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On September 20 2011 07:32 Archers_bane wrote:So I have to get BG1, BG2, BG2 Expansion and install it all to be able to play with the BGTrilogy Mod? I have a lot of time on my hands, might as well get into a badass game 
Yeah, and it's worth every minute of it. Don't be afraid to fiddle with the difficulty if you find the game too hard; the base difficulty is quite unforgiving for new players, especially in certain parts of BG1.
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On September 20 2011 07:32 Archers_bane wrote:So I have to get BG1, BG2, BG2 Expansion and install it all to be able to play with the BGTrilogy Mod? I have a lot of time on my hands, might as well get into a badass game
you also have to have BG1 expansion: tales of the sword coast for BGT to work ;p. But once you get them all installed you can play all the way from BG1 til the end of BG2 expansion as a single game, really really good.
On a side note I have more than 100 mods installed in my BGT game, with insane difficulty, SCS and Tactics mods, increased enemy's HP, THACO, saving throws, AC, resists... and a shitload of quests/big mods. All these mods add hundreds of hours of new content into the vanilla games. Might take me a year to finish this thing ;p. I guess I'm a masochist b/c one of my favorite things to do in BG1 was to wander around aimlessly and then get killed by stray wolves keke.
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Thanks guys, Ill be getting the games shortly then Ill look for the mods. I just have a few more questions before I embark on this epic journey
I am a magic person therefore Ill most likely role a mage/sorcerer whatever it is, what stats do I put into my character from the very beginning because I hate putting some pts into something I have no use for.
If it is my first runthrough of BG, how many people should I have in my party? I keep reading that people are soloing and the less amount of people in party the faster you level...so how do you know how much people are good? I plan on playing on normal difficulty.
and whats the deal with dual-classing? I am kinda worried because I have no clue how/what is a good way about doing this
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On September 20 2011 13:54 Archers_bane wrote:Thanks guys, Ill be getting the games shortly then Ill look for the mods. I just have a few more questions before I embark on this epic journey I am a magic person therefore Ill most likely role a mage/sorcerer whatever it is, what stats do I put into my character from the very beginning because I hate putting some pts into something I have no use for. If it is my first runthrough of BG, how many people should I have in my party? I keep reading that people are soloing and the less amount of people in party the faster you level...so how do you know how much people are good? I plan on playing on normal difficulty. and whats the deal with dual-classing? I am kinda worried because I have no clue how/what is a good way about doing this
If you are playing mage/sorcerer, then max out on int, con, and dex, the rest doesn't matter. Well, you can have a decent str so you can carry more stuff. The thing is tho a mage/sorcerer will be really really weak at the start of BG1 and overpowered by the end of BG2 so you will definitely need at least a 4 man party since this is your first time. The exp is split among the party so you can see why a bigger party would level slower. Besides solo is no fun, it's only for ppl who like to powerlevel, one of the best parts about BG is the great chars that can join you. I recommend a full 6 man party ;p. You definitely can't solo a mage if this is your first time.
the difference between mage/sorcerer is that sorcerers know less spells but can cast more spells and they can't learn spells from scrolls. Mages learn spells from scrolls so they have a wider range but cast less spells than sorcerer per day.
Dual class is only available to humans. All other races multi class. The difference is that for multiclass you choose 2 or 3 classes at the beginning and will level them up at the same time thru out the game so they level slowly as they have to split the exp between the classes. For dual class, you start out leveling with one class and can choose to dual to another class at any point during later. Once you dual class, you will never get any more levels for the 1st class and its abilities/stats become inactive until your 2nd class is higher level than ur 1st. At that time you will be able to use the 1st class's abilities again.
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so is it better to multiclass or dual class as a sorc/mage? I want to be like a DPS/healer
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On September 20 2011 14:15 hai2u wrote:Show nested quote +On September 20 2011 13:54 Archers_bane wrote:Thanks guys, Ill be getting the games shortly then Ill look for the mods. I just have a few more questions before I embark on this epic journey I am a magic person therefore Ill most likely role a mage/sorcerer whatever it is, what stats do I put into my character from the very beginning because I hate putting some pts into something I have no use for. If it is my first runthrough of BG, how many people should I have in my party? I keep reading that people are soloing and the less amount of people in party the faster you level...so how do you know how much people are good? I plan on playing on normal difficulty. and whats the deal with dual-classing? I am kinda worried because I have no clue how/what is a good way about doing this If you are playing mage/sorcerer, then max out on int, con, and dex, the rest doesn't matter.
Intelligence doesn't affect the number of spells that sorcerers can cast, so it doesn't matter at all for a sorcerer until you cast wish or get hit by a mind flayer.
And no character should max out con unless they have a warrior class; having more than 16 con won't benefit a non-warrior.
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On September 20 2011 17:32 Archers_bane wrote:
so is it better to multiclass or dual class as a sorc/mage? I want to be like a DPS/healer
Dual classing creates the overall more powerful character, but you tend to suck for a while while you surpass the level in your old class, it's best to plan out the optimum level from the experience tables, for example with ToB installed you can become a Lvl 8 fighter and still reach max level mage. Multiclassing isn't something I've ever really done though, I find it quite annoying, so someone else is probably better to tell you the advantages of that, I'm fairly confident it's not as powerful in the long run however.
As far as DPS/Healer goes, mages/sorcs don't do any healing in this game, that's the Clerics and the Druids, they have much more limited DPS capabilities however, though the Druid Avenger is very fun imo (note no option to dual/multi for anything but a normal druid). Healing isn't particularly "deep" in the series though, and there are some pretty good Clerics as NPCs, if that influences you at all.
EDIT:
Stats wise, if you want a dual class say Fighter/Mage, you will want high STR CON DEX and INT, basically you need good stats for both your classes. Personally I always feel like a bit of a dick running around with like 7 WIS 9 CHA but I guess they're pretty irrelevant (CHA for sorcs like the guy above says) If you do decide on some kind of dual class cleric or druid, you need high WIS instead of INT.
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Just out of interest, how do you handle certain mage fights in BG2? For me it sometimes feels that I need way too much luck getting the right saving throws.
For example I just fought Tolgerias in Planar Sphere. For the first two attempts he goes for the usual protection spells and before I can breach them out properly he goes for Horrid Wilting and practically instagibs the 90+ HP Minsc. A few attempts later I simply manage to break his spell concentration on the very small margin after the breach hits and before Horrid Wilting finishes. After that it was a breeze of course.
I guess I could try some Death Ward or some other protection on Minsc and do a good spread and pray that nobody else gets targeted or hit badly on that particular fight, but is there any better general approach than simply headbutting yourself to the mage until you figure out his casting patterns and/or get the right saving throws?
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On September 20 2011 18:19 Bacillus wrote:
Just out of interest, how do you handle certain mage fights in BG2? For me it sometimes feels that I need way too much luck getting the right saving throws.
For example I just fought Tolgerias in Planar Sphere. For the first two attempts he goes for the usual protection spells and before I can breach them out properly he goes for Horrid Wilting and practically instagibs the 90+ HP Minsc. A few attempts later I simply manage to break his spell concentration on the very small margin after the breach hits and before Horrid Wilting finishes. After that it was a breeze of course.
I guess I could try some Death Ward or some other protection on Minsc and do a good spread and pray that nobody else gets targeted or hit badly on that particular fight, but is there any better general approach than simply headbutting yourself to the mage until you figure out his casting patterns and/or get the right saving throws?
Well, you can try and just smash him with a couple of Breaches/Pierce Magic like you said and just interrupt him to death, haste is absolutely huge for this. Don't use a fighter to tank mages basically, You can tank with summons if they don't have death spell, or you can tank with a mage with MI and some defenses up. No fighter can really tank Wilting early on.
Strongly recommend trying to fight "Kangaxx" (if you haven't already) once you've got used to them . He takes some finding but well worth it.
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On September 20 2011 18:29 Immersion_ wrote:Show nested quote +On September 20 2011 18:19 Bacillus wrote:
Just out of interest, how do you handle certain mage fights in BG2? For me it sometimes feels that I need way too much luck getting the right saving throws.
For example I just fought Tolgerias in Planar Sphere. For the first two attempts he goes for the usual protection spells and before I can breach them out properly he goes for Horrid Wilting and practically instagibs the 90+ HP Minsc. A few attempts later I simply manage to break his spell concentration on the very small margin after the breach hits and before Horrid Wilting finishes. After that it was a breeze of course.
I guess I could try some Death Ward or some other protection on Minsc and do a good spread and pray that nobody else gets targeted or hit badly on that particular fight, but is there any better general approach than simply headbutting yourself to the mage until you figure out his casting patterns and/or get the right saving throws?
Well, you can try and just smash him with a couple of Breaches/Pierce Magic like you said and just interrupt him to death, haste is absolutely huge for this. Don't use a fighter to tank mages basically, You can tank with summons if they don't have death spell, or you can tank with a mage with MI and some defenses up. No fighter can really tank Wilting early on. Strongly recommend trying to fight "Kangaxx" (if you haven't already) once you've got used to them . He takes some finding but well worth it.
Yeah, this is my second playthrough on SoA and I'm definitely looking forward to see Kangaxx fight again. Right now I'm mostly looking for ways to improve my tactical understanding so that I wouldn't have to rely as much on getting lucky with some critical save rolls and such.
As for summons, I'm still a bit indecided. They easily end up being sort of pre-emptive decoys to abuse the AI (althought probably even more so in BG1 end fights). I certainly can use them if necessary, but I'd certainly like to avoid using them whenever I've got other viable options.
