Battling Nalmissra – Baldur’s Gate II

This guide is a collection of strategies for battling Nalmissra in the Throne of Bhaal expansion for Baldur’s Gate II. These tips were provided by GameBanshee users.

Run When You Must

I took my kensai with Boots of Speed, Cloak of Reflection, Ring of Gaxx and Runehammer and Blackrazor alone into the battle and had the rest of my party in the room in the west of the level and closed the door so that noone could reach them.

I then turned the key and as soon as the enemies spawned I ran away to the north-west room luring just a few of them hitting them a few times and then I run away before I got caught by more enemies at once. I then lured everyone down into the south room and after a few tries I managed to close the door behind all but one of them and then it was an easy battle.

I then moved to the rest of my party for some healing and then opened the door starting the run around scoring a few hits from time to time while also letting them waste their spells. As soon as I got down really low in life I run down to the south room and closed the door to allow for some regeneration and healing. I then moved out again and after a while I manged to lure the hive mother into the south room losing the door and then she was an easy match.

I then just continued this way unitl all enemies where dead. It took a while but I think this battle always will. Some things that are neccesary for this battle is the immunity to level drain given by runehammer (if you go here later you could use Angurvadal +5) or you will die fast, regeneration ability given by Ring of Gaxx or you will run out of potions, magic immunity given by Cloak of Reflection to avoid getting killed by some nasty spells, speed from Boots of Speed so that you can outrun enemies, poison resistance from Ring of Gaxx (or some other item) and lots of healing potions.

You might be able to fine tune this strat but I think it’s oe of the easiest ways as long as you ahve a good fighter. You can also save when you have locked up all the monsters in the south room or if you lock yourself in there which helps a lot as it’s rather annoying to die at the end of a hard battle and have to do it all again.

Submitted By: NoctoZ

Trap Their Spawn Points

First, I had my Cavalier and Priest of Helm cast summon Deva and Elemental Spells. Next, I had my bounty hunter and scald create explosion traps near where Nalmissra spawns. When all the creatures spawn in, Nalmissra, Y’tossi, and the Hive mother were knocked unconscious and I was able to kill the Huntress and the rest pretty easily.

Submitted By: Stormweaver

Tactical Positioning and a Horde

Before the battle, I put everyone in the center, Edwin (or any mage) cast Simulacrum with two monster summoning wands (one with 1 charge the other with four I left one charge for later). Then had Anomen cast protection/evil 10′ hasted it as well has any other benifical spell on the horde. I then spread the horde around where they all spawn and had Minsc cast Simulacrum from Vhailor’s Helmet.

I put my Kensia with the Angurvadal +5 & Flail of Ages +5 on the succubus spawns using critical strike to attempt to whack her off before she puts on proctections which she did (it was only able to charm a couple orges and well…..big deal).

I just put monsters around the hive mother and the naked four armed lady to keep them busy while my kensia and every one else was busy (however the hive mother will still attack party members randomaly but generally kills off the horde).

Minsc with two weapon style wielding Foebane+5 & Blade of Searing +3 is attacking next the one with purple swords, greater whirlwind a couple times gets this one badly injured (Minsc too) but with monsters around you can get him out of there to use some healing potions, then go back and finish him off (not necessarily right after he’s healed).

I kept Anomen and Jaheira in the center with good slings and welted the drow while monsters beat her up to death and Minsc’s simulacrum I put next to the huntress and with greater whrilwind and monsters about thats an easy defeat.

I have Imoen in the southwest corner striaght across from the hive mother using a spell striking wand and Edwins simulacrum down by where you first arrive casting breach. He was first to breach the hive mother right when the battle started, so I used my slingers to welt it injured, then I brough Minsc over with critlical stike and finished it off.

I also have Edwin is up around the north west door with the robe of vecna is casting improved alacrity, then time stop, and during that period hes casting breach on the succubus, and if needed then the naked lady or the hive mother and horrid wilting, comet and whatever else. When time stop is expired and their proctections are breached, the succubus falls easily. I then used the Kensai to tear apart the naked lady with whirlwind thats no problem

This is a very effective strategy, my characters were extremely high level and every one except for Edwin and Imoen had boots of speed, and using the horde as the front line is icing on the cake, I didn’t have to reload my quicksave, only Jaheira died being that she failed her saving throw against some finger of death spell from the hive mother.

