So I've decided to try and devise no-reload tactics for such a character. Moreover, I've picked a game where Robe of Vecna isn't easily found (not on Kaol or Alhoon's unnamed Mage).
Feel free to dislike certain tactics, but keep in mind that I made no external modifications whatsoever to this game. Used a lot of in-game exploits to make it work though.
Will continue using in-game exploits, in an attempt to see how far can such a character go.
Keep in mind that a F/M protagonist of any kind is subject to many changes in the script, triggering nasty abilities from certain powerful enemies, losing a lot of items due to the sole fact that he's soloing and/or a F/M.
A B-M doesn't have the Wish-Rest option as well, neither gets the Expanded Mage Stronghold quests.
Also, with the Robe of Vecna being a late-game item, many enemies are extremely hard to beat.
How to create a powerful enough B-M:
Exit Chateau Irenicus, apply an endless gold/xp exploit, level up the B-M up to level 21 (to maximize THAC0). Picked up Power Attack + Critical Strike HLAs.
Used scroll drinking exploit (sorry about that) to beat Suna Seni with ease. Then again, running away from her is just as good, since PC needs neither the gold nor the xp or items she has.
Defeated Pai-Na (again, scroll drinking, probably could've done it another way too but on Insane it's risky). While PC hasn't dualclassed yet, there IS a Spell Immunity scroll in Pai-Na's treasure trove. That was the sole reason of why PC had to engage her prior to dualclassing. After that the scroll miraculously disappears (anti-F/M scripting).
Roamed a bit around the city, left some free xp untouched, in Umar Hills too. Dualclassed at Berserker level 21, collected the free xp, leveled mage to 11. Back to the city, applied the endless xp/gold exploit up to mage level 25.
Proficiencies: ***** WarHammer, **Flail, **Bastard Sword, **Short Sword, ***Two-Weapon style, and two wasted *Quarterstaff *Dagger.
Numerous battles in the right correct order supplied PC with needed spell scrolls like Improved Mantle, RRR, Spell Turning, Remove Magic, Improved Haste, GoI, etc.
Did the Windspear Dungeon lvl 2 with three token party members to avoid losing Robe of Vecna (if in possession of Kaol). No robe though.
Chapter 3 was uneventful, although had some trouble vs Alhoon and his Greater Elemental golem. Without Critical strikes, he just wouldn't fall quickly enough. The only sound strategy was multiple Noble Spiders.
Max mage level is 28, which leaves PC with -2 spell slots spell levels 1-7 and -1 spell slot lvl 8 and 9 compared to a 31 or 36 lvl mage. All in all, the spell slots for all levels are just too few. We'll see how it goes.
Currently in chapter 4, the Asylum. Interesting info so far:
Amber golems can be petrified (many players probably know that already). However, I didn't know that the Mithril Golem can also be petrified. An easy victory over an otherwise very tough opponent.
By switching main- and offhand weapon, and preserving the total APR by doing that, it is possible to score hits with the offhand as well. Example:
PC has Phosphorous main, Belm off, 9 APR (under Improved Haste), attacking a Skeleton Grandlord. 1-st half round 3 hits main hand 1 hit off-hand 1 hit main-hand. 2nd half-round 3 hits main-hand, 1 hit off-had.
1st half-round: Wait for the first 3 hits, pause game, put a warhammer main-hand and move Phosphorous off-hand. Total APR preserved (9) due to GM with Warhammers, and after unpausing, PC will score a hit with the off-hand, now holding Phosphorous. After the hit, exchange weapons again. A bit tedious, but effective.
Spell Immunity Evocation offers no protection vs Amber golems, unfortunately.
On the Library level in Spellhold, if staking Dace right away and killing his Vampire Lord, PC (or the party, in other cases) can afterwards run away to the safety of the upper level during any battle (Improved Kobolds, Cat'o'Nine'Lives) and enemies won't follow. Nice for resting and replenishing spells.
Full Version: Berserker-Mage solo insane run
Jon Irenicus:
Level apparently above 28, since my Remove Magicks did nothing but dispel his Mirror Images. Keeps Absolute Immunity up at all times. Summons 12 or 18 Asylum Scouts, didn't count really. Wasn't necessary. Staying close to him and refreshing Spell Turning and PFMW was the key to winning. After his RRoR were depleted, his SI:Div waned and he was breached and dispatched. After his speech, while PC was under PFMW, summoned a Noble Spider, Asylum Scouts went to beat it, and PC successfully escaped. Didn't stay to see if the golems would actually follow PC, just talked to Saemon on the upper level and ran away. No PFMW or AI scrolls wasted.
Level apparently above 28, since my Remove Magicks did nothing but dispel his Mirror Images. Keeps Absolute Immunity up at all times. Summons 12 or 18 Asylum Scouts, didn't count really. Wasn't necessary. Staying close to him and refreshing Spell Turning and PFMW was the key to winning. After his RRoR were depleted, his SI:Div waned and he was breached and dispatched. After his speech, while PC was under PFMW, summoned a Noble Spider, Asylum Scouts went to beat it, and PC successfully escaped. Didn't stay to see if the golems would actually follow PC, just talked to Saemon on the upper level and ran away. No PFMW or AI scrolls wasted.
The lone Balor in the Swirfneblin village (and respectively, any other Balor)
Immune to Secret Word
Immune to Maze
Extremely resistant to physical damage
Extremely vulnerable to cold, after removing the Fireshield Blue
Extremely vulnerable to acid, after removing his Globe of Invulnerability can be affected by acidic spells like Melf's acid arrow and Chromatic orb.
Somewhat resistant to magical damage even after Breaching
Practically, a Trigger loaded with 2*Lower Resistance + Breach (to remove his Fireshield Blue) followed by refreshed Trigger with triple Cone of Cold obliterates the Balor in a blink.
Obviously, a lone Balor is no threat, but facing six in the Necromancer stronghold quest is, so hopefully this info can help obliterate a lot of those in the first couple of rounds via ice and acid spells. Pierce Magic and Pierce Shield are extremely effective for both removing the Balors' spell protections and lowering their magical resistance.
Immune to Secret Word
Immune to Maze
Extremely resistant to physical damage
Extremely vulnerable to cold, after removing the Fireshield Blue
Extremely vulnerable to acid, after removing his Globe of Invulnerability can be affected by acidic spells like Melf's acid arrow and Chromatic orb.
Somewhat resistant to magical damage even after Breaching
Practically, a Trigger loaded with 2*Lower Resistance + Breach (to remove his Fireshield Blue) followed by refreshed Trigger with triple Cone of Cold obliterates the Balor in a blink.
