Larian Studios Forums Divinity II The Dragon Knight Saga / Flames of Vengeance (English) Divinity II - The Dragon Knight Saga Who's playing DKS on nightmare difficulty ?

Just very curious
Who's playing DKS on Nightmare difficulty ?

Or:
Who wish/will play DKS later on or have played to the end already on Nightmare difficulty ?


Optional question: Why do you play on Nightmare ?
What are the most important reasons you play a RPG on the most difficult mode you can play ?

For me:
I like a real challenge because it gives me a more thrilling experiece while playing a RPG !
But be honest: if I buy a new RPG, mostly I start on Easy Difficulty and see how I like that before I raise the difficulty . Most important is still : have fun with the game !

But to say : I love to have a Challenge ! It's so more Fun for me. If a fight become too easy I better give up ... because I wish to be challenged

I'm planning on starting a ranger character (with unarmed combat in close quarters and as an alternative to dodging / rolling / jumping around as an archer) on nightmare mode when I get DKS. I finished D2:ED with a duel wielding warrior on normal difficulty with a fair number of unused stat and skill points, so need to try a different build and increase the difficulty for DKS to keep things interesting and challenging.

I've found it challenging enough to play on Normal difficulty with my recent builds (Magic Missile Mage, Two-Handed Sword Warrior, Ranger), but I've occasionally dabbled with Nightmare mode (I've sometimes played it for some time before realizing why things were so hard).

The other day I did a run through the final escort mission on Nightmare with one of my characters - to prove my point that if you're complaining about the escort mission, you're playing it wrong. It wasn't terribly harder than my Normal run through the game. The final boss however, did wipe the floor with me.

I might change it to Nightmare mode for a dual-wielding character, to counteract how powerful Dual Wielding is.

i usually start playing games on the highest difficulty level and i did it with dks. however, i hate it when higher difficulty levels are just about giving enemies extremely high health and resistances. then instead of becoming a frantic, tactical fighting, it becomes just a long and drawn out.

FO3 and NV is an example of doing it wrong. i play on normal difficulty with mods that increase damage, limb damage and injury penalties and dont give the player health gains on level ups. Its much more challenging than the game's ard Difficulty that only makes enemies bullet sponges.

I find DKS has the same problem. on Nightmare i like that the enemy can easily kill me but that killing them just takes longer than usual because i do so little damage to them

I play nightmare on Xbox and totally don't find it a "problem" !! Only problem is to survive
The great thing with nightmare mode is that it is WORTH to invest in better equipment and weapons ! In Ego Draconis I never had the feeling a much better/greater weapon was necessary to survive. But o, I find nightmare mode & DKS so great !!

Somebody else is playing on nightmare mode?

I don't ask for comments on the ballancing of the DKS, it all goes about the nightmare difficulty
And besides: the DKS IS good ballanced (nothing shall be perfect!), much better than Eco Draconis I find.

Good luck with playing all of you try nightmare mode

I finished it, as a Ranger.

Considering how OP he is, it was very easy especially later, with Split Arrow and Way of the Ranger. Iggy lost over half of her health, after I jumped near her, and then WoTR+Split Arrow'd her with my bow.

It's a bit funny that Ranger is outdamaging both Warrior and Mage on all ranges.

Yup, not that i'm complaing about it.

Do you mean a "pure" Ranger? So only having a Bow and never a melee weapon?

I can't believe I can survive every battle only using a bow (pure ranger) and Ranger Skills ..; especially in dungeons with a few melee fighters or a Chieftain !! I think I'm stone dead in a fast way !
I play most of the time with a bow in open area's, but mostly everywhere I fight I use also Mage Skills, Warrior Skills and Priest Skills and a melee weapon too if necessary .

