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4825448 No.4825448 [Reply] [Original]

playing this for the first time ever, can I get some tips please? I stepped out of Candlekeep and should I keep these two evil dudes in my party? I'm playing a neutral good guy.

>> No.4825459

>>4825448
Honestly? Play the game blind. Don't come on this board either it will spoil the game for you or you'll end up restarting because you think you missed something/fucked up a stat.

Did you use the manual to give your char good stats? or you just put points and assigned random numbers.
read the manual it helps a lot. also save a lot.

>> No.4825462

>>4825448
Ranged weapons are you friends. If you've never played an rpg game, you need a tank. a tank takes heavy damage from enemies. put him in front. have your character with highest charisma talk to people first. also works with shopkeepers.

>> No.4825470

>>4825448
I would actually say the opposite of >>4825459, follow a walkthrough or at least have a rough idea of what you are supposed to do.

My experience with BG is that I sad down to play the game blind "properly". I played for ages and felt like I was getting nowhere. I snuck a look at a walkthrough and found I'd pissed my time away doing pretty much every irrelevant side quest possible. I ragequit in disgust and never played it again.

>> No.4825471

>>4825448
>I'm playing a neutral good guy.
Your PC's alignment only affects the starting reputation and nothing else. Even if you plan an "evil playthrough" you should make your PC lawful good.

>> No.4825473

>>4825448
to answer your question. the two dudes can be helpful however they will leave if your rep gets too high. you can have a balanced team of both evil and good party members you just have to keep your rep at a neutral level. so randomly you'll have to kill someone sometimes. or try pick pocketing someone and you'll likely get caught, resulting in them attacking you.
theres like 4 parts in the game when this is useful. its never necessary just optional.

>> No.4825482

can someone give me a quick rundown on clerics

>> No.4825484

>>4825470
> I played for ages and felt like I was getting nowhere
I don't believe that. You have a journal for a reason. the game gives you plenty of hints about where to go and what to do. plus most sidequests are in baldurs gate city. if you were there you were at least 60% done if not more depending if you were there the 2nd time.
you only get lost if you have reading disability of some sort.

>> No.4825485

>>4825482
>make decent to good front line fighter or backup tanks
>can use heavy armor and helms
>can heal and buff/ also powerful spells for the 1st game
>rapes undead

>> No.4825505

>>4825485
also note
>not as good as fighter, they get no extra attacks or dmg mods
>limited use of weapons, cannot exceed 2 points of expertise

>> No.4825523

>>4825505
which class and build is decent for a newbie?

>> No.4825530

>>4825523
Pure cleric works well enough.

>> No.4825532

>>4825523
dwarf defender if you want to steamroll thru the game. or cavalier
straight up fighter or berzerker is very good too. you probably won't find the best tanks on your 1st playthrough so id put some points into sword and shield. and yes id equip a shield. the bigger the better

>> No.4825535

>>4825532
what the fuck

>> No.4825536

>>4825523
Honestly it doesn't matter too much. Playing a melee class helps survivability early on, but so long as you recruit some decent companions any class works well in the first game. I'd recommend:

Fighter (plain fighter or multi-class with mage or thief)
Ranger
Paladin
Mage

Game gives you lots of clerics and druids to choose from for healers.

>> No.4825542

>>4825532
>dwarf defender, cavalier, berzerker
Those classes aren't in vanilla BG1.

>> No.4825543

>>4825535
ah youre probably playing the original game then. in that case, straight up fighter. put points in melee weapons. walk up to shit and wrek it

>> No.4825559

>>4825542
>>4825543
forgot to say, put points on constitution and str. two most important stats of fighters.

>> No.4825752

>>4825470
What a pleb the sidequests are pretty importanr for a new player, good items and XP
>>4825448
Try not to follow a guide.
Just read up on character building. THAC0 / builds maybe best party.
And then explore the world. Its pretty small so you really dont need a guide.


Enjoy the beauty, that is Baldurs Gate

>> No.4825757

>>4825448
Go solo Fighter/Mage. (Its OP)

>> No.4826317

Hi! I'm trying to get into the game but I always have a hard time just starting.
Am I supposed to CONSTANTLY save and reload whenever something goes wrong?
Is it really necessary to start using ranged weapons just to have chances instead or really playing my way?

>> No.4826346

>>4826317
> Am I supposed to CONSTANTLY save and reload whenever something goes wrong?
No, although if you die a lot then yeah...

> Is it really necessary to start using ranged weapons just to have chances instead or really playing my way?
If you're dying constantly then yeah you might try using some ranged weapons. Even if you have a party with all fighters, ranged attacks are valuable because you can far more easily focus fire on a specific target, which is absolutely what you should be doing if you don't have other means of crowd control.

>> No.4826434

I reccomend you pick up the AD&D 2e handbook to get a greater understanding of the mechanics

Also play the enhanced version if you're using a modern system

Also also make a Fighter/Mage multiclass, makes the game much more fun

>> No.4826441

>>4825757
I wouldn't do this, the game is more fun when you have to work for it. The game is challenging compared to games of today, but, relative to its time, it's not hard at all, so for most people here it will be a comfortable challenge, nothing stressful. Most fun I ever had was playing bard, strategically luring enemies into unfavorable terrain, pumping up my team with music, etc.