Obviously, a lone Balor is no threat, but facing six in the Necromancer stronghold quest is, so hopefully this info can help obliterate a lot of those in the first couple of rounds via ice and acid spells. Pierce Magic and Pierce Shield are extremely effective for both removing the Balors' spell protections and lowering their magical resistance.
Chapter 5, two tougher fights, the Demonknights and the Dracolich.
Although I was able to beat the Demonknights in a fair fight, the fact that at the end PC's fire resistance was something like 25% was not good, since that literally means that PC was one round away from certain death. With reduced casting speed of 4 PC would've devastated them, showering them with RRoR, Breaches and Remove Magicks in the first round and eliminating them up to round 5. However with reduced casting time of only 1 (Amulet of Power) this is impossible to do. So unfortunately the safest method was calling twenty Noble spiders. More than half of them died due to enemy multiple AoE spells.
The Dracolich - again, was able to beat it in a fair manner, but finally decided that the sound no-reload tactic relies on a bunch of Noble spiders.
Didn't visit the Illithid city yet, reserved it for the end of chapter 6. I really need Vecna + Foreknowledge in there.
Chapter 6:
Chroma - again as with the Demonknights and the Dracolich, was able to beat it once, but lost many times afterwards. After the demon starts changing shape, there isn't much to do really except beating it in melee, which is not enough. Eventually turning to Ice form is the worst. So again called on two dozen spiders which eliminated the Demon in 4 rounds.
Green Wyrm - same as Chroma, although wasn't able to score a victory without the spiders. Probably possible, but the chances are slim. At least after that battle got Ring of Greater Djinni Summoning.
Twisted Rune - cannot resist 15 Greater Djinnis. PC only had to take care of Layene. Chain Contingencies (triple RRR, Breach + 2*Lower Resistance) triggering on hit helped dispel her, otherwise it's almost impossible to do with reduced casting speed of only 1. She frequently hides under the Staff of the Magi. Again, no Vecna, that means that the robe should be in the possession of the Ancient Dragon. Typical. IMO this item should never be distributed on such a late-game fight.
WK Demonknights - tougher than the Underdark ones, because here PC cannot summon an army prior to their coming. It's actually possible to lure them with a powerful summon and after a couple of rounds, use the northern portal to escape without fighting them. It's not easy to do and not 100% reliable, but it works. Only sound strategy I found was fighting with PC, not casting spells but summoning Greater Djinnies. After summoning 4-5 and killing 2 Demonknights, the rest start Lowering PC's Fire Resistance, now is the time to retreat and start summoning more djinnies, or spiders, to finish the fight safely.
The Gith Supreme Leader: Not easy even with 5 potions of Barbarian Essence. Killed Mlar first, by that time the Supreme Leader has wasted a lot of Remove Magicks (PC hides under SI: Div), which is essential, since after the Anti-inquisitors unleash their first Torturous Inquisition, PC quaffs a potion of Magic Shielding, which should not be dispelled. The potion 1)restores somewhat PC's lowered Fire resistance (+helm of the rock and Drizzt's scimitar, Frostbrand), 2) Protects partially vs Acid Arrows, Chromatic Orbs and Lightning bolts being fired by the Gith (+Helm of the Rock and Boots of Grounding) 3) Protects partially vs Supreme's ADHW (+Belt of Inertial Barrier) 4) and most importantly, offers an automatic save vs remaining Stone Golems' Slow (which PC failed to save against even with a save vs spells of -8).
Strange issue with lowered fire resistance though. If PC drinks a Fire res potion while wearing fire res gear which improves his fire res to above 0, then the potion has no effect. If PC unequips all fire res gear, then drinks potion, the potion adds 50% fire res. However sometimes after re-equipping fire res gear the fire resistance still stays on lower value than expected. Example: PC on 0 fire res, with items 75%, uneqips items, quaffs potion, fire res 50%, re-equips fire res gear, fire res goes to 75%, uneqips again, fire res goes to 25% or 0%. Very strange, very bugged ability, apparently not all issues with it are resolved, works somewhat randomly.
One critical (after all of the Leader's defences are down, including Body Equilibrium) was enough to kill him though.
WK Demilich:
That was an interesting fight, mostly because I found a way to effectively counteract multiple enemy RRoR under Alacrity, even with not so great PC casting speed:
Alacrity is useless at these circumstances. What use is a spell that has a casting time of 8 in order to cast two spells for 6(Spell turning). It's basically better to wait the next round. However Contingency with Globes of Invulnerability helps. The problem is the timing of the Contingency, and also the residual effect of the spell which can interrupt a following Spell Turning casting. The trick is simple. Start casting Spell Turning even if the enemy is about to remove the Globe of Invulnerability. When the Demilich shoots the RRoR, cast Contingency with Globe of Invulnerability triggering *On Hit*. What happens actually: Contingency casting does not disrupt the Spell Turning being in the middle of casting already. RRoR hits, thus triggering the *on hit* condition of the Contingency, and immediately as the old GoI is removed, a new one is erected (from the Contingency), a bit later PC finishes the Spell turning casting, and has all three spell protections up and running once again. A bit later the white sparkles animation (residual Contingency effect) should appear, wait for it and move a bit afterwards before casting a spell otherwise the next spellcasting attempt may fail.
The Demilich will cast ADHW at a character protected from Energy, which actually wastes a round. Complete protection may be achieved by quickly putting on (and removing afterwards) the Belt of Inertial Barrier.
The remaining spells of the Demilich are mostly levels 1-4. Melf's Acid Arrows, Lightning Bolts, Fireballs - all negated by (minor) GoI. After the lich has wasted her RRoR, GoI or mGoI should be active. The lich still has sunfires and Death Fogs though, but fortunately enough, Oils of resurgence help survive that damage.
Oils of Resurgence actually will regenerate 12 HP per round while under Haste or Improved Haste. The effect of those spells is to actually double the amount of rounds in 1 turn (from 10 to 20), thus doubling all Regeneration or Poison effects as well. Naturally, if a character is slowed, then the regeneration rate will effectively drop to 3 HP per round.
Although I was able to beat the Demonknights in a fair fight, the fact that at the end PC's fire resistance was something like 25% was not good, since that literally means that PC was one round away from certain death. With reduced casting speed of 4 PC would've devastated them, showering them with RRoR, Breaches and Remove Magicks in the first round and eliminating them up to round 5. However with reduced casting time of only 1 (Amulet of Power) this is impossible to do. So unfortunately the safest method was calling twenty Noble spiders. More than half of them died due to enemy multiple AoE spells.
The Dracolich - again, was able to beat it in a fair manner, but finally decided that the sound no-reload tactic relies on a bunch of Noble spiders.
Didn't visit the Illithid city yet, reserved it for the end of chapter 6. I really need Vecna + Foreknowledge in there.