But I think it IS possible to play a pure Ranger on lower difficulties than nightmare, yes.
(but to be honest : I'm rather a slow player , slow with 'hand-eye-coordination' )

Now this forum is back VERY very active (great !) ... I wish to ask my question again, especially to all the new US Xbox DKS gamers since 12th of april 2011

Who darf to play this great game on the dangerous (but beside: great fun!)
nightmare difficulty mode

I began the game at normal. I moved to hard at lvl 5. I just broke 13 and have been on nightmare since lvl 10. I'm about ready to enter the Black Ring compound at the mine, this will be a challenge to say the least...

this is what i do as well. Sort of have to kick the difficulty up to keep the game interesting and not 1 hit everything

In the demo I don't recall if you can change the difficulty; I left it on normal, anyway. I started a new character in the full game on nightmare, and when checking for loot in Farglow, I found a very nice sword in the vase beside the warrior trainer's seat (I'm playing a ranger, but it would have been worth a lot). Unfortunately, when I entered the training area, I was in the same kind of relaxed, 'don't really need to pay attention' mindset that was good enough playing on normal difficulty. The first mage took a good chunk of hit points off when I miss-timed a jump, and I though I should probably save the game before continuing. But the mistake was mine, so I didn't bother. Fighting the next mage and warrior goblin I took a lot of damage (switching to unarmed melee isn't nearly as effective on nightmare), but would probably have been ok had I noticed the last warrior coming up behind me to join in the fight sooner. I had a couple seconds warning, but thought I could finish off the first warrior in time to get some distance from the second, but wasn't doing enough damage. I wasn't used to the fact that you can not jump to the side in DKS, so my getaway wasn't nearly as effective as I intended. Of course after I died and reloaded, there was no random loot to be had in Farglow from crates, etc.

Actually, in general I dislike not being able to jump to the side. I can see where it would be handy for people who want to dodge and roll around in combat, but while I tried that for awhile, usually a jump would be just as effective, if not more (probable much more, after you become a dragon knight). When exploring I've rolled a few times trying to jump onto things, since I wasn't lined up exactly in the direction I wanted to jump (maybe I'll get used to that).

I didn't bother using any exploits like jumping up onto the rocks in the training area (where the warriors can not reach you), but going through a few times to get enough gold to buy a new bow, I did reduce the difficulty to normal temporarily, then up to hard to try to get used to dodging and rolling, and then back to nightmare.

At the start of Broken Valley, more than a couple level 2 goblins were a challenge if they got to melee distance. I briefly considered lowering the difficulty to hard, and possibly learning Summon Ghost (though I was trying to save skill points for other things), but found it much easier to simply stop trying to jump backwards or dodge if there were too many opponents, and just run past them a few steps, turn, and fire.
In D2:ED on level 2 I tried kiting the level 4 chief to the far north west, near the necromancer's cave, but found it too difficult (though I hadn't assigned the stat points I got for leveling). In DKS, also level 2, I took the left branch of that path, and when I got around to the burnt church, was able to take on a couple level 2 warriors, a level 3 healer (who cast a lot more fireballs than healing spells) and a level 4 chief.

When pausing the game, moving the camera and casting Poison Arrow the character doesn't always turn to face the target, but that is not too big of a deal, and otherwise an effective strategy for larger groups or strong opponents for your level. For weak or moderate strength opponents you don't need to pause, and jumping back or dodging are usually good enough.

Anyway, I'm almost up to level 3, so need to head to the village and mindread everyone (went hunting first, and have not been there yet).

I got sidetracked with the killer bunny near the entrance to the OF area. Out of curiosity, I slipped over there to see what lvl gobs were in it. After hen pecking them with a bow, that were not for a +1 ranger surprise bonus from a piece of armor I wouldn't even be able to weild because I didn't invest any in the ranger tree, I found a lvl 18 enemy taken by a lvl 13 character yeilds 4200 exp with a wisdom bonus from a bangle.

EDIT

OK let me update this a little. The warriors were now prob but the shaman threw some wicked VOODOO DOODOO on me. So maybe lvl 15 will be achieved from some other baddies....

started off on hard difficulty playing a "mage" and by that I mean I had one point in fireball 5 in lock-pick, 2 in wisdom and 4 in mind read, bumped it up to nightmare when I was one shotting mobs with a bow despite my Dex being 1-2

At lvl 15 and going through Maxos's temple. Thinking, this is more like a dream than a nightmare.
Until... Until the library... Then I awoke in a COLD SWEAT, and realized the nightmare was real...

Finally, after the 3rd attempt, I was able to put it behind me and return to my dream. So I thought...

