MolarAm🔵
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Post by MolarAm🔵 on Sept 8, 2023 12:56:42 GMT
Preparation is more important on Tactician. Coating your weapons with poison, sneaking around to get into good positions before fights start, preparing spells to counter whatever the enemy throws at you. And figuring out who to target first.
Oh, and get your mages the Mirror Image spell or something similar, because the enemies WILL go after them as a priority.
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Post by Duffking on Sept 8, 2023 15:03:53 GMT
I had a brief go on the end boss fight at lunch and initial impressions are that it's somewhat dickishly designed when a bunch of arcanists in the distance can just spam the fuck out of arcane missiles at my characters and fully kill them (not even dead) in like 1 shot . |
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zephro
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Post by zephro on Sept 8, 2023 15:23:49 GMT
I had a brief go on the end boss fight at lunch and initial impressions are that it's somewhat dickishly designed when a bunch of arcanists in the distance can just spam the fuck out of arcane missiles at my characters and fully kill them (not even dead) in like 1 shot .
That happened my first go. Then I just had La'zel misty step/fly over there and fuck them up with a silver sword.
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Post by Duffking on Sept 8, 2023 17:08:46 GMT
There's definitely been a few encounters toward the end that have leant less toward the kind of reasonable strategising in the first 2 acts and more toward the "alpha striking" being important style that they said they were trying to avoid.
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zephro
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Post by zephro on Sept 8, 2023 20:38:12 GMT
There's definitely been a few encounters toward the end that have leant less toward the kind of reasonable strategising in the first 2 acts and more toward the "alpha striking" being important style that they said they were trying to avoid. It wasn't an alpha strike as there was 4-5 of them and one person to deal with them. It's more classic spears vs horses (rock papers scissors), put the opposite thing right up in the AIs face. |
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zephro
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Post by zephro on Sept 9, 2023 9:38:27 GMT
So I'm going Tiefling, Dark Urge, Paladin/Sorcerer but playing it as a goodie. I think I'm going to multi-class Wyll into a Warlock/Bard so I've got utility skills when I need them and Bard gets some of that without using a Rogue properly.
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mikeck
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Post by mikeck on Sept 9, 2023 10:36:22 GMT
Loving this, but so far finding it tricky to use Astarion properly in combat, I've not had an opportunity to get him hiding (even though I keep trying). I've specced him as a thief as guides suggested this was best for combat, but still struggling to use him.
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Post by Vandelay on Sept 9, 2023 11:06:09 GMT
Just been doing the gauntlets in Act 2 Fighting my reflections showed me that my characters are nowhere near as good as they could be. Astarion was doing about 3 or 4 attacks every turn, the deep gnome warlock that is my main was disappearing and shoving me about with the Eldritch Blast, and the others were bringing out great abilities too. The fight wasn't too bad, particularly when I realised that killing a character's reflection allowed them to attack others without the penalty, but was still illuminating. The invisible path trial was particularly frustrating though. The first time I went in the path was fairly visible to me, so was straightforward... if I hadn't been stupid enough to try taking everyone through. When I reloaded it suddenly wasn't at all visible (which is probably how it should have been). I tried using gaseous form spell, which constantly would half work until suddenly it wouldn't. Applying a triple jump also didn't work. I eventually just did it probably, but it was annoying that workarounds that should work weren't working. Plus, I read that the lever in the back of the room was supposed to reveal the path, but didn't seem to work. |
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ekz
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Post by ekz on Sept 9, 2023 11:32:08 GMT
Yeah that bit was frustrating. Ended up just using a fly scroll.
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Frog
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Post by Frog on Sept 9, 2023 11:34:57 GMT
Loving this, but so far finding it tricky to use Astarion properly in combat, I've not had an opportunity to get him hiding (even though I keep trying). I've specced him as a thief as guides suggested this was best for combat, but still struggling to use him. The astarion build I posted before is ridiculously good. He can often kill 2 or 3 people on his first turn. Luckily I still had it in a tab www.thegamer.com/baldurs-gate-3-astarion-best-build-equipment-subclass/The one where he is ranged, I use twin hand crossbows but use whatever you have available. |
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Post by skalpadda on Sept 9, 2023 12:32:23 GMT
Loving this, but so far finding it tricky to use Astarion properly in combat, I've not had an opportunity to get him hiding (even though I keep trying). I've specced him as a thief as guides suggested this was best for combat, but still struggling to use him. You can get sneak attacks through other ways than hiding, you just need advantage or in most cases it's enough to have another character threatening a target in melee. I rarely bothered with hiding once combat started. Some things off the top of my head that give advantage:
Knocking them prone. Faerie Fire Blind Entangle
Most incapacitating CC (Hold Person, Tasha's Hideous Laughter, Paralyze, etc.) High ground (for ranged attacks)
Make sure you dual wield with Astarion as that gives him 3 attacks per turn (Main hand + 2 offhand with the extra bonus action he gets). There's some gear that will let you add your attack modifier as damage to offhand attacks, which increases the damage he deals a lot.