Chapter 6:
Chroma - again as with the Demonknights and the Dracolich, was able to beat it once, but lost many times afterwards. After the demon starts changing shape, there isn't much to do really except beating it in melee, which is not enough. Eventually turning to Ice form is the worst. So again called on two dozen spiders which eliminated the Demon in 4 rounds.
Green Wyrm - same as Chroma, although wasn't able to score a victory without the spiders. Probably possible, but the chances are slim. At least after that battle got Ring of Greater Djinni Summoning.
Twisted Rune - cannot resist 15 Greater Djinnis. PC only had to take care of Layene. Chain Contingencies (triple RRR, Breach + 2*Lower Resistance) triggering on hit helped dispel her, otherwise it's almost impossible to do with reduced casting speed of only 1. She frequently hides under the Staff of the Magi. Again, no Vecna, that means that the robe should be in the possession of the Ancient Dragon. Typical. IMO this item should never be distributed on such a late-game fight.
WK Demonknights - tougher than the Underdark ones, because here PC cannot summon an army prior to their coming. It's actually possible to lure them with a powerful summon and after a couple of rounds, use the northern portal to escape without fighting them. It's not easy to do and not 100% reliable, but it works. Only sound strategy I found was fighting with PC, not casting spells but summoning Greater Djinnies. After summoning 4-5 and killing 2 Demonknights, the rest start Lowering PC's Fire Resistance, now is the time to retreat and start summoning more djinnies, or spiders, to finish the fight safely.
The Gith Supreme Leader: Not easy even with 5 potions of Barbarian Essence. Killed Mlar first, by that time the Supreme Leader has wasted a lot of Remove Magicks (PC hides under SI: Div), which is essential, since after the Anti-inquisitors unleash their first Torturous Inquisition, PC quaffs a potion of Magic Shielding, which should not be dispelled. The potion 1)restores somewhat PC's lowered Fire resistance (+helm of the rock and Drizzt's scimitar, Frostbrand), 2) Protects partially vs Acid Arrows, Chromatic Orbs and Lightning bolts being fired by the Gith (+Helm of the Rock and Boots of Grounding) 3) Protects partially vs Supreme's ADHW (+Belt of Inertial Barrier) 4) and most importantly, offers an automatic save vs remaining Stone Golems' Slow (which PC failed to save against even with a save vs spells of -8).
Strange issue with lowered fire resistance though. If PC drinks a Fire res potion while wearing fire res gear which improves his fire res to above 0, then the potion has no effect. If PC unequips all fire res gear, then drinks potion, the potion adds 50% fire res. However sometimes after re-equipping fire res gear the fire resistance still stays on lower value than expected. Example: PC on 0 fire res, with items 75%, uneqips items, quaffs potion, fire res 50%, re-equips fire res gear, fire res goes to 75%, uneqips again, fire res goes to 25% or 0%. Very strange, very bugged ability, apparently not all issues with it are resolved, works somewhat randomly.
One critical (after all of the Leader's defences are down, including Body Equilibrium) was enough to kill him though.
WK Demilich:
That was an interesting fight, mostly because I found a way to effectively counteract multiple enemy RRoR under Alacrity, even with not so great PC casting speed:
Alacrity is useless at these circumstances. What use is a spell that has a casting time of 8 in order to cast two spells for 6(Spell turning). It's basically better to wait the next round. However Contingency with Globes of Invulnerability helps. The problem is the timing of the Contingency, and also the residual effect of the spell which can interrupt a following Spell Turning casting. The trick is simple. Start casting Spell Turning even if the enemy is about to remove the Globe of Invulnerability. When the Demilich shoots the RRoR, cast Contingency with Globe of Invulnerability triggering *On Hit*. What happens actually: Contingency casting does not disrupt the Spell Turning being in the middle of casting already. RRoR hits, thus triggering the *on hit* condition of the Contingency, and immediately as the old GoI is removed, a new one is erected (from the Contingency), a bit later PC finishes the Spell turning casting, and has all three spell protections up and running once again. A bit later the white sparkles animation (residual Contingency effect) should appear, wait for it and move a bit afterwards before casting a spell otherwise the next spellcasting attempt may fail.
The Demilich will cast ADHW at a character protected from Energy, which actually wastes a round. Complete protection may be achieved by quickly putting on (and removing afterwards) the Belt of Inertial Barrier.
The remaining spells of the Demilich are mostly levels 1-4. Melf's Acid Arrows, Lightning Bolts, Fireballs - all negated by (minor) GoI. After the lich has wasted her RRoR, GoI or mGoI should be active. The lich still has sunfires and Death Fogs though, but fortunately enough, Oils of resurgence help survive that damage.
Oils of Resurgence actually will regenerate 12 HP per round while under Haste or Improved Haste. The effect of those spells is to actually double the amount of rounds in 1 turn (from 10 to 20), thus doubling all Regeneration or Poison effects as well. Naturally, if a character is slowed, then the regeneration rate will effectively drop to 3 HP per round.
Dragon lairs (any, except Saladrex):
PC (or supposedly, a party) can enter a dragon's lair and not be detected for a lot of rounds. All that's required of him is not to make any sound. So no spellcasting. And also not to move in the dragon's sight. Was able to summon 16 Greater Djinnis prior to the beginning of the Ancient Dragon fight. Also managed to summon 8 Noble Spiders in the Dracolich lair. Apparently item usage (specifically summoning items) doesn't alarm dragons.
Edit: A script error. Apparently the Ancient Dragon's dialogue options always include the line *I've sent Firkraag and Saladrex to their doom...*. However, in my current run I haven't fought Firkraag yet, and still was given this dialogue option. Should be fixed, otherwise looks kinda silly.
PC (or supposedly, a party) can enter a dragon's lair and not be detected for a lot of rounds. All that's required of him is not to make any sound. So no spellcasting. And also not to move in the dragon's sight. Was able to summon 16 Greater Djinnis prior to the beginning of the Ancient Dragon fight. Also managed to summon 8 Noble Spiders in the Dracolich lair. Apparently item usage (specifically summoning items) doesn't alarm dragons.
Edit: A script error. Apparently the Ancient Dragon's dialogue options always include the line *I've sent Firkraag and Saladrex to their doom...*. However, in my current run I haven't fought Firkraag yet, and still was given this dialogue option. Should be fixed, otherwise looks kinda silly.
Lord Roenall's elite guards have a very neat ability - they can activate Hardiness AND drink a potion of Superior healing in one and the same round.
Well, it's not exactly as powerful as summoning 15+ identical powerful summons ( 
), but I'll check it out nevertheless.
), but I'll check it out nevertheless.
