Improved Encounters Options

[Berzerkerzz]

I figured I change the thread title. The Sibel mod was alright in the end, could use exit points from the village though.

Riskbreaker: This kit was overpowered before and now ever more so. I removed all the speed bonuses but kept the speed bonus from the new boots later on. Did not upgrade the boots however as they are very overpowered. Also the potions of invulnerability makes the Riskbreaker lose all it's cons. I didn't end up using the Risk Decrement ability as it's overpowered as well. Also thanks to the new Flail of Ages buff this kit is ridiculously overpowered now. Even before v7 I was using the Improved Haste ability only once my mages got lvl 6 slots, otherwise it comes a bit early and throws the game off balance. So to recap: no heal/damage spell, no speed bonus, no use of invulnerability potions, and either tone down passive damage or even the new Flail of Ages bonus damage, and no use IH until your mages get it as well.

Wizard Slayer: I played this with Haste, not Improved. So he had one extra attack throughout the game, around 4 if I remember right. There was no way to play without it and have a character limping behind when moving around the map. I didn't upgrade the Regiment boots either as they are overpowered. I tried not to use the purge magic ability too often because it makes certain battles too easy. Purge Magic was used on a few dragons and other foes to speed up their demise. Some notable encounters where this ability was useful, a bunch of Grave Liches in WK and Demogorgon fight. Sibel was my only arcane caster in that run, dualed to a Mage at 9 wearing Vecna, and the Demogorgon fight would have been not doable without the purge magic from the Wizard Slayer. I did cast it in the middle so everybody got purged including Rozvanke which I baited towards the middle, and so it made the fight significantly easier. It really strips the enemies of their buffs this one. Anyway, Purge Magic is very powerful and I tried not to use it too often, perhaps it would be better balanced as a single target instead of area of effect. It's a strong kit now with ridiculous regeneration but needs basic Haste and the Purge Magic ability throws the game off balance if not use sparingly.

Avenger: Did not forge the Avenger Dream gear as it seemed a bit too overpowered, stayed with Rust Armor. Overall this kit is very strong and in another run I'm using it without the Clan Hunter summon, much more balanced imo without the clan hunter summon. The Clan Hunter could be better used perhaps on a different type of Druid kit.

Archer: Once you change missile damage into piercing he becomes a viable character. A ranged Kensai basically. However Called Shot needs nerfing, I set mine to 4 seconds for the effects. So with about ten shots per round, it would lower the Thac0 by about 8 max and Strength about similar. Seemed a bit too strong still, I think the effects should last 3 seconds, this way it would lower Thac0 by about 5-6 max and STR as well but only to the target that he is focusing on. The point is to soften the target. Archer comes in handy in many tight places but is a bit boring to play and the gear selection is not quite linear.
I set Fire, Acid and Ice arrows to +3 and lowered prices for +4 Arrows. He was using Gesen Bow most of the game and switched to Tuigan Bow and +4 Piercing arrows for the tough fights.


Party was: Avenger, Wizard Slayer, Riskbreaker, Sibel(Swash9/Mage), Shaman, Archer
Difficulty: Hard
No use of tomes, no max hp on level up, no milking of spawns as it throws the game off balance completely, no doing quests of random NPCs and no breach on clerics as their power is severely diminished if breached.

This post has been edited by Berzerkerzz: May 28 2025, 01:01 AM

[critto]

Hi Berzerkerzz.

Thanks for the honest feedback. You are right, some of the stuff is indeed more powerful. A less experienced player might appreciate these opportunities, whereas an experienced one can limit themselves to more reasonable options :-) Unless you are of the opinion that everything should be strictly hardcore. Wizard Slayer was intentionally made with those restrictions because Purge Magic is that powerful. Overall, one way to look at it is you can use these more powerful combinations if you're doing some kind of a challenge run or trying out other classes that are less performant than others.

Then I got stuck in the Arcanis village with no way of getting out and that was very uncomfortable for a few reasons, one being the whole village feels eerie to me with those few NPCs there gathering in the middle trading leather, reminded of those movies where all the characters are in on some conspiracy in the town and they all have that creepy vibe. There are other things that make the new area eerie, maybe the color palette as well but it's so much more.

Fair enough, but we could only do so much with our limited resources. I'd say the vibe is just right in that sense, but to each his own, I guess. Overall, the village segment is merely a puzzle and a few small encounters. You can probably do it in an hour or so.

Avenger: Did not forge the Avenger Dream gear as it seemed a bit too overpowered, stayed with Rust Armor. Overall this kit is very strong and in another run I'm using it without the Clan Hunter summon, much more balanced imo without that powerful summon.

Avenger was actually toned down quite considerably, including the summon. I think it is a sturdy enough character right now, definitely not super-OP compared to other choices that perform well in IA.

Archer is, I presume, a local modification, we did not touch that kit in v7. It's a valid idea, but ranged weapon overall is a tricky subject. With ranged weaponry there's a good chance kiting would become a regular tactic, not something we want to endorse, necessarly. We pondered on some ideas in these past few years on how to make the kit playable in a way that's agreable with our philosophy, but haven't had much success so far. But I'm glad you've found it enjoyable (or so I gathered) with these relatively small changes. Perhaps this is something that merits further investigation.

