Baldur's Gate The Baldur's Gate Series Thread

[AetherVagrant]

That's why this time I cheated and bumped movement speed and starting gold : my 14 con sorcerer still only starts with 6 HP, though its better than the 4hp of my old standby guy. It doesn't make winning battles easier, but at least some potions and the ability to run away to another map so my level 1 ass could run all over the place and recruit the companions I want. My last play I tried to 100percent each chapter as much as possible, this time I just want to fastrack to chapter 3. I won't be sad if I never have to do the nashkel mines again.

 

[Dreaad]

And yet in ten years time as the decline continues you'll come back to the Nashkel mines over and over again because there's nothing else.

 

[Lonely Vazdru]

you'll come back to the Nashkel mines over and over again because there's nothing else.

Creepy, but true.

 

[pippin]

During my first playthrough I went straight to Nashkel. The kobold snipers and giant spiders raped my party to death. It was fun, though! Later I discovered you could do the slow path and visit them at level 4. It was a different story. But I just wanted to solve the mystery so my weapons wouldn't break again.

 

[Lhynn]

Also, is it worth it to dual class Yoshimo(Currently level 11) into a fighter?

No

 

[Excidium II]

As I progress through BG2, I'm noticing a broken as fuck tactic: bottlenecking baddies. Is this intentional?

It's probably intentional since it's a really old tactic nobody bothers to address.

 

[pippin]

The bottlenecking is more of a IE thing, I believe. When you fight a large number of enemies you'd want to do that. Besides, ranged weapons are kind of overpowered, although not as much in BG2 as it was in BG1.

I don't think this is a real spoiler, but Yoshimo won't stay with you for too long, so it's not really worth it to try anything with him.

 

[Excidium II]

The bottlenecking is more of a IE thing, I believe.

Not really, it's as old as at least goldbox games. Even better there since disabled dudes bodyblock their allies. Also PoE is probably the game that suffers the most from it

 

[Tigranes]

Bottlenecking is a thing everywhere, and it become inevitable if you have a large party with lots of CC options, too. Hell, you can even bottleneck in AOD, Underrail, Fallouts (in human settlements mostly)...

I still love BG1 for its own sake. I enjoy the punishing nature of early levels, because after the first few levels you will never have that again, and in BG2 you are Monty Haul Powergaming Prosper from the get go. Here you can see one potion of haste make a difference, and you really might only have one. Introduce some house rules to avoid the money raking, and that sort of scarcity - including the wands - stay with you for a while. It's not particularly well written or imaginative or anything, but I'd take it as an instance of "light-hearted" fantasy fare over other similar alternatives. Durlag's Tower remains unparalleled, and Davaeorn can also be a nice fight with SCS.

 

[AetherVagrant]

During my first playthrough I went straight to Nashkel. The kobold snipers and giant spiders raped my party to death. It was fun, though! Later I discovered you could do the slow path and visit them at level 4. It was a different story. But I just wanted to solve the mystery so my weapons wouldn't break again.

Before I knew that it would take a while of Edwin's bitching to actually make him leave the party, i always hurried to nashkel, grabbed Edwin and Minsc, then usually tried to power through the gnoll stronghold with the two of them and Imoen. once i discovered I could "let" minsc die right at the end, save dynaheir then kill her, then ressurrect Minsc back at temple and have him stick around. But balancing Viconia and Edwin with Minsc and Caldorn while playing a sorcerer might be why my old playthroughs were such a bitch. Not dealing with argumentative party members this time, I want to get to the sarevok content as soon as possible, then durlags tower and baldurs gate.
maybe i should replace the boots of speed with boots of free movement, so i can spam web and tangle and get through this same ol shit a little faster. Torment was way easier to fast-play to a certain story point once you knew the game, but bg1 is rough from the get-go even with metaknowledge.