QUOTE(critto @ Jun 12 2015, 10:19 PM) 
Well, it's not exactly as powerful as summoning 15+ identical powerful summons ( ), but I'll check it out nevertheless.
), but I'll check it out nevertheless.Agreed. I only use those to counteract IA v6 cheating abilities like: Greater Doom, Lower Elemental Resistance. Even Greater and Grave Silence are not a problem, since those can be counteracted in a relatively fair manner by using Contingencies and Chain Contingencies. Two exceptions so far though, one was Alhoon's Greater elemental golem, who could be bested fairly (developed the tactic later) by wasting several PFMW scrolls. The second exception was the Slayer. There is simply no way to deal enough damage vs him one-on-one without multiple Critical Strikes (PC has only 1), and by the time PC is one-on-one with him there are almost no spells remaining in the spellbook. Still, he also could be beaten without multiple Djinnis by simply leading him away with any summon and resting, thus replenishing spells, and afterwards summoning a bunch of powerful things like Elite trolls and Greater Yuantis.
More interesting fights so far:
Chapter 6 - uneventful. As I said before, Orcus can be beaten fairly (even with his anti-solo scripted Purge Magic once every 4 rounds), but at the cost of 5 Barbarian essences. And he only drops 4. I will see if there is need for those potions in the end fight, if not - will simply avoid that fight in a future no-reload run. Hesperus cannot be used by a F/M anyway, and is a puny reward for such a tough fight. Not counting Orcus, there is a total of 11 Barbarian Essences for a non-Necromancer, non-Vagrant PC in the entire game (as far as I know), 5 of them had to be wasted in the Supreme Leader fight, probably the remaining six will be enough to beat the three EDE golems fairly, but without Wish:Rest, I doubt it.
Did not find the Girdle of Fortitude, nor the Helmet of Defense, and I definitely killed all available IA-modded monsters in SoA and WK.
Azamantes can be dispelled by a 28th level mage, which practically forced him to stay on defense (casting PFMW) and died in a couple of rounds. Practically that was the fate of any Grave Lich met by PC. Speed is of the essence. If their spell protections are removed in a blink, followed by triple Remove Magic, with PC or a summon standing right next to them, they cast PFMW instead of Grave Silence.
Turned Evil in hell. Absolutely worth it in this case. Sarevok's Evil trial gives +3 to str. Although, was surprised to see that PC still couldn't use the Staff of the Magi. Description seems to be wrong, says *Usable by Evil Human Mages*. Probably should be added *only single class* or something. Evil PC also gets 24 +1 longswords for sale from the first Pocket Plane challenge, while at the same time good-aligned PC don't get anything.
Illasera's mage runs Alacrity, and surprised me by constantly refreshing combat protections. Otherwise an easy fight.
Gromnir's squad can be easily separated, leading all warriors to the right and leaving the mages to battle a powerful summon like the Greater Djinni. This way PC didn't have to fear multiple RRoR under enemy Alacrity.
All in all, each non-Dragon fight so far seems quite doable without resorting to the multiple Djinni exploit. Sole exception is Orcus, but probably that fight should be avoided altogether.
Edit: It's possible to petrify a Hardwood golem, but since those are multiples and often save even after malisoning them, I prefer slowing and webbing them, works a lot more reliably.
Edit: Irenicus' Balor in Hell seems to be immune to Acid. On the other hand, his mage level is apparently below 31 since PC was able to Remove his buffs.
Edit: Just tested again, cannot rest in Hell even if the Slayer is lead astray by a summon.
Found a decent way to beat Hell Irenicus, simply requires a couple powerful summons like Noble Trolls, Greater Yuanti, one Djinni and one Spider, but spells should be used extremely wisely. The Noble Marilith turns out to be quite vulnerable to Power Attack.
Nyalee - can be dispelled even by a 28th level mage. Even if PC is surrounded, it only takes to summon something (while under PFMW) in order to draw the Skeleton Lords attention and run away. The Whisper spider must be killed before that (Web Lariat).
Yaga-Shura and the Oasis fights - both easy, very similar, Oasis being slightly easier. SI:Div + II helps protect vs enemy multiple RRoR (battlemage and battlepriest levels are not high enough for Dispel or Remove magic to work). Battlemages can be killed by either showering them with Acid or Flame arrows from a safe distance after Breaching them and lowering their resistance twice, or can be simply Imprisoned (PFMW scrolls lost sadly). Path to remaining battlemages/battlepriests can be cleared by quickly casting Spider Spawn to divert enemy's attention for a second.
No PFMW scrolls need to be wasted in the Oasis fight though. Initial PFMW and AI spells help kill quite a lot of enemies, and with the last PFMW active, a Greater Djinni can be summoned, which will lead astray the bulk of the army, and will hold them for 4 rounds under PFMW, in the meantime PC can go back to the pocket plane and refresh spellbook. Naturally, this isn't necessary since the fight can be won by simply wasting a bit more PFMW scrolls.
Interesting fight vs Odamaron. The main issue was surviving his Grave Silence. Three Contingencies and a Chain Contingency helped. First Contingency refreshed PFMW, second and third refreshed GoI, and Chain Contingency refreshed Spell Turning, GoI and PFMW. Those contingencies have to be timed precisely, triggering *on hit*, but afterwards it's simply refreshing spell and combat protections and waiting for Odamaron's multiple PFMW spells to expire. Also, it seems that his Globe of Blades will very often remove a Stoneskin layer, meaning that Stoneskins have to be refreshed on regular basis or he will fire a Stellar Gravestone. Also, a couple of Fire res potions are needed (last 10 turns), since the ProFire buff will wane in the middle of combat, and when that happens, it's death for PC in a blink (Stellar Gravestone).
Yaga-Shura and the Oasis fights - both easy, very similar, Oasis being slightly easier. SI:Div + II helps protect vs enemy multiple RRoR (battlemage and battlepriest levels are not high enough for Dispel or Remove magic to work). Battlemages can be killed by either showering them with Acid or Flame arrows from a safe distance after Breaching them and lowering their resistance twice, or can be simply Imprisoned (PFMW scrolls lost sadly). Path to remaining battlemages/battlepriests can be cleared by quickly casting Spider Spawn to divert enemy's attention for a second.
No PFMW scrolls need to be wasted in the Oasis fight though. Initial PFMW and AI spells help kill quite a lot of enemies, and with the last PFMW active, a Greater Djinni can be summoned, which will lead astray the bulk of the army, and will hold them for 4 rounds under PFMW, in the meantime PC can go back to the pocket plane and refresh spellbook. Naturally, this isn't necessary since the fight can be won by simply wasting a bit more PFMW scrolls.
