Does anyone else feel that HOW and TOLM is alot harder then IWD. Maybe it is due to that I have played through IWD several time before getting HOW/TOLM. It just feels like I hit a brick wall when starting into HOW. The barbarian camp and Burial Isle are a @#*&!$_*&^%$# ! Even with some of the premium weapons from both the IWD and the BAse town in HOW. I find I have had to change a lot of the stategy when doing battles in HOW vs IWD. Anyone else notice this?

<font face="Verdana" size="3" color="#00FF00"> Yes, it is suppose to be harder and more challenging.

Buffing before battle is often required, a good Cleric with "Undead Ward" is a bonus, and scoting out areas with a Theif or Ranger is a good idea.</font>

[ 09-02-2003, 01:37 PM: Message edited by: pritchke ]

I agree, the first time I played HoW I played with a small party that just barely met the level requirement to go to Lonelywood. It started out well with tons of Xp and I was feeling quite content...until I went to the Burial Island that is. *shudder*

I had the same problem. I realized my party as a whole was just too weak and that I hadn't developed them very well. Instead of starting over with a new party, I kept the three strongest characters and imported the game's higher level mage and theif. I didn't like doing that, but I had missed some important spells (like haste) and made other poor decisions too far back to correct.

It worked out in the end, because it made my party more balanced and I was less frustrated.

Lymond

<font color = mediumspringgreen>ashsays,
~
(minor early HoW spoilers towards the end of this post)
~
I just cleared the island and the first Barrow; and, yes, it is much tougher than your average area (like, for instance, Wyrm's Tooth). I have gotten more people killed on Burial Isle than all of the previous IWD areas combined....and I'm not even done, yet! I finally gave up on reloading on one of the barrow fights and, for the very first time ever, resurrected a character.

Using thieves to scout ahead; and, especially, having a high level (clvl 12+) priest with "turn undead" was my secret to making it a lot easier. I think this area was made to spank you if you had foolishly decided that you didn't need a priest. If you use your stealth ability correctly, and have a balanced party, the first fight on the isle is, IMHO, the hardest of the outdoors encounters. (Heh, heh, heh; but then you get to go into the Barrows... Ouch!)

Tough fight at the Barb camp? Hopefully not yet. Burial Isle was the first place I had to draw a sword in HoW. Hopefully you did not have to fight before then at the barbarian camp. There's a Ga-Jillion in expo to be milked during that first trip to the Barbs, if you play the conversations the right way; but you COULD also go the wrong way in the conversations several times and get into a fight that I've been told is basically impossible to win. Also I've been told that if you kill the gate guard (Angaar?) you're screwed: can't finish game.

What's a party,
without a song?
Bards ROCK!
Party On!!
</font>

[ 09-02-2003, 03:21 PM: Message edited by: NobleNick ]