Should I bother with BG1? Spoilers probably.

[NoisyKillerHPB]

Well so far my experience with this game has given me around three mini-strokes. Either there's something I'm missing here, or the game (at least at first) is about everything having a hit rate of literally 10% (MAYBE that high) and getting killed in one hit because my characters suck cock. The dude who jumps you at the stairs of the Friendly Arm Inn kills characters in one shot, meaning if he hits my main it's game over. I managed to kill him by dragging him over to guards and running my main away and reloading 16 times and various retarded things like that (which was strange cause last time I tried the game the guy was a joke). Now I'm trying to take on an ogre mage that, again, kills shit in one hit. What the fuck is going on here? I don't know whether I'm an idiot or the developers of this game were. Shall I ditch BG1 or am I a moron who doesn't get it?

 

[JrK]

Try to level up before taking on that ogre mage. He's a tough nutter. And that wizard at the friendly arm cheats, he casts as if he's lvl 9, but he's only lvl 3. So that's not your fault, just silly design. If you are having a hard time with stuff, race to the Gnoll Fortress to acquire the gauntlets of dex, and get Kagain in your party. He's a good tank to keep your other characters safe. Also, missile weapons rule in this game.

 

[afewhours]

Everyone here will probably tell you to ditch the game, but I'm an emo-BG-fanboy, so I'll make you stick with it.

You do get one-hitted a lot at the start of t3h game. It's low level AD&D, so it comes with the territory. Mikayel and I seem to know the game backwards, so we could probably help you out with that.

I have to fuck off to work, now, so I'll give you one tip: Archery is the way to go at low levels, and for BG1 in general. A party full of well-equipped archers and one tank with ultra-low AC will savage anything in the game.

 

[Murk]

How familiar are you with 2.0 d&d rules?

 

[Murk]

Mikayel and I seem to know the game backwards, so we could probably help you out with that.

Haha, true that.

 

[SmokedWolf]

I like the game.

You should too.

 

[NoisyKillerHPB]

How familiar are you with 2.0 d&d rules?

Not at all. I've heard it stinks though. :D

 

[Elwro]

It's true that archery / slings is the way to go in the beginning. Give a bow to Imoen and later a sling to Jaheira. Kivan is a great helper, too.

 

[Murk]

How familiar are you with 2.0 d&d rules?

Not at all. I've heard it stinks though. :D

Well that's your problem then

The game is pretty brutal if you don't know what stats to allocate, what weapons to use, and what penalties you're going to be hit with. - overtime you'll pick this shit up but in the mean time head on over to gamefags and check out Dan Simpson's guide to the rules...

or fuck, I'll just link it here: http://db.gamefaqs.com/computer/doswin/ ... ragons.txt

You've heard correctly - 2.0 rules suck and make shitty sense for the most part

Easiest way to go is to make a Fighter (or Ranger or Paladin) or a Cleric as those classes can hunker down with plate mail and use the big shields for a big boost to AC that should easily bypass your starting enemies' chance to hit by like 50%.

Pick up Kivan (high hedge), Minsc (Nashkel), and Kagain (Beregost, west area, entrance to shop is kinda of tricky (the door faces to the north and is obscured by the isometric view)). Those guys will rape anything in their path with the proper weapons.

If you have any specific questions ask 'em and I'll try my best to help you out.

Sample party that will own:

You - fighter with two handed word and composite longbow
Minsc - two handed swords (he might as well have a composite longbow to back up)
---or Kagain if you prefer a more focused Tank with battle axe and shield.
Kivan - composite long bow
imoen - short bow
Corgan - composite long bow
Cleric (Branwen, Viconia, or even Jaheira) - sling and a melee weapon and shield

With the exception of imoen (and possibly Corgan) the rest can be decked out in plate mail and wield shields if necessary (the clerics definitely should).

Your main character is probably going to be your most capable in combat unless you go as a rogue, mage, or bard (eye lasers).

If he goes warrior style pimp out str, con and dex then give some to wis or if you plan to dual to the other prime stat there. if you go mage or bard - int then con and dex, if you go rogue then dex, then con, then str, and finally if you go cleric then you need a lot of points but you'll make a great character. high wisdome (at least 16, minimum) and then str, con, then finally dex and int/charisma. Clerics sub as pseudo-warriors and are full on casters so they tend to be a bit more unbalanced than the other classes.

Also if you take any non warrior class (warriors are Fighters, Paladins, and Rangers) then don't raise CON past 16 as you won't get the benefits unless you're a warrior, and if you do plan to go as a ranged warrior then max out Dex to a minimum of 16 to see any return on that skill.

a thief makes a capable archer, fighters make capable everythings, clerics can help out with a sling or go in the fray with melee (War Hammer), and bard's are... uhh a bad joke at these low levels. Mages tend to not matter until about level 4 or so at which point they can afford to actually cast spells, though the early level crowd control spells (sleep!!) can seriously help out early on as well, just know that they're basically glass cannons.

 

[Keldorn]

You should play on the originally intended hardcore rules difficulty setting, and try creative strategization : there are a virtually infinite number of combos/approaches. Here's what I did to kick ass early on in BG 1 & 2.