Interesting fight vs Odamaron. The main issue was surviving his Grave Silence. Three Contingencies and a Chain Contingency helped. First Contingency refreshed PFMW, second and third refreshed GoI, and Chain Contingency refreshed Spell Turning, GoI and PFMW. Those contingencies have to be timed precisely, triggering *on hit*, but afterwards it's simply refreshing spell and combat protections and waiting for Odamaron's multiple PFMW spells to expire. Also, it seems that his Globe of Blades will very often remove a Stoneskin layer, meaning that Stoneskins have to be refreshed on regular basis or he will fire a Stellar Gravestone. Also, a couple of Fire res potions are needed (last 10 turns), since the ProFire buff will wane in the middle of combat, and when that happens, it's death for PC in a blink (Stellar Gravestone).
Sendai, ugh, took me a lot of time to develop a sound no-reload strategy. Sadly, it requires 3 rests in the pocketplane. Detailed:
Enter Sendai's inner quarters, she gives speech, animates statues, get rid of all except the last one, lead it away, Invisibility, run to the other corner of the map, Pocket Plane.
Rest, prepare adequately with Contingencies and triggers. Go down, cast some long-lasting buffs (ProElec, ProAcid, one Potion of Fire Resistance) lure the last Statue near the Sendai Pet's spawning point, Invisibility, Spell Turning, Foreknowledge, Alacrity, buff, no Improved Invisibility(important), cast six (all I had) Vampiric Touches in quick succession and if the statue is still alive, kill it with a melee hit. As Sendai appears, cast Protection from Energy as a last buff.
PC simply has only one Critical strike. Sendai's pet effectively blocks spellcasting with its Earthshaking roar which applies un-removable Deafness for 5 or 6 rounds (and also inflicts physical damage). So combat starts, PC erects last protections with a LMD on self (thus triggering Contingencies on Hit) and starts hitting the Pet with the best weapons at his disposal. Sadly, that means Hammer of Thor + Runehammer. First round ends, cast Spell Turning. Second round, same. Third round, refresh Alacrity, next PFMW, Spell Turning, GoI, Polymorph self, SI:A, Stoneskin refresh (sendai's Globe of Blades peels one skin each round) PFMW again, turn to spider, activate Minor Sequencer with Strength and Shocking grasp. Now Sendai will cast Dragon Breath or Comet on a 95% protected from fire char (which is exactly how much spider form has, 20 innate from Hell trials, 75% from Prot from Energy, all other protective spells except ProElements simply don't matter after shapeshifting since they actually *set* resistance), however PC had consumed a potion of Fire res which actually adds 50% more to PC's fire res. By that time or a bit later Sendai's pet activates Earthshaking roar for the first time (and will re-cast it until dead each 5 or 6 rounds). Spidery's Shocking grasp is unleashed on a random opponent, which leaves PC's main hand free for a short sword with 10 APR (off-hand empty or shield). After 1 round, PC consumes a potion of Storm Giant str. Next PC starts drinking Oils of Resurgence to counter Earthshaking Roar and Bolt of Glory's physical damage, and refreshes PFMW from a scroll. Strangely enough, PFMW scrolls never fail to cast, while other spell scrolls like Spell Immunity for example have the same chance to fail as any other spell (under Deafness). Afterwards PC turns to human form (all resistances back to normal, although PFE wanes a couple of rounds later), and in a couple more rounds eliminates all spiders and waits (under multiple memorized PFMW and SI) for Improved Web to vanish. Then PC casts Absolute Immunity and summons a Greater Djinni, which leads astray not only Sendai, but her two Web Golems (who will attack a char protected from Magical Weapons, but will not attack one protected from Absolute Immunity). Thus PC runs away to the opposite side of the room and activates Pocket Plane.
Rest, prepare new set of spells and buffs. Strangely enough, Sendai's spells aren't refreshed, she didn't activate her starting buff sequence nor does she use RRoR anymore. So one Spell Immunity is enough for protection. Six Lower Resistances on the golems and 2 Pierce Shields get rid of their magic resistance. Greater Malison lowers their saves, and 11 Flesh to Stone (8 memorized, 3 in trigger) take care of the rest (PC under Absolute Immunity). Even Web golems can be petrified (or Slowed). Since PC has a hard time hitting them (very good AC) and inflicts only 2 dmg even with the best possible weapon (BBoD) definitely petrification is the easiest way to go.
Golems petrified, summon Djinni, again Sendai lead away, PC Pocket Plane, rest. Sendai alone against rested PC stands absolutely no chance.
Enter Sendai's inner quarters, she gives speech, animates statues, get rid of all except the last one, lead it away, Invisibility, run to the other corner of the map, Pocket Plane.
Rest, prepare adequately with Contingencies and triggers. Go down, cast some long-lasting buffs (ProElec, ProAcid, one Potion of Fire Resistance) lure the last Statue near the Sendai Pet's spawning point, Invisibility, Spell Turning, Foreknowledge, Alacrity, buff, no Improved Invisibility(important), cast six (all I had) Vampiric Touches in quick succession and if the statue is still alive, kill it with a melee hit. As Sendai appears, cast Protection from Energy as a last buff.
PC simply has only one Critical strike. Sendai's pet effectively blocks spellcasting with its Earthshaking roar which applies un-removable Deafness for 5 or 6 rounds (and also inflicts physical damage). So combat starts, PC erects last protections with a LMD on self (thus triggering Contingencies on Hit) and starts hitting the Pet with the best weapons at his disposal. Sadly, that means Hammer of Thor + Runehammer. First round ends, cast Spell Turning. Second round, same. Third round, refresh Alacrity, next PFMW, Spell Turning, GoI, Polymorph self, SI:A, Stoneskin refresh (sendai's Globe of Blades peels one skin each round) PFMW again, turn to spider, activate Minor Sequencer with Strength and Shocking grasp. Now Sendai will cast Dragon Breath or Comet on a 95% protected from fire char (which is exactly how much spider form has, 20 innate from Hell trials, 75% from Prot from Energy, all other protective spells except ProElements simply don't matter after shapeshifting since they actually *set* resistance), however PC had consumed a potion of Fire res which actually adds 50% more to PC's fire res. By that time or a bit later Sendai's pet activates Earthshaking roar for the first time (and will re-cast it until dead each 5 or 6 rounds). Spidery's Shocking grasp is unleashed on a random opponent, which leaves PC's main hand free for a short sword with 10 APR (off-hand empty or shield). After 1 round, PC consumes a potion of Storm Giant str. Next PC starts drinking Oils of Resurgence to counter Earthshaking Roar and Bolt of Glory's physical damage, and refreshes PFMW from a scroll. Strangely enough, PFMW scrolls never fail to cast, while other spell scrolls like Spell Immunity for example have the same chance to fail as any other spell (under Deafness). Afterwards PC turns to human form (all resistances back to normal, although PFE wanes a couple of rounds later), and in a couple more rounds eliminates all spiders and waits (under multiple memorized PFMW and SI) for Improved Web to vanish. Then PC casts Absolute Immunity and summons a Greater Djinni, which leads astray not only Sendai, but her two Web Golems (who will attack a char protected from Magical Weapons, but will not attack one protected from Absolute Immunity). Thus PC runs away to the opposite side of the room and activates Pocket Plane.
