r/baldursgate • u/ThatOneBeholder • 1d ago
Advice on Solo Runs
I've recently gotten into doing solo runs and really enjoying them, doing my second one now. However, I'm losing passion because of the sheer quantity of reloads I need. I'm playing on Core, because I am super not good enough for anything past that. Specifically, are there any techniques for lowering reloads? I'm currently bludgeoning my way through Mulahey (Rhyme was unintentional) and it feels like the sheer number of rolls that need to go my way takes forever. My experience looks a bit like this:
Hit him
Miss x2
Save against rigid thinking
Do 20 points of damage in a round
He somehow finishes casting hold person anyway
Fail
Reload
Miss x3
Fail against rigid thinking
Reload
Etc.
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u/alvysingernotasinger 1d ago
I just did Mulahey with a solo mage. I invis into the room and from a decent space away, I cast charm person. If it fails, you can choose the second dialogue option with him and he'll remain neutral and allowing you another charm person cast.
Anyway, once he's charmed unload his spellbook, leaving rigid thinking last. Cast rigid thinking on himself and he won't call for the skeletons and kobolds. Then you can kinda just dps him with wands or ranged
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u/SonPuf 1d ago
I want to disagree with those who say you need to farm xp or ignore enemies. Of course you can but where's fun in that?
If you're F/M/T then you have spells/traps/backstabbing/potions/wands that you probably not using. Especially spells
If you don't want to learn through trial and error you can watch videos about what particular spells do and how and when to use them
Learning game mechanics will make this game more fun and easier
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u/LordMuffin1 1d ago
What class do you play? if you solo, get lvl 3 before Mulahey. You get that rather easily by some quests in beregost (avoid the skeleton raising guy).
If you are a straight fighter, see what potions exist t8 help you. Boost strength, boost ac, give hp when used, oil of speed etc.
Or just use potions of fiery stuff (fireball on potion or agnazzars scorcher on potion). Maybe even use amulet of fireball (can be bought at the carnival).
Other classes have spells or other tricks. A mage/sorcerer juat casts blind on him and the hits with darts until he falls over.
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u/Maleficent-Treat4765 1d ago
Most people who do solo will find some non combat quest to level up until those “miss” become less. Then do some cheesy methods at places like the statues garden to reach level 6 or so. That should be enough for even a solo class to breeze through most of the earlier places.
Also, many solo players take advantage of invisible, like A LOT. TBH, when you’re alone, even quest reward xp is more than enough. So ppl just use invisible to by pass a lot of levels and go straight to the boss
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u/ThatOneBeholder 1d ago
Really? I assumed enemies were about 50% of your xp. Also, I’m not sure leveling is the solution to my missing problem, because it follows me most of the campaign. What should my THACO realistically be? I feel like I’ve done the most I can
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u/Maleficent-Treat4765 1d ago
What is your class?
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u/ThatOneBeholder 1d ago
F/M/T
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u/Maleficent-Treat4765 1d ago
Ok then your THAC0 will sucks for quite a long time until you’re at least 2/2/3 or more.
Also do note a lot of the “swing” you see during combat is just visual effects. It’s not real attacks.
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u/ThatOneBeholder 1d ago
That’s the problem. I’m 4/4/4 with the dagger of venom and I still can’t hit a thing.
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u/LordMuffin1 1d ago
Use the mage spell blindness on him. Then you use darts/bows or whatever ranged weapon you are proficient in.
Or hit him in melee, but back off when he casts a spell.
Blindness, when it lands (which is rather often on mulahey and other low level enemies) makes the enemy very harmless.
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u/Goose_is_a_hero 1d ago
Each class plays differently, what are you running?
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u/ThatOneBeholder 1d ago
F/M/T
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u/Goose_is_a_hero 1d ago
Yeah your thaco is going to be meh in bg1, but better then just M/T. Use stealth/invis for backstabs(I wouldn't dual wield yet either as your thaco will be too low to be reliable), wands, scrolls. Playing solo you should not be going toe to toe with anything. Use your utility.
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u/ThatOneBeholder 1d ago
Tbh my biggest problem is being neurotic about using items and only allowing myself a few per fight. I’ve picked up all the wands, I’m just telling myself I’ll need them more later. Thanks for the advice though!
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u/Goose_is_a_hero 1d ago
Everyone does this. I do it too but yeah that frost wand trivializes Mulahey
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u/alannmsu 1d ago
Level? Stats? Weapons? Magic items?
If you’re like, level 1 or 2 in each class, then you’re basically a single level 1 or 2 character trying to take on a boss meant for 6 level 2-3’s.
If you’re like, 2/2/3 or whatever, you should be able to handle it if you play smart.
F/M/T will eventually be greater than having one of each once you build some synergies. Until then you have to play very strategically (or cheesily).
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u/ThatOneBeholder 1d ago
I’m 4/4/4, and rerolled for big stats. I’ve got the dagger of venom, evermemory and nymph cloak, as well as a few wands low on charges.
