As you guys may or may not know...in consultation with thetruth and Silverstar in the other thread here, I've come up with a bit of a different idea for a new solo game.

Here's the plan.

Play a Human Lawful Neutral Conjurer through BG2:ToB solo. When I hit 8 million XP...I dual-class to cleric.

Yes...that's right. A lvl 31 Mage/32+ Cleric.

To the best of my knowledge, this has never been done before so I thought I would just share this run through of mine on the boards.

Here's my stats:
STR-13
DEX-18
CON-16
INT-18
WIS-18
CHA-3 (my only concession to powergaming...I needed the stat points for STR)

I've played my way through Chateau Irenicus, Circus Quest, Renal Bloodscalp's quest, Astral Prison Quest and all of Aran Linvail's quests so far.

Ilyena is approximately 60,000 xp away from level 13 at the moment. I'm typing up an ongoing log of sorts, which I might post once something interesting comes my way. As of now...its strictly standard solo fare.

I'll update as and when I can, got a lot of Uni work at the moment, so not able to put in more than 3-4 hours a day.

Mage/Clerics forever!! :D

Oh, great, you don'T seem to having difficulties right now, as you shouldn'T, purest mages are powerful!

Are you a specialist? You may want to be a conjurer as this is the advantage of dual-classing, and I guess you will enjoy extra spells. Your cleric half can cast True Sight all day long, and as a 5th level spell!

Or could you be a WILD mage and then dual? Don'T know if wild mages are dualable, but my logic tells they should be able to. Have you ever thought about this? It could be wickedly evil and fun you know! Can a wildsurge occur when you are casting a priest spell? :evil:

Wild mages are not dualable. You'd have to SK it.

Ah I should have known that. Shame on me eh?

Why dual class and not multiclass? It seems like you'll get all of the perks and no penalties, since you're planning on removing the XP cap anyway.

Aldeth is dead on. You'll have a lot more hit points, too. About wild mages dualling, one of the components of G3 Tweaks will enable it.

Seems to me the only drawback to Multiclassing instead of Dualclassing is having to be a pure Mage, instead of a Conjurer. But the benfits to doing it Multiclass FAR outweigh 1 extra spell per level. Gotta agree with Aldeth & Drew on this one.

Also, if you're going to cheat by removing the XP cap surely you can find a way to give yourself the mage kit you want (wild mage is a kit in shadowkeeper).

I just shifted Jan to Wild Mage/Thief (kudos to Aldeth for coming up with that shift).

@Aldeth, Drew and Xindell: That's the whole point of this character! I love mage/clerics and I've finished the game 10+ times solo with one, with Tactics, Ascension etc etc installed.

Now...I wanted to do something which had never been done before, and I sort of hit upon this idea while going through thetruth's account of his latest exploits. (Hats off to him btw! :cool: )

So yeah...I'm doing it precisely because its a lot easier to do a Mage/Cleric multiclass. Its not for the kit...but while I'm going solo as single class Mage, I might as well. :)

So...what do you think? :cool:

Well then you really should have a kit! SK your character and give a nice kit, possibly wild mage, I am sure you will really enjoy the fun! :thumb:

Wild Mage Cleric would be something interesting. I have a feeling that the wild magic may affect your cleric side. I'm betting it will once the mage side kicks in again at the very least.

That is what I thought too, and this can really make things reaaally interesting!

'Don'T you worry, I will shed the light of my god to heal your wounds!'

BAM! WILD SURGE! (something ugly sticks out)

'Ooops, looks like I summoned a demon instead! Sorry!'

:lol:

Heh...why not? :D

It WOULD be SO cool to cast Implosion...and get "Wild Surge: Roll 5 more times!" :cool:

Actually it's roll 4 more times.

Anyway it sounds just as cool!

So Faraaz, have you decided to add a kit?

If you are going to do that, I'd go withe a cleric to mage dual class. It will be more effective, and let's face it, you don't need all the quest spells for your cleric, just the good ones. Get those, and then dual class. You'll have more hit points, for starters.

I have found that wild magic does not affect the preist spells MOST of the time but every once in a while (very rarely much less than your arcane stuff) it randomly does.

edit:I also noticed it only really happened to spells that had small casting times and were exposed to the robe of vecna and amulet of power combo ie had no casting time.

Well it's only supposed to happen like %5 of the time to regular magic from a wild mage anyway. the only guaranteed one is their NRD spell which causes it every time. sometimes it seems to go off a lot more though but from what these boards have had to say the random number generator can be a bit faulty and that is why.

edit:
Something came to me. Do the spell levels of the cleric spells fluctuate?

[ March 19, 2006, 02:54: Message edited by: starwalker ]

Yes, I have decided to add the Wild Mage kit, though its nothing special so far. No notable wild surges etc.

I haven't been able to get much done unfortunately, (ruddy uni work! :grr: ) But I have started on the Temple Quest...and I'm about 100 K XP away from lvl 15. Once I hit lvl 15 and start getting Skeleton Knights...things should be interesting! :D

So is this pretty much what you're planning to do?

* Go through the whole of BG2 and ToB with a specialist mage (Conjurer) and then, once you hit 8 million XP, dual to a cleric.

Then, you will continue on during the game? Won't this be a little hard??? I mean, if you completed the whole game (SoA and ToB) with your mage and then start a NEW game but as soon as you start dual to a cleric?

I guess THEN you could go through SoA and ToB AGAIN but you would now be a level 31 mage dualed to a cleric. I guess then once you finish the game again, or at least close to it, you would have gotten your mage abilities back, but then what???

Do you plan on going through the WHOLE game again with your character, now free to use the abilites of both classes freely, but with an insane amount of mods to make it hard?

Excuse me if someone asked this earlier, I just cbf reading all of it! :D

No if I am not mistaken he will do the whole thing in a single, mod-enhanced hard run. So let's wish him good luck, shall we?

WHAAAT! How does he expect to do the whole game, solo for that matter, in a mod-enhanced game?!?! I don't understand how he will survive alone if he has some psycho mods on ...

@$ilvershield - it will be very hard, but keep in mind that the first 10 or so levels come pretty quickly and he will have the hit points of a lvl 31 mage and most importantly the items. The mods are required to get enough XP to make it all possible.

That I understand, but HOW does he survive with all those mods??? I heard a few people only had a few tough ones installed and they couldn't even tackle them with a whole party!

Wild mages can be dual-classed (http://www.gibberlings3.net/g3tweak/).

Hey guys, sorry I've let this thread go to seed...but the demands of real life make posting very hard! :shake:

Anyway...here's a very brief update, after hitting lvl 15 by completing the Unseeing Eye cult quest (without talking to the head cleric for the XP mind you), I've pushed off for Brynnlaw, killed Perth (sp??) the Mage in Spellhold, been through Spellhold and then fought Irenicus as well.

Oh and I forgot to add...I couldn't resist the temptation!! :( I did go get the SotM...but its okay, I'm not going to be able to use it once I dual-class anyway...and so far, its been a text-book run.