Rest, prepare new set of spells and buffs. Strangely enough, Sendai's spells aren't refreshed, she didn't activate her starting buff sequence nor does she use RRoR anymore. So one Spell Immunity is enough for protection. Six Lower Resistances on the golems and 2 Pierce Shields get rid of their magic resistance. Greater Malison lowers their saves, and 11 Flesh to Stone (8 memorized, 3 in trigger) take care of the rest (PC under Absolute Immunity). Even Web golems can be petrified (or Slowed). Since PC has a hard time hitting them (very good AC) and inflicts only 2 dmg even with the best possible weapon (BBoD) definitely petrification is the easiest way to go.
Golems petrified, summon Djinni, again Sendai lead away, PC Pocket Plane, rest. Sendai alone against rested PC stands absolutely no chance.
Draconis:
Equipment includes Dak'Kon zerth blade off-hand and the Ring of Acuity (instead of Ring of Wizardry)
1st round, summon Greater Djinni behind him, back away from his sight. Don't lose control of the Djinni, the second he erects his sequencer, make him cast PFMW. Draconis (strangely enough) opens with Remove Magic.
2nd round, Alacrity. Activate protective spells (had to rely on ProEnergy since I need all of my 3rd and 5th level slots for other purposes), IHaste Spell Turning, GoI, SI:A and Foreknowledge (part of these spells erected via Contingency and Chain Contingency triggering *on Hit*).
Make djinni back away, Draconis sees PC and casts RRoR. PC in response casts 3 of those at Draconis, followed by Breach (all possible thanx to the Gloves from the Four mod, decreased casting speed by 1 for evil mages), then Improved Invisibility and PFMW on self, then engage Draconis in melee. Enemy Hardinesses countered by Breaching (4 of those memorized).
Draconis won't be able to cast True Sight or anything while under such pressure.
When Draconis is at near-death, cast Alacrity again, Breach (1 should even remain) and finish human form. Djinni alive as well.
Draconis shapeshifts, PC's Alacrity still running. PC waits for enemy buffs to trigger, then Spellstrikes, followed by four Pierce Magic (one preserved) and one Lower Resistance, waits a second while Draconis starts True Seeing casting (if PC is alone - no Djinni, Draconis will go for Greater Silence instead), cast Greater Malison, then unleash 8 memorized Flame Arrows (all that PC can even with Dak'kon Zerth blade and Ring of Acuity), unleash 2 sequencers with 6 more Flame Arrows, Djinni also casts Flame arrow, PC unleashes two Comets and if miraculously Draconis survives all that, 8 Magic missiles finish the job.
Some wrong spell descriptions (probably a vanilla game issue):
Pierce Magic has an actual casting time of 5, not 6.
Melf's Acid Arrow has an actual casting time of 3, not 2.
Equipment includes Dak'Kon zerth blade off-hand and the Ring of Acuity (instead of Ring of Wizardry)
1st round, summon Greater Djinni behind him, back away from his sight. Don't lose control of the Djinni, the second he erects his sequencer, make him cast PFMW. Draconis (strangely enough) opens with Remove Magic.
2nd round, Alacrity. Activate protective spells (had to rely on ProEnergy since I need all of my 3rd and 5th level slots for other purposes), IHaste Spell Turning, GoI, SI:A and Foreknowledge (part of these spells erected via Contingency and Chain Contingency triggering *on Hit*).
Make djinni back away, Draconis sees PC and casts RRoR. PC in response casts 3 of those at Draconis, followed by Breach (all possible thanx to the Gloves from the Four mod, decreased casting speed by 1 for evil mages), then Improved Invisibility and PFMW on self, then engage Draconis in melee. Enemy Hardinesses countered by Breaching (4 of those memorized).
Draconis won't be able to cast True Sight or anything while under such pressure.
When Draconis is at near-death, cast Alacrity again, Breach (1 should even remain) and finish human form. Djinni alive as well.
Draconis shapeshifts, PC's Alacrity still running. PC waits for enemy buffs to trigger, then Spellstrikes, followed by four Pierce Magic (one preserved) and one Lower Resistance, waits a second while Draconis starts True Seeing casting (if PC is alone - no Djinni, Draconis will go for Greater Silence instead), cast Greater Malison, then unleash 8 memorized Flame Arrows (all that PC can even with Dak'kon Zerth blade and Ring of Acuity), unleash 2 sequencers with 6 more Flame Arrows, Djinni also casts Flame arrow, PC unleashes two Comets and if miraculously Draconis survives all that, 8 Magic missiles finish the job.
Some wrong spell descriptions (probably a vanilla game issue):
Pierce Magic has an actual casting time of 5, not 6.
Melf's Acid Arrow has an actual casting time of 3, not 2.
Abazigal:
Entered, killed all Frost Salamanders inside, while refreshing Spell Turning 3 times to counteract enemy's RRoR. Used True Sight scroll (too few 6th level slots) when enemy's SI:Div was about to expire. Refreshed IHaste from Amulet of Cheetah Speed(again, few 6th level slots). Used one Alacrity to catch up with enemy's refreshed combat protections (a couple Breaches under Alacrity) and finished Azi's human form in a couple of rounds.
Azi transforms, pushes away PC. No enemies in sight. Strangely enough, Azi doesn't activate any buffs, nor does he Purge, nor does he summon his 2 golems until he sees PC or a summon, otherwise he just stands there. Excellent.
First round summon Greater Djinni, Djinni Hastes. Second round cast Foreknowledge, equip Gloves from the Four mod. Third round, cast Alacrity, followed by 2 Farsights, Djinni approaches dragon from the west, PC from the south.
Azi buffs trigger, he Purges and also gates in his 2 golems. Golems and Azi occupied for a bit by Djinni (Azi starts Lower Res casting) since they cannot see PC. PC casts Improved Invisibility and PFMW under still running alacrity, shoots Spellstrike, runs away from Azi's vision again, but only for a moment, returns to cast five Pierce Magicks and a Breach, again backs away for a moment, returns to shower the dragon with 14 Flame Arrows, 11 Acid Arrows, 7 Magic Missiles and 3 Comets (+Djinni one Flame Arrow if successful), big blue gives speech and dies.
