First solo game (blade) -- *OUCH* ...Medic!

[Mahlennacht]

I'M SCARED
... So, at about what level does the solo blade get *easier*, ie powerful? Maybe I don't quite know how to play her yet, though I'm using the MelfsMinuteMeteors-exploit that Dundee mentioned, which should be WAY godlike once I get Celestial Fury and/or Flail of Ages

Basically I'm almost at 12th level, and I want to do the Bard Stronghold ASAP, due to the time it takes to unfold, but dammit I can't even get past the gang in the north part of the Sewers. I've made them mad by using Web/Fireballs, and didn't kill a single guy. Now they're pissed and standing in front of the entrance to the HaerDalis quest. I suppose I'll have to try to lure them out one by one, and rest in-between kills? If I can't even waste those guys, how can I expect to solo the Sigil Troupe Quest?!? My cat is certainly not much help in combat. Should I be doing some other quest instead, at 11th level? Or did I blow it by not avoiding them in the first place?

Other than that, I suppose I don't have any specific help I need at the moment, but I'm quite open to ANY general solo-blade hints that anyone cares to throw around, if you're in the mood to "help the newbie soloer". Since I feel clueless regarding soloing. *GAH*

[Angelousss]

summons, summons own for soloers. wait about three levels and than use animate dead without mercy, shouldn't take long cause your soloing to get those levels. works pretty well with web(summon spiders should already be in your inventoy) cause of their exceedingly high magic resistance

oh and i forgot but, summons are even better for bards cause of thier song

[ 02-17-2003, 02:56 AM: Message edited by: Angelousss ]

[Dundee Slaytern]

Do you have ToB installed? If you do... get ready to abuse one of the game's greatest loopholes!

Scroll Scribing.

Now, now, before you think I am whacked, realise that ToB enables you to erase spells. So what does that mean? Why... if you want to scribe a scroll, but you already know it, erase it first, then voila! Instant ability to scribe that spell again!

"But scrolls are so expensive... ..."

There, there, this is where we make use of the five-fingered discount that all Bards are blessed with. So go forth and steal! Steal and scribe till you choke on the cheesiness of it all! Join the smelly ranks of the Society of the Parmesans! Wave your yellow flag proudly and show Mencar Pebblecrusher what a level 15 Blade can do. [img]tongue.gif[/img] Impress Hendak in your first meeting with Spike Traps. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

If you do not have ToB installed, you can still rely on scroll scribing to gain XP to a certain extent. Tradesmeet and the subquests in Umar Hills are very easy to do as well.

[Mahlennacht]

Originally posted by Angelousss: summons, summons own for soloers. wait about three levels and than use animate dead without mercy, shouldn't take long cause your soloing to get those levels. works pretty well with web(summon spiders should already be in your inventoy) cause of their exceedingly high magic resistance oh and i forgot but, summons are even better for bards cause of thier song

D'OH I knew I was forgetting something basic. That's embarrassing because when I tried a little bit of NeverWinterNights, summoning/bardsong was precisely what my attack plan was, about 80% of the time. Thanks.

OK, right, I need to learn summoning spells and FAST - I don't even have SpiderSpawn yet - better go to the cemetery and get that one (for now) I guess

[Mahlennacht]

Originally posted by Dundee Slaytern: ...this is where we make use of the five-fingered discount that all Bards are blessed with. So go forth and steal! Steal and scribe till you choke on the cheesiness of it all! Join the smelly ranks of the Society of the Parmesans! Wave your yellow flag proudly and show Mencar Pebblecrusher what a level 15 Blade can do. [img]tongue.gif[/img] If you do not have ToB installed, you can still rely on scroll scribing to gain XP to a certain extent. Tradesmeet and the subquests in Umar Hills are very easy to do as well.

Thanks, I think I WILL take a little stroll outside the city. Sounds like a plan. Getting tired of the riffraff here in Athkatla anyway. [BTW, I do NOT have ToB installed] Yes, I wouldn't mind learning a bunch of 8th-level spells [img]graemlins/hehe.gif[/img] They say "knowledge is power". My INT is 18 so I should be successful most of the time.

Cheesy? Hmm... I'm chaotic-neutral, so I have an excuse to be a klepto once in a while. So I can get $$$ and scrolls and items that way, but I AM going to try to avoid reloading upon an unsuccessful pickpocket/steal (except when I die), so I am trying to lean towards a *non-dairy* diet. Good thing I successfully nicked that Ring Of Regeneration from Ribald. I could be mighty unpopular around Athkatla in a few weeks though. Especially since I'm also going to side with Bodhi, since I'm in a gothic mood Actually I'm scared to undeath of vampires so I'll kiss their butts for a while to get them off my back.

[Angelousss]

no problem i'm sure you would have thought of it eventually but sometimes you need a kick in the pants.

this would be a plug but i certainly had nothing to do w/ the devolpment so i don't profit, but buy tob, hla and the final chap make it more than worth it

[Mahlennacht]

Originally posted by Angelousss: this would be a plug but i certainly had nothing to do w/ the devolpment so i don't profit, but buy tob, hla and the final chap make it more than worth it

(re ToB - yah, I don't want to get too off-topic, but, well actually I DO have it - I finished it once - nice add-on, absolutely, well worth the purchase. LOVED the joke about sending someone else on a quest for a change . However I had certain issues with it. Heavy delay upon loading areas, for one - though that may be hackable. My gameplay issues would take too long to explain, and probably they were annoying because I was a ToB newbie and my combat strategies weren't creative enough. But basically, I didn't enjoy the story and NPCs as much as SoA. I just REALLY like living the story of SoA as a whole. Just my opinion, at least I gave ToB a try all the way through. And BTW even WatchersKeep stressed me out too much, so I won't even THINK about Improved enemies mods - I aint that good yet )

[Dundee Slaytern]

There is an official ToB beta patch that deals with the loading problem. Get it from the Welcome Thread. It is on the same page as the usual official ToB patch.

[ 02-17-2003, 08:54 AM: Message edited by: Dundee Slaytern ]

[Grojlach]

Trust me, playing a solo blade will get easier in the end. I'm doing exactly same thing at the moment, have already gone through the Underdark... And you wanna know what the hardest battles were? The ones which involve mind-affecting spells, like confusion. While I've killed several liches and dragons without too much trouble, I've got my ass majorly kicked by *gasp* Myconid. Reminds me I still have to find a scroll of Wizard's Eye somewhere, so my Skeleton Warriors will actually hit the Spore Colonies instead of all the Myconid spawn next time around. By the time my skeleton warriors took on the first Spore Colony (and get overwhelmed a few moments later), there were suddenly like 15 myconid to worry about instead of just a few. I managed to defeat them in the end, though; and I *had* to, as while using improved invisibility did the trick of getting past them into the Svirfneblin village, during one of the drow quests Solaufein was waiting for me in the middle of the Myconid spawn beds for crying out loud, and by the time I arrived at his location, he was already dead and I was being uncovered as a traitor because of the lack of Solaufein to continue the Drow quests. Where's Biff the Understudy when you need him?
I'm sure there's a very obvious way to block those mind-affecting spells, other than those potions of magical blocking I believe (?) which run out too fast. I'm sure the solution is extremely obvious, I just can't come up with it. Anyone?
I'm level 30 at the moment, btw. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Oh, and as for the party in the sewers: you don't *have* to do that battle; just take a detour and you'll be able to reach the secret entrance to the mage's lair without running into them; you could always come back for them later. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[ 02-17-2003, 09:27 AM: Message edited by: Grojlach ]

[Buster_Wiz]

*shrug* just equip a weapon/item that blocks confusion. There are a whole bunch of them out there