Baldur's Gate Baldur's Gate 1&2 for the first time in ages. BGT or not?

[Piotrovitz]

edit: for those advocating SCS, the man hasn't played the game in 10+ years. He doesn't need that, and plus if he takes our advice of playing vanilla BG1 then he's going to be installing a deprecated and unsupported version of SCS (SCS1 which is no longer maintained).

SCS is an absolute must for BG1 if you want to have any semblance of challenge - otherwise he may drop playthrough after ~4 hours out of boredom, like I did when I replayed it for the first time in also like a decade.

The fact that he hasn't played it for 10 years doesn't make him a retard - let's not treat him as a 12yo who only palyed diablo 3, especially that BG1 SCS is nothing compared to BG2's

 

[miles teg]

There is Game Speed Slider (30 AI Updates/Second by default) in Config.exe mini app in BG folder. For me it solves all problem with SLOW and I've never played IE games with it set lower than 50.

PS Path Search Nodes value could also be increased in the same place and it should help bad pathfinding a bit. In theory.

miles teg try setting AI updates to 40. 50 is 66% faster and too fast for combat imo, while 40 feels just right.

Ah wow, that's great!

 

[DalekFlay]

I was going to finally play the PoE expansions, but on a whim I ended up installing BG1 instead. This will be my first attempted replay since... fuck, man. Maybe since the early 2000s? I'm more a Fallout and Arcanum guy usually. Anyway... probably going to make a generic male fighter just to make things easier but any other tips or whatever people want to throw at me would be welcome. I handled Pathfinder on hard difficulty not long ago so I'll probably be fine, but you never know.

Also I'm playing the EE and I don't want to hear any bitching about that, but I'm wondering if there's any Beamdog content I should specifically try or avoid. I don't care much about "SJW" stuff, just writing quality.

Thanks.

 

[agris]

There’s a de-enhanced edition mod I recommend, strips out their fan fiction tier writings and overpowered NPCs. Other than that, you’ll have a very polished BGtutu experience.

 

[Gargaune]

I was going to finally play the PoE expansions, but on a whim I ended up installing BG1 instead. This will be my first attempted replay since... fuck, man. Maybe since the early 2000s? I'm more a Fallout and Arcanum guy usually. Anyway... probably going to make a generic male fighter just to make things easier but any other tips or whatever people want to throw at me would be welcome. I handled Pathfinder on hard difficulty not long ago so I'll probably be fine, but you never know.

Also I'm playing the EE and I don't want to hear any bitching about that, but I'm wondering if there's any Beamdog content I should specifically try or avoid. I don't care much about "SJW" stuff, just writing quality.

Thanks.

Recruit Neera when you come across her, take her Gem Bag, and then promptly kick her out and forget she exists. Dorn and Baeloth work, they have a proper, campy quality to their writing, but Neera's pure, concentrated Twitter. Can't comment much on Rasaad, I'm not fond of monks in Faerun for stylistic reasons. Either way, I don't think you need to go as far as modding Beamdog's companions out, you can just not recruit them if you don't care for them.

Also, I highly recommend Lefreut's UI for the EE and, if you're playing on 2.5 and running into pathfinding/collision bugs where your characters get stuck into one another, you could try Bubb's pathfinding fix.

 

[DalekFlay]

Also, I highly recommend Lefreut's UI for the EE and, if you're playing on 2.5 and running into pathfinding/collision bugs where your characters get stuck into one another, you could try Bubb's pathfinding fix.

That UI does look better, danke. Only glitch I've seen so far is the map scrolling to the top left without my input, which hitting escape twice fixed.

This game though... ouch. Forgot how boring and bland it is at the start.

 

[Chippy]

Ok vanilla it is then. Any bugfix patches for BG1? I know there is this fixpack for BG2: https://www.gibberlings3.net/mods/fixes/bg2fixpack/ which is the only thing I was planning to install for bg2, but is there anything similar for bg1?

Both games were perfectly playable and finishable in the final state they were in from the Bioware patches. Certain class specific stuff may need to be patched if you agree with what modders put forward.

For example: a modder said the shapeshifter class was bugged because you didn't get what Bioware intended. So stuff like that may be worth looking into. But generally mods just fuck the games up.

 

[CappenVarra]

Ho HO! Such fire untempered by common sense! An unfortunately common cause of early demise in my organization.

 

[Mr. Magniloquent]

DalekFlay If you're going to play a fighter, which I highly discourage, multi-class with anything. If human dual class at 3 if you're only playing BG1, and at 7 if playing the full saga. I strong recommend multi or dual classing to a mage--particularly a wild mage. Its the true glory of the game.

Also, don't be afraid of mods. You'll want SCS and spell revisions at minimum. I highly encourage item revisions too. There are plenty more which are great, but those are the most significant. They are also well tested, have no bugs or real incompatibilities, and easy to install.

 

[Ninjerk]

DalekFlay dull saga

 

[agris]

1000% do not listen to the poster above. If you haven’t played the game in a long time, there’s zero reason to play that way. Yes dual classing is powerful and fun, if you want to make an easy vanilla experience easier, by all means go ahead.

But woe to the man who listens to the advice “don’t be afraid of IE mods.” Be afraid - be very, very afraid.