1) Use mage/cleric spells which defensively buffer and offensively boost some/most/all the party.

2) Have the 2 tanks (the 2 party members with highest str & con) up front, using 2-handed weapons for MAX damage.

3) Have the back 4 party members using their skill-appropriate missile weapons (crossbow, bows or slings).

4) Use specific combat spells (like Magic Missile) to finish off tough foes.


Even though it's real time with pause, you should treat the combat tactically, and if one approach fails, don't try to ram it through again, instead, try something else.

 

[1eyedking]

Play Baldur's Gate only if you like AD&D. If you don't like said system, you will abhor the game since its it's only appeal.

 

[Keldorn]

Many people irrationally hate D&D and BG because they got throttled and spanked. For novices used to modern FPS clickfests with tons of eye candy, the BG spritey opponents are ruthless, stubborn and lethal.

 

[1eyedking]

And some people rationally dislike D&D for it being a flawed RPG system.

 

[Murk]

And some people rationally dislike D&D for it being a flawed RPG system.

yeis!

D&D and 2.0 rules especially have a lot of really arbitrary fuckups.

 

[Keldorn]

No RPG system is perfect, and variety is the spice of RPG life.


Many like D&D, and BG, for their unique distinguishing characteristics / quirks.

 

[Murk]

I like BG well enough and play damn near every AD&D cRPG thta comes out, it's not that I don't enjoy the games -- it's that the system they use kind of sucks and detracts a lot from what would otherwise be a steadier stream of fun.

Gothic's character system, while barely a notch above "bare bones" was very well used for that game.

Games which include a system tailored to it are, in my opinion, generally a better idea.

Though the execution of such a task, as always, is very possibly at great risk of failure.

 

[ghostdog]

I never thought of BG as a hard game and I didn't know anything about d&d before playing it, shit I still don't know much about it... Just do the usual stuff :

1. Gain some levels in the wilderness.
2. Get Xzar and his buddy to help you in the beggining, you can ditch them later if you want.
3. Use spells more.
4. Use some tactics in the battle , be prepared with supportive magics before the battle and then attack the enemy fisrt with your warrior-types up close and the mages far away.
5. In what difficulty are you playing? just tone down the setting if you still have problems. The normal setting was very easy as I recall.

 

[MetalCraze]

Should I bother with BG1?

yes.

 

[Lyric Suite]

If you don't feel like trying the whole game (which is 75% bullshit and the rest passable at best) do at least check the expansion. It's a good old dungeon crawl, nothing fancy, but i remember it being pretty good.

 

[NoisyKillerHPB]

Thanks for all the help. After reading that guide on AD&D 2.0 and all this I've decided my character definitely sucks and I should start over. Should I just go and recruit the NPC's you guys mentioned first thing after the Inn and then go from there?

 

[Keldorn]

Should I bother with BG1?

yes.

Unless, of course, one has an aversion to excercises in generic, pseudo-medieval, high-fantasy massivity.

 

[RK47]

Hmm, basically you need to min max your starter char. For a beginner, definitely take a fighter with good STR,DEX & CON. Take a melee weapon and bow for your first 4 points of mastery.

Drop down the difficulty to Easy for a while, slide it back to normal if you feel you get the hang of it. Money seems hard to come by at the start, but definitely once you get them, spend them on healing potions and upgrading spells/gears. Don't be afraid to use wands as well.

Another note on spell disruptions, ANY successful hit on the mage while casting cancels it, hence it is a good idea to carry the wimpy Wand of Magic Missile for almost every party member to disrupt casts. This wouldn't work so well if he has defensive spells on though. That's when you start using dispel magic etc. Also, contrary to popular beliefs, mages are not killers, they're instead master of crowd control; take a look at most spells that has area effect and you'll realize they are more effective than a wimpy magic missile dispenser.

Oh, if you wonder about Charisma; it affects quest outcomes and rewards. Don't get too worried about it, you'll find of decent CHA NPCs who will join you (Imoen has 16, quite good) and serve well as quest talkers. Once you're out of town though, put her on the back row.

Here's a char idea: Fighter / Mage. It may seem awkward at first, but with mirror image on, you'll be quite hard to hit. Buy scrolls if you can't have enough spell slots, of course you can't melee effectively since your casting is restricted by armour, but ranged fighter with mirror image is quite hard to hit and there's an option to pre-cast buff and putting on your full plate before heading into a big fight (there's plenty of them).

 

[Gnidrologist]

Those BG topics must stop.

 

[Cthulhugoat]

Yep. BG1 is crap, skip to BG2 and read the wikipedia spoiler if you're curious or something. 'Nuff said.

 

[MetalCraze]

Should I bother with BG1?

yes.

Unless, of course, one has an aversion to excercises in generic, pseudo-medieval, high-fantasy massivity.

when I've started playing BG1 I knew what to expect. and it was exactly what I wanted - a good dnd iso dungeon crawl. nothing more. though RTwP ruins it somewhat - but... it was more challenging because of that.
also I wanted to fill the gap of the storyline, because I've played BG2 first due to BG1 being largely unavailable.

BG1 is a good tactical dungeon crawl. if you're ok with that - play it.