Icewind Dale The Icewind Dale Series Thread

[RandomAccount]

Don't worry about it Sensuki, you play it however you want!

 

[RandomAccount]

I only had one +3 weapon in my entire party, so I had to be pretty resourceful when taking her on.

Nope, can't let it be... (lol)

Well... if you'd done what the game intended you to do, you'd have gone back to Kuldahar and been thanked by Conlon for saving his son and would have been given the mighty magic Conlon's Hammer, so you'd have 2 fighters with something to play with. The fact that it didn't matter in the end isn't entirely the point - but I suppose for some people that's the entire point ho-hum.

I thought the Let's Play was pretty good, you do your best to prevent boredom, but I'm only really a fan of somewhat or completely blind Let's Plays or, if I need a visual walkthrough, something that goes really carefully step-by-step (but not irritating uber-snail). I personally don't need the latter for IWD, and watching someone 'go through the motions' in super-speed is ok, but not something I'd watch the whole thing for, I get the idea easily enough from one vid. I like the vids where the guy nearly dies to the Goblins and get's freaked out when they see a Yeti for the first time.

 

[Wulfric Pinewood]

At the end of October there is enhanced version of Icewind Dale coming.
BG Enhanced was a poor release becouse of lot of bugs and it was much better to just mod BG I and BG II into one big game by yourself (mods are around ) plus add some great quest packs from community . But in this case im going to buy enhanced version, there are lot less mods for Icewind Dale than for BG and it looks better prepared this time.
[It will be great addition to my collection and as im getting older i just hate to mod the games becouse of lack of time for tracking all updates etc.]
Will you invest into that Icewind version too?
As Eurogamer announced:
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...nced-edition-pc-mac-release-date-30th-october
Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition is the old Icewind Dale RPG plus:

• Six expanded quests, featuring content cut from the original game
• 60 new items
• Heart of Winter and Trials of the Luremaster expansions
• 31 new class and kit combinations from Baldur's Gate 2: Enhanced Edition, well as the half-orc playable race
• 122 new spells carried over from Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition
• Cross-platform multiplayer
• A new Story Mode difficulty setting to allow players to experience all of the story with none of the Game Over screens

 

[Sensuki]

Nope.

I think Zed is doing a Codex review for it actually, although I don't know when he'll be finished playing it.

 

[Baron Dupek]

Modding is the only redeemable element of IWD:EE. With upcoming discount there should be some mods that convince me to grab it. Other than that - no thx.

 

[RandomAccount]

• 122 new spells carried over from Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition

The only thing IWD ever needed was less spells... all they've ever done since release is increase the number of spells. I don't think you'll find 'lack of spells' has ever been an issue with players even from the original [relatively] spell light [but still very spell-packed] vanilla game.

But generally I'm delighted with anything that expands the possible fanbase of the game. It just means I'll be talking about a completely different game to them every time they mention the game, but at least I'll be able to contribute to the atmospherics discussions

 

[jdinatale]

Hey guys, I have a ton of potions in my inventory that I need to get rid of, who can I sell them to in Khuldahur? I just got to chapter three and I don't think I've seen a potion vender yet.

 

[pippin]

gnome guy in Kuldahar - he's the owner of the flying ship and also makes appearances in iwd2.

 

[jdinatale]

gnome guy in Kuldahar - he's the owner of the flying ship and also makes appearances in iwd2.

Thanks.

Another question. I am a complete DnD noob. What's better in terms of offense:

Bow
THAC0: 13 (7)
Attacks: 4

or

Crossbow
THAC0: 13 (2)
Attacks: 2

The bow would get more attacks but I think that the crossbow would hit more often. Which would be more beneficial.

Also, I have roughly 100k gold. Is there anything worth saving up for and buying in Khuldahur, or can I dump it all into expensive arrows for my ranger?

 

[Sensuki]

It kind of depends, if you're attacking an enemy with a low AC, then the Crossbow will always be better. I have to wonder how there's so much difference between the THAC0 of the Bow and Crossbow though, are you proficient with both? :/

I don't usually purchase too much from the Blacksmith although the Wizard Tower dude has a few nice items. Lym? in the Svirfneblin Village has some stuff too.

 

[jdinatale]

It kind of depends, if you're attacking an enemy with a low AC, then the Crossbow will always be better. I have to wonder how there's so much difference between the THAC0 of the Bow and Crossbow though, are you proficient with both? :/

I don't usually purchase too much from the Blacksmith although the Wizard Tower dude has a few nice items. Lym? in the Svirfneblin Village has some stuff too.

My ranger is proficient with both. If it helps, the bow is "messenger of sseth" and the crossbow is "heavy crossbow of accuracy"

 

[Sensuki]

Ah yep, I am pretty sure my Fighter/Thief used Messenger of Sseth until the end of the game. I generally don't like Crossbows in the IE games because Bows do the same damage and attack quicker.