There are multiclassing options that let you put out even more attacks or get more stealth advantages, but those frankly seem a bit overpowered. I played him as straight rogue all through the game and he was very effective against single targets.
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zephro
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Post by zephro on Sept 9, 2023 13:01:31 GMT
Easiest way to get advantage, have your fighters in front of them have Astarian go around and stab them in the back.
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Post by salaman on Sept 9, 2023 14:41:00 GMT
Loving this, but so far finding it tricky to use Astarion properly in combat, I've not had an opportunity to get him hiding (even though I keep trying). I've specced him as a thief as guides suggested this was best for combat, but still struggling to use him. I used him very early on and kept trying to get him hidden so he could get in a sneak melee attack. I also kept getting a message about disadvantage or lack of advantage. Not sure. I gave up and adventured as Wyll with Shadowheart, Lae'zel and Gale. I recently saw a 'how to play rogue' video and you basically hide outside the red cone that shows up to where their vision reaches and do a ranged sneak attack. For melee, you don't hide, you get advantage by having a melee fighter stand next to the enemy, all the other things mentioned above, prone, sleep, entangled, etc. Then you do a sneak melee attack and use your bonus 'dash' action to leg it out of melee range. Rinse repeat sneak attacks/dash every turn and you should be doing healthy damage. I've yet to try it. I replaced LAe'zel with Astarion and now I have noone to stand in melee range and get me that 'advantage' status. I think I'll first respec Astarion based on that build guide posted above. |
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Post by Bill in the rain on Sept 9, 2023 14:43:51 GMT
Sounds similar to the way I could never work out how to actually use rogues in Baldur's Gate 1, as there seemed no way for them to do anything stealth in combat.
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MolarAm🔵
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Post by MolarAm🔵 on Sept 9, 2023 15:01:31 GMT
I mean, the invisibility spell is right there. No no, over there, a bit to your left.
Anyway, in earlier BG games I used thieves for scouting, and for acting as a kind of targeting spotter for fireballs and cloudkills. If I used them for sneak attacks, it was almost always on whoever the enemy caster was.
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MolarAm🔵
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Post by MolarAm🔵 on Sept 9, 2023 15:06:55 GMT
On another note, I'm finding the Sanctuary spell to be far more useful in this than in previous games. It's the perfect thing to protect a mage going late in the turn order, and it's a bonus action so you don't have to give up doing other useful things with your turn.
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Post by skalpadda on Sept 9, 2023 15:48:36 GMT
Then you do a sneak melee attack and use your bonus 'dash' action to leg it out of melee range. Rinse repeat sneak attacks/dash every turn and you should be doing healthy damage. There's rarely any need to run and hide. Most of the time your bonus action is better used for an extra offhand attack, and you usually want to be in melee range for the chance at opportunity attacks. The exception would be very powerful melee bosses that might kill your rogue in a single turn I suppose, but there aren't many of those in the game. |
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mikeck
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Post by mikeck on Sept 9, 2023 17:44:06 GMT
Thanks all, very comprehensive help, really appreciate it!
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Post by Vandelay on Sept 9, 2023 21:12:11 GMT
Turns out I'm really underleveled for Act 2. I thought I had done quite a lot of Act 1 so must be about right, but reading online people are saying they were level 8 when starting Act 2 and I'm only getting towards level 7 now. This will explain why I'm really struggling in the Yurgir fight! Not really had too much difficulties up until now, but this fight just feels impossible without getting the dialogue that makes him kill most of his allies, but my main charcater (that would actually be able to pass the skill check) is a Warlock and doesn't seem to get that option Going to head back to some Act 1 areas, but not really sure what I've missed. I explored some of the Underdark, but perhaps I should do more of that. |
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Frog
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Post by Frog on Sept 9, 2023 21:13:00 GMT
It's bugged for a warlock, get someone else to initiate the chat.
Failing that there is another way to tackle that situation.
