If you go through SoA and ToB, with a 6 person party, no mods, doing all of the sidequests, and don't use any cheesey tactics (like erasing spells so that you can rescribe them, or sleeping in areas where fire giants will wake you, ect.), will your whole party reach the ToB experience cap?

Just curious.

TIA

No.

At least, I've never been able to do it in any of my games where I did what you describe.

I disagree. In fact, I max out every single time, and I never rely on re-spawning monsters. There is gobs of experience out there, you just have to be patient enough to get it all.

I usually max out at around 6.5 million apiece with a six person party. Unmodded, I don't see how it's possible to earn 48 million XP amongst the party even if you leave every area devoid of red-circled life by game's end. Mind you, I don't use Power Word: Reload to maximise the power of the Deck of Many Things, or any other underhanded tactics.

Well, except for the Fire Giant trick in Saradush...

I cant get to that level ever. So I play with a smaller party.

I just reently finished my first ToB game (and had a full party). I did every quest except Windspear Hills and Unseeing Eye, and my PC ended up with just over 6 million XP.

I have maxed out before, though normally stop about 6.5-7 million.

With mods, though, it is a lot easier to hit the caps. ;)

I'm not suggesting that Windspear Hills and Unseeing Eye = 2 million experience per character, but those are pretty significant chunks of experience. And when Klorox says every side quest, I assumed having a "revolving door NPC" so that you can finish every NPC's quest in the game. Also, I play with a very magic intensive group, sometimes as many as 3 magic users, so I get a ton of xp from scrolls. And then there's the trick of using your highest level thief to disarm traps, since it gives you more experience starting at level 11 (I think its 11, could be 12). These little things start to add up, making 8 million perfectly attainable--if you are patient enough.

As far as I know, and no matter how patient you are, there are only 2 ways to attain the cap: either by having one of the larger mods installed, or by milking respawning monsters for all the XP you can get. I have used the "revolving door NPC", completing ALL the quests in the most XP-giving manner, having a high-level thief disarm all traps, and having 2 magic users that DID erase-rememorize some of the spells (mainly all the level 8-9 scrolls that I found). Even with all of this, I never reached 8 million XP for any character, in a 6-member party. The maximum I ever got was around 7 million.

Eric, I really can't imagine what you have done differently to get those extra 6 million XP. Do you use mods that give more XP or more encounters? Tactics comes to mind. With those 3 mages, do you erase-scribe the same spell? Do you kill a lot of respawning monsters? (the Yaga-Shura battle comes to mind)

I'm really curious to know :confused: The only times I ever reached the cap was with one of the large mods (TDD, SOS) installed.

Well, your question about Tactics is a pretty good one. I've used it for so long that it's *possible* I am mis-remembering "the good ol' days." I prefer to think my memory is in good working order, but seeing as how I have been met with so much disbelief, I am willing to recant.

But I'm still so very sure...grr...agh...I must have reached the cap. Darn you and all your disbelieving questions! Can't think...remember...ungh.

I'm certainly unable to give an exact account of how I did it, and I take you all at your word that you can't reach the cap, so I give up. Blame it on Tactics...Tactics, and grad school.

Attention: Eric Xanthus does not know what he is talking about. Ignore him from this day forth.

:)

Right, this really wasn't the kind of answer I was expecting. :nuts:

:grin:

Seriously, it's not disbelief, just curiosity as I said previously. Anyway, if that memory of yours manages to dig up what the magic factor was, I'd be happy to know :)

I have to agree that with the conditions stated by Klorox, I've never got anywhere near 8 million per character with a 6-character party. My guess is like others - somewhere around 6.5 milliion each.