AlexDeLarge

Hey guys, so after finishing the game once (on POTD) i decided i was up for the challenge to start a TC run. I figured i would stand a much better chance if i created a full custom party, instead of using story companions (which most of them have, frankly, appalling stats). Party consists of the following: Juggernaut Monk main char (credit to KDubya for this) Lady of Pain Fighter dual wielding sabres(credit to Andrea and NerdCommando) DPS Barb specialized in Greatswords (Firebrand is sick, sick damage) Priest (probably the MVP of the group, saved my ass countless times) DPS/CC Cipher (he's hurting a bit in 2.03 - with all the monster immunities - but with good positioning he can still do a lot in midgame, if you know how to abuse Ectopsychic Echo) DPS/CC Wizard, specialized in blights (was an absolute beast for me in Chapter 1, Chill Fog/Slicken are so so good) Currently i'm almost level 10 with the entire team, two thirds through in White March. I want to share some insights if anyone else plans to start a TC run. First of all, meta game knowledge, you need to know what you're up against at any point in time. I nearly wiped in Dryford Ruins because i went to clear it at just level 5. Also, don't get c0cky and try to take fights at 70% life or whatever, just to get more mileage out of camping supplies. If you know a reasonably hard battle is coming up, rest, use all the food buffs you can beforehand, no need to take any unnecessary risks, otherwise dozens of hours can go down the drain because of one simple mistake. Now unto the fights themselves. Positioning is absolutely key, you want to fight in spots where you cannot be surrounded and where opponents have to come through a funnel to get to you, making them easy to control. Note, if they are mostly ranged, its best to find a corner where they can chase you and you can easily close the gap on them. Another huge factor is to get all the summon items fast. Don't worry about spending 15-20k on each, gold is plentiful in this game. Now i'm going to mention some key parts/fights of the game, some which i struggled with a lot. In chapter 1, i nearly wiped in Caed Nua and OD Nua. I foolishly tried to kill the ghosts at the main keep entrance at level 3, forgot that they paralyze. By the time the fight was over, everyone was at like 20% health. Almost the same thing happened when i tried to tackle an army of about 30 xaurips and wyrms with level 4 party in OD Nua 2. Wizard AOE and Priest Withdraw were my providence. Raedric was very easy at level 4, i just kited his group to a doorway (equipped a disengage cloak before that on my tank). Chapter 2 overall is also quite easy. Just a lot of Fedex quests in Defiance Bay, not much fighting happening. Under no circumstance should you battle the banshee in the lighthouse though, if you're low level you will easily get overrun. So now i'm in White March as i said, i never explored WM in my previous playthrough, pretty much flying blind here (using Gamebanshee for some meta knowledge). I had some absolutely brutal fights so far. Like, in Longwatch Falls, there's a HUGE group of Lagufaeths (including 2 broodmommas). I scouted them a bit with stealth, figured i could take them, but a ****load more came from the fog of war (it seems i cannot post images directly in the topic for some reason, so i'll link them instead) https://imgur.com/4QTZrFG Notice how i created a blockade using my melee chars and all the summons i could muster, while the mage split the battlefield in two with a firewall. The hardest fight i had, by far, was the bounty task The Gleaming Society. It actually caught me a bit unprepared, i was also only level 9 with party. My barb quickly died at the start, so i was left with just 5. Was taking massive damage, my CC only seemed to delay the inevitable, i was sure i would wipe. Cast Withdraw on my Cipher as she was about to die, she finally got released from the stasis towards the end, and a Benny Hill type of chase ensued, where 2 mobs kept trying to reach her, while she was kiting them for the entire lower half of the map lol. I literally used every ability, spell, potion and scroll i had at my disposal for that one. Essential Phantom also played a huge role in winning it. This is how my party looked like at the end: https://imgur.com/Q8BTn1b So yeah, now i still have Durgan Battery + Alpine Dragon left from WM, and i've never done any of these before. If any veteran player would like to chime in with some tips on how to approach them and at what level, it would be much appreciated. Feel free to ask any questions as well.

TC Status Update: Had some really close encounters so far in Od Nua lvl 2 (with party lvl 4). Those huge groups of xaurips and wurms were nearly the end of me. My saving grace was the Priest's Withdraw Spell. It's insanely good, you can even use it to block choke points and cast aoe spells after. Raedric next (still lvl 4, but should be doable). Also, really glad i decided to pick a wizard instead of ranger, his aoe is crucial at these early levels, and targeting them efficiently on Expert mode isn't that difficult once you get the hang of it note: I should probably create my own thread for this run, sorry i keep hijacking yours Boeroer

Well, i finally created my party. Decided to go for the comfort zone as you said, it's quite fragile but with proper micro and positioning, i think i can make it work. So it's gonna be: Monk Juggernaut Tank - Moon Godlike, Lady of Pain - Fire Godlike (but dualing sabres instead of two hander) for frontline, Barb - Death Godlike(with tidefall or firebrand or tall grass, depending on situation - i'm also gonna put Shod in Faith on him, since he will be lowest deflection from my melees), Priest - also Moon Godlike, just too strong and sexy to have only 1(magran - arquebus early, sword and shield late) 2nd row, DPS Cipher - Boreal Dwarf (blunderbuss early, war bow late) and Wood Elf Wizard with Blights/Blast. The Cipher and Mage have 3 resolve, the Priest has 10 for now, but will respec to 3 later on, so i'm probably gonna use a lot of Holy Meditation to offset this weakness. Boeroer, about the Barb build, you said i should use heavy armor early game, same for priest. Can i switch to light armor in the later stages?

