Ok maybe some basics and tactics as well as direct answers to your frequent death situations. *Contains Major Spoilers*
1) The Battering Hogar: This encounter can always be saved until your party is stronger. In this particular case, the encounter isn't necessary at all from a perspective of game progress. Besides, many of the better items in its cave are for a party about level 11. If he gives you trouble leave him til later, he and the goodies will always be there for when you are ready.
I'm actually surprised Tom didn't toot his own horn here. I find Hogar encounters to go exceeding well when a Gadgeteer in the party has a good supply of duct tape. [img]graemlins/showoff.gif[/img]
2) The Oaks. I have these guys down to a science, but its underhanded the way I deal with them. I stand in the hall just out of sight of them but where I can see into the room a bit. I either cast an area effect spell, or most always throw in a Fire Bomb from Fuzzfas. Other party members cast what ever protects or use items that protect or enhance themselves and/or the party.
Second round, run to the edge of the hallway near the door where I can peek back at where I was. Usually the Oaks all cast Body of Stone this second round.
Third round, they charge. I run out the door to the no magic zone making sure to stay out of line of sight of the door. This usually drags them out there with the party. Then I run the party back into the hallway and stand back so the Oaks will come up to the door but not cross that little magical line out of the no magic zone.
Then the party steps into them and the party can turn the tables on them by being able to cast spells, even if only healing and buff. Our poor Sap(ling)s are standing out there and must resort to hand to hand combat. They are good at it so protect the party the best you can with Guardian Angel, Body of Stone, and Razor Cloak, either spell or potions work.
If nothing else this at least evens the playing field so to speak where they are concerned.
3) A little cheesey trick is available in Trynton to help you with those Sprites and Oaks. Stand just down the hallway from Chief Gari. Enter combat mode and just hit enter. Chief Gari always casts some sort of buff or protective spell when he has no enemies in sight. In some games where I have no spell casters to protect from magical attacks I do this repeatedly until he blankets the party with a level 6 or 7 Magic Screen.
Also, if Leaf Sprites attack near Fuzzfas, go in the room with him, most likely he will cast elemental shield at some point to further help your resistances at least during that combat.
Stepping just around a corner so the sprites have to charge you is also a good tactic. I like using a Napalm Bomb and getting them up close and personal. A few well placed whacks and poof at the end of the combat they go pop to the ring of fire. I just try to have as many party members as possible target different Sprites so some damage is done to all of them to weaken them for the Ring of Fire to finish off.
4) Arnika Road: The first time you hit Arnika Road coming out of the Monastery can be a nightmare. I shudder to remember my first trip out. The party was scrabbling to get back in. Later I found some advice that was quite helpful, particularly if you haven't actually completed the game yet and don't have much experience with tactics.
Random monster encounters are based on party average level. When leaving the Monastery your party is definitely ill equipped and likely their skills are just not up to par. Training methods exist but not all of us like to employ them. Try holding back the party level ups after they have reached level 5.
Now most encounters will be more in keeping with what a young group of adventurers can cope with.
Note: Some loot generation is based on party level as well, so when entering Arnika for the first time try to have your party members level 6 at least. This qualifies them for a bit better loot.
Magic Using Enemies in general: As Tom pointed out, being able to cast protective magics is your main chance for survival. You can also find items eventually that help boost resistence to magical attacks.
As mentioned, some of the best tactics are to rush them and beat the stuffing out of them if you have a group good at close combat. Silence spells are always useful, but from the sounds of things your parties aren't getting to a level where the spell has any real power yet.
5) The Rattkin: These guys, IMHO are way over powered for their level rating. They are however, quite susecptible to mental spells. Insanity on the Goons and the Archers works well. But I particularly love using a powder of Defection or Turncoat spell on one right in the middle of them. Usually they are so busy trying to beat on him the party gets a break and can pound them to a pulp.
Acid Bombs, Fire Bombs, and even Death Bombs from the Don *hint hint* take their toll on these guys over time.
I saw a post about another tactic that works well too. As long as you and the Don are buddy buddy drag the goons in to him. Between him, Milano, and the party they don't stand a chance.
6) The Morax: If you have a Priest or Bishop in the party use the Turn Undead option. If you get lucky they can be paralyzed. Dust of Banishment is a good option here. Open the door and keep the party squeezed into the corner so the Morax cannot see you immediately.
Go into combat mode and strafe a smidgeon into view of them. Have any one and everyone in the party ready these handy little bags of powder before the strafe and voila, most likely the Morax won't be around long enough to get a spell off.
Yes, yet another little dirty trick I pull on the enemy.
Bonus: The chest next to Don Barlone is a Generic High Level chest. It has the tougher traps of the game. I think a good divine trap spell coupled with a good lock picker will help you here.
Depending on what difficulty setting you use for the game, Novice, Normal, or Expert, you will need Locks and Traps about at least 65% or higher to get the contents without getting your arse shot off.
One other thing. Stop rushing. It looks to me like you are taking your parties too far too fast. Don't be afraid to "hang out" in an area until your party is strong enough to handle themselves.
Let magic users build power to buff and protect the party. Always cast spells like Magic Screen, Missile Shield, Enchanted Blade, and Armorplate outside of combat. Keeping these in force at all times will greatly improve the party's chance of survival. If you do not use casters then try to lay your hands on scrolls, some can be bought, some cannot. Use them as soon as you know an encounter is at hand since they are not as easily replenished as a spell from a party member would be.
That advice for holding back levels goes for any new area. If you are having trouble dealing with the monsters you encounter randomly stop leveling up for awhile. Give your party time to build their skills to a point where the encounters go more smoothly in their favor.
Take your time, enjoy the areas, build up skills, and don't tackle things that are too big for your party's britches.
[ 08-25-2004, 06:58 PM: Message edited by: Flamestryke ]