First time Baldur's Gate

[Anonymous No.5086690]

So /vr/ I never finished BG and I want to have fun with it and not "cheese" through it.

Recommend me a fun build to play both games back to back.

I'm not using any mods (GOG version)

[Anonymous No.5086691]

Beamdog is a guilty of a number of different crimes. Here are the major ones.

1. The Enhanced Editions are essentially a collection of free mods that had existed for nearly twenty years. Beamdog gathered them all up, slapped "Enhanced Edition" on it and resold it as a new product. There's very very little in the Enhanced Editions that wasn't already out there, and most of it is stuff you don't want (like obnoxious character outlines).

2. The games didn't sell so well and the originals were still far outselling them, even twenty years after their release, so Beamdog had EVERY digital distributor stop selling the originals and ONLY sell the Enhanced Edition. If you want to buy a digital copy of the originals now, they're "bundled" into the Enhanced Edition. Now these scumbags can claim sales from people just wanting to buy the originals as their own.

3. The infamous 600+ bugs on launch. The game is still riddled with bugs (as even a perfunctory glance over their forums show) but the fact that it took nearly two years for them to get a game that had been working fine for 20 years to reach playability after launch is telling of their wild incompetence.

4. This is where we get to the ones that really piss people off. Beamdog couldn't just remaster the game, they had to fuck with the content too. New dialogue for existing NPCs like Jaheira, Viconia, Safana, Kivan, et cetera was written in to make the characters more progressive and leftist friendly. Beamdog shills will argue that "adding content isn't changing content XDDD" but it is when the new content changes the core personalities of the existing characters. This is in addition to adding a slew of their own LGBT (hitherto there were none in Baldur's Gate) NPCs, all flooded with OP attributes and magic items to encourage people to play them despite their cancer.

5. Siege of motherfucking Dragonspear.

[Anonymous No.5086693]

>>5086691
I'm not using EE senpai, I'm not stupid.

[Anonymous No.5086695]

>>5086691
>This is where we get to the ones that really piss people off. Beamdog couldn't just remaster the game, they had to fuck with the content too. New dialogue for existing NPCs like Jaheira, Viconia, Safana, Kivan, et cetera was written in to make the characters more progressive and leftist friendly. Beamdog shills will argue that "adding content isn't changing content XDDD" but it is when the new content changes the core personalities of the existing characters. This is in addition to adding a slew of their own LGBT (hitherto there were none in Baldur's Gate) NPCs, all flooded with OP attributes and magic items to encourage people to play them despite their cancer.

[Anonymous No.5086760]

bump

[Anonymous No.5086770]

I always enjoyed Paladin.

Play BG1 vanilla, don't use one of the conversions that puts it into the BG2 ruleset

[Anonymous No.5086784]

>>5086691
Modding the original is a hassle and not worth it. In the end EE does the job. Stop hating on new stuff just for being new. Sucking tedium up doesn't make you cooler.

[Anonymous No.5086819]

>>5086690
Stalker dual classed to Cleric at level 13. Use Quarterstaffs or Warhammers.

[Anonymous No.5086820]

>>5086784
EE does have autoloot and you can also just murder the added characters

[Anonymous No.5086839]

>>5086820
In the end, a modded original game just ends up being EE so it doesn't really matter. Purists hate on EE waaaaaaay too hard I think it's because they hate all the QoL features it brings and how they just had to deal with the tedium of the original game.

Having more comfort is not a bad thing.

[Anonymous No.5086881]

>>5086770
>>5086819
Mmm so I should start as a Ranger in BG1 correct? Why cleric instead of,say, mage? It sounds fun btw I will try

[Anonymous No.5087261]

>>5086691
4 is false. I have played BG2 and BG2EE extensively and the original BG2 dialogue from all original characters in all scenarios is preserved. The only time any original BG2 party member or NPC says anything in BG2EE that they don't say in BG2 is when there's interaction with one of the new EE characters, whom you can simply ignore and never interact with, which solves that problem. All the other points are true.

[Anonymous No.5087263]

>>5086690
Fighter is easy for a newbie, high strength for beating things and carrying heavy stuff.

