Baldur's Gate The Baldur's Gate Series Thread

[Cael]

Just before fighting Irenicus on the Tree of Life I've decided to tell Jan to get his useless butt back to the turnip market and off of my team. For the first time in the long history of all my playthroughs I'm picking up Imoen. Her thief skills are sufficient, especially with potions at my disposal, and Haer'Dalis for pickpocketing. Gave her exp with EE Keeper, I'm looking forward to hearing her banter for the first time, and most of all, her being useful. Jan kept dying (completely) way, way too much, while contributing nothing other than detect illusion.

Wait Is detect illusion useful? I usually give 100 to traps (both set and disarm) , lockpick and 120 for pickpocket then move silently. I see secret passages even without detect illusion, what It does in game?

Detect Illusion stops ALL Illusion spells, including Invisibility.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Sorry Rusty I am racist towards Gnomes.

 

[Lyric Suite]

You probably already saw it, but I can't stop laughing my ass off cus I recognize all the homies I know from mi barrio!

Soon to be included in the EE to help combat fat-phobia.

 

[Blutwurstritter]

Just before fighting Irenicus on the Tree of Life I've decided to tell Jan to get his useless butt back to the turnip market and off of my team. For the first time in the long history of all my playthroughs I'm picking up Imoen. Her thief skills are sufficient, especially with potions at my disposal, and Haer'Dalis for pickpocketing. Gave her exp with EE Keeper, I'm looking forward to hearing her banter for the first time, and most of all, her being useful. Jan kept dying (completely) way, way too much, while contributing nothing other than detect illusion.

Wait Is detect illusion useful? I usually give 100 to traps (both set and disarm) , lockpick and 120 for pickpocket then move silently. I see secret passages even without detect illusion, what It does in game?

It also isn't blocked by spell protections, meaning that you can dispel all kinds of high level mages illusion spells with detect illusion directly in one go. Extremely useful in SCS as Octavius mentioned, where most mages have spell sequencers with mislead and spell protections that would take more than one turn to dispel. Also works on Liches and the likes that may be too high level for normal dispels or spells that are available to you at that moment.

 

[vota DC]

beamdog adding a pure thief but making it hexxat is probably the worst thing they've done

Cuckdog: Who wouldn't like a black lesbian ninja vampire chick?

Turns out: Everyone.

worst part is how painful of a mary sue donutsteel OC creation she is
she has by far the best stats of any companion in the game, it's not even close

Jaheira's total attributes are 88, Keldorn takes the top spot at 89, then Sarevok Anchovies overtakes him at 95.
Hexxat is at 98.
The sunlight attribute penalties are trivial to work around and you spend like 90% of the game indoors anyways.

You can also fight outdoor during night.
Also Hexxat Is immune to poison, level drain, charm....and she has minor summoning spell and charm spell too! Also all her dialogue Is "oooga booga me bite me suck" so she should have 3 charisma....yeah she has vampire charm skills but when She doesn't use her charm spell the charisma should be very low unless they change her script....even Dorn Is friendlier than her.

 

[octavius]

Also Hexxat Is immune to poison, level drain, charm....and she has minor summoning spell and charm spell too! Also all her dialogue Is "oooga booga me bite me suck" so she should have 3 charisma....yeah she has vampire charm skills but when She doesn't use her charm spell the charisma should be very low unless they change her script....even Dorn Is friendlier than her.

For some reason I picture her with blue or purple hair.

 

[Jvegi]

Just wanted to mention that the "area map background" map feature in EE is very nice. Looks like ass, but, especially after a years-long break, it makes navigating wilderness and other difficult to assess locations much less frustrating.

PS: Planetar with Improved Haste is op.

 

[AN4RCHID]

I recently came into an old box set of BG + BG2 + expansions. Since I have never actually played through these and am getting bored with Elden Ring, decided to give them a shot.

So, starting with BG1. First thing I noticed is that aesthetically it holds up nicely. The UI and backgrounds look still look great. Second thing I noticed is that I'm missing the PoE QoL improvements. Everything is janky and takes a long time. Understandable since it's the first game of this style.

Encounters are mostly trash mobs so far. I just finished the Nashkel Mines, and nearly the entire thing is just small groups of the same Kobolds. Not a major problem, but they could have done better. The map of the mines was awesome though, highlight of the game to this point. The area maps in general are nice - very large and open.

I've been savescumming a lot. Any of my party members can die from a single unlucky crit, and dealing with it through the game mechanics means looting all their gear, trekking back to town, reviving them, shuffling all their gear around, and then trekking back to the dungeon. This whole process can take 5 - 10 minutes and upwards of 10 map transitions. It's a lot of hassle for something that can happen randomly in any fight. So instead, I reload my quicksave.

It's slim pickings for XP out here. Starting Chapter 3 my PC and most of my party is still level 1. Only Jaheira and Imoen have leveled up. Wondering if I would have been better off running with a 4 or 5 character party.

After Nashkel I'm not really sure where I should be going. The game is pretty open, so I guess I can just check out one of the unexplored areas on the map.

 

[Jvegi]

It's slim pickings for XP out here. Starting Chapter 3 my PC and most of my party is still level 1. Only Jaheira and Imoen have leveled up. Wondering if I would have been better off running with a 4 or 5 character party.

You must have missed a lot of quests. It's been a while, but you should be reaching level 2 just before the Neskhel mines, making one shotting much less of an issue. Explore the wilderness areas perhaps? 6 person party will reach the xp cap by the end and should progress through the campaign properly.

After Nashkel I'm not really sure where I should be going.

There should be clues near Mulahey.

 

[Melcar]

I recently came into an old box set of BG + BG2 + expansions. Since I have never actually played through these and am getting bored with Elden Ring, decided to give them a shot.

So, starting with BG1. First thing I noticed is that aesthetically it holds up nicely. The UI and backgrounds look still look great. Second thing I noticed is that I'm missing the PoE QoL improvements. Everything is janky and takes a long time. Understandable since it's the first game of this style.

Encounters are mostly trash mobs so far. I just finished the Nashkel Mines, and nearly the entire thing is just small groups of the same Kobolds. Not a major problem, but they could have done better. The map of the mines was awesome though, highlight of the game to this point. The area maps in general are nice - very large and open.

I've been savescumming a lot. Any of my party members can die from a single unlucky crit, and dealing with it through the game mechanics means looting all their gear, trekking back to town, reviving them, shuffling all their gear around, and then trekking back to the dungeon. This whole process can take 5 - 10 minutes and upwards of 10 map transitions. It's a lot of hassle for something that can happen randomly in any fight. So instead, I reload my quicksave.

It's slim pickings for XP out here. Starting Chapter 3 my PC and most of my party is still level 1. Only Jaheira and Imoen have leveled up. Wondering if I would have been better off running with a 4 or 5 character party.

After Nashkel I'm not really sure where I should be going. The game is pretty open, so I guess I can just check out one of the unexplored areas on the map.

The first few chapters are like that in the first BG. You can go exploring after you clear out the mines and side track the main plot to farm for some XP, but you will still level up "slowly". There are a lot of side quests you can do while on your way to the mines that can boost your levels, but they are easy to miss for first time players (and if you actively try to avoid encounters). Once you get to Baldur's Gate proper you will see a speed up in XP progression. In my first run way back then I barely hit the XP cap with a bog standard 6 member party, but in latter runs I was able to hit the cap way before the final chapter. This is for the base game, not counting the expansion.

 

[PapaPetro]

The open world exploring in the first BG felt great. It really felt like hiking outdoors analog for CRPGs.

 

[Non-Edgy Gamer]

I recently came into an old box set of BG + BG2 + expansions. Since I have never actually played through these and am getting bored with Elden Ring, decided to give them a shot.

