Tactics is freakin' impossible (nearly). I usually end up importing finished ToB characters to play with it on. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

I think that I am going to skip tactics for now...I have always been one of those players who has trouble squeezing every last bit of performance out of my characters. I am almost embarassed to say it but BG 2 and ToB in their original form seem plenty hard enough for me ATM [img]graemlins/blush.gif[/img]

Maybe after I beat it a few times I will feel brave enough to try Tactics or other difficulty enhancing mods. :D

I would still reccomend Unfinished Business. It doesn't really make it any harder, just adds quests that were supposed to be in the game, but were cut.

Alot of people talk about how hard Bodhi is but for me I always wonder.

Get 3 fighters. Improved Haste them. Have them all use Critical Strike. She dies in like 5 seconds and gets no chance to do anything. If you don't have fighter HLAs, blanket the place in Fire Storms and watch her sizzle. Her defense is nonexistent so you should be able to kill her real fast.

What I find a bit disappointing about Tactics is that the distinction between "make the player develop new and smarter battle tactics to employ" and "make the player learn the computer's AI and use cheesy Reload knowledge to force the game to accept unrealistic weaknesses" is a very thin one indeed. For example, on my last trip through Jon's Dungeon, I cleared all of Improved Ilyich without Resting or Reloading, because I know how to make the crew forget their script and stand all huddled in a corner, not doing anything. It was sheer abuse of the AI, but I figure that if Weimer thinks it fair to pretend doors can't be closed and the enemy deserves to have a Fallen Deva, etc., then I can do whatever the hell I want.
I'd much rather prefer a battle that was realistic on both sides--Improved Guarded Compound and Twisted Rune are both quite balanced now.

[ 04-13-2005, 08:46 PM: Message edited by: SixOfSpades ]

Heh, yes, I'll agree that you need reload knowledge to be able to beat tactics. I'm sorry, but for someone who doesn't realize that a pit fiend can rip you to shreds in about 5 seconds past the point where you can run away safely you really need the reload knowledge. Also, they tend to spawn up in the most unlikely places. Fire Giants tend to kill everything in about 3 seconds. If you are a mighty warrior who killed a giant dragon, why should you be scared of a simple fire giant anyway?

The guared compound still has the flaw of somehow the stairs disappear from behind you... But the twisted rune, in my opinion, is MUCH better.

Isn't Fire Storm a lvl 7 cleric spell? You'd still have to be a pretty high level to get that.

My reply to that is why are you still in chapter 6 with a party with HLAs? [img]smile.gif[/img] If it's too easy for you then next time rush to Spellhold, don't do many side quests and try that same fight with a 10-12th lvl party to make it more challenging. Obviously any of the Tactics fights are made easier with more levels with the exception of Ilyich since you don't have the option of xping elsewhere and returning. Torgal was impossible for my party of 8-9 but a breeze when you have a 10th lvl mage and lower resistance for slow to land. Bodhi was just right for my party where no fighter was above 16.

Well, I'll compare the Guarded Compound's trick of "You can't leave until we're all dead" with Improved Mae'Var doing the same think.

With Mae'Var, anybody that goes downstairs encounters some invisible barrier that somehow prevents them from going back upstairs again (or leaving through the back entrance, etc). Yet those party members who have been left upstairs do not encounter that barrier, it somehow parts for them and they can enter the fight at any time they choose. This inconsistency is not present with the Twisted Rune: The barrier is there, rock solid, until Sion is dead and passage is free once again. (The only problem is that some enemies might get Morale Failure: Running, and they can still flee downstairs. What would happen if Sion runs away, and you can't follow him until you've killed him?)

Sion is a Level 18 Conjurer, exactly the sort of person who could call a Wall of Force spell into being, and have it open and shut solely on his command (given his continued existence, that is). Mae'Var, however, is some poncy little Thief/Mage, and a good deal more Thief than Mage.

If you're looking for excellent NPC/romance mods you need to check out the chosen of mystra. The NPC Fade, in particular, is very balanced and well writen. All the mods there, excepting maybe Khertic (sp?) are very well done. As far as tactics being too hard...sometimes it is but it tends to snowball. Meaning that things like Improved Ilyich and pit fiends are almost impossible at first but beating them makes you so much tougher yourself that your much better equiped to take on tougher challenges. After beating Improved Ilyich you can basically plow right through Mencar, sell 15,000gp of equipment, do the tent quest, fully equip every character you could get without leaving the promennade and STILL push right on through to spellhold. Hell, you could even rescue Imoen before the first week was up. In a sense though tactics forces you to roleplay, no more soloing through Dungeon Irenicus for exp. BTW six, how did you make Ilyich just stand there and take a beating? He usually takes about 4-5 reloads when I'm prepared for him.