level 8

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... and without losing a single hit point or resorting to a "cheat" strategy. You will need a Fighter, a Mage, and a few items easily bought or stolen:

- Potion of Storm Giant Strength (see Roger the Fence in the Temple sewers)
- Potion of Insight (your Fighter's Wisdom must be 18)
- Limited Wish scroll (Adventurer's Mart. Do not write it in your spellbook - place it in your Mage's Quick Item slot)
- Haste scroll (Ditto)


1. Get as close as you can to Firkraag while he's neutral
2. Boost your Fighter's Strength to 25 by using the Potion of Storm Giant Strength and Draw Upon Holy Might. Then use the Potion of Insight to raise his Wisdom to 18, if necessary.
3. Have your Mage caste Haste upon your Fighter. He should now have 3 or 4 attacks per round.
4. Have your Mage use the Limited Wish scroll. Quickly move him away from the materializing Genie and have your Fighter speak to it in his place.
5. The Genie will ask your Fighter if he desires a one-time wish or a repeatable wish. Select the one-time wish and then for the power to control time. The Genie will cast Time Stop, allowing your Fighter to attack Firkraag with impunity for the next three rounds.

At +7 to hit and +14 to damage, plus the bonuses of proficiency, each of your 9 or 12 attacks will incur an average of 20 points(no need to roll THAC0 - each attack is an automatic hit).

I've tested this strategy five times now, and only once did my Fighter fail to slay Firkraag before the spell expires, and even then he was Near Death. 'Still ate my party, though. I hate that dragon.

 

Very nice that your first post is about 'not cheating', yet you employ questionable methods.


no more "cheating" posts please.

 

or you could just fight as hard you can, all it took me was (with my recent druid char) (a shapeshifter) anyway with minsc and vaylgar (dual katana +1 and his family blade)
then i have my mage (usually level 9) cast lower magic resistance. then i have my druid and jahiera cast insect plague (ive never had it where he gets a moral failure) so i always gotta fight hard, anyway then i shapeshift and attack with everything i got, including magic missles and all the attack spells i got, and normally my mage ends up with the kill of the red dragon.

 

Cheating? Questionable methods? You have no idea what rou're talking about. Did you even read the post? Nothing in this strategy goes beyond the parameters of the game. The Time Stop spell, upon which this strategy revolves, is freely available in the early stage of BG2, along with the ability enhancing potions.

Strategies like these just takes THINKING, combined with careful timing and execution -something which you are apparently unaccustomed to.

 

I completely agree with you Steppenwolf. This is one of the best tactics I've read for a long time. This is absolutely not a cheat or even a game exploit (that too often finds the way to this board).

Good work. (I have no idea what toasts problem is, maybe woke up on the wrong side?)

 

Well it's not exactly cheating, but it is close enough...
Just like when you cast a couple of cloudkills on Firkraag, when you can't see him yet. Someone on this board said that it worked for him. Now, I think that's just as close to cheating as this method.
I just send a couple of summoned animals to Firkraag, so he did his spell where they all fly through the room, and then I came in with my fighters (Not even hasted). Lower resistance once, breach, magic missile, hack & slash, melf's acid arrow, hack & slash and BAF, he drops on the ground, leaving Keldorn's precious sword... And Minsc's good armor scales....

 

This isn't a cheat. But I don't like to kill Fierkraag this way, I wanna kill him and prove that I'm not only more smart but also prove that I am stronger. Killed him in a fair fight with my pary @ lvl 10/11. I see this more as a tactic for people who can't kill people a normal way.... And Fierkraag isn't worth spending 7000 gp for a limited wish-scroll.

 

Well, Da Punisher I consider your method of "I just send a couple of summoned animals to Firkraag, so he did his spell where they all fly through the room" a game exploit almost like the cloudkill method.

I don't see the problem with using a legit spell like lim wish. Is it using a magic-user that is unfair or what? How about a thief, are they allowed? Druid?

Using brute force to kill dragons isn't that hard (unfortunately). What does that prove?

