Posted December 27, 2018
After trying this once before as a halfling psionicist/druid, I thought that soloing the game on Hideous might not be possible. Two important revelations came to mind:
1. The character must be crafted to survive the first battle in the arena and to capably handle the last battle of the game.
2. A character can start the game with Mass Domination (MD).
I haven't determined the criteria for #2, but I believe this may be some kind of Wild Talent calculation. Making exactly the same character gave me slightly different random results, including a couple with Mass Domination AND one extra power. (Note that psionicists should not receive Wild Talents, but I can't explain the randomness otherwise.)
#2 doesn't actually matter. But it does enable the possibility of a non-warrior solo character since you don't have to level up to get MD.
In my second attempt at soloing, I reached the Final Battle with a fighter/psionicist mul. And I almost succeeded, after several tries in charming Wyrmias and the surrounding guards. But without magic, I knew I could only complete the Final Battle with lucky die rolls.
Finally, with a half-elf figher/psionicist/preserver, I decimated the Final Battle with ease. All allies survived.
A quick roadmap if you're wanting to try this challenge yourself:
1. The most effective combo is warrior/psionicist/magic-user (priest or preserver).
2. After surviving the first battle, the best escape method is Mirlon's gem. Break the pots in the SE corner, bring the gem to Mirlon, negotiate your escape, then skip going to the templar and instead go straight to the sewer entrance.
3. Once you level up, add Mass Domination to your repertoire. This is a central survival technique, removing enemies and using them as meat shields. Synaptic Static will be desirable as well.
4. Pick up Dagolar's cloak immediately after the tari. Arrows will be a big deal after the sewers.
5. Pick up El's Drinker asap. You can get it as soon as you reach Gedron.
6. Nasty bug in Balkazar's Lair: The XP I was gaining was negative! Only seemed to happen in this location (all screens inside the wyrm skeleton), and adding a character to the party seemed to fix it.
7. Until the Final Battle, the rest of the game can be done in most any fashion.
8. With the genie's help, the first wave of the Final Battle simply needs Synaptic Static, Web/Entangle, and Haste if you have it.
9. The second wave needs loads of Mass Domination, Web/Entangle, and Haste if you have it. Plenty of other effects can help here.
I might try to do the Final Battle without the genie's help. Don't know if those rampagers can be dealt with. Regardless, Wake of the Ravager is next!
1. The character must be crafted to survive the first battle in the arena and to capably handle the last battle of the game.
2. A character can start the game with Mass Domination (MD).
I haven't determined the criteria for #2, but I believe this may be some kind of Wild Talent calculation. Making exactly the same character gave me slightly different random results, including a couple with Mass Domination AND one extra power. (Note that psionicists should not receive Wild Talents, but I can't explain the randomness otherwise.)
#2 doesn't actually matter. But it does enable the possibility of a non-warrior solo character since you don't have to level up to get MD.
In my second attempt at soloing, I reached the Final Battle with a fighter/psionicist mul. And I almost succeeded, after several tries in charming Wyrmias and the surrounding guards. But without magic, I knew I could only complete the Final Battle with lucky die rolls.
Finally, with a half-elf figher/psionicist/preserver, I decimated the Final Battle with ease. All allies survived.
A quick roadmap if you're wanting to try this challenge yourself:
1. The most effective combo is warrior/psionicist/magic-user (priest or preserver).
2. After surviving the first battle, the best escape method is Mirlon's gem. Break the pots in the SE corner, bring the gem to Mirlon, negotiate your escape, then skip going to the templar and instead go straight to the sewer entrance.
3. Once you level up, add Mass Domination to your repertoire. This is a central survival technique, removing enemies and using them as meat shields. Synaptic Static will be desirable as well.
4. Pick up Dagolar's cloak immediately after the tari. Arrows will be a big deal after the sewers.
5. Pick up El's Drinker asap. You can get it as soon as you reach Gedron.
6. Nasty bug in Balkazar's Lair: The XP I was gaining was negative! Only seemed to happen in this location (all screens inside the wyrm skeleton), and adding a character to the party seemed to fix it.
7. Until the Final Battle, the rest of the game can be done in most any fashion.
8. With the genie's help, the first wave of the Final Battle simply needs Synaptic Static, Web/Entangle, and Haste if you have it.
9. The second wave needs loads of Mass Domination, Web/Entangle, and Haste if you have it. Plenty of other effects can help here.
I might try to do the Final Battle without the genie's help. Don't know if those rampagers can be dealt with. Regardless, Wake of the Ravager is next!
Post edited December 27, 2018 by bismuthdrummer