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askew
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Post by askew on Sept 9, 2023 22:07:13 GMT
Turns out I'm really underleveled for Act 2. I thought I had done quite a lot of Act 1 so must be about right, but reading online people are saying they were level 8 when starting Act 2 and I'm only getting towards level 7 now. This will explain why I'm really struggling in the Yurgir fight! Not really had too much difficulties up until now, but this fight just feels impossible without getting the dialogue that makes him kill most of his allies, but my main charcater (that would actually be able to pass the skill check) is a Warlock and doesn't seem to get that option Going to head back to some Act 1 areas, but not really sure what I've missed. I explored some of the Underdark, but perhaps I should do more of that. Hmm! My group are only level 5 - which seemed to be sufficient for the game to let me progress with only a warning about tying up loose ends, rather than finding it hard. I’m not sure what else was left for me to do, other than kill everything on the map. |
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Post by skalpadda on Sept 9, 2023 23:20:07 GMT
Turns out I'm really underleveled for Act 2. I thought I had done quite a lot of Act 1 so must be about right, but reading online people are saying they were level 8 when starting Act 2 and I'm only getting towards level 7 now. This will explain why I'm really struggling in the Yurgir fight! Not really had too much difficulties up until now, but this fight just feels impossible without getting the dialogue that makes him kill most of his allies, but my main charcater (that would actually be able to pass the skill check) is a Warlock and doesn't seem to get that option Going to head back to some Act 1 areas, but not really sure what I've missed. I explored some of the Underdark, but perhaps I should do more of that.
You'd have to really push it to get to level 8 in act 1, so I don't think that should be set as a bar to reach. If you were below level 6 you probably missed a great deal though.
The Underdark is worth exploring fully. I don't know how it works with the quests and NPCs once you've moved on to act 2, but if nothing else there are some amazing medium and heavy armours you can craft down there that will last to the end of act 3, and some other bits and bobs to find.
Yurgir was the hardest fight in the game for me. The only one that took 3 tries, doing it "fair" with all his adds. There are some ways of making it easier even if you don't get the dialogues though, and remember you can always pick up and throw things from the ground...
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Post by Vandelay on Sept 10, 2023 8:23:06 GMT
I was level 5 when I went through the Mountain Pass. Might have just reached 6 before I finished off that area and actually started Act 2.
Back in the Underdark now and it is definitely a lot easier than it was when I first went through there! Managed to reach the place where I assume you could advance to Act 2. Just in the middle of exploring that area at the moment. Quests are coming in and advancing, so seems you can still do some of them, but I guess important ones (such as anything in the Grove) will be closed off now.
I've also done some rejigging of my warlock custom character and Astarion (with the later using that guide linked above). Seems to be working nicely for now, although I've not encountered anything particularly taxing around here.
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Post by skalpadda on Sept 10, 2023 13:53:01 GMT
Been looking through the level progression of the classes thinking about multiclassing for my Monk and Bard, and nothing looks super appealing. Action Surge and Fast Hands can obviously be super powerful, but they're kind of overpowered and would make combat a bit boring.
Throwing away that 6th level spell on the Bard would kind of suck and nothing other than extra actions seems to work for Monks (it's all weapons and armour stuff). And you'd lose a feat.
Seems easy to come up with something overpowered, but less easy figuring out something actually fun and interesting.
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zephro
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Post by zephro on Sept 10, 2023 15:00:25 GMT
Monk Sorcerer or Warlock could be fun. You'd need to bump charisma. Or shadow monk and rogue though sneak attack needs piercing.
I'm amazed that still not even up to the goblin leaders I've discovered a load of stuff I missed first time and I was never underleveled.
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alastair
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Post by alastair on Sept 10, 2023 15:46:03 GMT
Then you do a sneak melee attack and use your bonus 'dash' action to leg it out of melee range. Rinse repeat sneak attacks/dash every turn and you should be doing healthy damage. There's rarely any need to run and hide. Most of the time your bonus action is better used for an extra offhand attack, and you usually want to be in melee range for the chance at opportunity attacks. The exception would be very powerful melee bosses that might kill your rogue in a single turn I suppose, but there aren't many of those in the game. You should Disengage rather than Dash away. Dash will provoke an Opportunity Attack as a reaction (unless the enemy had already taken a reaction in that round). Disengage specifically allows you to move away. |
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askew
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Post by askew on Sept 10, 2023 15:50:49 GMT
I like how Raphael has 666 health
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Post by salaman on Sept 10, 2023 15:52:32 GMT
I redid Astarion add per the guide posted here. Which seems to work. But yeah. I've not used disengage/dash much to move away between turns.
It was only one fight so far though.
I'd like to bring Lae'zel back into my party but I can't decide between dropping Gale out Shadowheart.
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Frog
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Post by Frog on Sept 10, 2023 16:00:01 GMT
I like how Raphael has 666 health He has 0 in my game, he started it though. |
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f00b_inc
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Post by f00b_inc on Sept 10, 2023 16:05:35 GMT
Just stumbled across the Doctor in Act 2. I thought that whole encounter was brilliant! Love the change of atmosphere in this Act.
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