phenomforever: best party is a warrior-barbarian-mage-rogue party. Try that, add statistics to reach the highest damage. Problem is that everyone uses a cleric because thinks that healing is essential, but in fact it isn't. Just make sure that you keep your damage and quickness high enough, and reflection helps a lot, too.
Entlee: I've TRIED cleric, but it wasn't worth anything. And, when you compared inspire and anoint, you've forgotten only one thing - Inspire lasts for the whole battle, anoint lasts for only one attack. I used ranger, too, I know creature lore, but I like mage better than ranger (they are both ranged attackers with area attacks, but mage is better). Overwhelm is easy to use, I'd bet you haven't used a rogue yet, than you would know that a rogue can CRIPPLE, what reduces quickness to zero. This is very useful against legendaries. Fervor is worth nothing, because you spend points of a cleric on intellect (to healing intellect is needed, and why else would anyone want a cleric?), so his/her damage will be so low, that after a while, with fervor will he/she deal as many damage as a normal warrior would with a normal attack.
Entlee, please, the anoint is good, but no one starts with a cleric just for anoint. It makes no sense. Instead of a cleric with anoint, I start a warrior with overwhelm what is worth a lot more. Anoint is only for one round, a warrior can use adrenaline for a permanent +30%, and then overwhelm, really deadly. If the barbarian hit the legendary with a pulverize before, then even more, no details needed. Anoint is, yes, good, but I rather have a warrior barbarian rogue mage party (because this is the best) than a cleric barbarian rogue mage party, in what the cleric can anoint the barbarian, but it's simply LESS than a warrior with adrenaline and overwhelm. And I mean that cleric can't do damage ITSELF, I didn't mean enpowering others (but, by the way, a warrior has inspire what raises only 20 % but for everyone and permanently). A warrior is far better than a cleric what is weak in both close attacks, magic attacks, and buffs, too.
Otherwise, not very important, but extremly useful sometimes is reflection. My warrior, barbarian, mage all have some 130 % reflection (warrior has cloak of flames and retribution, barbarian has cloak of flames and heavy spineskin boots, mage has shroud of shifting evermist and enlightening hood. So, the Gorgon or Minotaur with a massive area attack can harm himself much more than it harms my party. Try that, too.
And, of course, this needs also all points spent on strength/dexterity/intellect (the one what raises damage) and no one spent on endurance, what is highly unnecessary. Around level 200, your strength/dexterity/intellect can be far over 2000, what means 4000+ (5000+?) damage bonus, and to that comes the weapon. On level 44 my party has 1500+ damage. And, don't forget that poison stacks, what is very important, use the rogue and ranger well.
BUT, it can, Entlee, in Level 40/120, very easy on Gorgons. Didn't you ever use a rogue with cripple and a warrior's overwhelm after that? And, if the warrior has leadership, your rogue has create opening, your mage has freeze/your ranger has envenomed shot, then it's easy to kill Gorgon in 2 rounds, or even a minotaur, barbarian with pulverize reduces damage resistance to -20 %. Your warrior has Hydra Tooth, your barbarian has Minotaur's Axe. It's easy because you can fight against a legendary each levels, as I do. The problem is that you have cleric instead of warrior, what can't do considerable damage, and you could have a barbarian instead of either the ranger or the mage (all the same, both are ranged attackers who are able to cast area attacks). That's it.
Yes, I realized that there is a good strategy. Instead of Sap strength, I use cripple, so everyone can attack before the Gorgon does. A pulverize+overwhelm combo almost kills it, it uses either nest of vipers or raking claws and next round I can finish it off (or if it uses petrify I just wait a round).
Yes, I've tried it too, but I don't like changing the good order of my people. And, there was only one party when I didn't have a barbarian, but I didn't play with it too long. Barbarian is one of the most important characters. I like warrior in the middle so it can attack three enemies in one round (cleave).
