Baldur's Gate Noob Questions

aries100 said:

Tales of the Sword Coast is a sort in game expansion. This means that if you go to there after the big battle at the end, you have to do the whole end battle again. Very annoying. I think I've done it only once. As it is very annoying.

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I meant everything besides the final battle. Obviously he would want to do that last.

I can't help but feel that a game like Baldur's Gate wouldn't even be made today, if we went by today's standards.

What I mean is, I had a thought about the Balduran Isle quests. That part would probably never exist in a modern game without some serious changes to things.

For one, there would be a potion seller on the island that sold the most powerful potions (in case you weren't resourceful and you didn't stock up before hand). Second, there would be a temple on the island to resurrect any dead party members. Third, the enemies leading up to the bosses probably wouldn't have been as hard as they were in BG.

The way that part of the game is designed was truly "old-school" at it's best. It almost made me re-load a save from before I went there because it was so challenging, but it really wasn't as hard as I made it out to be because I wasn't using the proper strategies.

Just a thought I had. I hope the modern RPGs that are being made to be similar to BG have a good bit of challenge and "old-schoolness" to them.

JDR, I'm with you on Durlag's Tower being one of the best dungeons. It's fantastic so far and I'm only on the second level. Very cool puzzles and challenging encounters. The encounter with the is proving to be a tough nut to crack. Not sure if I can handle it or I just have to bypass it because it's pretty rough. I'll try it a few more times and see what happens.

But yeah, this expansion is awesome. I'm definitely glad I decided to give BG1 the full attention it deserves and not rush to BG2. BG2 is just going to be that much sweeter when I finally do get to it.

Onwards I go .

This tower is hellish! It seems BioWare really wanted to challenge players with this expansion, which is cool to see.

That said, I'm a bit stuck at this I'm not sure how to handle it. I might drink all my magic blocking potions, but I'm afraid I will need them at a later time. I've also decided that I should Very tricky encounter.

I got past that part! It was very tricky but I finally did it without losing any party members. Sweet!

One thing I like about the game is that you get better and better at tough encounters the more you do them, until eventually you get so good you can clear the encounter without losing anyone .

Okay, bit of a gear question here for you guys. Which would you rather have?

Minsc - Wielding 2 Long Swords. 2 Attacks. Damage 8-15, 7-14. THAC0 10, 13.

OR…

Minsc - Wielding 2-Handed Sword. 2 Attacks. Damage 12-21. THAC0 6.

I'm kind of leaning towards the 2-handed sword, but I'm not sure. Obviously there is a trade-off here. Lower THAC0 or higher damage output. Thoughts on this?

Fluent said:

Very tricky encounter.

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If you're bad at video games maybe, or if you have a shit tier character build but let's hope it's not your build because then you will get your ass handed to you when you're up against the expansion pack's final boss.

For Minsc I'd say that the 2-h is the better option, low THAC0 is pretty much always worth it.

I always went for 2h with Minsc, but mainly for style reasons.

Minsc isn't smart enough to handle two swords at once.

As you progress from a noob Baldurs' Gate gamer and experiment further for that extra challenge, you might want to try as i did (but probably won't) on a very recent play through.

Using Baldur's Gate vanilla, with an elven ranger character, playing with no team (solo) - complete the game using no combat magic or spells, magical melee weapon and clothing is o.k to use, potions and natural trait healing is allowed. Escorting other characters to safety in non combat mode (eg: Dynaheir etc') is acceptable.

Sheer strategy and tactics will get you through, many map changes and merchant visits are needed, tactical inventory management will be required - and much patience.

Best of luck
Wulf.

Fluent said:

Hmm. I'm pretty sure i'm investing quite a bit of myself into these games as-is. I'm discovering the mechanics and enjoying them, but some of the mechanics aren't clearly explained and I just want to learn a bit more about them. I think I invest myself more into RPGs than most people do, hence the thread of every game I'm playing loaded with questions and impressions.

The thing that does taint my enjoyment a bit is the spoilers. I like having questions answered in a very basic way, without much in the way of spoiling things.

For example, looking up how to kill the greater werewolf, and seeing a bunch of people posting names of weapons they used that I haven't discovered yet, THAT taints the experience a bit.

If I can avoid those things and just ask questions on topics I'm unsure about, I think I'll enjoy the games as much as one possibly could.

Also, part of the enjoyment for me is learning the game mechanics and trying to learn as much about the game as possible. Others who know much more about the mechanics than I do can give me little tidbits of information that actually increases my enjoyment of the game.

It's strange to me that someone would question my investment in these games when I feel I invest myself very heavily in them. I didn't think that would ever be in question, hah.

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Thanks for the responses to the dual-classing questions. I think I'll pass on that since it's a bit late to have a gimped character.

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I'm not sure why the primary thing you got out of my post was that I'm questioning your ability to invest yourself, and that's unfortunate.

It's pretty clear that you're investing yourself - and my point is that these games, as with most games of depth and complexity, can provide even MORE enjoyment, if you allow yourself to invest MORE and discover everything yourself.

It's not a question of whether you have the capacity or that you're too stupid to do so, but whether you think it's worth your time and effort.

It's simply my advice to take or leave, and it was entirely well intentioned.

I'm sorry you think I was calling you superficial or whatever, but that certainly wasn't what I set out to do.

Anyway, back to topic.

Wulf said:

As you progress from a noob Baldurs' Gate gamer and experiment further for that extra challenge, you might want to try as i did (but probably won't) on a very recent play through.

Using Baldur's Gate vanilla, with an elven ranger character, playing with no team (solo) - complete the game using no combat magic or spells, magical melee weapon and clothing is o.k to use, potions and natural trait healing is allowed. Escorting other characters to safety in non combat mode (eg: Dynaheir etc') is acceptable.

