The fight with pirates Options

[Raven]

Thank you critto for this topic. The gold for reputation increase is also good to know. That cloak is not mentioned in the forbidden list so my blade can use it, this is very good.

IIRC you won't be able to find all the ingredients to upgrade Cernd's cloak unless Cernd is in the party. You shouldn't plan your strategy around forging the upgraded personalised items for other characters to use.

[Sikret]

You shouldn't plan your strategy around forging the upgraded personalised items for other characters to use.

Quite true. Any attempt to use NPCs' personal items on your protagonist is plain cheat. I have blocked using most of those items even with the "Use Any Item" ability. However, even for some of them which are still usable with the UAI ability, you should most certainly resist the temptation to abuse the possibility (if you want to play legitimately).

[darkjeshush]

Thank you critto.

My mages leveled to 12 and I set difficulty to easy and killed the pirates, those adventurers in the promenade and Lilalcor monsters and slavers in slums.

I read some spoilers here and also googled Improved Anvil. I found tons of spoilers on biowares forum and got some more permanency scrolls.
Maybe I should start with a different party? The vagrant looks powerful later on, but how about this:

fighter-illusionist gnome leader with wisdom 18
fighter-cleric-mage or only cleric-illusionist gnome - advice please
sorcerer with wisdom 18 because Imoen is too far away
a bard - maybe Haer'dalis? or custom

I read that arcane magic is very important and with smaller party they will level up quicker and I won't decrease difficulty with this party.

Automatic saving throw pretty much ruins this encounter.

Also, how is Imoen too far away? You don't need 18 wisdom until your mage/sorcerer hits level 18 anyways, and Imoen joins around level 14.

Gnomes can only roll 17 wisdom, but that doesn't matter either since a multi class wont get wish for a long long time regardless. By then you can use +1 wis +1 cha Bhaal's tear, or you can use mad lum's machine.

Also, level 12 mage is still very early in the game, and pirates are doable on core if you have a balanced party. You seem to be asking a wide array of questions that are relevant to many parts of the game you haven't even reached yet. I think you'd have a much easier time learning everything from personal experience if you made a more powerful party, for example the party Sikret used in his v5 thread, except with better stats. It will still be challenging.

I think Sikret said sliding the bar to easy is not a cheat, but imo it ruins alot of encounters. They're not just slightly easier, they become NOTHING like the way they were originally.

[Kerkes]

I recommend Core difficulty, regardless of your playing skill. If a battle is really too hard for some reasons, decrease it to Normal and try win it then. If you do, increase again to Core and replay battle again..it improves your gameplay if you play on Core, and it is possible.
Easy difficulty is simply too easy, IMO.