I like the solution of the Hydra very much, it's very interesting. It's the easiest legendary, though. With petrify and nest of vipers, if we are unlucky a Gorgon can be nearly invincible, a Minotaur is easy, but with a labyrinth, it can really shake up things. With Hydra, it's just too simple - all attacks should be concentrated on the hydra itself (it isn't even immune to poison, so some rogue sneak attacks and ranger envenomed shots can finish it off just too early, or all attacks should be concentrated on either its left or right head, when it dies, it will spawn another one to the middle, on what a barbarian can use its whirlwind as even more damage).
Lalewyth: What did you attack? Poison dragons, wraiths, gargoyles, and some others are immune to poison.
Sonara: I'm totally the same, but I use rogue instead of mage. A rogue doesn't have any area attack, but has incredibly high damage, higher than any barbarian could do. And, of course, I agree with kiraice. And, against Corruptor, a rogue helps a lot: a rogue acts first, and with Sap strength, he prevents the Corruptor from using Dark Mirror. After that, it's a pushover.
Yes, Zerix. But there is no fight when my HP is 90 and enemy damage is 100. Anyways, barbarian's intimidate (however I use it very rarely) and rogue's elusiveness will make the attacks hit the warrior, what hasn't much higher HP but around 60 % damage resistance (armor proficiency, if not even more - my record is about 80-90 %...)
There IS an awesome bow: Foe-piercer.
Entlee: Yes, I agree - different people, different playstyles. Sorry if I said something offensive, I didn't want to - I just don't understand that why did almost everyone say thet Cleric is essential if I could do very easily without it. However, I am now on level 120, but damage reduction reduces level by level if you don't change armour, so overall it remains around 10 %. And no monster could do any one hit kills if its target's HP was full. Even minotaur couldn't.
Entlee: Yes, I still don't spend (waste) any points to endurance, there is no creature what could kill you in one hit (including legendaries). And what sense is in spending points to endurance to withstand damage, when you can spend points on strength/dexterity to avoid damage. And any boss groups will die in one round: rogue sap strength/sneak attack to boss, ranger rain of arrows, barbarian whirlwind to front middle monster and warrior cleave to back row kills anything, even a boss group. I've experienced this quite many times. Especially, when you kill legendaries on every level (I'm used to doung this with legendary lures, emporium badge), and you've foe-piercer, serpentine band, hydra tooth and minotaur axe at the same time (no luck needed, use emporium badge and legendary lure all levels and soon you will be able to do this.
I just can't understand. How did you spend your statistics points? I spend them to reach higher damage, use most equipment (armor) what gives me statistics what are needed to this. I don't waste any statistics to endurance. I just don't use potions, two shrines and a retreat per level are enough. And, if I can, I reach high quickness, because I think the best way is to survive is not healing but not letting monsters to damage me by killing them before their turn.
Fizzywix: Yes, intellect is the best if you use staffs and strength if you use melee weapons with conjurors. Something else: Gorgons are a bit overpowered and are far more dangerous than the other two. Petrify and raking claws are just all right, but nest of vipers can cause very high damage (however, I have plenty of vampiric equipment and high damage, if she doesn't use petrify, I can counteract the poison by attacking).
Not really gambling, when I play with warrior-barbarian-rogue-ranger, Entlee - like I said, ranger with rain of arrows, barbarian with whirlwind and warrior with cleave finish off anything in less than a round, expect for legendary monsters. Rogue is very important for destroying anything (with full poisoncraft, if the enemy would even survive the attack, gets its 50 % as poison). Against legendaries, rogue is a must-have, I think (sap strength prevents them from using their powerful specials, or cripple allows my warrior to use overwhelm on them, which I don't need to say is very powerful. Another thing is their poison - the legendaries (on my level) have more than 150000 HP, and only with my rogue, they get about 20000 poison damage each round after some rounds (my ranger with envenomed arrows helps, also). Even Legandary monsters can become pushovers when we have rogues well equipped and developed.
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