Anyway...to get back to the point, I beat Bodhi again in Spellhold, finished all the riddles and what not and am finally out in Brynnlaw again. My character is at lvl 18 and I have JUST got my first HLA...Improved Alacrity obviously! :D Now...I need to rush to Amn for those awesome lvl 9 scrolls...but then I won't be able to cast any of them cuz I'm going to dual-class anyway!! :eek: Hmm...no matter! The reactivation shall always be there! :D

Now...back to BG2...I'm off to the Sahuagin City now. :D

@Silvershield: Hm...I'm going to be playing the whole game, only one run-through with the character. Yes, you are right, I'm going to hit 8 million XP somewhere during Chapter 6...and then I dual-class.

Its not going to be THAT hard...because I'm going to be preparing my game in a particular manner.

Oh and btw...I'm NOT playing the game on Insane, just Core rules...its hard enuf as is! ;)

What else did I fail to address? Lets see...

@Camdawg: Wow, thanks, that is one COOL mod! :cool:

@Everyone else: I'm not going to post too much stuff over the next few days...mostly because the Mage part of the solo is nothing great anyways.

Faraaz, if I were you, I would buy any useful scroll I found in my way.
Especially Prot.f.magical weapons,stoneskin,mirror-image and every spell-scroll you like using a lot.

You may need them in the future ... ;)

@thetruth: Yep...I've learnt a couple of things through reading about your adventures mate, and the most important thing is...You have to be a pack rat to be good at these difficult encounters! :D My bag of holding is full of all sorts of scrolls, items, equipment and other miscellaneous junk.

Ah well...

UPDATE: In the Underdark now, I helped that Vithal dude out, and he gave me a Time Stop scroll and Wail of the Banshee scroll!! :D Wow! :eek: Incendiary Cloud and Nahal's Reckless Dweomer -> Incendiary Cloud(s) were a big help in getting rid of those elementals in the portals.

Also, I've got another levelup to 19 now, and I picked Summon Planetar! :D

Just in case this happens to you too. (http://www.sorcerers.net/ubb/ultimatebb.php?/topic/2/8055.html)

@Felinoid...ah, thanks! :D I've never really had any problems like that, but if I do...hm, it should come in handy. :)

Edit: Seeing as no one has posted again, I'm forced to edit my last post to give an update!

Lets see...SO Much has happened since I last posted.

But, alas, due to work and deadlines, I don't think I'll be able to post too much.

In a nutshell...I have dual-classed to Cleric AND re-activated my previous class!!!! :D :D

When I left the Underdark and re-emerged, I was around lvl 26-28 Mage. I then went ahead and finished the Umar Hills quest which pushed me up to lvl 29, then I finished off the three dragons in Small Teeth pass as well as various other quests and a few random encounters. This pushed me up to lvl 30 eventually.

After that, I just sat and went through my Bag of Holding, erasing and memorising spells till I hit lvl 31! :p So sue me...I couldn't wait to dual-class! :D

When I DID dualclass, I did the following quests:
Collected all the saved up XP from before I left for the Underdark...(pushed me to lvl 11 approx.)

Firkraag
Trademeet
Bridge District Murders
Bodhi and the Rhynn Lanthorn
De'Arnise Keep
Planar Sphere

After this, I headed off to Watcher's Keep. Also around this time, I had got FoA +3 and Crom Faeyr.

When I entered Watcher's Keep I was lvl 22-24 approx. Right now...I'm on lvl 3 of Watcher's Keep, about to enter lvl 4, where I have stopped for today! :) I'm lvl 32 Cleric with approx. 5.7 million XP. Reactivating was easy...also, lvl 3 of WK is just FILLED with easy XP!! Just buff yourself up and wack all those pesky demons for loads of XP! :) Globe of Blades really helps, as do Energy Blades and Implosion.

Aesgareth's band was slaughtered for the XP unfortunately, and this was the last push I needed to hit lvl 32.

From here on out...its just CARNAGE!! :evil:

PS: It was REALLY easy playing with a Cleric...is it just me? I got my AC down to -17 and then just hit ppl over the head with FoA till they died. It took AGES...but I didn't care! :D Also...Firkraag went down to Harm, those Rune Assassins went down to Globe of Blades + Sanctuary...Vampires I just turned etc etc...

[ March 27, 2006, 12:20: Message edited by: Faraaz ]

^Another player proves that high level clerics are just powerful. We all know how high level arch-mages are powerful too. But a level 31 arch-mage plus a level 32+ hierophant? Oh my...and I thought my PC was the most powerfull... :shake:

Congratulations, pal, are you afraid that the game will be boringly easy from now on?

And I must admit you played really fast. Good job!

@ Faraaz


:jawdrop: Wow ,that was really fast. You have almost finished SoA in something more than 10 days real time :eek:

Good job :thumb: You didn't seem to have any problems reactivating your mage class.


And some questions:


- What was the most difficult fight so far ?

- Have you finished all the quests-fights in SoA (before ch.7 of course) ?

- How did you kill improved Bodhi without HLAs? If I am not wrong you faced her before level 22 or not ?


But now you will have a little problem.The game will become too easy for you ;)
Although there are still some challenging fights ahead (especially imp. Irenicus).

Keep us updated ...

@thetruth: Okay...if you think THAT was fast...I've finished Improved Demogorgon AND Improved Irenicus AND Improved Illasera (who was a pushover ) and about to start on Improved Gromnir's dungeon as of now!

Before I get started though, a couple of questions...

HOW do you fight that Vecna dude and the other bosses from the Improved Planar Sphere Quests? I finished the whole quest, AND all the stronghold quests...and couldn't find them anywhere!!

Well...RIGHT before I enter Suldenesselar I've got a savefile ready, so once I figure this out, I should be able to take those guys on!

Now for the update:

After having left off at lvl 4 of WK...I went in, found a bunch of Illithids etc, Project Image-> Planetar x5 SPAM!! Ah, I missed doing all these things!! :evil: Anyway...I finished the entire level this way. The Dragon went down to Imp. Alacrity + Lower MRx4 + Greater Malison + Doom(x6!!!)+ Finger of Death.

I'm really appreciating the usefulness of Cleric/Mage overpoweredness at the moment!

After lvl 4 with nothing else that great, I went down to level 5. This one was easy as well. Just turn undead for all the undeads, Planetars for all the other critters, that Deconstructor club from the BoM itempack for the Golems etc.

Anyway...the final battle with the Guardians was too easy...I've got screenshots uploading, I'll edit this later on with the links.

The Final Guardian group with Ytossi et. al was a bit hard though. The first few times, that stupid Hive Mother kept hitting me with that unblockable dispel, and Anti-Magic Ray...until I remembered that I had Shield of Balduran!! I put it on, but it still didn't help against that Anti-magic Ray. So...here's what I did...

Before the fight started, I cast my usual buffs -> Stoneskin, Spirit Armor, Improved Invisibility, Mirror Image, Free Action, Chaotic COmmands, Remove Fear, Spell Immunity Abjuration, Spell Immunity Divination, then I opened the seal, and immediately started casting Improved Alacrity...luckily, it finished casting just when their party spawned...then it was Time Stop immediately, with my fingers crossed that the Hive Mother wouldn't hit me with that gay ray again...and YES!! It went off fine...now for the bombardment!

