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Baldur’s Gate 2 is not for me...

laclongquan

Arcane
Joined
Jan 10, 2007
Messages
1,870,144
Location
Searching for my kidnapped sister
Know yourself. Are you a packrat, completist, leave-no-loot-uncollected or not?
If yes, proceed.

1. Collect the loot in a central storage container unit. Possibly near the exit zone. This will very convenience your loot taking back to the city.

2. Never be afraid of CreateCreature command console a generic merchant in to sell off your excessive generic loot. Leaving behind only the things you want to collect back to city.

3. Never be afraid of getting an arrow case. You are going to find more arrows, bolts, bullets more than you can shoot off, yet not ready to sell away. In which case getting one will solve your headache immensely.

4. Never be afraid of getting any gem bag, potion case, etc to carry your loot. I have six scroll cases for various type, 3 gem bags, and various other. CreateItem if necessary.

Remember, you are a packrat, completist, leave-no-loot-uncollected. You are not a masochist. Never let your collecting become a chore.
 

Cross

Arcane
Joined
Oct 14, 2017
Messages
2,983
I cannot think of a game I like much better than BG2 and I have replayed it more than any game including TOEE, but he is 100% correct about the whiny, retarded and badly written NPCs. I am pretty sure they were not written by 5 year olds (although I wouldn't entirely rule out the idea)
You're being too charitable.

They were written by David Gaider.
 

howlingFantods

Learned
Joined
Jul 13, 2018
Messages
144
Location
Nose deep in stupid shit
Fuck it. I'll give it another go because now I know that you end up getting too rich anyway.
Also some of you seem to really like it; and what's more most of you seemed like you wanted me to like it as well.
Honestly just thought I'd be called an idiotic philistine and that'd be the end of it, but no.
Some good advice/info and most of it politely put.
Well civility deserves a civil response so back to Amn
 

Gibson

Learned
Joined
Jun 23, 2019
Messages
325
Fuck it. I'll give it another go because now I know that you end up getting too rich anyway.
Also some of you seem to really like it; and what's more most of you seemed like you wanted me to like it as well.
Honestly just thought I'd be called an idiotic philistine and that'd be the end of it, but no.
Some good advice/info and most of it politely put.
Well civility deserves a civil response so back to Amn

have fun; also: HOTKEYS!

TAB/SPACE are your friends and number keys 1-6 for selecting party members are time saving keys especially in inventory "minigame", so you don't have to click on every fucking portrait and drag items. just click an item in inventory screen of one party member and then use number key to open inventory of another member. couple of times doing that you'll be speeding through inventory management ;)
 

Tigranes

Arcane
Joined
Jan 8, 2009
Messages
10,350
um guys

turns out if you ignore 90% of mundane loot in 90% of RPGs and only ever pick up clear high value / interesting shit

turns out you are still rich enough to buy everything you need and it was all fungus in your brain forcing you to pick it up
 

Butter

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Oct 1, 2018
Messages
7,523
um guys

turns out if you ignore 90% of mundane loot in 90% of RPGs and only ever pick up clear high value / interesting shit

turns out you are still rich enough to buy everything you need and it was all fungus in your brain forcing you to pick it up
And then you get a quest that requires you to have mundane crap like a skull.
 

Tigranes

Arcane
Joined
Jan 8, 2009
Messages
10,350
um guys

turns out if you ignore 90% of mundane loot in 90% of RPGs and only ever pick up clear high value / interesting shit

turns out you are still rich enough to buy everything you need and it was all fungus in your brain forcing you to pick it up
And then you get a quest that requires you to have mundane crap like a skull.

10 minutes going back to get the skull every once in a while > hours and hours spent lugging shit back and forth to shopkeepers in every CRPG you play so that you end up with 2.01 million dorrahs over 2 million, or get that Sword +1 marginally earlier in the playthrough
 

ShadowSpectre

Arbiter
Joined
Mar 11, 2017
Messages
333
Location
Limbo
I am in partial agreement with you OP. There are also far too many that see BG2 with major rose coloured glasses. I didn't like the first BG that much and had to slog through it in order to finish it. My current attempt at playing through BG2 (and there has been multiple attempts already over the years) has shown me that the game is overrated compared to other RPGs in the Codex top list.

