Overpowered by Arcane Skeleton

[SUPERCREWJOHN]

I was soloing the Seal of Shan do Kar on Normal with my 3/1 Palidin/Cleric Straterra, I have be whipped every time that I come in contact with this critter. I have tried a resist fire potion and mage armor as well as Protection from Evil prior to entering into a melee with the arcane. Prior to engaging the arcane I have been able to lure out his two henchmen( Skeleton veterans) I have been able to hit the arcane a few times with a nibus of light, and flee. Utimately I die within a few minutes from Chill touch and inflict minor wounds. Also, and buffs that I enable such as the fire potion get dispelled within a few seconds of the encounter by the Arcane.

Anyone have any suggestions of beating this bugger, I am at an impasse?

[sigtrent]

I'm trying to remember where there is a skeleton in STK but I'm blanking out on that...

Anyhow, arcane's are pretty nasty but you should be able to take him head on...

1. Use a blunt weapon like a warhammer or mace. 2 Handed is good, this guy casts spells so a shield isn't needed as much as pure damage, unless you have low strenght then it doesn't help much.

2. Undead are hurt by healing spells and effects. Use your lay on hands to do a big chunk of damage to the skeleton, just target him and use the power. You can also use healing spells on him although your nimbus probably does about the same damage.

3. Dont forget to use your smite evil on it.

[Dariun]

For melee characters, best approach to arcanes is to charge them and smash them as fast as possible. Don't try to fight a ranged battle because (1) the arcane has infinite spell points and (2) the arcane does more ranged damage than you do.

They have low AC and HP. Use divine favor if you have it, and a resist fire wouldn't be a bad idea. Mage armor won't help you. Prot. from evil will help with saving throws.

But the key is to kill him before he kills you. Charge and smash. Blunt undead bane weapons are best. Pure good/holy also very good.

[tihocan]

The arcane is in first part where there's a gate you can open with a key (and there's a shrine nearby).

On normal you shouldn't have too much trouble beating on it, following Sigtrent's advice. Hit your trip button too (get a bull's potion to increase the likelihood of success).

[DemonMage]

How are your buffs being dispelled? They don't cast dispel. Resist Fire should cut down the damage a bit, though the Inflict spam will still hurt. Fire Protection can help too. But yeah, the most important thing to remember when fighting casters is that they really do need to die fast, so a more offensive approach usually works better, unless you have good ranged abilities.


As for the location... first quest, down past the barricade in the undead area with the ghouls and such.

[SUPERCREWJOHN]

I didnt realize I could use Lay of Hands. I typically heal in the nieghborbood of 35-45 points because of the optimization of my paladin. I'll have to try that. I dont have any big two handers, and my str is 17. I do wield a +2 Bastard Sword that is flametouched. I have a couple of +1 maces as well. Do you think it is best to used only ranged attacked like casting or a bow against this critter vs attempting to engage. My ac non buffed is 26. I have also tried turn undead to try to stun this guy, and that doesnt seem to work even with a Charisma of 17.

I guess it is kind of sad. It is only a CR 2 arcane skeleton

[Dariun]

I didnt realize I could use Lay of Hands. I typically heal in the nieghborbood of 35-45 points because of the optimization of my paladin. I'll have to try that. I dont have any big two handers, and my str is 17. I do wield a +2 Bastard Sword that is flametouched. I have a couple of +1 maces as well. Do you think it is best to used only ranged attacked like casting or a bow against this critter vs attempting to engage. My ac non buffed is 26. I have also tried turn undead to try to stun this guy, and that doesnt seem to work even with a Charisma of 17.

I guess it is kind of sad. It is only a CR 2 arcane skeleton

1. Use the mace not the bastard sword.
2. Don't fight ranged.
3. Your AC doesn't matter against spells.
4. Buy a potion of Aid if you need extra help (will give some bonus HP to keep you on your feet).
5. Don't try to turn him.
6. Lay on hands or smite evil would both be good choices as long as you can do them quickly. If you have to give up 2 or 3 mace swings to use lay on hands, it might not be worth it.
7. It's not sad -- those things do a lot of damage. That's why when you do the Delera's Tomb quest with a group you'll hear people yelling "arcane!" or "get the arcanes first!" or asking the casters to "web the arcanes".

[sigtrent]

Don't use ranged weapons on skelletons if you can help it. They have DR/5 (meaning they don't take the first 5 points of damage) from any ranged weapon, and a paladin isn't going to do much damage with a ranged weapon in general.

Best to rush in there and beat it up head on. This really applies to almost any spell casting monster, although flesh ones can be shot from a distance pretty effectively if you can get at them from a long distance (outside of their spell range).

When playing in a group and arcane skelletons pop up (you see them a lot in mid level dungeons) usualy someone calls it out so everyone can kill it quickly. You don't want to dance around with them, they are quite nasty. Best to just hit them as hard and fast as you can.

[AegisAndy]

Good advice on the thread so far. Get to him quick, use a blunt weapon. Try to disable him with trip if you can so he can't cast. Smite and Lay hands if the trip doesn't take him down.

[CrimsonEagle]

snip

When playing in a group and arcane skelletons pop up (you see them a lot in mid level dungeons) usualy someone calls it out so everyone can kill it quickly. You don't want to dance around with them, they are quite nasty. Best to just hit them as hard and fast as you can.

snip

Lol, not only in the mid level dungeons Wiz king elite I will suffer a hail of arrows from them nasty archers to take an arcane out when they pop. They can make things go bad real fast.