Also some tips:
>Khalid is a very mediocre fighter, and Jaheira is a substandard Fighter crossed with a VERY substandard caster (paltry spell selection, very few spell slots), skip them or ditch them when you get the opportunity.
>Non-Magical weapons may break in use, until you can source some enchanted ones (+1, etc), keep a few spares around.
>If you get caught breaking the law, reload your last save. Lawmen will hunt you like the Predator, never ceasing, and probably killing you sooner than later. Crime pays, but only if you don't get caught.
>If you're looking for a good healer and decent fighter, seek out Branwen at the Nashkel carnival.
>Minsc is actually a quite good fighter, but he has some pecularities in where he will turn on the party. Pick him up after you've done the mines, and then make sure to go to the Gnoll fortress to find Dynaheir, as he asks (she's a decent mage), after this you're golden.
>Xharacters using bows and other ranged weapons should be situated in the rear position of the party.
>Assign AI scripts to all your party, give your caster a script which makes them pro-active in casting spells, but also self-preserving, give bowmen a suitable script for keeping their distance, unless they're also good at close combat. Give your melee fighters an aggressive, but reserved script, making them pursue enemies, but not so far as to run away and get into trouble.
>Be careful with area of effect spells and ammunition, a poorly thought out use of Fireball or Arrow Of Detonation can cause unwanted casualties, which means you can become a wanted criminal.
>Watch the FUCK out for nymphs and basilisks.

[Anonymous No.5087265]

>>5086784
EE isn't the worst thing ever, but there's reasons to not like it.

[Anonymous No.5087274]

How about you use Disable Enhanced Edition NPCs?

https://github.com/Argent77/A7-NoEENPCs

[Anonymous No.5087282]

>>5086881
Ranger is basically a specialized fighter, they can be quite good, while being a bit more flexible than a paladin.
They can learn some Cleric and Druid spells as they grow in level, they can sneak if in light armor, and of course they can Fight as good as any fighter.
For a Racial Enemy, personally I would select Spiders, because you'll be dealing with a lot of those bastards in chapter.
There's at least two good Rangers you can find, so an idea is to either go full Fighter or something else, or pick up a Ranger buddy and thus have two good heavy hitters.

Clerics are good, they can fight, wear good armor, and learn some nice spells. There's however at least two available Cleric characters you can seek (one Good alignment, one Evil alignment). That said, having two Clerics in your party doesn't have to bad, as you can heal more, so if you play a Cleric, don't entirely discard the idea.

[Anonymous No.5087343]

>>5086881
I don't know if you have a lot of experience with D&D, but ever since the end of second edition AD&D (which is what BG is based off of), cleric has been easy mode. Clerics get good armor, good weapons, and have spells that rival (or even outclass) those that arcane spellcasters get. Only allocate one spell slot to healing - the rest should be bullshit spells like Bless which turn your party into killing machines.

[Anonymous No.5087349]

>>5086881
Ranger isn't as good at fighting as fighter but they can buff and hide and cast some utility stuff and the stalker can backstab and cast haste. This gives you a bunch of options for ~fun~ and shenanigans or a little bit more flexible party.

A ranger that suits the situation (your situation is gonna be undead or demons when it's at it's worst and most annoying) is typically a smoother ride than playing fighter.

Cleric is really strong as a single class in the same way that mage is, but since you will definitely have both of those by recruiting someone unless you hate yourself, making your MC a Fighter or Ranger kit until they get all their hit dice and # of attacks at level 13 and then dual classing to mage or cleric will open a whole boatload of synergies to make it so your MC never dies ever and is always super safe and killing dudes really hard (provided your single class cleric and mage do the heavy lifting of being able to cast your essential spells and win spellpower rolls)

[Anonymous No.5087385]

>>5087263
>
>Khalid is a very mediocre fighter, and Jaheira is a substandard Fighter crossed with a VERY substandard caster (paltry spell selection, very few spell slots), skip them or ditch them when you get the opportunity.
Khalid only needs the 18/00 Strength gloves to be okay and you can easily fix him to the point of becoming one of the better frontline characters, also he has a starting pip in Bows which means you can turn him into a strong archer.

[Anonymous No.5087397]

>>5087349
>Cleric is really strong as a single class in the same way that mage is, but since you will definitely have both of those by recruiting someone unless you hate yourself, making your MC a Fighter or Ranger kit until they get all their hit dice and # of attacks at level 13 and then dual classing to mage or cleric will open a whole boatload of synergies to make it so your MC never dies
What the fuck? Don't recommend late dual-classing to a newbie! Dual-classing with a full 6-man party should be done at level 9 at the latest, and even then, it still requires quite a bit of metagaming to not feel useless during the initial lull in the progression. You're going to frustrate the guy; in a full 6 man party, a 13-level dual will only start regaining their shit in late SoA.

