Baldur's Gate 2 Online Walkthrough by Montresor
CHAPTER 10: THE THRONE OF BHAAL
This is the grand finale. You will have to fight Melissan, the sweet and kind woman who aided and guided you through Chapters 8 and 9 – or, to use her real name, Amellyssan the Blackhearted, High Priestess of Bhaal, and would-be usurper to his throne.
Melissan has been using Bhaal's essence to strengthen herself and she will jump into the pillar of Bhaal essence each time you defeat her. You will then have to kill some of her creatures and cut off the pools in the corners of the area to cut off Melissan from the essence. That makes for a total of four Melissan battles, interrupted by three monster battles, with no opportunity to rest in-between.
For this battle, I largely follow the advice in Dave Milward's walkthrough (once more: It is available from Sorcerer's Place):
- Mages reorient their spellbooks to tear town magical defenses (Dispel Magic, Breach, Pierce Magic, Ruby Ray of Reversal) and summon creatures to help (Summon Planetar). You won't need many offensive spells; Melissan and her summoned creatures will be immune or next to immune to most of them.
- Healers concentrate on spells for healing and protection (Negative Plane protection, heal spells, resurrection spells) and summoning (Summon Deva).
- Bring along as many Wands of Spell Striking as you can.
- And of course bring the healing potions you have gathered throughout the game. Hey, it's the last battle - might as well bring along anything that can be of help and leave behind any stuff you never got around to sell.
- This is where you arrive, and where you will have to fight Melissan repeatedly. When you first arrive, Melissan briefly engages in conversation before attacking. She summons some monsters to her aid – it can be a Slayer Shadow or Bone Fiends. The trick is to get Melissan down to "Near Death" and force her to jump into the pillar of Bhaal Essence behind her. Once this happens, the way to 2 opens and Melissan's summoned creatures disappear.
If your fighters aren't hitting Melissan, use a Breach spell or a Wand of Spell Striking. It is important to stay on top of her, or she will cast Time Stop and proceed to beat one of your characters into the ground. If she picks on the Protagonist... well, it's reload time!
When Melissan leaves, take a brief moment to heal up your group before going to...
- Here is where you will have to cut off some of the Bhaal essence to stop Melissan. The pool is guarded by Yan-C-Bin, Elemental Prince of Air, along with two Greater Air Elementals and two Vampiric Wraiths. Since level drains can be an issue, try to get the Wraiths first, then kill the Air Elementals.
When all the protectors are dead, you'll need to click the pool to cut off the flow of Bhaal Essence. But before cutting off the pool, prepare for the next Melissan battle. I suggest to plant a summoned Deva or the like where you know she will appear.
Then click the pool. Everybody is transported back to 3.
- This time Melissan starts off with a powerful kick that throws everybody within reach backwards. But if you can get the nearest characters out of her reach initially, they can get at her quicker. ;-) Once again, rip down her magical defenses and beat her down to Near Death, and she will jump back into the pillar of Bhaal essence.
This time the path opens to the pool at 4. Heal up and prepare for battle before approaching.
- This pool is protected by Cryonax, Elemental Prince of Ice. He summons Frost Salamanders and Ice Trolls to his aid. Kill them all.
Once all protectors are dead, prepare for the next Melissan battle, including healing up the entire party. Then click the pool to cut off the Bhaal essence. Everybody goes back to the starting point.
- This time Melissan starts by summoning a bunch of Slayer Shadows, then teleports to 6. Follow her and try to ignore the Slayer Shadows, despite the risk of level drains – if you kill them, she'll just bring in more.
- This is where Melissan runs to. Basically the same approach as always: Rip down her spell defenses, then beat her up until she is forced to jump back into the Bhaal essence. The pool at 7 is now available.
The third pool is guarded by a Fallen Solar, two Marileths, an Alu-Fiend, and a Succubus. Since Dire Charm is an issue, I suggest to place Chaotic Commands, or some other kind of mind shield, on as many party members as possible.
The Marileths are immune to normal weapons and like to cast Protection from Magical Weapons on top of that, so have Breach, or Wands of Spell Striking, ready for them. Since their attacks can cause poisoning, I like to get rid of them fast.
Before cutting off the last pool, make whatever preparations you might find necessary. The last battle is coming up so there is no reason to hold anything back. If you have a high-level thief, you can plant all your traps at 8 where you know Melissan will appear. (In one game I had Jan Jansen set four Spike Traps there, which instantly killed Melissan. Cheesy, I know, but if it works it works!:-))
Once all preparations have been made, click the pool. Everybody goes back to 8 for the FINAL final battle!
- Here is where Melissan appears for the final time, and she is stronger than ever! But the basic tactics prevail: Rip down her defenses, pound on her, and don't be afraid to use your last resources (Greater Whirlwind attacks, Deva/Planetar/Elemental summonings, spell striking, whatever it takes.) Once Melissan gets down to Near Death, your old friend the Solar appears to declare you the winner. Melissan protests – to no avail!
And now for your final destiny. Will you become a god? Or do you choose to remain a mortal? The choice is yours alone, and it is purely a roleplaying decision. 
The only difference it makes is the ending movie, the postscript you get for your romantic partner if you had one, and the reactions of some of your party members (for example, if you choose to remain mortal, Sarevok will be most displeased with you:-).
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When all the protectors are dead, you'll need to click the pool to cut off the flow of Bhaal Essence. But before cutting off the pool, prepare for the next Melissan battle. I suggest to plant a summoned Deva or the like where you know she will appear.
The third pool is guarded by a Fallen Solar, two Marileths, an Alu-Fiend, and a Succubus. Since Dire Charm is an issue, I suggest to place Chaotic Commands, or some other kind of mind shield, on as many party members as possible. 
The only difference it makes is the ending movie, the postscript you get for your romantic partner if you had one, and the reactions of some of your party members (for example, if you choose to remain mortal, Sarevok will be most displeased with you:-).