Thanks for the advice, I didn't know fighters were that bad at taking the Horrid Wilting. I'll try something different next time
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On September 20 2011 18:19 Bacillus wrote:
Just out of interest, how do you handle certain mage fights in BG2? For me it sometimes feels that I need way too much luck getting the right saving throws.
For example I just fought Tolgerias in Planar Sphere. For the first two attempts he goes for the usual protection spells and before I can breach them out properly he goes for Horrid Wilting and practically instagibs the 90+ HP Minsc. A few attempts later I simply manage to break his spell concentration on the very small margin after the breach hits and before Horrid Wilting finishes. After that it was a breeze of course.
I guess I could try some Death Ward or some other protection on Minsc and do a good spread and pray that nobody else gets targeted or hit badly on that particular fight, but is there any better general approach than simply headbutting yourself to the mage until you figure out his casting patterns and/or get the right saving throws?
If you want things to be much easier against mages, recruit Keldorn in your army. His True Sight and Improved Dispel abilities are extremely good against mages.
And, like another guy posted already, Breach and similar higher levels spells are your best friend in taking down enemy mage protections.
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On September 20 2011 18:19 Bacillus wrote:
Just out of interest, how do you handle certain mage fights in BG2? For me it sometimes feels that I need way too much luck getting the right saving throws.
For example I just fought Tolgerias in Planar Sphere. For the first two attempts he goes for the usual protection spells and before I can breach them out properly he goes for Horrid Wilting and practically instagibs the 90+ HP Minsc. A few attempts later I simply manage to break his spell concentration on the very small margin after the breach hits and before Horrid Wilting finishes. After that it was a breeze of course.
I guess I could try some Death Ward or some other protection on Minsc and do a good spread and pray that nobody else gets targeted or hit badly on that particular fight, but is there any better general approach than simply headbutting yourself to the mage until you figure out his casting patterns and/or get the right saving throws?
I handle this fight by summoning everything I can (usually a couple of bears and some fire elementals), buffing with haste and true sight, breaching tolgerias immediately after he has his protections up and just bum rushing him. Most mages are pretty easy if you get them down fast. With haste you should be able to breach him and pummel him to death, thus interrupting all his spells with no trouble. True sight is handy to use before fighting any mage btw.
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Magefights are actually the one and only thing "Assassins" are usefull... Their Poison works on bows, does ok damage and makes them a joke in general (if you got a weapon good enough to actually "hit"). At least that I remember it, it's been a while since I played an Assassin .
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I think I'm going to play this game, it looks great.
Can anyone tell me what the most fun class to play is between Monk, Kensai, and Assassin? I'm looking to play on a high difficulty and I want to play a class that is fun. Probably going to run through with a party.
Also, if someone has already linked the mod to play all 3 games as 1 game, please quote it for me. Any necessary mods as well.
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For a first run, the Vanilla version is totally OK I think, there's so much to discover anyway, you probably won't get it all (and in fact, you can't, due to choices and class related quests).
Also, if you don't plan on soloing the game, the fun to play your main class isn't THAT relevent as you'll have to play up to 6 characters.
I didn't play monk in BG2, only in Neverwinternights. The monk is a good all-around class, but can be frustrating to play as first character due to being better with fist than any other weapons, and wearing no armor. It was OP as shit in NeverwinterNights though, or the game was just ridiculously easy anyway. It has some stealth and detect trap ability, although I believe you don't get bonus damage from attacking stealthed.
I played Kensai, it's a warrior with no armor that have abilities to hit better. Probably fares well as a DPS in a group, but as I dualed it to mage and soloed the game, I don't know about the fun involved in that. For me it seems pretty simple to play (I mean it's just a DPS melee, you basically just hit monsters with it.), so not very "fun".
Assassin may be the best choice for a fun gameplay experience. The thief always has a huge role (lockpicking, scouting, looking for traps...) and the x6 (I think, may be more) damage for attacking in stealth mode is pretty awesome. Also, can set traps ! Plus the thieves classes get a huge buff once they reach the range of level of BG2:ToB, as they can use any item in the game.
So yeah, to sum it up I'd say if fun for you = more than one dimensionnal gameplay for your main character, definitely go Assassin > Monk > Kensai.
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First: I doesn't really matter if you fill up your party. Your HC is not stronger (at least not much) than the NPC's.
But anyway:
For pure fun whiteout too much game knowledge I wouldn't pick something with too much restrictions or/and to complicated.
So, my picks would be:
Fighter/Thief dual or Swashbuckler-Thief... It's, depending on your viewpoint, a thief that can actually fight or a weaker fighter with a lot more extra options depending how you use your Thief-Skillpoints (there is no NPC like that in the game). Assassins mainly have the better backstab and the Poison going for them but they fight worse (I liked mine back then)...
