BG2: What am I doing wrong?

[Arma]

Yup, all this BG2 talk made me itchy and I am moments before starting a new game. I'm thinking of a swashbuckler thief (my favorite class around btw) again. For the n-th time. Of mods, I just dl-ed the Assassinations and de'Arnice romance to give them a try. Does anyone know of a good thief NPC mod?

And, DeepO, you proved my point. Mods for BG2 in general modify some aspects and/or add new content. But still take for granted that you like the core mechanics of the game, I've rarely seen someone modify the core of the rules.

 

[zahratustra]

LOL all this talk made me want to play BG2 again as well but, since I was not playing it for quite a while, are there any other sites with good mods for this game not covered by PPG?

 

[purpleblob]

We should gather 3-6 rpgwatch members and do a multiplayer cooperative
run through BG1 + ToSC

Could be fun.

Everyone would just blindly create a character and then stick with it no matter what. No agreements up front

It would be! You are definately right. Since bg1 is not dialogue heavy it would be perfect to enjoy MP with friends. I would definately join in if you guys are up for it... and if you guys would play it on sundays for my time. I'm just flat out on other days (which is why I can't even join team corwin.... missing out on mad fun *sigh*).

I agree with you about IWD as well. It's really heavy on combat and we'd have to reload so much it will be pain...... especially if we don't have any cleric!

Deidre, who sells the Torment items in the Adventurers' Mart is added in ToB, aries. I think you still need the CE mod for the IWD merchant in the Copper Coronet however.

I'm not sure about that but either way, if you d/l that small patch thing from sorcerers.net you'd get both merchants in your game.

 

[blatantninja]

Anyone ever play the "The Darkest Day" or "The Big Picture" mods?

 

[DeepO]

And, DeepO, you proved my point. Mods for BG2 in general modify some aspects and/or add new content. But still take for granted that you like the core mechanics of the game, I've rarely seen someone modify the core of the rules.

I did not. I was responding to your statement that mods take for granted that you like the game already.
I agree with you that mods take for granted that you like the core mechanics of the game. But liking core mechanics of the game doesn't mean liking the game.
Take me for example. I like the combat system. I don't like the amount of battles.
I like the way romances are handled technicially. I don't like their content.
I like the banter system. But there is not enough of them for my liking. I like the whole setting but I don't like the way main story is handled. Main villain is written in quite shallow manner, I find Bodhi to be much better explored character. I don't like the final resolution of SoA's story. In my opinion Longer Road redeems Irenicus as an interesting character and also throws better light backwards, into SoA. And so on. Basically, although I like the core mechanics of the game, I don't like the game itself. And I suspect there is more of us.

 

[Squeek]

Anyone ever play the "The Darkest Day" or "The Big Picture" mods?

I tried The Darkest Day a couple of times but was never able to complete it. It was super buggy at the time, which was too bad. It was a real labor of love and featured some great ideas (some that were incorporated into ToB).

 

[blatantninja]

Was it so buggy that it prevented you from completing the main quests? Thanks.

 

[Alrik Fassbauer]

We should gather 3-6 rpgwatch members and do a multiplayer cooperative
run through BG1 + ToSC

Could be fun.

Everyone would just blindly create a character and then stick with it no matter what. No agreements up front

I think I'd be in it.

 

[Squeek]

Was it so buggy that it prevented you from completing the main quests? Thanks.

Yeah. At one point I wandered over to an area where a party of dark elves attacked me, and I killed them, which was actually supposed to happen. But it happened before something else was supposed to happen, and that ruined the main quest.

Back then they were updating the mod every couple of weeks, almost all of which required restarts. After about 8 restarts I decided to give it a break for a while but never got back to it.

 

[blatantninja]

Cool. I think I have the 'final' version. Hopefully the plot breaking bugs are fixed.

Ohh, and I meant the main BG2 quest, not the main TDD quest.

 

[Maylander]

As far as I know, there are no BG2 main quest breaking bugs. At least I've never encountered one.

