Icewind Dale Hints

General Fighting Tips

• 1 of 11: As fighting is a very, very large part of the game, it's important to have a good grasp of some of the useful strategies involved in combat.
• 2 of 11: For one, always be sure to send your fighter characters in a little bit before your mages/archers so that enemy mages/archers will target your fighters, who should have plenty of hit points, rather than your ranged attackers, who not only have low HP (most likely) but also can have their spells disrupted by just one arrow. And trust me, you DON'T want to waste a single spell in combat.
• 3 of 11: You will grow to hate any enemy who possesses a bow. As soon as you get deep into the first dungeon, you will find that there is nothing more annoying than a few grunt archer units way off screen. Fortunately, there are some good ways to deal with ranged units. First of all, be sure, as mentioned before, that you don't send your ranged attackers (especially Mages) in first, since the first unit enemies see will be the one they go after. Certain formations help with this, like the pointed triangle.
• 4 of 11: Also, it may sound strange, but if you encounter only ranged units, throw every nasty spell you have at them. The faster you get rid of them, the less damage they'll do to you, and you can rest at pretty much any time you want, as long as there's no enemies around. Time is of no importance in this game, so resting never hurts.
• 5 of 11: A mix of fairly powerful ranged and melee enemies is where battle starts to get tough. The best idea, which is the end-all, be-all combat strategy in this game, is to send in your best fighter, step by step, until one or two enemies notice him and begin to chase. Since ranged units are usually farther back, they tend not to be the enemy that spots you. Once you've drawn out all the melee attackers you can, draw some ranged units closer to your party, and hit them hard. Area-effect spells such as Fireball and Ice Storm are nice -- just be sure you don't hit your party.
• 6 of 11: As was just mentioned, the most important tactic to master is the ability to draw out enemies a few at a time, minimizing risk to your party. You're almost always outmatched in every major fight you get into, so you really can't just charge in, unless you're just facing a bunch of grunts, which very rarely happens. It's a good idea to use whoever has the most HP in your party to draw out enemies, as he/she will be the one attacked first by all the foes they draw out.
• 7 of 11: Patience is a virtue in battle, well, at least in this game. Don't get impatient and madly charge into groups of enemies. At worst do hit-and-run charges, killing a few, and gaining some distance on the rest of the enemies to regroup. If you brashly charge into battle, you're probably not going to be able to make it past the first mini-dungeon.
• 8 of 11: Don't be afraid to use potions, healing spells, wands, scrolls, character abilities, etc. in combat. There really is no such thing as an "easy" combat in this game (although some are a lot easier than others) so you probably won't be wasting whatever it is you use, and it will probably let you come out of the battle a good bit less injured.
• 9 of 11: Although they eventually make decent close-in fighters, try to keep your Cleric characters out of melee combat for the early portions of the game. They're not terribly useful, unless everyone is first level, in which case it doesn't really matter. They can react more quickly to cast healing spells (which you'll almost definitely need) if they're not already doing something that round.
• 10 of 11: If you have a Fighter/Mage in your party (which I recommend), you should have them memorize mostly spells that either do some quick damage (like Magic Missile, Chromatic Orb, or Melf's Acid Arrow), or that have some debilitating effects on the enemy, preferably in a radius (such as Hold Person, Slow, etc.) This way, you will be able to quickly fire off a couple of spells with them to tip the odds in your favor, and then use them to attack the enemies hand to hand.
• 11 of 11: That's about it. Just try to keep all your characters alive during combat. If one of them dies, it's a better idea to reload then get gouged at a temple, unless your nearest save is really far back, which it rarely is. Be sure to get plenty of practice with these strategies with the enemies at the beginning of the game... you'll really need them later.

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