 

[VentilatorOfDoom]

gaem is hard boring

 

[ArchAngel]

Meh, I'm dropping Baldur's Gate 2. 16 hours of playtime and I find the experience so boring. You can come up with whatever reasons you like, I just find the game uninteresting, not even interesting enough to finish. The only fight I've enjoyed was that Shadow Dragon and most of everything else just felt too repetitive. Oh well! I thought about editing the ini so I could cheat my way to the end but I dont really care about the stupid plot.

That is your choice of course.
Look at the good side: No you got more time to play Farmville!!

 

[agris]

If you found BG2 combat boring, you're gonna love Planescape.

 

[agris]

It wasn't just the combat, finding out that Irenicus was just trying to steal my soul and shit was way less awesome than it could have been. It's sort of a shame, because his voice actor did such a great job, and the material he was given to work with was so sub-par. Bleh. Again, I just wish the game's combat had been more fun. I'm aware PST isnt the best in terms of combat either, but PST is also pretty heavy about the story, and it all sort of needs to come together in a decent enough package for me. I didn't really like anything about it, the annoying pathfinding AI and the slow trudging walking from one spot to another in the most agonizing way possible....I liked BG1 quite a bit because while it had the same problems BG2 did, it also had the good decency to end after some 30 hours and not go "Thirty hours? bro we haven't even scratched the tip". It's mostly just a preference thing for me. I just am not in general very enthralled. I kind of wish I hadn't bought IWD EE as well, because I'm sure its even longer.

That's understandable, I might even feel similarly about BG2 if I were playing it for the first time as an adult. For me, the atmosphere of BG1 will always be king. With all the mods I use, my version of BG2 is almost unrecognizable in terms of combat encounters and itemization. The writing in both games has also aged poorly (or I'm just not 15 anymore).

You'll probably like PST. I played it for the first time in '13 or '14, and found the writing and stories/quests enjoyable. The combat didn't even bother me.

 

[Sodafish]

It's sort of a shame, because his voice actor did such a great job

Well, David Warner could read out a EULA and make it sound compelling.

 

[Hegel]

Meh, I'm dropping Baldur's Gate 2. 16 hours of playtime and I find the experience so boring. You can come up with whatever reasons you like, I just find the game uninteresting, not even interesting enough to finish. The only fight I've enjoyed was that Shadow Dragon and most of everything else just felt too repetitive. Oh well! I thought about editing the ini so I could cheat my way to the end but I dont really care about the stupid plot.

I wonder if you liked PoE, just asking.

That is your choice of course.
Look at the good side: No you got more time to play Farmville!!

Damn, Baldur's gate + tons of mods is the definitive game, too bad it's not turn based.

 

[Melcar]

Spend all day yesterday re-installing BGT with a shitload of mods that I can jut not play without anymore. Literally took the whole day. Now I just don't want to play it anymore.

 

[ArchAngel]

Spend all day yesterday re-installing BGT with a shitload of mods that I can jut not play without anymore. Literally took the whole day. Now I just don't want to play it anymore.

Haha and people bashed BGEE series for having it all in a nice fast installable package :D

 

[Immortal]

I liked the loot system

 

[Lilura]

Randomly came across this new series of blog posts by Lilura, who appears to have dropped down to lurker status. It's pretty good stuff:

http://lilura1.blogspot.com/2015/07/baldurs-gate-blathering-part-i.html
http://lilura1.blogspot.com/2015/07/baldurs-gate-blathering-part-ii.html
http://lilura1.blogspot.com/2015/08/baldurs-gate-blathering-part-iii.html

Thanks for the plug, Infinitron!

The fourth post (of a projected 10) is up, covering Divine spells, "Level Scaling", Boss Encounters & an Introduction to the venerable deathtrap, Durlag's Tower:

Baldur's Gate Blathering - Part IV

 

[AetherVagrant]

Finally got all the way to Baldur's Gate. When I first bought this game, shortly after release, I managed to scrape my way there as well, without the benefit of trainers or walkthroughs. It was rough going for a kid who knew little about dnd. In subsequent years I always promised myself that eventually, one day, I would get there again and finish the game proper. The first time I played BG2 I didn't even realize that iraneus was in the first game, because i hadnt stumbled upon or reached his plot points.​

bg2 makes way more sense now.

