For the nth time, I'm gonna try to play Baldur's Gate 2.

[Fenixgoon]

Originally posted by: dennilfloss

Originally posted by: Fenixgoon
i'm very impressed, dennil. what difficulty are you playing on, btw?

also, can you post a pic of your final stats?

I'm playing on core rules. My nemesis remains the shadow dragon. I decided to ignore him in the end.

Here are my stats just before using the final tear.

http://www.imagebam.com/image/34355029240166

When I used it, that sucker called forth a bunch of fiends and attacked me even though I had sanctuary activated, was invisible and wearing a cloak of nondetection. He should not have noticed me at all. Maybe initiated the dialogue but definitely not attacked. The other creatures in hell did not notice me. At any rate, Myriam only lasted a couple of minutes before he cast imprisonment (I never found a magic item that makes her immune or at least more resistant to it). Wish I had a couple of illithid circlets left to turn his fiends against themselves.

Well, I'll try again this evening. Will summon my improved phase spider and 4 skeleton warriors before I use the tear. Then I'll try to lure/overextend his forces while he spends his spells agains my creatures.

Not sure why they have us fight Irenicus twice though. Why not have him do this on the elf tree? Just so our party can go to Hell? Or is it because I play a party of one and can't see a difference (maybe not all the party goes to Hell but just the main character).

Anyway, I can't wait to finish this game and install Might & Magic VI again. I did not find BG2 much fun.

pfffft core rules? real men play on insane

i don't think i've *ever* had irenicus cast imprisonment on me, just maze. i thought only kangaxx casted that evil spell.

best of luck :thumbsup:

 

[dennilfloss]

It's the spell where 4 light-coloured fences close in on you and you die. Seems like there's no saving throw. I've had this (and time stop) affect me even when I was out of visual range.

 

[puffff]

So I'm thinking of trying this game for the first time. It looks like there are a lot of mods for it on the internet. Does anyone play the "original"? or has the game become one of those which you have to mod to enjoy?

 

[Fenixgoon]

Originally posted by: puffff
So I'm thinking of trying this game for the first time. It looks like there are a lot of mods for it on the internet. Does anyone play the "original"? or has the game become one of those which you have to mod to enjoy?

the original is still a masterpiece. just make sure you get it patched though. there were a lot of bugs, namely because the game is so big.

 

[Dorkenstein]

Every time I see this thread I miss the game. I really need to re-install it but I keep putting it off, haha.

 

[alcoholbob]

Originally posted by: puffff
So I'm thinking of trying this game for the first time. It looks like there are a lot of mods for it on the internet. Does anyone play the "original"? or has the game become one of those which you have to mod to enjoy?

The original is still a good game but if you play it side by side with Baldur's Gate 2 its really difficult to compare. The amount of budget the spent on the art side of Baldur's Gate 2 was immense, whereas Baldur's Gate has pretty much the Oblivion effect going, where the entire map is pretty much repetitive forest and the occasional cave dungeon.

Baldur's Gate is also a much simpler story; the wilderness areas are pretty much populated by bandits that ask for your gold or kill you, the quests are pretty much all fetch quests...wait this sounds a lot like Oblivion.

It's not like Baldur's Gate 2 wasn't populated by fedex quests either but the incidence was much lower.

The city of Baldur's Gate was a nightmare though. Of the 6 sectionso f the city, every section had about 5-6 homes with people that gave you the same fetch quest--go to sewer, find body. Go get my cat. Go get my gem. The real problem here is, unlike Baldur's Gate 2, where each area is distinct, all the sewers look the same, and even worse, the fetch quests in the city ask you to go all over the place--go to another section of the city, go back to the wilderness 100 miles away, etc etc.

Baldur's Gate 2 is a lot less tedious this way.

I would still give the Baldur's Gate a A- if you avoided the fetch quests in the city altogether. Baldur's Gate has about the same number of discrete areas as Baldur's Gate 2 but content wise, BG2 will have 4 or 5 distinct locations in each area whereas Baldur's Gate typically has 1 defining location and packs of wolves/skeletons/xvarts scattered across the map.

The main quest is still excellent though.

 

[Via]

It's interesting that everyone sort of gets their own experience out of the original BG.

I didn't mind the fetch-it quests at all. Remember the one where you had to carry the sick man all the way across the map (giving up a ton of inventory space in the process)? I really felt involved in getting that guy where he needed to go to be healed.

