Finished Solo Torment (spoilers)

[BenS]

When I started this, my 4th game, I had modest expectations. Finish the game, and get 2 of the 3 last Achievements left undone (last being Pacifist). Playing a Guardian, I had a few assumptions; perhaps the biggest being that I would be forced to join the Takers & Trajkov so as to avoid certain Sholai-heavy zones that would be especially punishing. Certain optional fights I thought I might have to skip, or perhaps try after I had indulged in the Geneforge. Levels 2-9 were rough, as I slowly built up a Melee & Missile warrior, w/ Evasion, Leadership, and Mechanics to boot. I relied on Daze and winnowing out the enemy, not to mention every ally I could get w/ Leadership. Then around 10th level I started to get more comfortable (and reload less often). By 14th level, I had an entirely new set of objectives: clear every zone, optional or not, w/out partaking of the Geneforge or joining a faction.

 

I did it, somewhat to my surprise. Ascended Ouroboros (though I tricked her into the incinerator area); the 2 Shaper crypts; the final Cockatrice brawl (insane); Goettsch; the Front Gate; and the Guarded Docks fights were rough, obviously. But eventually I managed them, and finally destroyed the GF before departing (this bumped me to 19th level). I had tricked Trajkov into destroying himself, so no fight needed.

 

Final gear: Charmed Plate (I relied on Dominate to get me through many tough fights!); Danette's Belt; Guardian Claymore; Guardian Cloak; Bracers of the Hammer; Stasis Shield; Zavor's Band; and the Quicksilver Boots. Reaper or Spray Baton as necessary.

 

Final (gear-added) stats: Strength (12); Agility (12); Intellect (7); Essence Mastery (5); Endurance (9); Melee Weapons (10); Missile Weapons (15); QA (10); Evasion (14); Magic: Battle (1), Mental (5), Blessing (1), Spellcraft (4); Shaping: Fire, Battle & Magic (1), Healing Craft (2); Leadership (9); Mechanics (10) w/out Tinker's Gloves; Stealth (2).

 

Anyway, I had never attempted a Torment run of any SW game in the roughly 20 years I've been playing them, so to manage it also solo was a pretty nice feeling of accomplishment. I don't think I'll try a Pacifist run; 4 games is a lot and it's time for a break. Thanks for everyone who was friendly & helpful on these boards, and see you around for the next game in the cycle. If anyone has any questions, I'll stick around for a few days to answer them, otherwise, rock on.

[BenS]

I should add there was 1 fight I felt was going to be too much, though I only tried it 1x; that was the western temple spirits. W/ no chance at dominating 1 for an ally, and my chance at hitting them even w/ War Blessing relatively low, and their insane amounts of magic damage...anyway, I didn't pursue that. Probably an Agent w/ a solid Essence Shield and Airshock could have done it (I did it so on Veteran, w/ an Ur-Glaahk, which didn't last long, so essentially solo).

 

Also should have thanked the beta testers for ensuring the varying difficulty levels were balanced.

[Randomizer]

Congratulations on doing the hardest solo game.

 

The Spirit Temple fight is extremely hard for a guardian as you need to catch them with a spray baton before they hit you with mental effects. it is possible but requires more luck than other fights.

 

My apologies since I might have been the only torment difficulty beta tester. Jeff viewed it as as long as it was possible, he didn't need to adjust it.

[BenS]

8 hours ago, Randomizer said:

Congratulations on doing the hardest solo game.

 

The Spirit Temple fight is extremely hard for a guardian as you need to catch them with a spray baton before they hit you with mental effects. it is possible but requires more luck than other fights.

 

My apologies since I might have been the only torment difficulty beta tester. Jeff viewed it as as long as it was possible, he didn't need to adjust it.

Oh, no apologies needed. Certain fights are going to be tougher for certain classes; obviously I'd never try a pure Shaper solo on Torment, for example. And I didn't feel bad about not attempting to best those spirits b/c they weren't intrinsically hostile to begin w/. It's the equivalent of being caught stealing and the town turns on you, but on a smaller scale. I took the main point of that temple being the rather interesting historical detail you learn there; all the more reason not to fight them.

[kuo]

Was it easy killing Goettsch? I've never seriously tried after seeing his level 23? tooltip.

[Randomizer]

Goettsch is killable, but it may take a few tries and is easier at level 18 to 20

with acid attack and using dominate to turn his creations against him.

[BenS]

11 hours ago, Randomizer said:

Goettsch is killable, but it may take a few tries and is easier at level 18 to 20

 

  Reveal hidden contents

with acid attack and using dominate to turn his creations against him.

 

Yeah, Goettsch was not an easy fight by any stretch, and took a # of tries @ 18th level.

 

I actually took out all the minions before entering the room, leaving him w/ 2 puny servile attendants. I had to get acid to take effect (2x?) and then try to get away from him long enough for his hp to come down. On Torment, he can blast you 3x in a round if you just stand there, so...get out of that room and behind nearby walls asap. I probably finished him off finally w/ a Reaper baton when his hp was low enough and I got a lucky hit.  He also summons help at some point.

Edited April 7, 2021 by BenS

[kuo]

Great, thanks! Sounds like a feasible strategy even for a non-canister PC.

[BenS]

3 hours ago, kuo said:

Great, thanks! Sounds like a feasible strategy even for a non-canister PC.

