Positive feedback featuring a plea for tactical advice Options

[Ballad]

Thank you, Sikret!

I have finally gotten around to playing Improved Anvil, and wow, I'm stunned. The mod really makes the game feel fresh and fun... and so excruciatingly difficult. No, I'm not complaining, after all difficulty's what I've been looking for. I'm truly impressed with the improved AI and the new scripts: now it seems like the enemies actually know what they are doing. Most of the battles which used to be cakewalk are at least moderately challenging now. Generally speaking I'm very happy with Improved Anvil.

The first "between area"-battle (the one with Suna-Seni and Eldarin) was especially memorable. I only had four members in my party and hardly any equipment, yet I managed to beat them on the first try. Monster summoning is a really underestimated spell: with haste and defensive harmony even those puny dire wolves can wreak some serious havoc. The sewer encounter (Hatchetman) was a little more difficult but didn't take too many reloads either. I then started the Planar Prison quest but ended up postponing it because of the new elite bounty huntress who kept ripping my lowbie party to shreds regardless of what I tried. After some aimless estate plundering I concluded my day with the beastmaster and the slavers in the Slums.

Even though no battle is easy in IA, I find mages (especially higher level ones) extremely difficult to beat. Am I missing something or is Spell Immunity: Abjuration really unremovable? Every counter-protection spell out there (Breach, Spell Thrust, Pierce Magic, Dispel & Remove Magic etc.) seems to be of that spell school so there's practically no way to touch the mage until the immunity expires. The only way I've managed to beat them is to cast every possible protection on my party, then circle the spellchucker as long as his/her protections last. Now, I'm 99% certain that you are not intended to fight them that way, so... What am I doing wrong?

This post has been edited by Ballad: Apr 21 2007, 02:40 AM

[Ballad]

Thanks for the feedback everyone! I, too, think that SI: Abjuration is a little too overpowered in its current form. Also, every mage shouldn't have it. The mage that has caused me the most pain so far is the improved Slave Wizard in the slaver ship building. I think it's pretty safe to say that Irenicus is easier to beat in the unmodded game.

Speaking of the slave ship building, I think it's way overdone (fun nevertheless, just horribly frustrating at the same time). First, the assassins that keep appearing out of nowhere are a godawful pain in the backside. I've always hated infinitely respawning mobs and thought it was unrealistic. I mean, how many assassins can one ship hold? 100, 1000, 10000? And why don't they give any exp? They really aren't that easy to kill... Also, why does the door slam shut behind you? Is there a logical reason for it? Now, I could live with the door if you were allowed to rest inside the ship, but you are not. That's really a problem since the constantly popping assassins drain your spells and health really, really fast. The worst of all is the new Slaver Wizard which I already mentioned above. To a low lever party (yes, the quest is intended for relatively low level characters) he's next to impossible. SI:Abjuration prevents you from doing anything at all. Your best bet is to play hide and seek until his protections wear off. Of course, the rapidly spawning assassins make this tactic a lot harder than what you could think. Last but not least, why is the slave golem only vulnerable to piercing weapons? The halberd+1 doesn't help much if you don't have any proficiency points in it. When I first encountered the beast, I didn't really have any other piercing weapons on me (apart from Jan's crossbow bolts). Needless to say, I got my ass handed to me.

This post has been edited by Ballad: Apr 21 2007, 10:57 PM