Adra Dragon down.....tougher fight then the Alpine Dragon?

[Torm51]

So I downed the Adra Dragon but had a harder time then the Alpine Dragon this time around.  I think it was because I went in a bit over confident.  Kana took a Crit Wing Slam (even though I have exclusively given him a crapton of Fort) for 239 and he was instantly face planted.  This wakes me up but not before....My Paladin and Eder take graze petrifies from Adragons (I had given the group Dominate Immune but forgot Petrify.  Bad play).  Of course the Adra Dragon was mid Breadth and Annhilates me and Eder. 400+ damage from the breath.  Eder gets back up thanks to Unbroken.  I am quickly rezed by Durance with a scroll.......Hiravious stuns the Dragon and everyone with Relentless Storm he then gets devotions of the faithful (as does my Wizard).  I get a paralyze off with Hiravious and Eder crits on a Sundering blow thanks to (marking + Coordinated attacks), We then burst the Adra Dragon with massive single target DPS and he/she is down......

 

Ok that was way harder then the alpine dragon and its cause I didnt stop the dragon from moving..either mind controls or something else.....In PotD I think you really need to run away or somehow create distance to massively BUFF.  because no matter your lvl and stats unbuffed those beasts can annihilate you.  What do you guys think?

Edited September 23, 2017 by Torm51

[mosspit]

I just so happen to down both Adra and Alpine in my current TC run too.

 

But my experience was Alpine is harder the Adra. I think it was a matter of dice rolls and hitting a unfavourable critical will mess up one's plans.

 

My strat for both is pretty straight forward. Pally anchor with Ryonna Breatplate and Steadfast (Terrified immunity) to draw attention and direct the dragon away from main party while the party buff up and take out adds.

 

Alpine had a deathblow on my pally which instantly reduced his HP from near full to less than 50. This is after the pally did Scroll of Protection, Fire Shield potion and Llenegrath Displacement Potion. Somehow managed not to get knocked out.

 

Adra same thing except no spike damage, and the Adragons actually circled around the Dragon to be near my pally and 2 got wiped by Adra Dragon's breath attack, which missed my Pally.

Edited September 23, 2017 by mosspit

[Lampros]

Jesus, if you veterans have trouble v. the dragons on TC, what will I do?

[Torm51]

Jesus, if you veterans have trouble v. the dragons on TC, what will I do?

I know the game but I wouldn't consider myself a good player. Average at best. I have lost most of my TC runs. I've only done it 3 times and have failed dozens.

 

Treat the dragon like they treat Smaug in the Hobbit cause Obsidian made them like they should. Powerful beasts that regular people can't outmatch.

 

I find it best not to tank it. Use mind controls or ranged CCs and deal with the adds. After you are inhumanly buffed by spells go at it. Somehow create distance they are slow.

 

Analazying this fight I just did I tried to muscle the dragon and just face tank it cause I was level 16. Well we still took grazes and those grazes almost cost me. They hit too hard. Move out of range, mind control/ prone and don't let the dragon move in until you are massively buffed.

Edited September 23, 2017 by Torm51

[Torm51]

My issue in those fights have always been framed with my priest. He can only do things so fast. What do I cast first? Immunity spells? Circle of protection? ACC buffs? If you don't get that right you will lose.

 

That's why I think the best is answer is creating distance and controlling Or debuffing the dragon with spells that don't let them take action.

[Valci]

With the risk of revealing my ignorance (lol)... What does TC stand for?

Edited September 23, 2017 by Valci

[MaxQuest]

So I downed the Adra Dragon but had a harder time then the Alpine Dragon this time around. [...] What do you guys think?

Imho, Adra Dragon is easier than Alpine, because she:

- is very slow, iirc she has move speed of 3 and could be stopped completely via Hobble.

- has much lower melee dps: damage (58-88 vs 74-101), no deathblows/finishing strike... and Alpine is "dual-wielding" and attacking faster than the "single-wielding" Adra Dragon.

