It still surprises me how so many people say Planescape Torment is about story and not combat, yet my experience with this game has been barely surviving one brutal battle after another (Ravel, Trias, Ignus). I have beaten Baldur's Gate 1, Neverwinter Nights 1 and 2, and Icewind Dales 1 and 2 all on normal/D&D difficulty, but never got stuck in combat on those games the way I have been stuck on combat in the supposedly "combat-lite, story-oriented" Planescape Torment. :(

I was forced to reduce the Planescape Torment combat difficulty to easy to defeat Trias, and have been playing on easy ever since. I am a level 12 fighter, and thought Intelligence of 17 would have been enough to "story mode" my way through the game. Obviously not. I am now stuck fighting mortal combat against the Practical Incarnation because despite doing as many side quests as I thought, I still could not talk my way out of a fight with Practical Inc.

I am armed with Ravel's nail. All of my potions etc were either on a party member (Strange how this combat-less game strips you of your party at the end for fights) or used up in my fight with Ignus (where I just died and resurrected until Ignus finally went down). I keep striking Practical, but he takes me down in less than a minute (and unlike with Ignus, I can't revive to fight again). If I keep running away from Practical, my character regenerates health so slowly that running/striking/running again becomes impractical.

Are there any hints on how to get past this fight? Or do I have to load an old save all the way back to where I was in Sigil, redoing whole portions of the game I already did, focusing on buffing my character in a game that is supposedly not about combat...? Planescape Torment is literally the worst Infinity Engine game I've played. Way too much emphasis on combat! I know many might respond and say, you need to be higher level, have more buffs/weapons/armor etc., i.e. focus on making the character more combat capable... Doesn't this just prove this game is literally all about combat?! Sorry, just so frustrated...

You'll need a 21 or higher Intelligence OR Wisdom to absorb the Practical Incarnation. If you happen to have any cranium rat tails, you can eat them to buff your Intelligence (each one stacks +1 INT).

If you want to talk and think your way through the game, then you need to get your mental stats above 20. If you don't do that, then you need to go to the opposite extreme and pump Strength, Dexterity and Constitution to 21+, engage in combat every chance you can, hang around in Undersigil killing demons and devils to level up, and buying combat-oriented tattoos and other gear.

(FYI - to talk your way through the final encounter, you'll need at least 23 Wisdom and Charisma)

Hmm, I'm guessing the thing to do is reload to Sigil, buy a bunch of rat tails, and get to the ending and all that combat with Ignus done over again. :(

Thanks for the advice. Although I feel these high stat checks are ridiculous--At the end of the other infinity engine games I played, I'm not sure I had 21+ stats...

I'm almost at the endgame, and honestly, I'm still not seeing how this game is so praised (and I'm not sure whatever is revealed in the actual ending will change that).

Planescape: Torment was really "out there" and different from most every other CRPG of the time -- in it's setting, rules, story, combat, amount of dialog... just about every aspect of the game. That caused some people to love it, and others to hate it. It's almost always one of the two extremes. I don't think I've ever met anyone who has said it was a generic and forgettable experience.

And yes, in standard D&D your stats typically cap at 18 or 19. But when you're dealing with the very Planes of Existence... 18 is just getting started. (Attributes max out at 25.)

I know you were hoping not to hear this, but... level 12 does seem a bit low for reaching the Fortress of Regrets. If you're going to re-load back in Sigil, take another run around the city. Talk to every named NPC and see if you've missed any quests. Check out all the shops, and buy gear to either buff your mental or physical stats. Talk to all your companions too, and make sure you've exhausted all their dialog options. Some of their conversations can provide a lot of experience and even some items and spells.

While this is probably the last thing on your mind right now, if you ever do a second play-through and want to play with minimal combat: put all your attribute points in INT, WIS and CHA from the start, and keep boosting them at every opportunity. You should be able to talk or think your way out of every significant encounter, but it does take some heroic stats.

What exactly are your stats ?

I recommend gaining at least one level if you want to retry this combat, getting from level 12 to 13 grants +1 to hit and an extra half attack per round which will make a big difference. Check if new tattoos are available for buying.

I've attached a screenshot of my stats just before fighting Practical Incarnation. I've already absorbed the other 2 incarnations by this point.

No, the opposite really... in order to almost "story-mode" your way through the game you'd have to put a lot more points into INT, WIS, CHR... Especially WIS, which is best set to 18 on character creation and then increased all the way to 25 in the course of the game. This also helps you achieve higher levels by end-game, both because high WIS adds a percentage bonus to all XP rewards, and because it unlock additional dialog options that give huge XP rewards.
INT, WIS, CHR also result in longer and more interesting dialogs, including access to more story-related background info, so having godly scores in those stats really makes the game feel more "story-centric" than what you must have experienced.

So yeah, stats in this game don't work like in other Infinity Engine or D&D games, and you can't really be blamed for not understanding this because the game does a poor job of telling you. Reading a "character creation guide" (such as the first chapter of Dan Simpson's walkthrough) before starting to play, really helps.

