Solo PotD tips and tricks complete. (Let's prepare a Guide)

[Malanir]

Hey everyone,

 

i've been looking in the forum for tips & tricks for SOLO PotD :

 

1) There is no such thread (with the answers to my questions)

 

or 

 

2) I'm very bad at searching  

 

To be more specific i feel like some other users might be looking for detailed advices for Solo PotD so here are my questions :

 

 

 

I) How do you deal with :

 

- Xaurip Skirmishers and their paralyze early on, it just feels like you are unlucky and you have to reload... and im wondering how can seomeone do the Ultimate Challenge Steam Achievment without some "luck" or what ?

 

- Same for ghosts in Ondra's "Headlight" quest.

 

- Anything that can stunlock you etc.

 

 

II) Where do you find specific awesome scrolls like :

 

- Bewildering Spectacle, because i'm lvl 8 in my solo PotD and can't get my hand on a single one to be able to craft it for Skaen's Sake !

 

- Any other spells you can advice.

 

 

 

III) A simple guide/walkthrough to know where to go and what is the most convenient for early stages steps by steps.

 

 

(Ex : go to Gilded Vale, have at least X mechanics for this and that, get to this map and loot this, avoid that, come kill this at X lvl, if you do it all correctly you would normally reach lvl X etc).

 

 

IV) Tips for crafting :

 

 

It took me ages to realise that there is ton of Adra in Caed Nuas when i was desperately looking for some...

 

 

 

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

 

 

Feel free to ask additional stuff or if you have the will to make a new proper topic/guide, i would gladly receive your help.

 

 

I thank you for your time, especially Boeroer, Jojobobo, AndreaColombo, the "Pillars of the Forum" that will probably answer on this post. I've litterally drowned myself reading their builds for days...  

 

 

Cheers, Malanir.

 

 

 

 

 

[Reent]

So... since i did act 1 like thousands of times (ToI sometimes i hate you)

i always do the same...

 

I start as a drifter, get stealth to 5, rest into mechanics, that way i can sneak past chaed nua...

Sell allmost all my  items in the prologue (2251 gold+, if i didnt have Gaunts Pledge i'd have to go to raedrics castle for some gold, but that's hard for some classes).

After lvling to lvl 2 i make sure to have mechanics 3 and get the extra xp from the cilant lis traps.

I rest once before going to Gilded Vale.

Depending on my class and build i either free the cook on my way to gilded vale or after i hit lvl 3 - some classes (priest) can have a rather hard time with that fight.

I rest once in gilded vale, safe and load - get my Rymguards Cloak.

Take on all quests in Gilded Vale, solve the grain problem, kill aloth for his items, get the plate from the backer, kill durance for his items, get the healing+ amulet and the fine weapon in that area (killing one troll in that area), sneak the crate for the smith, looting the fine bow near the spiders (not aggroing them) and i make all areas accessible.

Give the crate to the smith - i buy the figurine, clear the area with the cook and loot everything, go to the temple and reach the lower level for the exp (not fighting the shadows, not worth it).

Go to anslögs compass and directly after that to madhmr bridge (that way i don't have to fight a xaurip skirmisher right after arriving) and do the looters quest (fight, so i get the anti confuse helmet, else i can die to an unlucky confuse in chaed nua).

I go to raedrics castle (just the area, a bit quest exp)... should be enough for lvl 4 after going to chaed nua... i get the mechanics resting bonus in gilded vale (don't know if its necessary but i do get it) and sneak past chaed nua (if maerwald is a problem, the spiders can help sometimes).

That's act 1 - every other fight i solve with more figurines.

 

 

 

Xaurip skirmisher? Figurines or kiting.

Ultimate? Knowledge, you can use items to solve perma CC encounters... or not fight them at all, you know where they are and prepare adequate.

 

(no more time, more... maybe later)

[Sfzrx]

https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/88230-potd-solo-wizard-the-glass-way-303/

 

I wrote this solo guide a while ago, it may have answers to some of your questions for wizard solo, some tips and tricks might work for all classes though, comments has caed nua ghost and light house and all that.

