When is it a good time to do HoW?

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I'm planning to start a new game of Icewind Dale this weekend, and I want to run through IWD, HoW, and TotL this time. All the way through, with no story arc left unfinished. Having never run through HoW (or TotL) before, I would like to know around what level/part of IWD I should take that barbarian up on his offer and go run through IWD. I don't want to do it too late (like after I've finished straight IWD) and have HoW be too easy, but then I don't want to make the rest of IWD too easy because of the XP/items gained in How. Keep in mind I'm probably going to have a 4-person party. Thoughts?

 

Go there as soon as your party hits level 9, I had more fun that way. I once went HoW near the end of the game, and HoW+ToTLM was almost too easy and it was my first run too! And easy means 'not fun' in my book!

 

How do you want to play the expansions ?
Do you prefer the roleplaying/adventuring or the strategic approach ?
Do you want to be able to win the battles when you face them or do you prefer heavy reloading and breeding over battle strategies ?

I started HoW with a saved game just before the "point of no return" (after placing the six badges), TotL with a saved game from the HoW "point of no return" (just before leaving for the sea of moving ice).
It was the right decision for me since I prefer the roleplaying approach the first time through the game, I had to reload a few times and struggle for survival a bit more often.

If you prefer the strategic approach you can start HoW with a level9 party, you'll have gained the required XP at the end of chapter3, if you have only multiclasses even before chapter2. The sooner you'll start HoW the harder it will be. Although it's even beatable with level1 characters if you know what to do, many who started with a level9 party gave up and tried it again after gaining more experience in the original game.
So I'd keep a saved game from before starting the expansions, just in case.
TotL wasn't designed for level9 parties, but you can beat it with one nevertheless.

Your party will gain more than 8,000,000 XP and powerful equipment during the expansions, so you can't avoid making the rest of IWD far easier.

Don't change the difficulty, else you'll get too many XP which will reduce the challenge.
Playing with only 4 characters already gives you a "reach high levels much faster" advantadge.

 

There's an item you get at the very end of IWD, after the "point of no return", which you can upgrade in HoW, so I've always felt that HoW is meant to be played after you've completed IWD entirely. As for TotLM, I tend to do it at the very beginning of HoW, as I feel that doing it later on ruins the continuity of the HoW story for me (it's also another reason I prefer to do HoW after IWD)

 

Yea I'm hesitant to break the continuity too. However I feel that IWD is more "epic" than HoW, and that it would be kind of a let down to go through How after IWD. As for all that experience gained, is it so much that the rest of IWD doesn't really pose any challenge? Or does it just make it slightly easier?
I do like the idea of upgrading that sword though...

 

I really wouldn't bother about the "epic" letdown. For me the HoW story felt more "epic".
TotL is mainly a dungeon crawl on the other hand.

You didn't answer what kind of challenge you exspect.

Trying a game without spoilers and reloading is probably the only real challenge, any battle is easy if you have unlimited reloads to find out what to do.

If the rest of the main game gets too easy for you if all characters are 6-9 levels higher and is far better equipped only you can answer for yourself.
It's possible to get a level30 party killed by a goblin or even without enemy influence.

The difficulty also depends on your party composition. 4 fighters will have a harder time than a balanced party.
How about characters with realistic stats ?
No dex or con over 14 (14 is already extraordinary) and random HP rolls at level up.
The +4 extra AC you get for 18 dex or the extra HP just make the game far easier and the overall game time shorter.

I personally had fun just playing the game without bothering if the challenge will be high enough. Games don't have to be hard inorder to have fun. If you love enemies wiping the floor with your party play "Pool of Radiance 2" or very old games.
For the challenge I played a few HoF solos afterwards.

 

Hmmm...thanks for the posts everyone. I'm still not quite sure when I'm going to do HoW, but I've been convinced thats its just a personal preference, not really a matter or difficulty. I guess I just have to decide whether to break up IWD (which to me seems kinda like abandoning arundel and Kulhahar, seeing as the threat of a demonic invasion isn't gonna go on hold...) or ending my game with the HoW story line (which seems like it would be somewhat of a letdown, but as I have not gone through HoW before, I really don't know.

Here's another question though: is the last battle of HoW (can't spell that name) harder than that of IWD?

 

The last IWD battle without HoW is surely harder than the last HoW battle, mainly because you have more XP in HoW and don't have to micromanage your party in order to avoid stupid traps and the enemies don't have an artificial immunity against weapons lower than +3.
I'd say whatever fight you do first will be harder.

The TotL final is probably the hardest fight.

If you have finished TotL before the last IWD battle will become slightly harder, but not enough to even out the better XP and equipment you have gained.

 

Well, HoW final fight was a total dissapointment for me. My party was buffed up to the max with the all protection spells in the book, so I had an easy time killing the last enemy in HoW. No deaths, no reloads, easy victory!

ToTLM, on the other hand, required a few reloads, as there are a few suprises there! (gotta kill that dispelling cleric FAST! )

IWD grand finale, now, that is tricky. Really tricky, thanks to nearly unavoidable traps, and nasty summons. It could have been better though. Look at IWD2 grand finale, now that is one big bad nasty epic battle for survival! :shrugs: