NWN: HotU

[blackout]

I have recently finished the expansion once more. And lemme just say, IT IS T3H AW3S0M3 Z0RZ!...*ahem*It is very good and I would like to learn everyone's individual opinions on it.

[Selrahc]

Meh. Items are too powerful. 99% of the fights are too easy.

It's okay, but not stellar.

[Dhavaer]

Like all NWN. Good game, but no replay value. The only interesting bit is the story.

[DeathQuaker]

I like HotU a lot, though the only thing I find that diminishes the replay value is that it starts awfully slow. The Undermountain part can get very tedious after awhile. I like the Underdark and the lower planes though, and I remember the first time through being quite joyful at finding that particular person imprisoned in the ice. It's a high power level game but it's supposed to be... and I found the final fight very challenging (even when I managed to be persuasive enough not to lose my help).

[Selrahc]

I actually got Mephistopholes' true name. The fight was skipped entirely.

[blackout]

I actually got Mephistopholes' true name. The fight was skipped entirely.

I learned EVERYONE'S true name, big M's included. You can almost hear Deekin.
"That it? No epic battle? Big devil guy just goes 'boom?' Deekin wants his epic battle to end book!"

[Om]

HotU isn't bad. It actually has a story. But that's about all you can say for it.

[blackout]

Yeah, and the many different paths you can take during the story are awesome. :) SO...what results did everyone get at the end of the story?
Here's what I got.
Drearings Deep: Killed the priests, but forgot to kill the dragon-lich. Dragon-lich destroyed village in retribution. Ghosts are now royally ****ed off. :P
Illithid: Gave up mirror to Mindflayers, they become super-powerful and take over most of the Underdark.
Baator Devils: Leaderless, and now they go on about their business.(I think.)
Henchmen: Deekin and Aribeth both went on about their business after the whole 'M explosion' deal.
Drow Allies: :P Dead. Turned on em. Not my brightest moment.
Durnan: Reunited with family, rebuilt city.
Big M: Blew up. :)

[Larrin]

i found the final battle a cake walk for my fighter, who just hacked at him with a +25 sword until he keeled over, but quite impossible for my assassin, since of course mephisto is immune to sneak attacks! that and i didn't have +25 weapons so i couldn't hurt him with my merely +6 short sword. I finally beat him using custom made darts that did 2d20 divine damage (which i made as a joke, and had forgot i'd picked them up on that character in my training map)

the most interesting ending i found was if you assaul the mindflayer overmind, it tries to trap you in a fantasy. if you choose to believe the fantasy you end up spending the rest of your life in it....cue the credits.

[Douglas]

Yeah, and the many different paths you can take during the story are awesome. :) SO...what results did everyone get at the end of the story?

Let's see:
Drearings Deep: killed dracolich, village now a haven for escaped slaves/other good guys in the underdark
Zorvak'mir (Illithids): killed central brain, wiped out city, remnants were abandoned by their "allies" and sank into obscurity
Henchmen: didn't have any, though I did at least bring everyone back to life
Drow Allies: Saved the entire camp, not sure anyone died even in the battle at the gates until Meph showed up. Gave Seer the mirror, they are now a major power for good.
Big M: Used his true name and fought him anyway. Won with ease, except the time I played a dex-based unarmed monk who could get a grand total of 1 damage past his DR when I rolled max. That time I reloaded and used Meph's true name to banish him.
Sleeping Man: United with his true love, endless honeymoon, etc.

BTW, for those who would like to continue playing a character past the end of HotU, the excellent Sands of Fate series on nwvault.com was made specifically for post-HotU characters and takes you all the way to level 40.

Sands of Fate 1 - Shadows Over Heliopolis
Sands of Fate 2 - Gem Tower
Sands of Fate 3 - Pyramid of the Ancients

You will have to download the Community Expansion Pack for everything to work right. If you have trouble getting part 3 to start, try installing the old version 1.52 + patch to 1.68 of CEP in addition to the latest version 2.

[Talanic]

Fun thing was that you didn't even have to hack the game to get a +25 weapon. Just open the dialog with the smith, ask for him to upgrade your weapon, and then switch to the new weapon you want upgraded instead of the one he says is too powerful already.

My final weapon (second time through) was +14 to hit/damage, +2d6 damage for each element, 5 vampiric damage, true sight, haste, spell resistance 14 (I think), and had a dc 25 fort save vs strength loss.

[Knight13]

Like all NWN. Good game, but no replay value. The only interesting bit is the story.

No replay value? Even with all the different classes and story choices? I've already played it through 8 times with various characters and plan on playing it more.

[heretic]

My wizard could only hit him with acid damage...I remember preparing only acid and summoning spells and I finally took him out. Half the time I was chucking flasks and bombs at him anyway.

I think I screwed the illithids, but I don't remember much else. It was a long time ago.

[Krimm_Blackleaf]

I've played it and I love it. But I kinda made myself immortal through special custom magic items (like a +40 sword with everything you can imagine tacked on). Once I get my friends to get the game we were gonna all play through it together.

[Douglas]

If you want any sort of challenge at all, it's a good idea to limit yourself to the items the game designers put in there and respect the limits on upgrading weapons. If your sword has a +30 enhancement bonus on top of all the other specials Risolvir can add, of course you're going to slaughter everything in sight with barely a scratch. I can understand circumventing the limit of 7 (I think) abilities on the weapon, especially if some of them are things like a glow added by a light gem, and I myself went for all four energy damage bonuses, but don't go beyond +10. If you go more than a very little bit beyond the power level of items Bioware put in, you might as well just turn on god mode and be done with it.

