i'm excited again! (Tactics Spoilers)

[Armen]

i've played around in chapter 2/3 a few times but i've only finished SoA twice - once with a swashbuckler->fighter and a full party of six and just now with a solo archer but was getting a touch jaded (it probably didn't help having 8M XP for the final SoA battle - my archer wasn't even bothering with his bow any more . . .)

what i need, i thought, is a character idea i really like (gnome cleric/thief) and a fantasy party i've daydreamed about (Jan, Korgan, Mazzy) and a new challenge - so i instaled tactics and i always play on core rules . . . .

not seeing any long term future with the dungeon NPCs i wondered about striking out on my own (ha ha ha) but thought that if they could help me out of this hole then i'd tolerate their company for a little while - it didn't take me long to realise that i'd woken up somewhere really unpleasant - the spawning dwarf patrols are now legend i realise and i finally managed to stay a spell-book ahead of them by avoiding all combat and hiding in shadows to get the door opened

i managed to kill the otyugh but got seriously depleted in the process and only survived the patrols with enough guts left by sleeping near Minsc's cell and leaving the mage down there

cleared out the traps, spoke to the dryads so far so good so its off to recover those acorns - my gnome approached in stealth only to peer round some shelves and catch the eye of a demon - i sprinted back down the corridor with the infernal beast in hot pursuit and as we burst into the room the rest of my team valiantly pitched in - every weapon we had bounced off, imoen emptied her spell book at it while the rest of us ducked and weaved but that only took it down to injured and that was it - we couldn't touch it and we all died horribly

i tried again thinking i was unlucky to have got the demon at the front of the party but when i got someone else first it was usually worst - in theory i could damage them at least but they could damage me so much faster

in the end i ignored them and took the portal and got the hell out of there

i got above ground - recruited Korgan - recruited Jan - booted my fellow captives - scribed some scrolls - identified - sold my loot - saved - thought 'that was interesting, lets see what else i've got in store' and turned off the PC

but my obsessive little gnome has lost heart for adventuring, its like a little part of her pride and a little part of her edge and most of her sanity got left behind down there - she's sat in the den of the seven veils now, out of her mind on cheap ale telling anyone who'll listen about the horrors that exist just below their feet

me? i'm going back - but this time i'm going back with a sorcerer

maybe a fighter/mage . . .

EDIT: maybe a cleric/illusionist . . .

[ 09-15-2004, 06:41 AM: Message edited by: Armen ]

[Cerek]

Welcome to the horrors and frustrations of Tactics, Armen. LOLOL!!

Improved Illyich is definitely one of the most impressive foes in the Tactics Mod. He and his crew are even more difficult since you meet them before you've had a chance to gain any really nice items yourself...so you definitely have to rely on Tactics to beat them rather than hack-n-slash. Still, once you face them a few times, they aren't nearly as difficult to kill as they seem at first.

My very first encounter with the Improved Illyich and Co. occurred over a year ago. At that time, you still met them in the kitchen, so you could set the library up as a good ambush spot. You could also lure the characters into the side corridor one at a time and SLAM the door behind them. This would effectively cut off the rest of the group (except for the demon that would work his way around through the Sewer Room and attack you from the other side) and you could then kill them off one at a time. But Weimer "fixed" that glitch by causing all the doors on that level to become "magically stuck open". He also had the group start partrolling the library, instead of just sitting in the kitchen and waiting for you to show up.

It is still possible to isolate some of the members so that you don't face the entire group at the same time. This makes the job of killing them MUCH easier. You also get some very nice items from them...so the battle is definitely worth the pain you endure.

Right now, my primary strategy centers around using Dire Charm on Illyich first, then Karamazov (the crazy, rapid-firing crossbow wielder). They are both susceptible to being "Charmed", then you can use their skills and weapons to attack their teammates. In fact, their teammates will automatically attack the "Charmed" characters instead of your character if the spellcaster is far enough away when the spell takes effect.

I find that when Illyich shows up, Rasputin (the monk) and possibly Zhivago (the cleric) aren't far behind. When Illyich becomes "Charmed", his comrades turn on him...but he often has enough hit points to kill them before he dies. In essence, the three of them end up killing each other and you can just sit on the sidelines and watch.

Same goes for Karamazov. You can use her weapons against any foes remaing and let them kill each other.

Good luck in the future with them. Do a Search for "Improved Illyich" and you will find TONS of info on how to beat them.

[Armen]

cheers Cerek - i restarted last night with a cleric/illusionist

i'm working up to the main group by clearing the upper level before i go back down - i'm trying to be far more economical with resources (taking out the duergar mages guarding the portal by minsc slowly knocking off the stoneskins with arrows from the shadows) and i've only rested once so far (leaving a mage in the clone room)

if nothing else this mod has 'forced' me to play a spellcaster finally which can't be a bid thing [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Armen]

well, for the sake of completeness i should register my victory over the deep dwarves of the, er, steppe

a this stage i don't really see any meaningful tactic other than the 'hope to charm one of them' one (cheers Cerek) but it was a it of a reload frenzy and 'doom' seemed to take too long to cast tactically

i decided to limit myself to 20 reloads (see what i mean) but on the 19th (!) i managed to mentally dominate the cleric but he still finishing summoning the fallen deva but (and this is the groovy part) the deva turned up with a green circle [img]smile.gif[/img] as i glanced over my shoulder running down the corridor it was unloading brimstone on his summoners

i still had to deal with the golem, demon and monk but a combination of archery, jah's staff+1 and (my new favourite toy) melf's minute meteors i managed to get through it - and then it was just dealing with the foot soldiers and the crossbowman and picking through the smouldering remains

my little cleric/mage is on the surface now back with the mage avatar and about to get a new set of party member that don't give her a crick in her neck when she talks to them

oh yeh, imoen ran off but there was no way i was reloading to before she didn't - i shall probably think (or maybe research) alternative tactics and have another go