Old school fun with Baldur's Gate 2

The Mad Hatter · Post by **The Mad Hatter** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 1:47 am

Having lost my daily fix of GG posting and unwilling to fill it with study and job searching, I've spent the past few days playing BG2. I had a great game going through most of the Chapter 2 quests until I realized I'd broken the Unseen Eye quest when I didn't follow the priest back to the Temple of Helm. Since that's an important part of the game I restarted. The elven fighter / mage I had before was decent but the half-orc pure fighter is unstoppable. I'm only through two quests and he's already doling out massive damage.

Funky game, wish they still made them like that.

knob · Post by **knob** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 2:45 am

Restart again and go Monk!

After you get far enough into the game and your monk gets higher level and finds the right equipment, he's a beast. Often times, I'd leave the rest of my group behind so they wouldn't take damage and just let him do everything.

The Mad Hatter · Post by **The Mad Hatter** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 7:08 am

I considered the monk route but you miss out on all the cool equipment. I just finished the D'Arnisse Keep quest and my fighter is dual wielding the Flail of Ages and the Frostreaver axe, and with 19 strength he's a one man killing machine. I rolled and rerolled until I could put together a 19/18/19 str/dex/con guy - doesn't say much but doesn't really need to.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 11:17 am

I should return to this game. I played to the end with my mage, then quit before starting the expansion. I think I got 100+ hours out of the basic game and was thoroughly tired of it by the time the expansion started.

BG2 was really one of the high water marks of PC gaming.

Grinfin · Post by **Grinfin** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 11:44 am

My monk (18th I believe) keeps getting beat up in physical fights, although he was untouchable in his beholder fight the other night. I must not be using the right equipment. Minsc, with his armor and flail that slows everything it hits, is my tank.

noun · Post by **noun** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 11:46 am

Playing a pure fighter or pure mage is the most satisfying, as they both have access to equipment that will make them utter death machines by the end of the game.

Be sure to run the mods that give you access to all the stronghold quests!

Dirt · Post by **Dirt** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 11:54 am

I just went with straight Kensai.

rob · Post by **rob** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 2:57 pm

Has anyone messed with the Darkest Day mod? Is it any good? I have it, though haven't tried it out yet. Apparently, it adds a ton of content, though I can't tell if it's a whole new game, or just a very large add-on to the original BG2 storyline. Looks like there's a lot of good stuff in there, just not sure if it's worth getting immersed in BG2 again -

r

Koz · Post by **Koz** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 3:41 pm

Playing as a pure mage is a ton of fun, especially getting into "mage duels" later in the game. Even with a full party, my routine consisted of seeing how fast I could lower all the guy's defenses so my fighters could hack him to pieces.

Kraegor · Post by **Kraegor** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 4:40 pm

someday i'll actually beat BG2....always end up getting distracted by another game when i reach the underdark...havent even touched ToB

I sure loved writing AI scripts...would spend days getting my crew to do exactly what i wanted via the scripts...made battle SOO easy. all my party members performing their exact duties without me having to tell them. yar!

Itsatrap · Post by **Itsatrap** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 8:24 pm

Ah, BG2 -- good times. I found the skald to be quite effective, what with the early access to elven chain +2 and that ludicrously overpowered battle song.

- Alan

Raug · Post by **Raug** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 12:43 am

The second time I played through BG2 I went with the kensai/mage character detailed on the DSimpson guide over at GameFaqs. The fun in it is going through it all with just the one character. You miss the other PC's story stuff, but I found it incredibly fun and a nice challenge.

As for the various mods out there for BG2... I played through the game again a few months ago with the Big Picture Mod that includes all the major ones, but I didn't really care for them to be honest. I could tell that alot of time and effort went into them, and I can appreciate that, but they just weren't anywhere near the quality of the original game IMHO. Also, some of the items and rewards were very imbalancing. YMMV, of course. I know there are some people who enjoyed the mods. One mod of the bunch I did like. The tactics? something or other (I can't remember the name) made some battles harder and/or longer without changing anything story wise, which was fun.

knob · Post by **knob** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 2:10 am

Well, by the end of the game (Throne of Bhaal included), my Monk was around 32ish. So I guess that made a bit of difference. He was a power house. I was so proud of him and Minsc by the end.

But, I didn't miss out on any of the fancy equipment for my monk, because I never knew where to get most of it. I didn't bother reading up on any of the quests for the really badass weapons, and I must have missed them in my normal play.

God, you make me want to play again. OOFE or BSFE or GGFE or WhateverYouWantToCallIt.

The Mad Hatter · Post by **The Mad Hatter** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 10:56 am

Raug wrote:The second time I played through BG2 I went with the kensai/mage character detailed on the DSimpson guide over at GameFaqs. The fun in it is going through it all with just the one character. You miss the other PC's story stuff, but I found it incredibly fun and a nice challenge.

As for the various mods out there for BG2... I played through the game again a few months ago with the Big Picture Mod that includes all the major ones, but I didn't really care for them to be honest. I could tell that alot of time and effort went into them, and I can appreciate that, but they just weren't anywhere near the quality of the original game IMHO. Also, some of the items and rewards were very imbalancing. YMMV, of course. I know there are some people who enjoyed the mods. One mod of the bunch I did like. The tactics? something or other (I can't remember the name) made some battles harder and/or longer without changing anything story wise, which was fun.