One thing I really preferred about BG1 was the ability to go anywhere you chose to. There were no artificial restrictions on travel. Of course - you might get your ass handed to you, but that's the breaks. I found Kivan the ranger pretty early on that way during my first playthrough, and he ended up being my favorite party member for some reason.

I also remember running into the Red Wizards way too early and lasting about 7 seconds.

BG2, on the other hand, felt like it was simply dishing out areas for quests. I missed the freedom of BG1.

And don't even get me started on balance. I believe BG to be one of the most perfectly balanced games ever. I finished it three times, and every single time I was down to my last few party members, spells, potions etc at the end of the final battle.

I only finished BG2 once, and I was basically on cruise control for the last 2/3 of the game. I had no trouble with any of the late battles.

I did play BG before BG2 came out, so that probably influences my feelings about it.

 

[alcoholbob]

Originally posted by: Via
It's interesting that everyone sort of gets their own experience out of the original BG.

I didn't mind the fetch-it quests at all. Remember the one where you had to carry the sick man all the way across the map (giving up a ton of inventory space in the process)? I really felt involved in getting that guy where he needed to go to be healed.

One thing I really preferred about BG1 was the ability to go anywhere you chose to. There were no artificial restrictions on travel. Of course - you might get your ass handed to you, but that's the breaks. I found Kivan the ranger pretty early on that way during my first playthrough, and he ended up being my favorite party member for some reason.

I also remember running into the Red Wizards way too early and lasting about 7 seconds.

BG2, on the other hand, felt like it was simply dishing out areas for quests. I missed the freedom of BG1.

And don't even get me started on balance. I believe BG to be one of the most perfectly balanced games ever. I finished it three times, and every single time I was down to my last few party members, spells, potions etc at the end of the final battle.

I only finished BG2 once, and I was basically on cruise control for the last 2/3 of the game. I had no trouble with any of the late battles.

I did play BG before BG2 came out, so that probably influences my feelings about it.

In BG1 you couldn't label the map (IIRC) which made the city quests so tedious since every house looked the same and every other house had an on-going fetch quest going. You literally had to draw a map on a piece of paper to know where and who to go back to in order to receive your reward.

Another problem with Baldur's Gate was sometimes you would come onto a unique item (like some random sigil) and you cart it with you throughout the entire game hoping its for some quest but only to find out later that the thing was just useless trinket. There was a little "too" many items like that in the original I felt.

In Baldur's Gate 2 you could run into a mess too though, don't forget the compound under the Temple District. I ran into there at level 8 and didn't understand why my part died within seconds. I eventually found out that one of the top 5 weapons in the game was at the location (Celestial Fury, stunning katana).

I think you found Baldur's Gate harder because at lower levels, the strength lies with the core & specialist classes--and of course, potions and scrolls were much more important due to the lack of spell slots at lower levels. Bards weren't that useful and the original had virtually no traps so thieve's skills were limited in use. At the higher levels, mages and multiclass characters rule. Baldur's Gate 2 party composition had a huge effect on the difficulty of the game.

I think Bioware likes the way that Baldur's Gate 2 worked out since with Dragon Age regarding area content you aren't likely to see the "freedom" of the original. I know some people liked the freedom but for me I didn't feel like it was very compelling. Only about a 1/3 of the forest areas actually had anything to note--High Hedge, Firewine Bridge, Xvart Village, the map with Drizzt (if you count it). I thought it was a lot of wasted space, even if the world map gave you sense of openess.

 

[Via]

Yes, I do remember mapping out the city of Baldur's gate on paper lol

I didn't mind so much though. I guess it's just me.

 

[Fenixgoon]

honestly, i think pufff meant modded BG2 vs. not modded, lol

 

[Fenixgoon]

damn you dennil, i just started a monk on core rules to try and solo!

