BG II: What makes a good first character

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you2

Diamond Member
Apr 2, 2002
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how can i know if i have the improve llasera :) If I ask him/her if she/he is improved do they say ?
 

aCynic2

Senior member
Apr 28, 2007
710
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Originally posted by: you2
how can i know if i have the improve llasera :) If I ask him/her if she/he is improved do they say ?

You'll know if you start getting your ass seriously kicked.

Serious. I was totally surprised by the transformation in Illesera.

These are other children of Bhaal, the most powerful, so you'll know if they are tweaked or not.
 

you2

Diamond Member
Apr 2, 2002
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I've been saving my items from Witchking (sp?) area in my keep. Now that I have transitioned to TOB will the keep still be there or will hte items regenerate ? (stuff like the horns and portal keys).
 

Shadowknight

Diamond Member
May 4, 2001
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The only area accessible between TOB and SOA is Watcher's Keep. You will NOT have access to any other map in SOA. SOA essentially takes place on another continent.
 

shortylickens

No Lifer
Jul 15, 2003
82,854
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Just in case it wasnt clear......
If you wanna carry your stuff into the expansion:

1. Make sure you have it on you or in your party when you face Jon Irenicus OR,
2. Leave it in a chest at Watchers Keep, NOWHERE ELSE!!!! The party members you leave back in the outside world do NOT respawn in your private sanctum with all the equipment you put on them.
In the original game, make sure you cycle through them all and pull any gear you want to keep. Then stuff it in your bag of holding and keep it in your active party.

The first and second floors of Watchers Keep have a buttload of storage, so if you want to seperate all your favorite toys for easy finding, leave them in different chests (one for swords, one for necklaces, etc.) and mark them with notes on the [M]ap.
 

you2

Diamond Member
Apr 2, 2002
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Are the items lost or will they regenerate in Watcher's keep ? (i.e, does it save my progress in the keep or do i start over from the beginning ?)
 

aCynic2

Senior member
Apr 28, 2007
710
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If you have stuff you cannot carry, and want to transfer to ToB, here is my trick:

I do not really do WC before ToB. The reason is that it is scaled. If you go in as a low level party, it will throw softballs at you and you'll get XP commensurate to your level. You definitely want to save that experience for later.

Now with that said, I will break into the first level, store all my extras in a chest in WC and it will carry over to ToB.

If you leave your excess in your stronghold, you'll lose it because your stronghold is not available in ToB.

 

you2

Diamond Member
Apr 2, 2002
5,678
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arrgggg. Oh well guess i have to try to backtrack in soa - not sure if i have a save before the first fight with icky on the tree which is the last chance to leave the area.
 

you2

Diamond Member
Apr 2, 2002
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Ok... How do I win the last battle against Melarrgger ? My biggest problem is htat I cannot rest up so i cannot restore spent spells. I managed to kill her twice but this third time i'm being wasted. My casters can't cast cause those shadow slashers and if I kill them she just respawns them.

mazzy is dual weidl with cron in main hand and short sword of shadow mask in off hand
Keldorn has his wonderful holy avenger
Sarevok is using ravager (maybe not the best thing?)
Jah is throw stones
Jan is dying a lot
I'm running in circles trying not to die.
 

s44

Diamond Member
Oct 13, 2006
9,427
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Your fighters loaded up on Greater Whirlwinds right?

You should be able to get through the first two iterations without using the big gun feats or artillery spells at all. Ignore the shadows, just attack her. Sounds like you haven't been using buffs enough. (PFMW, for example, makes casters invincible for its duration.) Plus you KNOW where's she's gonna respawn the last time, so have Jan pile up some epic traps! Easy as pie.
 

you2

Diamond Member
Apr 2, 2002
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What is PFMW ? Jan has a few traps he never did get more with his skills - i didn' thtink they were useful - but i can try to use the ones he has for this last fight. They do have greater whirlwind - is that any good? I've never used it...
 

you2

Diamond Member
Apr 2, 2002
5,678
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Ok I try this whril wind thingy and it didn't seem to do much. Also Jan not very good at setting traps most of them failed :( ANy ohter suggestions ?
 

s44

Diamond Member
Oct 13, 2006
9,427
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LOL. What epic feats HAVE you been taking? Epic spike traps = awesome, instant win. (They don't require Set Traps skill checks either.) GWW = only thing you need to beat every encounter. Engage when they're standing right next to Mel, have them wield the biggest single weapon possible (with 10 attacks per round whether you're single or dual wielding, no point in using a crappy offhand weapon) and whale away. PFMW = Protection from Magic Weapons. Temporary caster protection. What they should *always* have up is Stoneskin and Mirror Image. (And, in this case, Negative Plane Protection.)

Honestly, I've forgotten how to do this battle because (1) it was really easy, and (2) I only play Ascension now. In Ascension she has some ridiculous buffs you need to dispel every time, but I don't think this applies in the regular one (and besides you have Carsomyr). To be sure, zap her with Ruby Ray of Reversal and Breach right after another (stagger the casters) right after she appears. Breach blows away the Stoneskins she has up. There are wands of this too.