Some of the mods are either inspired by or partly written by Bioware programmers on the side. I'd recommend Unfinished Business (adds some elements that were cut at the last minute from the game, like Minsc's Boo quest) and Baldurdash. Baldurdash fixes some problems that were never patched officially.

Flatlander · Post by **Flatlander** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 5:45 pm

Played through using customized sounds for my character. Monty Burns from The Simpsons makes one heck of a voice for a Necromancer.

Mad Hatter- thanks for the tip about Unfinished Business. It sounds very interesting. I think I'll try that out when the Temple of elemental Evil gets through chewing on me.

WPD · Post by **WPD** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 3:10 am

Ahh...Baldur's Gate 2.

Last semester/summer I played through Baldur's Gate once and Baldur's Gate 2 twice, I had a lot of time in the stage of mono that comes between "wishing for death" and "possible to make up all the work I missed".

I found the second time playing through was more satisfying, instead of getting the traditional "power" NPCS I went with the more quirky ones: Anomen, Haer'Dalis, Nalia(even though she is an annoying bitch), Valygar and Cernd being led by my fearless Fighter/Thief gnome.

The Mad Hatter · Post by **The Mad Hatter** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 2:29 pm

WPD wrote:Ahh...Baldur's Gate 2.

Last semester/summer I played through Baldur's Gate once and Baldur's Gate 2 twice, I had a lot of time in the stage of mono that comes between "wishing for death" and "possible to make up all the work I missed".

I found the second time playing through was more satisfying, instead of getting the traditional "power" NPCS I went with the more quirky ones: Anomen, Haer'Dalis, Nalia(even though she is an annoying bitch), Valygar and Cernd being led by my fearless Fighter/Thief gnome.

I'm using Nalia now because I didn't get around to dropping her after the Keep quest. She's not as good as Jan for a thief but she's a better mage. Valygar is an excellent archer, so Minsc is on ice while I see how things go with him. I have Cernd now too since I just finished up at Trademeet - does he ever suck. He's gone as soon as I meet up with Fazzy Menton.

WPD · Post by **WPD** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 3:55 pm

Mazzy was fun, although I have to admit I stuck her with halbreds because I found it amusing to think of a halfling wielding a giant halbred.

jcompton · Post by **jcompton** » Thu Oct 21, 2004 5:06 pm

Raug wrote: As for the various mods out there for BG2... I played through the game again a few months ago with the Big Picture Mod that includes all the major ones, but I didn't really care for them to be honest. I could tell that alot of time and effort went into them, and I can appreciate that, but they just weren't anywhere near the quality of the original game IMHO. Also, some of the items and rewards were very imbalancing. YMMV, of course. I know there are some people who enjoyed the mods.

Sorry to be late to the thread, I only learned about this GG successor on AVault earlier today.

It would be a gross exaggeration to say "just about any mod you could download is better than BP," but it's not a stretch to say that the BP design philosophy isn't one shared by many other modders.

http://modlist.pocketplane.net lists off a whole bunch of other options, and I feel pretty good about recommending anything we offer directly.

WPD:

instead of getting the traditional "power" NPCS I went with the more quirky ones: Anomen, Haer'Dalis, Nalia(even though she is an annoying bitch), Valygar and Cernd being led by my fearless Fighter/Thief gnome.

I'd actually put Anomen high on the "power" list, especially if you remember that he's both a cleric and a fighter. Cast Holy Smite in round 1, then rush in and start beating everybody to death with the Flail of Ages... the kills run up pretty quickly.

Odin · Post by **Odin** » Thu Oct 21, 2004 8:48 pm

The one time I started to play BG2 I had just come off a month or so playing BG1 to completion. I basically finished importing my BG1 characters, but I never actually played BG2. I wonder if I saved my characters and stuff They were pretty kick-ass as I recall.

Sith

Yog-Sothoth · Post by **Yog-Sothoth** » Thu Oct 21, 2004 9:35 pm

Don't worry too much about converting your BG1 party to BG2, since only the main character really comes over and you don't get your stuff back. You can always use Shadowkeeper to regen your main character if you wish.

Anomen isn't a bad cleric if you keep him lawful. He is a pretty good cleric/tank in the end. Viconia is a better cleric, but she's no tank.

My favorite mod is DungeonBeGone. I would have never started BG2 again if I couldn't skip the starting dungeon.

Post by **godhugh** » Fri Oct 22, 2004 10:04 am

I had Valgyar in my last game (beating BG2+ToB with Ascension is tough!) and he was an absolute monster when duel-wielding the Celestial Fury and his original Katana. In fact, I would equip him with the shield that reflects Beholder rays and just empty out huge nests of those guys with just Valgyar. Great fun

.

jcompton · Post by **jcompton** » Fri Oct 22, 2004 10:46 am

Yeah, Valygar and that dual-wielding setup is pretty monstrous. The only potential drawback is that it's harder to get his AC as low as, say, Minsc or Keldorn, so sometimes you have to hope that his blender of destruction takes hold before too many baddies get the solid hits in on him.

