New Player, Requesting Help Options

[Zarathustra]

Hi everyone.

I am a quite experienced BG2 player (as in: the vanilla game provides zero challenge anymore, but Ascension is still a struggle). Having recently started my first IA game, after perusing this forum for a while, I must say that IA is a very polished mod, and highly enjoyable once one accepts what it tries, and does not try, to do (some people seem to have difficulties with that).

However, I am - of course - up to my neck in trouble with most of the new encounters. So, I have opened this thread to occasionally ask advice once a battle has me stumped for hours on end. Any help would be appreciated; both general advice and moderate spoilers are welcome. Many thanks in advance!


My party consists of:

PC (Vagrant, 11) - very powerful kit, by the way; just I what I need for IA!
Valygar (11)
Anomen (12)
Jaheira (10 / 11)
Yoshimo (13) - he seems rather useless in IA, but I like him (it's not like he'll last anyway).
Nalia (12)

I have cleared the De'Arnise keep and done all the unmodded quests except the Unseeing Eye cult (if it even is unmodded). So you might be surprised to hear the Shadow Lover in the Lilarcor quest presents me with great difficulties. Tanking him seems impossible due to his low AC, his regeneration and his strength drain ability; and spells seem not to affect him, not even Bolt of Glory, which was a disappointment. Help? I am quite impressed that Sikret and others did it with lower-level and less-well-equipped parties.

This post has been edited by Zarathustra: Jan 20 2008, 08:05 PM

[Clown]

Hey Zarathusa,
My take on the character issue would be that you are best served keeping Nalia as she has access to a very good personal item and you need a pure arcane caster throughout the game for acces to certain spells. However I would still sugest taking on board Haer Dalis instead of Yoshimo as a blade will be of more help than a second arcane caster. This is as a bard with the new armour becomes a superlative caster, being able to cast his spells faster, at higher level than a pure mage or sorcerer plus permanent aura cleansing. This makes him a superior buffer/de-buffer than any other character. Couple this with Imp. bard song, superior equipment, combat abilities and time traps and a blade offers far more to a party than a second pure mage/sorcerer.

As for quests any of A to D should be do-able but planar prison will probably be very tough, I would personally go for the shadow dragon as he is probably the easiest from that list.