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IA v6 Final


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For Mirrored enemies (and yes, I hated this quest as well)- you need to summon Swanmays. Only then can you kill them, and you can't rest untill you kill (I think, but memory is hazy..) Mirrored Skeleton, Windmaster and Spider. If you rest, you have to kill them all - again...

So, tactic is simple - summon Greater Swanmay, kill Elemental golem who comes up, kill the mirrored monster, repeat. Don't forget to heal your Swanmay. If by any chance he dies, summon another one, but be ready for yet another Elemental golem....

This quest is awful, btw.

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That quest is not worth it. Lots of hard enemies to kill (don't expect any experience from them), you will probably have to waste some Barbarian potions to complete it, and last but not least - the xp and item rewards are very small. You get an upgrade of the Axe of the Lakesider, which frankly will soon be obsolete since you're aiming for JD main and FoDaW off-hand. The +4 Axe is more than sufficient for the one fight where you'll need slashing weapon (Sendai). Probably on Core you will gain some Barbarian potions, but then again, on Core you don't need them that much, even in the last fight.

 

The other reward which kreso mentioned is that you'll get some help from mr Wetlander in the final fight. But frankly the final fight is so easy (provided you know what resources to collect and how to fight it) that actually, no additional help is required. This whole quest is much, much harder and stupider than the last fight. Really no need to take it.

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OK, indeed those three solo fights are simple once you have a Swanmay, who somehow reduces the physical resistance by 10%.

 

As for the next three... the whisper spider/drowned soul fight is rather nuts. Cernd can get about two creeping dooms off before he's overwhelmed, maybe three if I hit a couple of Riskbreaker throwbacks at the right moment. Also for some reason, his Creeping Dooms take a very long time to cast... certainly far longer than the 1 casting time they should have (5 original, minus 2 for his class, minus one for his crown, minus one for his amulet).

 

And the anti-ranger... yet again, an enemy with 100 resistance across the board. But this time, summoning a swanmay does not seem to help...

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OK, indeed those three solo fights are simple once you have a Swanmay, who somehow reduces the physical resistance by 10%.

 

As for the next three... the whisper spider/drowned soul fight is rather nuts. Cernd can get about two creeping dooms off before he's overwhelmed, maybe three if I hit a couple of Riskbreaker throwbacks at the right moment. Also for some reason, his Creeping Dooms take a very long time to cast... certainly far longer than the 1 casting time they should have (5 original, minus 2 for his class, minus one for his crown, minus one for his amulet).

 

And the anti-ranger... yet again, an enemy with 100 resistance across the board. But this time, summoning a swanmay does not seem to help...

 

Creeping Doom's description is either mixed up, or Sikret simply failed to implement the new casting speed of 5 correctly. It takes the same amount to cast as the level 3 spell, Summon insects - casting time 9.

 

As for the Anti-ranger fight - first you have to summon something to distract him (I gate in a Greater Djinni), then activate your protections, call a Swanmay, then I go for the Anti-Ranger himself (just keep that Swanmay away from the fight. However, I consume at least 3 Barbarian essence potions for this fight + some of elemental resistance so that the Elemental golem also scores zero. When you bring the anti-ranger to near-death, he will gate in a Mirrored warrior, and soon your Swanmay will vanish. You have to somehow create a new one, kill the Mirrored Warrior first, then you can kill the Anti-ranger, and finally the 2 (or maybe 3) Elemental golems + their minor summons.

 

If you focus on killing the Elemental golems first, your Swanmays won't last long enough.

 

As a word of advice, simply make an earlier load game (before starting this quest), sell the Ruby of the Gods for 15 000 gp, and forget about the whole thing.

 

I myself haven't gotten any further ahead than this point, but from what I heard, it gets a lot worse in the final fights of the quest.

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O

..........................................As a word of advice, simply make an earlier load game (before starting this quest), sell the Ruby of the Gods for 15 000 gp, and forget about the whole thing.

I myself haven't gotten any further ahead than this point, but from what I heard, it gets a lot worse in the final fights of the quest.

Pretty much sums it up....and yes, finale is crap. Main enemy uses SI:div, so Saros could kill him, but you'll be in a world of hurt.

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O

..........................................As a word of advice, simply make an earlier load game (before starting this quest), sell the Ruby of the Gods for 15 000 gp, and forget about the whole thing.