[grausch]

After lvling to lvl 2 i make sure to have mechanics 3 and get the extra xp from the cilant lis traps.

Not sure if prior versions of PoE handled this differently, but from 3.02 xp for disarming traps was 5 xp per level of the trap per the number of party members.

 

To clarify, disarming a lvl 1 trap with 1 character in the party will give 5 xp, disarming that same trap with 3 party members will give 15 xp (still 5xp per character). Thus, if you are going solo and Heodan is still alive, just use him to disarm the traps - you end up with the same xp regardless. However, if you are planning on recruiting companions, then it may make sense to return to Cliant Lis to diasarm them with a full party.

[grausch]

I) How do you deal with :

 

- Xaurip Skirmishers and their paralyze early on, it just feels like you are unlucky and you have to reload... and im wondering how can seomeone do the Ultimate Challenge Steam Achievment without some "luck" or what ?

 

- Same for ghosts in Ondra's "Headlight" quest.

 

- Anything that can stunlock you etc.

 

Here is quite a good Youtube video for solo play - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WqlSG6ueqA&list=LLtb0w8sijMspJhpVj8SHDXg&index=36. It is a speedrun with a rogue in 2.03 and I do handle some quests differently, but it gives a very good basis for getting through Act 1 and Act 2 solo.

 

Regarding the Xaurip Skirmishers, I tend to avoid them until I am of high enough level to easily take them out. I think all of the skirmishers can be avoided in Act 1 and you can clear them out easily in Act 2.

 

Regarding the ghosts, same thing - come back as late as possible in Act 2. Use the Bartender's Ring, use spells, scrolls and potions. With my wizard, I needed two or three tries to win the battle, but it was not impossible - merely needed to adjust tactics.

Edited November 9, 2016 by grausch

[Jojobobo]

What I do is...

 

I) How do you deal with :

 

- Xaurip Skirmishers and their paralyze early on, it just feels like you are unlucky and you have to reload... and im wondering how can seomeone do the Ultimate Challenge Steam Achievment without some "luck" or what ?

 

- Same for ghosts in Ondra's "Headlight" quest.

 

- Anything that can stunlock you etc.

Xaurip Skirmishers can be taken out one by one with your buddy the Animat - he can't keep you both paralyzed so if you send the Animat in first to take the aggro hopefully you can kill him in 10 seconds. If you can't, then buff defensively and try your best or leave them until later. For my current playthrough, I waited until I got the Orlan Bramble Ring until venturing into the Endless Paths - purely because the Skirmishers can be such a pain. For Madhmr Bridge, if you travel from a westerly direction to get there then it's much easier to get the drop on the Skirmisher you'd encounter coming from a northerly direction.

 

For the Lighthouse, I leave it late in Act II to try, but otherwise I don't find it such an issue. Food buff, use Whiteleaf to stop the fear, possibly wear Rymyrgand's Mantle to heal freeze damage and take some potions with you. It's not too hard.

 

For Phantoms that Stun-lock you, with someone with adequate defences I'll take them all out - a Coastal Aumaua with decent physical attributes and consumable buffing should be able to hit a Fortitude against Stun (because of the racial boon) of 90ish. So long as you have the positioning to fight them one at a time (which isn't too hard in the grounds and throne room of Caed Nua), they're do-able. If I don't have good defences, I sneak up the southern wall and go straight to the throne room. With the correct position in either of the corners close to the door you can make it so the Shadow blocks the Phantoms attacking you. I then use a reach weapon and a ranged weapon (the ranged weapon to aggro the Phantoms so they come in range of the reach weapon) and pick them off before killing the Shadow - with Rymyrgand's Mantle (see below in my early game walkthrough bit for where you can get it) you shouldn't die. The positioning can take a few tries, but once you have it 90% of the time the encounter will go your way.

 

If I were going ToI, I would use a Stealth method as Reent mentioned.

 

II) Where do you find specific awesome scrolls like :

 

- Bewildering Spectacle, because i'm lvl 8 in my solo PotD and can't get my hand on a single one to be able to craft it for Skaen's Sake !