CrimsonEagle

[Zenako]

Arcanes are easy to hit, so buff for damage and saves. If you have the paladin Saves boost, hit it before battle, then smite his spell casting boney butt to bits. If you finding it hard going, drop the LoH on him hard. Watch the arcanes health bar and see how much it drops. If it almost kills him, swing a time or two and then LoH yourself to stay up. If it half kills him, swing again and then drop another on him if you have two. (not sure exactly when you can get an extra one...)

You can also just pick up a Maul or GreatClub for skeleton pounding, even non magical it will probably do more than most edged weapons. A nice Holy Mace of Undead Bane is ideal if you ever come across one.

[arcane_nite]

Use ur enviroment. Try and use the door facing so that it blocks u from his spells and allows you to get 2-3 free swings on him before he can turn and blast. Also, lead off with loh and the run to this postion. After a loh and some free swings u should be fine.

[tihocan]

Wiz king elite I will suffer a hail of arrows from them nasty archers to take an arcane out when they pop. They can make things go bad real fast.

So true... I felt bad the other day when I was beating on an archer, and I only realized an arcane had popped behind me when I saw we had two dead party members already.

[Viglin]

Don't use ranged weapons on skelletons if you can help it. They have DR/5 (meaning they don't take the first 5 points of damage) from any ranged weapon, and a paladin isn't going to do much damage with a ranged weapon in general.

Best to rush in there and beat it up head on. This really applies to almost any spell casting monster, although flesh ones can be shot from a distance pretty effectively if you can get at them from a long distance (outside of their spell range).

When playing in a group and arcane skelletons pop up (you see them a lot in mid level dungeons) usualy someone calls it out so everyone can kill it quickly. You don't want to dance around with them, they are quite nasty. Best to just hit them as hard and fast as you can.

Come mod 4 that wont be true....throwing hammers FTW

Great suggestions throughout the thread.

[Jakylpops]

Charge in with a heavy blunt object, jump over or around whatever grunts are in front of him, try to start off with a Trip then smash smash smash. Lightning and Acid are the two resists that should help the most...nobody likes to stand over the broken body of a defeated Arcane, only to drop dead 5 seconds later from acid damage.

[Zenako]

Yah arcanes seem to love Melfs arrow, most annoying...

While using the terrain can work, many casters will not chase but just keep spamming spells at the wall between you unless you move a lot and give them reason to chase some as well. Master running backwards, it gives you a chance to watch the enemy as you retreat.

My Ranger who soloed a lot at lower levels got quite good at it and it still serves him well to this day.

[GeneralDiomedes]

Charge in with a heavy blunt object, jump over or around whatever grunts are in front of him, try to start off with a Trip then smash smash smash. Lightning and Acid are the two resists that should help the most...nobody likes to stand over the broken body of a defeated Arcane, only to drop dead 5 seconds later from acid damage.

Normal - Fire
Hard/Elite - Lightning and Acid
All - Deathward

[DSL]

Normal - Fire
Hard/Elite - Lightning and Acid
All - Deathward

Deathward will indeed be very effective at blocking the Inflict Wounds spells, but it is very hard to come by at level 4. However, you would do well to get yourself a wand of Lesser Restoration, as they also love to cast Ray of Enfeeblement, which a Lesser Restoration will completely remove (besides being a very useful wand in many other ways). If you can't afford a wand, get a potion or two instead, and remember that you will be able to cast the spell once you hit Pal 4.

Otherwise, the above info is all good. Hit 'em fast, hit 'em hard, and use the best Blunt weapon you can find. The only other suggestion I will add is to buff yourself with Eagle's Splendor scrolls/potions if you can (remember that scrolls have a risk of failure while wearing armor), as this will boost both your Lay on Hands and your saves.

But above all, don't feel bad about it. Casters of any kind are a lot more dangerous than a melee enemy of similar CR, and the arcane skeletons are, as you have seen from the numerous previous posts, almost universally greeted with reactions ranging from a healthy respect to outright fear.

[Aranticus]

So true... I felt bad the other day when I was beating on an archer, and I only realized an arcane had popped behind me when I saw we had two dead party members already.

i'd often get another tank to run up grab agro and spawn any possible arcanes. then i follow behind the lead tank just so i can trip the arcane then start pounding on it with my holy burst mace

[SUPERCREWJOHN]

All right folks. Just a quick update on Soloing Shan do Kar. I used the lay of hand. Did 45 points of damage followed by 2 casts of Nimbus of Light, and he was fried. The Skeletal Veterans, I pulled prior to the encounter with the Arcane, so they were toast. So I hopped down the mushrooms, killed the spiders. I thought all was fine and I healled. I approached the bridge and started to melee the hobgoblins when my Paladin stuck like glue on the bridge surrounded my three hobogoblins and the hobgoblin instigator. Before I could move again, I was a -10 and bleeding out. Since I was soloing I couldnt run back to the shrine. I released, and by the time I returned the 5 minute window expired.

I guess I'll try again another day. One note, treasure was very very scarce. The chests that I did find had 30 gold pieces, and some hide armor.

Also, beware of the human necromancer, and his minions. They are very tough. He casts blindness before emerging from the tube. I was able to stun his minnions with a turn undead, and escape to the level below with about 15 hp remaining. So much for that wand of cure light. I guess next time I will carry two of them.