I myself haven't gotten any further ahead than this point, but from what I heard, it gets a lot worse in the final fights of the quest.

Pretty much sums it up....and yes, finale is crap. Main enemy uses SI:div, so Saros could kill him, but you'll be in a world of hurt.

 

Want to clarify on that, what kreso meant is simply that my party levels are high enough for dispel magic to work in this fight (if I ever got to it, that is), however yours aren't.

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Hmmm... I suppose I can modify the casting time of Creeping Doom to match the description, maybe I'll do that. I have no idea how you got more than two of those off in that fight with the dozen Mirrored Whisper Spiders. Granted Cernd and my PC are typically the last to die in this fight, for whatever reason, but you essentially have no defense against the spiders, can't outrun them, and once they successfully make one strike, your protections are gone.

 

The Anti-Ranger... I did try summoning a swanmay and that did not lower the anti-ranger's resistances like it did with the mirrored enemies... weird. I suppose I can try again. It should just take two barbarian essence potions to handle this since I have Hardiness, Armor of Faith, and Defender of Easthaven. And actually, if I upgrade DoE before the fight (which I should do anyways at this point, as I have 3 permanency scrolls now, so I'd have one to spare afterwards), I'd actually get healed under this scenario.

 

Yeah, I realize it's not the most well thought-out quest, nor the most well-written. But I'm a sucker for item upgrades so I might give it a shot.

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Hmmm... I suppose I can modify the casting time of Creeping Doom to match the description, maybe I'll do that. I have no idea how you got more than two of those off in that fight with the dozen Mirrored Whisper Spiders. Granted Cernd and my PC are typically the last to die in this fight, for whatever reason, but you essentially have no defense against the spiders, can't outrun them, and once they successfully make one strike, your protections are gone.

 

The Anti-Ranger... I did try summoning a swanmay and that did not lower the anti-ranger's resistances like it did with the mirrored enemies... weird. I suppose I can try again. It should just take two barbarian essence potions to handle this since I have Hardiness, Armor of Faith, and Defender of Easthaven. And actually, if I upgrade DoE before the fight (which I should do anyways at this point, as I have 3 permanency scrolls now, so I'd have one to spare afterwards), I'd actually get healed under this scenario.

 

Yeah, I realize it's not the most well thought-out quest, nor the most well-written. But I'm a sucker for item upgrades so I might give it a shot.

 

You do have a defense against the spiders. You're just not picking buffs correct. Free Action and Chaotic Commands will be dispelled if cast from spellbook/scrolls/Cat Figurine. However, Potions of Clarity and Free Action aren't dispelled! In addition, spiders don't dispel illusions like Blur or Improved Invisibility, you can rely on that to improve saves vs Improved Web. last but not least, protective rings. The Swanmays will only help if you cast Free Action on them. You see, a Swanmay has to be active in order to weaken enemies each turn - it might not do anything, just roam around, but has to be active - meaning, not webbed.

 

If you already wasted all Free Action potions, I feel sorry for you, yet you may not have bought all available. Gorch has 2, now it's too late for them, also the Temple of Ilmater on top of the Coronet has one or two, Ribald sells one, and there is one in a container in Jansen's home. Plus, your mages won't be killed or anything if you use multiple PFMW for protection. Cast Free Action and Chaotic Commands on them, let the other three use potion buffs and best protective gear (rings, cloaks) since anyway the R-C and Cernd will play major role in this fight.

 

The Drowned Soul is a sucker for summons, because as far as I remember he kills them in 1 hit. Gate him as many normal (i.e. killable by Death spell) summons. If you're fast enough, you can even protect some via Death Ward to resist the first enemy hit. They will be webbed, so what. If you don't want them to be, summon Sword spiders. Presumably, this is one fight where the Golden Spider figurine is superior to all other summons.

 

The Anti-Ranger's resistances are lowered by a Swanmay, but don't expect to score more than 3 on each hit, that's with Str 25 (I use CF as off-hand weapon and Axe of the Lakesider main in this fight). In order not to get distracted (also Hardiness doesn't last forever, and you have to fight here at least 6 turns) I suggest using 4 Barbarian Essence potions or even 5. Don't worry, you'll be compensated in the very end, after all you're not doing this for the potions but rather for the axe upgrade. Also use potions of Fire, Cold, Electrical and even Acid resistance in order to nullify damage dealt by the Elemental golems. Barbarian essences can be used as a pre-buff, since they're not dispelled in the start of the fight.