I tried casting stuff like Skull Trap, Abi Dalzim's Horrid Wilting etc the last couple of tries, but the HM had loads of MR...so...desperate times and all that...I just started spamming all 7-9 of my Implosions on it. It had Stoneskins active, so half my damage was wasted, but I didn't care...I got it down to Badly Injured, then I chucked out a Dragon's Breath and poof! No more HM!! Once the first Imp. Alacrity ran out, I started casting my second Time Stop...got interrupted...no matter. Quick pause, switch over to FoA + CF, melee that archer dude a little, then try casting Time Stop again...this time it went off. Now...I just spammed Lower MR, some 6 ADHW, 6 Skulltraps, 4-5 Sunfires etc...everything died!

Okay...Improved Demogorgon next.

Note...by this time, I was about 100,000 xp away from Lvl 40.

For Improved Demogorgon, I did NOT want to mess around. I set up a Chain Contingency with 3x Pierce Shield, then I cast Improved Alacrity BEFORE talkin to him and making him show himself. Then I kept my eyes peeled at the info bar. The minute the CC triggered, I started spamming ADHW like crazy, and at the end of it, he made his save EVERYTIME, and he was only down to Nearly Dead...then I hit him over the head with my Staff of the Ram +4 and he popped it!! Then it was mostly a matter of spamming Timestop + Improved Alacrity for the demons which were left over.

Okay...now I spent the rest of my time doing my Stronghold quests I had neglected, and tried to activate those improved Planar Sphere boss fights, but to no avail. Again...need help with this please.

Went off to Suldenesselar, nothing noteworthy here...everything is TOO EASY!! :o Nizdramaniyyt (sp?) fell to 3 LowerMR+GM+7 Dooms+FoD! :D I love this combination for Dragon Slaying.

Ahh...if Improved Alacrity weren't in this game, what oh what would I have done? :D

Okay...next, I took on Irenicus on the Tree of Life, which was a JOKE of a battle if you ask me. All I did was melee him with my ridiculous 2 attacks (+1 from Oil of Speed) per round with the Staff of the Magi...and he died!! (Of course, I was wearing Cloak of Mirroring at the time, but STILL!!)

Now for Improved Irenicus (II)!! :evil:

Oh and in case anyone is interested, I did all the hell trials in the good way. 20 WIS!! :eek:

Anyway...once the fight started, my Amulet of Power was taken away, after which I got NAILED with that Dragon's Breath...level drained to lvl 34 in the blink of an eye!! :(

So...in response to that complete and utterly unreasonable SPAM, I just spammed him right back! I took off Shield of Balduran, Crom Faeyr, Staff of the Magi, Amulet of Power, Cloak of Mirroring etc and put them on the ground right next to my spawn point. Then I cast all my protections which I mentioned above and can't go through typing out again... :p Oh and one more addition to that list, Chain Contingency, Project Image x3 on Helpless!! This is just EVIL!! :evil:

Now, I had 4 Project Images, and all these enemies before me! For the sake of simplicity, lets arbitrarily label them as I1, I2, I3 and I4.

All start casting Time Stop at the same time, with about half a second delay in between. IIRC, they don't attack you for the first 3 seconds or so...Robe of Vecna + Amulet of Power + Archmage Gloves (BoM Itempack) really help you to get these off ASAP! :) Anyway...once they went off here's what happened (simultaneously mind you)...

I1 - Dragon -> Lower MR x 3 + Greater Malison + Doomx4 + Skull Trap x 6 + ADHW x 3.

I2 - Wraith -> Summon Planetar x4, ADHW X4 on the Sword.

I3 - Orb of Fear -> Magic Missile, Ruby Ray of Reversal, Pierce Shield x1, Lower MR x3, ADHWx4, Implosion X4

I4 - Wraith -> Summon Planetar x4, ADHW on Orb of Fear, Skull Traps on Shadows and Hobgoblins. (Note, I have NO idea where these came from).

I'm assuming you guys know I cast Imp. Alacrity before hand...I'm not going to be repeating myself over and over again.

Anyway...when I came out of the time stop...all my Project Images were gone!! Gah, I wish BG2 had an 'mp_friendlyfire 0' setting! Anyway, the Sword, Wraith, Dragon were all dead. The Beholder was still alive for some reason!! :mad: I just sent two of the Planetars over for a mop up job.

Only guy left was the Selfish Irenicus. This is CRAZY!! This is why I hate Imp. Irenicus! THIS is why I REALLY enjoyed kicking his ass!

He casts Prot. from Magic Weapons over and over again. Normal weapons don't hit him I'm assuming, I couldn't keep up with his Dimension Door. Yes, that's right, 25 Dimension Doors in 25 rounds? Gimme a break. I had positioned my Planetars all over the arena...but to no avail.

Anyway...at the end of a LONG period of Stalemate, my spells would not affect him and after trying in the beginning, I just gave up and settled down to running around with my Cloak of Mirroring on. All my Planetars unsummoned, this guy couldn't hurt me.. (Ilyena - Spell Ineffective!! :banana: )

After a period of time, I dunno why, I could hit him!! But he kept teleporting away...when I hit upon an idea. Well, more like FINALLY struck, because its obvious really...Boots of the Hornet go on, Crom Faeyr in off Hand, Skullcracker mace or something, the one with bonus damage to Humanoids, improved with the Item Upgrade mod...in main hand. Drank an Oil of Speed...then hit him once. Once he started casting DD, I cast Time Stop. He was still in front of me, when the TS trigerred. I got another hit in on him. He teleported away, but he DID NOT HEAL!!!!

I ran up to him and hit him again and again, and he died by the end of my Time Stop. Mind you, I was getting him for 32-35 damage a hit!

Anyway...the Slayer came in, but this bit was EASY. I just cast Stoneskin, Spirit Armor, Mirror Image again, then put all my items back on. Summoned Improved Kitthix to act as a meat shield, and then summoned a Planetar as well, then continued meleeing him as before. And he died in like 4 rounds...pitiful! :)

The third phase was annoying. I hit him and he runs away again. So...I set Autopause to End Round, and then timed it so his Prot. from Magic Weapons ran out, and cast Time Stop with precise timing, same as for Selfish Irenicus...and it worked!! He cannot heal during Time Stop!! :D

And then he died...hehehe.

I'm having troubles with Photobucket. The images are uploaded, but the site is undergoing maintenance apparently, so I'll edit with the links later on. I also managed to get some WICKED wild surges SS'd...

Anyway...thats all for now, I'll post again later.

Edit: As promised...here are the screenshots...

WK Lvl 3...getting MAD xp for Demon Slaying... (http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i86/oxblood420/demonroom1.jpg)
Crazy wild surge when up against the Final Guardians (http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i86/oxblood420/wildsurge.jpg)
DOOM DOOM DOOM!! Deakin Style! (http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i86/oxblood420/ytossibitesthedust.jpg)
Demogorgon (http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i86/oxblood420/demogorgonkilled.jpg)
This surge is crazy... (http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i86/oxblood420/WILDwildsurge.jpg)

Improved Irenicus SS:
It begins... (http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i86/oxblood420/ImprovedIrenicusBeginning.jpg)
Part one... (http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i86/oxblood420/phaseonecomplete.jpg)
Part Two... (http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i86/oxblood420/phasethree.jpg)
Slayer Irenicus...but no spells left! (http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i86/oxblood420/phase3begin.jpg)
Timestop Melee... (http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i86/oxblood420/EATTHIS.jpg)

[ March 28, 2006, 16:29: Message edited by: Faraaz ]

^Hah! That was awesome display of godly magical prowess, my friend. Congratulations!

