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Duchess of Gorgombert
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OP
Duchess of Gorgombert
Joined: May 2010
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Right from the time I started my new play-through of DKS, the ending Zeppelin escort mission has been an ugly shadow looming in the distance, a blotch on the wonderful experience of one of my favourite games.
And here it is, unfortunately. I'd said I'd finish the game to that point and quit just before it starts. Sadly, I failed to follow my own advice.
Is there any way to complete this mission without causing myself undue amounts of stress? Better still, is there any means of skipping it altogether? My attempt to do it is just as I remembered it from a couple of years back: even on the easiest setting, at no more than a quarter of the way through, I found myself totally besieged, my attacks almost completely ineffective, and in spite of spamming healing potions I died trying to take out the endless army of ballistas.
I persevered back when I played originally and after a dozen or so dismal attempts I managed to get through by luck rather than judgement (though there was no return for the Zeppelin) but I really can't face doing that again.
God, I hope Divinity 3 doesn't have an awful escort quest like this one...
J'aime le fromage.
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Support
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Support
Joined: Mar 2003
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There is no way to skip the escort mission. Use the new spell whenever the cooldown allows, against the closest and densest group of towers or nests. Whenever you clear a section of opponents and there is a break before the next, check the zeppelin's health; it it is low and you are not close to the end point, you may want to reload, otherwise save and continue. Stabbey posted a video of the escort mission on nightmare, with tips. I completely forgot about using Dragon Burst Dash when I went through that section, and assumed the zeppelin bombardment was automatic, rather than something you could direct (usually I stayed far enough ahead leaving it on automatic was better anyway). From Who's playing DKS on nightmare difficulty ?For the zeppelin escort, my first attempt used a less than optimal strategy. The glitchy Target Lock (that doesn't necessarily lock) and target selection didn't help, either. If I'm pointed directly at a nest, in range, and hit the right stick, why the heck would the game target a flying demon way above me, or off to the side, and not at least cycle around to the nest? Anyway, the zeppelin made it to the point the captain decided to change the plan and kamikaze, but Zandalor barely finished saying there must be another way when it was destroyed. I reloaded my save at the start of the escort, and attempted to be more systematic clearing the nests and towers. When available I tried to use the Wrath of the Patriarch on the densest cluster that was relatively close, and then flew around taking out individual structures and smaller groups, and also summoned a wyvern whenever I had a moment and thought of it (which wasn't often), figuring an extra target might help the zeppelin. I started off doing much better, but when Zandalor told me to redouble my efforts I noticed the zeppelin's health had dropped a fair bit. Looking back, I discovered it was mostly passed a platform that I had missed clearing 4 or 5 ballistas from. Rather than try getting to the end I reloaded a save from a few minutes previous, and made sure I didn't miss anything the next time. Somewhere after the mid point but before the final section I went up to level 47. The zeppelin's health started getting a little low towards the end, but they made it to the fiery death they were destined for.
Last edited by Raze; 05/10/12 06:13 PM. Reason: correction
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Duchess of Gorgombert
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OP
Duchess of Gorgombert
Joined: May 2010
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Thanks for the suggestions. I think I've been trying most of that, but I suspect I'm just too crap. That said, I'm finding I can only use the fire breath thing to attack the ballistas, which takes quite a while to take one down, but the fireballs won't target them (possibly the same glitch you mentioned) and the dragon burst (or whatever's the name of the AoE spell) has zero effect on anything, however close I am.
I think I'd also end up feeling disappointed even if I got through but the Zeppelin had taken too much of a battering. I'm sure I read about someone modding the quests in this game, perhaps I should take a look at that approach: I know it can be modded, after some persistence I discovered I could successfully make alterations to models for the likes of armour and stuff, so I guess quests and scripts are theoretically possible too... you'd think I'd just call it quits when there's only 10 minutes or so of gameplay left, but I'm stubborn! Just not quite enough to get through it the usual way... What I really need to figure out is how to increase the Zeppelin's health. By about 50 times.
Edit: actually I haven't been making any use of the new spell. Maybe that's part of my problem. I mean other than me being too crap.
Another edit: just checking out Stabbey's vid, a couple of minutes in and I'm already seeing stuff I forgot...
Last edited by Vometia; 05/10/12 03:02 PM.
J'aime le fromage.
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Duchess of Gorgombert
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OP
Duchess of Gorgombert
Joined: May 2010
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One curious thing looking at Stabbey's video is that the ballistas seem to be going down quicker on nightmare mode than they are for me on casual, or at least no more slowly. That strikes me as a bit odd.
J'aime le fromage.
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Duchess of Gorgombert
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OP
Duchess of Gorgombert
Joined: May 2010
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Finally made it through after additionally following some of the tips from Stabbey's video: nuke the nests, take out the ballistas as a priority, ignore the flying pests. Sad that I didn't manage to avoid the Zeppelin taking desperate measures, though curiously it was still at over half its HP when they said that. Oh well, I'm not trying again! Thanks for the tips.  And what a horrible mission!
J'aime le fromage.
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Duchess of Gorgombert
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OP
Duchess of Gorgombert
Joined: May 2010
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... and, just a last word, because I don't want to end on a bad note: what an awesome game. I'm just sad it's over.
J'aime le fromage.
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Support
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Support
Joined: Mar 2003
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Glad you got it.  There is no alternate ending for the zeppelin. Even if it is at full health when it reaches the final section, the damage done during the cutscene is apparently enough to seal its fate. Not being able to target ballistas to use Fireballs sounds like a glitch/bug. When I sometimes had trouble with Target Lock, just getting a little closer usually allowed me to target the specific opponent I was after. Oops, I meant Dragon Dash above (flying faster); Dragon Burst takes too long to cast and you are not usually surrounded by close range opponents during the zeppelin escort (I may have tried it once or twice, but it wasn't terribly helpful).
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Duchess of Gorgombert
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OP
Duchess of Gorgombert
Joined: May 2010
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Thanks guys. Something I found that helped with the targeting was going into tactical mode (the "key next to 1") so that there could be no doubt what I was firing at. And I think the dragon sphere was working but didn't immediately register on the health bar for some reason. Dragon Dash is entirely new to me and quite handy! Except for getting lost. I didn't realise that the Zeppelin's fate was scripted: I feel a bit less bad about that, but still a bit sorry for it. Although there's not much to follow, I'm glad I actually made it to the end. I just wish there was more...
J'aime le fromage.
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