Baldur's Gate 2 Enhanced Edition (Play This!=)

[May90]

I have a question to which I haven't managed to find the answer. Can I do companions quests without them being in the party? For example, I want to do Minsk's quest, but I don't want to include him in my party, so can I start the quest, kick him out of the party and then do the quest by myself? Or, at least, can I kick him, then take him back right before I am about to complete the quest? Or should I just avoid taking quests before I've cleared the required zones, so I could just take Minsk's quest and immediately go speak with Dynaheir?

[Tyris Flare]

They have to be in your party for the most part. I think there are a few exceptions but I can't remember.

If you want to be a completionist, you'll have to shift party members in and out.

[May90]

Ah, OK. Then I just won't take their quests before the way to the objective is clear.

[cudomix]

Fighters are perfectly adequate dps, but if you want to get min-maxy it's the multiclass or dualclass versions that are the true ginsu machines. By ToB especially they sacrifice very little physical offense in exchange for incredibly overpowered tanking ability and just general versatility.

Kensai/Mage (most OP combo ever, Tenser's Transformation on strongest physical damage dealer>pure rape)
Kensai/Thief (Kensai bonus with backstab and Use Any Item, only problem it is very, very lategame combination)
lvl12 Berserker/Cleric (with some rerolling and BG1 tomes i ended with 19 str, 19 con/dex, 21 wis and respectable other stats)- my easiest solo play, rage+cleric buffs make you completely immune and undestructible killing machine.

Point of all this rambling was, don't try to min/max everything on first play, that's usually done after first dozen or so times:P Just enjoy and play the game as you want it. Personally, there's a lack of useful good-aligned clerics in both games, so dual-classed warrior/cleric would be my preferred 1st character on "good" playthrough (yes you have Jaheira but druids are just gimped clerics in BG, outside of elemental summons).
Last thing, you shouldn't have to reload for max hp on level, there should be a mod for EE that ensures max hp regardless of difficulty (on standard diff max hp are always rolled, you can switch to easier for the leveling-up, turn it back up after).

[Tyris Flare]

Bg2 Tweaks - highly recommended for all IE games.

[May90]

Point of all this rambling was, don't try to min/max everything on first play, that's usually done after first dozen or so times:P Just enjoy and play the game as you want it. Personally, there's a lack of useful good-aligned clerics in both games, so dual-classed warrior/cleric would be my preferred 1st character on "good" playthrough (yes you have Jaheira but druids are just gimped clerics in BG, outside of elemental summons).

Well, until I've finished the game once, I do not know how hard it overall is and what challenging encounters it features, so the first time I want to make a "perfect" run to see what is what. Then, if I ever replay the game again, I will know what to expect and will be able to decide how "imperfect" my character can be to successfully complete it.

I don't want the repetition of Neverwinter Nights experience I had several months ago, when I had no idea about HP rolls (they are there too), about powerful tomes and items and such - and ended up being stuck in the end of the last expansion before Grimgnaw and his party. It was just absolutely impossible to beat him with that character, so after 3 hours of reloading I had to lower the difficulty (first time in my life) to get through him. I'd prefer to avoid such annoyances here.

Last thing, you shouldn't have to reload for max hp on level, there should be a mod for EE that ensures max hp regardless of difficulty (on standard diff max hp are always rolled, you can switch to easier for the leveling-up, turn it back up after).

The first time I always play any game the way it is meant to be. So, no mods for the first run. I know the difficulty trick, of course, but I want to complete the game fair the first time on Insane without any setbacks.

Bg2 Tweaks - highly recommended for all IE games.

Yes, I saw this mod referenced many times. My next playthrough will most certainly be with it installed.

[burek]

Kensai/Mage (most OP combo ever, Tenser's Transformation on strongest physical damage dealer>pure rape)
Kensai/Thief (Kensai bonus with backstab and Use Any Item, only problem it is very, very lategame combination)
lvl12 Berserker/Cleric (with some rerolling and BG1 tomes i ended with 19 str, 19 con/dex, 21 wis and respectable other stats)- my easiest solo play, rage+cleric buffs make you completely immune and undestructible killing machine.

have you soloed tob with that as well? i ruined bg2 for me the last time i played, with a solo berserker (i think it was dual from a mage, for knock and stoneskin). dual wielding with that scimitar you can find early on that gives a bonus attack each round, most of the fights were ridiculous, in the first round i hit 5 times for 22 dmg (without any spells or buffs, it was just regular dmg) and the enemy maybe attempts one action (which rage can nullify) before it dies.

