Icewind Dale I query

[Vella_Malachite]

I have run into an issue with Icewind Dale I game. You see, when I get the quest and go on the caravan with Hrothgar (hehe, historical reference), I am never good enough to get past the goblins or the orcs that I find once the caravan is destroyed. In the village, I have done all the quests that I can; getting the wine, killing the wolf, giving that sword from the blue chick to the guy with the dreams, and several others (sometimes I don't even get enough XP to do the quest with the kid and the goblins who stole the fish). How do I get past this?

Thanks to all who can help.:smallsmile:

[DraPrime]

Well you might have forgotten to level up your characters, which would explain your problems. Or you have the difficulty set too high. Just put it lower and the goblins should be less of a problem. Or just do what I did when I couldn't get past the goblins by fighting. RUN. Seriously, just get to the village, and to hell with fighting the goblins.

[Blayze]

I am never good enough to get past the goblins or the orcs that I find once the caravan is destroyed.

Having done past this point on Heart of Fury mode on Insane difficulty with NEW characters, I will give you some advice that helped me a lot:

The. Ogre. Respawns.

Every time I rested (I was forced to do that a lot), another Ogre would spawn, and somehow setting foot in the cave causes said Ogre to aggro from anywhere.

The main tip is to take it slow. The big room should be the first sticking point. The key there is to run. Equip everybody with ranged weapons and/or damaging spells, and fall back as fast as you can, popping off as many attacks as you can get at range.

Run back to the entrance and leave. If you can get away with it without being whacked for six, re-enter the cave, get off an attack and exit again. Rinse and repeat. If you *can't* get off another attack safely, rest, re-enter the cave and wait for the monsters to find you.

If they don't come for you, proceed forward slowly and start picking them off.

If you mean the goblins AFTER the cave, then (As far as I can remember) it's just a matter of slaughtering them as fast as possible.

Could you provide us with details on your party? Races, classes, levels, stats, weapons, gear, spells, etc? Might be able to formulate a battle plan then.

Just remember: Never be afraid to rest. :)

[Pagz]

Sleep spell.

Never leave home without them.

[Theork]

Key advise for any cave or area you know is infested with enemies; Take it slowly.
If you can, advance with just the thief a bit by bit try to lure one or two goblins away from the main force. Take them out in smaller chunks.
This early into the game trying to rush the goblins would have the same effect as attacking Drizzt Do'Urden with spoons.

Also, find an area that you can sleep in, for instance, if you were to go straight down the screen after the avanlanche there is a 'cave' into the hill you can walk into, which is a safe place to sleep.

[Driderman]

Ranged weapons and crowd control/area effect spells are the way to go, if I remember correctly.
Scout ahead with your thief, maybe let him do a backstab, then pull him back to lure enemies to you and pepper them with ranged attacks from the rest of the party.
Switch meatshields to melee weapons once the enemies close and if you have an avenue for it, get your thief stealthed again for another backstab the party is handling the enemies

[Vella_Malachite]

The only problem is that I don't get to level up by the time I get to the goblins and the orcs, and as soon as I get to the first goblins, they immediately take out my spellcasters and I can't cast spells properly in melee because I get flustered (it's lame, I know). I did it once, but never again. Any tips for a party construction? I'll see if I can just run past the second goblins, because they take down my spellcasters in less than three seconds.:smallmad: It really irritates me.

[DraPrime]

Could you tell us more about your party?

[Triaxx]

I started this game with a standard party of 3 dedicated fighters, one cleric, one wizard, and one bard. I armed and armored up, and headed for the map exit. I was slaughtered down to just the bard, who escaped because of Morale Failure.

The second run at the game was much easier, since I knew what to expect. I never had reason to Backstab while playing the BG's, but it's incredibly useful in Icewind Dale. I wonder if it's possible to play through with six thieves... Hmmm... I'll have to try that.

---

If you get flustered in combat, turn on all the auto-pause options. It'll play almost turn-based, but you'll have time to think, and plan each move.

Are you playing with, or without HoW?

[Metal Head]

Well here's the party lineup that I had.

Paladin
Cleric
Barbarian
Rogue
Sorcerer
Druid
Wizard

It worked out pretty well. The paladin, cleric, and barbarian handled most of the melee combat. The druid joined with those three when he wasn't casting spells. I gave the rogue a bow and let him fire away at the enemies while the meat shields fought them. The wizard of course blasted

[Blayze]

I can't cast spells properly in melee because I get flustered

Infinity Engine games can be paused for a reason. Use your Space Bar liberally.


Any tips for a party construction?

My party consists of a Fighter, a Thief, a Druid, a Cleric, a Mage and a Bard.

In a game like IWD, don't skimp on lowering unused stats. For example, I lowered my Fighter's Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma as far as they could go in order to free up more points to make him better at killing things. He's not going to be talking to people, he's going to be slaughtering them.

Also, don't skimp on equipment. Take a visit to Pomab's Emporium and purchase the best equipment you can get your hands on. That means suits of armour for everybody who needs them, weapons suitable to their proficiencies...

Also, MAKE SURE that everybody has a ranged weapon of some sort, and that they have more than enough ammo for said weapon. Even if your entire party is only armed with slings, that's better than nothing and allows you to take out enemies from a distance.

Goblins shouldn't be a problem even for sling-users. Simply select the sling for each of your characters as their selected weapon, select your party and then click on each enemy in turn. Those goblins should die in short order.

Also, I do not suggest running past any groups of enemies, as you usually end up running into a group of enemies of equal or greater power.