Though I admit you use a lot of cheese. 4 PIs and multiple planetars, plus stacking dooms! :shake: Don't get me wrong, I loved these methods and have used them before. But nowadays I rule myself not to abuse game engine to my own evil ways. :p It makes the game way too boring and easy, even with all those mods and insane difficulties.

So try without these cheese next time. I am attempting such a run right now. Wish me luck!

@Silverstar: I only use such spam for Improved Irenicus, because I HATE how unreasonable the fight is...

SO yeah, its cheese, but look at it this way...if a newbie who didn't use cheese tried to take him on in the honest spirit of the game, he'd get CREAMED!

Besides, you'll notice I didn't do that Planetar trick with the Final Guardians or Demogorgon...JUST Improved Irenicus, cuz I hate the bugger. :flaming:

Edit: Forgot to add...I used a Nahal's Reckless Dweomer -> Wish while fighting Irenicus, the Shattered One and got the sleep for a night etc etc option!! :D Man, was I lucky! :D

Edit Again:YAY!! New Gem!! Jus seven more to go! :)

^Well, you still call yourself newbie? :shake: You are soloing with the hardest possible battles, and I am sure you could beat them without cheese, abeit it would be harder...and fun!

PS:From now on you will get new gems at each next 150 posts! Good luck pal! :roll:

Not a newbie really...trying to look at it from the point of view of the guys who wrote the Tactics mod...and then exploit it every which way I can.

Honestly, do you think Imp. Irenicus is a legal, normal fight? Shatter Magic anyone? :bs:

Shatter Magic, Endless spells, dimension door around, unlimited healing, heh heh heh very cleverly prepared mod indeed. :thumb: He is IRENICUS afterall, he needed to be as strong as those in cut-scenes! IMHO.

And yet...falls to the might of the Cloak of Mirroring! :D Heh..I don't care if its cheating to put it on the ground before the fight...I AM a "lvl 31 Archmage, lvl 40 Hierophant" with 19 Int and 20 Wis after all... :p

Hey Faraaz, WAIT !! I have started first,you can't finish the game before me ! :p :D


Hehe,I could imagine what whould happen after reactivating your mage class.I didn't have any doubt about the power of a normal mage/cleric.
Not a dualled wildmage-cleric with 30 levels in each class ;)

I think that now you could definitively raise the difficulty to insane.Nothing to be afraid of anymore :)

Very cool the screenshots,btw :thumb:
These wild surges are just awesome !




HOW do you fight that Vecna dude and the other bosses from the Improved Planar Sphere Quests? I finished the whole quest, AND all the stronghold quests...and couldn't find them anywhere!! I had the same problem.From the read-me : ...After you have completed the old Planar Sphere's quests,simply create the creature psq01 with the Cheat Console on the first level of the Planar Sphere and you can start the mini mod...

It will create Teos again and you can start the mod ...


Doom(x6!!!) IIRC if you have the Baldurdash fix-pack, dooms will not stack.


@ Silverstar:


... But nowadays I rule myself not to abuse game engine to my own evil ways... :banana: Silverstar's conversion is on the right way.I can see it ... Some more time and you will be like Valygar,you will hate any magic user :lol:

Seriously though, mage-classes are too powerful in BG2.Even if you don't use ''cheese'', they have too many ways to deal with every situation.
Not abusing the game engine or limiting yourself in the use of some spells-tactics will make the game much more challenging but still far from impossible.The only way I have found to counteract this is to ...not use a mage at all.It added a lot of replayability in the game.At least for me...

That's part of why I like Wild Mages. Any spell they need with just a little purposefully called on risk.

@thetruth: Could it be that you have forgotten? The whole POINT of this character was a cheesy overpowered caster who could absolutely pwn everything in the game without breaking a sweat...er...just dual-classed instead of multiclassed... :grin:

And your going to have a bit of catching up to do mate, I'm already in Amkethran, and off to fight Improved Sendai! :D I didn't take any screenshots of Yagashura, as I was in a hurry today between classes.. :roll:

Ah well...Sendai will be much more fun anyways! :)

Btw...I used your trick for Yagashura...Harm + Melee...however, since I AM a lvl 31 Mage as well...( :cool: ) I did that AFTER casting Timestop! :banana:

Hmm...I didn't bother killing those dudes at the Oasis...I mean, honestly, I don't care about XP, I slammed that Tombelthen dude with a FoD, no greater malison, or dooms! :p I let the rest get away with their lives.

Also, I am seriously grateful to you guys who told me to switch to Wild Mage. Nahal's Reckless Dweomer just ROCKS!! So much so that I've removed all the lvl 1 Magic Missiles I usually keep around, and switched over to Nahal's Reckless Dweomer.

And lastly, a bit of useless info...I completed Improved Gromnir, Fire Giant Lair, Yagashura , the Wraiths, Nyalee etc etc without resting a single time! :cool:

Cleric/Mage with Project Image rocks and Simulacrum rocks! :D

Edit: @Starwalker: What risk?? Hehe...once you're on the higher side of levels and have Improved Chaos Shield active, you have NOTHING to worry about. I get spells cast normally with NRD about 80% of the time, and the other 20% I get roll twice more, no save etc. This spell is wicked!

Well I am glad that you are enjoying your wild wild mage/cleric!

Screenshots are so very awesome indeed! Fantastic job! A very dramatic scene, when your poor lass is casting heal on herself when badly wounded and barely succeeds! YAY!

Then you blast Irenicus the Shattered One into tiny pieces of meat in a Time Stop! SHATTERED ONE indeed! :lol:

I am overjoyed to see that you use IWD casting graphics too! I think they are much better looking than BG2's simple casting circles. Though I thought I was the ONLY blasphamer to use them!

@thetruth

I am really addicted to magic, especially mage spells. I can not think a run without them for now. Though I really want to limit some cheese. No game engine abuse with 4PIs, stacking dooms, multiple planetars etc. I will also rule that a mage can only cast ONE IA per day since the spell is so very exhausting. Truly if someone could made a little mod to edit cheesy IA this way, with fatigue effect also, I will love it.

@Silverstar: I guess I'm a pure munchkin at heart. All this fair/unfair logic...I don't get it. And yeah...ToB is being played on Insane. I forgot to add that. Improved Irenicus was Core IIRC, but I think I can take it up a notch with ToB! :D

Edit: Forgot to add this one...funniest wild surge ever!

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i86/oxblood420/irenicus.jpg

^Oh the infamous cow surge! What does it do?

AFAIK, nothing much...but then I was buffed as well, so ... hmm, it seemed to explode for some strange reason! :D

It lands on your head. Goes boom. And can deal out a serious chunk of damage.