 

Or if you want to save a Barbarian essence potion, use FoDaW as an off-hand weapon, but then you have to waste a Giant Str potion (Fire giant one is sufficient, with Girdle of Lordly Might str will be 25)

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Ah, you mentioned that before, I keep forgetting potions aren't dispellable here (that was also introduced in another mod, I think the Item Revisions mod here).

 

I haven't used any of those potions, but let's pretend I did (missed the ones from Gorch). One of the harder parts of doing this for the first time is that I have no idea when I've reached the "best time" to use things like that. (Similar to Orcus and the Protection from Level Drain scrolls).

 

Maybe I didn't test long enough to let the Swanmay do its thing against the anti-ranger. Would be nice if there was some notification in the message bar, or the documentation, about this ability (does it apply to all enemies, or just the ones in this quest?).

 

I'll most likely upgrade the flail (extra 30k and two permanency scrolls, the latter of which I should have more than enough of at this point) to skimp on barbarian essence potions. 30k is probably worth two of those...

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Ah, you mentioned that before, I keep forgetting potions aren't dispellable here (that was also introduced in another mod, I think the Item Revisions mod here).

 

I haven't used any of those potions, but let's pretend I did (missed the ones from Gorch). One of the harder parts of doing this for the first time is that I have no idea when I've reached the "best time" to use things like that. (Similar to Orcus and the Protection from Level Drain scrolls).

 

Maybe I didn't test long enough to let the Swanmay do its thing against the anti-ranger. Would be nice if there was some notification in the message bar, or the documentation, about this ability (does it apply to all enemies, or just the ones in this quest?).

 

I'll most likely upgrade the flail (extra 30k and two permanency scrolls, the latter of which I should have more than enough of at this point) to skimp on barbarian essence potions. 30k is probably worth two of those...

 

Potion buffs ARE dispellable. Just not by Breach. Breach dispels two kinds of protecions - Specific protections like ProFire, Chaotic Commands, Free Action, ProEvil, and also combat protections which include Stoneskin, Ironskins, Hardiness, PFME, etc. Spider melee hits dispel only Specific protections, but potion buffs are not considered to be specific protections. Same true about green protection scrolls. But potion buffs or green scroll effects can be dispelled by Dispel or Remove magic (or Purge magic naturally).

 

Believe me, you won't be needing these Free Action potions too much in the oncoming fights. There is just one, the fight with Sendai, but frankly, up to that point you should have the saves to roll everytime successfully with any char vs Improved Web (required save vs spells of -4). It's now you should use them, definitely.

 

If you read the boring speech of mr Wetlander, you would know about the Swanmays importance. He relays a history how the Master of Mirrors and all his minions are allergic to Swanmays and will be weakened by them. This Swanmay ability is specific for this quest only, it triggers once each round (didn't try hasting a Swanmay, probably that way it would trigger twice per round) and it doesn't allow enemies to refresh Mirror Images and also softens enemies, making them somewhat less powerful and less resistant. You don't have to attack with a Swanmay to trigger - it just has to be within enemy sight.

 

Ah, definitely Barbarian essence potions are your most valuable resource. These, Potions of Magic Shielding and scrolls of Protection from Magical energy are the most important resource for the last fight, you should have as many of them as you can assemble.

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I read the speech, it mentioned allergic/weakening, but wasn't terribly specific (IIRC) about what that meant.

 

PFME scrolls, interesting. I sold most of them, but they should all be recoverable from Ribald before I hit ToB. I think I used one potion of magic shielding, which should leave a bunch.

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Kill one ghost spider at a time and use alacrity magic missiles to remove the multiple illusions as much as possible and try to make sure drowned soul is not targetting a party member. If he does eventually try to make sure it is a caster under alacrity to refresh skins. If you landed 2 creeping dooms it should be sufficient to kill him if you focus him a little with your fighters by then. There is a decent xp to all party members reward at the end, a few barbarian essence potions and upgrade to the axe which now inflicts magic damage instead of cold damage. The final battle is easier than drowned soul in my opinion.

