Need help in Durlags Tower

[sonny]

I'm in the room where I just talked to the 4 Warders. Just to south of that room is a short hallway that Imoen has detected 4 traps, but I have been unable to get her to disarm them.

I've done everything I can think of including having my PC Fighter buffed up with protection spells and he still gets killed. He as 117 HP's.

I even had Dynaheir use the Wand of Summoning in the hall, but they don't trip the traps. (Speaking of the Wand of Summoning, that has to be the best weapon in the game. It sure has saved my party a whole lot of times.)

I've been at this about 6 hrs (real time, not game time), so if one of you guys can give me some advice, I will really appreciate it.

Thanks in advance. Sonny

[galraen]

This is what the walkthrough on this site says about that passage:

Corridor: Be warned that the corridor linking the kitchen to locations (19) and (20) is full of traps. Some are removable but one is not and continually sends fireballs into the person who steps on it. Avoid at all costs.

So, as it says, the fireball trap cannot be removed. The others should be removable, what's Imoen's Remove Trap skill level?

Be warned, Durlag's Tower is very heavily trapped, and quite a few are absolutely deadly, as you've already found out. Move slowly, and constantly detect traps, and save very frequently, using more than one save slot. There are program glitches in Durlag's Tower, quests can easily get broken here, hence the need for several save slots; so if you find yourself at an impasse you can go back and try again.

PS I believe it's possible to complete this level without going down that passage. Try explorinng elsewhere if you can't overcome the trap problem in that corridor.

[sonny]

Imoen's Find Traps is 85% and Open locks 95% and she is Lv9.

Guess I'm going to have to find another way to go. Because I just can't go that way. I have 3 save game slots devoted to doing the tower. 4 if you want to count the 1 when I first arrived outside the tower.

Thanks again for the help.

[wise grimwald]

I would advise you to use your imagination and think, if I can't disarm it, can I use it?

[galraen]

If I recall corectly, 85% isn't enough for a lot of traps in Durlag's Tower. If she is anywhere close to gaining a level as a thief, it might be worth your while going somewhere else and doing another quest or two first. If the next level for Imoen is too far away, then you'll need to use any potions that boost thieving skills, Potion of Master Thievery, Power Potions, Potions of Perception are the ones that spring to mind. You'll need quite a few though.

Have you done the rest of the quests from Ugoth's Beard yet? If not maybe try one of those, if you've done everything in the main game.

If the worst comes to the worst; not enough potions and not enough cash to buy more, Imoen is still 100,000 XP short of the next level, you could go back to the Golem Cave in the area directly south of Candle Keep, and keep resting until you've killed enough Golems to get her up a level.

[VonDondu]

You don't have to go through those traps if you don't want to. You can get to the adjacent rooms by going around the long way.

As galraen said, at least one of the fireball traps cannot be disarmed. But as wise grimwald suggested, there might be a way to use it to your advantage. Hint: The monsters on that level are not immune to fire, but there are ways to make one of your own characters 100% resistant to fire. Get the picture?

Originally Posted by galraen

If I recall corectly, 85% isn't enough for a lot of traps in Durlag's Tower...

There are quite a few that require 90 or more skill points to detect and disarm. I think there's one (but only one) that require 100. In the final chapter, there are a couple that requires 100

If Imoen makes it to 10th level, she can have 100 in Open Locks and 100 in Remove Traps. That's just about perfect.

[Excalibur_2102]

Ive just finished durlags tower, the whole place is very tough, so make sure you have alot of supplies with you. As for the traps, I cant actually remember that room. Have you tried just walking around them?

[wise grimwald]

[quote=wise grimwald;971997][quote=VonDondu;971817]You don't have to go through those traps if you don't want to. You can get to the adjacent rooms by going around the long way.

As galraen said, at least one of the fireball traps cannot be disarmed. But as wise grimwald suggested, there might be a way to use it to your advantage. Hint: The monsters on that level are not immune to fire, but there are ways to make one of your own characters 100% resistant to fire. Get the picture?

Absolutely correct. I leave those traps until I can approach them from the other side. Oil of speed, spells, or boots with the same effect can also be used to avoid getting burnt. Also don't forget that those potions of master thievery are there to be used. I use them in conjunction with oil of speed so that you can disarm more traps before they run out. In my opinion the best thief in the game is Deder found in Candlekeep. However it's too late to use him in this game.

[sonny]

Sorry, I did not get right back to you guys, but my wife has a bad case of the flu, so I've been taking care of her.

You guys know I respect all your opinions so I'm going to bring you up to date on where I am, and maybe that will help you answer a couple questions.

I have two saves that I've been holding on to.

1. At the end of Chapter 5. before I report back to the Duke and get transported to CandleKeep. I know that's what happens because after I saved, I made my report to him.