OP, play a strong single-class character - Paladin (Cavalier), Bard (Blade) or maybe a strong multiclass (Halfling or Elf Fighter/Thief, Dwarf Fighter/Cleric, Elf or Gnome Fighter/Mage). Don't dual unless you understand how it's done; multiclasses have a steady power curve throughout the game, although you must expect them to play like, say, an F/M would be "A Fighter with the essential mage abilities that make him a superpowered, versatile entity on their own" and not "a full-fledged caster who hits the jackpot in the late game and roasts shit with fireballs throughout the game", because your caster level will take slower to get there. Don't worry, though, because if you're a powerful fighter on top of a mage and rely on whacking things with a sword while under powerful protection spells (Mirror Image, Blur), anything beyond the 5th spell level is just pure gravy.

[Anonymous No.5087407]

>>5087397
Oh, I just realized you said you aren't playing BG1 with mods, so you don't have kits. That's fine too, purist BG1 is a fun experience. Paladin is as strong as ever, pure Fighter is good, and Bard is actually a really good class mostly because of the spell support and ability to use wands it provides throughout the game, but its iconic Bard song is pretty awful in BG1, so you pretty much never use it; You'll basically feel like a single-classed archer mage who can pick pockets. Now I like that because I understand what can be done with the spell resources given to you, but it might not be the most exciting prospect to someone with a fresh start.

Also, the multiclasses I named here >>5087397
are still very relevant.

[Anonymous No.5087415]

>>5087397
>What the fuck? Don't recommend late dual-classing to a newbie! Dual-classing with a full 6-man party should be done at level 9 at the latest
naw man he'll be pure fighter or ranger all through BG1 and he can do whatever in BG2 he'll be experienced enough by then to make his own mistakes how he wants them

[Anonymous No.5087420]

>>5087415
He'll have to reroll a lot to make sure he has at least 17 in his secondary stat (that he won't use in BG2 at all), he'll be forced to be a Human, and there's also the other problem I mentioned - when he hits level 13 in a full 6-man party (and bear in mind that BG2 has quite a few multiclassed characters as prospective members of the party) and then duals, his character will be in the backlines doing very little for way, way, way too long.

You don't dual at 13 in a 6-man party; most of the time there's no reason to dual at any later point than level 9.

[Anonymous No.5087430]

Whatever you do OP, don't roll ranger. They're a trap class and have been since the dawn of D&D.

[Anonymous No.5087437]

>>5087430
>a trap class
No, that's Thief.
Furthermore, what's wrong with them? In BG1, they have stealth (which is nice to have, esp. for blind playthroughs) and very competent archery and melee, and Charm Animal is situationally useful. They're not the greatest martial class, but they're not bad.
In BG2, Archer kit is the absolute best damage-dealing character until ToB rolls around, and the other kits are also fairly strong.
Idk what the problem is. This isn't the 5th edition, and even then, BG isn't a mirror of the tabletop experience.

[Anonymous No.5087442]

>>5087437
Their spell progression is pretty bad and you don't get a ton of hit dice with them. While they can dish out a lot of damage, they're pretty fragile for what they're specced to do in the early game. If you want an archer, the fighter is a way better option.

[Anonymous No.5087446]

>>5087442
>you don't get a ton of hit dice with them.
>they're pretty fragile
Rangers in Baldur's Gate receive the regular Fighter Hit Die (d10) and both hit a max level of 8. They can also wear plate if unkitted. What are you talking about again?
>If you want an archer, the fighter is a way better option.
Archer kit aside, I'm inclined to agree, but Ranger is not even half bad, not nearly as much as you're ascribing.

[Anonymous No.5087502]

>>5086691
Is this all true?

I've been back on the Aurora toolset for NWN building for a server i used to create content for, after the release of EE. There's been a steady influx of old bugs being rediscovered (stuff patched 10+ years ago).

I've been hearing alot of promises of 'more content to come soon!' but i've seen this a hundred times before. Guys i'm helping out are abit more fanboi than i'd thought and they're certain it's coming.

I've put a few hundred hours back into the toolset since EE released but not much playing, i'm worried i'd be wasting my time if they have a track-record of broken games.

[Anonymous No.5087514]

>>5087502
Not the anon who puts this pasta in every single BG thread, but I do remember that one of the reasons I never bought EE was that the initial release of every EE was an absolute travesty that broke more than it fixed, introduced "bugfixes" no one wanted in certain spots, and was often just lazily and shoddily implemented. IN particular, the "improved multiplayer" feature of EE was acutally worse than the original game's, and that's an achievement.