So, starting with BG1. First thing I noticed is that aesthetically it holds up nicely. The UI and backgrounds look still look great. Second thing I noticed is that I'm missing the PoE QoL improvements. Everything is janky and takes a long time. Understandable since it's the first game of this style.

Encounters are mostly trash mobs so far. I just finished the Nashkel Mines, and nearly the entire thing is just small groups of the same Kobolds. Not a major problem, but they could have done better. The map of the mines was awesome though, highlight of the game to this point. The area maps in general are nice - very large and open.

I've been savescumming a lot. Any of my party members can die from a single unlucky crit, and dealing with it through the game mechanics means looting all their gear, trekking back to town, reviving them, shuffling all their gear around, and then trekking back to the dungeon. This whole process can take 5 - 10 minutes and upwards of 10 map transitions. It's a lot of hassle for something that can happen randomly in any fight. So instead, I reload my quicksave.

It's slim pickings for XP out here. Starting Chapter 3 my PC and most of my party is still level 1. Only Jaheira and Imoen have leveled up. Wondering if I would have been better off running with a 4 or 5 character party.

After Nashkel I'm not really sure where I should be going. The game is pretty open, so I guess I can just check out one of the unexplored areas on the map.

The first few chapters are like that in the first BG. You can go exploring after you clear out the mines and side track the main plot to farm for some XP, but you will still level up "slowly". There are a lot of side quests you can do while on your way to the mines that can boost your levels, but they are easy to miss for first time players (and if you actively try to avoid encounters). Once you get to Baldur's Gate proper you will see a speed up in XP progression. In my first run way back then I barely hit the XP cap with a bog standard 6 member party, but in latter runs I was able to hit the cap way before the final chapter. This is for the base game, not counting the expansion.

If you're a completionist, you can hit level 2 just from Candlekeep's tutorial stuff and the Sarevok encounter iirc. Maybe not if you're a mage though.

If you explore Beregost, there's a good amount of low-level XP there too. Especially with Bassilus' bounty.

But yeah, classic slow-paced RPG. Maybe not as prestigious as older games to some, but I would trade 1000 Skyrim's, Oblivions and even Morrowinds for just one more Infinity Engine game.

 

[Ninjerk]

I recently came into an old box set of BG + BG2 + expansions. Since I have never actually played through these and am getting bored with Elden Ring, decided to give them a shot.

So, starting with BG1. First thing I noticed is that aesthetically it holds up nicely. The UI and backgrounds look still look great. Second thing I noticed is that I'm missing the PoE QoL improvements. Everything is janky and takes a long time. Understandable since it's the first game of this style.

Encounters are mostly trash mobs so far. I just finished the Nashkel Mines, and nearly the entire thing is just small groups of the same Kobolds. Not a major problem, but they could have done better. The map of the mines was awesome though, highlight of the game to this point. The area maps in general are nice - very large and open.

I've been savescumming a lot. Any of my party members can die from a single unlucky crit, and dealing with it through the game mechanics means looting all their gear, trekking back to town, reviving them, shuffling all their gear around, and then trekking back to the dungeon. This whole process can take 5 - 10 minutes and upwards of 10 map transitions. It's a lot of hassle for something that can happen randomly in any fight. So instead, I reload my quicksave.

It's slim pickings for XP out here. Starting Chapter 3 my PC and most of my party is still level 1. Only Jaheira and Imoen have leveled up. Wondering if I would have been better off running with a 4 or 5 character party.

After Nashkel I'm not really sure where I should be going. The game is pretty open, so I guess I can just check out one of the unexplored areas on the map.

I enjoyed robbing Beregost blind in my last playthrough.

 

[Thal]

I recently came into an old box set of BG + BG2 + expansions. Since I have never actually played through these and am getting bored with Elden Ring, decided to give them a shot.
Encounters are mostly trash mobs so far. I just finished the Nashkel Mines, and nearly the entire thing is just small groups of the same Kobolds. Not a major problem, but they could have done better.
I've been savescumming a lot.