Needless to say, Amdusias proved to be quite the task and once again the sweat started to roll. Again several attempts pass before it was done. In the end, I would like to say to everyone that said "the creature is just a distraction"... YOU'RE RIGHT...

After completing the Shadow Archer set, my ranger switched to Nightmare to keep SOME level of challenge in the game.

@ Stabbey : From a discussion in another thread, you convinced me to take another look at the Bat Rag skill. I was not attracted to the ED version because of the drastic penalty. It seems the DKS version has been reworked, and thus more appealing. I've been on nightmare since lvl 10 with a strictly DW warrior. Last night before facing Raze, I tweeked my armor and relearned my skills for the first time. (currently at lvl 29) I saved before redistributing the points and put 5 in Bat Rag as a test run. At that lvl (5), the penalty was easily offset and then some with a few strong potions. Took out Raze in about 45 sec. Jacked up on potions and Bat Rag, that first hit with Rush Att crit dam for 2185 and sent him to the phone booth to reamp. He would not return. When he came out I hit him for three more crit dmg in a row (lucky) for 1850 and it was all over...

So Thanks to you and...

Thank the maker for Bat Rage...

After mindreading almost everyone in the village (I skipped the bandit prisoner, since I did that in D2:ED and it effects something later in that quest, so I wanted to try it the other way), I got a bracelet with a +3 melee bonus (from the beholder on the north side of the river), and +2 to Mindread. The melee bonus made a noticeable difference in unarmed combat on level 2.

I had almost all the opponents in the starting section of Broken Valley cleared before I paid off my mindreading debt and got close to leveling. In the secret tunnel under the burnt chapel, I was level 2 fighting level 4 skeletons; no sooner did I get to level 3 than I started running into level 5 opponents. I cleared all of the tunnel that you can do before the escape, except a certain room with a chest. I wasn't sure if that would be available later, so went back to the village to do a quest to level (that and Stun Arrows on a newly purchased piece of jewelry allowed me to finish off that room).
In the secret tunnel,

In D2:ED on normal difficulty (warrior), I got access to the full Broken Valley on level 6 (after doing everything I could), and a couple of the opponents in the dragon sequence brought me up to level 7. After taking out the skeletons at Lovis' tower main gate and clearing the goblins around their two derelict tunnel entrances, I headed to the tunnels since the rest of the skeletons and bandits were a little tough in groups.

In DKS on nightmare (ranger), I also left the starting section of Broken Valley on level 6, but leaving lots of quests unfinished. The first few goblins and skeletons after that brought me up to level 7. After clearing out the goblins, and the skeletons around Lovis' tower, I cleared over to the enchanter, and took out three level 12 Black Ring members to the south (on level 8), one at a time (and getting quite low on hit points each time). Then I cleared the goblins around Bellegar's shrine (close to Lovis' tower), reaching level 9. I killed both chickens there (IIRC there were about a dozen in D2:ED), and assume another will show up after I talk to Casper.
At that point I decided to head to the derelict tunnels, or I wouldn't be getting much experience there leaving it too long. Also, I don't have a necklace yet. I don't care about the skill bonus on the unique necklace you can get in the tunnels, though, assuming it remains similar to how it was in D2:ED (there I used it for quite awhile, though probably would have replaced it sooner if I had not added a level 10 healing aura enchantment to it on level 12 or 13).


I wasn't really planning on getting Stun Arrows, but bought some earrings with that skill bonus, and have found it comes in quite handy, particularly when fighting multiple mages. From the description I figured it would just save a bit of running around, but actually, less running around is nice, and it can significantly help with larger groups or small groups of rangers/mages in confined quarters.

In another topic I said I thought Rush Attack would be mostly useless for a ranger, but now I'm starting to think it might be easier to take out lone mages with melee attacks, rather than trade ranged attacks while moving every shot or two. I think when I have the skill points to spare I may invest in it (I've seen it on jewelry once or twice, but not with other stats worth replacing what I have).

Hi ,

I can't say I find something (for example a "skill") USELESS because in some way all skills can be useful ...
But it's very nice to read on this forum all kind of players have their own favorite skills !!

