/vr/ - Retro Games

>>8708080
>on the Steam Enhanced Edition version, not the 1998 release.
why would you admit that on /vr/?

>>8708080
>enhanced edition
Anon... Really?

>>8708080
ignore... the haters. enhanced is solid for your first time through. it has nice mods already built in for you.

just play it. save a lot in different slots and don't rush.

>>8708184
>ignore... the haters.
here redditor... take this.

>>8708080
I would ignore the new companions, they are too intrusive and don't really fit with the rest. There is a mod to remove them but I don't think you should install that after you started the game.
The enhanced edition is ok, it's still mostly the old game.
The first Baldur's Gate is a lot of exploration of empty areas. The second is tighter, although at the beginning there are too many quests.
Some companion don't mix well together because of their alignment, some will kill each other after some time.
Party balance is key, unless you really know the game, like those solo run players.

Enhanced Edition is kind of like a halfassed build of TuTu (BG1 running in BG2) with a bunch of shitty Original Character Donut Steel tacked onto it. You can fix up EE some by turning off a bunch of superfluous shit in the options, like needless extra healthbars, but really to make it even decent you need to patch it some to restore the old cinematics, and to delete the incredibly shitty new OCs from the game. There's utilities you can get which do this job for you.

What you get then is kind of a rough, but not actually awful build of TuTu, but you're still running at BG1 running in BG2, which has its appeal and its fun (especially if you like powergaming), and the advantages of your character transferring very cleanly from the first game to the second once you beat it, but the gameplay really ends up very different for it. BG1 is pretty firmly D&D E2 in gameplay and all, while BG2 is halfway towards D&D 3E.
If you can, I would honestly suggest trying to find and get the original BG1 to run (you can patch in a few things like zooming and what not), then go to BG2, then at some point starting a new game in BG1EE or TuTu (then moving moving that character to BG2/BG2EE), because you'll better appreciate the difference of what it's like to use BG2 class kits in the first game.

BG2EE would also require some of its own fixing, ripping out the same shitty new characters and what not.

>>8708080
same here playing it with a buddy in coop but why is it so damn fucking hard everyone is op as fuck only fuckton of save scumming helps

>>8708632
There's a difficulty slider in the options.

>>8708080
enhanced edition is fine, iv finished the original game sometime in the 90's and I finished the enhanced edition. both are essentially the same minus some minor alterations. just ignore the new characters and you're golden.
also the second game is even better than the first. but you should finish the first and then export your char onto 2 or even siege of dragonspear.

you should talk to neera, get her to join and steal the gem bag off her, it's the only one in the game unless you cheat then you kick her ass out

>>8708760
Its on normal but feels like ultra hard

>>8708853
Fucking zoomers man.

>>8708874
i fucking knew it some one would say it
whats normal on getting fucking raped by the RNG and dying with one spell/hit

>>8708632
Use support magic. Spells like Fear and Grease can turn a gangbang into an easy victory

if you want to make it real easy just get the fireball necklace from the circus vendor

>>8708609
>BG2 is halfway towards D&D 3E
LOLWUT
You're thinking of IWD2, anon

>>8708921
>whats normal on getting fucking raped by the RNG and dying with one spell/hit
The fact that you've never played d&d.

>>8708853
>>8708921
No you don't know how to play BG. Once you figure it out it gets a lot easier. protip: you're not supposed to charge shit and just hit them until they die if you're level 1

>>8708969
>>8708981
thanks for the tips
>>8709013
no shit sherlock
>>8709018
im lvl 5/6 or something in chapter 5 right now
i still save scum with my friend into oblivion so we both "don't got it"

>>8709035
learn how to kite or bait the enemy. also learn magic. magic is the #1 best fighting ability in the game. lvl 1 spells are better than lvl 2 often. use sleep, also known as command for clerics. you should have at least one clerics in your party depending on who you asked to join you.

get a bow+1 or sling +1 asap and give that to whoever is proficient. also get yourself a magic weapon...there is a sword +2 fairly easily attainable early in the game

try to find good armor, you can find an ankheg armor on the ground in nashkel

>>8708806
>minor alterations
I don't agree at all, many of the class kits from BG2 give you some serious advantages. Berserker has Enrage, a daily ability which not only boosts your attack and defense, but makes you immune against charm, hold, petrify, entangle, fear, sleep, etc, and that lets you dominate the hell out of quite a lot of combat encounters which otherwise would have been harder. As you level up, you get more of them to use in a day as well.