 

[Fenixgoon]

Well here's how Fenix the Monk is doing so far:

Gear
Stats
More stats

Weapons:
Arbane's Sword +2: Immunity to hold
Ilbratha +1: Mirror Image once per day
Sword of Flame: +1 fire damage (for trolls)
Arla's Dragonbane Sling +3: Just in case....
Armor: N/A

Rings:
Ring of Human Influence (CHA = 18)
Ring of Protection +1

Amulet:
Peritapt of Poison Resistance (useless since I'm immune to poison anyway)
Soon to be replaced by amulet of power (immunity to level drain, +5% Magic Res, vocalize)

Gauntlets:
Bracers of Archery: +2 for missiles if I use the sling. Will be replaced by gauntlets of crushing)

Cloak:
Cloak of Displacement: +3 to save vs death,breath, wands; +4 AC vs Missiles

Girdle:
Belt of Inertial Barrier: +5 saves vs breath, +25% res to missiles, +50% magic res!!!

Translation: by turning level 14 my monk automatically has 42% magic res. with the girdle, I will have 92%. With the amulet, I will have 97%. With another level, I will have 100% magic resistance (which I believe BG2 caps at 99% :Q:Q)

Badass, and he doesn't even have the gauntlets of crushing, or whirlwind :Q:Q

 

[Qbah]

Originally posted by: Fenixgoon
Girdle:
Belt of Inertial Barrier: +5 saves vs breath, +25% res to missiles, +50% magic res!!!

The belt is resistance to magic damage, not magic So everything that goes past your magic res does half the damage.

And no, BG2 doesn't cap magic res at 99. You can have more than 100 (like 125) which is useful during times when the enemy casts pierce magic or similar spells at you (that lowers your magic res). Though I really don't remember any enemy in an unmodded BG2 that did that. Now BG2 Tweaks + Tactics... that's a completely different story. Prebuffed, smarter mages are quite the challenge! - they move after casting so it's really hard to melee them, rebuff when needed and with proper spells (so that they chain immunities for example), have sequencers and contingencies which they use. Unless you surprise the mage and insta-gib him, prepare for a very long fight (usually until they're compeltely out of spells, and even then they melf you and run away from your melee attacks...).

 

[Ika]

Glad to see you decided to run a solo monk, Fenix You should use the portrait that (I believe) you helped modify - the white-robed Edwin with the ruby on his headband. Nice to have some variation, yknow.

The biggest problem with having a solo character is - MAZE and IMPRISONMENT. Even though Maze isn't a permanent spell, if you're hit by it, the game effectively ends as if you had died or were imprisoned. And imprisonment bypasses magic resistance... nasty.

Maybe I should start up my solo FMT again... been a while since I've done anything with him.

 

[Fenixgoon]

Originally posted by: Aflac
Glad to see you decided to run a solo monk, Fenix You should use the portrait that (I believe) you helped modify - the white-robed Edwin with the ruby on his headband. Nice to have some variation, yknow.

The biggest problem with having a solo character is - MAZE and IMPRISONMENT. Even though Maze isn't a permanent spell, if you're hit by it, the game effectively ends as if you had died or were imprisoned. And imprisonment bypasses magic resistance... nasty.

Maybe I should start up my solo FMT again... been a while since I've done anything with him.

bahhahahaha I just quivering palmed the shadow dragon. BITCH!!!!!

BOOYA!

Fenix lvl 23: -9 AC (-11 buffed), -6 THAC0 (-11 buffed), 4 attacks per round (10 with greater whirlwind), 40% physical damage resist for 11.5 rounds, 77 magic resist currently.

 

[Qbah]

A Carsomyr wielding FMT, with 5 points in 2H Swords and 2 in two-handers (that's with BG2 Tweaks), those gauntlets from Watcher's Keep (an extra 1/2 attack) with Improved Haste means 8 attacks in a round for maaany rounds... pop Critical Blow and you get 8 crits in a round... Bhaal is a pussy compared to you. Slayer? Who needs that toy. You kill everything in under 6s If you want to be mean, lay a Time Stop trap or just cast Time Stop, then pop Critical Blows and, according to their time, they die instantly Ahh the joy of solo'ing... I did that too with a Shapeshifter dual'ed into a warrior at lvl14 That's also fun

 

[dennilfloss]

Glad you guys are having fun.

 

[Dorkenstein]

Is it possible to solo through the original BG? I never beat the first one but I did beat 2 + TOB a long time ago. What's a good class for the first game? And what are the most recent fix packs? Thanks.

 

[s44]

Originally posted by: Dorkenstein
Is it possible to solo through the original BG?

The level cap makes it very, very hard. Sarevok is a beast. I guess it would be pretty straightforward in an uncapped Tutu game though.

 

[Dorkenstein]

If I was to play through the first game with a party and then solo through the second game, will I be behind level/xp wise?