 

On the other hand, she is immune to fire, has comparable in damage Dragon Breath but of wider (!) cone, and also has the Wing Slam which can insta-kill unfortunately placed squishies.

Edited September 23, 2017 by MaxQuest

[Boeroer]

And most important: she has pesky Adragans!

[Torm51]

With the risk of revealing my ignorance (lol)... What does TC stand for?

Triple Crown

[Torm51]

 

So I downed the Adra Dragon but had a harder time then the Alpine Dragon this time around. [...] What do you guys think?

Imho, Adra Dragon is easier than Alpine, because she:

- is very slow, iirc she has move speed of 3 and could be stopped completely via Hobble.

- has much lower melee dps: damage (58-88 vs 74-101), no deathblows/finishing strike... and Alpine is "dual-wielding" and attacking faster than the "single-wielding" Adra Dragon.

 

On the other hand, she is immune to fire, has comparable in damage Dragon Breath but of wider (!) cone, and also has the Wing Slam which can insta-kill unfortunately placed squishies.

You are right the Adra Dragon is easier. I just didn't play it as carefully and it almost cost me. Wing slam insta gibbed Kana who is a dedicated tank. Still at 16 he only had 116 Fort and I have focused fort gear on him. I really like the chanter so far but the class performance in Dragon Fifghts has not been good. His Endurance is still lower then my Paladin and Fighter and he's been one shotted by the Alpine and Adra Dragon. Maybe I'm not using him right? I couldn't even turn the dragon I ran kana up and he got Wing Slammed to oblivion.

 

Kana has every defense talent you can think of other then cautious attack which is irrelevant against Fort attacks. He's wearing the full White Crest set my Paladin has Ryonas. Still not enough I'm just going to stop tanking the dragons. A paladin can do it. I've got a 154 Fort on the Paladin maybe I should use him more as the main tank against big hitters and have kana pick up adds

 

I just like keeping the Paladin close and not an island solo for Zealous Focus to spells. Need all the ACC you can get in those fights.

Edited September 23, 2017 by Torm51

[scythesong]

For me it depends on party composition. The Adra dragon can be harder on many of my melee parties because of the adragans and her wider AoE (she even likes to use her wing slam attack often). Instead of fighting her classic style (ie, in the most straightforward manner possible/telling her to her face that you want to kill her and then fighting her on the spot) I often just sneak past her and kill the adragans first.

 

The Alpine Dragon is more manageable because it's more single-target and you can drive the AI nuts by charming/dominating its minions. You basically have more opportunity to buff up and then unload your most dangerous spells on the Alpine Dragon.

 

BTW, I think the Adra Dragon's wing slam attack uses reflex.

Edited September 23, 2017 by scythesong

[Torm51]

It's Fort I took a picture. Other then that I agree.

[Lampros]

 

 

So I downed the Adra Dragon but had a harder time then the Alpine Dragon this time around. [...] What do you guys think?

Imho, Adra Dragon is easier than Alpine, because she:

- is very slow, iirc she has move speed of 3 and could be stopped completely via Hobble.

- has much lower melee dps: damage (58-88 vs 74-101), no deathblows/finishing strike... and Alpine is "dual-wielding" and attacking faster than the "single-wielding" Adra Dragon.

 

On the other hand, she is immune to fire, has comparable in damage Dragon Breath but of wider (!) cone, and also has the Wing Slam which can insta-kill unfortunately placed squishies.

You are right the Adra Dragon is easier. I just didn't play it as carefully and it almost cost me. Wing slam insta gibbed Kana who is a dedicated tank. Still at 16 he only had 116 Fort and I have focused fort gear on him. I really like the chanter so far but the class performance in Dragon Fifghts has not been good. His Endurance is still lower then my Paladin and Fighter and he's been one shotted by the Alpine and Adra Dragon. Maybe I'm not using him right? I couldn't even turn the dragon I ran kana up and he got Wing Slammed to oblivion.

