Dewos

Dude c'mon, this "guide" is for veteran BG2 people, not noobs True, Pillars changes much, but the funny is indeed to experiment on the first run.

Hi. Ok, lets see. Roughly for the max difficulty I suggest: (lv 1) ACT 1 (lv 4) ACT 2 (lv ACT 3 (lv 10) WM1 Scaled (lv 14) WM 2 Scaled (lv 16) ACT4 Scaled (note: after the expansions the ending boss will be VERY easy anyway, but you can't play WM after ACT4, so...). Like i said, with a high quests' exp count (completition run) plus an optimized full party, the game blind is like: ACT 1: VERY HARD then HARD, ACT 2: HARD, then NORMAL and finally EASY (expecially with the bounties done), ACT 3: HARD then NORMAL (expecially with endless path and optional quests done) WM1 Scaled: HARD then NORMAL. WM2 Scaled: (VERY?) HARD then NORMAL (monks are crazy :D but at the ending you are overpowered ) ACT4 Scaled: HARD *OR* NORMAL *OR* EASY (it depends on how much optimized your party\loot is, and by your level). This is for the "standard" battles, The "boss" battles (usually the optional one... bounties ,dragons, castels..) are "+1" on difficulty in any act: and yes their are the most fun . Like you can see WM is HARDER than the base game, expecially in WM2. But let me repeat: VERY MUCH depends on your level in this game! +1 or +2 levels make a whole world of difference between an almost impossible battle even for a skilled player (yes... winnable but with MANY many attempts and a big RNG luck) and a normal one battle. So, if the game is still too much easy for you, do less quests or use -1 party member. Have fun.

Hi demeisen, thank you for the reply. Surely the order of the quests matters for the difficulty, but I think that you steamrolled the early game on PotD because it was your second run, and you were accostumed with the game mechanics. Anyway I played WM at level 10, after a good portion of the Act III, and the game was challenging at the right amount. I find that some EPIC battles are very funny, but when ALL the battles are "Epic" (you know, when you barely escape death ) every 2 minutes, the game becomes tedious very fast.

Hello there. I just finished the game + exps on PotD difficulty + NPCs only party + High Level Scaling, Blind (first run). Before starting the game I spent a lot of time searching for the right difficulty for a first run: everybody said something different (too easy, too hard etc...), and my fear was to not find the right balance between a "challenging" difficulty or ending in a "cheesy" hell. Now, given that difficulty is subjective, here is my opinion for helping people in the same situation. I'm speaking to "veteran" people (BG2 etc) who know the "basics" (tanks + caster + healer + doors + stategic position etc...) but don't like to cheese the game too much: - Expert Mode and Iron Mode: Expert mode seems to me an artificial difficulty mod, a little extra for hardcore gamers, it doesn't add anything (fun) to the game, expecially for the first run. Perma-death on PotD is also probably impossible for a first-run blind, avoid it! - PotD difficulty: pretty balanced after 25% of the main game. Initially the game is VERY VERY unforgiving and unbalanced without a party of six people. After that, it is the "right" difficulty. Probably on "HARD" I would be happier and less annoyed at the beginning of the game, but then extremely bored. - High level scaling: Enable it: At the ending of the game everything is pretty easy with an optimized party, with some difficulty spike only on the "main" battles (boss, dragons etc...). It is better like this: trash mob battles are very very repetitive after a certain point. - Full party: Completion people usually leave a zone only after they have cleaned everything: please DON'T. Game on PotD is clearly balanced for a six member party, so it is probably a good idea to make hirelings in the taverns or (better) avoid extremely hard zones until the party is set up. Quests don't expire, and just following the main story for a bit will get you soon a full party. - Gold and Exp: Reaching the level cap (lv 16) is very easy. Gold is also pleanty (more enemies, more loot), the real problem is that after 60% of the game you do not know WHAT to buy, actually. - NPCs party only: totally doable, also recommended story-wise for a first run. Their stats are bad, but not SO bad, and the items with +3 stat are plentiful in the game. - Party composition: Expecially at the beginning: the more TANKs the BETTER. 4 of 6 party members MUST be able to take a hit. Enemies are everywhere - Stats: To keep it easy: The most important stats are ACCURACY (for nuker) and DEFLECTION (for tanker). Everything else is secondary and there is time to understand the mechanics, but these two must bump as soon as possible for surviving at this difficulty. Tip: shields and enchantments are nice. Respect is also a gift. - When to start WM1: Lv 10 / 11. That's all for a spoiler free guide, game is awesome! Have fun