recommended level to tackle Durlag's Tower?

[Lemernis]

My current party is at level 4-6 and about to clear the countryside maps, then enter Cloakwood.

 

I usually take on Durlag's at the end of chapter 4, after getting a few key items in BG city. I also typically complete the other ToSC quests as well.

 

With SCS installed is this too early to take on Durlag's?

 

Think it would be doable before Cloakwood, after completing Ice Island and Werewolf Island?

[DavidW]

My guess is that you'll struggle if you try that early, but I don't want to say it's impossible!

 

Put it this way: pre-SCS, Durlag's Tower is about as difficult as chapters 6-7, and SCS doesn't really affect the relative difficulties of the two bits. (Actually, if anything it makes Durlag's Tower relatively harder). So it depends how much challenge you're finding the existing bits.

[Lemernis]

Thanks. Hmm. On one occasion I did manage to complete Durlag's just out of the Nashkel mines. I had cleared a good deal of the countryside, though, and was at about levels 4-5. I'm pretty sure that was a Tutu game. Immy had 80 in Find/RemoveTraps.

 

It's the higher level spellcasters that I fear with SCS. In the one prior game that I played with SCS installed, I found that smart wizard spellcasting on my part really helped combat those smarter enemy mages and clerics. But in this game my custom party's arcane spellcasting comes by way of SKed multiclasses Assassin-Mage and Kensai-Mage, and (via the L1 NPCs mod) Blade Immy. So they don't have very high level spells. They can cast very helpful low level stuff for the more garden variety enemies (eg, Sleep upon a swarm of kobolds). But I may have to wait until they can cast Dispell.

 

I should probably wait also until I have a healer, which I'll get when I dual class a Berserker via SK to Stormlord of Talos. The Berserker is curenly at level 6, and needs to reach level 7 before I do that. Right now I'm using up lots of healing potions without a healer in the party. And down in Durlag's no doubt use I'll use up a whole lot of healing potions. Hope I don't run out of them too early in the game! (I.e. none left in all of the merchants' inventories throughout the game.)

 

I think I'll wait until the start of chapter 5. Thanks again!