what do others think about slayer, seeker, survivor DLC difficulty?

[mant2si]

This thread sound very promising After few days in Kingmaker on Hard, I think I ready to relax and enjoy Slayer, Seeker, Survivor  `difficulty` 

Edited October 2, 2018 by mant2si

[InsaneCommander]

I'm doing much better after I respec'd Mirke, Vatnir and Serafen. Mirke now has that ability that increases armor and constitution based on wounds and Vatnir has rapid casting and salvation of time.

 

For some stupid reason I skipped Ancient Memory with Serafen    but now I can make Vatnir Brilliant and cast salvation of time.

 

Edit: Was that battle against lots of undead and Fampyrs supposed to be difficult? I found it easy and I didn't need to use empower or figurines.

Edited October 2, 2018 by InsaneCommander

[Ophiuchus]

I'm only about 50 percent through the DLC and am enjoying it a great deal on PoTD. All those "too good so I'll squirrel it away forever" items have been getting some good use, and I find the enhanced mechanics above and beyond the base game encounters.

Currently running:

Eder (Swashbuckler off-tank)
Konstanten (Howler tank and debuffer; kind of a weird build but it works)
Mirke (Shadowdancer with dual daggers)
Xoti (Priest)
My Watcher (Seer (Cipher/Ghost Heart).
 

[thelee]

 

Edit: Was that battle against lots of undead and Fampyrs supposed to be difficult? I found it easy and I didn't need to use empower or figurines.

 

IMO I think it's supposed to be difficult for anyone not bringing along a priest. I had Vatnir Dismissal most of each wave away. (Dismissal has been amazing since 1.0. Don't get why some people continue to think priests suck.)

Edited October 3, 2018 by thelee

[Logos]

I gave up on potd during the bull**** shades fight. No matter what I did I could not get them to stop gangbanging my wizard and my cipher. I guess you're supposed to use daom and kite them around? Whatever. I then went back to a normal difficulty save and crushed all the fights at level 15/16. Potd was too hard, but normal was too easy. 

[Ophiuchus]

I gave up on potd during the bull**** shades fight. No matter what I did I could not get them to stop gangbanging my wizard and my cipher. I guess you're supposed to use daom and kite them around? Whatever. I then went back to a normal difficulty save and crushed all the fights at level 15/16. Potd was too hard, but normal was too easy. 

Oy. That one. I had to use Withdraw on my casters and let the beefier units take the hits: not a glamorous way to do it, but it worked.

[InsaneCommander]

I'm only about 50 percent through the DLC and am enjoying it a great deal on PoTD. All those "too good so I'll squirrel it away forever" items have been getting some good use, and I find the enhanced mechanics above and beyond the base game encounters.

 

That's right, I have to carefully consider which items to use in each battle. I spent a good amount of money to refill my ingredients and even Mirke is using the occasional lightning bolt or twin stones scroll.

 

Edit: Was that battle against lots of undead and Fampyrs supposed to be difficult? I found it easy and I didn't need to use empower or figurines.

 

IMO I think it's supposed to be difficult for anyone not bringing along a priest. I had Vatnir Dismissal most of each wave away. (Dismissal has been amazing since 1.0. Don't get why some people continue to think priests suck.)

 

I changed my mind, priests don't suck!

 

I'm actually not considering the battles in SSS that difficult, but in many battles I have to be very careful and mind my decisions almost every time I pause. Otherwise I have to try again. But if I'm careful, I can win most battles even without empower.

 

Let's see what comes next, I've only done 13 battles.

[Clerith]

I started yesterday and finished today. Overall, it felt around 20-30% harder than BoW, but still fairly easy. Admittedly, I went in overleveld (20 party + 18 Konstanten), but that's only expected at this point. In all the fights, I took a total of one injury. Zero consumables used. A few Seeker and Survivor fights made me use light tactics.

 

All in all, a pretty fun expansion (5,5 hours too, compared to BoW's 4,5), but the mega boss is definitely much harder than anything the dlcs throw at you. Well, until you go to forums and learn how to solo cheese it...

Edited October 4, 2018 by Clerith

[egamruf]

@Clerith

 

Assuming you were doing in POTD, how the **** did you handle the Naga/Imp fight with the research notes? It seems literally impossible to stop them from lighting the notes on fire, they're totally ignoring engagement by my tanks, walking up to the tables and just burning them. Even trying to surround the tables with units doesn't seem to stop them. Once all the tables are gone, I don't seem to be able to outlast the final waves - I've no idea how many waves there are, but I don't seem to be able to get past the 7th.

