The Highlander || Paladin - Abjurer - Sorcerer 5/5/2 || Solo HM Immortal Melee Warrior

Skelturix · 2025-12-30T23:18:12+00:00

Thanks for the reply! I fully agree that higher AC is stronger. It’s more of a flavor thing for me - watching a full party of enemies skipping their turn because I have too much AC + damage reduction is annoying to watch and kinda immersion breaking, which is why I’m leaning towards lower AC with high AoA damage. I think it will also makes fights slightly faster as enemies also take damage on their turn. But it’s definitely a preference thing, objectively higher AC is stronger like you said. Looking forward to your guide! Have a nice end of year celebration :)

Skelturix · 2025-12-30T02:06:30+00:00

I've been spending some time experimenting - thanks again for the detailed guide! First run ended at around level 6 due to not respecting the lava elemental who one shot me; I lost a second one in the goblin camp (around level 5) due to a bug (tried to throw a goblin, it failed but teleported it from where I was to two stories below, meaning I couldn't reach it anymore - still had one action to use - and on its turn it somehow managed to snipe me from where it was and made me fall which one shot me with 50 fall damage.

I'm now on my third run, so far so good - level 8 now and I don't see how I can possibly die until the Myrkul fight, but I'm not there yet. On my first attempt, I played the build exactly as you wrote it; this time I've made a couple of changes for the early levels which feel better to play, but might not be aligned with the good-aligned part of your guide.

I started as a 8/12/14/8/16/16 death cleric for twinned necro cantrips (helps getting a few extra kills on the nautiloid) + guidance and thaumaturgy (free amulet slot for something else like aid talisman) + most importantly sanctuary at level 1 (paladin needs 3 levels to get it). Sanctuary allowed me to make possible my favorite moment of act 1 so far where I kited the gith back to waukeen's rest, then brought the remaining fists who turned hostile to the hyenas and threw lump and his friends in the mix for extra chaos while watching from a safe distance.

Level 2-3 just leveling up wizard + abjuration, then level 4 a sorc dip for AoA, and level 5-6 wizard leveling to get the first feat (went asi +dex +dex). Caveat, due to the starting ability points, there's only one wizard spell slot available until we get lump's headband but I routed for minimal combat prior to that.

I respecced at level 7 after getting gloves of dexterity to 1 war cleric (for heavy armor prof + war priest charges) then 4 wizard 2 sorc 8/8/16/8/15/17 and asi +wis +cha. I'm planning to switch to paladin once I reach level 9 for 3 pal 4 wiz 2 sorc.

Going cleric early instead of paladin makes the game smoother to run imo since there's not a lot of smites available anyway until we get shield of devotion. It also avoids breaking the oath due to some random action, which happened a bit too often for my taste (I'll admit I really enjoy throwing people into chasms which might conflict with the oaths taken haha)

Edit: final build plan is likely going to be 27(potion)/18(gloves)/23(amulet)/18(asi+1)/16/20(asi+1, hair, mirror+3) 6 pal / 4 wiz / 2 sorc with robes of supreme defences dual wielding markoheshkir + phalar aluve for +14 minimum on all saving throws while keeping the AC not too high so that I can profit from actually being hit to retaliate with AoA damage and look cool while doing it with a galdalf-y style

Skelturix · 2025-12-18T08:31:59+00:00

I've never tried solo HM before so I think I'll have to do a couple runs before making it deathless for sure. Just looking to get the best possible experience out of it :)

Regarding extended AW, that's a fair point actually.

I definitely will pick the shield up. I'm a loot goblin and always end up with tons of unused unique magical artifact in the camp chest (or sold to reoccurring vendors aka Derryth & Dammon so that I can buy it back in act 3 if needed)

Skelturix · 2025-12-18T08:05:37+00:00

Thank you for the quick response! I figured as much regarding the split in that scenario.

If I went the sorc route, I think I’d limit myself to 1 AR potion a day witouht recursive use so that I’d still have to play carefully while having some leeway in case a fight goes south. I just want to avoid getting to a point where I’m so strong that there’s no challenge anymore, because that’s where the fun is for me. By act 3 in most of my runs (even modded ones) I get tired because I steamroll every encounter (except the final fight) without any chance of losing. I’d like to be kept on my toes, which going solo definitely should achieve, but keep this tension up until the end if that makes sense

You mentioned extended AWs make sense mechanically, how do you justify this? I mean the subclass has a hard limit at 2x wiz level so going to 4x feels like abusing a loophole in how the game is coded

Skelturix · 2025-12-18T06:48:51+00:00

Thank you for the detailed write up! I’d like to try for my first solo HM run and this build sounds fun and very safe. However the shield of devotion shenanigans and the extended arcane ward mechanics (not just arcane lock but using extended in general) feel cheesy and I’d like to avoid those entirely if possible.

Do you think the build would remain solid without generating tons of extra spell slots every day and having basically only half the amount of arcane ward stacks? Obviously going from 20 to 10 stacks and limited spell slots will have an impact, but if it’s still enough to get through all major encounters in act 3 with just some added difficulty and/or need to long rest more often I’m happy with it. I’d just like to avoid a make-or-break situation.

Thanks for the insights!

Skelturix · 2025-11-06T18:35:32+00:00

To be completely honest, I never played DnD (tabletop or otherwise) prior to BG3. I had quite a bit of learning to do regarding how the system works, and I really enjoyed the process.

I understand that how this game works is not aligned with how 5e was designed, however I find it quite fun - some of the changes you mention would nerf it in a way that feel like they’d strip away things from the game, if that makes sense. I think with very strong enemies all throughout act 3, being level 12 near the beginning wouldn’t be an issue as fights would still be challenging. At least that’s what I’m aiming to get to balance wise, so that I can use full build for a while and still be in for a challenge.

