OfDoor13

When I first downloaded this mod it seemed it would be great; I had heard good things about it, and was excited about expanding the mage stronghold, which I always found lacking.

I had installed quite a large number of mods previously to this one, and they had all installed and played flawlessly. This was the first mod that would not install properly, which I should have taken as a warning. However, I simply attributed to the large number of mods I already had installed. I tried many times to install it, but it would just keep stalling and would not unpack completely. Alas, I uninstalled BG2 and ToB, and reinstalled all the mods. It worked this time.

I started up the mod and at first it seemed great. The stronghold seemed alive for the first time and I immediately liked the new spells. I wandered the stronghold for a while, and I quickly took a liking to it. I did some of the minor quests and thought they were pretty boring, but fun nonetheless. I then decided to embark on the main quest, where things took a massive nose dive.



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I thought the first battle, in which you fetch the relic, was fun and quite reasonable. The cut scene in which everything was explained was extremely out of the blue, and the storyline was a little too ambitious for its own sake. However, things made sense, for the most part. Everything was explained clearly and concisely. It worked, if only for the mere fact that as the chosen child of bhall, and one of the most powerful beings in the realms, you alone can defeat the antagonist. the inaccuracies (mystra is dead!) and sheer absurdity of the plot (khelban and elminster destroyed in an instant? give me a break..) could be excused because of this.

The government district was extremely difficult, but do-able. Keep in mind my protaganist was level 21 and I still had immense difficulty. The battle in the council of 6 building was ridiculous, I don't understand how anyone could find this remotely fun. disintegrate after flesh to stone after disintegrate, really wore on me. It was pretty much the never ending boss. I spent well over 2 hours before finally being able to beat the boss, after countless freedom, resurrection, and stone to flesh spells. i hated this battle.

I liked how the whole city transformed to make it seem more realistic, in that chaos was really reigning. the optional encounters were fun, relevant, and interesting for the most part. The return to the planar sphere was none of these.

ok, so these is where things go from being fun to extremely annoying and frustrating. the magical elementals and the slave of chaos were quite reasonable. the shade of vecna, was ridiculously difficult. i tried for hours, and could not beat him. unlimited absolute immunity? ridiculous. and his 4 goons were completely overpowered. the only way i was able to beat him was by converting to the slayer. finally, after beating the shade of vecna, i prepared for the final boss, which was supposed to be even more difficult. i had no idea how i was going to beat him, but i was glad and relieved that i had made it this far.

i head down the stairs, eagerly awaiting the final battle...

and...

nothing. no sorceror, no globes of energy, nothing. i seem to have run into a bug? this was extremely frustrating and i can't believe i wasted all that time for nothing.

I derived very little pleasure from this mod, mostly frustration and annoyance. i feel like i've wasted hours of my time, and sincerely wish i never downloaded it. i would highly recomend anyone against downloading this mod, as it is extremly instable, full of bugs and unfinished components. the dialogue is cheesy and the weak attempts at humor are cringe worthy. the plot is misconstrued and doesn't really make any sense if you think about it. the battles are extremely overpowered, and the new enemies uncreative and uninspired for the most part. It seems like most of the creative content was just pulled out of what the mod creator picked up whilst playing Planescape:torment. in hindsight, this was probably the worst mod i've played for BG2, for the simple fact that although the premise of the mod was great, the execution was sloppy and i have yet to play a mod that has garnered so much frustration from me. i encountered numerous bugs; npcs that would just hover at near dead and never die (vecna, reloaded many times till it worked), had cinematics just freeze and not continue (when invaded) and crashing when i tried to enter buildings. the only thing i can say i got out of the mod that was good were the new spells, they were interesting, creative, and the descriptions were good too. Asides from the new spells, I see no redeeming qualities in this mod, accept maybe for the visual satisfaction of seeing your apprentices running around your stronghold. I reloaded the beginning of the mod and rejected the main quest, after wasting 6 or so hours on this mod, of which i truly regret.

i have yet to play the final battle, but i am told it is even more difficult than vecna. my question to the developer is this: what exactly were you hoping to accomplish by making such a ridiculously difficult mod? did anyone actually enjoy the end battle?

i would not recomend this mod to anyone accept powergamers.

Note: If anyone has encountered the bug in which you head downstairs and there is no sorcerer, do share if you encountered a way to remedy this. I wouldn't mind a crack at completing the mod, and my bitterness about it is surely derived from the fact that I was unable to. Maybe if I could, my views on the mod will change. Until then...

3/10 (and only for the new spell additions).