Well I'm back again.

[Gmmullen]

Thanks to all for your previous help and now I find myself in need of more assistance. I have IWD without a patch or HOW. Is there something I can do to avoid the DE traps or disable them. I have a thief with trap detection but don"t know how to use the skill. Also when I get attacked by Yxunomei and his crew, I can't keep up with all the magical attacks long enough to even kill one critter.
Any help would be appreciated. Maybe when I get good enough at this game I can return the favor to others and give advice istead of only receiving.
Thanks in advance.
Gene

[ZFR]

To disable traps have a thief use the detect trap ability. The icon looks like a cross-square (hit tab over the icons till you get it). While using the skill a thief may walk normally. but any other action (talking, attacking) turns the skill off. If a trap is found it is highlighted in red. to remove a trap click on the thieving ability icon (the mask) then click on the trap/

and Yux is a she not a he (wasnt the girl hint enough?)

[Gmmullen]

Sorry about the He/She thing. You are assuming that I can read. At my age even I am not to sure about that ability.
Does my detect trap ability have to be at a certain % level. I clicked on the cross-square icon and scan the floor but nothing turns red. I walked one step at a time and checked the floor just ahead of me and nothing changed, but I still set off the trap. I am more confused than ever. How can I check my skill % levels in the game? The only time I see that info is when I level up.

[NobleNick]

Gmmullen,

Now that you know where that trap is, reload and move your thief up next to it (within 6 feet, by in-game measure, is plenty close enough). Leave him there with the Find Traps ability active and the game UNpaused. If the trap doesn't get highlighted red within a minute, then your find traps ability really stinks. A Thief with excellent skill in this area will turn the trap red within 10 seconds (1 round).

To see a character's stats, click on your character's portrait to the right of the main screen, then click the character information icon (icon button on the left with a generic character silhouette). Once in this page, look in the top right corner for the parchment colored information screen with scroll bar. The Thief's ability scores information is there.

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Minor Spoiler

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I think the traps outside Yux's room can be found by the Thief, but I might be wrong.

The He/She thing is easy: I call this "The Battle of the Gazongas."

Yes, this battle is winnable, but is designed to test your mettle. I don't recall anyone claiming to beat this encounter the VERY FIRST time, without cheats or heavy fore-knowledge. If someone did, I wouldn't believe them. This is, for most, the toughest fight yet in IWD; and it may very well be your most memorable encounter in IWD.

If you detail your party composition (character types and levels) for us, we can tailor some advice. Assuming you have a main line mix:

Pre-fight: Know where those traps are, before the fight, and avoid them. Clean the entire level, except Yux's room, before the fight (otherwise you'll have more company). Develop a battle plan, decide which spells you need to carry it out; memorize those spells; and rest. Summon help (if your plan calls for it) and then buff your entire party (Bless, Prayer, Chant, etc.) .

TRICK: Have your casters initiate their spells (like Web, Entangle, etc.) just BEFORE your lead character initiates a conversation with Yux. The conversation will suspend your casters in mid-chant. When Yux ends the conversation with something like, "Die, righteous scum!" your casters will almost instantly finish their casting and unleash the first volley before the enemy can get their act together.

The main battle: Use the pause button a lot. Use area effect spells and summons to slow down the enemy, so that your party can gang up on the ones that trickle through (this is important). Fire off more summons before the first group is totally gone. Use more area effect spells (like Fireball) to soften the enemy up. If needed, retreat to the room to the north, or the inner room even farther north. Have your tanks block the entrance while your spellcasters and ranged warriors wreak havoc. If Yux's minions block her path to your party, all the better: Beat up on her from a distance.

If you elect to stay out in the open (as I did), and you can kill all Yux's minions; then you can win with "hit and run:" Have the party member she targets run away, while the others whack her as she goes by. Careful, she can and does change targets. This tactic is safest in Yux's chambers, away from the traps.

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End spoiler

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Hope this helps.

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What's a party,
without a song?
Bards ROCK!
Party On!!


[ 12-07-2004, 06:55 PM: Message edited by: NobleNick ]

[Gmmullen]

Thanks. I just checked and the skill is at 40%. I didn't realize it would take that long.

[NobleNick]

Gmmullen,

You're welcome.

Another technique that worked for me here, and works for me in general: Kick spell caster butt, FIRST! These guys almost always go down much more easily than melee troops, but will make your life miserable if you do not take them down quickly. My battle plan was to push all my tough guys into the room, chasing spell casters; while my weaker spell casters hid behind Web and summons out in the adjoining chamber, again, targeting spell casters. Once the spell casters were gone, my beat up troops came out to join my own spell casters. We whittled down those who followed, till only Yux was left, then all dove back into Yux's chambers to play tag.

--------------------
What's a party,
without a song?
Bards ROCK!
Party On!!

[NobleNick]

Gmmullen,

Here is more advice on how to beat Yux.

--------------------
What's a party,
without a song?
Bards ROCK!
Party On!!

[Gmmullen]

Well I used the detect trap skill for five minutes with nothing turning red. The game was not paused and the cross-sqaure icon was in effect the whole time. I was standing in the square right next to the trap square.
I am totally confused.

[NobleNick]

Originally posted by Gmmullen: I am totally confused.

Gmmullen,

I am, too... almost. Maybe the 40% isn't an actual percentage chance. If this isn't a bug, maybe the trap in question needs to have a character with 50% or better "find traps" in order to be found at all. (Bummer.) I think that's how it works with bashing down doors and such: STR = 18/51 may bash it down on the first try; but with a STR = 18/50 you might bash all day and not get in. Rather unrealistic and unsatisfying.

By the way. HoW (plus the free download named Trial of the Luremaster) will patch your IWD; and it does so-o-o-o-oo much more, even while you are still in IWD.

--------------------
What's a party,
without a song?
Bards ROCK!
Party On!!


[ 12-07-2004, 08:46 PM: Message edited by: NobleNick ]

[Aerich]

Spoilers ahead
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If your thief has a rather bad chance to find the traps, what you need to do is have a cleric or a druid cast the 2nd lvl spell "Find Traps". That will at least let you know where they are; your thief may even be able to remove some of them. Some of the traps on the top level can't be "disarmed" by stepping on them - they will go off over and over, as long as you keep stepping on them. It's quite time consuming, but you may have to try and memorize where the traps are.

For fighting Y, I like to hit her doorway with multiple Web/Entangle/Stinking Cloud spells. Slow is also an under-used spell, but is great for this fight, as is Confusion. If you get lucky, you can trap her in the doorway behind all her minions. A good archer can shoot her to death with the +2 arrows (use a haste potion for quicker results), and a couple fireballs and Oils of Fiery Burning will take care of her minions.

When you cast Find Traps, you will notice that there is a "channel" free of traps down the centre right before her doorway. You can advance a mage or two and an archer down that channel for the preliminaries. If she gets loose from the Webs etc before going down, retreat your two back to the party. You should have a few summoned monsters hanging out just behind your mage and archer, ready to intercept Y or anything else that starts chasing your vulnerable mage. Your mage should have Mirror Image as its sole defensive spell for this fight, although a Dimension Door could also be helpful. If you have another mage, you should be hitting Y with as many single-target damaging spells you have - Magic Missile is good, Chromatic Orb can stun her if it gets through her magic resistance (worth a shot), and Acid Arrow and Icelance are good as well.

Hope this helps. It's an alternative strategy to charging into her room, which I've never been fond of doing, for some reason. I prefer to be set and waiting for them to come to me; I find it easier to keep weaklings alive that way.