 

[Arma]

When I tried TDD, I hit a grand bug - at one of the new dungeons there is/was a bug that prevented me from entering the next area. There were more, of course, but this was particularly memorable.

 

[Prime Junta]

Walp, I'm getting a bit frustrated again. It's this game's habit of encouraging you to throw yourself into situations before you're ready to handle them. This time I took the Planar Sphere quest clearly several levels before I was ready for it. I just about managed to waste Tolgerias (after several tries, and only barely), but I'm hitting a brick wall with the two highly badass tanar'ri I have to beat in order to get the sphere working again -- I don't have high enough spell levels to defend against their magical attacks, and my tanks aren't tough enough to survive toe-to-toe with them for more than two or three rounds, even buffed up to the hilt.

The problem is, I'm locked in. There's no way to progress other than beating these quests. I can't just drop them and come back later when I'm tough enough to deal with it. It's either "go back to another save way back" (which I don't have, since I've been quick-saving) or "start a new game" or "try to finesse it with much save-and-reload and hope for the best."

This is just bad game design -- again, by all means let the player take a tough challenge early, if that's what they want, but they should let the player know they're about to bite a mouthful, and to back off it it turns out too tough to handle. This game lets me paint myself into a corner way too easily.

 

[aries100]

PJ - As I remember it, the problem is that you can't get out of the Planar Sphere before you have finished all the quests in it?

As for the Tanar'ri they are really really hard to beat. I remember having trouble just beating the in Icewind Dale. I finally managed to to beat it with a little tactical thinking. But before that - are you here:

http://gamebanshee.com/baldursgateii/walkthrough/planarsphere3.php

or later ? in the game ?

Here's some help, too:

http://mikesrpgcenter.com/bgate2/subquests.html#planarsphere
(I know you don't want to use walkthroughs, but sometimes it can be a ncessity to use one...)



edit:

When all else fails, there's cheating....

There's a program called shadowkeeper that lets you edit your characters etc.
just for this purpose. Here's the link:

http://www.mud-master.com/shadowkeeper/index.html

Just scroll down and bit and start downloading...

edit 2:

If you can read German, PJ, there's a walkthrough here:

http://www.yiya.de/games/baldur2/walk1.htm

Also, here are the cheats found in BG2:

http://www.planetbaldursgate.com/bg/help/cheats/

Just make sure to use the right ones...

 

[Prime Junta]

PJ -- Don't yu have a regular, not a quick save, just before entering the Planar Sphere? I always make one hard save or regular save just before I enter a new area or after I have entered a new area. As I remember it, the problem is that you can't get out of the Planar Sphere before you have finished all the quests in it?

I only make a hard save between sessions, and not always then. The previous one I have is halfway through my previous quest, which is pretty far.

I did manage to scrape through the tanar'ri fight, after several tries, and then buggering off as the meaner tanar'ri wanted to waste me, so I made it out of the sphere... barely. But it was not fun, and all that save-and-load felt like cheating. And somehow cheating ruins the game for me -- once I do that, I lose interest.

But my problem sorta remains -- I never know what level of difficulty to expect. The quests start innocuously enough, and then suddenly drop you in a really nasty bit of business. By now, I know a few low-level quests I can do if I start a new character, but without knowing which ones they are, I constantly end up sticking my head in the dragon's mouth, as it were.

 

[aries100]

I only make a hard save between sessions, and not always then. The previous one I have is halfway through my previous quest, which is pretty far.

I did manage to scrape through the tanar'ri fight, after several tries, and then buggering off as the meaner tanar'ri wanted to waste me, so I made it out of the sphere... barely. But it was not fun, and all that save-and-load felt like cheating. And somehow cheating ruins the game for me -- once I do that, I lose interest.

But my problem sorta remains -- I never know what level of difficulty to expect. The quests start innocuously enough, and then suddenly drop you in a really nasty bit of business. By now, I know a few low-level quests I can do if I start a new character, but without knowing which ones they are, I constantly end up sticking my head in the dragon's mouth, as it were.