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Some more specific comments on combat difficulty:

The fight with Trias can be made a lot easier if you first complete all the optional side-quest in Curst (and get good outcomes for them), because that weakens him.

The fight with the Practical Incarnation can be avoided entirely if you have 21 INT or 21 WIS, because then you can make *him* merge into *you* through dialog.

Similar things are true for many/most other "boss" fights in the game... And from trash mob fights you can simply run away you prefer. Stocking up on consumable items such as charms helps you quickly beat the few fights that you can't avoid.

Also note that if you installed Qwinn's Fixpack mod (as recommended by the PST mod guide here on GOG), it changes the enemy AI to allow a bunch of enemies to run during combat who were only able to walk slowly in the original game, making those fights harder. Qwinn thought this was an obvious fix of an oversight, but as we have recently learned from the developers of the Enhanced Edition (who had access to the original design documents and worked with the original lead designer), those creatures were intentionally restricted to walking, so everyone who installed Qwinn's Fixpack actually played a more difficult game than the original game designers intended. The Enhanced Edition, which comes out in 3 days, has all the actual bugfixes without such changes that go against the original developer's intentions.

On my completionist run as a Mage (best class because it synergizes with high INT and doesn't need to waste points for STR), I was already level 16 and had 19 INT, 25 WIS, 19 CHA by the time I faced Trias -- see attachment below. I also put some points into DEX for those time where you can snap someone's neck through dialog etc., and CON to improve my regeneration (although that wasn't really necessary).

Unfortunatey I don't have any savegames from after that point (because I continued playing on a different computer and deleted the game there afterwards), so I don't know what I reached by the end of the game. But I think it was a few more levels on top of that...

That's how big an XP difference it makes to have high dialog stats (for the dialog XP rewards and percentage XP bonus), and to be thorough and do all the optional side-quests.

One thing I notice about your screenshot, is that you don't have any stats shown in red, i.e. you don't have any stat bonuses from equipped items or tatoos. Didn't you buy any tatoos from Fell in Sigil? They make a big difference. And newer, better tattoos are added to his store whenever you complete a part of the story or certain side-quests or companion dialogs etc., so it definitely makes sense to visit that shop again before going into the endgame!

Tattoos can be bought in Fell's Tattoo Parlor in the east of the Smoldering Corpse Area.

In the screenshot it looks like as if you're only proficient in the weapon type you're using, weapon specialization grants bonuses to hit and damage and extra attacks, Korur in the west of the Lower Ward map can help you assign unused proficiency points.

I didn't get any tattoos because I was "role-playing" the game, i.e. acting as I would do. I don't have tattoos in real life, so my Nameless One mirrors how I would act and didn't get them either. I was expecting a story-based, role-playing game and thought that was what Planescape Torment was. If I had known it was all about stat-buffing, yeah, I would have gotten the tattoos for my character. I didn't use any mods, just the vanilla Planescape Torment from gog.

As for Trias, everyone talks about how "sidequests" weaken him. No one ever mentions these "sidequests" are hiding behind literal armies of monsters overruning Carceri, i.e. the catch-22 of having to be a paragon of combat to get to sidequests to weaken a boss so you don't have to be a paragon in combat (but you have to be a paragon of combat to get to these sidequests).

I literally was getting annihilated by all the monsters of Carceri, and died every time I tried to get to these sidequests, then reloaded. I ultimately ran to Trias' hideout, massively weakened by Carceri monsters (i.e. single digit HP) thinking I could rest there, only to find I couldn't. Leaving Trias' hideout had me slaughtered by the Carceri monsters I ran from. Going to the top of Trias' hideout had me slaughtered by Trias. I only got out of this by reducing the combat to easy and killing Trias.

So it seems to story mode the game, you have to focus on buffing intelligence and wisdom stats (which I thought I did getting INT to 16, and STR and CON to 17 to be well rounded--fairly high for other D&D games). So to get to a story mode type game, you have to focus on buffing stats--not different from focusing on buffing stats for combat from my point of view. I wish I had known this game was so focused on stat-buffing, I was mislead from reviews on expecting a Monkey Island, Telltale type RPG where there is no focus on stats, just focus on reading and story...

Thanks for the tips everyone. Unfortunately, this sort of confirms I was playing the game wrong--focusing mainly on story and roleplaying instead of stat buffing (whether for INT/WIS or STR/CON). The next step for me seems to be to reload to Sigil--however, this is exactly the sort of thing I didn't want to do (reload to focus on stat grinding and replaying whole portions of the game again). So I might just take a break from this game for now, unfortunately it's turned out to be a very different game than I expected starting out. Thanks all!

There are a few points you should keep in mind:

1. Monkey Island is not an RPG, and has never claimed to be one. It's an adventure game. Expecting an RPG to play like an adventure game is going to lead to guaranteed disappointment. They are very different genres.