How did you find the shaman class?

No breach on clerics is an interesting self-limitation.

[Berzerkerzz]

Hi Berzerkerzz.

Thanks for the honest feedback. You are right, some of the stuff is indeed more powerful. A less experienced player might appreciate these opportunities, whereas an experienced one can limit themselves to more reasonable options :-) Unless you are of the opinion that everything should be strictly hardcore. Wizard Slayer was intentionally made with those restrictions because Purge Magic is that powerful. Overall, one way to look at it is you can use these more powerful combinations if you're doing some kind of a challenge run or trying out other classes that are less performant than others.

Then I got stuck in the Arcanis village with no way of getting out and that was very uncomfortable for a few reasons, one being the whole village feels eerie to me with those few NPCs there gathering in the middle trading leather, reminded of those movies where all the characters are in on some conspiracy in the town and they all have that creepy vibe. There are other things that make the new area eerie, maybe the color palette as well but it's so much more.

Fair enough, but we could only do so much with our limited resources. I'd say the vibe is just right in that sense, but to each his own, I guess. Overall, the village segment is merely a puzzle and a few small encounters. You can probably do it in an hour or so.

Avenger: Did not forge the Avenger Dream gear as it seemed a bit too overpowered, stayed with Rust Armor. Overall this kit is very strong and in another run I'm using it without the Clan Hunter summon, much more balanced imo without that powerful summon.

Avenger was actually toned down quite considerably, including the summon. I think it is a sturdy enough character right now, definitely not super-OP compared to other choices that perform well in IA.

Archer is, I presume, a local modification, we did not touch that kit in v7. It's a valid idea, but ranged weapon overall is a tricky subject. With ranged weaponry there's a good chance kiting would become a regular tactic, not something we want to endorse, necessarly. We pondered on some ideas in these past few years on how to make the kit playable in a way that's agreable with our philosophy, but haven't had much success so far. But I'm glad you've found it enjoyable (or so I gathered) with these relatively small changes. Perhaps this is something that merits further investigation.

How did you find the shaman class?

No breach on clerics is an interesting self-limitation.

Yes the Archer was locally modified of course. I forgot to add that some enemy items might need some immunity to projectiles removed, memory is a bit vague now. Called Shot definitely needs a nerf though.

Shaman: I only played him once only and since I had plenty of melee characters he did not see much fighting action. A divine sorcerer I guess with some melee capabilities. Perhaps in another run I could make better use of him. It's a good class I'd say, those spiritual clarities come in handy in mid game even though I had an Avenger with permanent chaotic commands from the potion, Lilarcor user and there is also a Shield of Harmony in the game, but a handy spell nevertheless. Good quick healer in the midst of battles and he can give up his healing capabilities for a few rounds of melee prowess.

It's too bad some encounters still haven't been improved, like Balthazar, Heart Key at the Final Seal in WK, Mind Flayer mini-boss in Sendai's Enclave, War Party in the Underdark (Boz, Simbja, Nashtar, Demien), Abazigal Lair still has a lot of unimproved fights, Bodhi is still too weak in certain encounters, and there are several others. It was pleasant to see the Demon encounter improved after the ritual in the Drow City, it's a good fight really and optional too from what I remember. I also restored the Drow ambush to his original level, it's a bit too nerfed now being based on XP. The Drow bridge ambush I guess is alright now, that Ghost Spider just made things annoying and you had to basically split up your party.

The Druid Stronghold quests are good overall, was glad to see some new monster animations introduced. I guess AI was used for the stories and dialogues, it works well though. The Alpha Smilodon is pretty strong but apparently immune to Heal, regen works well on him though. Makes the final fight more bearable, I also remove the four purges from the Prince and have been doing this for many runs now. Yes it's easier without the purges but a much more pleasant fight. The Rakshasa has plenty of remove magics plus the minions he spawns also cast remove magics. I generally play without using the Wish spell, so no Wish for Rest usually in my runs which means limited numbers of improved hastes.
I also did the Old Ones fight with the Avenger in this run, it's obviously not suited for it and involves a lot of running around and using summons to make space. In a more recent run, also with an Avenger, I skipped the Old Ones fight and went straight for the Lesser Force fight, it's those Balors I was really after.

Another thing I noticed, the Elite Bountyhuntress and possibly the Warden or another foe now use Minor Globe of Inv instead of Globe of Inv, which means only two Ruby Rays are needed to remove the Spell Immunity. I had extra Ruby Rays left before leaving for Spellhold. I'll also mention this here, Planar Prison is best done before Spellhold. If you do it after yes you get a lot of those war dogs spawning but the encounter becomes too easy, the Warden is too weak for a chapter 6 fight. Another thing it's best not to deactivate his thralls because the encounter becomes a little easier that way. If you don't deactivate his thralls he has two extra mages with him and some other minions. You can always deactivate the Orb from the brazier after the fight is over, this way you get some extra dogs spawning but the Warden fight remains more challenging.