 

Kana has every defense talent you can think of other then cautious attack which is irrelevant against Fort attacks. He's wearing the full White Crest set my Paladin has Ryonas. Still not enough I'm just going to stop tanking the dragons. A paladin can do it. I've got a 154 Fort on the Paladin maybe I should use him more as the main tank against big hitters and have kana pick up adds

 

I just like keeping the Paladin close and not an island solo for Zealous Focus to spells. Need all the ACC you can get in those fights.

 

 

What kind of stat distribution did you have on Kana? And gear besides armor? Now I am wondering if I want to tank with a Chanter against late-game bosses...

 

Edit: And wow, 116 Fortitude is not enough?!

Edited September 23, 2017 by Lampros

[Torm51]

 

 

 

So I downed the Adra Dragon but had a harder time then the Alpine Dragon this time around. [...] What do you guys think?

Imho, Adra Dragon is easier than Alpine, because she:

- is very slow, iirc she has move speed of 3 and could be stopped completely via Hobble.

- has much lower melee dps: damage (58-88 vs 74-101), no deathblows/finishing strike... and Alpine is "dual-wielding" and attacking faster than the "single-wielding" Adra Dragon.

 

On the other hand, she is immune to fire, has comparable in damage Dragon Breath but of wider (!) cone, and also has the Wing Slam which can insta-kill unfortunately placed squishies.

You are right the Adra Dragon is easier. I just didn't play it as carefully and it almost cost me. Wing slam insta gibbed Kana who is a dedicated tank. Still at 16 he only had 116 Fort and I have focused fort gear on him. I really like the chanter so far but the class performance in Dragon Fifghts has not been good. His Endurance is still lower then my Paladin and Fighter and he's been one shotted by the Alpine and Adra Dragon. Maybe I'm not using him right? I couldn't even turn the dragon I ran kana up and he got Wing Slammed to oblivion.

 

Kana has every defense talent you can think of other then cautious attack which is irrelevant against Fort attacks. He's wearing the full White Crest set my Paladin has Ryonas. Still not enough I'm just going to stop tanking the dragons. A paladin can do it. I've got a 154 Fort on the Paladin maybe I should use him more as the main tank against big hitters and have kana pick up adds

 

I just like keeping the Paladin close and not an island solo for Zealous Focus to spells. Need all the ACC you can get in those fights.

What kind of stat distribution did you have on Kana? And gear besides armor? Now I am wondering if I want to tank with a Chanter against late-game bosses...

 

Edit: And wow, 116 Fortitude is not enough?!

My Paladin at 150 Fort will take grazes and those grazes HURT because of how high the base damage attacks are.

 

He's got the 3 INT white crest helm, the necklace that makes his AOE bigger, +9 to Fort, reflex, will ring, +9 deflection ring. I forgot the boots and gloves I'm not home. A hatchet and the small shield you get from the Alpine dragon fight. Maybe I should have withdrawn him. He's got little savior now. Anyway it's best not to face tank until you have it heavily debuffed.

 

Also 2 might chest enchant, has bears Fort also

Edited September 23, 2017 by Torm51

[Lampros]

 

 

 

 

So I downed the Adra Dragon but had a harder time then the Alpine Dragon this time around. [...] What do you guys think?

Imho, Adra Dragon is easier than Alpine, because she:

- is very slow, iirc she has move speed of 3 and could be stopped completely via Hobble.

- has much lower melee dps: damage (58-88 vs 74-101), no deathblows/finishing strike... and Alpine is "dual-wielding" and attacking faster than the "single-wielding" Adra Dragon.

 

On the other hand, she is immune to fire, has comparable in damage Dragon Breath but of wider (!) cone, and also has the Wing Slam which can insta-kill unfortunately placed squishies.