 

[Fenixgoon]

Originally posted by: Qbah
A Carsomyr wielding FMT, with 5 points in 2H Swords and 2 in two-handers (that's with BG2 Tweaks), those gauntlets from Watcher's Keep (an extra 1/2 attack) with Improved Haste means 8 attacks in a round for maaany rounds... pop Critical Blow and you get 8 crits in a round... Bhaal is a pussy compared to you. Slayer? Who needs that toy. You kill everything in under 6s If you want to be mean, lay a Time Stop trap or just cast Time Stop, then pop Critical Blows and, according to their time, they die instantly Ahh the joy of solo'ing... I did that too with a Shapeshifter dual'ed into a warrior at lvl14 That's also fun

oooooh man that sounds nasty

just Quivering Palm'ed Firkaag as well!! dragon hunting season is officially open

 

[Dorkenstein]

Is there any sense in playing through BG1 in EasyTutu with a BG2 class kit or will it just cause problems? Also, what is a good weapon type to use in BG1 via EasyTutu? Thanks.

 

[Qbah]

Originally posted by: Dorkenstein
Is there any sense in playing through BG1 in EasyTutu with a BG2 class kit or will it just cause problems? Also, what is a good weapon type to use in BG1 via EasyTutu? Thanks.

I don't think you'll have any problems. I use BGT myself and playing as a Shapeshifter was flawless (apart from the werewolves on Balduran's Island - plays out as if you aren't one of them ). So as far as mechanics go, there shouldn't be any issues.

And a good weapon type? Whatever floats your boat. I like fat 2-handers. Not to mention there's a great 2H sword +2 with Free Action in the vanilla BG1 (so it's there with TuTu too). This obviously doesn't apply when I play as a Shapeshifter However there are crazy items from DTotSC for a druid (and a Shapeshifter is one ).

Though I play with a lot of mods - TotSC (official exp), DTotSC, NTotSC and SCS to spice things up a bit (Sarevok is insane with SCS ). Also BG2 Fixes and Tweaks apply in my games. And Tactics from BG2 (Silke and that mage-assasin from FAI are crazy hard...) - and that's the BG1 part only.

Basically, you get a nice weapon regardless of which profficiency you go into. There's also a nice Long Sword +2 early in the game. Also a short sword +2 and the Dagger of Venom (available to buy in Beregost) - if you want to play a sneaky type. Might be tricky if you go into Scimitars/Katanas though

So, choose what you like. You will manage alright regardless of your choice.

 

[Qbah]

Originally posted by: Fenixgoon
oooooh man that sounds nasty

just Quivering Palm'ed Firkaag as well!! dragon hunting season is officially open

Firkraag is the second toughest enemy in an unmodded BG2, next after Kangaxx. Nice Remember to kill Adalon, the white dragon - your collection will be complete And that dragon near the end - though this one's a pussy since you're packing quite a punch at this stage.

Actually, what I did, I gave Adalon the eggs - she was so happy about it that she teleported me to the exit, started to kill some enemies to help me out and I just attacked her then and ripped her to shreads Yeah, I'm a mean mofo Got her scales and completed Human Flesh - not that I use it

 

[Fenixgoon]

Originally posted by: Qbah

Originally posted by: Fenixgoon
oooooh man that sounds nasty

just Quivering Palm'ed Firkaag as well!! dragon hunting season is officially open

Firkraag is the second toughest enemy in an unmodded BG2, next after Kangaxx. Nice Remember to kill Adalon, the white dragon - your collection will be complete And that dragon near the end - though this one's a pussy since you're packing quite a punch at this stage.

Actually, what I did, I gave Adalon the eggs - she was so happy about it that she teleported me to the exit, started to kill some enemies to help me out and I just attacked her then and ripped her to shreads Yeah, I'm a mean mofo Got her scales and completed Human Flesh - not that I use it

you're evil

dude, they cap a monk's resistance i've maxed out at 83 resist magic :| (26*3 = 78 from monk levels, +5 from an amulet)

will the BG2 XP tweak allow me to continue my monk's ascendance to godhood? i could have sworn ToB (which i do have installed, i'm just still in SoA) allowed my monk to get 90+ MR

if my progression stopped at level 26... i'm 7 levels overboard already. currently lvl 33, just cleared out the beholder lair in the underdark