Only thing left is EDE, hopefully I can develop some sort of winning strategy when one-on-one with the Prince.
Entered, killed all Frost Salamanders inside, while refreshing Spell Turning 3 times to counteract enemy's RRoR. Used True Sight scroll (too few 6th level slots) when enemy's SI:Div was about to expire. Refreshed IHaste from Amulet of Cheetah Speed(again, few 6th level slots). Used one Alacrity to catch up with enemy's refreshed combat protections (a couple Breaches under Alacrity) and finished Azi's human form in a couple of rounds.
Azi transforms, pushes away PC. No enemies in sight. Strangely enough, Azi doesn't activate any buffs, nor does he Purge, nor does he summon his 2 golems until he sees PC or a summon, otherwise he just stands there. Excellent.
First round summon Greater Djinni, Djinni Hastes. Second round cast Foreknowledge, equip Gloves from the Four mod. Third round, cast Alacrity, followed by 2 Farsights, Djinni approaches dragon from the west, PC from the south.
Azi buffs trigger, he Purges and also gates in his 2 golems. Golems and Azi occupied for a bit by Djinni (Azi starts Lower Res casting) since they cannot see PC. PC casts Improved Invisibility and PFMW under still running alacrity, shoots Spellstrike, runs away from Azi's vision again, but only for a moment, returns to cast five Pierce Magicks and a Breach, again backs away for a moment, returns to shower the dragon with 14 Flame Arrows, 11 Acid Arrows, 7 Magic Missiles and 3 Comets (+Djinni one Flame Arrow if successful), big blue gives speech and dies.
Only thing left is EDE, hopefully I can develop some sort of winning strategy when one-on-one with the Prince.
Wow quite impressive! I cant help but think that flesh to stone on the "difficult" golems (mithril/web/etc) is a bit OP and an oversight. Im mot saying to remove it but I wont use that tactic in my games. Still I admire the creativity and hope that the moderators here allow you to keep posting even if some of your tactics are borderline exploitive.
Thanx. About those golems, well, they can be beaten more fairly, but it takes quite a lot of time and patience. This is the first time I ever attempt petrifying all of these, and am also surprised that it works.
Tactics are exploitive since they are supposed to work 100% vs a cheating (anti-solo, anti-F/M) script.
Unfortunately, I cannot find a way to beat the Rakshasa prince when one-on-one. Been here before, done that. THAC0 is simply not enough. PC can rest, but unfortunately, so can the Prince, and with the limited abilities (six Enrages, one Critical Strike) PC is able to only Injure the Prince twice (two AI), but nothing more. Regular THAC0 is -17/-13, with Foreknowledge -18/-14, with Enrage -20/-16, which still means that PC misses on a roll of 6 or less with main-hand and on a roll of 10 or less with off-hand. If only there was a way to Slow the Prince (and thus reduce his regeneration rate) or to worsen his AC more reliably...will ponder a bit more, but probably that's the end of this test run.
BTW, can anyone give me info about the two Wish options:
"Incur bad luck on everyone in the area..."
"Everyone in the area becomes intoxicated"
Duration and effects of *bad luck* and *intoxication*? Are they cumulative with additional castings?
Tactics are exploitive since they are supposed to work 100% vs a cheating (anti-solo, anti-F/M) script.
Unfortunately, I cannot find a way to beat the Rakshasa prince when one-on-one. Been here before, done that. THAC0 is simply not enough. PC can rest, but unfortunately, so can the Prince, and with the limited abilities (six Enrages, one Critical Strike) PC is able to only Injure the Prince twice (two AI), but nothing more. Regular THAC0 is -17/-13, with Foreknowledge -18/-14, with Enrage -20/-16, which still means that PC misses on a roll of 6 or less with main-hand and on a roll of 10 or less with off-hand. If only there was a way to Slow the Prince (and thus reduce his regeneration rate) or to worsen his AC more reliably...will ponder a bit more, but probably that's the end of this test run.
BTW, can anyone give me info about the two Wish options:
"Incur bad luck on everyone in the area..."
"Everyone in the area becomes intoxicated"
Duration and effects of *bad luck* and *intoxication*? Are they cumulative with additional castings?
Petrifying of golems is blocked in IAv6.2 
Enjoy it while you can (or just play IAv6 and enjoy it indefinitely).
Enjoy it while you can (or just play IAv6 and enjoy it indefinitely).
QUOTE(critto @ Jun 15 2015, 08:49 AM)
Petrifying of golems is blocked in IAv6.2 Enjoy it while you can (or just play IAv6 and enjoy it indefinitely).
Enjoy it while you can (or just play IAv6 and enjoy it indefinitely).There is yet another spell which can eliminate a Web (and probably any other) Golem as well instantaneously. But, sorry, I will not reveal which one. If you want, test and give protection to the golems from that spell as well. I am against closing certain strategies, no matter how cheesy they may look to you. There are players who will never use them, but the decision of which strategy to apply should be the player's, not the modder's.
As a side note, I gave up on my Berserker-Mage solo test run and am currently attempting a Kensai-Mage solo run. A v6 K-M cannot wear robes or gloves, so no way to get reduced casting speed of more than 2, nor will be able to use the Gauntlets of Extraordinary specialization, but since in the last battle THAC0 and damage was all I needed to win, I guess that will do it. Game is no-reload, already restarted once, but at least found a relatively easy way to deal with Pai-Na and her guardian spiders without resorting to the *scroll drinking* exploit. Also, avoided Suna (to avoid *scroll drinking* altogether) and managed to steal the body of Rylock underneath the noses of his assassins. A couple of non-essential items and scrolls lost there.
Maxed out levels, 21(Kensai)-28(Mage), this char will have 4 better THAC0 and 3 better damage even compared to an Enraged B-M with Gauntlets of extraordinary specialization, and since Enrage cannot be sustained indefinitely, the actual difference is 6 THAC0, 5 damage. Hopefully that (and Polymorph to Spider) will be enough to beat the Rakshasa Prince.
QUOTE
There are players who will never use them, but the decision of which strategy to apply should be the player's, not the modder's.
Agree.I petrify web golems every time,it doesn't mean I can't beat them in a "regular" way,I just don't want to.The regular way is tedious.What will you do when facing a 90% physical resistance but 40% electrical resistance Anti-Inquisitor?What will you do when facing 95% slashing resistance(other resistance are all 100%) but petrifiable web golem?The answer is obvious.Anyway,if the modder want player play the way he want,we have no idea…
K/M is great,but I suggest you test it in EDE(sk your B/M into K/M),make sure you can play through this game first…
What is the endless gold/xp exploit that you used?
