HoF Party Weapons and Spell Guide

[Ultra Marine]

There is no best weapon distribution. You just have to take into account the availability of magical ones early in the game. I would also pick the 4 weapon to be used throught out the game by allocating 1 point each at the start.

R/C; put one point each to slings, hammer, flail & staff. As you advance add points to slings, then hammer then flail then staff. There is a 2 non random hammer (one from conlan) so you want this guy to use hammers. When he reach DE, get the fast flail and weild it with no shield. The staff is pretty useless until you get magical staff.

F/D; one point in sling, dagger, scimitar & spear. Just add points in that order. There is practically enough non-random dagger from the vale to DE until you get nice scimitars. The spear is good for later on.

F/T; I assume this is an elf? If so arm with bows, swords, staff and dagger. Bows is a no brainer. Swords and staff allow sneak attack. There are plenty of +1 swords and daggers around.

Bard; Use bows, slings, dagger, axe. They all have missile capability. And she won't be fighting.

This leaves you with the Paladin and F/Ill. IMHO the are 2 good weapons from lvl 1-9, ie the Sword of confusion and hammer flail. Take in consideration 2 units of returning axes ...

Paladin; Sword, Flail, Axe, Bows. Add point to Sword, Flail, Axe. Don't need to advance Bows. I believe there is one and only one non-random +1 Longsword in the tomb. My paladin will use this until he gets the +2 hammer flail. As for missile weapons, i'd use the +2 returning axe and never use the bow again. Just juggle the flail & Axe and you'll do fine. In HoW, Pally levels real fast so you want to add a GSword for 2hand weapons later on.

F/Ill; Bows, Sword, Mace, Axe. By the time you get to the vale you will have 2 points in bo/sw/ma. Pick up a non-random +1 mace. Use that until you get the sword of confusion. There is a second returning axe for sale.

[Raffin]

SilverKnight-You mentioned Easthaven being a difficult fight-which part?

The goblin archers can be defeated by doing the ranged shooting dance (ie. char. being attacked runs, everyone else shoots). Ditto for the wolves.

The orc cave you want to take piecemeal, with a lot of retreats to the exit whenever you get into a bad position. It's a LOT easier with a single class cleric to summon undead, but it's still possible without that. The key is using spells like chrom. orb and hold person to freeze monsters, and lots and lots of ranged fighting. Remember the golden rule of ranged fighting-it's far better to lure a monster to your trap of concentrated fire than to bring your party into their horde. Also, once you have the large central area clear, it makes a great place to hold your shooting range.

If possible, concentrate your fire on one monster, kill it, retreat, rest, return. Once you outnumber the monsters, shoot and run gets easier. Also, spells like alicorn lance make it easier for you to hit your chosen target.

Hope that helps.
-Raffin

[Aerich]

Whoa, UltraMarine, that's a difficult weapon lineup. I much prefer to start off specialized in two weapons, one melee and one ranged, with my warrior classes.

Paladin: it depends on whether you want your long-term ranged weapon to be axes or slings. If you take the Large Sword proficiency, you are assured of a usable magical weapon when it comes time to take on weapon-immunes in the Vale.

R/C: maces and slings to start. You'll have a good chance to get a magical mace. The third proficiency could be hammer, since there's a good chance of getting magical hammers, too.

F/I: Axes for sure. As with the paladin, you could take a second melee weapon instead of a ranged weapon because of the returning throwing axe. I'd say, only one or the other of the P and F/I could go without a ranged weapon in the early going. You'll need some ranged power. I'd be inclined to take bows with one or the other. Dagger is a good choice too, as you have a fair chance to find magical daggers in the Vale, and mage daggers later on.

F/D: scimitar, sling. The scimitar proficiency is used for the Flameblade spell as well as the Luck Scimitar available from Conlan. The third proficiency could be any of club, dagger, or staff. Leave spear until later, but be sure to take it at some point, for Slayer.

