Baldur's Gate Baldur's Gate 2 is vastly overrated

[Average Manatee]

BG2 early game has free thousands of XP everywhere for doing very basic tasks so its not that imbalancing, it's designed to level you up to >level 10 pretty quickly and a lot of the more difficult fights are level scaled so starting at a higher level just means harder spawns. Also Dragonspear does kind of screw up your progression if you are doing one of the popular level 9 dual class builds since you have to do your dual near the most difficult parts of SoD rather than the trivially easy parts of BG2 where you can just do a bunch of quests that basically just involve talking to people for 50k xp a pop.

 

[The Abominable Showman]

I swear the bad pathfinding is intentional, at least to some degree. 90% of the time one of my party members gets lost, it's either Yoshimo or Aerie, no matter where I put them in the party or what formation I use. Always bumping into things and getting turned around makes sense for Aerie's character but not Yoshimo's. I can only assume the developers were trying to make some kind of esoteric joke about Asian drivers with him.

 

[koyota]

Has anyone gone through BG2 on a small tablet or switch?

Trying to replay this on a 8.4 inch Tablet.

Had no problems playing BG1 on same device, where you might cast bless before a fight and a few spells every now and then.

But lordy was BG2 not meant to be played on such a small screen.
Some of the fights with like 20+ Monsters, can`t even select the creature that I want to attack and micromanagement is incredibly difficult to get right.

 

[Hagashager]

Has anyone gone through BG2 on a small tablet or switch?

Trying to replay this on a 8.4 inch Tablet.

Had no problems playing BG1 on same device, where you might cast bless before a fight and a few spells every now and then.

But lordy was BG2 not meant to be played on such a small screen.
Some of the fights with like 20+ Monsters, can`t even select the creature that I want to attack and micromanagement is incredibly difficult to get right.

I bought BG1/2 on Switch at a discount at one point to see how well it plays on a console.

The Switch version is optomized for a gamepad so you may have better luck playing it on there. The Switch version has multiple selection toggles, direct joystick control of characters and an AOE indicator. It also has multiple highlighting forms.

I noticed most of the QoL stuff from Switch have since been backported to the PC version.

As for visibility, it's your call. I had no issues

 

[Connacht]

I swear the bad pathfinding is intentional, at least to some degree. 90% of the time one of my party members gets lost, it's either Yoshimo or Aerie, no matter where I put them in the party or what formation I use. Always bumping into things and getting turned around makes sense for Aerie's character but not Yoshimo's. I can only assume the developers were trying to make some kind of esoteric joke about Asian drivers with him.

Unfortunately this was typical of many games of that epoch. Starcraft for example is infamous for how Dragoons and Goliaths would start going left and right on spot because of pathfinding issues. Still, BG2 improved over BG1.

 

[Ivan]

I'm wrapping up my first BG2 playthrough (I just made it to Hell) and wanted to share some thoughts:
-there are TONS of errands, even without going outside of the main city. There may not be a lot of C&C, but I've enjoyed seeing how some quests keep leading to new quests (skin ripper)
-exploration is very cool, especially finding liches/tombs/sewers etc
-itemization is very cool. I enjoy reading/finding new loot and figuring out when to best use it
-may be b/c I don't know D&D but I found some encounters super punishing. not knowing how to fight Golems for example was a pain. not knowing the "best strat" to defeat minflayers or other such high level dangers keeps me on my toes
-most of the maps outside of Athkatla kinda suck and I think the game could have used some trimming down here. The city is the main star of the game and everything else kinda feels like fat/filler
-frustrating shit: re-equipping characters after death, it's common to struggle to get your group to exit a map b/c they aren't all lining up near a doorway/exit

I presume I can clean up unfinished quests after finishing the main quest? Do I then start Watcher's Keep? Is Watcher's Keep the only DLC map?

 

[Swen]

Larian needs to remake BG2 for modern audiences.

 

[Yosharian]

I'm wrapping up my first BG2 playthrough (I just made it to Hell) and wanted to share some thoughts:
-there are TONS of errands, even without going outside of the main city. There may not be a lot of C&C, but I've enjoyed seeing how some quests keep leading to new quests (skin ripper)
-exploration is very cool, especially finding liches/tombs/sewers etc
-itemization is very cool. I enjoy reading/finding new loot and figuring out when to best use it
-may be b/c I don't know D&D but I found some encounters super punishing. not knowing how to fight Golems for example was a pain. not knowing the "best strat" to defeat minflayers or other such high level dangers keeps me on my toes
-most of the maps outside of Athkatla kinda suck and I think the game could have used some trimming down here. The city is the main star of the game and everything else kinda feels like fat/filler
-frustrating shit: re-equipping characters after death, it's common to struggle to get your group to exit a map b/c they aren't all lining up near a doorway/exit

I presume I can clean up unfinished quests after finishing the main quest? Do I then start Watcher's Keep? Is Watcher's Keep the only DLC map?