 

Edit: This is another place where you want to be using critical strikes by default

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Tried one run at the Anti-Ranger with the barbarian potions, and it worked well except I couldn't damage the thing fast enough to get past the regeneration. Needed to forge the Improved Haste boots, so I did. Was able to beat this battle using 4 barbarian potions at the beginning. By the time they wore off, the elemental golems were dead, so Hardiness let me last a bit longer (as well as the Cat figurine heal). I got lucky in that all but two of the minor golems spawned were Gem's, which plays well into my flails. The coin golems actually weren't too bad either - at this point, I was chugging some superior healing potions - because the flail's extra damage is piercing each round, so I could kind of let them bleed out.

 

Drowned Soul was doable with those potions of freedom, though still relied on a bit of luck to get the Drowned Soul off of my characters initially. Biggest key was keeping the fighters trained on the Ghost Spiders and eliminating them to stop the flow of Whisper Spiders.

 

Agree with you guys though, this quest series is a turd.

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Final fight was definitely tougher than the Drowned Soul. I mean, it has one less Ghost Spider and no Drowned Soul, but in their place are two high-level mages, one of whom has Alacrity to begin the battle and just bombards you with spells and will use PW:Kill at instant speed the moment a single character gets under 60 HPs. And the other is unkillable until you get rid of the first one. Plus you need to summon a swanmay for this fight (more likely, two of them), and the resulting Elemental Golems are tough with the limited spells/buffs you might have at that point.

 

My strategy was to down potions of Freedom on my F/M and F->M, use Cat Figure for free action on Riskbreaker and Vagrant (who had low enough AC not to get hit). Summon a Swanmay to get rid of the mirror images on the spiders. Take out the Ghost Spiders first, then the Whisper Spiders, then the Elemental Golem and the one Gem Golem it managed to summon. Cernd cast Alacrity right at the start, to ensure he could insta-heal if needed. Chain Contingencies on the F/M and F>M allowed them to be PFMW and Improved Hasted right from the start, Riskbreaker used her ability for that, and Vagrant had it from the boots. Chugged Superior Healing potions when needed and Cernd's insta-heal when needed, to survive the initial onslaught and stay out of PW:Kill range. Imoen ran out of view of the Alacrity-ed mage as she'd be below 60 from a single Melf's.

 

Very quickly (~3 rounds or so) it was just me and the Mirror Masters. Played defense for a while, used up their Death Spells. Spread the field and moved characters around so they'd only hit one or two with Comets and such. Beyond Melf's Meteors, they don't have melee.

 

Eventually ran them out of offensive spells. Summoned a Swanmay, Improved Haste for all, and went to work. Killed Elemental Golem. No Protection from Cold potions/scrolls/spells available, so had to heal through a permanent fireshield blue while stoneskins were refreshed. Once first one died, the other Mirror Master took on his stoneskins/PFMWs/fireshield blue. Repeat.

 

Used all of Cernd's heals (insta- and normal-), and just about all other spells. Really long battle. Probably could have gone on the offensive sooner, but didn't know what these enemies did.

 

Probably going to just skip Ancient Dragon and finish SoA, and tackle it again in ToB when first able. Don't have the cash for the Dragon halberd at the moment anyways.

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Chain Contingency for summons (plus 5 Swanmays pre-summoned) make the Irenicus fight in Hell not too bad. Distract as many enemies as possible on the summons, and kill order was:

 

Demon Knight

Elemental Golem (and summoned Coin Golem)

Balor

Abyssal Escorts

Noble Marilith

Slayer

 

Imoen got chunked on my first attempt when it was down to the Slayer. Had some mis-timed Breaches which allowed him to refresh PFMW a bunch of times. Did not expect a Comet to still be in his spellbook; if I did, Imoen would be nowhere near there.

 

Second try, similar fight plan and was able to breach about 4 times in succession while wailing away. Was dead in about 2 rounds or so of this.

 

On to ToB... final experience in SoA was 7.3M with the Ancient Dragon, the Spirit Warrior, the three seal fights, and Demogorgon left in WK. And also the fight outside of it from IA. Will try to add up the experience from those to get a SoA+WK figure, for comparison purposes. Vagrant is level 27, Cernd is 29 and Imoen is 25, for Dispel/Remove Magic purposes.

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