[May90]

Alright guys, so I've completed the whole BG1 completionist walkthrough. The game was good, if longer than it should (too many Fed-Ex quests having nothing to do with the rest of the game which were a pain for me to do as a completionist). Now I am playing through BG2. I didn't really measure it, but I think the BG1 walkthrough (with the expansion, of course) took me something like 60 hours to complete. So, my question is: how long is BG2 going to be? I am enjoying the game, but somehow I'm growing weary of so much Baldur's Gate at once. And I know that, if I try to take a break from it, I will never get back to it, it always happens to me. So, can I hope to finish the game in less than, say, 80 hours?

P.S. Don't really understand why so many people claim Baldur's Gate 1 to be hard by today's standards. I played on hardest, turned down difficulty only for level ups, and the only fights I had any trouble with were Sarevok fight (that is until I realized that I could lure out all of his bodyguards and slaughter them before fighting him) and that Greater Wolfwere on the island which is immune to most weapons and has a huge regen (again, once I sneaked through him with Imoen and stole the anti-wolfwere sword, I made a short work of him). It was a bit annoying though because of all those traps, and Durlag's Tower was a nightmare with reloads every 10 seconds, disarming a trap, then death on the next one and one more reload...

[PizzaSHARK]

Fighters are perfectly adequate dps, but if you want to get min-maxy it's the multiclass or dualclass versions that are the true ginsu machines. By ToB especially they sacrifice very little physical offense in exchange for incredibly overpowered tanking ability and just general versatility.

Pretty much, especially if you don't mind losing out on the Fighter HLAs. Dual-classed Fighter/Clerics are immensely strong, especially if you start with a Fighter kit (Berserker is the most popular choice.) I forget exactly what the ideal breakpoint was, but you typically wanted to dual class at either level 7 or level 9... I'd have to check the saves/attack bonus tables to remember for sure. I think 11 was the typical cutoff point, otherwise you'd finish the game before you regain access to your original class, assuming a full party.

BG2 in particular allowed XP abuse by having mages learn spells from scrolls, which gave the party a flat bonus of 1000 XP per spell level learned, so learning several level 3 spells could easily be in excess of 20,000 to 30,000 XP being dumped onto the party... and if there's only one or two members in the party, it's an enormous XP boost and makes powerleveling someone through the first few levels of being dual classed effortless.

Still no word on whether or not major WeiDU mods like Ascension are being updated to work with Enhanced Edition versions of the game. Last thing I read was posted almost a year ago, so it's probably abandoned. Buying the original versions of the games and modding them is still definitely the best way to go.

[Zaelsino]

P.S. Don't really understand why so many people claim Baldur's Gate 1 to be hard by today's standards.

It's really the first few hours that tend to trip people up, when one bear swipe is enough to put poor little Imoen out to pasture and two or three bandits can overwhelm you. It's definitely manageable if you play it safe, it just started you off on a slightly more disproportionate playing field than most RPGs I can recall.

But yeah, I think 80 hours is doable. The story is more direct and involving than BG1, so who knows, maybe it'll keep you sucked in.

[WarpedAcorn]

It's really the first few hours that tend to trip people up, when one bear swipe is enough to put poor little Imoen out to pasture and two or three bandits can overwhelm you. It's definitely manageable if you play it safe, it just started you off on a slightly more disproportionate playing field than most RPGs I can recall.

This.