Oh man.. now i have some really tough choices.. In my last playthrough, my death godlike barb with Firebrand was wreaking havoc, but he also took a lot of punishment thats true, and now i won't have a paladin to save his ass with lay on hands (a single priest can't keep everyone alive). So you're suggesting i should go for a Parasitic Staff Wizard approach, with 20-21 might and arcane veil, remove the barb and add a ranger for last pick?

Ok, so to recap. A party consisting of: juggernaut tank monk main char, lady of pain offtank dps fighter for frontline, dps barb and support priest in 2nd row, and finally dps cipher + ranger in the backline. Would this be a very good party for TC? Just looking at it, feels like there might be a bit too much overlap in melee, having 3 martial units + the pet, also very little AOE. Do you think this ranger brings more to the table than the utility a wizard or 2nd priest would provide?

Is this the ranger build you are talking about, Boeroer?

Only finished this game once (started playing directly on POTD, found Hard too manageable after half of chapter 1) so my knowledge is still limited. But you guys - Andrea, Boeroer, mosspit - offer so much value here, you're reducing my learning curve by a ton. Thanks a lot mates!

GameBanshee was instrumental for my achievement of Baldur's Gate No Reload Challenge (with SCS installed). I absolutely love that site!

Thanks for the reply Andrea. I would like to mention that, early game you can reach level 3 very easily on your main, just by talking to the hanged cipher on the tree in Gilded Vale. And you can sell the belt that gives you endurance to Heoden at the start, for a whooping 1500g or something (his prices are super generous for clients), giving you enough money to buy an entire party of level 2 adventurers from Gilded Vale, so there's no need to waste time with Aloth/Eder. Also: A party of Tankadin (3 per 3 dex, max other stats), your fighter build for the frontline, dps barb and full support priest (3 resolve, using arquebus at start, then switching to weapon and shield later for more defense) in 2nd row, and finally ranged dps cipher (3 resolve) + machine gun wizard at the back (also with 3 resolve, notice a pattern here?) - would this be optimized enough to withstand a TC run? Or is it too squishy? I figure i can counter the concentration issue from lack of resolve from my backline with Holy Meditation, and since most of my chars have a ton of Int, this offsets the Will Penalty as well.

What you describe about using the paladin as a vessel for ecto echo is exactly what i did in my last playthrough on potd. And it worked like a charm, even without boots of speed, my guy was so tanky (and also moon godlike) he didn't even get scratched from all the disengagement attacks. However, triple crown is whole other ball game i imagine. I'm currently thinking of adding a 2nd priest to the mix, just because they have so many abilities that prevent character death, and their buffs stack up nicely. Maybe i should remove the wizard from my party, since he is much harder to control on expert mode anyway? I mean he used to be crucial for the important counters with Gaze of Adragan, but now adra dragon is immune to petrify if i'm not mistaken, so there's not much reason to keep him around i reckon. Slightly OT but still relevant to your posts, would you consider your cipher tank build to be more efficient than my pure tankadin? Maybe i could run a main char cipher tank (since paladin is also harder to develop on expert mode, without knowing which dialogs fit the preferred dispositions) and either remove my barb or wizard in favor of speedy monk to use in combination with the cipher. Many variables i must consider, which is part of why i love this game so much, endless options, if you use your imagination, the sky is the limit.

This looks like a very interesting and efficient build, especially since i love to (ab)use Ectopsychic Echo in every encounter. I was previously planning a party of tankadin, offtank fighter, dps barb, full support priest, ranged dps cipher and blight wizard for Triple Crown challenge. But now i want to incorporate your speedy gonzales monk in the party. What would you recommend i take out, perhaps the barb?

Ok Andrea, the reason i'm asking is because i'm planning a Triple Crown run (with full party). Would you recommend your build for such a rough challenge, or should i stick to a more standard tank/dps dual wield fighter? Seems like your variant most likely shines in the late game, but early game, it would be a big chore to keep him alive.

Hi, first of all, awesome guide! Couple of quick questions, is there any reason we don't dump Intelligence to 3? Also, would you recommend going for a tankier build (more resolve, weapon and shield) for the first 6-7 levels, until you get the gear you need to make this work? Or does this char wreck right off the bat?