In fact, let me outline how this game actually plays after getting out of the prison:

- Arrive in Athkatla, so far so good. Inventory was a bit of a chore, but that is typical of this style of game.
- Proceed to micromanage inventory and get gem bag, potion case, etc. whatever I can right away.
- Begin doing quests.
- Leave Waukeen's promenade after picking up Aerie and some companion banter.
- Slums, so far so good, go collect lots of money to advance main quest. Got it.
- Go to the slaver compound after somebody in town complains about it, companions still chatting about something.
- Party is a bit under-powered and undermanned. Get through it okay though.
- Micromanage inventory.

This is where it becomes the largest chore compared to similar games (a.k.a. "I just wanted to go to D'Arnise Keep after picking up some more companions"):

- Enter Copper Coronet. Events occur that I cannot bypass. Okay pit fight.
- Nalia assaults the party wanting me to save her keep.
- Pick up Anomen. I see other possible companions here, but we're going to complete Nalia's time-sensitive quest.
- Attempt to go to the government district.
- Get assaulted by a thug.
- Arrive in government district.
- Guards accost me with some talk about thieves. Yeah, okay, got that after I left the prison regarding the thieves guild and all.
- Get accosted by a kid who wants to give me a time-sensitive quest because Minsc is in the party.
- Reload the district, I don't have time for the above time-sensitivity right now.
- Jan wants something too. Screw it. Let's just rescue Viconia for now.
- Rescue Viconia.
- No point in exploring any further, everyone wants something from me.
- Back to slums district. Anomen has been with the part for less than 5 minutes and demands to know why I haven't asked him about his large dick he uses to slay giants with yet.
- Deal with inventory again.
- I should probably rest the party before leaving, now I have a dream with Imoen in it.
- Go to another district. Get attacked. Pick up loads of loot.
- Go to city gates, event with guards and some merchant.
- Try to leave, blah blah something.
- Random encounter, lots of loot. Have to bring a poisoned guy to Rylock RIGHT NOW.
- Go back to Athkatla. Other random event at the city gates. Lady ranting about choosing sides. Oh some guy needs something NOW too. Reload.
- Bring guy to Rylock. Wizard accosts me and wants me to save his friend. It can wait. I still haven't made it to D'Arnise Keep yet.
- Anomen wants to talk again about giants and his proverbial dick.
- Micromanage loot before I leave.
- End up with another encounter heading out to the Keep.

I FINALLY ARRIVE AT D'ARNISE KEEP. I become annoyed with the stupidly narrow halls and moving the party around. I clear the keep (without killing the poor dogs).

As soon as we clear up details of me owning the keep, ANOMEN WANTS TO TALK ABOUT FEELINGS after I told him off like this is somehow more important or cool than getting my own keep. You're about to be replaced.

BG2 just wants to accost the player with quests and annoyingly random combat encounters (because I keep having to go back and forth, night time in the city). If it's not this, the companions are wailing on about something. Time sensitive companion quests. Even if I went for a MP custom party, I'd still be harassed by the countless number of NPCs begging me to solve their problems or pay attention to them without me even asking. The pacing in this game is terrible and breaks immersion. There is no equivalent. For all of BG2s positives, I don't find it's a well-designed game for gameplay enjoyment.
 

Tigranes

Arcane
Joined
Jan 8, 2009
Messages
10,350
rose coloured glasses

"People who disagree with me MUST have played the game like a decade ago and CLEARLY don't remember anything!!!"

Anyway, uh, listen, quests aren't on some kind of super-strict timer, just like most other CRPGs in the universe. So your entire experience is you reloading all the time when you don't need to. I get it that they're all like "HELP ME PLEASE", but uh, that's how it is in any video game.

Then you get pissed off by Anomen, an optional NPC who loudly and clearly broadcasts his identity as the second most annoying NPC in the entire game, an NPC who can be dumped at any point.
 

ShadowSpectre

Arbiter
Joined
Mar 11, 2017
Messages
333
Location
Limbo
rose coloured glasses

"People who disagree with me MUST have played the game like a decade ago and CLEARLY don't remember anything!!!"

Anyway, uh, listen, quests aren't on some kind of super-strict timer, just like most other CRPGs in the universe. So your entire experience is you reloading all the time when you don't need to. I get it that they're all like "HELP ME PLEASE", but uh, that's how it is in any video game.

Then you get pissed off by Anomen, an optional NPC who loudly and clearly broadcasts his identity as the second most annoying NPC in the entire game, an NPC who can be dumped at any point.