 

[MicoSelva]

If it helps, the bow is "messenger of sseth" and the crossbow is "heavy crossbow of accuracy"

Ah yes, Crossbow of Accuracy's sweet, sweet +7 THAC0 bonus. Too bad it is so slow.

 

[RandomAccount]

My ranger is proficient with both. If it helps, the bow is "messenger of sseth" and the crossbow is "heavy crossbow of accuracy"

There's no reason at all why you shouldn't hang on to both. There will also be better versions of both drop if you're lucky/kill the right people/buy the right items. I think there's crossbows of speed and bows of greater thac0 and speed etc etc, but, yeah, just hang on to both really.

Also, I have roughly 100k gold. Is there anything worth saving up for and buying in Khuldahur, or can I dump it all into expensive arrows for my ranger?

If you mean the arrows from the dealer in the Severed Hand, they are indeed a good buy. But there's no hurry, he's not going anywhere, you can always go back to him at any point in the game. In Kuldahar, if you've already fully rooted through all Conlan's and the Bookkeeper's items and find nothing more of interest, then don't forget that the Wizard's stock upgrades with new spells regularly and that the potion seller in the boat will always have useful potions.

Further than that, in Dorn's Deep you will find a trader called Nym who has some lovely items for sale at extortionate prices. The best time to decide which loot to spend your money on is after you've met Nym and the other dealer in the Smurff village in Dorn's Deep.

You won't have enough gold to buy 'everything' you want.

(if you're playing Heart of Winter there's also loads of other dealers and my statement about always being able to go back to the Severed Hand would be wrong if you've already teleported)

 

[jdinatale]

I finished IWD (played for the first time in 2014) and I was very unsatisfied. It does quite a few things right, but more things wrong. I'm not sure how it makes the codex's top 25 or so RPG's.

Pros:
-Incredible art direction, everything from the character portraits to the set pieces and environment
-Beautiful score

Cons:
-Zero plot, zero incentive/motivation to slog through the dungeons because there are no characters to care about or plot to keep you hooked.
-Having virtually zero plot/character development would be fine if the gameplay/combat was good enough to make up for it. (See Diablo II) but...
-RTwP game is tedious, repetitive, and frustrating
-The game feels very "small" in scope.
-Horrible path finding and party AI. You have to tell your characters everything, as they will stand there while enemies attack them after their initial target is dead (unless I missed something in the options menu to change this)
-Shit inventory management. Every couple of floors of a dungeon you have to walk all the way back to town to sell your stuff. (Unless I missed a teleport spell)

To enjoy IWD, you're going to have to be in love with RTwP gameplay (most of us aren't) and you're going to have to really be in the mood for a mindless dungeon crawl hack-n-slash.

And admittedly, sometimes the mindless hacking through the dungeons was enjoyable in small doses, and looking for better loot kept me somewhat motivated.

But overall 6/10, an entirely forgettable experience.

 

[Sensuki]

In the IE games, units will auto attack a unit of the same type after they have finished killing it. You can set your own AI scripts in the character record screen if you prefer automation. I prefer how it is by default.

 

[<3sRichardSimmons]

I finished IWD (played for the first time in 2014) and I was very unsatisfied. It does quite a few things right, but more things wrong. I'm not sure how it makes the codex's top 25 or so RPG's.

Pros:
-Incredible art direction, everything from the character portraits to the set pieces and environment
-Beautiful score

Cons:
-Zero plot, zero incentive/motivation to slog through the dungeons because there are no characters to care about or plot to keep you hooked.
-Having virtually zero plot/character development would be fine if the gameplay/combat was good enough to make up for it. (See Diablo II) but...
-RTwP game is tedious, repetitive, and frustrating
-The game feels very "small" in scope.
-Horrible path finding and party AI. You have to tell your characters everything, as they will stand there while enemies attack them after their initial target is dead (unless I missed something in the options menu to change this)
-Shit inventory management. Every couple of floors of a dungeon you have to walk all the way back to town to sell your stuff. (Unless I missed a teleport spell)

To enjoy IWD, you're going to have to be in love with RTwP gameplay (most of us aren't) and you're going to have to really be in the mood for a mindless dungeon crawl hack-n-slash.

And admittedly, sometimes the mindless hacking through the dungeons was enjoyable in small doses, and looking for better loot kept me somewhat motivated.

But overall 6/10, an entirely forgettable experience.

I can understand why someone would dislike IWD; it caters to pretty specific tastes.

It definitely reminds me of a lot of 90s era Goldbox PnP FR dungeoncrawls I had with some very good friends (+1 nostalgia point). It also came out at a time when, despite the booming RTS genre, most RPGs were more of the storyfag variety (JA2 being the obvious exception).

To each his own I guess. My advice is to give it another try in a decade and see if you enjoy it more knowing what to expect going in.

 

[Zboj Lamignat]

I stopped reading that post at the first point in "cons". Fucking crpgs, how do they work.