Beamdog always releases their EEs full of bugs and lack of polish and it takes years for them to get good again, usually off the back of modders; they didn't want to allow support for localization off their own budget and ability, so a whole bunch of multilingual communities that had excellent localized versions (e.g. Polish) basically fixed the script for Beamdog and got all the audio files to play in EE.

[Anonymous No.5087557]

Fun builds? A bard or a mage.

[Anonymous No.5087582]

>>5087502
The only part that's actually true is that each EE has been super buggy on release. Everything else is hyperbole or outright falsehood.

Bugs have been patched out and I've completed several playthroughs on original and patched EE and at this point EE has a number of UI and QoL improvements that I prefer. The biggest issue is that the EE is a bit harder to mod, but the larger mods have been ported over already.

[Anonymous No.5087603]

Planning on doing another playthrough of this, what are the recommended mods for the EE version?

[Anonymous No.5087904]

>>5087274
Hey this is pretty good, it acknowledges one of the biggest reasons people hate on EE.

[Anonymous No.5087959]

>>5086784
>Modding the original is a hassle and not worth it.
based beamdog shill spreading lies as usual
What is a hassle about double clicking files?

[Anonymous No.5087963]

>>5087603
The same as the original, if they even exist for the EE
So UB, npc project, cdt tweaks, scs, 1pp etc.

[Anonymous No.5087974]

>>5087959
You know it's not like that.
If it's so simple let's see your quick tutorial for modding the original.

[Anonymous No.5088012]

>>5087974
Download file
Put it in game folder
Double click on file, read the instructions
Let's see where you struggle fucking tard.

[Anonymous No.5088025]

>>5087502
>Is this all true?
nothing is true on 4chan. nothing. don't be stupid.

[Anonymous No.5088068]

>>5088012
>fucking tard
Man you can't take a game THIS seriously just because someone prefers to play a game a way you don't.

[Anonymous No.5088078]

>>5086691
Based as fuck.

[Anonymous No.5088085]

>>5086691
>3. The infamous 600+ bugs on launch.
Not to be a shill or anything but in all my years playing EE I've yet to encounter a single bug.

[Anonymous No.5088095]

>>5088068
I'm calling you a fucking tard for spreading lies. Not for playing the EE. You fucking passive-aggressive, dishonest tard.

[Anonymous No.5088102]

>>5086691
based beamdog copypasta

[Anonymous No.5088103]

Speaking as someone who bought BG1 and BG2 on launch, the EE are both perfectly playable. The only problem with the games is Beamdog pushing their progressive agenda into the game instead of ensuring a smooth launch.

OP, play a Paladin. If it gives you a kit choice, choose Cavalier or Inquisitor. Inquisitor is OP as fuck.

[Anonymous No.5088106]

>>5088095
I wasn't even him, I just think this whole thread is fun because it derailed so quickly.

[Anonymous No.5088107]

>>5087261
>it's about ethics in heroic adventuring! xDDD

[Anonymous No.5088128]

>>5086784
>Modding the original is a hassle and not worth it.
>>5087974
>If it's so simple let's see your quick tutorial for modding the original.
https://www.gog.com/forum/baldurs_gate_series/newbie_guide_modding_bg1_if_you_buy_bg1_bg2_from_gog/page1
also see this:
https://www.gog.com/forum/baldurs_gate_series/regarding_the_removal_of_the_original_ie_games_from_sale_on_gog/page1

[Anonymous No.5088136]

>>5088106
>lmao I just don't give a fuck lmao opinions xDso funny
Why don't you shut the fuck up?

[Anonymous No.5088149]

>>5088136
Imagine being this mad defending your nerd game.
I can smell your fat from here typing furiously.

[Anonymous No.5088156]

>>5088149
Imagine being so braindead you actually have fun posting retarded bait that even a 12 years old would find pathetic

[Anonymous No.5088226]

>>5088156
>Stop deviating others from playing my game the way I say it's right

[Anonymous No.5088231]

>>5088103
Finally someone who doesn't get overly mad with people prefering the EE.
I like you.

[Anonymous No.5088235]

>>5088149
>anime reaction image
>calling someone a nerd

Ok then

[Anonymous No.5088443]

>>5086691
Every BG thread, without fail there you are with your stale pasta. You seriously need to get out more you pathetic waste of carbon

[Anonymous No.5088529]

>>5088231
Beamdog are pieces of shit and deserve none of our money but the EEs are certainly playable if you ignore their "original content do not steal." I suggest piracy.

