Poll: Hardest character to solo with

[PeeWee]

quote:

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Originally posted by Faceman:
If you're talking rogue and meaning THIEF I can imagine soloing without too cheesy tactics and completely without cheating.
Ignore lockpick/pickpocket/detect trap skills and concentrate on stealth and set traps.
Typical thief tactic is to hide in Shadows, backstab, run away (even without Speedboots this can be accomplished if you manage to hide behind a corner or a door and hide in Shadows again fast enough) hide in Shadows again and continue backstabbing (you could also use Invis. Potions, but you just don't have endless supply of them).
For creatures immune to backstab (Beholders, Dragons Golems) it is -> set a lot of traps and lure the foe to them to take him out (if you don't want to set them at his spawning point, which would be cheesy tactic again).

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I'm merely trying to get the ppl who have said they soloed those characters -thieves- to explain how so in order for the rest of us to properly know which is a tough mofo class to solo. Magic helps out hands down. I can solo no question with a mage- but without a bag of holding? Probably would be 10 times more difficult. Probably. So, if my solo game called for me using a cheat, why not just bring the bag into my 6 party games. Same difference. Let me just SK in a boots of speed and hrm, what else, of yes, 1,000 invis potions, 500 pro undead scrolls and what else to help me solo here?

It's one thing when you yourself know that you've soloed the whole game. It's another to do it in a manner consisting of cheating and cheesing. It's also a problem when you have ppl who haven't soloed that class telling other ppl it's possible. That to me is a BIG no-no. If you have read some of my posts and replies, I don't actually take word from someone just because he said it, especially when I'm competent and playing the SAME game. So naturally I have my doubts.

If we are saying that solo games require certain items to be brought in and not acquired in-game, then of course a person can solo to his heart's content.

About the thief, there is the demon you need to get the heart from for the planar sphere quest. He/It is IMMUNE to snare dmg(believe me, I've tried...this is one reason why I chose a bounty hunter instead of a mage - mages are way more powerful in handling adversary). This is not the only creature immune to snare dmg. So using that as the back-up killer of everything tactic is out. What else does the thief have to get that heart? Meleeing the demon is um, well you should know. Of course any solo thief who found himself in the planar sphere WILL have to get that heart. I doubt you can pickpocket it LOL. [img]smile.gif[/img] This can be said for any hack and slash character.

BTW, there is this one trap that killed my bounty hunter. There was no way around it but lucky me I can disarm. I can't say the same for others who can't diarm since they spent all those points in hide... also, if it's a berserker going thru that trap, good luck. MR can help here but without it...heh.

I've also tried soloing my bounty hunter with his "special traps" in Nalia's Keep. I did the run around corner bit to help, but the purpose of it is futile. Try waiting for hp to get back up to attack that same troll. If we are talking about the same thing, then I see problems becuase I've tried it. Ever slept in Nalia's keep or slept outside to get awakened by 4-5 Yuan tis? Try having to sleep for 5 times and all those times, those lizards pop up. I doubt this only happens in my games too.

About mind flayers, have you seen the room in the temple sewers? @_@ This is one room I was spooked in. Try backstabbing one to watch as the others creep around you, even as you gulp down that potion. Sometimes, I would have 5 npcs around me and I can't move out. Heh.

Aerie has no problem until she comes across something with a high MR and she can't muscle her way to beat it down. She can cloudkill lame or throw in summoned fodder to buy time. What does a melee type person have? Not a whole lot and if he doesn't have the right +3 or +4, +5 weapons, then he's in poopoo.

So, if anyone asks me, I'd say a person who can't rely on magic is going to be very tough to play solo. I say this only because I've had questions and have tried many things. I'd also repeat that I'm against the idea of having ppl say it's doable when they haven't tried it themselves thru the whole game. You can solo some areas -I said this already- but I find it hard to swallow that it can be done legitly in all areas of the game. And I have come across quite a few posts where ppl are claiming such either from what they have heard others say or from their small time playing that class in some areas and not all. I know you have to pick and choose your fights to a certain degree to lvl up to knock your ac and saves down. this has been brought up before and even then, ppl claim all areas are doable.

