Demon Lord vs Judgement Day (Spoilers) Options

[rbeverjr]

I just installed IA at the end of SoA. It's been nice for the most part. Irenicus at the Tree seemed to be Unbreechable - that's not fair. I did kill him with Dragon's Breath, no characters died, and no reload, but still. Irenicus in hell was a nice improvement over the stock game without being totally overboard like Tactics Improved Irenicus. I then went through Saradush and Watcher's Keep (through level 4). I have no major complaints there either. The game has become more challenging. However, when I received Angurvadal and left the Watcher's Keep to face the demon lord (upper right area at Watcher's Keep's exterior), I was VERY disappointed.

This is the cheesiest encounter that I've ever had the misfortune to see. Please spoil me. How do you defeat this crew? Specifically, I am talking about the demon lord and his 2 buddies.

As near as I can tell, the demon lord is immune to high level traps as well as time stop. If you normally do 30 HP damage/strike, you may do 8 - provided that you can strip his protections. A level 30 inquisitor's dispel magic (that'd be level 60 spell power) wasn't keeping things under control - I'm not sure it was working at all! Does everyone always have immunity to abjuration and divination (vs True Seeing)? Both his buddies wield Soul Reavers. I started with a -20 THACO or so and ended up with a +50 THACO or so. Isn't that sweet... I've tried many things and none seemed to work. He seems to have an inexhaustible spell supply. So, I doubt hit and come back later cheese would help. Mord's swords are only distractions. Planetars and elementals are lunch. Of course, dragon's breath is useless. So, what's the solution?

I hope the author tones this encounter down a lot.... If he thinks the weapon you may get some day from this encounter is too powerful - then dump the weapon. As it is, this encounter is STUPIDLY difficult. (Of course, everyone is entitled to their opinion and that's mine!)

I have been playing DnD from the first version until the latest. I am also a very experienced BG2 player. I generally/usually avoid using spells and tactics that would not be allowed/couldn't succeed while a human judge was running a DnD 3.5 table. That alone makes the game MUCH, MUCH harder. But for the game's replay value, I like new mods. Unfortunately, some tactical mods go far overboard, such as this encounter and Tactics Improved Irenicus (to name 2). Some people like tactical puzzles, but I play for enjoyment when I'm really too tired to solve some tough puzzles. If I have to reload more than 3 times on Core difficulty to beat and encounter, I consider it too much. Tactics Pontifex is one I had to reload more than 3x to succeed with all my team intact; although, I did luck out and kill him in 2 rounds on Insane once. I say this only to indicate that I am an experienced player to hopefully convince the author that this encounter is a little too difficult for the general player population.

I'm sure there's something my tired brain overlooked. So, please tell me how to defeat these guys. If someone can't help me, then this encounter will receive the ultimate rebuff, CTRL-Y the baddies and leave the treasure on the ground except for the component.

[rbeverjr]

@Sikret
I won't be able to confirm the Saerileth problem. The primary reason that I quit this game when I did is that it had become corrupted. I had a lot of mods installed and a conflict was introduced somewhere. I think the Xan mod wasn't cooperating with the rest - I got errors on the install, and some corrupted dialogue. I also had other indications of a messed up game. During the transition from SoA to ToB, 2 party members came with me and 2 stayed behind (momentarily). Saerileth mistakenly thought I was not Lawful Good (I was - I checked to confirm) and left. I just wanted to check out this mod some before starting up a new, hopefully uncorrupted game. I have decided to take Fade instead of Saerileth, more so now that you report that Saerileth could cause problems.

I started up a new game with IA, and I'm thinking presently that I want some levels and equipment before IA's added challenge. I like a more relaxed game than IA is providing. I want mooks (unnamed hirelings/minion troops, sidequests without important loot) to be relatively unchallenging. If I am attentive enough to play these encounters overmatched, then I should be working one of my 2 jobs. I've also installed several Tactics mods, including toughest random dungeon encounters. I'm thinking about installing AI after I reach level 15 or so, which should happen in the Underdark or slightly before, but I don't know. I'm also thinking about installing right before going to De'Arnis keep. We'll see. I can handle IA a lot better on Saturday mornings when I am actually awake...


This post has been edited by rbeverjr: Feb 26 2007, 03:30 PM

[Sikret]

I'm thinking about installing AI after I reach level 15 or so, which should happen in the Underdark or slightly before, but I don't know. I'm also thinking about installing right before going to De'Arnis keep.

This may be possible with IA v3, but not with IA v4. You will need to start a new game as soon as you install IA v4. It can't be installed in the middle of an ongoing game.