I would advise against going the OP route, there are enough OP characters you can recruit already. Go for the role playing experience.

>> No.4826454

>>4826317
You'll note that stats actually mean something in this game, there's a big difference between arrow and arrow+1. If you've been playing for a few hours and you noticed your range attacks are taking forever to take anybody out, you're probably using underpowered range weapons.

There is a great place to farm fire arrows early on, I won't give it away, you'll know what I'm talking about when you get there. Requires a bit of exploration, but once you start farming from there, you'll notice your ranged weapons will be wiping enemies out pretty consistently.

Early in the game, hand to hand combat will be challenging. Once you get to level four and above it becomes a reliable mode of combat, you won't be dying nearly as much, especially with magical backup (skeletons.) Also, don't be afraid to rest, I spent hours killing myself over and over again because I was fighting while tired when I first played. Time means nothing in the game unless you're on some sort of timed quest, so don't be afraid to rest a lot. Bard song is also very useful, 5 bard song attackers is often stronger than 6 non bard song attackers.

>> No.4826456

>>4826441
What's the ideal stat roll to grind when creating a character?
Sometimes I get over 90 points.

>> No.4826465

>>4826441
What exactly is OP about a solo Fighter/Mage? I imagine it's the easiest SOLO route, but I can't imagine it would be easier than a full party

>> No.4826484

don't use a guide. avoid the expansion tower for BG1 because it's annoying and too grindy.

go in blind. have a blast...it's the best D&D exp in a game today.

>> No.4826524

>>4826484
>it's the best D&D exp in a game today.
gold box games

>> No.4826562

>>4826484
>avoid the expansion tower for BG1
it's literally one of the best dungeons in any RPG, what the fuck are you on?
>>4826465
you don't have to maintain as many characters which is sometimes good and you advance superfast in levels. you hit the BG1 level cap extremely quickly and in BG2 you get access to high level abilities very fast, and you very quickly become a murder machine. your power level is somewhat limited because you only start getting really, really good scrolls in the Underdark, but you can just go there a little earlier and make bank, no one should stop ya.

>> No.4826571

>>4826562
So you can only be OP in BG 2 not in 1
Also isn't being a fighter mage counter intuitive? You can't wear armor and cast spells

>> No.4826602

>>4826562
>it's literally one of the best dungeons in any RPG, what the fuck are you on?

it's a slog and I've had to put away bg because of getting tired of that area. but then again I'm not crazy about icewind dale either. love the sound and graphics. but it's just so combat heavy with very little roleplaying/story.

while planescape is mostly story...I appreciate how BG is somewhere in the middle with a great balance of combat and story.

>> No.4826670

>>4826571
You'll have enough defensive spells that not wearing armor is not a hindrance. There are also robes or bracers that act as armor, or even a few armors that allow spellcasting.

>> No.4826724

>>4826670
In BG2 maybe but what about BG1? Wouldn't you just hit the cap really quickly and be weak for the rest of the game?

>> No.4826737

>>4826724
I mean, the BG1 cap can get somewhat restrictive, but you will completely destroy enemies that can normally cause a lot of disarray to the party and then by late game you will have a ton of toys to dispatch everything else. At the peak of your power you still can clear everyone, it just takes some more care. Some fights are harder, like the one where you have to protect Belt and Jiia in the Duchal Palace, because you can't cover as many Doppelganger assassins. It's also trickier to deal with traps. It's a mixed bag.

Also, not being able to wear armor isn't a problem - you can just fight from a range, you can just use stuff like Mirror Image / Blur / Stoneskin, and you can also simply put on your armor after you've prebuffed.

>> No.4826741

>>4826737
So for my first time through should I do solo Fighter/mage? If I don't do solo should I still use a fighter/mage?

>> No.4826758

Enhanced or regular?

>> No.4826781

>>4826741
>So for my first time through should I do solo Fighter/mage?
Not recommended. Much of the game's fun is in having a fun party composition and allowing each guy to feel like an unit, plus in BG2 there's plenty of interaction between your dudes.
>If I don't do solo should I still use a fighter/mage?
Half-Elf Fighter/Mage or Gnomish Fighter/Illusionist are both very strong multiclass characters that will fit well into party play as well, you don't have to play them solo. I don't recommend Human Fighter/Mage because dualclassing is confusing and you will feel gimped for a little while, esp. if it's your first time through. Really, on your completely first playthrough, you should just pick whatever appeals to you. Straight Fighter, Paladin, (Halfling / Elf) Fighter/Thief, (Dwarf) Fighter/Cleric, (Half-Elf) Ranger/Cleric, (Elf / Half-Elf / Gnome) Fighter/Mage, all of those are fun to play, and not too difficult for a beginner.

>> No.4826792

>>4826758
5 years ago I would tell you to boycott Beamdog and avoid the EEs like the plague because they broke more than they fixed and the bonus content was pretty horrible. I couldn't play multiplayer and I constantly struggled with crashes and stupid bullshit.