Normally, you would have to get a boost like this with multiple casts by Mages or Clerics, and they'd take more time to do it, whereas Enrage is instant.
It's fun to play this way, but it's really disrupts much of the game balance.

>>8709008
Ain't it basically E2.5?

>>8709053
Good tips.

>>8709067
>Ain't it basically E2.5?
No, it's still the same E2.0 that BG1 uses, THAC0 and all.

>>8709035
there is a mace +1 which has special abilities its in some random house in Beregost. also try to highlight some areas often as there is often hidden loot especially in BG1. random places like the middle of a rock or in the center of a tree. you can sometimes find special gear that way.

look inside every nook and cranny (without alerting guards) you will either find good loot or find money and spell scrolls

>>8709053
yeah without npc baiting we would never ever made it this far. also magic very useful, but i cant throw the spells like candys on all enemys. We had a magic weapon once but used it on an hard enemy but it broke down and is now completly empty and unusable. will check out the bow/sling and try to find the ankheg armor, thanks
>>8709093
will check out

I just started this game and I have no idea what is happening.
The instruction manual is like 200 fucking pages long.

>>8709250
its worth reading over. read about alignments and character sheets like what stats to have

>decide I want to check out the original version
>five discs
>ungodly download speed on archive.org, don't have many CD-R's left

Oh well, completely new to CRPG's but I figured this was a good starting point considering how popular it was back then. Looking forward to it.

>>8709293
the OG version is great although if you're playing on a newer PC maybe try installing the tutu mod so you can view everything in widescreen. there are mods that help with bugs as well. try looking them up as they usually come in combination mixes.

recommended melee weapons: swords
recommended ranged weapons: sling

you can find +2 of each of these weapons some that are unique.
you most likely won't find an axe +2 if its your first time playing, although they come in handy in the next game (bg2)

>>8709293
It's a very solid CRPG, if you're at all inclined to RPGs you'll probably like it.

Are multiplayer games with custom party a thing if you're planning on playing solo? I plan on importing them from BG 1 to BG 2 and then into IWD

The game is hardest right at the start when you <10 HP. As soon as you can actually take a hit the game gets more reasonable in difficulty.

BG2 is better overall, but it's best to play them both

>>8709293
If you're completely new, that's probably a good thing. BG1 aims for open-world enjoyment, and that will have more novelty for you in the CRPG context. Mandatory:
1) Make sure you install the Tales of the Sword Coast expansion (unlike BG2's expansion, this is basically add-on adventures and tweaks for the main BG1 game. No one plays without it installed).
2) Install the official patches.
3) Install the community patches (just search for BG1 fixpack and you'll find it).
There are other mods, in particular ease-of-use things like the widescreen mod mentioned above, but the game should be fine for your first playthrough. Just be forewarned:
- the game is hard as shit at level 1 because everything kills you in one hit. Stick to villages and do non-combat / easy quests, your character is literally more than twice as strong at level 2 and will grow rapidly.
- you will see your character make attacks and miss 90% of the time. This is misleading; most attack animations you see are actually "fake attacks", they are meant to represent the feints and parries that would be present in actual melee combat, so only one out of every several is an actual attack attempt. However, your accuracy will be shit at the start, but better than in Morrowind.
- Read the game manual, because it explains some of the counter-intuitive mechanics. In particular, having a lower armor value is better than a higher one. Same goes for THAC0 (accuracy) and your saving throws (ability to dodge/mitigate spells and other effects).
- Avoid save scumming to get the most out of the game (I promise). Know that the game autosaves every time you leave a major area. You'll see it happen. If the main character dies, the game is over. If a party member dies, you can go to a temple in town and pay for them to be raised from the dead (don't forget to pick their shit up beforehand). There are 25+ people who can join your party, so don't be crushed if one disappears, dies permanently, or leaves.
- Enjoy.