F/T: bows or crossbows to start, along with longsword or dagger. Taking clubs third allows you to go after certain monsters more effectively in melee - only do it if you find or are willing to buy a magical club. Otherwise, staff is good if you want to fight (and sneak attack) from behind your front ranks. Try to only take weapons that a thief can use, because non-thief weapons can't be used for sneak attack. Greatsword might be tempting, though. There's some really good daggers and shortswords later in the game. I also like to have bow and crossbow specialization with this character, as it will be a primarily ranged attacker throughout the game.

Bard: bows, axe, and whatever. This character should not attack. Sing or cast, instead. Tymora's Melody, available at lvl 5, should last you through until you get War Chant near the end of the Vale.

There are three keys to surviving Easthaven with beginning characters.

1) Run around a lot. Have a high HP character run in circles while the others shoot and cast (or sing). Try to draw only one enemy at a time, as this tactic is much more difficult when used against two or more enemies at a time.

2) Fight near the entrance when you anticipate tough fights. Send one character to draw some enemies to you. If things go sour, your whole party can retreat outside with ease. This is critical for the first big fight in the orc cave, and the fight against the ogres. Be warned, on successive returns to the caves, the remaining monsters will know you've entered and start walking toward you. Send out a scout (preferably stealthed) to gauge their speed, and pull your scout back before you start spell-trapping an area.

3) Let the spells and enemies do the work for you. Hold Person is vital for taking out orcs, especially archers. Chromatic Orb can stop an ogre in its tracks. Alicorn Lance reduces the AC for more effective focus-firing. Sunscorch can blind, and blinded creatures will stand still unless they are attacked in melee. The most important mage spell in Easthaven is Charm Person, because a HoF orc makes a great tank for you. Entangle and Grease give you more time. Don't overlook the druid spell Charm Person or Mammal, as it works on wolves, goblins, and orcs.

I always start off at least one mage with Charm Person and Grease. You can find a Chromatic Orb spell, and you might as well not bother with MM until you hit lvl 5 at least.

You should have enough +1 weapons in the Vale. However, your main killers should be spells. Spike Growth is effective against weapon immune undead, so a kill zone of Web, Entangle, and Spike Growth works well. Sunscorch does double damage to undead, as does Magical Stone. Don't forget, a held creature is automatically hit, so you can even attack a held creature with weapons in which you are not proficient. Anything that gets through your kill zone should be hit with Chromatic Orb (after some spells to reduce saving throws), blocked with meatshield summons, and attacked by one or two tanks in melee. If your druid gets Static Charge before the end of the Vale, use it.

[Dundee Slaytern]

I would not advocate non-Specialisation on HoF if you can help it. That extra 1/2 ApR at the start is very useful, especially when it comes to focus firing.

[Ultra Marine]

Difficult. Hmmm …. Yes. But I considered:

1) nonrandom +1sword, +1dagg, +1mace & +4hammer before hitting weapon immune in the tomb.

2) +2fast fl, +2hammer fl, +2confusion sw, +2return axe in DE.

3) f/d & r/c can cast magic +1 weapons when necessary & bards don't need any.

I guess most of us fairly agree on F/d, R/C, Bard and F/T or FMT.

The variety comes in the F/I and Paladin. Depends on game play …

Where is silverkinght?

[Aerich]

You also need to consider the ApR for warriors:
for lvls 1-6 with melee weapon and non-bow, non-dart missile weapons, it's 1 ApR. It's 1.5 with specialization. Is an extra attack every other round worth specialization? I think so.

By the time you hit the Vale, you should have enough spells that the bare number of magical weapons should see you through. That's not to say that you shouldn't spread out the specializations between your eligible characters, but you need to maximize your early potential.

Consider the numbers of creatures that need magical weapons to hit: the sum total is mummies, wights and chosen zombies in the Vale (+ Lysan), and wraith spiders in Dragon's Eye. All of these can be dealt with via spells (immobilizers, Spike Growth, direct-damage spells) if necessary. Now consider the number of other creatures you have to stomp through...

