THE hardest solo

[Dundee Slaytern]

Wondrous Recall can only restore two spells of level 5 and below. Most of the priestly stuff that can whack bosses are level 6 or 7. This is of course... not good.

[605]

I can't help but feel like the subject has greatly strayed from the initial question... it's still mildly about soloing, but now it's a cleric thread, and I know crap about clerics in BG2. Must... revive... original........ topic............

Then again I was partly responsible for changing the 'Daystar' thread into a 'let's make jokes about the unrealisticness of the game' thread, so I'll hush.

[ 02-25-2003, 04:23 AM: Message edited by: 605 ]

[daan]

I personally took a Druid, viconia and edwin through ToB once ...
However, Edwin was bugged to the extent of every spell failing automatically.

No problems I thought, I have not one, but two characters maxed out in levels.
That's basically two solo-ers .. a solo druid and a solo cleric.

Believe me .. a solo druid/cleric doesnt stand a friggin chance .. and I tryed every spell in the 50+ reloads it took to realize that I really wasnt going to survive any longer than +/- 20 seconds if I gave it all.

Scrap your stormbolt by the way,.. elemental damage doesnt do a thing anymore.

Definetly in the final battle .. your casting-time just doesnt allow any spells to actually work .. you'll be interrupted -way- before that.

Invisibilty doesnt work, stoneskins will buy you a few seconds, Armor of faith just makes it hurt a little longer.

I'd be very interested to read a story of someone who solo-ed a druid or cleric through both SoA and ToB .. and he'd have my deepest respect.
( Don't forget that you abandoned your own solo druid against Bodhi Butterfingers, sure there were quite some bugs in your game .. but you did notice how incredibly hard it was )

[Alson]

Originally posted by Dundee Slaytern: Ergo, I must eat more words and put forth my next suggestion. A pureclassed, non-kit Cleric. This is seriously one kit I have never heard of anybody even attempting to solo ToB with.

I second that statement. Heck, i second all of your last posts. Cleric's get shafted in ToB. Fighter types can hit fast, and hit hard. Mages are as fast as the wind and can produce more cheese than two cows on steroids. Thieves have Traps and Use Any Item. With 1 ApR and the lack of Improved Alacrity, Clerics have nothing truly mighty to offer.

[daan]

Give 'em a few minutes to actually cast a few spells and they are wihtout doubt a force to be reckoned with .. probably as destructive as any mage could ever be.
... as long as you give 'em a few minutes ...

I read about the Avatar-mode Butterfingers described once .. I think they should have had something like that for clerics. Let them have something like improved alacrity and maybe a little pep for casting time and you have yourself a destruction-worthy character.

[Annatar]

The only problem is... most of the time you don't have a few minute's... I agree with you that they can become powerfull if they have enough time on there hands... but they don't have it.

[Butterfingers]

Well, for me, the hardest solo I think would be a pure classed no kit fighter. No spells, no buffs, not much of anything except hack and slash.

I agree. Clerics got hosed. They are missing several high level abilities, missing many spells, missing all sorts of things. But I still think I could do it. Mostly cause I am a stubborn old man.

I gave up my Druid because the game was bugged, with no way of moving forward. It was a little tough in spots yes, but, not all that bad.

[Indemaijinj]

With the HLA's of ToB the fighter will have plenty of buffs. The rest will be handled by his equipment.

And yes, the clerics gets shafted: Sure their quest spells are powerful, but they're nowhere near the wizards'. Also once they have learned all the quest spells they might need There is NO other HLA's to get. They could at least have given them the option to choose extra 5'th and 6'th level spell slots like the wizard can.

[ 02-25-2003, 11:19 AM: Message edited by: Indemaijinj ]

[Dundee Slaytern]

Minor ToB Spell Spoilers
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Kaltia has soloed a plain non-kit Fighter through SoA-ToB already. I had to eat a LOT of words when she accomplished that, because I was very cynical about her prospects for success. The thing I learn about Fighters is that they can reeeeally tool up until they become a TANK to the T.

Warriors have the advantage in that they can take a lot of pain and their ToB HLAs are quite fantastic. Not to mention that no matter what weapon you choose, there will be at least a +4 version of it( except Darts).

Clerics can ALMOST wear anything that a Warrior can wear too, but... and this is a big but, their ApR is doomed to Sucksville. A Warrior can get 10 ApR if he/she needs to, a Cleric can get maybe 4 ApR at best( this is very optimistic already).

One will note that I did not mention Druids. This is because I know people who have soloed Druids through SoA-ToB already. In fact, they were among the first people to do so. Avenger Druid, Totemic Druid, Plain Druid, even the SHAPESHIFTER have been soloed with already. This is from the times when I used to lurk at the BlackIsle Boards.

I was not in the know on what were the exact tactics that they used, but I remembered the Shapeshifter in particular. The player stayed in Werewolf form most of the time, shifting to human form only to replenish his Ironskins.

Speaking of which, this is one HUGE advantage that Druids have over their more holy cousins, the Clerics. They have Insect Plague( oops, there goes the enemy Mage), Ironskins( Staff of the Ram, eat your heart out ), Call Woodland Beings( a level 4 summon that can cast level 5 spells? WHAT a BARGAIN!), Fire Elemental( no chance to go hostile, immunity to normal weapons), etc... ...

Come ToB... they get... Elemental Princes. If it happens to be Chan( 33% chance)... game over for 80% of the enemies in the game. Not that Suni and the fire one are bad, Chan just hurts more, a whole lot more. Oh yeah, speaking of which, a Druid can transform into an Elemental too. Clerics cannot.

One advantage that Clerics do get though, is that they are the masters of Undead killing. Alas... whereas SoA is stuffed to the gills with Vampires and Liches, you will not find the same situation in ToB.

Lastly... Druids have Nature's Beauty. A spell so bugged, I hestitate to use it. Not sure if those solo Druid guys used it, but if they did, I would not be surprised.

In conclusion, it is simply pointless to classify Clerics and Druids under the same roof. Their spells are quite different in most aspects, and to solo a Druid is a totally different experience from soloing a Cleric. A Druids will have an easier time to solo than the Cleric.

PS: This post might make it seem that I am anti-Cleric, but I am not. I do enjoy playing with Clerics, and in games where they do not get shafted( like IWD( where ironically, Mages get shafted instead( Bards, Paladins and Rangers are MUCH better implemented though))), it is truly bliss to play with them.

Oh, and before anybody asks. Yes. The Kensai, Berserker and Wizard Slayer have all soloed SoA-ToB already. On Insane.

[Dar'tanian]

I gave up with my druid but not because it was bugged just because they are useless in a party. Im not sure about bg2 but i dont think they can cst resurection and it takes ten hp just to cast raise dead. BUt this wouldnt matter in a solo so therefore they cant be the weakest class to solo with.

And for the cleric what about the ability to turn, that will really help in certian battles with the undead or anyone for that matter.

BUt stil no onehas accepted any of the challenges on this page any one will do now!