 

[Muty]

-Shit inventory management. Every couple of floors of a dungeon you have to walk all the way back to town to sell your stuff. (Unless I missed a teleport spell)

So basically your problem is that this is not diablo?

 

[Lilura]

But overall 6/10, an entirely forgettable experience.

Ok, but then your post was entirely forgettable, too. I mean, you're basically a new player criticizing a game that came out 14 years ago, and your criticisms are not only completely unoriginal but many of them come off as tiresome parrotings from those who didn't understand the sort of game they were playing. Even your "pros" list sounds like it was lifted from IGN ("Incredible art direction! Beautiful score!"), and your "cons" list just screams ignorance, I'm afraid. Quick example: "shit inventory management". Really? Why are you picking up every item in the first place, as you obviously are since you complain of overly frequent trips back to town to sell it off. Another quick example: "lack of character development". forreal? You're creating a squad of six combatants for party-based hack em up, IWD doesn't pretend to be anything else.

Your only relevant criticism is the age-old, done-to-death pathfinding one, but that issue is common to all IE games and is actually somewhat lessened in IWD series from BG1 and PS:T, where it was at its worst (due to limited nodes and some area design - thieves maze, firewine ruins etc).

 

[Lonely Vazdru]

mindless dungeon crawl...

Shit inventory management. Every couple of floors of a dungeon you have to walk all the way back to town to sell your stuff. (Unless I missed a teleport spell)

So you wanted it even more mindless ?

mindless hacking

You have to tell your characters everything, as they will stand there while enemies attack them after their initial target is dead (unless I missed something in the options menu to change this)

Well, it really seems like more mindlessness was what you were after. Because yes, automated fighting drones picking everything up and teleporting back to town would no doubt alleviate some of the tediousness, but also sort of defeat the point of playing AFAIC. I'd rather tell my characters what to do, choose what loot to pick up, and when to sell it.

To each their own I guess... For instance, the teleporting/selling pets in Torchlight were an abomination for me while some loved the idea. I'd rather be encumbered and delay my trip back to town as much as I can.

 

[Harold]

Anytime I see someone post 'zero plot' as a criticism for IWD I cannot take them seriously. IWD's plot is executed very elegantly and is just the right type for a dungeon-crawler: low-key and heavily reliant on ties to the backstory; if you don't care for it and just want to kill shit, it's easily ignorable, if you pause and ponder the connections with the past, it's quite beautiful and melancholic thematically (and Larrel and Everard, heck even Pomab, are cool characters with nice, non-over-the-top, non-biowarian development). If nothing else, IWD deserves points for the dark elf dude that started the war between elves and dwarves all by himself via trolling for fun and profit.

And then you get into HOW aka full-blown Avellone teritorry: more 'echoes' from the past effecting the present, a Ravel incarnation and Ron Perlman voicing a tranny dragon (this was back in 2001, Bioware has a lot of catching up to do if you think about it) masquerading as the returned spirit of a barbarian chieftain. What's not to like?

 

[Xeon]

His first con about content I think, is kinda right, I enjoyed IWD but man there wasn't much side activities or side locations or whatever like in the other IE games, almost everything is related to the main quest so kinda linear or something. The only thing I remember is a quest to revive a garden in the Hand area or something, I thought that looked pretty great but I am not sure if it was a vanilla content or Unfinished Business related content.

Having virtually zero plot/character development would be fine if the gameplay/combat was good enough to make up for it.

I kinda enjoyed the combat a lot, it was kinda similar to BG1 more than BG2, so not much magic and high level stuff, was kinda simple stuff. I enjoyed it very much.

Shit inventory management. Every couple of floors of a dungeon you have to walk all the way back to town to sell your stuff.

Man, you should have just installed the bottomless bags to spare you the hassle of organizing inventory.

 

[octavius]

It'a always sad when OCD behaviour prevents people from enjoying a game because they have to pick up and sell every fucking thing they find.

IWD was I think in many ways a reaction to people complaining about the Chosen One + premade companions, the "poor exploration/filler combat yada yada", and "less talk, more fight!" of the BG games.

 

[adddeed]

-Zero plot, zero incentive/motivation to slog through the dungeons because there are no characters to care about or plot to keep you hooked.

There was a plot, try paying attention next time.

-Having virtually zero plot/character development would be fine if the gameplay/combat was good enough to make up for it. (See Diablo II) but...
-RTwP game is tedious, repetitive, and frustrating

Its not. Combat was great in the game.

-The game feels very "small" in scope.

That's not a bad thing.

-Horrible path finding and party AI. You have to tell your characters everything, as they will stand there while enemies attack them after their initial target is dead (unless I missed something in the options menu to change this)
-Shit inventory management. Every couple of floors of a dungeon you have to walk all the way back to town to sell your stuff. (Unless I missed a teleport spell)

No one is forcing you to to sell everything.