 

It's a good method but I don't like it, for killing him this way isn't fun. Killing Fierkraag a normal way is fun for it's not easy, it's rea;y a challenge and with this trick it isn't. But if you like to kill him/anybody this way, go on, it's your game!

 

I was actually responding to you're taking the moral high ground by saying "and without ..resorting to a "cheat" strategy".
Your method would clearly fit into the category of "cheating" that is so widely used around these parts.

And as a new-comer, perhaps you should hold off on the insults for a while, as I'm one of the people always defending people's right to do whatever they want to do with the game.
But you wouldn't know that would you? Just jump right up like someone shot you in the foot....
Just what we need. another hot-head.

 

Hmmz Toast when I read your first reply you can say Steppenwolf uses queustionable methods but you can't say "No more cheating posts plz" for it's a method I don't like but it's absolutely not cheating or something.... You can't forbid him posting such things....

 

Well, Steppenwolf, you do use a variant of the loathed fake-talk method, since you attack poor old Firkraag when he's still neutral. Try this tactic after you've declared war on him and then see if you win 80% of your battles thus. You'll loose quite a bunch of your attacks to his Stoneskin, which should make you loose every time.

 

While hacking with the fighter on the Dragon, the stoneskin can be removed easilly by casting breach on him.

 

Don't think so, Headbanger.

You see, Time Stop doesn't really stop the time, but let's the caster move at incredible speed. Only the caster (or in this case, the one who talks with the Genie), so no Breaching then. A level 8 fighter doesn't survive 2 rounds in melee against a Red Dragon, so if he doesn't get Firkraag down in those 3 "rounds", he and his mage friend are dead meat.

 

You're right, thanx for the explanation.

 

I took up your challenge, Lord Bane, and turned Firkraag hostile before implementing this strategy (using Anomen as Firkraag-fodder).

The chances of getting toasted are much lower than 80% of the time as long as your Mage is Mirror-imaged and Stoneskinned.

First, move your Fighter back. Firkraag will attack your Mage to no avail, during which you may Breach his own Stoneskin protection and cast the Limited Wish spell. Then, rush your Mage away (with Firkraag in pursuit) and bring your Fighter forward to initiate dialog with the Genie.

The rest you know.

 

Well, that's much better.

I must commend Steppenwolf for a very interesting and brilliant "strategy". Truthfully, cheating or not it's one of the best ones I've heard of. This is not something I could have thought up on the fly, like those "Cloudkill" strats.

Perhaps the only blemish on it in my mind is the fact that a fighter isn't supposed to have access to time stop. However this opinion is certainly tempered by my expereinces with Liches and their BULLSHIT time stops.

But you know, I've got a suggestion. Why not wait until after the Underdark? You'll truly appreaciate the ease in which you dispatch your harder opponents. Now sweat at all. A very just reward.

 

I have only been here for a short time and already I think that Toast is an ass, so dont worry about him. That is one awsome stratagy and I think he deserves props.

 

I accualy think all way's to beat Firkraag and the other dragons are cheats, because the dragons's aren't as strong as they should be, in fact they are not even 50 % of what they should be. If you look in the 3rd edition handbook, dragons have, I believe, 25d12 + 350 hitpoints, and they have more attacks then in the game, and the attacks are much stronger than the attacks they have now. So I think you're almost unable to beat these legendary creatures (discription of the armor made of Firkraag's scales doesn't say that it is almost impossible to beat dragons for nothing!). So it's all a bit of cheating I guess...

 

My name is Ratchett Ironbeard, and I am a cheat.
Often I blunder into battles without preparing and then reload the save and use the benefit of "foresight".
I have exploited monsters too dumb to open doors.
I rest on "urgent missions" because I want to recover spells.
I attack guys when they're neutral (like the guy Edwin tells you to kill).
I tried to stop but I want to win so badly and I'm too dumb to play properly.
(takes a deep, cleansing breath and sits down)
Thank you for listening.