solo archer

[Shaggy]

hey all i have been thinking about soloing an archer for a while but have heard it is very difficult to do, wat do u guys think any opinions or advice would be greatly appreciated. Cheers all

[Zuvio]

Go for it. It's doable.

Key-items: boots of speed, wand of air summoning (obtainable both in astral prison), wands and potions.

[Nerull]

some SPOILERS
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Another good idea is to get summoning items, as in a pinch it does not hurt to be able to bring out help (especially to cover your escape). I would do the Umar Hills early (skipping the dragon until later), so that you can get your stronghold early. The reward for the last quest is a moon dog figurine. Also decent is the spider figurine from the Graveyard District (especially the modded one), and the efreeti bottle from the genie in Tradesmeet. There is also the Sword of Ras, but its duration is way too short. If you can use the staves of the elements (fire, air, earth, no water), then they use a charge to summon an elemental (very useful in tough fights). Those all help.

In addition, long bows are good, but short bows can be better, especially if you do not have the Ease of Use mod. You can buy Tasheron's Bow right in Tradesmeet, and the unlimited +3 arrows it shoots will allow you to pick off golems and other creatures that need magical weapons. Having unlimited ammo stops you from having you clutter up your inventory with ammo; with the Ease of Use mod this is irrelevent as there is unlimited stacking. The Gesen Bow is the real prize, though. It is great with ammo equipped (adds the electrical damage to the arrow damage) and is still good without ammo (without the ammo, its "arrows" are considered +4 to hit, so great for hitting those thing like Kangaxx that require higher level bonuses).

Stock plenty of potions, but you can also use healing scrolls (which do not weigh anything, so good if you are lugging around a lot of stuff). Go to the Windspear Hills; the hobgoblins in the cave respawn, and usually have a cure serious wounds scroll on them each time.

Armor is easy enough; go with Black Dragon Scale. Boots of Speed are definitely a must, as is the ring of regeneration (you won't get this until Chapter 4, since you can't pickpocket; you could try Twisted Rune early, but not likely to succeed). If you can afford Vhailor's Helm, then that is great too.

[605]

Here's a similar topic that's floating around on the boards... it may help a little

http://www.ironworksforum.com/ubb/cg...c;f=2;t=021910

[Assassin]

My suggestion would be as follows (dunno about you, but I would get a Proficiency point in Axes):

Assuming solo, normal (Ranger) Archer
Starting Reputation: 12
Circus Tent: 13
Slavers: 15
Illithium: 16
Skin Dance: 17
Finish the Trademeet quest: 18
Help Tiris: 19
Give the thing you find in the crypt to the mayor: 20

Max reputation, all from doing fairly simple quests. Now, if you want to blitz through the Underdark (and thus get Fulcrum sooner), here's what I would aim to have:

Boots of Speed
Shield of Reflection
Azuredge +4 (necessary- the easiest way for an Archer to gain NPP)
Tansheron's Bow +3
Greenstone Amulet (possible, but it'll be a tough battle against that Gnome)
Helm of Defense
Bracers of Archery/Bracers of AC3
(doesn't really matter what kind of Armor you have)
Belt of Inertial Barrier
Cloak of Balduran (to be exchanged for the Cloak of Mirroring)
1 Ring of Preservation +2
1 Ring of Protection +2

Most of these are quite easy to obtain:
Boots of Speed (Saving Haer'Dalis)
Shield of Reflection (Adventure Mart)
Azuredge +4 (Finish the Slavers and get the Illithium)
Tansheron's Bow +3 (Trademeet)
Greenstone Amulet (possible, but it'll be a tough battle against that Gnome)
Helm of Defense (can't quite remember where I got mine- maybe there's one in the Sewers battle?)
Bracers of Archery (Druid's Grove)/Bracers of AC3 (Adventure Mart)
Belt of Inertial Barrier (Trademeet)
Cloak of Balduran (to be exchanged for the Cloak of Mirroring- Lich in the Docks)
1 Ring of Preservation +2 (Kill the gnome for the RoP+2 and the RoR, I think)
1 Ring of Protection +2 (get it from Aran Linvail)

The ones that may be difficult battles is the Gnome. Heh.

The Lich in the Docks can be killed using Azuredge, though I would think that you should buy the Shield of Reflection first, and have Arbane/Oils of Speed. Haste yourself either way, dodge in, and try to kill her (remember, throw, not melee) before she can unleash anything on you. Reload if this doesn't work at first. Okay, it's cheesy, but it'll help you a lot... (against the rest, reset Azuredge to normal melee, use the Shield of Reflection against those Archers, and pray that you kill the Skeletons before the Bone Golem kills you)

Trademeet should be a breeze. Until you meet that Rakashasa. She requires a +3 weapon to hit, so drink those Potions of x Giant Strength, wield Azuredge in melee mode, drink those Oils of Speed, and use a couple of green scrolls of Protection from Acid (isn't that what Death Fog is?). Then, go in and kill her.

The reason why I think that saving Haer'Dalis is pretty important is because you get two very important weapons- the Staff of Air, and the Boots of Speed. The Staff of Air will be your friend. Never lose it. Upgrade it to the Staff of Elemental Mastery ASAP,and you'll probably use it for the fact that it can summon Elementals.

[Dundee Slaytern]

The Boots of Speed are considered one of the most important items that any soloist will want to have. While it would be nice to get them ASAP, I recommend that you wait till your Archer is about level 11-12.

This is assuming Insane Difficulty, otherwise to heck with it and just barge in.

Before you enter the portal... some advice.

1) Remember that nice sword which grants you the chance to cast Mirror Image once a day? You only need to kill a Killer Mimic and one very distracted Stone Golem to get it. Chuck it into one of your inactive Quick Weapon Slots and cast Mirror Image from your Items' Abilities. Cast it last though.

2) Oil of Speed. +1 ApR and increased movement speed. Very useful and will improve your combat prowness vastly.

3) Potions of Fire Resistance. Drink 2 to max out.

4) Potion of Defence. No, seriously, please drink it. It will help against the initial backstab( higher chance of it missing).

5) If your DEX is below 18, drink that Potion of Dexterity. Boost it further if you have the budget by drinking Potions of Mind Focusing. Max to 25 if possible.

6) Equip the Shield of Reflection if possible and use Darts of Wounding as your main weapon. Watch the Archers and Mages cry.

7) Potion of Clarity. VERY IMPORTANT!

8) Girdle of Piercing. Will help against the backstab.

9) Potion of Cloud/Storm Giant Strength. To compensate for the lack of a STR Girdle.

10) Potion of Regeneration.

If you take these steps... the initial ambush should be bearable if not a walkover. After that... it is just a matter of Hit&Run. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[Shaggy]

thanks very much all ur help is appreciated, i want to quikly take a ranger through bg1 first for the stat boosting tomes (quite powergamerish i know but oh well) then kit to archer in bg2 but cant decide which race he should be also could you elaborate on where the gnome with the +2 ring is located. i dont have ToB or any mods by the way. Cheers
Shaggy

[Dundee Slaytern]

If you have powergaming in mind, I suppose the Elf will be best for the Archer. The Gnome being referred to belongs to a mod. In vanilla BG2 though, such... items are not necessary for a successful solo run.