 

- Any other spells you can advice.

I literally craft most scrolls I want to use, I think if your build is incredibly dependent on scrolls to win every encounter then something is going a little wrong. Scrolls of Defence are the ones I'd most recommend, a level 4 Lore spell that shores up your defences significantly. Confuse scrolls are also extremely handy, but they're more of a late game thing I'd say.

 

I think some spell bindings, like Shod-in-Faith Consecrated Ground or Arret Munacra Whispers of Treason, can be incredibly useful and I'll use them on most solo play-throughs when I need them.

 

III) A simple guide/walkthrough to know where to go and what is the most convenient for early stages steps by steps.

 

 

(Ex : go to Gilded Vale, have at least X mechanics for this and that, get to this map and loot this, avoid that, come kill this at X lvl, if you do it all correctly you would normally reach lvl X etc).

My standard play is...

 

 

 

1) Sell loads of crap to Heodan, literally anything I've got going (including the four herb ingredients you find at the start) apart from a weapon and some basic armor. He buys for loads of money.

 

2) I find Mechanics 4 good to hit, with Gloves of Manipulation you can hit Mechanics 6 which will let you complete Buried Secrets easily (I forget if less Mechanics can work). You hit level 3 very fast for 12 skill points, and Mechanics 4 takes 10, so you can spend one of your points level 2 on Survival - which is useful for a Valewood rest. I think you can get away with less Mechanics on the whole (I showed somewhere how to hit 10 with the scroll with just 2 points in the skill), but on the whole for solo runs I find it easier to take more.

 

3. Rest once in Valewood, take out the bandits, Xaurips and if you can as well as the large group wolves if you can (the wolves I usually can't) then head to the Gilded Vale.

 

4) Get all the quests in the Gilded Vale, enter all the houses you can for map XP and finish Late for Dinner which should let you hit level 3, hitting enough Mechanics to unlock the chest in the top of the Black Hound Inn and get Rymyrgand's Mantle (it should be there on the day you arrive, so long as you have reloaded a save already, if you haven't things can get screwy). Also, you can finish Against the Grain. The idea here is to hit Raedric's Keep by the late 3rd and early 4th of the month to get some decent gear on the loot lists - though keep in mind these do not work for everyone. They work for me consistently however, so I'll continue playing this way for as long as I can

 

5) Head to Magran's Fork, sneak to get to the Adra structures and pick up the fine weapon off the corpse. Get the route to Anslog's Compass, but don't travel there yet. Head to the Black Meadow.

 

6) Head south on the map, sneaking to avoid the Wicht, and get the fine bow by the camping tents, as well as map access to Madhmr's Bridge, but don't travel there. Then backtrack to the start of the map, and sneak to the bandit camp. You can reclaim the smith's crate by sneaking from a north-easterly direction with the correct timing, and this can be done with 0 Stealth. Then head to Anslog's Compass.

 

7) You're here to get Fulvano's fine crossbow, but I usually kill the initial Xaurip group too. Now, if you have the time (bearing in mind hitting Raedric's Keep by month day four), head to Anslog's Compass, rest, and do the smuggler mission - as well as kill one of the backer NPCs for his pistol, and stealth over to the westerly campsite and pick up the fine hatchet. If not, then don't sweat it.

 

8. Head back to Gilded Vale, and rest if you haven't already at the inn for free. Finish the Watcher quest, and the Smith quest and kill the backer NPC for his plate, as well as Aloth or Eder if you can manage it - Aloth is the easier of the two. With any luck, you should have enough money from selling your stuff to get the Bronze Horn Figurine (I'm a backer, so I sell Gaun's Pledge to Heodan to start with to get a cool 2k, but I think with my fine weapon scrounging you should be able to get it, particularly if you sell ingredients, potions, and anything else you can get your hands on).

