Watchers keep level 3

[Foca]

1 hour to beat the "fear" room with magic disabled in Watchers keep level 3 on core rules difficulty, can't immagine on higher difficulty..... BTW I hate mazes !!!

[Phoenix VII]

Yeah, that level is annoying, especially when you fight Tahazzar without any buffs, and on SCS where THEY will be buffing no less. I had to just keep trying again and again until my characters finally saved enough and killed those annoying teleporting and mirror image casting demons and him quickly enough.

[Foca]

Yep really tedious level, can someone share his own tactic, maybe I missed something

[chango.fandango]

Whats your party composition and levels? obviously access to higher level spells help.

[chango.fandango]

I tend to quickly pop protection from magic weapons on my mages and have them summon meat shields. Alpha strike the succubus to stop her from charming you with your ranged weapons first and move your best tank in to attract attention of the two demons on the sides, and proceed from there. Remember u can use rod of resurrection as a full heal on any party member. Having said that I am usually getting HLA at this point so I don't know what its like for lower level party.

[Foca]

Originally posted by chango.fandango:

Whats your party composition and levels? obviously access to higher level spells help.

Party members my charater a gnome two handed warrior lvl20, minsc lvl 18, jaheira lvl 14/14, imoen lvl 17/7, nalia lvl 18/4 and aerie lvl 14/14, BTW I'm try to complete the game without deaths :p I'm at the 4th level of the dungeon now
, hope doesnt get worse

[D'amarr from Darshiva]

Are you still within Shadows of Amn base game? Or Throne of Bhaal yet? Originally, Watcher's Keep is part of ToB, so you could complete SoA and continue with Watcher's Keep in ToB. At higher characters levels, of course.

[Foca]

Originally posted by D'amarr from Darshiva:

Are you still within Shadows of Amn base game? Or Throne of Bhaal yet? Originally, Watcher's Keep is part of ToB, so you could complete SoA and continue with Watcher's Keep in ToB. At higher characters levels, of course.

Yes still within Shadows of Amn, I didn't know they can crossover. I thought they were dlc's
separate from the main game, how to recognize such content ?

[chango.fandango]

The only area accessible from both SoA and ToB is actually Watcher's Keep.

[D'amarr from Darshiva]

Originally posted by Foca:

how to recognize such content ?

You can't.

22 years ago the concept of DLCs didn't exist in the same way as nowadays. The expansions for the Baldur's Gate games were released either as modified and possible improved games, or as installable update packs for an already installed base game.

In the case of BG 1, the Tales of the Sword Coast expansion content modified the base game with an increased XP cap and extra content - all of which you could experience either if starting the base game or if importing an older savegame and starting directly within the expansion quest hub. Within the base game, you would simply travel to accessible expansion areas like Durlag's Tower or Ulgoth's Beard, and do those before reaching the end of the base game eventually since one cannot complete playing afterwards. Unless the Siege of Dragonspear DLC from 2016 is installed - it is a post-end expansion, and the BG1 game continues in SOD automatically, if it's installed.

In the case of BG 2, it was similar to BG 1, and one could either start the modified base game Shadows of Amn or the Throne of Bhaal expansion and experience the modifications like an enhanced Infinity engine and other changes. The exception is that the Shadows of Amn base game at its end continues into Thone of Bhaal automatically, if installed (and that is the default since the "enhanced edition" of the game), but Watcher's Keep from the expansion is available already within the base game world despite offering mostly content for high-level characters.

To add to the confusion, while still within SoA, you find items you cannot use before ToB. Such as weapon pieces for weapons you cannot craft in SoA. Only Cespenar in ToB's pocket plane will be able to craft those items.

[Foca]

Originally posted by D'amarr from Darshiva:

Originally posted by Foca:

how to recognize such content ?

You can't.

22 years ago the concept of DLCs didn't exist in the same way as nowadays. The expansions for the Baldur's Gate games were released either as modified and possible improved games, or as installable update packs for an already installed base game.

In the case of BG 1, the Tales of the Sword Coast expansion content modified the base game with an increased XP cap and extra content - all of which you could experience either if starting the base game or if importing an older savegame and starting directly within the expansion quest hub. Within the base game, you would simply travel to accessible expansion areas like Durlag's Tower or Ulgoth's Beard, and do those before reaching the end of the base game eventually since one cannot complete playing afterwards. Unless the Siege of Dragonspear DLC from 2016 is installed - it is a post-end expansion, and the BG1 game continues in SOD automatically, if it's installed.

In the case of BG 2, it was similar to BG 1, and one could either start the modified base game Shadows of Amn or the Throne of Bhaal expansion and experience the modifications like an enhanced Infinity engine and other changes. The exception is that the Shadows of Amn base game at its end continues into Thone of Bhaal automatically, if installed (and that is the default since the "enhanced edition" of the game), but Watcher's Keep from the expansion is available already within the base game world despite offering mostly content for high-level characters.

To add to the confusion, while still within SoA, you find items you cannot use before ToB. Such as weapon pieces for weapons you cannot craft in SoA. Only Cespenar in ToB's pocket plane will be able to craft those items.

Wow! Really exhaustive thanks

[chango.fandango]

As a side effect of being accessible from both SoA and ToB you can safely dump items u don't want to carry on you in SoA and get them back in ToB.

[Foca]

Originally posted by chango.fandango:

As a side effect of being accessible from both SoA and ToB you can safely dump items u don't want to carry on you in SoA and get them back in ToB.

Usefull tip , I'm storing stuff

[chango.fandango]

Tip for extra exp. I tend to do this on level 4, resting often spawn mists and horrors that can drain your stats and level drain you which is normally super annoying. But you can cast limited wish and ask for protection from undead which gives all your party member negative plane protection for 5 rounds I believe and you can safely rest and grind some exp if u need it.

[Foca]

The fourth level is a piece of cake. The old and the new rpgs all have the same difficulty curve, very difficult at the beginning then as you set up the party and acquire new objects and skills it becomes easier and easier and unfortunately the only system the developers use to balance the game in Determinate situations is to weaken the party as in pathfinder kingmaker with the Lantern King's Curse or by creating places where you cannot use magic or load a scripted encounter where the party in a disadvantageous position and surrounded . DOS2, on the other hand, uses items scaling whose level-by-level protection increases dramatically but once the party gets rich enough u just buy new items every 1-2 levels to it keep up. Of course you can raise the difficulty but this does not make AI more clever and cunning (like chess) but rather increases the damage of the enemies and their statistics and gives malus to our pg's... cheating :)) Now thath being sayd BG2 was and still is a great game.

[Soul]

I spent that whole level as the slayer because of the magic wild zones etc, my sorcerer wasn't feeling it so he went full psycho evil reputation 0 mode