No other game has so many people bother you without you bothering them first. And a lot of the quests are timed, I checked. I also wonder why the devs have it such that the companions bother you so frequently. That was my joke about Anomen. I stated exactly that, that he would be gone.
 

YldriE

Learned
Joined
Oct 9, 2018
Messages
116
Location
Europe
Congratulations, this is shamusyoung-level of dramatically overwriting mundane shit to make it sound like a Herculean task.

"Let me tell you how tedious the inventory is.

First I have to move my cursor to the loot.

Second I must click the container to display its content. God help you if you try to right click, it does nothing, it has to be the left click.

Once that's done, if you aren't fuming already, you have to -get this- CLICK THE ITEMS YOU WANT TO PICK UP. Outaged yet? It was [link to random vaguely related previous blog post] all over again.

Now the items are in your inventory, but you don't see that yet. What you see is the loot container except the items you picked up are gone (at least they got this right). What you need to do is close that container now, so you must move your cursor to the Close button AND CLICK AGAIN.

But wait, there's more! You must now press the Inventory key and click the item you want to inspect. Then if it's better that your current gear, you must CLICK ON IT (seeing a pattern here?) and drag it to the appropriate slot.

Of course it must be the weapon slot, if you drag it to the Shoes slot somehow it doesn't work, the action is cancelled and you have to repeat the process all over again, that is clicking the item and then dragging it to the right slot. I swear, this game is actively trying to piss me off.

Did I mention it had to be the left click? I spent like five minutes right-clicking everythi'g and got increasingly furious that the game believed I was interested in item descriptions instead of actually, you know, using the items. And I'm not even counting the struggle to close these descriptions. Guessed it yet? You must move your mouse cursor to the Close button and click it. Fuck my life.

Just to hammer the point home, once you went through all this you still have to close the inventory. Thankfully I accidentally found out that you can close it by pressing Escape so that saved me yet another click.

I'm officially renaming this game Click-o-Tron Simulator."

How you would write about this, were you not a faggot:

"Pick up the item and equip it."
 

Tigranes

Arcane
Joined
Jan 8, 2009
Messages
10,350
rose coloured glasses

"People who disagree with me MUST have played the game like a decade ago and CLEARLY don't remember anything!!!"

Anyway, uh, listen, quests aren't on some kind of super-strict timer, just like most other CRPGs in the universe. So your entire experience is you reloading all the time when you don't need to. I get it that they're all like "HELP ME PLEASE", but uh, that's how it is in any video game.

Then you get pissed off by Anomen, an optional NPC who loudly and clearly broadcasts his identity as the second most annoying NPC in the entire game, an NPC who can be dumped at any point.

No other game has so many people bother you without you bothering them first. And a lot of the quests are timed, I checked. I also wonder why the devs have it such that the companions bother you so frequently. That was my joke about Anomen. I stated exactly that, that he would be gone.

I've played BG2 over twenty times, and the Codex collectively has played it a fuckload, with plenty of people who know its insides way better than me. We know how this game works.

Take Nalia as an example. IIRC, she gives you about a week before she gets fed up. She gives you a warning whine inbetween. You have plenty of time. You don't need to drop everything.

You can go to the Keep, start the quest, decide you're not ready, and come back later; there's no timer for that.

If you take so long that Nalia gets fed up with you - it's been years since I ever recruited Nalia, but I'm pretty sure she's just standing next to the Keep ready to hand out the quest if you go later, just like if you never put her in the party.

It would be unreasonable for a new player to know all of that going in, but you made a big melodramatic deal about how unusually punishing BG2's timers are, which is just... it's not even in the top 30 complaints, even from people who dislike the game. This is not a thing.
 

ShadowSpectre

Arbiter
Joined
Mar 11, 2017
Messages
333
Location
Limbo
I've played BG2 over twenty times

No, it's a thing. Just multiply what you just said about every other NPC. Now you get to be picky and choosy and will likely to run out of time. I also don't like to be accosted by NPCs and random combat constantly. It is annoying. If my immersion has already been broken so early on, I doubt the rest of the game is going to be much better. Like I said, I also didn't find BG very great despite playing through it. Or maybe I just need to play BG2 over 20 times in order to figure out how to avoid all the junk about it.

I am not convinced. I've played most of the other top RPGs in the list, and BG2 is the weakest in my opinion. It breaks immersion so early, I can see well why OP doesn't like it. As I started with in the first post, BG2 is overrated.
 
