Those of you who read my earlier post whinning about the Mellisan battle at the end of ToB probably won't be surprised to hear that I've decided to give up on this stinker. It's hard for me to admit that I just can't f'in beat this thing when obviously it can be done but really, if I wanted to be pissed off and frustrated I could go back to work or get married again or something equaly dismal. Strangely enough the only other game I can ever remember giving up on was bg1 although I did eventually go back to it and play through.

The final battle with Irenicus at the end of SoA was really tough as was the final seal battle in WK but I never felt cheated like I do about this one. I think WK alone makes ToB worth having. I think BG1 and 2 are two of the best pc games ever. As a matter of fact even though I have three new games still in the shrink wrap the first thing I did when I decided I was finished with ToB was to start a new game of SoA.

Yeah I know , whine whine whine... I guess I'm just a big weenie!

Next time you get through to this battle, bring a wish spell and some potions of wisdom. Its a lot easier when you can rest between battles.

Did the "I hate ToB" thread now move here ;) ?
Started one of these myself after I had completed ToB. And I still don't really like the expansion.
I was really bugged by encountering dwarves or improved goblinoids that would have the same amount of HP as Lady Adalon.

And I never considered changing the difficulty levels an option. When I first played SoA (got to BG1 afterwards) I played Core Rules and had a pure Mage as PC. It was tough but I managed to complete the game without cheating and with just a little cheese. I'm still playing SoA but I do not raise the diff lvl. Why? Because I think that it would be extremely cheesy to give either the monsters or me attack and damage bonuses which are in no way justified by the AD&D rules.

ToB is certainly a lot more battle-based than SoA and has a shorter more linear plot with little sidequests. But keep in mind that ToB is not the third of three full-price games but an addition to the second.
As for the enemie's cheese. Cheese back!

IWD2 is IMHO even worse. You start out with a first level party and engage in so many similar battles that you level up really fast and get to face hoards of new "I love at you puny little Firkraag" monsters. But the sad thing is: They are easy to beat.

And here's the truth as to why ToB enemies have to cheese.
At the beginning of ToB you are a level 20 guy. This is SO powerful in AD&D that you can knock a Beholder down with a wink from your eye. Now, if they also were lvl 20 chars the Five could match you. Alas you have a party of 6! lvl 20 godlike adventurers. Perfectly balanced with tanks, wizrds, clerics and the occasional thief. This is exactly why Sendai for example keeps respawning in different forms. While she is a tough badass for six (or more don't recall corectly) consecutive times remember that you are leading a group of six tough badasses all the time.

I dislike the expansion too, because of a fight earlier with a dragon. It is WAY too hard in places.

ToB is IMO the easiest of the bg series(excluding TotSC. havent gotten that to work yet). with two level 20+ mages who can instantly cast a 20d10 spell, honestly, the game loses its challenge. true, there are creatures with fire resistance at 100+%, but then theres the tactical nuke(ADHW) spell! of course theres the cheesy *wish* spell, which if correctly used, will allow you to breeze through ToB without resting!!! i dont think i even need to go rambling on about the planetars do i? nope, didnt think so. dont get me wrong though, ToB is a very enjoyable game, atleast if you leave out the cheesiest tactics. its just not as good as BG1 or BG2