[Clerith]

@Clerith

 

Assuming you were doing in POTD, how the **** did you handle the Naga/Imp fight with the research notes? It seems literally impossible to stop them from lighting the notes on fire, they're totally ignoring engagement by my tanks, walking up to the tables and just burning them. Even trying to surround the tables with units doesn't seem to stop them. Once all the tables are gone, I don't seem to be able to outlast the final waves - I've no idea how many waves there are, but I don't seem to be able to get past the 7th.

Yeah, PotD, no scaling.

 

One table got low and one to half health, but I didn't lose any tables. As for how? I don't know, I just fought normally, splitting my party up, pulling aggro from the imps that spawn on top asap so they go down the stairs instead of attacking the tables that were up there... iirc? My party was a pretty simple Citzal Battlemage MC, tanky dw Swashbuckler Eder, pure Priest Xoti, bow Mindstalker Ydwin and a pure Chanter Konstanten. And like I mentioned, level 20, best gear, etc.

Edited October 4, 2018 by Clerith

[egamruf]

Yeah, it's weird. I've had almost no issues with the other fights - I was leaving one character up top to finish enemies off up there, and trying to pull aggro away from tables at the bottom, but the enemies literally seem to ignore my party half the time and simply set fire to the tables.

I'm 20 too, Swashbuckler Eder, Pure Priest Xoti, Chanter/Barb Konstanten, Mindstalker MC, Pure Wizard Aloth. I'm at about 5 attempts in at this point, and I'm not quite sure what other tactic I can usefully adopt. I'm mostly against swapping up the party (e.g. getting rid of Aloth would add some aggro capacity). 

Anyway, doesn't sound like there was any trick to it, which actually frustrates me more, not less.

[baldurs_gate_2]

I started yesterday and finished today. Overall, it felt around 20-30% harder than BoW, but still fairly easy. Admittedly, I went in overleveld (20 party + 18 Konstanten), but that's only expected at this point. In all the fights, I took a total of one injury. Zero consumables used. A few Seeker and Survivor fights made me use light tactics.

 

All in all, a pretty fun expansion (5,5 hours too, compared to BoW's 4,5), but the mega boss is definitely much harder than anything the dlcs throw at you. Well, until you go to forums and learn how to solo cheese it...

It's not like, that the gouging strike cheese is unknown, u just did not needed it until now.

[thelee]

 

@Clerith

 

Assuming you were doing in POTD, how the **** did you handle the Naga/Imp fight with the research notes? It seems literally impossible to stop them from lighting the notes on fire, they're totally ignoring engagement by my tanks, walking up to the tables and just burning them. Even trying to surround the tables with units doesn't seem to stop them. Once all the tables are gone, I don't seem to be able to outlast the final waves - I've no idea how many waves there are, but I don't seem to be able to get past the 7th.

Yeah, PotD, no scaling.

 

 

you should try with

[Clerith]

 

 

@Clerith

 

Assuming you were doing in POTD, how the **** did you handle the Naga/Imp fight with the research notes? It seems literally impossible to stop them from lighting the notes on fire, they're totally ignoring engagement by my tanks, walking up to the tables and just burning them. Even trying to surround the tables with units doesn't seem to stop them. Once all the tables are gone, I don't seem to be able to outlast the final waves - I've no idea how many waves there are, but I don't seem to be able to get past the 7th.

Yeah, PotD, no scaling.

 

 

you should try with

 

I probably should, will have to bite the bullet for the challenges, but I really, really, really hate scaling in all forms, and always have. Since Morrowind or something. I just hate generic low level trash leveling up to me. In an rpg, I want to feel more powerful as I go up in levels. Luckily, that's almost always the case, except in some rpgs with scaling, where the level 50 wolf or bandit is suddenly vivisecting my corpse if I went light on the defenses...

[thelee]

 

 

 

@Clerith

 

Assuming you were doing in POTD, how the **** did you handle the Naga/Imp fight with the research notes? It seems literally impossible to stop them from lighting the notes on fire, they're totally ignoring engagement by my tanks, walking up to the tables and just burning them. Even trying to surround the tables with units doesn't seem to stop them. Once all the tables are gone, I don't seem to be able to outlast the final waves - I've no idea how many waves there are, but I don't seem to be able to get past the 7th.

Yeah, PotD, no scaling.

 

 

you should try with

 

I probably should, will have to bite the bullet for the challenges, but I really, really, really hate scaling in all forms, and always have. Since Morrowind or something. I just hate generic low level trash leveling up to me. In an rpg, I want to feel more powerful as I go up in levels. Luckily, that's almost always the case, except in some rpgs with scaling, where the level 50 wolf or bandit is suddenly vivisecting my corpse if I went light on the defenses...