Sheer strategy and tactics will get you through, many map changes and merchant visits are needed, tactical inventory management will be required - and much patience.

Best of luck
Wulf.

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Bitch, if you're going to solo the game a fighter/thief/mage multi-classed character makes way more sense and is more fun to play. Not to mention that you won't get locked out of content because of a limited skill set. Playing as a Solo ranger must just be tedious since you'll be playing inventory tetris with a shit tonne of arrows all the time. Playing as the second most OP of classes and mowing down enemies with arrows like you're shooting them out of a machine gun is only fun the first half hour or so then it's just boring.

DArtagnan said:

I'm not sure why the primary thing you got out of my post was that I'm questioning your ability to invest yourself, and that's unfortunate.

It's pretty clear that you're investing yourself - and my point is that these games, as with most games of depth and complexity, can provide even MORE enjoyment, if you allow yourself to invest MORE and discover everything yourself.

It's not a question of whether you have the capacity or that you're too stupid to do so, but whether you think it's worth your time and effort.

It's simply my advice to take or leave, and it was entirely well intentioned.

I'm sorry you think I was calling you superficial or whatever, but that certainly wasn't what I set out to do.

Anyway, back to topic.

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Hmm. I don't think you were calling me superficial or anything, I was just a bit stunned that someone would tell me to invest myself more into a game when I felt that I'm already heavily invested. It was just a bit of a shock, I guess.

It's funny to me because when I play games like Baldur's Gate, they tend to consume my life for awhile. I go through these hot streaks where I play games nonstop for days, weeks on end, and then cold streaks where I don't touch a video game, possibly for months. I think it's a bit of an ADHD problem I have and it stretches to all aspects of my life, not just video games.

That's why I find it funny/shocking when someone would tell me to invest myself more into a game, because it feels like if I invested myself any more I probably wouldn't sleep at night, lol .

But I thought about what you said and you're right. Discovering things on your own is always the best route to take and I should try to do that more. I appreciate the advice.

Back to the topic.

I don't think I'd ever try a solo run. Just a bit too hardcore for me. Knowing I'd have to take on some of these encounters with just one person seems like a bit much.

I'm really enjoying Durlag's Tower, though. Finding lots of sweet loot and solving the puzzles is really satisfying. It's rewarding just to make progress in this tower. I think it's one of the best dungeons I ever recall playing through.

@Digger Nick

Done all of that way back in the past, it was far too easy, this final playthrough was just for old times sake - a touch of nostalgia, with a difference.

Wulf said:

@Digger Nick

Done all of that way back in the past, it was far too easy, this final playthrough was just for old times sake - a touch of nostalgia, with a difference.

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Just out of curiosity I have to ask, how the heck did you manage your way past all the traps? Even with a pure mage I could see that being manageable but with a ranger? And the boss fights must have been a real PITA too.

Just cleared Durlag's Tower. Had a blast doing it. Great dungeon. End boss was tough but I managed to do it.

96 hours spent with this game and still haven't completed it. Talk about bang for your buck. Not bad for the $4.99 I spent on the game during a sale .

BG2 is going to blow me away, I know it. I'm not sure if I can handle that amount of awesomeness .

Keep it in mind BG2 is a massive game prepare yourself! (Not that it's a bad thing but you won't be finishing BG2 anytime soon)

Fluent said:

Just cleared Durlag's Tower. Had a blast doing it. Great dungeon. End boss was tough but I managed to do it. .

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Are you talking about the Demon Knight or whatever that sissy was at the bottom of Durlag's tower or the real boss up in Ulgoth's Beard?

purpleblob said:

Keep it in mind BG2 is a massive game prepare yourself! (Not that it's a bad thing but you won't be finishing BG2 anytime soon)

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Indeed. The original BG2 by itself was an 80 hour game for most people. The EE version combines BG2 and Throne of Bhaal, and ToB is a much larger expansion than TotSC.

purpleblob said:

Keep it in mind BG2 is a massive game prepare yourself! (Not that it's a bad thing but you won't be finishing BG2 anytime soon)

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Thanks. I really can't wait to check out BG2. I'm sure my mind is going to be blown because BG1 is so good, I can't imagine it getting even better from here!

Digger Nick said:

Are you talking about the Demon Knight or whatever that sissy was at the bottom of Durlag's tower or the real boss up in Ulgoth's Beard?

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I was talking about the Demon Knight. He wasn't that hard, but he killed my main character a few times because of that fire blast he used. I had to use some magic resistance for the main character and was able to take him down pretty easily after that.

The boss at Ulgoth's Beard took a few tries, too, but wasn't that bad. A fully buffed party with all that gear from Durlag's Tower is pretty deadly .

JDR13 said:

Indeed. The original BG2 by itself was an 80 hour game for most people. The EE version combines BG2 and Throne of Bhaal, and ToB is a much larger expansion than TotSC.

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Nice, I really can't wait!

I'm at 98 hours right now and I'm just heading into the Warrens or whatever now. I think I'm near the end.

Is there anything I need to do to make sure my character carries over to BG2? Do I need to export him or something?

Fluent said:

Is there anything I need to do to make sure my character carries over to BG2? Do I need to export him or something?

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At the end of the game it dumps a character file in a folder. It tells you about it though so I don't think I need to be too specific. Copy that file to your BG2 installation. Be sure to have used all the stat tomes on your player char, got the golden pantaloons and Balduran's Helm plus a fitting armour for your char in your inventory and that's it.

Whatever you do don't play the EE version of BG2. The old standard one works just fine and the EE ruins so much.

Fluent said:

Is there anything I need to do to make sure my character carries over to BG2? Do I need to export him or something?

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There will be an option in the BG2 menu to import a character. Either it will search for the BG save folder automatically or you will have to direct it there.