However, Beamdog cornered the market, however shoddy their practices might have been and still are. Mods are coming out that are EE only, there's some neat features like BG's own version of IWD's Heart of Fury. There's hardly a way to get the regular games unless you just pirate them. If you're completely new to BG, you might as well get the EEs, it's fundamentally the same game and the bad EE content is ignorable. If you still have your CDs, you can easily build a modded installation in like 15 minutes that will do pretty much everything EE does without you having to pay 20$ for a 18 year old game with none of the proceedings going to the original creators.

And for what it's worth Beamdog *did* employ some of the top modders, and I like the modding scene so I'm glad they're succeeding. The guy behind Rogue Rebalancing was in charge of Siege of Dragonspear's combat encounters and it's actually the one good thing about that expansion. Most of the hardcore players migrated to the Beamdog forums after the Bioware forums died, and there are some entertaining challenge threads there.

The answer is simple, pirate the EEs

>> No.4826824

>>4826792
Tried playing EE but I can't play it fullscreen, any time it does it zooms in. I tried changing the fullscreen resolution in baldur.ini but it didn't work


any help?

>> No.4826897

>>4826824
redownload another version. the newest one werks
also try playing in window mode if its too slow and zooming in and out.

depends on graphics card. I have 2 pcs similar in power but one doesnt handle the games graphics despite playing original easily. it only works in window mode. while on my other pc it runs flawlessly in full screen mode

>> No.4827025

Is there a JRPG our there with similar complexity?

>> No.4828992

>>4826792
If I happened to have the original BG + expansion and don't feel like pirating, what mods would you recommend?

>> No.4829037

>>4826758
Regular it's not even close

>> No.4829046

>>4827025
Star Ocean 2 is your choice here. The skill allocation system combined with the thousands of items in the game, many of which do insane things or have permanent effects, combined with the crafting system, leads to a great deal of depth when it comes to building each character for dealing with what is 50-100 hours of very challenging endgame sidequests. There is also a private action system which creates multiple sidequests in each town and can have long term permanent effects on the game or endings.

Without a guide, even the most diligent player will be lucky to find 10% of all the non mandatory content in this game on their own.

>> No.4829526

>>4829046
Do you recommend the remake?

>> No.4829565

>>4828992
For your first playthrough BG1 holds up well in just vanilla and some unofficial patches (Baldurdash and all that, just google BG1 unofficial patch), so I wouldn't really recommend much modding except maybe BGT+SCS+Ascension.
I wrote a small list in the last thread of favorite mods and don't feel like replicating it entirely, but
>BGT
BG2 has a much more solid engine than vanilla and having BG1 on BG2 engine is faster, smoother and adds stuff, plus enables BG2 engine mods, like:
>Sword Coast Stratagems II
Essential, makes enemy AI much better, can be a "soft" install for a moderate increased tactical challenge or a "hard" install for absolute balls to the wall metagaming insanity
>Ascension
This is for BG2 to make the expansion better
>Rogue Rebalancing
makes Rogues work more like in tabletop AD&D, removes some of their cheese in favor of more consistency in straight play
>BG2Tweaks/aTweaks
fixes shit, adds QoL stuff, use this you can cut off stuff you feel like is a hassle (for instance with this mod you can have arrows stack infinitely on one item slot)
>Spell/Item Revisions
changes the way stuff works, mostly postiively
>Item Upgrade
brings a new shine on some underappreciated weapon types, good to balance out a difficulty mod
>Item Randomizer
all items are put into random spawns, which prevents metagaming and forces you to adapt more.
>Tactics/Improved Battles/Asylum/Anvil
"I want to get spitroasted"
most if not all of those mods will be customizable in what you want to install and what you don't want to install

>> No.4829572

>>4829565
mods CAN be good. but the way I see it, unless the developers themselves did the mods. its just someone's crazy preference and screwing around changing shit.
it just seems like im playing a fraud instead of the way it was intended to work.

>> No.4829576

>>4829572
most people who are heavy modders or in the modding scene at all are people who love the replay value BG series has and want to constantly enhance it because there's so many things that mods can do to amplify the experience in some ways

SCS provides players hungry for fair tactical challenges a new playground
Ascension is actually written by a BioWare lead writer and is basically a Director's Cut of Throne of Bhaal as he wanted to implement it but couldn't due to execs and crunchtime
mods that change mechanics or add classes add new flavor or switch out stuff that suck are also there for those people

like I said, if you want a "pure" experience, there's absolutely nothing wrong with playing vanilla, except maybe stuff like Baldurdash fixes and a Widescreen mod. but anon asked me for some good mods and here they are. s/he's not obliged to install them at all.

all I can say is is that after playing SCS I can't come back to vanilla BG because I'm a challenge junkie and love figuring out tough fights

>> No.4830550

>>4829526
I always play originals, original Star Ocean 2 has awkward voice acting that's funny and adds to the experience, the newer "polished" experience makes the game far more bland. The original was also weird in that it was so unbalanced that it was kind of balanced, you'd only know what I'm talking about if you play it. The remake just casualizes those elements of it. They take a game that was meant to be bizarre and challenging and polish it up for the lowest common denominator.