Well anyhows, I don't wanna step on ppl's toes or go against their assumptions, but I will have my doubts until it's proven. I wouldn't expect any less from fellow players.

[antonius]

Something I will point out is that not all the monsters have to be killed, not all the areas explorered - thiefs are good at avoiding combat and surely that should be used to your advantage.

[Morgan_Corbesant]

ok, all you need to do is a cheesy tactic. its not a cheat, and definately worthwhile when soloing. i have an elven fighter/mage/thief (ninja). i put his pick pockets to 75%, then dump the others points into find/remove traps to 95%, and the rest into pick locks. this allows me to remove traps, pick locks, and read scrolls too, so i get experience pretty fast. take the potion of master thievery out of irenicus's dungeon. now, do all the quests in the dungeon, and get the mail of the dead. also GET THE WAND OF CLOUDKILL!!! now, when you leave the dungeon, and start chapter two, go the the docks, and see the black-market thief in the shadow thieves guildhall. now, sell her the mail of the dead, and the wand of cloudkill. use your potion of master thievery, and your pick pockets are now 115%!!! save the game, and steal the wand from her. save the game, sell it back, and repeat. i did this until i had over 1000000 gold pieces. then i got the wand back, and it had 50 charges!! now, go to the prominade, buy anything you want. the best part is, its free, easy, and LEGIT!!!! have fun stompin your enemies into the dirt.

[img]graemlins/mage1.gif[/img]

[Sir Goulum]

Probably a whatchamacallem. i dont know the name. they are round and have lots and lots of eyes. ummmmm. and are orangy browm. what ever they are, they are hard for me.

[ 02-21-2002: Message edited by: Sir Goulum ]

[Faceman]

quote:

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Originally posted by PeeWee:

About mind flayers, have you seen the room in the temple sewers? @_@ This is one room I was spooked in. Try backstabbing one to watch as the others creep around you, even as you gulp down that potion. Sometimes, I would have 5 npcs around me and I can't move out. Heh.

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I played party style with a dual fighter/thief as PC and found me soloing especially in the MindFlayer dungeons. Backstabbing works fine and if you have that invisibility potions you can go invisible even if surrounded by foes and continuosly stab (if backstab is not possible) them normally until you've found a way out.

quote:

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Originally posted by PeeWee:

You can solo some areas -I said this already- but I find it hard to swallow that it can be done legitly in all areas of the game. And I have come across quite a few posts where ppl are claiming such either from what they have heard others say or from their small time playing that class in some areas and not all. I know you have to pick and choose your fights to a certain degree to lvl up to knock your ac and saves down. this has been brought up before and even then, ppl claim all areas are doable.
Well anyhows, I don't wanna step on ppl's toes or go against their assumptions, but I will have my doubts until it's proven. I wouldn't expect any less from fellow players.

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I completely agree with you. It's kinda lame to say everything can be done easily without even having tried it yourself.
Yet we are all only sharing thoughts on this board and I only wanted to point out that I to a certain degree believe people about their soloing experience with - for example - rogues (However I think that it is more work than fun and that there will be some cheesing involved likely)

[Zoltan]

try cleric/mage and cast chaotic commands on yourself [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Dundee Slaytern]

First off, I am using my Elf Assassin to describe how I did it. I also started from scratch and did not give her any starting items, what she has, she earned it through blood and sweat( mostly blood).

Secondly, Traps and Pickpocketing are very useful for a solo Assassin, Traps in particular.

Thirdly... have patience... ...

Fourthly, make sure you get the Boots of Speed as soon as possible, my Assassin got hers around level 12.

Fifthly, do not ditch potions. You are soloing, and until you level up sufficiently, potions will make up for your limitations. Oil of Speed is especially important here until you get your Boots of Speed. DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE what potions can do for you, I used potions for Nalia's Keep, Tradesmeet, Copper Coronet, etc... ...