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JDR13

Arcane
Joined
Nov 2, 2006
Messages
3,930
Location
The Swamp
No, it's a thing. Just multiply what you just said about every other NPC. Now you get to be picky and choosy and will likely to run out of time. I also don't like to be accosted by NPCs and random combat constantly. It is annoying. If my immersion has already been broken so early on, I doubt the rest of the game is going to be much better. Like I said, I also didn't find BG very great despite playing through it. Or maybe I just need to play BG2 over 20 times in order to figure out how to avoid all the junk about it.

I am not convinced. I've played most of the other top RPGs in the list, and BG2 is the weakest in my opinion. It breaks immersion so early, I can see well why OP doesn't like it. As I started with in the first post, BG2 is overrated.

There's always going to be a minority opinion from someone. So you don't like BG the games. Oh well.
 

laclongquan

Arcane
Joined
Jan 10, 2007
Messages
1,870,144
Location
Searching for my kidnapped sister
Then you get pissed off by Anomen, an optional NPC who loudly and clearly broadcasts his identity as the second most annoying NPC in the entire game, an NPC who can be dumped at any point.
Second? Second? That motherfucker is the most annoying character in the game. Obnoxious, complaint alot about his abusive father, absolutely has no gentleman quality (or basic politeness) whatsoever.

Aerie is forgivable because at worst she's just a child (count by elf standard) and prepubescent at that. Being abused and captured lead to her moments, while annoying, is understandable. I actually dont find her annoying but I understand others may disagree. That motherfucker is adult by human standard.

He get dumped after his quest event come to conclusion just because of my completionism. As for my MC? After several times get sex change by wild magic surge, the game dont know what her gender is anymore and initiate Ariel to take the lead, romantically.
 

Tigranes

Arcane
Joined
Jan 8, 2009
Messages
10,350
Then you get pissed off by Anomen, an optional NPC who loudly and clearly broadcasts his identity as the second most annoying NPC in the entire game, an NPC who can be dumped at any point.
Second? Second? That motherfucker is the most annoying character in the game. Obnoxious, complaint alot about his abusive father, absolutely has no gentleman quality (or basic politeness) whatsoever.

Aerie is forgivable because at worst she's just a child (count by elf standard) and prepubescent at that. Being abused and captured lead to her moments, while annoying, is understandable. I actually dont find her annoying but I understand others may disagree. That motherfucker is adult by human standard.

He get dumped after his quest event come to conclusion just because of my completionism. As for my MC? After several times get sex change by wild magic surge, the game dont know what her gender is anymore and initiate Ariel to take the lead, romantically.

I hear from time to time that some people don't find Aerie annoying. It is, indeed, a marvellous testament to the variety of the human species.

I never take Anomen, but actually, dude has a pretty solid character arc, and his actual actions are also plausible in the context. IIRC if you nudge him to 'fall' he embraces that path and doesn't emo whine about oh how he has fallen and how he misses the order so.

Fast forward a few years, and of course, Anomen becomes the template for your default "everybody should take him" companion in a Bioware game...
 

Deleted Member 16721

Guest
I don't care much for BG2 but I love BG1. BG2 just streamlined everything a bit too much and overdid other things. Quest timers and needless sense of urgency to all the quests (plus they pile them on you all at once) didn't do it for me. The exploration also lacked compared to BG1. Siege of Dragonspear is worth playing too.
 

laclongquan

Arcane
Joined
Jan 10, 2007
Messages
1,870,144
Location
Searching for my kidnapped sister
Anomen is one fucking irritating motherfucker. You dont lose anything by ignore him (or kick im out) even if playing female MC. I didnt know how he is which was why I chose to playtest him way back when.

A male MC doesnt get this irritated treatment because he doesnt dare show that to MC. Also one reason why I hate this mofo.

You dont get how he is until you play a female MC and try this 'companion'. Hah!
 
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Grampy_Bone

Arcane
Joined
Jan 25, 2016
Messages
3,640
Location
Wandering the world randomly in search of maps
Having just replayed BG 2 recently for the Nth time, it still holds up, it's still a great game, and you are wrong. You are wrongy wrong wrong wrong wrong. You're swimming in the sea of wrong, in the ocean of wrong, through the Wrong Archipelago. You're flying into the Wrong black hole, passing the Wrong Event Horizon, where all your opinions are wrong, forever, and there is no escape.

You are a bad person and should feel bad about yourself.
 

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