04-16-2007, 12:10 PM | #1 |
Elite Waterdeep Guard
Join Date: July 8, 2004
Location: PA
Age: 54
Posts: 24
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Referencing my old D&D books (MM, FF, MM2) I was wondering when shadow dragons got so tough. Sure, they are a dragon -- and dragons are nasty -- but I was always under the impression that shadow dragons were not as difficult as the other breeds. I know there's also a red dragon somewhere in the game (saw it on the BGII box) and if this first dragon is that tough I can only imagine the red one.
I stumbled upon the shadow dragon (with that really long name) before battling the Shade Lord. I had the shadow dragon stone so he didn't bother me. My party is: PC (Cavalier), Jaheira, Minsc, Valygar, Aerie, and Yoshimo. We're all levels 8-9. Perhaps it's too early for this encounter? Needing money to bail out Imoen, I took this quest. After several thrashings at the claws and breath weapon of this drake, I decided to leave and come back later when my party gains a few levels and when I have some serious gold to buy magical stuff. Then we can whoop his evil ass. Any tips on fighting dragons? |
04-16-2007, 04:54 PM | #2 |
Elminster
Join Date: January 16, 2003
Location: Michigan
Age: 58
Posts: 419
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If memory serves the dragon(s) power up as you level up…so it is entirely possible to take out the shadow dragon at your level.
There are tried and true tactics to do battle with dragons if you want to do a search though it is more fun to figure it out for yourself. That said there is nothing wrong with waiting. I often wait to tackle this particular beastie till after I fetch Imoen back which will provide you with much needed fire power.
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04-17-2007, 12:29 AM | #3 |
Zhentarim Guard
Join Date: January 4, 2003
Location: Australia
Posts: 300
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I would actually say that the shaddow dragon is the easiest in the game.
It is true that dragons level up with you but the advantages you gain from leveling are definately more than his. As you gain levels, your mages and clerics gain more powerful spells and your warriors will find more powerful weapons along the way. You may as well save yourself the grief and just rescue imoen first. Tips for dragon battles: - haste all party member - buff party members with cleric spells (particularly your warriors) - dragons may often use stoneskin. This means the first few attacks you make on the dragon will be ineffective to strip down the skin layers (which are determined by its level). However, if you have magic swords and axes that do elemental damage, it will still hit the dragon and disrupt any of his spells. - have a couple of 'lower resist' spells and a 'greater malison' spell if the dragons magic resistance is rendering your mage's spells useless - cast your 5 summonings and use them as meat shields so your warriors can hack away in peace - if your dragon is an elemental dragon (fire or ice) then consider casting 'protection from elements' on your tank/s. It makes a difference, trust me! - watch out for wing buffets! good luck! |
04-17-2007, 08:33 AM | #4 |
Jack Burton
Join Date: March 21, 2001
Location: Philippines, but now Harbor City Sydney
Age: 41
Posts: 5,556
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go back when your lvl 11-13 [img]smile.gif[/img] lvl 9 is abit low IMO.
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04-19-2007, 09:07 PM | #5 |
Dracolisk
Join Date: September 16, 2001
Location: Bellingham, WA, USA
Age: 46
Posts: 6,901
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Where did this idea that Dragons cater to your level come from?? Sorry, but it's wrong. Only random spawns are level-based: Fryman, since your party was low-level when you entered the Temple Ruins, you encountered Shades and Shade Wolves. If you had held off exploring this map area until much later in the game, you would have found yourself up against Skeleton Warriors and Liches. The random-spawn engine only controls what creatures appear, as far as I know no creature in the game adjusts its difficulty to your party level.
Dragons: A few years back, I overheard my old boss relating his adventures over the weekend [spoilerish clues smudged out]: "And so I go into one of them and I find myself in this [place]. I look at the big [object]-thing, and there's the icon that says you can do something, and I'm curious, so I say I want to [verb] it. A message appears that says, 'Are you sure you want to [verb] it?' and I'm thinkin', 'Yeah, I'm a Level 10 Fighter, I should be able to handle pretty much anything,' so I say 'Yeah, I want to [verb] it. Well, all of a sudden out pops this [HIGH-LEVEL ENEMY!!] He immediately starts casting [9TH-LEVEL SPELL!], and then right afterward he casts [ANOTHER 9TH-LEVEL SPELL!], and I'm like, 'OKAY, I'll be going now!'" Moral: You so puny! In BG1, being Level 8 or so meant you had pretty much the entire game under your thumb. BG2, however, has a much larger thumb. Trust me--you puny. Dragons are big. They are scary. They got claws and teeth and wings and breath weapons and spells. Yeah, it's possible to take them out when you're low-level . . . but I wouldn't recommend it until you're comfortable beating them with a more experienced party. The basics: Know Your Foe: The color of a Dragon's scales gives a valuable clue as to its favored element. Red Dragons, for instance, deal with Fire. They breathe fire, and fire cannot harm them--I think it actually even heals them. Therefore, when facing a Red Dragon, getting some Fire Resistance is good, and using fire-based attacks on it is bad. Use some good Summons to try to distract the Dragon into attacking someone other than your party members. Spread your party out, so that one Wing Buffet doesn't take everyone out of commission at once. Spells that hamper or incapacitate an enemy are often more useful than spells that do damage.
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04-19-2007, 09:32 PM | #6 | |||
Elminster
Join Date: January 16, 2003
Location: Michigan
Age: 58
Posts: 419
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Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
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04-19-2007, 11:58 PM | #7 | |
Dracolisk
Join Date: September 16, 2001
Location: Bellingham, WA, USA
Age: 46
Posts: 6,901
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Quote:
Oh, and Thax'sisillya is a girl, yes.
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04-20-2007, 12:57 AM | #8 | |
Elminster
Join Date: January 16, 2003
Location: Michigan
Age: 58
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Quote:
Oh, and Thax'sisillya is a girl, yes. [/QUOTE]Nope. The beholder and two gauths are there as soon as I leave Chateau Irenicus. This makes recruiting Keldorn a bit of a trick.
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04-20-2007, 09:19 PM | #9 |
Lord Ao
Join Date: May 15, 2005
Posts: 2,092
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Then that's odd. I always recruite Keldorn as soon as possible, and I've NEVER faced a Beholder and/or two gauths. Ever.
Unless I went there at a high level as my evil party, that is |
04-20-2007, 11:30 PM | #10 | |
Dracolisk
Join Date: September 16, 2001
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Quote:
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