Aranea tactics needed
| Author | Topic: Aranea tactics needed |
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Apprentice
Member # 9922
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written Thursday, January 31 2008 09:06
Profile
Man, these guys are ROUGH. There's an encounter with a group of aranea on the map directly south of Fort Draco (this is A2). It seems to average around 6 of them...and they have kicked the hell out of me every time. I seem to get one round to do my buffs, initial attacks, what have you, and then they start in with multiple slow spells, followed up by smite spells that seem to devastate my party every time (and also seem to have unlimited range...what's up with that?). All of my mass damage spells are ice-based at this point, and they seem to be resistant to that. I've tried hasting my guys during the initial round, but that immediately gets cancelled out by all of the slow spells. So, this begs the question...am I SUPPOSED to be able to beat them now, or do I resign myself to coming back? I hate leaving anything unfinished before going on to the next chapter, but I'm out of ideas. I also swore that I wouldn't cheat or change the difficulty level to make things easier on myself (it's on easy right now). I'm playing with 2 melee fighters, 1 mage, 1 priest. Casters also have basic cross-training in the other magical sphere (level 1 spells only). Help me out! Posts: 25 | Registered: Tuesday, August 21 2007 07:00 |
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Law Bringer
Member # 6785
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written Thursday, January 31 2008 09:43
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I think that's the hardest single fight for the level before you go down river. I used up potions for haste and go immediately to bind foe spell to sleep the aranea in the same round. The only way to win this fight is to reduce the number of active foes as quickly as possible to a manageable number. Also if you have found the spell shard, use the once a day ability to summon a beast to increase the number on your side. Good luck since I've probably reloaded this fight more than any other in the game. Posts: 4643 | Registered: Friday, February 10 2006 08:00 |
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Shock Trooper
Member # 7662
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written Thursday, January 31 2008 14:28
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In tough Avernum fights I would typically Haste a spellcaster so he/she could heal or cast damage spells twice as often. Then this spellcaster would Haste the other. I would Slow opponents, Bless front two PCs and maybe Shield them too. These are all cheap spells to cast. I always use custom PCs, the pregenerated Spiderweb guys have skill points spread all over the place. Also, my two front rank fighters have at least one level of Priest spells, so they can heal themselves if they ever reach 0 Health. This frees the two spellcasters to cast serious spells. [ Thursday, January 31, 2008 14:34: Message edited by: Ishad Nha ] Posts: 292 | Registered: Monday, November 13 2006 08:00 |
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Apprentice
Member # 9922
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written Thursday, January 31 2008 17:30
Profile
^ Typically that's what I do too. The trouble here is that there's no chance to do so before the fight takes place; this is the old engine, where you are taken from the world map to the combat map in the event of a fight. And...buff spells don't work on the world map. I tried out haste at the beginning of the fight, but the multiple Slow spells cast by the aranea instantly cancel it out. Oh, right, they Haste themselves, too. I have to admit, in a very perverse way, I'm enjoying getting my butt handed to me over and over again. This must be what groups of NPCs feel like when max-buffed parties of demigods roll over them throughout the game. Payback - we all know what it is. I like the idea of using up some haste potions on this fight, though. Presumably, you'd be able to carry over the bonus from the large map into the small as long as you drank it right before the combat takes place. That first round makes or breaks the fight, but even so I think I'm gonna have to get lucky, too. Thanks all! Editing to say that, in the initial post, I meant to say "normal", not "easy". I'm not that bad at this, I hope! [ Thursday, January 31, 2008 17:33: Message edited by: Mick of Time ] Posts: 25 | Registered: Tuesday, August 21 2007 07:00 |
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Agent
Member # 5814
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written Thursday, January 31 2008 19:34
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Invest in wands; they use three AP, meaning you can attack twice without worrying about hasting. You probably know this by now, but the concentration of fire on one target at a time is essential. If you want to get really technical, mark the ones which are hasted by the other Aranea and go after them first. Also, try summoning a decoy shade. Their immunity to ice might prove useful against Aranean Ice Lances. -------------------- It's just trying to say hi! Posts: 1115 | Registered: Sunday, May 15 2005 07:00 |