Faraaz. you still get certain annoying ones at high level but they are a lot rarer. I meant worth it at the low levels.

The bird magic one for example is a non-magic affect. And you will still get the "Oo what's in my pack?" or the like on occassion.

Double Length Time Stop+Refresh of your spell book when your spells are almost gone is still my favorite combination that I've seen. Took out Yaga Sura in a single time stop that way as well as all of his luitenants.

That happened to me today while fighting Improved Abazigal. I succesfully managed to disable his protections, and I was managing to hit him with Skull Traps, so I didn't want to stop and in my Imp. Alac. frenzy, I just pumped out my entire spell book at him. He died...but the other purple dragon was still alive, and I had almost no spells left.

I was casting ADHW if I remember correctly, my last one...and I got Wild Surge - Roll Twice, and one of the extra wild surges was "I feel refreshed!" :D :D I love Wild Mages SOOOO much!

yeah. you get the right wild surge combinations you seriously out strip Edwin's wildest dreams about magical power let alone what he is really capable of even with his extra spell slots.

Sadly. solo you won't get to see the power of area affect Tensor's Transformation.

I did that AFTER casting Timestop and one of the extra wild surges was "I feel refreshed!" I HATE those wild mage-clerics !!! :mad: :( :p

:lol:

No reason to be mad, thetruth, I am sure your purest cleric rocks too! And I guess he is more worthy in the eyes of Lathander!

:lol:

@thetruth: AND MINE!! :) You're revolutionary! I'm just a munchkin... :hahaerr:

UPDATE:

Okay, as of now, I've finished with Improved Abazigal, Sendai, Ravager and the Ritual, so I thought I'd post about that.

First off...for Abazigal, I just cast Time Stop, then Harm'd all the mini drakes. After that, a Sunfire took care of them! :D

Abazigal went down to a few Lower MR's + Harm + Magic Missile in his human form.

When he became a dragon, I cast RRoR, Pierce Shield, Lower MR x 2, Greater Malison, Doom, ADHWx5-6 or so and he died...

That purple dragon was annoying because it was immune to all my damage types! Immune to plain magic damage, fire damage and my SotM dispel wouldn't work because it kept casting Prot. from Magic Weapons. This was frustrating as I had already lowered his MR, and Greater Malison'd him.

Finger of Death I tried a couple of times. Didn't work either. I just gave up and cast a Planetar (which cast Globe of Blades on itself)... And eventually, he died as well. Boring no? :D I've got a few screenshots here, if anyone cares...

It starts.. (http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i86/oxblood420/1abazigalfight1.jpg)
Time stop.. (http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i86/oxblood420/2abazigaltimestop1before.jpg)
Time stop's after math... (http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i86/oxblood420/3abazigaltimestop1after.jpg)
Now we start on Abazigal and Tamah.. (http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i86/oxblood420/4abazigaldrakesdeadtamahnext.jpg)
Abazigal dead... (http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i86/oxblood420/5Abazigaldeadtamahnext.jpg)
A wild surge with DRAGON's Breath!! (http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i86/oxblood420/6AbazigalMopUpDragonBreathSURGE.jpg)
All done.. (http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i86/oxblood420/7abazigalfinished.jpg)

Now that that's done, I started off with Improved Sendai...who I don't think was improved. I mean, I've got tactics installed, as well as Ascension with all the improved battles, and she didn't do all that stuff like Project Image and ranged Harms and what not...although, I must admit I didn't give her much of a chance to... :cool:

I guess it WAS an improved version, as all the drow were high level priests and mages and really annoying warriors and what not. Anyways...here's how it went.

I melee'd her. Plain and simple. I cast Stoneskin, Mirror Image, Improved Haste. Then I cast DUHM for 25 STR...then I beat her over the head with my big stick till she died. Over and over and over again... :p No kidding. Check it out.

This is crazy...I'm a solo mage/cleric! Not a kensai! (http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i86/oxblood420/1improvedsendaiphase1guesswhatimdoi.jpg)
Second clone...I think... (http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i86/oxblood420/2ImprovedSendaiPhase2Imactuallymele.jpg)
Third clone and some drow... (http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i86/oxblood420/3ImprovedSendaiPhase3Onespelltorule.jpg)

Fourth clone... (http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i86/oxblood420/4ImprovedSendaiPhase4Bigsticksworkw.jpg)
Fifth clone... (http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i86/oxblood420/5ImprovedSendaiPhase5DicedSendai.jpg)
Weapon Ineffective!! This can't be Improved Sendai!! (http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i86/oxblood420/6ImprovedSendaiPhase6-WeaponIneffec.jpg)
Run for your life!! Aaargh!! (http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i86/oxblood420/7ImprovedSendaiPhase6-MORALEFAILURE.jpg)
WTF? This one didn't even do anything...just stood there and died... (http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i86/oxblood420/8ImprovedSendaiPhase7-WTFShedidntdo.jpg)
Casting failure? I thought she had force spells... (http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i86/oxblood420/9ImprovedSendaiFINALcastingfailure.jpg)
Dead drow... (http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i86/oxblood420/10ImprovedSendaiFinalShesdead.jpg)

Okay...I guess that's pretty self explanatory how I killed her. I kept alternating between SotM to dispel her protections, then SotR +6 to damage her. I was going alright actually, I managed to hit her twice a round for around 30+ damage...In between, I got really bored, because she wasn't dying fast enough, so I cast a Firestorm once, and a Dragon's Breath to kill some Drow...and that was it.

And I checked my THAC0...it was -8 with base thac0 of 0. Is that normal for a Mage/Cleric?

PS: Forgot to add...here's some fun screenshots I managed to take while getting to Sendai...

Ogremoch the fearsome squirrel!! PH34R MY WRATH!! (http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i86/oxblood420/OgremochthefearsomeSquirrelOoo.jpg)

Wow...I'm supposed to be a non melee class... (http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i86/oxblood420/criticalhitbuffed72.jpg)

I got a wild surge while casting priest spells!! This one's crummy...but still interesting! (http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i86/oxblood420/HarmSurge.jpg)

[ April 01, 2006, 12:21: Message edited by: Faraaz ]

Hehe, THIS is true powergaming ...

:thumb: Again very cool screenshots


she didn't do all that stuff like Project Image That was not improved Sendai.Have you installed Oversight's mod ?


And I checked my THAC0...it was -8 with base thac0 of 0. Is that normal for a Mage/Cleric? With buffs it's possible but...70 dmg :eek:
Are we sure you are not a Kensai-Wild Mage-Cleric? :lol: :p

WHAT?? Yikes! I'm already at the final battle of Ascension, and I don't have a save to go back to! NOoooo!! Woe is me! :(

Does CreateCreature() work for Improved Sendai? If so...I could have an impromptu sparring session in my own personal Pocket Plane and send screenshots of that in...but I dunno if the clones and stuff would work.

Help?

Edit: HOW? I have Improved Sendai installed...I checked after the fight, by opening up Setup-Ascension.exe (sp?) and going through every option. It said Reinstall, Uninstall, No change, Quit for Improved Sendai...so what went wrong?

Ascension has its own Sendai.
It doesn't use Oversight mod's Sendai.