The beginning of the game is hard because you only have a handful of HP and virtually no resources. If you're a Mage you're doubly screwed at the start. But by the time you hit the Carnival area down South (forget the name) you should have a full well-rounded party. And if you micro-manage that party and abuse ranged mechanics then it becomes almost a cakewalk. A few enemies might give you trouble if you aren't familiar with their powers, but its not too bad with a balanced group. Plus there are some mechanics you can abuse if things get rough. =)

[Ashnazg]

My problem with BG2 is that I get attached to certain characters too much, and have an innate dislike to others. Which basically means that every playthrough I do, I end up with exactly the same party. E.g. Bhaalspawn trio (Imoen, myself, Wrath of you-know-who) - cause, you know, family. Viconia as my romance (can't stand Jaheira's touchy feely whining (plus she is a subpar character power wise); and Aerie just grinds my gears the wrong way). That leaves 2 slots which have so many great contenders for them - Korgan, Edwin, Keldorn (though have to watch out for him and Vicky), Haer'Dalis, Solafein, Valen (the latter two being ridiculously overpowered too). Can't bring myself to invite either Jan or Mazzy - don't like halflings and gnomes. Nalia is too goody two shoes. Annoyman is just that, annoying. Yoshimo is a traitor. That leaves basically only the ranger.

[WarpedAcorn]

I usually have Anoman (sp?) in my group. Yeah he can be annoying, but he also changes once you do his personal quest and becomes a lot better. I like characters that change throughout the gameplay. Its another reason I have to agree that Viconia will forever be my preference to romance.

Korgan is a beast though. And well worth a slot.

[May90]

It's really the first few hours that tend to trip people up, when one bear swipe is enough to put poor little Imoen out to pasture and two or three bandits can overwhelm you. It's definitely manageable if you play it safe, it just started you off on a slightly more disproportionate playing field than most RPGs I can recall.

Well, all I needed to do to beat bears and wolves was just running around with one character while the rest of the party hits them with ranged weapons. What was a bit... not hard, but inconvenient, were ranged enemies early on which could sometimes 1-2 shot Imoen or Neera (who has 4 HP initially, I think). Rigorous reloading fixed this problem, but it was a bit annoying to wait for luck to come sometimes. But after my party got to level 4 or so, the game became a cakewalk, and in the end, with reached XP cap, very few enemies even made me use any spells at all.

BG2 so far is going even easier. Mages wield godlike spells, and the Bhaalspawn-longbower deals insane DPS, 2-3-shotting most common enemies.

My problem with BG2 is that I get attached to certain characters too much, and have an innate dislike to others. Which basically means that every playthrough I do, I end up with exactly the same party. E.g. Bhaalspawn trio (Imoen, myself, Wrath of you-know-who) - cause, you know, family. Viconia as my romance (can't stand Jaheira's touchy feely whining (plus she is a subpar character power wise); and Aerie just grinds my gears the wrong way). That leaves 2 slots which have so many great contenders for them - Korgan, Edwin, Keldorn (though have to watch out for him and Vicky), Haer'Dalis, Solafein, Valen (the latter two being ridiculously overpowered too). Can't bring myself to invite either Jan or Mazzy - don't like halflings and gnomes. Nalia is too goody two shoes. Annoyman is just that, annoying. Yoshimo is a traitor. That leaves basically only the ranger.

It is in every Bioware game like this for me. I've finished KotoR 1/2, Dragon Age 1/2, Mass Effect 1/2/3 countless times, but almost every time I played with the same companions:

KotoR - Jolee+Bastila
KotoR 2 - Kreya+Visas / Mira+Visas
Dragon Age 1 - Alistair+Morrigan+Wynne
Dragon Age 2 - Isabela+Anders+Varrick
Mass Effect 1 - Liara+Tali
Mass Effect 2 - Samara+Tali (this game actually forces you to rotate your crew as you do companion missions)
Mass Effect 3 - Liara+Garrus

In BG1 I had Imoen+Neera+Jaheira+Khalid+Viconia. Now, in BG2 I have a problem: I don't have any rogues. I have Jaheira, Aerie, Neera, Viconia (love interest) and Minsk, and I just don't want to drop anyone for a Rogue, I love everyone in the party - I don't like Minsk that much, but other tanks are even more boring to me. Minsk is also not that good as a tank since he is a Ranger, so I rely purely on summons to take damage. Now, if I need to fight in close quarters right after entering the zone, this is a problem since summons do not teleport there with me and I have to start summoning them there, while my glass cannon party is exposed. Sometimes the trick of entering a house and then quickly leaving it works, as enemies start going out as well where my summons are already waiting. When this doesn't work... I have to improvise.

[Ashnazg]

BG2 so far is going even easier. Mages wield godlike spells, and the Bhaalspawn-longbower deals insane DPS, 2-3-shotting most common enemies.