How do you scroll drink?
How do you scroll drink?
QUOTE(Bill Bisco @ Jun 19 2015, 12:29 PM)
What is the endless gold/xp exploit that you used?
How do you scroll drink?
How do you scroll drink?
I wouldn't reveal the endless xp/gold exploit in the early game chapters, because if I do, it will be closed in v6.2 and v7, and I don't really want that to happen. BTW it's really surprising that for more than 5 years now no one but me actually found it
I've shared it with only one person, of whom I know he won't reveal it, it's geh4th, a good guy who also spent quite a lot of time testing the IA v6 as part of Sikret's team.In fact, there is one more early-game endless xp exploit, but sadly no more endless gold exploits until chapter 4 and the late ToB.
There is an already known endless xp and gold exploit in chapter 4, Sahuagin city, vanilla Sahuagin mages spawning endlessly Skeleton Warriors and Ghasts, use that.
"Gem drinking" allows you to obtain endless gold by: pausing game, drink potion in inventory, after you hear the gulping sound swap potion location with a single gem in your backpack, un-pause game, char will actually drink a gem instead of a potion, gem value will set to 0. Repeat that again and you will get a gem with value of 65565 which you can sell for several million.
Scroll drinking works the same way, but instead of replenishing gems, it allows you to actually cast a spell (from scroll) on self by using the same thing: Drink potion on *pause game*, after gulping sound exchange potion with a scroll, un-pause game, wait and the char will actually read the scroll even if he/she is actually unable to or even under Greater or Grave silence.
I personally don't have to use gem or scroll drinking anymore, these are the biggest, cheese, closest to cheat which the game engine still allows.
More exploits which I don't use except on test runs (I leave it to your judgment if you use them or not):
Most notable one includes Cromwell's forge. For all IA v6 upgrades, you can go to Cromwell, attempt to forge a certain item, pause game immediately after the start of the forging, only first item will be consumed (but nothing more) and the gold needed, but then you can put on the ground all other ingredients, wait for item to be crafted, and pickup everything from the ground. This way you can not only save precious early-game ingredients like Permanency Scrolls (because later there's ton of those), but you can also make more enchanted +3 and +4 rings faster, and if you feel like it, even have some powerful artifacts constructed several times by retaining useful ingredients needed for their creation. Perhaps most notable examples are Phosphorous +4 (since the crafting's main ingredient is a +3 flail which are abundant late-game), Staff of Strength (requires +3 staff as main ingredient), Adamantite Staff of Strength (requires Staff of Strength as main ingredient, and you can forge any number of those), and also the fact that you would be able to forge items which require one and the same unique component (like Cernd's improved staff and Mazzy's sword which both require Maze Sigil, or Adamantite Staff of Strength and Royal Elemental Staff which both require the Staff of Rynn as ingredient).
Most notable one includes Cromwell's forge. For all IA v6 upgrades, you can go to Cromwell, attempt to forge a certain item, pause game immediately after the start of the forging, only first item will be consumed (but nothing more) and the gold needed, but then you can put on the ground all other ingredients, wait for item to be crafted, and pickup everything from the ground. This way you can not only save precious early-game ingredients like Permanency Scrolls (because later there's ton of those), but you can also make more enchanted +3 and +4 rings faster, and if you feel like it, even have some powerful artifacts constructed several times by retaining useful ingredients needed for their creation. Perhaps most notable examples are Phosphorous +4 (since the crafting's main ingredient is a +3 flail which are abundant late-game), Staff of Strength (requires +3 staff as main ingredient), Adamantite Staff of Strength (requires Staff of Strength as main ingredient, and you can forge any number of those), and also the fact that you would be able to forge items which require one and the same unique component (like Cernd's improved staff and Mazzy's sword which both require Maze Sigil, or Adamantite Staff of Strength and Royal Elemental Staff which both require the Staff of Rynn as ingredient).
QUOTE
I wouldn't reveal the endless xp/gold exploit in the early game chapters, because if I do, it will be closed in v6.2 and v7, and I don't really want that to happen. BTW it's really surprising that for more than 5 years now no one but me actually found it
Because nobody else cares about it? Yeah, we close it off when we find it for the sake of consistency in mod's behavior, but honestly, it's sad. What is the point of spending your time on pointless tasks when you can just clua in the gold/experience in 20 seconds.I have really thought that all those gem swapping cheats were closed by official patches long ago.
QUOTE
Most notable one includes Cromwell's forge. For all IA v6 upgrades, you can go to Cromwell, attempt to forge a certain item, pause game immediately after the start of the forging, only first item will be consumed (but nothing more) and the gold needed, but then you can put on the ground all other ingredients, wait for item to be crafted, and pickup everything from the ground.
This isn't a 100% guaranteed mechanics. The order of consuming ingredients is coded differently for each ingredient.
QUOTE(critto @ Jun 19 2015, 01:07 PM)
QUOTE
I wouldn't reveal the endless xp/gold exploit in the early game chapters, because if I do, it will be closed in v6.2 and v7, and I don't really want that to happen. BTW it's really surprising that for more than 5 years now no one but me actually found it
Because nobody else cares about it? Yeah, we close it off when we find it for the sake of consistency in mod's behavior, but honestly, it's sad. What is the point of spending your time on pointless tasks when you can just clua in the gold/experience in 20 seconds.
Because I personally consider all external game modifications to be real cheats, far worse than anything you can do with the game mechanics. To me, creating custom NPCs in a singleplayer game is a far worse cheat compared to even scroll or gem drinking - because it gives you powerful NPCs which you're not supposed to have at all in a singleplayer game! So I'd rather keep all in-game endless xp and gold exploits, spend a lot of time on them and not use Shadowkeeper or Near Infinity or similar programs never ever!
QUOTE(critto @ Jun 19 2015, 01:07 PM)
QUOTE
Most notable one includes Cromwell's forge. For all IA v6 upgrades, you can go to Cromwell, attempt to forge a certain item, pause game immediately after the start of the forging, only first item will be consumed (but nothing more) and the gold needed, but then you can put on the ground all other ingredients, wait for item to be crafted, and pickup everything from the ground.
This isn't a 100% guaranteed mechanics. The order of consuming ingredients is coded differently for each ingredient.
It is 100% guaranteed, you just need to know which item will absorb which component first.
For example, Improved Ring of Gaxx will always consume the actual Ring of Gaxx so no multiples can be created there. However, the Amulet of Hades will consume the Amulet of Charon for first ingredient, thus one can have both the Amulet of Hades and Amulet of Power in his/her runs. It actually requires some quickness in the pause-game button at Cromwell's forge, but it works 100%, I can assure you of that.
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