You should probably replay the whole finale with these strategies.
 

you2

Diamond Member
Apr 2, 2002
5,678
917
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Oh stuff like death blow and smite and create potion and so forth. This greater whirl wind - i have but it doesn't seem to do much. Arrgggg all this time playing and i'll never be able to finish :(
 

Shadowknight

Diamond Member
May 4, 2001
3,959
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GWW gives you 10 attacks per round. With a fighter with a belt of giant strength and a good sword, that's deadly.

You seem very confused. Are you even reading the ability descriptions or been even TRYING them in gameplay?
 

you2

Diamond Member
Apr 2, 2002
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I've been reading them but they seem pretty weak - mostly i didn't understand them well. Anyways protection from evil works wonders and i finally managed to kill her two more times.

I am very confused by gww because i did try it after s44 suggested it but it didn't seem to do much.

I'm happy i didn't load assension and i don' think i will :)

To be honest all fights in the game were not so bad 'cept this very last one. The one with kgxxx was hard if you did not have protection from magic but with protection from magic it became easy - and of course fighting liches at level 10 and 11 doesn't work well :(
 

you2

Diamond Member
Apr 2, 2002
5,678
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Hum. I just tried again with GWW and she died really fast. Not sure why the first time i trid it - it didn't do much - maybe when i first enable it the fighter disengages ? Or maybe jan didn't do as good of a job with the wand of stricking? But this time she died really really fsat - almost instant. I did try it earlier and it didn't seem to do much...
 

shortylickens

No Lifer
Jul 15, 2003
82,854
17,365
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Originally posted by: you2
Hum. I just tried again with GWW and she died really fast. Not sure why the first time i trid it - it didn't do much - maybe when i first enable it the fighter disengages ? Or maybe jan didn't do as good of a job with the wand of stricking? But this time she died really really fsat - almost instant. I did try it earlier and it didn't seem to do much...
Make sure you understand the difference between whirlwind and greater whirlwind. You have to pick the first at least one time before you have access to the second. BUT, make sure you always pick Greater each level after that. It doesnt have the severe hit penalty of the lesser one.
For that reason also make sure you execute the greater whirlwind when in the game. The lesser one should never be used unless you want to wipe out a group of really weak monsters quickly.
Of all the warrior abilities Greater Whirlwind is probably the best. Pick it every time and use it often.
 

aCynic2

Senior member
Apr 28, 2007
710
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Originally posted by: you2
Ok... How do I win the last battle against Melarrgger ? My biggest problem is htat I cannot rest up so i cannot restore spent spells. I managed to kill her twice but this third time i'm being wasted. My casters can't cast cause those shadow slashers and if I kill them she just respawns them.

mazzy is dual weidl with cron in main hand and short sword of shadow mask in off hand
Keldorn has his wonderful holy avenger
Sarevok is using ravager (maybe not the best thing?)
Jah is throw stones
Jan is dying a lot
I'm running in circles trying not to die.

If one of your casters memorize the Wish spell, summon a djinn and wish for a full days rest.

You're running around? I thought you were a big bad barbarian?
 

s44

Diamond Member
Oct 13, 2006
9,427
16
81
Oh, right, the Wish trick.

Required:
Wish scroll (you bought up/found a bunch of 9th level scrolls before fighting for godhood, right?)
Potion of insight

Step (1) chug potion (Wish options are Wisdom dependent)
Step (2) read scroll
Step (3) immediately click on the genie when he appears
Step (4) wish for full rest and spell restoration

If necessary, add Step (1.5) rearrange all party spellbooks to add lots of good spells and remove the crappy ones you seem to have ATM. Also, note that Step (1) is best done BEFORE the battle, since (a) your lone action-per-round is hugely important in a boss fight and (b) the potion lasts for hours
 

aCynic2

Senior member
Apr 28, 2007
710
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0
I just remember another reason you should have started with BGI...

THE PANTALOONS!!!

You didn't get the golden pantaloons, but you probably found the silver pantaloons and the bronze pantaletts. The golden are in BGI, only.

Without the golden pantaloons, you missed out on one fun piece of equipment.

Since I did get those, I'll have to try and model it for my NWN module. Ought to be fun.
 

Pocatello

Diamond Member
Oct 11, 1999
9,754
2
76
You cannot rest so it's tough. So, like everybody said, you need Wish spell. Greater Whirlwind is the bomb. It's best to let your summons deal with Melissan's summons, planetars and such, and let all your fighters whack her. Dispelling her protections too. Throw in a couple of Dragon's Breath if it's too crowded with her summons.
 

Shadowknight

Diamond Member
May 4, 2001
3,959
3
81
Originally posted by: aCynic2
I just remember another reason you should have started with BGI...

THE PANTALOONS!!!

You didn't get the golden pantaloons, but you probably found the silver pantaloons and the bronze pantaletts. The golden are in BGI, only.

Without the golden pantaloons, you missed out on one fun piece of equipment.

Since I did get those, I'll have to try and model it for my NWN module. Ought to be fun.

Actually, in the patched up version of BG2, you can get the pantaloons in Irenicus' dungeon.
 

you2

Diamond Member
Apr 2, 2002
5,678
917
126
No No --- way back on page one i turned into a mage...
--
Anyways she's dead. dead. and dead. oh and dead again.
--

Hum... What exactly is a Pantaloon ? Do I want to play this game again? If so would a dual warrior 13/cleric be acceptable ?