Pretty sure you can do Watcher's Keep at any point.

Yeah BG2 can be really punishing when you don't know the mechanics. I remember the first time I played it as a kid, things like Umber Hulks and Wolfweres destroyed me because I didn't understand how to use Cleric spells to protect against status attacks or how I needed enchanted weapons to bypass damage reduction.

With the right knowledge you can kill enemies like that blindfolded

 

[ArchAngel]

I'm wrapping up my first BG2 playthrough (I just made it to Hell) and wanted to share some thoughts:
-there are TONS of errands, even without going outside of the main city. There may not be a lot of C&C, but I've enjoyed seeing how some quests keep leading to new quests (skin ripper)
-exploration is very cool, especially finding liches/tombs/sewers etc
-itemization is very cool. I enjoy reading/finding new loot and figuring out when to best use it
-may be b/c I don't know D&D but I found some encounters super punishing. not knowing how to fight Golems for example was a pain. not knowing the "best strat" to defeat minflayers or other such high level dangers keeps me on my toes
-most of the maps outside of Athkatla kinda suck and I think the game could have used some trimming down here. The city is the main star of the game and everything else kinda feels like fat/filler
-frustrating shit: re-equipping characters after death, it's common to struggle to get your group to exit a map b/c they aren't all lining up near a doorway/exit

I presume I can clean up unfinished quests after finishing the main quest? Do I then start Watcher's Keep? Is Watcher's Keep the only DLC map?

I do not agree that maps outside the city are bad. They are mostly focused on one quest and there are dungeons to explore and stuff. It works are a change of pace as city is (too) full of stuff to click and a lot of new quests added all the time.
Don't forget to do the rogue stone hidden fight.
And of course Kangaxx the Lich fight.

 

[octavius]

With the right knowledge you can kill enemies like that blindfolded

I bet you could take Drizzt with both hands tied behind your back.

 

[Ivan]

I'm wrapping up my first BG2 playthrough (I just made it to Hell) and wanted to share some thoughts:
-there are TONS of errands, even without going outside of the main city. There may not be a lot of C&C, but I've enjoyed seeing how some quests keep leading to new quests (skin ripper)
-exploration is very cool, especially finding liches/tombs/sewers etc
-itemization is very cool. I enjoy reading/finding new loot and figuring out when to best use it
-may be b/c I don't know D&D but I found some encounters super punishing. not knowing how to fight Golems for example was a pain. not knowing the "best strat" to defeat minflayers or other such high level dangers keeps me on my toes
-most of the maps outside of Athkatla kinda suck and I think the game could have used some trimming down here. The city is the main star of the game and everything else kinda feels like fat/filler
-frustrating shit: re-equipping characters after death, it's common to struggle to get your group to exit a map b/c they aren't all lining up near a doorway/exit

I presume I can clean up unfinished quests after finishing the main quest? Do I then start Watcher's Keep? Is Watcher's Keep the only DLC map?

I do not agree that maps outside the city are bad. They are mostly focused on one quest and there are dungeons to explore and stuff. It works are a change of pace as city is (too) full of stuff to click and a lot of new quests added all the time.
Don't forget to do the rogue stone hidden fight.
And of course Kangaxx the Lich fight.

Thanks, I've been selling all of the non quest items (I don't think the game as advised to save any jewels thus far). I have built some armors and weapons through the special blacksmith in the docks. That was neat, and it I have a recipe for a hammer of sorts that's keeping me on the search for more items.

 

[ElvenNeko]

I feel like even 3 is overrated. It's an excellent game - cinematic, variable, with a lot of quality value. But it's story is rather meh, especially in las act.Rogue Trader is a hot mess of code but i enjoyed it more because the story kept asking questions until the very end.

 

[Melcar]

With the right knowledge you can kill enemies like that blindfolded

I bet you could take Drizzt with both hands tied behind your back.

He did and he kicked him in the head until he was dead.