You are right the Adra Dragon is easier. I just didn't play it as carefully and it almost cost me. Wing slam insta gibbed Kana who is a dedicated tank. Still at 16 he only had 116 Fort and I have focused fort gear on him. I really like the chanter so far but the class performance in Dragon Fifghts has not been good. His Endurance is still lower then my Paladin and Fighter and he's been one shotted by the Alpine and Adra Dragon. Maybe I'm not using him right? I couldn't even turn the dragon I ran kana up and he got Wing Slammed to oblivion.

 

Kana has every defense talent you can think of other then cautious attack which is irrelevant against Fort attacks. He's wearing the full White Crest set my Paladin has Ryonas. Still not enough I'm just going to stop tanking the dragons. A paladin can do it. I've got a 154 Fort on the Paladin maybe I should use him more as the main tank against big hitters and have kana pick up adds

 

I just like keeping the Paladin close and not an island solo for Zealous Focus to spells. Need all the ACC you can get in those fights.

What kind of stat distribution did you have on Kana? And gear besides armor? Now I am wondering if I want to tank with a Chanter against late-game bosses...

 

Edit: And wow, 116 Fortitude is not enough?!

My Paladin at 150 Fort will take grazes and those grazes HURT because of how high the base damage attacks are.

 

He's got the 3 INT white crest helm, the necklace that makes his AOE bigger, +9 to Fort, reflex, will ring, +9 deflection ring. I forgot the boots and gloves I'm not home. A hatchet and the small shield you get from the Alpine dragon fight. Maybe I should have withdrawn him. He's got little savior now. Anyway it's best not to face tank until you have it heavily debuffed.

 

Also 2 might chest enchant, has bears Fort also

 

 

150 Fort. My God. That's insane.

 

So only Paladins can face-tank dragons at PotD?

[Torm51]

A Fighter he's got the Endurance, health and it's easy to get a high Fort. Also Endurance regen. Problem with tank fighters is that it's all they can do if you spec them that way.

Edited September 23, 2017 by Torm51

[Lampros]

A Fighter he's got the Endurance, health and it's easy to get a high Fort. Also Endurance regen. Problem with tank fighters is that it's all they can do if you spec them that way.

 

Indeed. I am planning on having my Wayfarer DPS Paladin to switch to Outworn Buckler or Little Savior for harder fights - especially boss fights. I think the Paladin's flexibility is absolutely amazing.

[Torm51]

To be honest I would just run away and create distance. Those have been my smoothest kills on dragons. I'm actually thinking of specing for 2 auras next run. Focus for when I want to sit and fight and charge for when I want run. The chanter chant isn't instant and it could be to slow to out range Dragon breaths and AOEs.

[mosspit]

Jesus, if you veterans have trouble v. the dragons on TC, what will I do?

Although PotD is widely touted as easy and such, the no second chance nature of this game mode still needs to be respected. And that's the point, if it was all the way smooth and easy, I personally wouldnt have done TC or ToI as I wouldnt be able to retain the necessary tension to hold my attention. Also take into account I imposed restrictions as well

 

The beauty of TC is to also to live with the consequence of bad decision. For example, my current playthrough had me accidentally made the npcs in the Abbey hostile by lockpicking a door I shouldnt. So I was trapped in the abbey with hostiles and had to crave a way out. And the battles were brutal as it was upscaled with paladins, priests and monks. Every battle I won by the skin of my teeth, but it was also pretty darn amazing

Edited September 24, 2017 by mosspit

[mosspit]

 

 

 

So I downed the Adra Dragon but had a harder time then the Alpine Dragon this time around. [...] What do you guys think?

Imho, Adra Dragon is easier than Alpine, because she:

- is very slow, iirc she has move speed of 3 and could be stopped completely via Hobble.

- has much lower melee dps: damage (58-88 vs 74-101), no deathblows/finishing strike... and Alpine is "dual-wielding" and attacking faster than the "single-wielding" Adra Dragon.