Sixthly, never get complacent.

Seventhly, never use Potions of Invisibility freely, they are going to be your wildcard if your stealth attempt fails. Remember this.

Firkraag: what lvl rogue and items are needed to beat em solo?

Traps, if for some reason this is not to your liking, use the Tuigan Bow( 3 attacks per round). Do not use normal, +1/2/3 arrows, use Arrows of Ice, Biting, Acid, etc... ...

Obviously do not use Arrows of Fire... ...

For protection, drink Potions of Fire Resistance, read scrolls of Fire Protection. Just make sure that your Fire Resistance is 100% and above for the entire duration of the fight.

If you do not possess the Boots of Speed yet( and I highly recommend that you do so first)... drink an Oil of Speed potion.

Drink a Potion of Clarity to avoid the effects of Firkragg's Chaos spell.

When you are all buffed up and ready to go, use hit and run tactics on Firkragg. If you are an Assassin like me, make full use of your Poison Weapon ability.

Shadow dragon: same question

More or less the same answer as the Firkragg one, but slightly more difficult because of the level drain. Remember that the Amulet of Power grants Immunity to level drain, so you might want to wait until you level up enough to get the Use Any Item ability before tackling the Shadow Dragon.

planar sphere: same, I don't see how one can beat the cold room, fire room, the gov district mage there with his buddy, and then Lavok who death touches. The damned halflings are somewhat of a pain.

Why not? Backstab my friend... backstab... ...

Again, speed will play an important factor here, and now, stealth. Engage stealth before entering any room, if an enemy mage casts True Sight, run away and wait until the spell duration runs out. You may want to play sniper too and use the Tuigan Bow to shoot once, run away and stealth, shoot again, run away and stealth, etc... ...

For Tolgerias and his buddy, you are going to need to do a bit of legwork( aka Boots of Speed or Oil of Speed potion). Remember, they still cannot see you even after you open the door. So go stealth and enter the room. When they cast True Sight, retreat out of sight and stealth again. Repeat until they run out of True Sights. Proceed to backstab Tolgeria's buddy and run away out of sight and stealth again. If you are lucky, she will succumb to the first backstab, otherwise, start using the sniping tactic because they will have activated their stoneskins by now.

Lavok is easy... after you open the door to his room, engage stealth and backstab him, IMMEDIATELY after backstabbing him, run out of sight and stealth. Wait for his spell protections to run out until he is left with stoneskins only. Use the Staff of Fire you should have obtained from the Fire Room and summon a Fire Elemental to engage him. It is okay if the Fire Elemental loses, just summon another one until all his stoneskins are gone, then backstab him again. If you wish, you can also assist the Fire Elemental by shooting elemental arrows with your Tuigan Bow.

With regards to the Halflings, I used sniping tactics. Slow? Yes. Tedious? Yes. Efficient? Hell, yes.

Nalia's keep where there is the Yuan ti mage and 2-3 trolls: even the last named troll was tough ( so level and items needed to beat em?) I'll skip the burrowers since they can be lured to the back.

Yawn, this is going to sound boring, but I used the sniping tactic again, with one difference, I used a Light Crossbow of Speed and Bolts of Biting. As we are dealing with Trolls here, we want to limit their rate of regeneration, and I doubt most people would have enough traps( and set traps skill points) to make this reasonably easy, unless for some bizzare reason they chose to do this area late in the game.

I used several Oil of Speed potions and used the conveniently circular dungeon( where you are supposed to put the dog stew) to lead Torgal on a merry-go-round of poison hell. When I finished with Torgal, I led his two Troll bodyguards in the same manner.

Remember, you can isolate Torgal from his bodyguards.

Vampires: what's a rogue got to help em against these things and what level to tackle em on?

Try to avoid Vampires at all costs in the beginning. Walk the streets of Amn during the day, rest if it is nighttime. Try to get Daystar as soon as possible, and your Use Any Item ability so that you can wear the Amulet of Power and use the Mace of Disruption. You can fight maybe one Vampire fight a day, using the Daystar. Backstabbing hit and runs works very well here if it comes down to that( remember to drink an Oil of Speed potion if you do not have Boots of Speed).