 

9) Head to Raedric's Keep, scale the wall, and rest. Time it so you can kill the guard round the corner on his own by leading him back to the area where you scaled the wall, using the Bronze Horn Figurine and whatever crazy abilities your class has. If you can't do this, what you can do is use the figurine to aggro the guard then run away from him and if your timing is correct then you'll avoid the archer and should be able to enter the keep through the first door you come across. Wear the Berath's Priest robes and talk your way through, the dialogue checks aren't high and if you miss then you can reload and make sure to avoid those people. If you have Rogue levels of Mechanics, you may be able to lock pick the door in the library giving you direct access to Raedric, otherwise you can kill the priest (Nedmar, is it?) and get his key for the same access. When you speak to Raedric agree to help him (even if you don't want to, you can speak to Kolsc again again to go back on your double cross) and then everyone in the keep is friendly. You can get the Belt of Bountiful Healing (somewhat useful) in Raedric's bedroom, Gloves of Manipulation (highly useful) to the study south of the bedroom and Boots of Stealth (somewhat useful) from rooftop access.

 

10) Now, the world's your oyster! Finish off remaining Act I quests in whatever order you like - apart from Lord of a Barren land which is much easier to finish Act II if your killing Raedric (by all means, try it now, but in terms of saving yourself a hell of a lot of time it is so much easier to kill it. Plus it's better if you kill everyone in the castle for 10k+ of gold, which can be tricky if you're trying to kill Raedric so early). I mentioned earlier that you can lure away the Anslog's Compass Xaurip to complete that quest (the Xaurip group otherwise is pretty easy, and you only need to kill the one wayward Sporeling in the Sea Cave for the potion).

 

You can complete Buried Secret's by hitting the hidden switch in the westerly spider room to get to the bell door easily, then in the second floor take out the Shadows you find in the corridors. With the locked door around the middle of the map, you should be able to unlock it to get to the area to complete the quest. To kill the Phantom, lead him and the Ooze back to the doorway (he more often than not keeps behind the Ooze, meaning it can't hit you, it depends on your defences as to whether the Ooze will do its spit attack rather than the initial chase which you want) then kill him with a ranged or reach weapon. Make sure to kill companions for their phat lewt, and also if you can clear the boars from Magran's Fork as they offer a lot of XP, as well as any stags you come across. Particularly tricky encounters can be left for later (the rest of the Temple of Eothas) or maybe kited (the Forest Lurkers in the Black Meadow).

 

11) For Caed Nua, I've mentioned most of my strategy above. For the Spiders, use of good cell positioning and a Beast rest bonus (I'd recommend For Maerwald himself, kill him if you can or lead him to the beatles if you have a build that starts weak. From there you can head to Dyrford Village as it sells nice gear and you can kill companions on the way, or just head straight to Defiance Bay.

 

12) In Defiance Bay I get the Oaken Scarab and Obsidian Lamp Figurines immediately, then I do quests - prioritizing easier ones and leaving harder ones (The Wailing Banshee, the second part of Winds of Steel, Cinders of Faith) until later in the act when I've levelled higher. Getting a Ring of Protection from the loot lists for Woedica's Temple is a good idea, as otherwise they are expensive or you only find them guaranteed much later.

 

 

There you go! By no means the only way to do solo, but I find it a nice way to get through the early stages of the game speedily.

 

IV) Tips for crafting :

 

 

It took me ages to realise that there is ton of Adra in Caed Nuas when i was desperately looking for some...

Find out what ingredients you need for what you want to make, which vendors sell them and then stockpile when they restock throughout the game. For example, on my current Barbarian, I'm already tapping up Curnd for Tâ Ondra Tara periodically as I anticipate I'm going to need Scrolls of Valor late game - I've already made about 20, and I've some of Act II left. The animal parts can be the hardest to get as their sold in the smallest quantities, Cartugo in Ondra's Gift sells them as does the Curio Shop at Caed Nua. Vitrack Brains can be found at the same places, as well as the necessary jewels for exceptional weapons and armor from Curnd.

 

For general pointers, never pick up keys to rooms you can unlock yourself for XP. I think pretty much everything else relevant to solo early I've already covered. I hope that was some help 

Edited November 9, 2016 by Jojobobo