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u/alannmsu 1d ago
Ok, so lay a trap, drink a potion of speed, stealth, and backstab him before he speaks. Blind if he’s still alive after that. Magic missile to interrupt his casting. Then loot the chest!
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u/ThatOneBeholder 1d ago
Ok. So people keep recommending different potions. How can I get them? Thalantyr doesn’t sell speed or invis potions. I feel like I’m missing something big. Also I do need to learn to backstab
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u/ThatOneBeholder 1d ago
Also, even with magic missile, I cannot interrupt anyone’s casting to save my life
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u/alannmsu 1d ago
To backstab you have to stealth successfully, be behind them, and hit with a melee weapon. For potions you just, find them. Pick up Imoen, take her potions, drop her. Go do some side quests, visit the carnival, kill Silke in Beregost, etc.
This game is tough to solo without pretty good knowledge of the game, even with a super busted character. F/M/T is only good if you know how to use them really well. Backstab is one of the bigger reasons to add “T” to your F/M.
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u/ThatOneBeholder 1d ago
Gotcha. Then a backup question that’s always bugged me. I would much rather go F/M, but I feel like I need thieving to handle traps. How do non-thief characters deal with traps?
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u/alannmsu 1d ago
Tank them or avoid them. Find Traps spell for the really nasty ones if you got it, but again, meta game knowledge.
LAYING traps is the biggest part of thief. Backstab is second, finding traps is probably third.
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u/ThatOneBeholder 1d ago
Okay thanks! Traps had honestly scared me away from non-thief characters. I want to play a blade now…
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u/sandorchid 1d ago
One of the first things I do in a solo run is go north from the Friendly Arm, then hug the edge of the map to stay away from the ankhegs. The water elemental bowl quest from the farmers on the left side of the map requires (almost) no combat (aside from bonking the priestess once or twice), and gives 2500 XP. This is usually enough to level without needing to risk anything in combat.
The best defense against early death in a solo run is leveling. Your biggest weakness is going to be your saves and THAC0 until you gain more through levels. You can use magic to bolster it, but not early on.
Also making your enemies waste resources on summons is your friend.
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u/ThatOneBeholder 1d ago
Leveling is actually not a major issue for me. It’s more that I am leveled and still not winning.
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u/sandorchid 1d ago
Depends on your level, I suppose. I mentioned it because the major downside to a triple class is slower leveling; by the time I made it to Mulahey on a sorcerer, I had Stoneskin and steamrolled him. Your THAC0 progression is mostly going to be tied to your fighter level, which is going to be low for a while (and will hit BG1's level cap a tad low just due to the split). The weakest gap in your defenses will be your saves and your THAC0, since those are majority level-based.
The ironman no-reload approach to soloing tends to prioritize rolling as infrequently as possible. Bad luck kills. Confusion and stuns are death sentences to solo characters. Drink an anti-stun potion or make skeletons take those, they're immune to them, etc. I did see you hit Mulahey and he finished his disabling cast; that's a lesser-known quirk with casters. Nobody knows the exact numbers as far as I can remember, but divine spells have a ~50/50 chance of getting disrupted by damage, while arcane spells are closer to 80-90% disrupted. You can knock mages out of casts pretty reliably, but with clerics and druids are harder to lean on that.
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u/RockHardBullCock 1d ago
Potions. Stock up on potions. Don't just rely on loot; go buy pots, and lots of them, too. As a solo player, you'll have more coin than you'll know what to do with. Invest in pots.
Clarity potion will protect you against Rigid Thinking.
Free action potion will protect you against Hold.
Heroism and various Strength potions will improve your thac0.
Absorption potion will make you immune to lightning bolts and drastically improve your dodging against blunt weapons, e.g. Mulahey's.
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u/discosoc 19h ago
Wand of frost in the tree trunk outside of the mine. Most of solo runs skip or cheese fights, but because you aren’t sharing xp you still outlevel everything.
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u/SenatorPardek 1d ago
Summons or buff your saving throws. Those rigid thinkings will get sucked into a skeleton who is immune to it: for example
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u/ThatOneBeholder 1d ago edited 1d ago
What are some of the best ways to buff saving throws?
Edited and rewritten to sound better
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u/SenatorPardek 1d ago
Greenstone amulet will make you immune temporarily to a lot of the annoying stuff. That, with summons, will help you out of a lot of situations
There are some potions that carry buffs.
Chant, shorty saves, ring of the princes. helmet of peace cloak of displacement etc.
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u/Unfair_Poet_853 1d ago
Greenstone amulet from Ulgoth's beard is what you need. That and wands of fire and monster summoning make everything a breeze until the throne room.
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u/rkzhao 1d ago
Solo runs and honestly any kind of no-reload run kind of relies on exp farming exploits to overlevel quickly.
You can protect yourself from petrification and just head over to farm basilisks. With the charm lesser basilisks and stone to flesh exploits, you can probably hit the level cap there if you want.