Anyway Oversight's Sendai must be faced in her enclave.There are also the drows...
If you install Oversight mod and CLUA her in it will not be the same...
Anyway you will see her the next time if you want :D

But I don't have Oversight installed... :confused:

There is no problem Faraaz.
Ascension battle will be exactly the same even without Oversight mod.

You can fight improved Sendai,in your next game...Don't worry ;)


EDIT : I just realized that you probably don't have Improved Battles mod too ? Elite Fire Giants are immune to Harm if you have that mod since it gives them 110 MR...

And the mighty Ogremoch ... squirrel ?? :eek: :lol: :thumb:

[ April 01, 2006, 13:59: Message edited by: thetruth ]

Well, then you are lucky, you will have something new to see in your next run! Definitely get Oversight mod for REALLY improved Sendai and play on insane. She is soo smart, so powerful, so deadly, I can never tell enough!

Umm yes Improved Battles Firegiants are SOMETHING. With force-cast stoneskins, protection from elements, and hefty resistances, as well as deadly powers of improved Fgiants...they are so much fun! Really!

Anyway. On to sweet Ascension then! ;)

Bah...I'm having troubles with that Fallen Planetar and its crummy Arrows of Dispelling.

The thing is, I don't want to use spells too much before I get to the Five...and Project Image just isn't able to cut it. I can't get Improved Alacrity off...I get interrupted by either the Planetar, or Irenicus. At most...I've been able to kill Irenicus, Bodhi and Slayer Imoen...the Planetar is FAST!! :eek: Can't catch up to it.

I'm seriously considering just using Nahal's Reckless Dweomer -> Imprisonment.

Would that be cheating? :angel:

Do you hvae Boots of something from Ritual Quest? They should protect agianst the dispelling of the nasty Planetar.

You do not have to kill Slayer Imoen! She is INNOCENT! :nono: :toofar:

I've been able to kill... Slayer Imoen... NOOO ! :eek:

Poor Immy.RELOAD :D
If you wait some time she returns in her human form and leaves ;)


For the Fallen Solar use the shield of Reflection.Also I don't know why but these Solars move at 4x speed (like with boots of speed AND hasted) :mad:
And there are MORE of them later :eek:

And a question :

Who is more powerful in your opinion Faraaz : a Sorcerer or a Wild Mage (pure class).I can't decide who is better...

Wild Mage is a LOT more powerful...

Mostly because you have Nahal's Reckless Dweomer...they make your scrolls obsolete! Just scribe everything and let it rip! I've played multiple (read 30+) times solo and with a party, with a PC who was a sorcerer.

This is the first time I've extensively used a Wild Mage in this sort of runthrough, and I must say...I'm completely blown away! :D You get the benefits of a specialist kit which puts you on par with a sorcerer as far as spellcasting power goes, and you get certain amount of flexibility as far as your spell casting goes...a tradeoff if you will between a normal mage and a sorcerer.

Also...mostly because I have nothing better to do, some more reasons a Wild Mage is cool...

Ilyena casts Finger of Death
Wild Surge - NO Save!

Ilyena casts Abi Dalzim's Horrid Wilting
Wild Surge - Roll 4 more times!
Wild Surge - NO Save!
Wild Surge - I feel refreshed!
Wild Surge - Double Hitpoints!
Wild Surge - Squirrels Squirrels everywhere!! :D

Ilyena casts Haste
Wild Surge - Hastened (Very funny when it happened to me! :D )

I could go on and on, but you get the point...this can NEVER happen with a Sorcerer!

That "feel refreshed" surge saved my butt when I was fighting Improved Irenicus.

And I forgot to add...Nahal's Reckless Dweomer does not count towards your one spell per round limit. Theoretically...that's a free permanent Improved Alacrity...

Who do YOU think is more powerful? :D

Edit: Forgot to add...hmm, didn't know that about Imoen...I killed her mostly because she attacked me and I assumed I'm supposed to kill her...I don't really care much either way. I'm Lawful Neutral... :p

About the Planetar...yes, I could take care of the Missiles, but how do you stop it in one place? Its got like 90% MR I think...I keep hitting it with Lower MR multiple times, and I still get Fallen Planetar - Magic Resistance messages all the time... :(

By the time I cast ADHW, it runs away! You know, I once cast Time Stop and three ADHW...when it finished, the damned thing actually RAN OUT of the blast zone before the ADHW's could trigger!! :eek: That's just crazy...

Then summon nasty fodders to kill the cursed Planetar fast. And use Energy Baldes maybe, they will hit, no matter how fast she is. Why don't you summon your own Planetar to counter her?

Because I want to save it all for the Five! And I DID summon a Planetar...it got level drained before I could blink by Bodhi. :(

Besides, I could just use cheesy tactics and refresh my spells...have you read Xyx's spell pages? :p But I don't want to...you lot are infecting my pure munchkinised mind! :D

Umm, what is Xyx's spell pages? :confused:

I've played multiple (read 30+) times solo and with a party, with a PC who was a sorcerer Hehe.I think that I can trust him :D

So probably Wild Mage is the most powerful class in the game...
Although I will never forget what my Berserker-Mage could do during his timestops ... :bigeyes:
:hahaerr:

What? You haven't read them? WOW...that's like the Bible of advanced Baldurs Gate II spell casting...it'll really get you psyched...well, if you're a mage nerd like me I suppose! :D Hang on whilst I go google the link up.

Hmm...funny, I can't seem to find the pages. All I come up with are Forgotten Wars forum posts.

Well...I've got the pages on my drive at home, so I'll see if they can be put up somewhere...alternatively, if someone knows the link for them, they could post it here I guess.

Basically, its a number of webpages, where Xyx (I assume) discusses all the priest and mage spells in the game, along with interesting tidbits regarding each spell you might not always know. Its usually minor details such as different save bonuses for similar spells you might not have known about earlier etc.

Also...there are the Endless Spell pages. On these, he tells you how to utilise a Project Image, Spell Trap and Power Word spells to regenerate the spells you've cast. Its very micromanagement intensive, but theoretically...you cast Project Image, and recharge your spells via spell trap using that Project Image, hence getting unlimited spells.

Rinse and Repeat! Its a loop, so you could theoretically do it for ever. Only applies once you have access to atleast 2 lvl 9 spells though.

However...it could save your butt during Ascension. I'm still fuzzy about this at the moment, but I'll go read them again, and post the relevant bits.

^I am waiting!

Why yes Wild mage seems so promising, thrilling, full of suprises, and FUN! I may really try it someday! I take a mental note! :p

1) Bodhi can be turned now ;)

2) Use your spells and then cast Wish.You don't need to trouble yourself.This battle is too insane ...

3)Cleric's buffs + Tenser's Transformation + Improved Haste(dualwielding) + Timestop = 2 dead Fallen Solars ;)


EDIT : Oops NO Tenser's T. - I mean Holy Power :D

[ April 01, 2006, 16:38: Message edited by: thetruth ]

Yay...found the link...

http://members.chello.nl/~j.vanthull/BG2SR/Home.html

http://members.chello.nl/~j.vanthull/BG2SR/EndlessSpells.htm

I'll post the relevant bits here:
(Note: These are all word for word from Xyx's Spell Reference, no copyright infringement intended, etc etc)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Spell Trap (budget version)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The basic idea is that you cast Spell Trap and let your clones recharge your spells by casting Power Words at you. Since one clone can cast a lot of free spells, you can fully recharge your spellbook.