Now, if I need to fight in close quarters right after entering the zone, this is a problem since summons do not teleport there with me and I have to start summoning them there, while my glass cannon party is exposed. Sometimes the trick of entering a house and then quickly leaving it works, as enemies start going out as well where my summons are already waiting. When this doesn't work... I have to improvise.

Are you playing Vanilla BG2 (or BG2 + TOB) or modded with player-made mods? There is one called Ascension that incorporates vastly improved AI scripts for spellcasters and certain other changes to NPCs that actually make them a challenge. Not all - most of the run-of-the-mill encounters will still be cake for a properly balanced party, but they do improve quite a number of encounters (the Inn group in Amn, all of the side areas in Amn, etc). Spellcasters (as well as Dragons, and any other "boss" type mobs) pre-buff themselves, meaning you can't gib them from the get-go with 2 shots from a bow, or one backstab from an assassin. They, at the minimum, pre-buff with stoneskin, blur, and a few other goodies. Advanced spellcasters pre-buff with protections, immunities, mantle, etc.

For the summons - if you have scrolls, I believe scroll summons are insta-cast, so you can use those when you enter a new area and need meat up in a jiffy.

[May90]

Are you playing Vanilla BG2 (or BG2 + TOB) or modded with player-made mods? There is one called Ascension that incorporates vastly improved AI scripts for spellcasters and certain other changes to NPCs that actually make them a challenge. Not all - most of the run-of-the-mill encounters will still be cake for a properly balanced party, but they do improve quite a number of encounters (the Inn group in Amn, all of the side areas in Amn, etc). Spellcasters (as well as Dragons, and any other "boss" type mobs) pre-buff themselves, meaning you can't gib them from the get-go with 2 shots from a bow, or one backstab from an assassin. They, at the minimum, pre-buff with stoneskin, blur, and a few other goodies. Advanced spellcasters pre-buff with protections, immunities, mantle, etc.

For the summons - if you have scrolls, I believe scroll summons are insta-cast, so you can use those when you enter a new area and need meat up in a jiffy.

I'm playing Enhanced Edition. Now, in this particular game I don't really mind lack of challenge since it is all about story anyway and, personally, I am no fan on Baldur's Gate combat system - Dragon Age, IMO, did it way better. Also, this might be why it is so easy for me: I imagine BG games were hard back when they were released, when their conception was somewhat new and people weren't experienced at this kind of games. I, however, have played the hell out of Kotor and Dragon Age series, and also completed Neverwinter Nights 1/2, all on the hardest difficulty available and without any cheating or difficulty decrease (except for Grimgnaw battle in the second NWN1 expansion which was impossible for the class and companions of my choice on hardest so I had to turn the difficulty down, and the final boss in the second NWN2 expansion to which I got too early but was so fed up by it by that point that I just used "give XP" cheat), so I dare say I am very experienced at this kind of games.

As for the scrolls, I didn't really think about it. So far I've used scrolls only for additional XP - maybe I could save a few of them for emergency.

[Tyris Flare]

Most mods work just fine on EE now. You can use SCS with pre-buffing casters and NPC potion use and make the game a lot more challenging.

Just be prepared to deal with thieves constantly chugging invis pots and one-shot gibbing your casters.

[May90]

Oh no... I thought that BG2 was like BG1 where world map was accessible at any point throughout the game. And now I went to Spellhold half way through the side quests and going to Underdark. Will I be able to complete those quests, or are they completely lost?

Most mods work just fine on EE now. You can use SCS with pre-buffing casters and NPC potion use and make the game a lot more challenging.

Just be prepared to deal with thieves constantly chugging invis pots and one-shot gibbing your casters.

I will probably use SCS on my next playthrough. This time I just want to experience story for the first time.

[cudomix]

Quests aren't lost, you'll get access to world map again.

[Azrile]

I want to buy it and play it, but at the same time I'm scared. I'm scared that I'll find it horrid, and unplayable and the only part of me that kept telling me that this was a fantastic game back in the late 90's is the nostalgia effect... Gulp!

I am the same way.. I tried to play Ultima 4 and didn´t last an hour despite the fact that in my head, it is still the best game ever made.