Are you going to try a solo Torment non-canister run?! My hat's off to you. I did a reduced-canister run, to the extent that I ignored all shaping canisters after the first one (which gave me xp), but only to see if the ending text would say something about my canister usage. However, I probably still ingested too many of them overall to have that slight reduction noted anywhere.

[Magenta]

Congrats, BenS.

 

I'm still working on a feisty slap guardian run, but have had limited time to play lately. After your description, I'm still eager to try it.

[BenS]

3 hours ago, Magenta said:

Congrats, BenS.

 

I'm still working on a feisty slap guardian run, but have had limited time to play lately. After your description, I'm still eager to try it.

I wish you luck w/ it. I was sold on it from the moment those 3-4 Battle Betas (literally) cornered me at the northern end of the map just south of Kazg, and I outslugged them 🙂

I'm getting ready to try a new game (Legend of Grimrock II) that I've owned for years, but have put off playing b/c I prefer turn-based. But I did play the 1st one so...I should at least try it; I did pay for it and own it.

[kuo]

19 hours ago, BenS said:

Are you going to try a solo Torment non-canister run?! My hat's off to you. I did a reduced-canister run, to the extent that I ignored all shaping canisters after the first one (which gave me xp), but only to see if the ending text would say something about my canister usage. However, I probably still ingested too many of them overall to have that slight reduction noted anywhere.

Yeah, I'm trying  Anything is possible with enough reloads, so it's more of trying to figure out a balance between using consumables, zone order, and not relying entirely on luck.

[BenS]

9 hours ago, kuo said:

Yeah, I'm trying  Anything is possible with enough reloads, so it's more of trying to figure out a balance between using consumables, zone order, and not relying entirely on luck.

I have to say the game is fairly generous w/ wands in particular. Even this last game, I had tons of wands left over at the end, including lots of discipline wands. I could have used more battle pods, but one can't have everything. As to luck, well, RNG Jesus must be prayed to in a game like this, at a difficulty level like this, etc. Especially for the more epic fights (some of which are of course optional). Obviously prior xp w/ the game will be extremely helpful. I'm assuming you're rolling w/ a Guardian w/ melee & missile weapon parity for a while, then having one dominate? Or are you going to tough it out (cough*suffer*cough) w/ a late-blooming Agent and then become a screen-clearer w/ Airshock & Spell Mastery, along w/ the occasional Dominate? Good fortune to you either way (see, I avoided the word "luck").

[kuo]

16 hours ago, BenS said:

I have to say the game is fairly generous w/ wands in particular. Even this last game, I had tons of wands left over at the end, including lots of discipline wands. I could have used more battle pods, but one can't have everything. As to luck, well, RNG Jesus must be prayed to in a game like this, at a difficulty level like this, etc. Especially for the more epic fights (some of which are of course optional). Obviously prior xp w/ the game will be extremely helpful. I'm assuming you're rolling w/ a Guardian w/ melee & missile weapon parity for a while, then having one dominate? Or are you going to tough it out (cough*suffer*cough) w/ a late-blooming Agent and then become a screen-clearer w/ Airshock & Spell Mastery, along w/ the occasional Dominate? Good fortune to you either way (see, I avoided the word "luck").

No canisters, no magic! I've found a highly efficient tactic is one point in melee weapons early to wield a steel sword, and from there it's all missile and agility. 

[BenS]

3 minutes ago, kuo said:

No canisters, no magic! I've found a highly efficient tactic is one point in melee weapons early to wield a steel sword, and from there it's all missile and agility. 

I just popped in for a moment and here you are again. No...magic...(starts to shake uncontrollably)...are you saying you will not cast any spells, use any wands, etc.? I could not have survived the bulk of the early levels w/out Daze, for example. I had intended to go heavy Missile W-s but there are so many damn leapers that I felt I needed parity for a while w/ Melee W-s. All that said, you seem to have a clear idea of what will work for your build & run, and I'm eager to hear how it all turns out. Best of luck!

[kuo]

21 minutes ago, BenS said:

I just popped in for a moment and here you are again. No...magic...(starts to shake uncontrollably)...are you saying you will not cast any spells, use any wands, etc.? I could not have survived the bulk of the early levels w/out Daze, for example. I had intended to go heavy Missile W-s but there are so many damn leapers that I felt I needed parity for a while w/ Melee W-s. All that said, you seem to have a clear idea of what will work for your build & run, and I'm eager to hear how it all turns out. Best of luck!

Wands and crystals are fair game...I'm not that crazy, I'm just roleplaying a Trakovite!

[Sheer_Falacy]

4 hours ago, kuo said:

Wands and crystals are fair game...I'm not that crazy, I'm just roleplaying a Trakovite!

It's a bit harder to call that a Trakovite when you can talk to Trajkov with all of his creations and cannister use and magic.  His legacy hasn't had a chance to get super confused yet!

[BenS]

3 hours ago, Sheer_Falacy said:

It's a bit harder to call that a Trakovite when you can talk to Trajkov with all of his creations and cannister use and magic.  His legacy hasn't had a chance to get super confused yet!

 

7 hours ago, kuo said:

Wands and crystals are fair game...I'm not that crazy, I'm just roleplaying a Trakovite!

I'm guessing in Avernum (forget #) you got the medal for joining the Anama by never casting...what was it, wizardly spells? Anyway, I don't think you'll have a huge stash of wands & crystals at the end of the game like I did!