This terminology was new to me when i arrived here (as were a few others) now i take it it means you play the game through with one single character.

Now even sometimes in SOA i get overwhelmed by enemies sometimes and either have to fallback or take drastic action! my question is how on earth can one character handle all the situations on its own? i mean does the fact that your character levels up so quickly tilt the scales a little?

A little enlightenment would be nice [img]smile.gif[/img] as i am considering such an undertaking myself.... :>

basically, yeah, you get such an increase in xp that character becomes a one man army. as for handling every situtation it becomes a matter of adapting you character. mages(meaning mages and sorcers) proably have it the easist, between mirror image, protection from magic or normal weapons, stoneskin, spell immunity, you can absorb just about anything. fighters just walk over traps and absorb the damage. bards get a nice mix of fighting, spells, and thieving

also don't limit yourself to what other players define as soloing. do what you think will make the game the most fun for you.

Well a Sorcerer blasts anything into oblivion. once you get Project Image you will sleepwalk through the game...

another things that helps is learning to snipe, with thieves or archers(rangers) you can't necessarily survive melee all that well against well prepared encounters, so splitting your enemies is useful. some classes are "harder" to solo than others, such as an unmodded shapeshifter druid, or beastmaster, kensai dualclassed to a mage gives enough of the benefits of fighters and the power of mages to make the game very easy, and as such is one of the more popular powergaming choices

<font color=white> Great first solo classes are:

- Cavalier
- Fighter/Mage/Thief (swiss army knife)
- Fighter/Mage
- Paladin
- Sorcerer (if you can handle the spellcasting bit)

Advanced Solo:

- Kensais
- Monks
- Rangers

Almost everything can be soloed... just pick out a class you like; and if you encounter trouble? where here for you ;)
</font>

[img]smile.gif[/img]

Well a Sorcerer blasts anything into oblivion. once you get Project Image you will sleepwalk through the game...</font>[/QUOTE]Of course, that is assuming that you have picked all the perfect spells, which many first time players will not do, unless they pick them directly from a guide.

Hmmmm, i shall have to think this one through quite a bit before i decide what to do (well i've still got SOA + TOB to finish first!) - Thanks for all the information!

And if i graze my knee in the Underdark i'll be sure to run crying to IW for a plaster [img]smile.gif[/img]

You can always get a feel for soloing even if you have a full party by sending in one character to try and clear out an area - actually sometimes it's easier to clear out some areas with one character than with a party (sometimes too many people get in the way) - of course you might want to wait until your XP is fairly up there...

For instance, Edwin (having the Staff of Magi helps) clears out a whole nest of beholders by himself without a rest [and even without using the polymorph-to-mustard-jelly-and-zapping-with-cloudkill-wand trick either]

I'd recommend reading "The Journal of Elmonster" from Baldurdash.org as the mage goes into great detail (while roleplaying) of his tactics. (http://www.baldurdash.org/journal.html) A nice read, as well as informative.

And I just finished MY first SoA solo with a Blade and she rocked quite easily especially after level 15 or so.

Now that you mention it - i've been doing that already, i mean i know its wise to use a thief to slowly check the area.

But i am an impatient soul and end up sending in my main character (Ranger) alot of the time i end up getting him surrounded by nasty chaps who are trying to open him up like a can of baked beans - everyone else ends up sprinting to try and get to him, but most of the time it doesn't matter...for they are already dead! teehee

Ooooh yes and i've just found this really nice Halberd in the Underdark - i forget what its called...its Dragon Something...but anyway it does 1D10 and 1 point of each elemental damage (fire, cold, lightning, poison..and...um...i forget the other one)

But i'm rather smitten with it! and before anyone points it out! i realise that poison ain't elemental!