2. I also have a saved game when I first enter Ulgoth's Beard.

Before coming to Ulgoth's Beard, I pondered my decision over and over while reading all the suggestions I got from all of you. And I'll admit my curiosity about Ulgoth's Beard, got the best of me, and I ended up here.

The only thing I've done here is the start of the Tower although I know there is at least one other quest, because some guy names Mendas wants me to get some artifacts for him. I may have missed some of the NPC's in Ulgoth's Beard because it was dark and raining.

My party is having a hard time so maybe it's to weak to be here in the tower. Should I do the quest that Mendas offers or is there any other quest here I missed. Maybe that will help get Imoen leveled up. Or just stay here and work through it.

Thanks again. Sonny

[galraen]

My advice Sonny is to use the last of the two saves you mentioned in your last post, report back to the Duke and see where you are (regarding Imoen's level status) once you leave the Keep, and before going back to Baldur's Gate. There are some nice goodies in the keep that are well worth picking up.

What level are you characters at the moment by the way?

I would definitely advise not doing any more in the tower if you are going to take a break and go elsewhere, no matter where. At least one poster on the forums reported problems when doing that after collecting the wardstones for the four dwarves that you've encountered. Which is why one of the other saves, before entering the tower is the safer option.

[sonny]

The stats on my party are as follows;

My NPC LV8 Fighter
Minsc LV7
Coran LV6
Imoen LV9
Branwen LV8
Dynaheir LV9

[galraen]

Were you aware that there is an experience point cap in force? With Tales of the Sword Coast it's 161,000, which means your fighter, Branwen and Dynaheir are as high as they can get in terms of level, Minsc can gain one more level, as can Imoen (fortunately).

Experience point caps being set far too low is one of Biowares consistent mistakes, they've made the same blunder in every game of theirs that I've played.

There are level cap removers that can be downloaded, I'm sure someone can point you in the right direction if you want to go that route. However, if you want to continue with your character in BG2, there isn't really too much point, as it reduces your XP to the cap at the start of the game.

I would still recommend going to Candle Keep before continuing with Durlag's Tower.

[sonny]

To be very honest, I do remember reading about it, while I was trying to find help on HP's. But that was very early in the game and I figured I had a long way before that became a problem, so I just kinda glanced at it.

So if I'm understanding what you're saying, with the exception of Imoen, Minsc and maybe Coran my party is as strong as it's going to get?

And what about Coran? Will he continue to level until both his Fighter and Thief levels reach the cap, or as soon as one reaches the cap he's done?

Thanks. Sonny

[galraen]

With Coran, he will stop progressing when his combined XP reaches 161,000, i.e 7th Level Fighter/8th level Thief.

[CFM]

If your Imoen's thieving abilities are 85% and 95% for Find Traps and Open Locks, then this is very sufficient. And for the handful of locks and traps that still give you trouble, use potions to temporarily raise these percentages, such as Potions of Master Thievery, Perception, or Power.

Also, the higher a character's Dexterity, the better the bonus to thieving abilities. Use magicks to temporarily raise Dexterity (and thereby thieving percentages), such as a Potion of Mind Focusing.

Potions of Magic Blocking/Protection/Shielding will help protect against hostile magicks, while Potions of (various Giant) Strength, Invulnerability, etc, will help your dudes rumble in the Bronx.

If your dudes are getting cooked by Fireballs or Lightning, then use various magicks (boots, rings, spells, scrolls, etc) that confer Fire or Electrical Resistance.

Originally Posted by sonny

So if I'm understanding what you're saying, with the exception of Imoen, Minsc and maybe Coran my party is as strong as it's going to get?

Based on your party composition, and the Experience Point tables in the manual, here is the max level that each of your characters can obtain in BG/TotSC:

Protagonist, currently level 8. This is max level for a fighter.
Minsc, currently level 7. Max level is 8 for a ranger.
Coran, currently level 6'ish. Max level is 7/8 for a fighter/thief.
Imoen, currently level 9. Max level is 10 for a thief.
Branwen, currently level 8. This is max level for a cleric.
Dynaheir, currently level 9. This is max level for a wizard.

So your party will get a tad stronger, with another level for some, and the additional stuff you'll find in the remaining game. Stonger, but not by much.

If I were you, I'd restore your savegame from just before you visited Ulgoth's Beard. There are three major quests here, obtaining from the following characters:

1. Shandalar
2. Mendas
3. Hurgan and/or Ike (Durlag's Tower)

I would do the Ulgoth's Beard quests in this order, listed above. Durlag's Tower is, by far, the most challenging of the entire game. When you do Ulgoth's Beard, no doubt about it, I'd do Durlag's Tower last.

With that said, I'd do Ulgoth's Beard (and everything else), before initiating Chapter 6. At this point, I don't think your dudes will be much stronger visiting anything at a later time. And when Chapter 6 initiates, I feel the game's conclusion has a nice momentum, which would be disrupted somewhat by taking a side detour.

And if you get stuck in a certain point, don't pull your hair out, just check back here.