Abazigal fight (with beefed up patch) - Eek! Help!

[Quitch]

OK, so after beating Yaga-Shara in a matter of seconds, I got a little ****y, and I went and installed all the changes put out unofficially by Bioware.

Now I'm getting my ass handed to me in the Abazigal fight.

My party consists of

Me - Ranger dual weilding Crom Fayer and some +4 AC draining sword. Best fighter, second best AC. Also have Pantaloons suit

Minsc - +5 sword or Silver sword. Can flick to bow when needed, reasonable AC, best hits.

Jaheira - +4 scimitar. Best AC, generally there to soak up the hits with Iron Skins and to take the spells with Cloak of Refelection.

Mazzy - That lightning bow, Gesen? She can cast Stoneskin when needs be, but up close she sucks.

Imoen & Aerie, providing the spells. Imoen has Time Stop, but I haven't got any spell queues, I could never be bothered with having to constantly set them up. Oops

Average level must be about 21 or 22

Ummm....strats? . Last time I fought I got Abazigal to change to a Dragon and killed one Drake. It didn't help that my main character got wing buffeted off to one side and instantly surrounded by Drakes, I must admit (it also meant the Drakes got away from my True Sight).

Currently, for my third attempt, I'm thinking kill the Drakes first, while using the Feeble Strength spell (I really should learn these names ) to keep Abazigal out of it. Once the Drakes are down, take down Purple Dragon (which thus far hasn't really done anything except toss in the odd spell and do some annoying party splitting wing buffets). Once that is down, concentrate everything on Abazigal.

Anyone got anything better?

[Raphtyr]

You should try attempting it a few more times before you come here for advice. I am here for the same reason you are, but I have made ten or twelve attempts.
My party consists of my Sorceror, Imoen, Minsc, Keldorn, Jaheira and Aerie.
Tamah (The Purple Dragon) becomes more of a problem in extended fights. He'll hang around Abazigal, and between their combined Wing Buffets, it's hard to keep a fighter in Melee. Both of them have a penchant for maze. (luckily not Imprisonment)
The Drakes are annoying, because they appear to have the inherent ability to go invisible, and they target your mages. Time Stops and Simulacrums help somewhat, area effect spells such as Dragon's Breath and Horrid Wilting weaken the drakes. Keldorn's true sight dispels their invis.
This is possibly the most challenging fight I've come across. Has anyone Beaten the Improved Abazigal? Can they offer some advice?

[Raphtyr]

I have the key!
Last time I played I managed to take out Rill, Rance, Quenash, Shelligh and Tamah, and I had Baz down to Almost Dead.
The trick was maze.
Abazigal is exceptionally vulnerable to it.
The first time I mazed him, it gave me enough time to take out the Drakes and Tamah.
Note - Rill lasted longer the Tamah. Was this just random or is she stonger?
After Tamah was down and Abazigal was back, I mazed him again. I used my time to raise my fallen companions and summon some help.
With no enemies around, my chars could put on their armour.
(I could have saved here, but I forgot. Damn!)
My Sorc and aerie still had a simulacrum up their sleeves, so they cast them.
Abazigal returned.
The skel. warriors, planetar and Morden's Swords started whacking on Baz from all sides. Jaheira, Keldorn and Minsc joined in.
My sorc, Aerie, Imoen and the Sims began stripping his protections, and then casting invocational spells, or replacing my summons as needed.
First Jaheira fell, her low HP's not really befitting that of a warrior. Aerie was next, the unlucky target of a breath strike.
Imoen looked to be the next to go. She had moved in to melee without my notice, and was taking some pretty hard damage. Suddenly Baz knocked her back with a wing buffet. Most of my tanks and summons went too.
Except my sorceror.
He was the closest target to Abazigal. He had to run for his life.
Baz let fly with the lightning breath.
Game over.

[Raphtyr]

Note: the first time I mazed baz it was before he changed into a Dragon.

[UserUnfriendly]

Both of you had problems with jaheira and aeri dying too doon. if you don't mind munchkin cheese tactic, try 5 casting of armor of faith. lv 1 piest spell, and check your stats. I think at 125% resit to blunt your chars might be invulnerable to wing biffets. The use jaheira to cast harm, I think thats unsaveable, then whcak with anyone handy.

[Quitch]

You should try attempting it a few more times before you come here for advice

Normally I do, but since I was about to go to bed, I thought it was best to post the topic and let it buiild up, so that by the time I definately needed it, there'd be some advice there.

[Mr Sleep]

Nice work Rapthyr, a very creative way to defeat one of the tougher opponents

[Izgoth]

Hmm the original one is alone with a few ice salamanders. Does he summon another dragon and "drakes?" when beefed up?

[Quitch]

In the beefed up one, you're charged by 3 Drakes which can turn invisible, baz, and a Dragon. They all come right at you from the word go.

[lucid]

where does one get this "beefed up" patch? I want it too...does it beef up the Baliza-whatever his name is spelled too?

[Raphtyr]

Yes it does beef up Abazigal as well. He now has all the agility of Draconis as well, because many people found Drac harder to defeat than Baz.
Note - The frost Salamanders are still there, to slay your mage when he tries to run away from the middle of a firefight.

I finally go through him without cheese tactics, and in the end I only had to maze him once. You have to get his Magic Resistance down before you can maze him though, a few Peirce Magic's will take care of that. I didn't even realise I had done that the first time around.

Also, don't use Bigby's spells on the Dragons. It seems they are reflected back onto the caster, even though I had broken down most of their protections. It may be an innate ability against disabling spells, I don't know.
The graphic will appear above the caster's head, although it does not hold or damage them.

[Raphtyr]

I got the Patches from Kevin Dorner's Home page. I can't remember the addy, just enter Baldurdash in a search engine and it should come up. Get the patches for the Improved Yaga-Shura and the extra Bhaal powers as well. I got the suped up Demogorgon as well, but I had defeated him before I installed it.

Oh yeah, there's also Improved Balthazar. Not quite so difficult as Abazigal I don't think, but still quite challenging.

There are four drakes, and Quitch is right, they rush you straight away. One of the drakes casts an Ice Blast sort of spell, can't remember the name, and it will dirupt any spells you try and cast in the beginning.
You have to cast all your beefing spells before you enter the last area. This also means you can't take any summons with you.

When I started off, I rushed out my tanks, hoping the drakes and Tamah would target them before I got cornered in the doorway.
This allowed my mages to cast some spells before the drakes tried to melee them. The start of a fight is just as important as the end.

[Musashi Miyamoto]

Heh, oh yeah i'm wondering one thing is it possiable for my party of 4 to beat the improved abazigal fight? on INSANE.

Is it even possiable, i mean geez in SoA, the red dragon managed to fry my party with one breathe.

Bard, blade , my main
vicy, clerc
edwin, mage
jan, thief/mage

now i'm wondering if its EVEN possiable for me to beat these dudes

[Quitch]

LOL! Good luck mate

[Musashi Miyamoto]

LOL if i success then well what would i be knowen as