Submitted By: Squrbss

Traps, Spells, and Whatever Else it Takes

My main character is a thief so I have a lot of lovely spike traps. You’d do well to place these around the snake woman, hive mother and sword guy. I place 3 of them and an exploding trap on the huntress and friends. The exploding trap doesn’t do much damage but it can knock a couple of nasties off their feet so they are out of the way for a little while. I also get my mages (I use Aerie, Nalia and Imoen) to fill the area where they all appear with a stack of delayed blast fireballs – just make sure you leave enough space around the lock, otherwise you’ll set them off before the creatures appear.

Just to make absolutely certain (the timing of this is crucial), I turn the key in the lock once, get all 3 mages to cast horrible wilting and just as the spell leaves there hands, I turn the key again. If you time it right, the bad guys appear just as the spells spread out.

A couple of things lived through this (which was a big surprise!) but they were near death and it wasn’t too bad sweeping through them. Be really quick with the snake woman, as she is immune to normal weapons and one of the first things she casts is protection from magic weapons (which can be a pain).

Some may see this as overkill….I say, “BE SURE!!”

Submitted By: Lok

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

The Good:

1. Keldorn (or another Inquisitor) equipped with Reflection Shield and Cloak of Deflection (give him a sling, Crimson Dart, throwing axe (Azuredge works), or throwing dagger (Fire Tooth is good). Don’t pump his AC with good armor.
2. Nalia (or another lvl 18+ Mage) equipped with Robe of Vecna. Have Improved Alacrity, Simulacrum, multiple copies of Breach and Lower Resistance, and many, many, many single-target damage spells like Magic Missile, Acid Arrow, and Flame Arrow memorized. Amulet of Power, Dakkon’s Zerth Blade, Rings of Wizardry and Acuity optional but highly recommended.
3. Simulacrum of above Mage, recommended but not necessary.
4. A strong melee fighter capable of Power Strike and at least one Critical Strike, preferably protected from Energy Drain through innate ability or items (NOT spell). Protection from Charm or very good saves is also very good (My protagonist is an Undead Hunter, protected with Mind Shield from Deck of Many Things). Suggested weapons: Axe of the Unyeilding, Purifier, Foebane (note: all obtained from Watcher’s Keep!). He should be dual-weilding, to maximize the number of attacks per round, and should have either a potion of speed or use Ring of Gaxx’s Imp.Haste charges for DOUBLE attacks (that’s a good 6+ critical hits per round).
5. Minsc or another strong melee fighter capable of Whirlwind and at least one Greater Whirlwind.
6. A Simulacrum clone of one of the above fighters (I cloned my protagonist) via Vhailor’s Helm. Immunity to fear is a definite plus.
7. Cannon Fodder: the golem from Golem Manual, spider from Spider Figurine, or whatever you feel should Die For the Cause ™.

The Bad: (from left to right, in counter-clockwise order)

Nalmissra (succubus). Uses Protection from Magical Weapons, Dire Charms, Energy Drains, and Fireshield (Red). NOT immune to Critical Hits.

Y’tossi (Marilith demon). Uses Protection from Magical Weapons, True Sight, and poison. Apparently immune to Critical Hits.

Hive Mother (Beholder). Uses Maze, Stoneskin, and other not-nice spell-like effects. Apparently immune to Critical Hits.

Xei-something-something(Dual-wield Kensai). Uses Warrior pool special abilities like Warcry and Whirlwinds. DOES NOT wear a helmet.

Mage/Priest (forget name). Fond of Blade Barrier and Insect Swarm. Wears a helmet.

The Huntress (Archer). Uses Called Shots to weaken fighters, but will often ignore melee fighters to shoot at spellcasters. I believe she’s wearing a helmet.

And The Ugly:

Usually, before you enter a really tough battle, you might spend some time buffing up, summoning pets, etc. This battle is over much faster if you think with the mindset: No Buff-Up Spells. You can (and should) summon pets, but don’t expect to have any Haste spells active.

Positioning for the battle:

1. Place Keldorn in the exact middle of the ring (you can use the Guard button to place him exactly where you want him).
2. Place the CriticalStrike warrior at the top left, by where Nalmissra will spawn. He will be the one to trigger the battle.
3. Place the Simulacrum warrior where Xei will spawn. Place a bunch of pets with the Simulacrum (creatures which are immune to fear are preferred).
4. Place the Whirlwind warrior between where Y’tossi and the Hive Mother will spawn, but a little away from Keldorn.
5. Place Nalia and her Simulacrum a safe distance behind the Whirlwind warrior (measure the distance between Keldorn and Whirlwind warrior. Move that distance again in a straight line, and you have approximately where to stick the Mages.
6. Place anyone else in your party with the Mages; they may be needed as back-up if the battle goes off a bit (like the Hive Mother casts a few Mazes; having a secondary spellcaster with a Freedom scroll would be wise).
7. Have anyone with Critical Strike use a Potion of Speed or use an Imp.Haste charge from Ring of Gaxx.
8. Turn on Auto-pause for whenever a spell is cast or target is destroyed. Trust me.