 

On the other hand, she is immune to fire, has comparable in damage Dragon Breath but of wider (!) cone, and also has the Wing Slam which can insta-kill unfortunately placed squishies.

 

You are right the Adra Dragon is easier. I just didn't play it as carefully and it almost cost me. Wing slam insta gibbed Kana who is a dedicated tank. Still at 16 he only had 116 Fort and I have focused fort gear on him. I really like the chanter so far but the class performance in Dragon Fifghts has not been good. His Endurance is still lower then my Paladin and Fighter and he's been one shotted by the Alpine and Adra Dragon. Maybe I'm not using him right? I couldn't even turn the dragon I ran kana up and he got Wing Slammed to oblivion.

 

Kana has every defense talent you can think of other then cautious attack which is irrelevant against Fort attacks. He's wearing the full White Crest set my Paladin has Ryonas. Still not enough I'm just going to stop tanking the dragons. A paladin can do it. I've got a 154 Fort on the Paladin maybe I should use him more as the main tank against big hitters and have kana pick up adds

 

I just like keeping the Paladin close and not an island solo for Zealous Focus to spells. Need all the ACC you can get in those fights.

 

 

What kind of stat distribution did you have on Kana? And gear besides armor? Now I am wondering if I want to tank with a Chanter against late-game bosses...

 

Edit: And wow, 116 Fortitude is not enough?!

 

For chanters, you probably need the special tanking skills like Unbending from Maegfolc Skull and Triggered Immunity from Ryonna's Breastplate. But a paladin will still perform better due to nartually higher saves.

 

And since those are mainly fighter skills, a fighter doesn't need those equipment and can wear something else.

Edited September 24, 2017 by mosspit

[Lampros]

 

Jesus, if you veterans have trouble v. the dragons on TC, what will I do?

Although PotD is widely touted as easy and such, the no second chance nature of this game mode still needs to be respected. And that's the point, if it was all the way smooth and easy, I personally wouldnt have done TC or ToI as I wouldnt be able to retain the necessary tension to hold my attention. Also take into account I imposed restrictions as well

 

The beauty of TC is to also to live with the consequence of bad decision. For example, my current playthrough had me accidentally made the npcs in the Abbey hostile by lockpicking a door I shouldnt. So I was trapped in the abbey with hostiles and had to crave a way out. And the battles were brutal as it was upscaled with paladins, priests and monks. Every battle I won by the skin of my teeth, but it was also pretty darn amazing

 

 

That's what my last PotD run was like (until I lost my save at level 6). I deliberately tried to avoid save scumming to prepare for TC, and I had so many instances where I was a hit away from being knocked out. But I avoided being knocked out mainly only because I took easy fights early on - which may not be possible later where there are fights I have to take to progress. So I want to get an abundant amount of practice before I try TC.

[mosspit]

The thing was my party being trapped in the abbey. I didn't fight my way in so I didn't had a clear route to retreat into the open map. Every battle was difficult that generally left my party in the yellow or red, so I couldn't take more than 2 fights consecutively. Why this is dangerous and exciting was because I had limited camping supplies and it was legitimately game over if I couldn't fight my way out before I used up all my camp supplies.

 

Fortunately, my priest had 12 Dex. So after wearing a +4 dex Viettro Formal Footwear and eating a Rauatai Sweet Pie, I had barely enough Dex to escape the Abbey via the Chasm route.

Edited September 24, 2017 by mosspit

[Lampros]

Just a question about combining the TC mode with the disable auto-save option in the IE mod: What copy does the game "save" with auto-save disabled? Or is TC (or ironman mode) incompatible with the disable auto-save option in the IE mod?

 

I'd rather give up on the idea of trying the TC mode than giving up the disable auto-save, because letting that on makes the game lag horribly.

[Torm51]

I don't use I.E. as long as i keep my stash clear it doesn't lag

[Torm51]

There is no auto save in TC it's just one save when you transition on load screens have never had a lag issue. Just a load time issue when stash is full.