Shapeshifter-Druid (you have tons of spells but even when not using all of them perfect are more than usefull thanks to strong shapeshifting - There is also an NPC ingame that has this class but he is also BORING, don't take him).
Inquisitor-Paladin (best Paladin class and "newbs" tend to have most problems with Mage-Enemies, that’s where this one shines, but if you play a good party you can get one anyway...) or "normal"-Paladin (some spells, good fighter). But be VERY careful what you do, if you act evil your pretty fast won't be a paladin anymore :/.
Bard, he can do anything "meh", played right they are beasts . Harlequins seem pretty broken in some encounters... There is a Bard NPC in the game but he has a subclass that does not play "very" Bardlike and only really shines when played in one way (defensive whirl uber AC)...
Ranger, gets some spells and is a decent figher (there are 2 in game, but one is to retarded to really get spells, but has probably the best lines in game, and the other is a subclass that is a bit like a Fighter/Thief and is BORING, don't take him :p).
Others:
Fighters/Barbarians/Monks are pretty boring "click on enemy, watch him hit the guy", Monks and Kensais, while strong, are extermly restricted in their choises so I would not take one of these because not being able to use that cool armor/weapon/whatever can be annoying . In BG2 there is actually only one "true" fighter and his totally evil but fun (and very decent statswise)
Mages:
Are a bit complicated and there are plenty of them in the game (Edwin, Imoen, Nalia, Aerie (Cleric/Mage dual), Jan Jansen (Thief/Mage dual)).
Clerics:
There are 3 in game (Viconia which has probably the best romance/character, Anomen (fighter/cleric dual and the gayest char to ever walk around in a PC-Game), Aerie (mage/cleric dual, romanceable)) and they are pretty similar to Druids.
As for mods:
The newest Patch and the Baldurdash fixpack (there is another one, there are 2, one is better... I don't know which one as I can't check from here) and Unfinished Business (moer quests/char interactions and so on that "should have been in game but did not make it".
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I played through the game as a fighter/mage. I found that once i got a lot of HLAs the game became almost too easy, pop imp haste and critical strikes and everything just blows up. with the right gear even soloing the game becomes easy. I read that Sorcs built properly are really deadly as well but have yet to try one out.
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"Fun" classes. I would guess those would be the ones with more choices.
If you plan to play from BG1 I would suggest Fighter/Cleric as 1st choice as there are no good clerics in BG1 to find except a evil pure cleric and a fighter/druid. This character will give you access to all weapons and armors, will be good enough in melee or ranged combat (depending on what you want to focus on) and will have access to lots of buffs and healing spells. Characters like Ranger/Clerics will make an even more powerful choice but since you can get a fighter/cleric NPC probably less useful for BG1. For most choice you can play Fighter/Rogue/Mage, but this character will progress real slow in all of those classes (as all xp you get is split equally by those 3 classes). But this is a good solo character once you know what to expect.
For BG2 I would suggest Sorcerer. Most fun class to play for higher and high levels. Access to enough spells and plenty to cast before needing to rest. The only problem is once you choose a spell you cannot exchange it for another. This class needs for you to either know what is coming or just have really smart choices. You always need to choose spells that look like they will be useful at all levels or later. But done well this character is really powerful and fun. As mentioned, druid shapeshifter is fun as you can instantly turn from a DPS caster to a melee beast.
But most fun in BG games is gained from collecting the perfect party for your way of playing, be it either fighter heavy, caster heavy or something more balanced.
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I've always find mage bosses easy as pie because of the ToB/SoA spell where you can create pockets late, and early game you can manually do it. Early on, it's quite easyto get the counter spell before you face any bosses that cast the spell. The issue is do NOT rely on any tanks against mages, buff buff buff and buff 1 person until he wont get affected by anything (keldorn works) and it makes you invincible almost. Mind Flayers are the only true enemy that makes me rage.
only time i ever clua consoled was for an extra Trigger spell so i could get 3 mages with it on a only mage group :D
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On September 20 2011 23:15 darklight54321 wrote:
I've always find mage bosses easy as pie because of the ToB/SoA spell where you can create pockets late, and early game you can manually do it. Early on, it's quite easyto get the counter spell before you face any bosses that cast the spell. The issue is do NOT rely on any tanks against mages, buff buff buff and buff 1 person until he wont get affected by anything (keldorn works) and it makes you invincible almost. Mind Flayers are the only true enemy that makes me rage.
only time i ever clua consoled was for an extra Trigger spell so i could get 3 mages with it on a only mage group :D
Actually Mind Flayers are easy, you just cast Mordekain Sword and send them to kill them all
Greater Beholders are much tougher if you don't have that reflection cloak or protection from magic spell and know which school to put protection against.
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EPT