This cheap version uses a bare minimum of spells and is effective outside combat only.

Minimum requirements:

Spell Trap, memorized.
Project Image, memorized.
Power Word, Kill, memorized or on a scroll in a quickslot.
Power Word, Stun, memorized or on a scroll in a quickslot.
How it works:

Memorize the spells and place the scrolls in the quickslots.
Cast Spell Trap.
Cast Project Image.
Command the Image to cast both Power Words at you. This recharges your spells. The cycle is complete. Now reap the rewards.
You now have a free Image. Have fun.

Tips and tricks:

Have the Image summon more minions. Planetars, Mordenkainen's Swords and more clones make good pets. Build up a free army. Send them on a rampage guided by Wizard Eye or Farsight (cast by the clones, of course).
Have the Image cast enhancements on your party. Improved Haste, the Limited Wish Minor Globes of Invulnerability and the Limited Wish Negative Plane Protections are always nice if they're free. Cleric/Mages could add Chaotic Commands, Free Action and healing spells to that.
Watch out for enemy True Sight; it'll kill your Image.
Use Simulacrum instead of Project Image to get a clone that can act alongside you. You'll need Bigby's Clenched Fist or Maze instead of Power Word, Stun to recharge it. A Simulacrum has less spells than an Image. Organize your spellbook accordingly.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spell Trap (power version)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As with the cheap version, the idea is that you cast Spell Trap and let your clones recharge your spells by casting spells at you. This version employs a Chain Contingency and Time Stops and requires no preparation right before combat. This one is a little more complicated.

The Auto-Pause: Spell Cast game option is important to avoid wasting time. The instructions below assume you cast from memory and use the Auto-Pause. The Auto-Pause does not trigger if you use scrolls, so if you do you'll need to pause the game yourself (spacebar is easiest).

Minimum requirements:

Chain Contingency, memorized.
Spell Trap, memorized.
Two Project Images, memorized.
Two Time Stops, memorized or on scrolls in a quickslot.
Power Word, Kill, memorized or on a scroll in a quickslot.
Power Word, Stun, memorized or on a scroll in a quickslot.
How it works:

Memorize the spells, place the scrolls in the quickslots and set the game to Auto-Pause at Spell Cast.
Get into a fight!
Cast Spell Trap. The game pauses.
Cast Chain Contingency (while the game is still paused). Load it with two Project Images (leave the third slot empty). Set the Condition to See Enemy and the Target to Self.
Unpause and wait for your Images to appear, then immediately pause the game again.
Select one Image and command it to cast Time Stop, then hit the spacebar twice to quickly unpause and pause again.
Select the other image and command it to cast Time Stop as well. Thanks to the quick unpause and pause, the two Images will cast slightly out of sync.
Unpause and wait for the first Time Stop. The game pauses.
Command the first Image to cast its first Power Word at you (doesn't matter which one).
Unpause and wait for the Power Word. The game pauses.
Command the first Image to cast its other Power Word at you.
Unpause and wait for the other Power Word. The game pauses.
Command the first Image to cast its next Time Stop.
Unpause and wait. The first Image's Time Stop will expire a fraction before the second Image finishes casting its Time Stop. Time will briefly resume, then stop again. When it does, immediately pause the game.
Command the second Image to cast its first Power Word at you (doesn't matter which one).
Unpause and wait for the Power Word. The game pauses.
Command the second Image to cast its other Power Word at you.
Unpause and wait for the other Power Word. The game pauses. You have now recharged all the spells you just cast. The cycle is completed, but you have yet to reap the rewards.
Command the second Image to cast its next Time Stop.
Unpause and wait. The second Image's Time Stop will expire a fraction before the first Image finishes casting its second Time Stop. Time will briefly resume, then stop again. When it does, immediately pause the game.
Go nuts. You have three rounds to let the first Image do whatever you like. Then, when its Time Stop runs out, the second Image will take over almost immediately, giving you another three rounds.
You basically get the chance to unload your spellbook for free, twice, in only two rounds!

Tips and tricks:

Have the Images cast Improved Alacrity. Especially if you have the Robe of Vecna, this will greatly increase the number of spells the clones can cast during their Time Stops. Who needs Wish for a double length Time Stop and Improved Alacrity?
Get more Time Stops, memorized or on scrolls. Just string them together, the Images taking turns. You can't use more than six total since your clones won't last that long.
Cast the initial Time Stops from scrolls so they cannot be disrupted.
Get Power Word scrolls instead of memorizing them. That way you can be lazy and just click three quickslots in a row. Ideal for the mage that likes to do this every battle. Even better, get two scrolls of Power Word, Kill so you need only one quickslot. Power Word, Kill will recharge Simulacrum or Project Image if you have no empty slots at higher levels.
Swap an Image for a Simulacrum (two Simulacra won't work) if you fear True Sight, Dispel Magic or Remove Magic (which can kill Images) or if you want some melee action out of your clone. You' ll need Bigby's Clenched Fist or Maze instead of Power Word, Stun to recharge it. A Simulacrum has less spells than an Image. Organize your spellbook accordingly.
If one of the clones gets killed, try to let the other clone take over. If it has twice the needed amount of Time Stops and Power Words it can keep the combo going on its own.
Let your clones make more clones for even more free spells. Cast Simulacrum after the clones finish their Power Word chores, cast Project Image (with Simulacra) at the end since Images paralyze their creator.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wish

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Not much of a strategy... just a few tips to increase your chances of getting the Wish option that "makes it as if the entire party has just rested a full night and re-memorized all their spells". The advantage to this strategy is that it refreshes the whole party, not just the caster. The disadvantage is that it's a gamble and your luck will run out sooner or later. Try to make that "later" rather than "sooner". Wisdom 18 gives you about 20% chance of getting this desired option.

Minimum requirements:

Wish, memorized.
How it works:

Use up some of your party's spells and abilities.
Cast Wish, talk to the Dao and hope it gives you the option to rest. This rememorizes the Wish itself, thus completing the cycle.
Pretty simple so far. The difficulty is in getting the right option.

Tips and tricks:

Get as many clones as possible to try their luck at Wish as well. If your level is high enough, have your Projected Images cast Simulacrum before you do so yourself. Let your clones use scrolls to make more clones or cast more Wishes (if you somehow managed to get another Wish scroll).
Use Potions of Insight to raise your Wisdom to 18 if it is lower. Let only your clones use the potions if you do not want to expend them permanently.
Combine this strategy with the Nahal's Reckless Dweomer strategy below if you're a Wild Mage, but use the Dweomers to cast Wish rather than Limited Wish.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nahal's Reckless Dweomer

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A variant on the Wish strategy above. In this case, use Nahal's Reckless Dweomer to cast Limited Wish and "wish that spells you have cast would be restored, that you might cast them again!". The advantage over using Wish is that Limited Wish always gives you the same options. The drawbacks are that Wild Surges may mess things up and it only recharges level 1-4 spells (but a Wild Mage can always cast his high level spells through his Dweomers).

