[Cerek]

Welcome to the horrors and frustrations of Tactics, Armen. LOLOL!!

Improved Illyich is definitely one of the most impressive foes in the Tactics Mod. He and his crew are even more difficult since you meet them before you've had a chance to gain any really nice items yourself...so you definitely have to rely on Tactics to beat them rather than hack-n-slash. Still, once you face them a few times, they aren't nearly as difficult to kill as they seem at first.

My very first encounter with the Improved Illyich and Co. occurred over a year ago. At that time, you still met them in the kitchen, so you could set the library up as a good ambush spot. You could also lure the characters into the side corridor one at a time and SLAM the door behind them. This would effectively cut off the rest of the group (except for the demon that would work his way around through the Sewer Room and attack you from the other side) and you could then kill them off one at a time. But Weimer "fixed" that glitch by causing all the doors on that level to become "magically stuck open". He also had the group start partrolling the library, instead of just sitting in the kitchen and waiting for you to show up.

It is still possible to isolate some of the members so that you don't face the entire group at the same time. This makes the job of killing them MUCH easier. You also get some very nice items from them...so the battle is definitely worth the pain you endure.

Right now, my primary strategy centers around using Dire Charm on Illyich first, then Karamazov (the crazy, rapid-firing crossbow wielder). They are both susceptible to being "Charmed", then you can use their skills and weapons to attack their teammates. In fact, their teammates will automatically attack the "Charmed" characters instead of your character if the spellcaster is far enough away when the spell takes effect.

I find that when Illyich shows up, Rasputin (the monk) and possibly Zhivago (the cleric) aren't far behind. When Illyich becomes "Charmed", his comrades turn on him...but he often has enough hit points to kill them before he dies. In essence, the three of them end up killing each other and you can just sit on the sidelines and watch.

Same goes for Karamazov. You can use her weapons against any foes remaing and let them kill each other.

Good luck in the future with them. Do a Search for "Improved Illyich" and you will find TONS of info on how to beat them.