I've tried to win this fight 2 nights in a row, with no luck thus far. I should point out that I did complete this battle in IA 4.2 on my 3rd try, but I'm up to at least 10 tries in 5.0 and just don't quite seem to get there. I've gotten the Demon Lord to "nearly dead" a couple of times, but I just end up getting overwhelmed by his minions. It seems that he has virtually no limit to his combat protections. Even when I've fully stripped him of spell protections, breach doesn't seem to work reliably. I'm not sure if Demon Knights somehow protect the Demon Lord, but I've noticed that when these guys are summoned, it's almost as if some sort of invisible buffs are passed over the the Demon Lord (or maybe it's just coincidence). Anyhow, I'm not understanding how I can keep the Demon Lord appropriately debuffed, so that I can damage him. By the time I get the Demon Lord just about killed, he has summoned an unstoppable army against me. Is there some secret here that I'm missing.
I should point out that I'm currently in chapter 6, and I've done just about everything there is to do except for going to hell, and I haven't finished the good, the bad, and the ugly yet (I'm waiting to forge an item that I'm willing to give up). My party is in the 7 million xp range and consists of:
--Vagrant (protagonist) - flail of defending & wounding and axe of the unyielding +3
--Minsc (berserker) - judgement day sword & shield
--Valygar (stalker) - Corthala True Blade & Hammer of Thor
--Anomen (fighter/cleric) - Flail of Ages +4 & shield
--Jaheira (F/M/C) - Skullcrusher +3 & shield
--Nalia (Thief/Mage) - Short Sword of Mask +4 & Buckler +3
I have my Vagrant, Minsc, and Valygar doing most of the fighting, and add in Anomen when I don't need him for casting spells. I pretty much keep Jaheira and Nalia out of the fighting, and just casting spells, at least, for as long as I can. I usually try to take out the Death Lords when they are spawned, since they wreak havoc on my guy's THAC0.
My party is more powerful than my IA 4.2 party was, so I'm not sure why this seems a lot harder this time. Any tips out there from those that have successfully completed this fight? Mainly, I'm looking for a way to reliably keep the demon lord breached. If I could accomplish that, I'm sure I could win. But without reliable breaching tactics, it just takes me too long to take him down. "Come my minons. Come my minions. Come my minions. Come my minions. Come my minions. Come my minions. Come my minions. Come my minions. Come my minions. Come my minions." It gets a little impossible after a while....