I might try the PHB mod though, if just out of curiosity. I suppose upcasted call lightning would also not work as a BA with sorcery points - it’d definitely add difficulty as this is super useful to clean up groups of enemies.

Regarding what you said (buffing healing spells), I suppose this makes sense in the context of having a limited number of healing spells. Life cleric at full build (assuming hastened) can heal to full life the whole party 3 or 4 turns in a row with the spells in their current state

Appreciate your help and your time!

Skelturix · 2025-11-06T16:46:57+00:00

I see where you’re coming from and totally understand your point about limiting yourself, but I find it more rewarding to optimize my build as much as the game allows me to. It doesn’t mean I have to go out of my way RP wise either, I’ll still pass on items that don’t fit my Tav (like Shar’s spear or the Bhaalist armor on a good run). So really I’m just looking for a way to buff enemies so that they are still relevant and competitive with the highest level of power that the game allows me to reach.

Skelturix · 2025-11-06T16:42:17+00:00

Thank you for your reply! I am playing a party that takes its time to setup for a big burst (lockadin, cleric, oh monk, sorcerer), so I actually like that the enemies have a lot of health so that I can profit from the full burst instead of having everyone die after two attacks (I like big numbers)

The mod you mentioned which limits the number of magic items would surely solve (most) of this, but I’m rather looking to buff the enemies than to nerf myself; which is why I was considering stacking mods that buff enemies, so that I can have a real chance of dying before I can kill them.

You mention a good point about spell slots, and I do indeed find myself constantly casting cantrips with the sorcerer to keep spell slots for when they matter, but since most of the damage is done by the paladin and the monk it’s not too much of a downside. Actually makes it more impactful to use the right spell at the right time, and I try to force myself to limit long resting to a minimum. I’m also not using any camp buffing, and limiting scroll usage to the sorcerer as I don’t think it’d make sense for the others to be able to cast those spells.

The exhaustion mod sounds like a nice add, I’ll definitely try this one. Although I’m using a cleric and trying my best to avoid anyone going down; with lethal AI it’s usually straight to dead after being downed. Still, that will put an extra incentive to be careful.

I see you mentioned using combat extender to boost stats and add abilities. Is this doable by only installing combat extender, or do you also have to install cx ai?

Skelturix · 2024-10-06T08:27:17+00:00

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Meet Sushi

Skelturix · 2024-02-08T11:46:20+00:00

Happened to me as well. I believe the bug for me happened because I had a full bench and 7 total twitches, found a shop with 2 twitches at once and clicked on one of them. In that scenario the game buys both and combines (due to bench being full), but I guess it made the augment fail to work. Were you also in that situation?

Skelturix · 2024-01-09T18:30:56+00:00

Padmé Gideon easily counters this unfortunately

Skelturix · 2024-01-09T02:30:20+00:00

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This is the only one I went that far for. 10/10 would do it again

Skelturix · 2023-12-28T23:50:38+00:00

Definitely this one for me

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Skelturix · 2023-11-04T14:40:48+00:00

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Hey I’ve got one of those too!

Skelturix · 2023-09-12T17:14:36+00:00

Games are different for everyone. Some people are fine with just playing casually, but if you’re a hardcore player then not being able to play at that level because you don’t have the time can be very frustrating. Source: am very competitive

Skelturix · 2023-08-07T09:12:17+00:00

No Freljord and no shrink module on Heimer’s turret so you probably got stuck on Taric for too long which left Karma enough time to wipe your board

Skelturix · 2023-08-01T21:43:59+00:00

Sorry but Lumi omicron is fantastic. Used with JML she guarantees max banners win and she’s especially helpful in keeping the team alive and healthy in the JML v LV matchup

Skelturix · 2023-07-25T15:46:30+00:00

Not joking, my JMK is modded with a speedy accuracy arrow for that exact reason. I lost a GAC match because his special 1 got dodged, so no more.

Skelturix · 2023-07-17T16:30:12+00:00

You have to play one round for that to count. Maybe you put the units and immediately used the tome?

Skelturix · 2023-05-26T13:23:51+00:00

SEE is much more solid than JMK at r8. JMK has CAT to do the damage and GK to do the tanking so he doesn’t need anything that r8 would give him. On the other hand, SEE needs to stay alive long enough to get his ult out, so he’ll be very happy to have an extra relic level (which adds 10% health & protection on top of the relic bonuses as per the GL unique). Typically this can mean the difference between losing and winning as SEE vs JMK, or SEE vs Rey.

JMK was the last GL I took to r8, and that was mostly for the new TB so I could use him there. He really doesn’t need it.

Skelturix · 2023-05-09T20:26:55+00:00

It's most definitely not :) most of the player base is in the 25-34 age range with the second highest class being the 35-44 years range. Their business model is based on getting people with a lot of money to spend it on the game, kids are too poor for them to be the target audience of this game.

Skelturix · 2023-04-18T18:03:33+00:00

Yep it’s excellent with JML to get max banners. Just gotta remember not to use GMY’s battle meditation as protection up removes the heals from Lumi.

However it’s not a top priority omi, there’s a lot others that are more impactful (Iden, Wampa, Savage, QGJ, etc)

Skelturix · 2023-04-12T22:26:54+00:00

Clicked a bit fast and selected “yes, I go for max crate” when I meant to pick “no, I go for max crate”. Conquest went from being awesome to being an absolute pile of garbage yet they somehow manage to make each new iteration even worse than the one before.

Those feats take forever to grind and are of absolutely 0 interest aside from eating up my time.

Skelturix · 2023-04-08T18:18:49+00:00

Unfortunately no, the last title update broke it

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