(SCS on it’s lightest setting may interest you if you like the sound of added challenge / power with wizards, but spell revisions is really for the Nth play through by those who wish the spells more resembled 3E variants)

 

[oldmanpaco]

Dorn and Baeloth work

Make sure to give Dorn the back rub when the opportunity arises. Your gender does not matter.

 

[Mr. Magniloquent]

agris The only thing worse than playing a plain fighter in BG is playing a Beast Master, or un-modded (un-fixed) Wizard Slayer. Breserker is potent, and Kensai can be fun--but the really substance of the Baldur's Gate Saga is in the spellcasting. At least do a paladin. AD&D fighters are pretty much auto-attack while other classes give you something more to do. A level 1 fighter plays the same way as a Level 20 fighter plays. They are probably the worst class to engage the game with.

 

[DalekFlay]

agris The only thing worse than playing a plain fighter in BG is playing a Beast Master, or un-modded (un-fixed) Wizard Slayer. Breserker is potent, and Kensai can be fun--but the really substance of the Baldur's Gate Saga is in the spellcasting. At least do a paladin. AD&D fighters are pretty much auto-attack while other classes give you something more to do. A level 1 fighter plays the same way as a Level 20 fighter plays. They are probably the worst class to engage the game with.

I mean, it's a party-based game. There's going to be a bland fighter, it might as well be the PC. Still get to experience the other styles via the 5 other party members. In games like this I usually design the PC based on a personality role-playing aspect and I want a good guy knight type for this series I think.

 

[Mr. Magniloquent]

DalekFlay You should check out the Paladin kits. Undead Hunter is probably the best and most useful overall. The inquisitor will make BG2 much simpler--especially if you use SCS. The Cavalier is just plain cool. The poison & fear immunity are great in BG1. Later in BG2 and ToB you can basically make them nearly, if not totally immune to most damage types and effects. You'll also finally get to make good use of the kit bonuses against Fell creatures.

I'm not a fan of ranger s, but the Archer kit is cool. It can be particularly devastating in BG1.

As far as fighters go, use Bezerker unless you want to be bow oriented. The kit rage ability basically makes you immune to just about any harmful spell effect. Kensai is overrated and is best when multiclassed. Wizard Slayer can be fun, especially if you use the Wizard Slayer Rebalancing mod from Spellhold Studios. It's a really well done mod.

 

[Gargaune]

I mean, it's a party-based game. There's going to be a bland fighter, it might as well be the PC. Still get to experience the other styles via the 5 other party members. In games like this I usually design the PC based on a personality role-playing aspect and I want a good guy knight type for this series I think.

Agree on the party bit, you control everyone anyway. Adding to Mr. Magniloquent's kits comment, if you're willing to drop the "good guy knight" concept I really enjoyed the new Blackguard kit through BG2 EE. Immunity to Fear and especially Level Drain, plus some Poison Weapon and Aura of Despair for added giggles. I ended up dropping my first Fighter playthrough for it.

 

[DalekFlay]

Oh man, return the belt for early XP or keep the belt 'cause it's a super good belt at level 1. I remember this! Funny how random shit from 20 years ago sticks in your mind.

 

[Wunderbar]

keep the belt 'cause it's a super good

you mean girdle of masculinity/femininity? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

 

[d1r]

edit: for those advocating SCS, the man hasn't played the game in 10+ years. He doesn't need that, and plus if he takes our advice of playing vanilla BG1 then he's going to be installing a deprecated and unsupported version of SCS (SCS1 which is no longer maintained).

SCS is an absolute must for BG1 if you want to have any semblance of challenge - otherwise he may drop playthrough after ~4 hours out of boredom, like I did when I replayed it for the first time in also like a decade.

The fact that he hasn't played it for 10 years doesn't make him a retard - let's not treat him as a 12yo who only palyed diablo 3, especially that BG1 SCS is nothing compared to BG2's

It's good, but some modules are just too bonkers for a first timer. The boss of the mine, and the final fight for example are almost impossible to beat if this is your first time playing (and you haven't min / maxed your party to 100% perfection).

 

[Twizman]

Inquisitor is very strong in BG1 as well. You're immune to the Sirens' charm, and a few other monsters special attacks I recall.

 

[Ninjerk]

Oh man, return the belt for early XP or keep the belt 'cause it's a super good belt at level 1. I remember this! Funny how random shit from 20 years ago sticks in your mind.

Find the boots

 

[Piotrovitz]

It's good, but some modules are just too bonkers for a first timer. The boss of the mine, and the final fight for example are almost impossible to beat if this is your first time playing (and you haven't min / maxed your party to 100% perfection).

Agree on the final fight - it's pretty brutal on SCS. Other than that, I think only the improved bandit's camp can be challenging.

While I wouldn't recommend SCS for first BG2 plathrough, vanilla BG1 is just too damn easy, even without metagaming and rushing for stuff like Varscona or Borok's Fist.

 

[Twizman]

The ogre-mage ambush is another challenging fight I enjoy in scs BG1.

 

[Piotrovitz]

Can't remember this one - where was it?

There's also one random fight that I remember to be bizarrely tough on SCS - Icharyd, the undead outside of Ulcaster. Had to reload several times before I whacked him.
Funnily enough, the loot and xp is piss poor.

 

[Stokowski]

SCS is just Tactics for vegans.

Change my mind. /Crowder.