I'm planning carefully because of playing on nightmare and on this way I discovered many great things, especially I try Skills I never tried earlier in Ego Draconis ! Like rush Attack and Stun Arrows and I take strategy steps that give as result that I find great and funny ways to COMBINE Skills !!
Playing much as a Ranger in the beginning, more than on my current level (now 17) where I'm using more the full Set Defenders of Aleroth (with a Mace), I don't neglect to use also melee attacks and magic attacks as a Ranger

Skill combinations I used already :
1) first Hide in Shadows, then Rush Attack
2) first Stun Arrows, then Rush Attack
3) first Stun Arrows or Hide in Shadows & after that I .... RUN far away ...
OR: Summon my Creature and Ghost and let them do the first work for me ...

On level 9 I cleared the bandits south of the tribal teleporter shrine down to the exterior of the bandit camp. Before getting too far into the Black Ring members around the quarry, I decided I should finish off the level 9 skeletons on Lovis' tower, and got to level 10 on my way up.
I found and used the scrying stone, but the fight was a little tough. I may have been able to survive if I retried it, but decided to go get the creature instead. After clearing the Black Ring members and goblins south of the enchanter, the mine was relatively easy. I went back to the tomb under the church and got the two chests I left there (in D2:ED one of them contained creature parts, so I waited until after I had my creature), and found some earrings with +2 Poison Arrow, to replace the +1 Stun Arrow earrings I had (so used the skill point I had in reserve to learn Stun Arrow).

After that I teleported to the tribal shrine, and took the log bridge over to the bandit ambush. The creature was fairly helpful for only having the default parts. Just before the bend in the path that doubles back up to one of Bellegar's shrines and the sleeping travellers, there was one final bandit and 2 rabbits, which was enough for me to trigger the killer rabbit. I eventually defeated it after jumping onto a rock out of its reach, but reloaded, since there isn't any experience advantage to killing it on level 10 vs waiting until level 19 (at least in D2:ED the experience bonus due to level difference was the same whether you were 3 or more levels lower than an opponent). On the other hand, I assume the two epic class equipment pieces that dropped would be a better quality if I got them at a higher level.
All 3 of the undead that Bellegar summoned decided to immediately attack my creature, so I got a few shots off before they decided to come after me (not that that strategy worked any better for them ). The sleeping travellers were easy, since I remembered what they wanted from D2:ED, so didn't have to go looking for a couple things I had earlier, but either used or sold.

I saved and entered the quarry on level 10, but surviving there would require more potions and running around than I was inclined to try. I didn't do too bad at first, but when things get hectic, I sometimes end up sheathing my weapon trying to jump backwards (the game really should only toggle the combat mode if the left stick is centred when pressed).
Anyway, clearing out most of the Black Ring outside the quarry brought me up to level 11. Approaching the last 3 Black Ring members, in front of the Hellgate, I attacked the mage first, since he was closest to my crosshairs, and concentrated on the mage and ranger. The warrior (Black Ring Commander) didn't seem too threatening as he started running towards me and briefly fought my creature. A couple Rush Attacks later, however, and I was reloading my last save. On my next approach I attacked the commander first, and he was dead without the other two reacting, after which they were trivial to defeat.

I got sellable loot out of the goblin tribe area past the quarry, from both the chest there and Willy's loot bag (after Mindreading him). Viper dropped a bracelet with +2 Rush Attack, +3 melee damage and an enchantment slot with a level 5 healing aura, so I've replaced the bracelet I got from a beholder on level 2 (I'll swap it back when I know I will need to mindread, though, to take advantage of the skill bonus).

Looting the chest past where George Gremory is wandering around, I filled my inventory (for the first time in DKS), so headed back to the village to sell off stuff and check for upgrades. Being level 11 I bought the Ranger's Rest bow Derk always has; that meant loosing a +22 hit point bonus on my old bow, but I made up for that by buying some leggings with +10 hit points compared to my Rivellon Guard (IIRC) leggings (magic armour was also better by 4 or 5, though melee and ranged went down 1 each; I was weakest with magic resistance, so it was an easy trade-off) and a ring with +16 hit points and a level 2 healing aura (to replace a ring with a +0.01 HP regeneration bonus and a level 1 healing aura).