Activate the key and pray for a little bit of luck.

1. As soon as the monsters start to spawn, PAUSE! You may even want to turn on Auto-pause for when an enemy is spotted. Have Keldorn cast Dispel Magic, with the target being halfway between himself and Y’tossi. Have the Simulacrum activate its special ability (Recommended Critical Strike). Have your pets attack Xei. Do not have anyone else do anything yet (I mean it… just sit there a second). Unpause. The monsters’ Contingencies and such should kick in, leaving you with a horde of buffed monsters and no special buffs on your side.
2. Keldorn’s Dispel Magic and the Simulacrum’s activated ability should cause the game to Auto-pause. Have the Simulacrum start attacking Xei along with the rest of the pets, but wait for the Stoneskin and Protection from Magical Weapons spells to disappear before you do anything with the rest of your party. The second you see the glowy auras disappear, PAUSE!
3. NOW you start using special abilities like Critical Strike on Nalmissra and Greater Whirlwind on Y’tossi. If you have decent (+3 and +4) weapons, Nalmissra will die halfway through the round (so the CriticalStrike warrior can switch over to the nearby Y’tossi) and Y’tossi will be seriously wounded. Xei will probably kick off a Warcry and Whirlwind and kill a few pets, but no helmet means he quickly falls under a Critical Strike barrage.
4. Meanwhile, have Keldorn start attacking the enemy Mage/Priest with a ranged (ONE HANDED!) weapon. With any luck, the Huntress will start unleashing Called Shots on the only target in her sight range (Keldorn), which will automatically rebound and hit her thanks to the Shield. If the Mage tries to retaliate, most of the spells will fizzle thanks to the Cloak. Similarly, most of the Hive Mother’s special attacks will be nullified by the Cloak.
5. As soon as you are sure the Dispel Magic is no longer getting rid of spells, have Nalia cast Improved Alacrity. The weakened Y’tossi is fond of re-casting Protection from Magical Weapons, but Nalia can mow her down with a super-quick Breach followed by two Lower Resistances and about 5 volleys of Magic Missiles… all at instant speed. Now you know why the Autopause is necessary! The Magic Missiles start to look like a monochrome Prismatic Spray =)
6. End of Round 1. With any luck, the scene should look like this: Nalmissra-dead. Y’tossi-dead. Hive Mother-unharmed. Xei-dead. Mage/Priest-futilely attacking someonen with Cloak of Deflection. Huntress-shooting herself to death. 3 down, 3 to go.
7. The Hive Mother will probably recast Stoneskin. Nalia, still affected by Improved Alacrity, makes short work of that and whatever magic resistance the Hive Mother used to have. The Simulacrum could probably get in another attack spell, can cast haste to help your warriors, or can serve as cannon fodder for the Beholder. Minsc and the CriticalStrike warrior close in with Whirlwind and Power Attack, respectively, and make short work of it. The Simulacrum can help as needed, or can start on the Mage/Priest. 4 down, 2 to go.
8. Keldorn can switch over to a melee weapon now (Purifier works…) and start attacking the Mage/Priest, stopping to cast Dispel Magic if needed. The other fighters join in (the Simulacrum can use Power Attack now, if it wasn’t used on Beholder). 5 down, 1 to go.
9. About the same time as the Mage/Priest dies, the Huntress gives up the bow and tries to melee Keldorn. 3-4 fighters (depending on whether the Simulacrum is still around) vs. 1 Archer. Do the math >=)
10. LOOT! Quite possibly the hardest battle in BG2 won without any deaths by a party of level 19 (or less) characters. Some of the items recommended are quite expensive, however, so you may want to Steal->Pawn a goodly number of Maces +2 from Gorch in the Docks District.

Final note: If you really, REALLY can’t live without your spell buffs, you COULD just cast Improved Alacrity just before the monsters spawn, then quickly Breach them all…

Wimp. =)

Submitted By: Darchon Sunlancer