Minimum requirements:

Nahal's Reckless Dweomer, memorized.
Wisdom 16 or higher (or a Potion of Insight).
How it works:

Use up some of your party's level 1-4 spells. Conserve your own spells as much as possible to make sure the Limited Wish will restore at least one Dweomer.
Cast Nahal's Reckless Dweomer, choose Limited Wish, talk to the Dao and let it restore your spells. This will rememorize the Dweomer, thus completing the cycle.
Pretty simple so far. The difficulty is in not getting a bad Wild Surge.

Tips and tricks:

Cast (Improved) Chaos Shield to decrease the odds of the Wild Surges messing things up. Cast it through a Dweomer so you'll be able to recharge it cheaply.
Get as many Dweomers as possible. One Limited Wish can restore up to four of them.
Get as many clones as possible to try their luck at Nahal's Reckless Dweomer as well. Simulacrums will be able to cast Limited Wish through it no matter what your level since they still know the spell even if they don't have slots of that level. Get your clones to make more clones before trying as long as they still have four or more Dweomers (any less and next generation clones won't get them anymore).
Let someone with higher Wisdom talk to the Dao or use Potions of Insight to raise your Wisdom if you do not meet the minimum requirement. Only let your clones use the potions if you don't want to expend them permanently.
Combine this strategy with the Wish strategy above.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

/endquote...Crazy hey?

Do you understand now why mages ruin this game ?

:mad: :( Valygar was right ...

Well...its still upto you whether you do this or not. For instance...I never have...except for the first time I read about this!! :D :D Ascension was a joke then...I had 4 Project Images going...after they exhausted their spellbooks, I cast Chain Contingency for 4 Project Images again...and again...on the third loop...everyone died! :D

Of course...one COULD say single class mages are more powerful than single class clerics... :p But that's about it! ;)

I know,I was kidding ;) ( :hmm: )

Oh and take a look at what I told you about Bodhi,some posts ago...

Turn Bodhi? OF COURSE!! Yes...two of them are out of the way I guess. I'll probly just cast Imp. Alacrity and rip 7-8 Implosions on Irenicus.

As for the Planetar...its fate is to be IMPRISONED!! I really dont care if its cheesy...I mean, LOOK at Ascension!! And as I always say, counter cheese with cheese...

Hmm, it is well known high level mages are terribly powerfull. Thus they are well respected and feared through the realms.

Go and imprison the wrteched fallen angel. She deserves no less...unless she is already immune to it.

BTW, I think planetars, devas and solar are 'she', right? :confused:

Thanks for the cool links, I guess it is very...enlightening! :evil:

BTW, I think planetars, devas and solar are 'she', right? Actually, if you have them cast spells, they have the male sound set.

And I think I'll need to solo a Wild Mage too. I've had one before, but that was in a party, so he was mostly in back, throwing daggers at people. With classes that require a lot of micro management (clerics, mages), I only get the most out of it if I solo them. Normally, I just rely on fighters to bash the hell out of enemies.

I think the Bodhi from Ascension is the Origional Bodhi or a buffed up version of her and not the Tactics Bodhi. this might explain why she is turnable.

And I checked my THAC0...it was -8 with base thac0 of 0. Is that normal for a Mage/Cleric? Base THAC0 should be 6. Perhaps the result of some peculiar wild surges?

That sounds like the Slayer's THACO....

Well...I was definitely not Slayer change'd at the time.

I'd buffed myself up to my gills though! :)

Mostly, I think the relevant bit here would be DUHM for 25 STR...but that doesn't affect BASE THAC0 does it? I thought it gave you a bonus to your THAC0...hmm, strange.

Also...once I crossed around lvl 25-26, casting Holy Power INCREASED my THAC0, instead of decreasing it!! I cast Holy Power this one time before casting Harm, so as to improve my THAC0...imagine my surprise when I missed and on checking found it to be 24!!! :eek: What gives?

You must first cast Holy Power, which makes your THAC0 same as a fighter of same level IIRC, which means 'BASE' THAC0 will be 0. Then Draw upon Holy Might, and you will have negative THAC0 in no time.

Base THAC0 is the result of your level and class, and normal THAC0 is after the bonuses or penalties from items, spells and ability scores kick in right?

It's easy to get a base-THACO of 0 or even lower with some cleric buffs.
Mainly Holy Power, as Silverstar said,and Righteous Magic for 25 STR.

As for your problem with Harm look here (http://www.sorcerers.net/ubb/ultimatebb.php?/topic/10/5149.html) for more info, although Holy power should give you a THACO bonus and not penalty.
Anyway 24 THACO is crazy.I can't explain it.Even with some wild surges... :confused:

Well, I've got the Spell-50 mod installed, which extends your spells all the way upto lvl 50, but it has a fair few bugs in it. Could it be that this problem is because of that? Has anyone who has used this faced similar problems?

I have a feeling when I get to really high levels the spells wrap around to the higher values...

^You also got spell 50 pack? :eek: Oh my. Yes it can be the cause IMHO.

That sounds like it could certainly be your problem there.

Hmm...well, I guess I can open up Shadowkeeper to find out the spell filename for Holy Power and just delete it from my override directory...

Will this work?

It can cause yet morebugs, I wouldn't reccomend touching a file in override directory if you don't know what you are doing exactly...

@ Faraaz

Does it happen EVERY time you cast Holy Power ?

Yes...every time, so I've just stopped casting it, and I have like 8 Farsights memorized now! :p It definitely comes in handy with 6 Project Images memorized though...

Also, this happens with Globe of Blades...its stopped working completely...does not damage any enemies closeby...neither does Blade Barrier.

And lastly, Barksin does not work. I have to take ALL my items off and then cast Barkskin and re-equip everything, to make it work. Normal casting does not let Barkskin work.

Anyone know why this is happening?

Tried uninstalling the spell-50 pack? I think your spells are now too powerful to be fun anyway. 32d8 ABDHWs? :eek: Or 32d6 Sunfries....sick. :p

Hm...I think THOSE are buggy as well... :(

Technically, I should be doing atleast 100 damage on a failed save to enemies that are not resistant to fire damage with Sunfire...but I only do like70-80.

Bah...As for overpoweredness...What's the point of going over lvl 20 Mage then?

Edit: Forgot to add...sorry I haven't been updating guys, its just that I finally got OBLIVION!! :evil: That game is SO amazing! Anyone who hasn't got it and has a system that can run it...GET IT RIGHT NOW! :D

So yeah...I'm afraid this will be on hold for a couple of days I guess, until I get bored of Oblivion for a day or two. :cool:

I finally got OBLIVION!! That game is SO amazing! It must be a very good game but hey don't forget your poor BG :D

Try the final battle later although I think that it will be very hard even for your W.Mage-Cleric.You will need a very good tactic for all those demons.

I don't know but I think that the best mage class for the final battle would be a fighter/mage (multi or dual) who uses Wish or who has many scrolls (PFMW,m.image,stoneskins).
This fight is so insane ... :(

Fighter/Mage/Cleric...maxed out levels...mmm...crispy!! :evil: