12 replies to this topic

[Cuv]

Anyone have a hak out there that keeps the stupid average enemies from scaling to your level? I want to enjoy the story of the game without unnecessary combat. I wouldnt mind the bosses scaling... but average enemies??? Once I have to reload more than 5 times on a single encounter such as this, I feel my interest for the game disappearing.

Any help would be great. I am in the Merchant Quarter trying to find Fihelis in his estate to save him. I am on the second floor getting my arse handed to me by simple thugs in stupidly high numbers around every turn. My character is level 9 (5 fighter/4 wizard), half elf. I have Kelgar, Neeshka and Qaara in my party.

Sorry for the rant, the story seems good and I like the party interaction alot and their little quirks. Any help would be appreciated.

Cuv

[Bluenose]

Anyone have a hak out there that keeps the stupid average enemies from scaling to your level? I want to enjoy the story of the game without unnecessary combat. I wouldnt mind the bosses scaling... but average enemies??? Once I have to reload more than 5 times on a single encounter such as this, I feel my interest for the game disappearing.

Any help would be great. I am in the Merchant Quarter trying to find Fihelis in his estate to save him. I am on the second floor getting my arse handed to me by simple thugs in stupidly high numbers around every turn. My character is level 9 (5 fighter/4 wizard), half elf. I have Kelgar, Neeshka and Qaara in my party.

Sorry for the rant, the story seems good and I like the party interaction alot and their little quirks. Any help would be appreciated.

Cuv

They aren't scaling, or only to a small degree. The problem with the numbers here is that most of your opponents are rogues, and they have a hefty sneak attack bonus to their damage. So getting swarmed is a big problem unless it's really hard for them to hit you, since if you're attacking one the others get to do extra damage to you. This really builds up, especially if there's several of them.

My tactical suggestions would be as follows. Change the NPCs AI so that they don't go off on their own to get swarmed. Take a position in or just outside a doorway so that you can draw them to you without being surrounded. Don't let Qara throw Fireball - nearly all your enemies can evade all damage from it with a successful reflex save, and that's their best save. Wall of Fire is much better, and spells like Haste for the party, but this is a bad environment for Qara's magic. Also, I suggest having Neeshka with a melee weapon in this area. She's immune to sneak attack unless the enemies are much higher level. Your PC should probably cast Mirror Image to improve his own survivability. He should be in the centre with Neeshka on one side and Khelgar on the other, since the other two are better able to survive the damage the enemies are dishing out. Good spells, though unless you've changed Qara from the default you probably won't have them, are things such as Confusion and even Web or Grease.

[Cuv]

Thanks for the reply and the info, I appreciate it. My PC has Web and Mirror Image... and it works a bit. I had already tried the scenario you mentioned without much success, but will try adjusting their AI... Neeshka has a nasty habit of just rushing into battle if I dont have a ranged weapon equiped on her. I don't really care much for Qara's personality, but she has good spells by default. I havent been giving her any gear as I want to dump her soon as I get back to the bar

I went ahead and just did a few minor cheats to beef up my PC. We finished the battles and found Fihelis. At the least the story is progressing again.

Cuv

[Bluenose]

Thanks for the reply and the info, I appreciate it. My PC has Web and Mirror Image... and it works a bit. I had already tried the scenario you mentioned without much success, but will try adjusting their AI... Neeshka has a nasty habit of just rushing into battle if I dont have a ranged weapon equiped on her. I don't really care much for Qara's personality, but she has good spells by default. I havent been giving her any gear as I want to dump her soon as I get back to the bar

I went ahead and just did a few minor cheats to beef up my PC. We finished the battles and found Fihelis. At the least the story is progressing again.

Cuv

Yes, the AI really isn't great by default, but it's better than in NWN1 and you can control the characters directly if you need to. You should be able to limit how far any go from you in the game options menu if it's getting to be a big problem. There are some AI packs available on the NWVault, but having tried a couple I didn't care for them particularly.

As for Qara, she's great at blasting things, but the particular enemies you face here are very good at avoiding her best effects. Some of your future opponents are much better targets.

Glad you've got through it, at least. Some of the fights in Chapter 1 are among my least favourite parts of the game, especially the ones within Neverwinter where there's a rogue mob to kill. Chapter 2 has always been my favourite bit.

[Cuv]

Yes, the AI really isn't great by default, but it's better than in NWN1 and you can control the characters directly if you need to. You should be able to limit how far any go from you in the game options menu if it's getting to be a big problem. There are some AI packs available on the NWVault, but having tried a couple I didn't care for them particularly.

As for Qara, she's great at blasting things, but the particular enemies you face here are very good at avoiding her best effects. Some of your future opponents are much better targets.

Glad you've got through it, at least. Some of the fights in Chapter 1 are among my least favourite parts of the game, especially the ones within Neverwinter where there's a rogue mob to kill. Chapter 2 has always been my favourite bit.

Okay Thanks for the words of encouragement... I shall continue and look forward to Chapter 2.

Haven't tried the toolset for this yet, but might mess around with it and see what I can fix to make things go smoother. I didnt really want to use the cheats this early... but oh well, damage is done now. It is a little more immersive than the original NWN... but NWN2 still has some problems. I sure hope DA addresses and fixes things.

Cuv

[SConrad]

With some adjustment to Bluenose's tactics, a good fighter who has decent AC (>30 or so) and a couple of spellcasters, these fights get increasingly easy. Place your fighter (Khelgar works if he's got enough AC - I normally used my PC) directly in the doorway of where the rogues are to prevent the rogues from getting out of the room, then bombard the room with Fireball, Ice Storm and other area of effect spells. Finger of Death is handy, too.

The rogues won't be able to circle your fighter, so only a couple of them will be able to attack at any given time. The rogues can't reach your spellcasters or other party members, either.

Healing potions/spells are handy for keeping your fighter alive. Buffing spells that make it harder to hit/damage reduction are handy for the fighter as well (Mage Armor, for example).

Naturally, it may seem that this tactic only works if you can "trap" the rogues in one room, but there's another solution too: If you turn the AI off, place your party in a room with only one door, you can send out a "scout" to draw the rogues to the room - where your fighter of course is guarding the door.

[Cuv]

Cool... thanks Seb:D I need to restock my healing potions, getting dangerously low. It seemed to me that they were just appearing around my party... but hopefully they are actually coming out of the rooms and the 'draw them to me' tactic works. Will give it a try next encounter of that type.

I have moved on to Old Owl Well... my PC prefers the outdoors...heh.

[Bluenose]

With some adjustment to Bluenose's tactics, a good fighter who has decent AC (>30 or so) and a couple of spellcasters, these fights get increasingly easy. Place your fighter (Khelgar works if he's got enough AC - I normally used my PC) directly in the doorway of where the rogues are to prevent the rogues from getting out of the room, then bombard the room with Fireball, Ice Storm and other area of effect spells. Finger of Death is handy, too.

The rogues won't be able to circle your fighter, so only a couple of them will be able to attack at any given time. The rogues can't reach your spellcasters or other party members, either.

Healing potions/spells are handy for keeping your fighter alive. Buffing spells that make it harder to hit/damage reduction are handy for the fighter as well (Mage Armor, for example).

Naturally, it may seem that this tactic only works if you can "trap" the rogues in one room, but there's another solution too: If you turn the AI off, place your party in a room with only one door, you can send out a "scout" to draw the rogues to the room - where your fighter of course is guarding the door.

Only thing I'd modify here is not to bother with fireballs against the rogues. They've got evasion, so if they make their save they take no damage, and they've got good reflex saves. If you can throw a Confusion spell into the middle of them that works really well, and any that save can be eliminated by Khelgar or another warrior type with no problems.

Cool... thanks Seb:D I need to restock my healing potions, getting dangerously low. It seemed to me that they were just appearing around my party... but hopefully they are actually coming out of the rooms and the 'draw them to me' tactic works. Will give it a try next encounter of that type.

They're deployed in various rooms, and there's a chance that they'll notice a fight in another room or fail to notice it. If they do come towards the fight, they usually sneak up on you in stealth mode - quite a sensible option for the AI.

I have moved on to Old Owl Well... my PC prefers the outdoors...heh.

Beware of the trolls.

[Zyraen]

Man Cuv I always thought you a wizard with combat and tactics Especially seeing the few bits that I know of RTW set ups.

[Kellen]

Then again if your a wizard against a band of thieves, half your spells aren't going to help much.

[Aathis]

I have only played as far as the early quests in the docks district, but I found I had to turn the AI off since the NPCs kept running off and getting into trouble. I wish they had implemented the pausing functionality of the BG games, so as to play the battles in simulated turn-based mode. Is it possible to create a mod that would do that - I bet it would be popular.
Also the NPC commands dont seem to be hot-barable; or am I mistaken? It would really help if I could line-up the most important commands on a hot bar.
The camera also annoys me by its sensitivity to objects as I pan - it keeps jumping in and out in built-up areas - unless I take it right back and up into isometric view.

Edited by Aathis, 04 January 2008 - 09:48 AM.

[Choo Choo]

Please don't necropost. This thread hasn't been touched in five years. Next time, simply make a new topic.