No comments on the Sands of Fate series I linked above? It really is very good, completely free, and lets you continue with your HotU character all the way to the level cap at 40, complete with continuing the power curve on equipment to go along with your new levels. You can even start with a new character (levelled to 25 at module start) if you don't want to bother going through HotU again and don't have a saved character of the build you want, though there is one spot that can give new characters a lot of trouble if they go there before accumulating enough equipment. Trying to give a good enough warning without spoiling things, try to avoid going too far into underground classic dungeon-like areas before you have decent gear. Endgame HotU equipment is plenty good enough, but the minimal stuff the module gives new characters (you do at least get more than the hardcoded nonmagical weapon and 3 cure light potions) isn't up to snuff for that particular area.

[blackout]

Well, what characters did everyone play with? I played through with a half-orc fighter-ranger(later Champion of Torm) by the name of 'Roy Greenhilt.'....Blatant ripoff ahoy.

[Dhavaer]

I think the first character I beat it with was an elf Rogue/Shadowdancer/Assassin. I could be wrong, though. It might have been a wizard.

[blackout]

Rogue/Shadowdancer/Assassin...I'm guessing you had uber-sneak attacks? :)

[Xefas]

Its been a long while, but I seem to remember beating the game for the first time with my Fighter/Blackguard. I had saved enough money to get Meph's true name, as well as (I think) Aribeth's and the drow lady henchman.

All in all it was a good game, and when I used Meph's true name to enslave him and gain his power, I couldn't help but kinda nerd-out at the awesome "You take over the whole world and are now an immortal tyrannical dictator! This is far better than any good-aligned ending you could have gotten!"

However, it was disappointing when I managed to seduce the Valsharess, and join her side, only to not have been told exactly HOW to betray my comrades. She said "open the gates and let my troops butcher your troops", and I kept trying to find some place to open the gates during that big climactic battle, but I couldn't figure out how, and ended up sundering them, which did absolutely nothing.

Oh well. I've been trying to run NWN2 on my computer nowadays, but even though I meet the recommended requirements, it still won't run correctly. Its so slow even on the very very lowest setting that I literally can't do anything. *sad*

[Douglas]

I never tried it because I hardly ever play that kind of character, but I think you have to use alchemists fire to blow up the gates if you want to betray your allies. Conveniently, there is a fairly large stockpile of it ready to use in the area.

[blackout]

just bash the gate open. :P It works ALL THE TIME.

[AdrianoIank]

I think it was a human Paladin X/Sorcerer 2/Red Dragon Disciple 10, with Divine Power and god-like Charisma. Not THAT powerful, but, hey, almost never had to rest.

[potatocubed]

As I recall, you can issue the order to just... open the gates. I vaguely remember doing that with my first character - Dorian Blackheart, Fighter/Blackguard and all-round nasty man. The fight with the Valsharess was pretty cool - Dorian just stood there battering her while she dropped spell after spell after spell, and there was fire and explosions and all sorts of awesome. I kind of knew she was doomed when she ran out of magic, though.

[Dragor]

I loved HoTU. It was great fun!

I played it through with Gloin Dragor (hence the account name), a Fighter/Dwarven Defender with a massive f*** off Greatsword of hurty-flamy-doom.

Drearings Deep - Killed all the evil guys, and after a long time beat the Dracolich. There was much jubilation.

Mind Flayer Hive = Oooh. Did what they asked, like a nice little guy.

Creepy Island Dungeon Place (with Duergar to boot)- Excellent fun, that. Got some nice little relics.

Big fight with big M? Not a chance. I grinned from ear to ear as the charisma-less Dwarf boomed out his true name.
The sad bit? Gloin didn't fall in love. Does that happen for every game? I also played it through with my Paladin/Champion of Torm and I still didn't get any lovin', despite the fact I had a Charisma going through the roof. And she was attractive to boot.

[blackout]

It's possible for your character to fall in love with one of your henchwomen. So, no, it's not the same for every character. :) I intend to play through the game with Roy again, only I'll do everything RIGHT, relationship with that Nathyrra drow babe included...what can I say? He's a simple man with simple tastes...well, ok, he's not simple...nor does he have simple tastes, as is evident by the way he's looking at the Drow women. :)

Deekin: Why boss always stare at drow women?
Roy: No reason. <_< >_> Why do you always stare at dragon women?
Deekin: Uh....no reason...HEY, WAIT A MINUTE! We no meets dragon women!
Roy: I HATE smart kobolds....

[Timberwolf]

I found the module to be great but my Assassin / rogue / shadowdancer had no chance against Mephistopheles. Fortunately I had Valen and Aribeth at my back and a lot of potions of heal.

The toughest fight was probably the Dracolich but once you go and destroy his phylactery first, he's not that bad (HiPS and stealth and use magic device FTW !!)

I was really good and destroyed everything. The Illithid, the beholders, the undead, I rescued the Avarial, freed the golems and saved the seer. Yeah, I wasn't LE at the end anymore. Still, that's what extra levels of rogue and shadowdancer are for.

[Jaysyn]

I was saddened to discover how quickly Mephisto succumbed to my Bard/Rogue/RDD.

[Douglas]

I was amused to discover that Mephistopheles is not immune to fear. The base weapon I had Rizolvir upgrade for me started out with an on hit fear ability, and Big M rolled a 1 on one of the saves against it. It was kinda funny watching the lord of the 8th level of Hell actually running away in fear for two rounds after all his big talk.

Now for a really tough boss, try the Sands of Fate series and run in circles for a while when you get the final boss. He gets a huge powerup after a certain time limit that makes him hard to beat even with the level 40 character you'll have at that point. I've done it, but it was with pretty much the most optimized build I can figure out how to make and it still took a while and I went through several Heal potions in the process. Oh, and this was after beating him down to Near Death before the powerup.

[Roderick_BR]

I've been playing only multiplayer. I should try to actually play the solo sometime :p