 

 

scaling is capped so you'll still roflstomp low level enemies, but however they implemented it in some of the potd rebalancing has given it quite a bit of staying power, and with SSS a lot of extra challenge.

 

but i get you. my first experience with scaling was oblivion. EEEEyikes that game could quickly become impossible if you leveled up suboptimally too quickly.

[house2fly]

One of people's chief complaints about this game's difficulty is that as they approach the level cap they feel too powerful

[InsaneCommander]

I started yesterday and finished today. Overall, it felt around 20-30% harder than BoW, but still fairly easy. Admittedly, I went in overleveld (20 party + 18 Konstanten), but that's only expected at this point. In all the fights, I took a total of one injury. Zero consumables used. A few Seeker and Survivor fights made me use light tactics.

 

All in all, a pretty fun expansion (5,5 hours too, compared to BoW's 4,5), but the mega boss is definitely much harder than anything the dlcs throw at you. Well, until you go to forums and learn how to solo cheese it...

It's not like, that the gouging strike cheese is unknown, u just did not needed it until now.

 

I didn't find it funny when they used it on Mirke. But with Konstanten's chants and Vatnir spells she didn't feel it anymore.

 

As for the boss, there are already suggestions for making it harder.

[Gregorovich]

Eder-swashbuckler

Tekehu-druid

Vatnir-priest

Pallegina-herald

Watcher-harbinger (Trickster-Troubadour)

All the fights were a bit challenging, but not so difficult.

I found summoning weapons by the Watcher and Pallegina as the best tactics - spamming summons and controlling battlefield making foes deal with them, while Watcher and Eder were shooting. Used no potions, scrolls, drugs, POTD, no mods. Except the skull-potion, just wanted to give it a try.

Ranged combat seems to be the most optimal thing, as the enemies hit hard and easily overcrowd you in the dlc. And the chanter is one of the most interesting classes, as is spells and especially SUMMONS (So great!) are endless, which is especially useful in the Survivor fights.

By the way, monk with the ability to increase melee weapon range and a pike or staff hits almost as far as an arquebus.

[egamruf]

@Clerith

I have legitimately no idea how you completed that hunt. The enemies are, indeed, totally ignoring my engagement. It also doesn't seem possible to stop them setting tables on fire once they start the animation, without killing them, and I can't kill them *all* fast enough when they just run past me in a group to three different tables at a time. I just alt tabbed on an attempt where the 3rd wave just spawned in; a table burnt on the second and, at the point I alt-tabbed, I have five naga *all* with the 'set fire to something' icon above their head, surrounding a table and completely ignoring my entire party attacking them in the back.

How you did it with only one table getting half damaged? *bows down* "We are not worthy."

Edited October 5, 2018 by egamruf

[Gregorovich]

Well, if you have a priest in your party, cast withdraw on the table to make it invulnerable to damage, that worked for me. There are also scrolls for withdraw

[egamruf]

@Gregorovich

Huh - I tested with various healing spells, none of which seemed able to target the tables, but probably not withdraw. That's a decent suggestion. I suppose then it would be a matter of waiting until they're damaged 'enough' then hoping to withdraw them for long enough to win the fight before they break. 

Edited October 5, 2018 by egamruf

[Sifjar]

PoTD with scaling was fine. Only 2 times i had to take over companions AI. First was battle with Ghosts where only 1 is not immune to damage. And second with druid and mage bosses where i had to manually flank one of em from side not to be destroyed by debuff. Rest of fights were easy.

Still didn't manage to kill MegaBoss.

Party composition was wizard, eder (f/r), xoti (p/m), rekke (b/f), ydwin ©.

 

PS The main issue with this DLC is that it is all about combat. Becomes quite boring after few fights. Also it was a pain to sail for all those talismans to activate arena. I dont know if it is a bug, but on my map i see that there is a dock, but even after i completed whole DLC i could't use that door.

Edited October 5, 2018 by Sifjar

[misterjimmy]

I devour giant crocodile soul and reward is give me a trash not ability bonus.

[InsaneCommander]

Well, if you have a priest in your party, cast withdraw on the table to make it invulnerable to damage, that worked for me. There are also scrolls for withdraw

 

Good idea. Let's hope I didn't sell all those scrolls.

 

I can make more, I know, but if they use some ingredient that I want to save (like onyx - invisibility potions) I'll rather not make them.

[Gregorovich]

Does anybody know if saving three tables instead of one or two makes difference? I mean dialogue changes or rewards.