 

[Melcar]

I'm wrapping up my first BG2 playthrough (I just made it to Hell) and wanted to share some thoughts:
-there are TONS of errands, even without going outside of the main city. There may not be a lot of C&C, but I've enjoyed seeing how some quests keep leading to new quests (skin ripper)
-exploration is very cool, especially finding liches/tombs/sewers etc
-itemization is very cool. I enjoy reading/finding new loot and figuring out when to best use it
-may be b/c I don't know D&D but I found some encounters super punishing. not knowing how to fight Golems for example was a pain. not knowing the "best strat" to defeat minflayers or other such high level dangers keeps me on my toes
-most of the maps outside of Athkatla kinda suck and I think the game could have used some trimming down here. The city is the main star of the game and everything else kinda feels like fat/filler
-frustrating shit: re-equipping characters after death, it's common to struggle to get your group to exit a map b/c they aren't all lining up near a doorway/exit

I presume I can clean up unfinished quests after finishing the main quest? Do I then start Watcher's Keep? Is Watcher's Keep the only DLC map?

I do not agree that maps outside the city are bad. They are mostly focused on one quest and there are dungeons to explore and stuff. It works are a change of pace as city is (too) full of stuff to click and a lot of new quests added all the time.
Don't forget to do the rogue stone hidden fight.
And of course Kangaxx the Lich fight.

The outside areas in BG2 are mostly just locations tied to specific quests. There are like 2 or three additional wilderness maps that don't have anything outside of some encounters (think original BG), and I think they could have done without those. I still much prefer the sense of exploration in BG but BG2 handled well the focused gameplay.
I really wouldn't do WK during the main SoA progression as you will break the challenge level in the main game.

 

[Ivan]

Q for those who played it at the time: was Aerie's constant blabbering well received? Was she seen as a "real" companion for all her yipping? I don't mind when Jaheira chimes in, but Aerie's was so annoying I had to friendzone her FAST.

 

[Hace El Oso]

Q for those who played it at the time: was Aerie constant blabbering well received? Was she seen as a "real" companion for all her yipping? I don't mind when Jaheira chimes in, but Aerie's was so annoying I had to friendzone her FAST.

Yes, she had her fans. A lot of guys were/are attracted to the childish dependency.

 

[SomeGuyWithAnOpinion]

I used to think I was the only person who hated BG1 and BG2. I VASTLY prefer Icewind Dale.

Glad to see there are some other people who had as much disappointment playing the BG series as I did. I never understood why they are so beloved. Sloppy writing, bad characters, annoying world full of samey "locations" that are just backdrops for a few boring characters, and the gameplay can be gotten elsewhere (like the aforementioned Icewind Dale, which has all of the gameplay and none of the crap).

 

[Melcar]

Icewind Dale is for those of us that liked the combat system in BG and wanted more of that. Kind of like a BG Tactics if you will. The encounter design in the Icewind Dale games is different and the overall gameplay more focused, so it just depends on what you expect as a player. BG dialogue can be awful (a lot of it was a bit cringe last time I replayed the first game) and the combat is fairly easy (unmoded game). For me the fun was in the exploration and the NPCs (mix and match alignments to get funny interactions). BG2 was just MORE POWER LEVELS which was still fun (if you already enjoyed the first game).

As for Aerie, she's an annoying bitch and her romance is super cringe, but she is the better NPC combat wise of the three priest characters in the game.

 

[Average Manatee]

I actually played IWD1/2 before BG. I remember the reason I wanted it is because I read somewhere that Icewind Dale was a cross between Baldur's Gate and Diablo. I had no idea what Baldur's gate was but my parents refused to get me Diablo 2 because it was too scary and I wanted it so bad so I went with the IWD collectors set as the next best thing.

 

[ShiningSoldier]

Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale could be good games if they weren't Dungeons and Dragons. This system sucks for videogames.

 

[Swen]

Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale could be good games if they weren't Dungeons and Dragons. This system sucks for videogames.

BG3 was the first D&D game with good combat.

 

[octavius]

Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale could be good games if they weren't Dungeons and Dragons. This system sucks for videogames.

The Gold Box games, IE games, Dark Sun games, ToEE disagree.
Now tell us about all those great cRPGs made by the superior RPG systems.

 

[ShiningSoldier]

Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale could be good games if they weren't Dungeons and Dragons. This system sucks for videogames.

BG3 was the first D&D game with good combat.

Ehhh, dunno what is good in such systems, where every battle consists of "select a target and just watch how opponents miss each other".

 

[Melcar]

ShittingSoldier is one of them edgy kids.

 

[ShiningSoldier]

ShittingSoldier is one of them edgy kids.

I understand why you might think so, but I'm not.
What I really don't like, is when people are shy to critique popular games only because they're popular.
I don't like many modern RPG. But I also don't like Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale and Neverwinter Nights.