2. PST is very much a classic story-based role-playing game. What it is not is a hand-holding experience that adjusts itself to the player's level. Level 11 is a shockingly low level to reach the endgame at, and suggests a lot of content was missed. Depending on class, it's possible to be that level or higher by the time Ravel is reached. Stat-building and combat, to a lesser or greater degree, is fairly fundamental to the RPG genre, as should be obvious from playing any of the previous Infinity Engine titles. If you reached the end of Baldur's Gate at too low a level to win the final battle, then the game is not going to save you from yourself. The same is true with PST.

3. PST is significantly different than any other Infinity Engine game with respect to how character building works. It plays somewhat loosely with the AD&D ruleset. Note that there are opportunities to improve statistics external to level ups that can be found throughout the course of the story if you make the right choices.

At least pending the release of the Enhanced Edition, there is no real way to "story mode" your way through the game. There are unavoidable combats (Ravel, Trias, etc.). Some encounters (such as with the incarnations in the Plane of Shadows) don't need to end in combat. This is true all the way to the final encounter. But doing that requires having developed the Nameless One in a particular way (or occasionally having found specific items).

Note that you do not need to boost mental stats to get through the game, but many players (including myself) find that type of build to be the most enjoyable way to play, regardless of the class selected.

I understand that reading about how powergaming with a walkthrough at hand would have made the game easier doesn't help you.

But generally there's no need for powergaming in this game.

3 of TNO's 10 equipment slots are for tattoos.
Game developers don't expect the players to refuse to use equipment when they balance the game so don't be surprised if this gets you into trouble.

Your self-handicapping hurts a lot in the fight with the practical incarnation, making your fight at the easiest difficulty level much harder than it would be at normal level with 3 tattoos (for example tattoo of the supreme warrior combined with +2 str tattoo would raise str from 17 to 22 for additional +3 to hit and +9 to damage more than doubling damage output and overcompensating the half damage taken at easiest difficulty. Add the +2 con tattoo and HP raise from 96 to 129 and regeneration speed doubles.

Getting enough XP for another level should take less than half an hour (killing respawning Abishai or other monsters), especially if you dismiss other useless party members temporarily and put the difficulty back to normal to avoid the XP-penalty, buying cranium rat tails or spending unused proficiency points takes only a few minutes.
Replaying what you did in the Fortress of Regrets should only take about 10 minutes.

I agree with the others. You have really low level for the end of the game. You should be already around level 9-10 when you meet Ravel if you do enough subquests (not even all of them). And the lack of tattoos really hurts you. Tattoos, and some of the rings you can get in the game, really make the difference. Practical incarnation is supposed to be difficult. As Deionarra says at the beginning of the game: "You shall meet enemies three, but none more dangerous than yourself in your full glory."

As others said, in general the game rewards playing with high wisdom. But it is far from the only way to play it. The first time I played I went hardcore warrior and still had plenty of fun. But what the game really does reward is talking to people and checking every corner of the map. There are plenty of experience points lying around as long as you search a little bit.

I've played RPG's for over 2 decades, very familiar with them (Ultima, Wizardry, Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dales, NWN's, Elder Scrolls, Witcher, Knights of the Old Republic, Final Fantasies, Ys, Grim Dawn, Diablo, Sword Coast Legends, various MMO's, etc. Am thinking about getting into Chinese RPG's like Xuan Yuan Sword and Legend of Sword and Fairy too, and the German Dark Eye/Drakensang games. And I'm not sure how Planescape Torment is so acclaimed because personally I feel it's far below the RPG franchises I just mentioned). I probably misspoke when saying Monkey Island. However, I DID expect in Planescape Torment an RPG less stat oriented than Baldur's Gate 1. It's not--here's a comparison: My Abdel Adrian player character at the end of Baldur's Gate 1 is level 9, totally annihilated Sarevok Anchev, and his highest stat is a strength of 17.

The Nameless One I have losing to Practical has a strength of 17, and a level of 12 (3 levels higher than endgame Abdel of Baldur's Gate). And I'm being told the Nameless One is "too weak" or "not enough INT/WIS" and needs to level grind... I'm told he's expected to have stats in the area of 21+. That's fine, but how can anyone claim that Planescape Torment is less stat-grinding oriented than Baldur's Gate??

Again, thanks for all the hints everyone. Like I said, it does seem to go back to stat grinding. I know RPG's are like that, but most of them I have played (Ultima, Baldur's Gate 1, Icewind Dale 1 and 2, NWN 1 and 2) lets you get to a reasonable level to fight the endboss by doing the main quest and side quests, with less emphasis on needless grinding for the sake of grinding. I am just surprised Planescape Torment, with it's reputation I read on reviews of emphasis on story over combat, requires more needless grinding (for either INT/WIS or STR/CON) than other RPG's I've played over the past 20 years.

You don't need to grind levels, it's just the easiest spoiler-free way to so solve your problem. There are lots of ways to tip the scales in TNO's favor.
It would be interesting to look at the savegames from just before the battle with the practical incarnation, entering the fortress of regrets and maybe also just before the battle with Trias.