[Anonymous No.5088654]

>>5088529
Good old downloads is your friend if you're gonna blackbeard the games

[Anonymous No.5088740]

Wow this thread was dead on arrival, some people should really contain their butthurt to /pol/

[Anonymous No.5089108]

>>5087437
hey thief is my favorite class asshole

[Anonymous No.5089112]

>>5088012
>read the instructions
you know he can't read

[Anonymous No.5089121]

baldur's gate is overrated, fucking soap opera for casuals of a game

[Anonymous No.5089126]

>>5089108
yeah
and its a trap class
get it
thieves find and set traps

[Anonymous No.5089167]

>>5087385
Yeah, but I'd rather use those gauntlets on Viconia or Branwen, and I don't want to be stuck with Jaheira, jesus.

[Anonymous No.5089176]

>>5089167
Khalid is a stronger fighter than either of those and clerics can self-buff strength, tho
and you can just murder someone from a pairing to forcibly separate them
point is Khalid is okay

[Anonymous No.5089190]

>>5089126
I'd honestly rather solo the entire game as a thief before I'd ever play it in a full party that doesn't have one.

[Anonymous No.5089192]

>>5089167
>>5089176
Khalid is perfectly acceptable but Kogain is obviously a better frontliner.

I usually take Imoen, Kogain, Garreth, Viconia, and Edwin when I play neutral.

[Anonymous No.5089214]

>>5089192
>Garreth
>>5032609

[Anonymous No.5089451]

>>5088085
Also in all my years ive never encountered a bug in the vanilla versions i actually encountered a bug in BG2ee. And the version i had was so fucked up i couldn't even fix it using eekeeper,consoles commands etc.

[Anonymous No.5089459]

>>5087904
Yes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dl3jeuZ7Ujs

[Anonymous No.5089960]

>>5086881
No, rangers are pretty shit. Stealth(when wearing shitty armor), racial enemies, free point in duel wielding are inconsequential gimmicks, and low level druid spells hella late in the game are inconsequential gimmicks. And aside from all of this they do everything that fighters do, just many times worse! Less health, less damage, slower advancing, etc.

However they do have one debatable exploit that sets them a part, and that's if you start off with a human ranger, and then dual class it into a cleric you'll be able to cast druid spells from your cleric spell slots. Also, the ranger Archer kit, available in the second game is solid as well.

You want to play without cheese though, so just go with a Fighter or a Paladin.

[Anonymous No.5090025]

can anyone help me? trying to play icewind dale on windows 10. it worked the first time launching it from the installer prompy after it finished, but i cant get it to start from the exe or shortcut it makes it opens and freezes doesnt crash.

[Anonymous No.5090027]

>>5090025
not enchanced btw

[Anonymous No.5090046]

>>5089176
Self-buffing means they also can't carry heavy shit 90% of the time, if I give my Cleric the gauntlets they'll hit hard in combat while being able to carry a bunch of things in addition to their heavy armor, as well as potentially having another spell slot free.

>and you can just murder someone from a pairing to forcibly separate them
I'm not THAT much of a murder hobo.

>>5089192
Who was Kogain now again?

[Anonymous No.5090142]

>>5090046
Kagain.
The Lawful Evil Dwarf Fighter with naturally regenerating 20 constitution.
Give him the dexterity gauntlets and he's far and above the best tank in the game

[Anonymous No.5090152]

>>5090142
Also relevant: Dex Gauntlets. Not Strength ones.The job of your main melee dude is to soak up every hit.

[Anonymous No.5090197]

>>5090142
Ah, where did I find him now? Beregost?
Though I generally like keeping my party somewhere between good and neutral, how picky is he about me being a goody two-shoes?

[Anonymous No.5090223]

>>5090197
if he starts getting really upset you can just murder an innocent yet annoying person somewhere and he'll calm down. Generally if you stay in the neutral range of reputation everyone will sort of tolerate things, but my favorite mods are the ones that just completely stop your nakama from fighting each other or bickering constantly or complaining about stuff.

[Anonymous No.5090242]

>>5089960
>rangers
>less health
how

[Anonymous No.5090262]

>>5090242
Because they have less levels.

[Anonymous No.5090264]

>>5090197
Yeah he's in one of the Beregost buildings. Top Westish from memory.

[Anonymous No.5090267]

>>5090262
except they don't, both ranger and fighter cap out at level 8 within bg1 XP cap