Yes, I know the feeling. It is nearly impossible to guess the level of difficulty in
BG2. I also feel that I'm cheating when I do a lot save-and-reloading, but the game seems to be made that way, so to me, this isn't like cheating. Also, PJ; what level are you now, level 2 or 3 or even 4? small edit: chromatic orbs and magic missiles are really effective and sometimes even the spell 'otilukes resilient spehere' can make a big difference - even for low level characters.

Anyway, here's some more help, if you need it:

http://www.sorcerers.net/Games/BG2/index.php

Things that work great for Tanar'ri are potions of reflection and such things.

I think you can really proud of yourself now since you have beaten a very very hard quest in the game at somewhat low level. Give yourself a big pad on the back and drink an ale or two just to celebrate...

 

[Guest]

In some way.. I kinda prefer it that way. In modern (post 2000) games, I hate the feeling I get that everything has been meticulously designed and scaled so that I won't have too many problems and nothing will really challenge me.
Sure, it is annoying if you bump into an infernal meat-master that will grind your character into sawdust in a matter of nano seconds, but in the long run....
that just sometimes needs to happen.

Lately I find myself playing more and more older games and feeling more and more anguish towards these modern games that have been honed and refined to the point that the player has to do nothing more that push the forward button and occasionally tap the mouse button to kill something.

For example, I'm currently playing Might & Magic VI. And several times already quite early in the game I've run into something that I simply cannot defeat by any means (I don't do cheats, I don't do walkthroughs. Never.) So, I simply turn back and return when I'm more powerfull.

You are right in that the game should provide means to escape the situation and return at a more fitting time...
But then again.. you did get through it. And you will meet many more of those situation that you'll gonna have to save&load your ass off to get through - especially during your first play through. But you will get through those, too.

 

[Gallifrey]

I did manage to scrape through the tanar'ri fight, after several tries, and then buggering off as the meaner tanar'ri wanted to waste me, so I made it out of the sphere... barely. But it was not fun, and all that save-and-load felt like cheating. And somehow cheating ruins the game for me -- once I do that, I lose interest.

Yes, exactly. I am the same way, hating to use save/reload repeatedly and once something feels like it's been cheated, I just don't have the compulsion to keep going as the experience is tainted or cheapened. There's only so many times your characters can die and come back before the whole game feels like a sham and the sense of narrative and immersion in the continuity is shot.

 

[Prime Junta]

In some way.. I kinda prefer it that way. In modern (post 2000) games, I hate the feeling I get that everything has been meticulously designed and scaled so that I won't have too many problems and nothing will really challenge me.
Sure, it is annoying if you bump into an infernal meat-master that will grind your character into sawdust in a matter of nano seconds, but in the long run....
that just sometimes needs to happen.

Yes, but but but... there has to be a balance.

Consider Gothic 2, for example.

Wander off into the woods at low level, and a shadow beast will tear you a new one in no time flat, or a warg will skin you, or an orc scout will brain you. You *can* do that -- for example, if you know about that badass sword on the pyramid, you *can* try to sneak and run there before you're strong enough to handle the wildlife.

But... the quests you stumble on, or are offered, early on don't pat you on the back and go "You go, boy!" as you charge off into oblivion.

Gothic 2 did this exquisitely well. There was a real sense of progress, as you slowly built up your character to be tough enough to first just barely beat and then blow through critters that were one-hit killers early on. Yet it never felt like it was playing unfair -- throwing you into situations that you couldn't handle.

You are right in that the game should provide means to escape the situation and return at a more fitting time...
But then again.. you did get through it. And you will meet many more of those situation that you'll gonna have to save&load your ass off to get through - especially during your first play through. But you will get through those, too.

If I don't give up first. I really don't enjoy save-and-reload, and if there's too much of it, I will give up. Currently, BG2 is just about teetering on the knife-edge for me. I'm not about to give up yet, but I'm not at all sure I'll actually manage to play it through.

 

[KazikluBey]

But my problem sorta remains -- I never know what level of difficulty to expect.

The planar sphere quest? The one where you're told there's an insanely powerful planes-travelling mage/lich when you talk to Valygar? How was that hint too subtle?