>>8709367
It's a thing. You'll miss out on the special party member quests, abilities, and in-party banter/dialogue in BG2, however. I wouldn't recommend a custom party unless you've done a few runs of the game and want to try something crazy.
>then into IWD
IWD, on the other hand, is designed for a party made from the start. There are no NPCs that can join the party, and it's more combat focused than the BG series, so you might want to save a custom party for that game instead. Note that the level range of BG is about 1-8, for BG2 from 8 - 18 (higher if you move on to expansion), but IWD starts again at level 1 (with an optional high-difficulty mode for high level character imports, but I don't remember what it's balanced to).
More importantly, IWD uses a slightly different ruleset than that of BG (different spell lists, class progression, class abilities, etc.), so you're probably better off making characters from scratch there anyway just to avoid any weird hiccups. IWD2 is based off a different edition of D&D and I wouldn't expect you to be able to import characters in any practical sense from the other games.

>>8709418
>the game is hard as shit at level 1 because everything kills you in one hit
If you're a mage or something, maybe. If you're playing something like Fighter or Cleric, or similar, and you've put 16 to 18 points in Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution, and then went and bought a weapon and piece of armor at the start like you were told, you should be able to handle a lot of the early encounters pretty alright.

Even better if you actually talk to people and get some of the free healing potions at the start, and maybe find one or two more useful things. Taking Imoen with you seems like a given, because she doesn't take no for an answer, and she can provide some ranged assistance.
If you do play as a Mage, you should be pretty well clued in that you should keep out of melee at most times, because even if you decide to put more than just token points into Str/Dex/Con (and that's still worth doing for various reasons), you'll notice that you have completely fuckall options for weapons and armor to begin with.

Of course, there's some mean beginners traps.
Tarnesh commonly kills players their first time because they weren't quite prepared for having Fear cast on them, and then there's that Ogre with the belt fetish.

>>8710456
Not them but I'm playing on core difficulty.
Tarnesh fires off magic missile like 3 times i think he fires off 3 or 4 missile at a time. And yes he casts fear as well as protective magics. He's way harder to kill

Does anyone else go off to kill ankhegs at lvl 1 to gain a boost in xp and sell the carcase for 500 gold at beregost at the start of every game?

I never tried it, but isn't the thief's backstab extremely broken in this game? I read something about killing wyverns in one backstab back in the day.

>>8710508
Wyverns? There is only 1 in bg1. And a few in bg2.
Unless you mean dragons. Which there are very few in both games.

Backstab is only the first hit your thief does when they are hidden. I doubt you can 1hit KO a dragon

>>8710456
>should be able to handle a lot
Yes, if you have high CON and a helmet, you should be able to survive at least one blow from any weak enemy. Impossible to guarantee for a rogue or wizard. On top of that, pretty much any map has at least one enemy that isn't so weak, and you can run into serious trouble even within the towns. Being able to take two hits before dying isn't a huge advantage when you face enemies two- or three-on-one anyway.
I think Tarnesh is genuinely one of the worst-designed pieces of BG1, and I'm sure lots of people dropped the game at that point. He's very possibly the first combat encounter a player will have outside Candlekeep, and is a level 5 (!) mage. Even if you avoid being hit by Horror, each magic missile cast (and he has three) does 6-15 damage, and it can't be avoided or mitigated in any way. Even at max level 1 HP, the most you can have is 14. Keep in mind that you likely have only 13 if you didn't rest after the ambush (and you'd have no reason to do so as a warrior), and less if you took any damage and didn't heal it, expecting to be able to safely rest soon.
>>8710472
No, but speed-runners typically run off to kill the basilisks without any party members at minimal self-risk, get thousands and thousands of XP, and then get any party members they wanted to take advantage of the level scaling.
>>8710508
It's not extremely broken, it's balanced against how shit thieves are in combat when not backstabbing, they still miss often when they try (and if they miss they're in melee range), and some enemies are immune to it.
>>8710645
You can definitely kill both wyverns and dragons in one backstab if you build your thief for it, damage-wise. However, dragons are immune to backstab by default, by virtue of their massive size.