Post by **godhugh** » Fri Oct 22, 2004 4:20 pm

He was kind of tough to keep alive before you get HLA's. Once those come into play (Greater Whirlwind!!) he becomes the ultimate killing machine (soloed Kangaxx and the demi-lich in ToB with him). The combination of him and my Wild Mage were able to take down any enemy until I reached the final battle in ToB+Ascension.

BTW, good to see you on here Jason

.

jcompton · Post by **jcompton** » Tue Oct 26, 2004 12:32 am

You never did get around to posting that list of mods you recommended, did you? It was going to be "tomorrow" and then the board went poof.

DD · Post by DD » Tue Nov 02, 2004 5:26 pm

I had planned on replaying this, until I found a showstopping bug - the game simply does not work with a cordless keyboard. Apparently it cannot handle the constant communication between the keyboard and system, so it essentially disables all of the control panel buttons. Since I'm unwilling to crawl around swapping wires to play one game, I'm passing on BG2 for right now...

Eel Snave · Post by **Eel Snave** » Tue Nov 02, 2004 5:36 pm

I couldn't enjoy this game as much as BG1. I got stuck in the opening dungeon. I kept trying, I honestly did, but just...couldn't...do it.

The Mad Hatter · Post by **The Mad Hatter** » Wed Nov 03, 2004 11:21 pm

DD wrote:I had planned on replaying this, until I found a showstopping bug - the game simply does not work with a cordless keyboard. Apparently it cannot handle the constant communication between the keyboard and system, so it essentially disables all of the control panel buttons. Since I'm unwilling to crawl around swapping wires to play one game, I'm passing on BG2 for right now...

I've been playing it with a cordless Logitech keyboard / mouse and have no problems. I think I read something about that problem though, it might have something to do with old drivers.

Two Sheds · Post by **Two Sheds** » Thu Nov 04, 2004 2:07 pm

Man, you didn't even scratch the surface, Eel.

Fellow · Post by **Fellow** » Fri Nov 05, 2004 2:37 am

Eel Snave wrote:I couldn't enjoy this game as much as BG1. I got stuck in the opening dungeon. I kept trying, I honestly did, but just...couldn't...do it.

Okay, seriously. Just... do it. And, if you can't, then get the hack that allows you to skip the first dungeon. You won't get the items from it, but the XP and the money'll be compensated.

I mean, not getting out of the dungeon in BG2, is like not getting out of Candlekeep in BG1. And my brain refuses to believe you'd choose to miss out on the gigantic world waiting for you outside, with.. with... so many.... gghh...

Argh! YOU NEED TO GET OUT OF THE DUNGEON!! *eye twitching*

disarm · Post by **disarm** » Fri Nov 05, 2004 3:28 am

Fellow wrote:
Eel Snave wrote:I couldn't enjoy this game as much as BG1. I got stuck in the opening dungeon. I kept trying, I honestly did, but just...couldn't...do it.
Okay, seriously. Just... do it. And, if you can't, then get the hack that allows you to skip the first dungeon. You won't get the items from it, but the XP and the money'll be compensated.

I mean, not getting out of the dungeon in BG2, is like not getting out of Candlekeep in BG1. And my brain refuses to believe you'd choose to miss out on the gigantic world waiting for you outside, with.. with... so many.... gghh...

Argh! YOU NEED TO GET OUT OF THE DUNGEON!! *eye twitching*

umm...everything he said x2...you've gotta get out of that dungeon before giving up on the game. you're doing yourself a huge disservice if you don't give it a little more time. BG2 still stands as one of my best gaming experiences 8)

msteelers · Post by **msteelers** » Fri Nov 05, 2004 11:45 pm

Fellow wrote:
Eel Snave wrote:I couldn't enjoy this game as much as BG1. I got stuck in the opening dungeon. I kept trying, I honestly did, but just...couldn't...do it.
Okay, seriously. Just... do it. And, if you can't, then get the hack that allows you to skip the first dungeon. You won't get the items from it, but the XP and the money'll be compensated.

I mean, not getting out of the dungeon in BG2, is like not getting out of Candlekeep in BG1. And my brain refuses to believe you'd choose to miss out on the gigantic world waiting for you outside, with.. with... so many.... gghh...

Argh! YOU NEED TO GET OUT OF THE DUNGEON!! *eye twitching*

Oh man, that's hilarious...it's a good thing I'm secure in my nerdhood.

jcompton · Post by **jcompton** » Sat Nov 06, 2004 2:56 pm

I DON'T recommend it for first-time players because the start dungeon is a good place to get comfortable with the game mechanics, but:

http://www.pocketplane.net/dbg is where you'll find Dungeon-Be-Gone, which to date has helped tens of thousands avoid what quickly becomes the drudgery of going through the start yet again. And introduces you to Jasper St. Baird, which is a bonus.

knob · Post by **knob** » Sat Nov 06, 2004 10:24 pm

I loved the first dungeon the first few times around. But yeah, it definitely sucks after completing it three or four times.