Difficulty cliffs (Crägholdt, Endless Paths of Od Nua)

[NikG]

So I got Caed Nua established pretty early on, and was told to go handle some siege at Crägholdt. When I went, I ran into some crazy fights with large groups of merceneries, which I could not handle, and had to back away from that to go do something else.

Something else wound up being the Endless Paths of Od Nua. I got my party all the way to the bottom level by character level 10, and handled the fight with the spirit of Od Nua just fine. Well, anybody who's gotten that deep knows what's on the next level—a nearly impossible fight with an ancient dragon.

These giant leaps in difficulty seem strange, but then combat in this game is very swingy depending on little things at the beginning of a fight, like character AI pathing or whether I hit Pause at just the right/wrong moment. Anyhow, I am wondering if I am doing something very wrong, or if I should not be expected to handle these fights at level 10.

[Boeroer]

No, you were not told to go there yet. In fact you were told that it's there but that you are way too week to tackle the Torn Bannermen. 

It's astonishing how many players don't actually read what the steward is telling them.

Stalwart can be done fairly well from lvl 8 upwards though. You should finish that and come back to Concelhaut after that. Crägholt Bluffs are high level content. They just happen to be on the way to Stalwart (geographically).

Endless Paths of Of Nua are designed in a way that you can go in and out at any time. You don't have to finish it from top to bottom in one swoop. That's not really possible since you won't level fast enough just by crawling around in there. As a rule of thumb your char level should match the dungeon level.

The fight with the Adra Dragon is nowhere near impossible (players do it solo on PotD difficulty) - but it surely is a challenging bossfight if you meet her for the first time. And especially if you are lvl 10 only. But you don't need to fight her to complete the quest. There are other options. You can also do something else first, level up some more and come back later then. You won't break or miss anything. 

Edited December 13, 2019 by Boeroer

[NikG]

Ah, well, I remember the Steward telling me the Bannermen were tough when she first gave me the quest. I actually didn't go right away, but clearly I still have some leveling to do before I'm ready for them (even at level 10 I am having trouble). The Adra Dragon, well every ability I try to use on her I get a <0% to hit on mouseover, even though the previous fight was pretty easy. So that seems to be a big, big jump from the one to the other. Regardless, I'll try some different strategies with her. I figure I just need to find a way to get my buffs up before she can mow us all down in two AE hits....

In the meantime I have act 3 to do!

[Boeroer]

Dragons terrify you with their aura. Let a priest cast Prayer against Fear and you instantly gain 20 Accuracy. Or use a scroll with the same spell. Adra Dragon can be charmed - if you use Inspiring Radiance (+10 ACC), Devotions (+20), a marking weapon (+10) and then cast Whisper of Treason on her she will most likely kill all other ads for you. She can also go prone. 

[NikG]

Cool, thanks for the tips.