Golems: heh....can I say iron golems backed up with other golems hasted is a beat down. A rogue without boots is gonna have a tough fight.

Oil of Speed and Traps.

the prison: one area you want to visit to get your boots of speed to help for other areas... yet, npcs there can see invis AND there is an area with GREATER WOLFWEREs. ( even the first fight when you get in is tough for a solo person, you got a rogue backstabber and mages on your heels)

If you are fighting Greater Werewolves, then you are unneccessarily taking the hard path. Follow the slaves' advice and go east( aka right) from the first encounter to eventually fight the Demon and obtain the orb from him.

Potions are the order of the day here. Drink every single damn potion that you can drink and have not drunk yet, because this is going to be the turning point of your solo Thief's career. Make use of your Bhaalspawn powers too, if applicable.

Your first target is going to be the enemy thief. He will backstab you, you will grit your teeth in pain, drink a healing potion and hit him as fast as possible. Grab his Boots of Speed and heal up if necessary.

Take out your Tuigan Bow and start aiming at the enemy swordman. Ignore the enemy archers, drink healing potions to nullify the damage being dealt to you. Ignore the enemy mages, their flame strikes will do nothing to you if you have 100% Fire Resistance. After you take out the swordman, take out the archers, and finally the mages.

I succeeded on my fifth try.

Lichs: same..use a scroll and then? run out to waste npc magix?

Use a scroll of Protection from Undead... ...

Gaxx: pro undead scroll again? on both forms? what of imprisonment and summoned creatures. Here, I can picture running out of harm's way on the first lich to have it's pit fiend help. As for weapons, use the staff of Rynn of sling of everard. This is one of the areas you can drop stuff off before hand and pick your tools. NOt all places are like this.

Wait until you can use the Mace of Disruption. Set several Traps for the first form, use a scroll of Protection from Undead for the second form, and proceed to beat out a tune on Kangaxx's head with your Mace.

[Sauromon the White]

I would say that the druid is the worst to solo with.

[PeeWee]

Thanks guys for all the lengthy replies back. I'm beginning to see how traps can be the huge advantage. I don't have TOB so I don't have the HLA nor special traps. I really don't use the set trap/rest method, but I appreciate all the information given. I still have tons of questions, but being new, I'll just have to wait until I beat the game to answer some of them on my own.

The mentioned areas were tough but I can see how they can be soloed...with the "right" stuff as you guys have pointed out( I don't have TOB nor know where some of the items are yet). The hide in shadows is another huge advantage if done properly(this takes time to "perfect" - I don't know if this compensates for not having better ac. I also use Aegars armor for some areas with the "drinker" sword - it's still new to me so I forget names.

I'm trying Minsc out right now while in the later parts of chapter two. He's lvl 13 and has an ac of -12. He actually can solo against 6-8 regular humnaoid npcs quite well. I use him now to test things out. The ring of Gaxx helps out TREMENDOUSLY. For those who have two of em, I'm sure solo experience seems fun. I opted not to get two. Aerie can solo...so no doubt mage/priest do it well. Minsc can berserk and after a certain time of sweating thru certain areas, I'm sure he can level up enough to go linear to beat the game...still testing. This doesn't mean he will beat every named boss npc out there. I see the same for the thieves.

I'm skeptical about some areas as they do involve cheese, but this isn't really the main concern. It's really about knowing what to kill for the items to beat the story - not really EVERYTHING...though it may appear everything can be beaten by any class. If I have any more questions, I'll figure out the answers in the time to come.

I'm also believeing that it's smart to have played thru the game a few times to solo easier - just to know where the needed items are. Unfortunately, I haven't done this yet so I'm on the opposite end, the end where I'm going to be asking questions and wondering.

Thanks again for all the great responses and playing with the shape shifter - indeed, HARD.