I tried to start BGTUTU games, with various mods a handful of times over the years, but tended to go for a completionists run, as I wanted to see EVERYTHING the fucker had to offer without starting over yet again. it never worked -- new computers, save corruptions, insurmountable bugs always made me give up before getting past that magic landmark of yesteryear.

This time, at long last, I have breached the gates of Baldur. It has been rife with bugs and difficulty. Whether these stem from the EE or the couple Mods I applied, I know not: I only know that this is the last time I play this damned game in my life. I gave up trying to do every sidequest, I cheated a little to fasttrack the early chapters of the game without having to grind, and I had to cheat a little more to get past some game-breaking bugs. Essentially when one of my characters dies, often their stuff is gone with them. It doesnt show up on the ground, and I cant get "raise dead" scrolls to work. they get cast but nothing happens. then the items all disappear. The other major bug is enemies spawning infinitely and not just killing me, but breaking the game. the areas that I encountered this i mostly got by using Invisibility 10' radius just to get around them, and if a quest wasnt crucial in their vicinity then just skipped it. also leaving a mark on the map so i know to never stroll through that "land of a million skeletons/goblins" again.

I have hope. soon i may finally be able to cross this blemish from my tear-stained bucket list.

edit: sorry, I thought this got posted in the BG thread.​

 

[Lilura]

Baldur's Gate Blathering - Part VII is up, covering the Labyrinth of the Elements & The Chessboard.

Review Contents:

Part I: Introduction, Setting & Scope, Ruleset & Chargen, Basic Combat System, Perspective & UI, Experience & Treasure, Prologue, Initial Exploration & Encounters, Pathfinding, Ambushes & Waylays.
Part II: Stealth & Theft, Archery, Resting & Healing, Arcane Spells, Summoning Spells: Arcane & Divine, Wands.
Part III: Tanking & Melee Combat, Party Composition & Companions, Sidequests.
Part IV: Divine aka Priest Spells: Cleric & Druid, "Level Scaling", Boss Encounters.
Part V: Durlag's Tower: The Venerable Deathtrap, Overview, Upper Storeys, Cellar.
Part VI: The Labyrinth of the Warders & The Labyrinth of Doors.
Part VII: The Labyrinth of Elements & The Chessboard.

 

[CrawlingDead]

Good to see people in this thread espousing the virtues BG1 in contrast to the other thread where I felt like the only one amidst a mob of newbies (who it was clear started with BG2 and maybe didn't even play BG1 for long because it was like a slap in the face to them) and trolls.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned about BG1 is the variety and scope of the NPC pool (25 from memory), which for me means I don't reload when one dies, I just kick out the corpse and grab the next one I stumble upon, which mixes things up a bit, keeps the game fresh and engaging and gives a reason to venture into wilderness areas you might otherwise ignore on subsequent runs.

I think they're both great games. At this point, I prefer Baldur's Gate 2, but there are times when I just want to play the first game. It has it's own kind of flavor, just like all the IE games do.

 

[Lonely Vazdru]

I like both, they create a huge "from zero to hero" campaign and I can't think of playing one without playing the other.

 

[Gauldur's Bait]

Was playing BG1EE for the fiirst time up until the AoD release in order to have a character in place for SoD. Playing with a custom party of 4 with some minimal metagaming and min maxing and hit the level cap before

Spoiler

returning to Candlekeep

and having cleared out the upper levels of Durlags. Played it the first time several years after its release, and then without TotSC installed, so never actually completed Durlags Tower before oops, which is the other reason for the current play through. Anyway, I'm finding the lower levels, with all the traps and "puzzles", actually kind of boring, even though I do enjoy IE engine combat, which is what the tower is mainly about. Find trap, disarm, (or just let it go boom), loot, kill enemy. Repeat. Hoping taking out the guy at the bottom will be worth the suffering.