[Roboghost]

HoF survival:

My current team:
Human Fighter (good)
-Axe 1_1_3_6_9
-Mace 1_12_15_18_21
-Crossbow 1_24
-Great Sword 27_30
Gnome Fighter (neutral)
-Large Sword 1_1_3_6_9
-Mace 1_12_15_18_21
-Missile 1_24_27_30
Dwarf Fighter/Cleric
Half-Elf Fighter/Druid
Elf Mage/Thief
Half-Elf Bard

Note 1: My fighter’s weapon plans are laid out above.
Note 2: Mage/Thief: I too don't like the slow leveling of the FMT's mage power, but the bow is sorely missed at the start in HoF!
Note 3: This is probably the best hassle free party I can think up in HoF. It helps to have two powerful tanks from start to finish. The second rank of priests can also fight well to protect the weak back third rank - who are throwing mage spells and songs.

Easthaven:
1. Kill bugs in tavern basement with staves.
2. Do all non-combat mini-quests
3. Take your shadow character and kill ALL goblins with him her while goblin is in shadow. Except one goblin, you can actually get two range weapons going at once -- requires the stealth person finding TWO sweet spots to pluck at the goblin: be careful!
4. All the spells that you created at start of character -- use them ALL on that damn wolf in the shack. Save this wolf for LAST.
5. Sleep and go kill the three wolves with the fair amount of spells you have now: Entangle, Curse, Bless, and Grease. These four will do the job to hold them until most are dead via range weapons. Cast ALL out of sight of enemy - your scout should snoop first.

Cave:
1. One battle at a time with all spells going.
2. Big battle 1: Entangle, Grease, and Hold - it will be your range vs. their range for a while. Target the Held ones. Charm can help here, but I've managed without. If you are too beat to finish, go outside and rest and then finish them off (the remainder will keep coming after you until they're all dead.) I've actually managed to pick up the loot using the pause key before running for my life.
3. Big Battle 2: Level up your priests [by sleeping in cave] until you get Animate Undead and Spike Growth. This leveling will also be important in the Kuldahar Pass anyhow, so do it. Cast Animate Undead until you have a six pack. They form the defensive line. Go scout - shoot an Ogre - run. Trap them in the narrow passage. Cast all holding spells and then SPIKE GROWTH x TWO. Keep the Undead back from the Spike Growth as cannon fodder for the enemy archers while you missile them to death. If you spot an Ogre, target him first and foremost. It's a dance of mouse and keys, but you can get the whole lot this way. If any Ogre's escape - let one chase a tank whilst you toss away with missiles. Your Bard should have Chromatic Orb -- try to nail the Ogre that escapes with it! Sidebar: If you cast the Spike Growth perfectly, you can have a buffer zone that will cause your undead to get stuck in the Entangle without getting nailed by the Spike Growth. Done.

Kuldahar Pass: I like to level up my priests one more time (3 Animate Undead slots and 3 Spike Growth slots for each priest.) This makes Kuldahar Pass a breeze to make it to that tower ; ) It takes some patience to level up - I actually keep casting Animate Undead to make it easy [just takes time doing it this way.]

[ 06-01-2006, 03:44 PM: Message edited by: Roboghost ]

[Aerich]

I question the tanking ability of two pureclass fighters on HoF. In my experience, mage spells (mirror image, shield, stoneskin) and clerical spells (draw upon holy might, entropy shield) turn out to be more of a help in the long run.

[Roboghost]

Two Fighters in HoF:

The nice spells that the priest fighters and mage fighters get either are too short lived, not powerful enough yet, or come later. This makes it high maintenance at the start of a HoF game. Even later, those spell slots can be utilized for other important spells to save & protect the whole lot instead of self.

There are enough protective items in the game to fully armor-up two fighters and then add the cleric and mage spells to make them a wonderment of fury...unless the enemy casts Dispel Magic. I hate that spell!

A) My particular party -- I have no power-archer -- so a couple of fighters make up for this void.

B) The defensive barrier that my two pure fighters and two hybrid fighters create, allows for my bard to get couple of spells off before he/she has to sing.

[Dundee Slaytern]

Hmm? Even then, a pureclassed Paladin is still a better tanker than a plain Fighter. Given your rate of level advancement on HoF mode, the duration problem becomes moot by The Vale of Shadows.

Lastly, whatever the plain Fighter can do, so can the Cleric/Ranger or Fighter/Mage, only they can also do better. They all after all, share a Warrior class.