Your experience will be vastly different, if you stop loading. Most encounters in the game are easy, but if you don't load, you will have to take them seriously. Same thing with dungeons, now they will be seriously dangerous areas. Try it, as the game was clearly designed to be played that way.

 

[onemananadhisdroid]

The open world exploring in the first BG felt great. It really felt like hiking outdoors analog for CRPGs.

Vocal normies didn't like it, so Bioware ditched it (which also makes BG2 a game more true to their entire line-age -- they're less of a world sim company, and more of an interactive movie company, where every single location, every character, everything is part of a carefully planted movie set piece, as opposed to a .. world).

Kingdom Come Deliverance's exploration reminded me of BG1 a lot, albeit in a different format. Also a game not afraid to have stuff existing because it ... exists, as opposed to existing merely for the sake of being part of a quest, a monster, NPC or loot location.

Watching some gameplay of Black Geyser, I've recently wondered if it may be kind of similar too (any opinions?)

Black Geyser: Couriers of Darkness - Gameplay Walkthrough - E9 - YouTube

 

[PapaPetro]

The open world exploring in the first BG felt great. It really felt like hiking outdoors analog for CRPGs.

Vocal normies didn't like it, so Bioware ditched it (which also makes BG2 a game more true to their entire line-age -- they're less of a world sim company, and more of an interactive movie company, where every single location, every character, everything is part of a carefully planted movie set piece, as opposed to a .. world).

>masterclass on the art of using useless space
very interesting way to put it.
where's that from?

 

[onemananadhisdroid]

The open world exploring in the first BG felt great. It really felt like hiking outdoors analog for CRPGs.

Vocal normies didn't like it, so Bioware ditched it (which also makes BG2 a game more true to their entire line-age -- they're less of a world sim company, and more of an interactive movie company, where every single location, every character, everything is part of a carefully planted movie set piece, as opposed to a .. world).

>masterclass on the art of using useless space
very interesting way to put it.
where's that from?

felipepepe and company's CRPG Book.

 

[PapaPetro]

The open world exploring in the first BG felt great. It really felt like hiking outdoors analog for CRPGs.

Vocal normies didn't like it, so Bioware ditched it (which also makes BG2 a game more true to their entire line-age -- they're less of a world sim company, and more of an interactive movie company, where every single location, every character, everything is part of a carefully planted movie set piece, as opposed to a .. world).

>masterclass on the art of using useless space
very interesting way to put it.
where's that from?

felipepepe and company's CRPG Book.

https://crpgbook.files.wordpress.com/2017/04/crpg-book-preview-5.pdf#page=190

 

[Lagole Gon]

Updated version:

BG2:

Valygar might be Vin Diesel. And I still think Anomen might be Zac Efron.

 

[PapaPetro]

Updated version:

BG2:

Valygar might be Vin Diesel. I still think Anomen can be Zac Efron.

Viconia super hot. I see why.

 

[Elwro]

That was always one of my problems with BG: I have the obsessive tendency to open every door in, say, Beregost, before leaving the area... and there's really not much there. (Which is of course realistic, if anyone cares about such realism.) Still, some items you could steal from NPCs were just mind-boggling so I always kept doing it instead of moving forward with the game...

 

[Lagole Gon]

Viconia super hot. I see why.

You must be the only person on the internet who didn't know that Viconia was traced over a czech erotic model.
I think I even posted her photoshoot somewhere. For research purposes.

 

[PapaPetro]

Viconia super hot. I see why.

You must be the only person on the internet who didn't know that Viconia was traced over a czech erotic model.
I think I even posted her photoshoot somewhere. For research purposes.

Yes I probably am. I liked to think she was made from whole cloth; but I'm a dreamer like that.
Something about blue-black skin...

 

[Grunker]

 

[Non-Edgy Gamer]

Booba.

Viconia super hot. I see why.

And you're not even seeing the full picture either.