Baldur's Gate

[Jinx]

To be honest I really liked him as well, the master/minion conversations in Hordes of the Underdark were hillarious. It's just fun to jump on the bandwagon sometimes .

[random n00b]

I'm still checking out TuTu. I've downloaded it and haven't gotten far in BG1.

 

Thing is, I like BG1. I don't really see a need to change or improve it. I'll be playing BG2 soon enough anyway, y'know?

Suit yourself. If it's not a problem for you to reroll your character for BG2, who am I to say anything?

 

 

Cernd isn't the same as Jaheira in a fight, but he's anything but useless. His werewolf forms are half-decent when he gets corned and once he gets a shapeshift HLA he's a force to be reckoned with. But he's a caster in general. As a caster he trumps Jaheira, as he progresses faster and has higher wisdom. *shrug* I may still take Jaheira though. I haven't played her in quite a while.

The problem I see with Cernd as an un-rebalanced shapeshifter is that as a caster, clerics are generally more useful, with a wider variety of spells. And he can't cast while in his (severely gimped) werewolf form, so once his ironskins wear out, he's in trouble.

 

And, save for the Summon Elemental Prince HLA, most high-end stuff for druids is crap.

 

Cernd bites the big one. His personality sucks and he's a useless druid. If I wanted a druid I would go for Jaheira.

You are just bitter because he prefers trees to girls. Edited April 26, 2008 by random n00b

[Humodour]

I'm still checking out TuTu. I've downloaded it and haven't gotten far in BG1.

 

Thing is, I like BG1. I don't really see a need to change or improve it. I'll be playing BG2 soon enough anyway, y'know?

Suit yourself. If it's not a problem for you to reroll your character for BG2, who am I to say anything?

 

Why would I reroll my character?

 

My stats don't change, my level doesn't change, I get to re-distribute my weapon profs, and I can choose the Blade kit when I import. Plus, those extra 8 stats points from BG1 tomes are nice, especially when they cause 19 Int and 19 Str.

 

Cernd isn't the same as Jaheira in a fight, but he's anything but useless. His werewolf forms are half-decent when he gets corned and once he gets a shapeshift HLA he's a force to be reckoned with. But he's a caster in general. As a caster he trumps Jaheira, as he progresses faster and has higher wisdom. *shrug* I may still take Jaheira though. I haven't played her in quite a while.

The problem I see with Cernd as an un-rebalanced shapeshifter is that as a caster, clerics are generally more useful, with a wider variety of spells. And he can't cast while in his (severely gimped) werewolf form, so once his ironskins wear out, he's in trouble.

 

And, save for the Summon Elemental Prince HLA, most high-end stuff for druids is crap.

 

But I already have a cleric. It's not as though I'll lose power if I take Cernd; all the party members will end up being overpowered I imagine. From memory he did fine in ToB last time.

 

Personally I enjoy playing the HLA elemental shapeshifts. Played correctly they can make mince meat, though I admit they are more capable in the hands of Jaheira, Cernd still holds his own. I'd take Cernd for variety, really. My main point is that he isn't useless just because Jaheira is better. Anyway, we'll see how I feel when I get to BG2 as to whether I take Jaheira or not.

 

Also, as with Jinx, thanks for mentioning the various mods, guys! I'll check them out when I finish BG1.

 

Edit: Oh, and I'm looking forward to using Offensive Spin in BG2 while in Slayer form. Max damage @ 25 STR FTW!

Edited April 26, 2008 by Krezack

[random n00b]

Why would I reroll my character?

 

My stats don't change, my level doesn't change, I get to re-distribute my weapon profs, and I can choose the Blade kit when I import. Plus, those extra 8 stats points from BG1 tomes are nice, especially when they cause 19 Int and 19 Str.

Wait, what?

 

So, when importing from a BG1 save (or CHR file), you get to choose kits if the character belongs to a class that previously didn't have access to them, and also redistribute his stat points?

 

 

 

Edit: Oh, and I'm looking forward to using Offensive Spin in BG2 while in Slayer form. Max damage @ 25 STR FTW!

It's still just 1d8 (+STR bonus dmg)...

[Humodour]

Why would I reroll my character?

 

My stats don't change, my level doesn't change, I get to re-distribute my weapon profs, and I can choose the Blade kit when I import. Plus, those extra 8 stats points from BG1 tomes are nice, especially when they cause 19 Int and 19 Str.

Wait, what?

 

So, when importing from a BG1 save (or CHR file), you get to choose kits if the character belongs to a class that previously didn't have access to them

 

Yep. If I import a Bard I get to choose if I am a Bard, Blade, Skald or whatever the other kit is. If I import a fighter, I can choose Kensai.

 

and also redistribute his stat points?

 

No, just proficiency points. Stat points remain the same, but BG2 doesn't make any changes to stat point distribution anyway. BG2 does not, however, have any Tomes of Knowledge, unlike BG1.

 

Edit: Oh, and I'm looking forward to using Offensive Spin in BG2 while in Slayer form. Max damage @ 25 STR FTW!

It's still just 1d8 (+STR bonus dmg)...

 

So that's only dmg of 8 + 2 + STR during Offensive Spin (about 25 dmg or so)? That's not horrible, but it's not as good as I expected.

 

The HLA druid form is 2D12 (hence my suggestion of Kensai/Druid). Oh well, hopefully the better Slayer forms Ascension grants do more max damage.

[random n00b]

Why would I reroll my character?

 

My stats don't change, my level doesn't change, I get to re-distribute my weapon profs, and I can choose the Blade kit when I import. Plus, those extra 8 stats points from BG1 tomes are nice, especially when they cause 19 Int and 19 Str.

Wait, what?

 

So, when importing from a BG1 save (or CHR file), you get to choose kits if the character belongs to a class that previously didn't have access to them

 

Yep. If I import a Bard I get to choose if I am a Bard, Blade, Skald or whatever the other kit is. If I import a fighter, I can choose Kensai.

 

and also redistribute his stat points?

 

No, just proficiency points. Stat points remain the same, but BG2 doesn't make any changes to stat point distribution anyway. BG2 does not, however, have any Tomes of Knowledge, unlike BG1

Cool, didn't know that.

 

 

So that's only dmg of 8 + 2 + STR during Offensive Spin (about 25 dmg or so)? That's not horrible, but it's not as good as I expected.

 

The HLA druid form is 2D12 (hence my suggestion of Kensai/Druid). Oh well, hopefully the better Slayer forms Ascension grants do more max damage.

That would be 8 +2 (cold dmg) +14 (STR bonus), for a less than impressive 24 dmg. Oh, and they do crushing dmg despite being claws. Crazy.

 

Ascension adds the possibility to change into The Ravager, which improves the claws to 1d10+2, with an apparent chance for an extra 1d8. You are better off wielding a katana and Crom Faeyr...

[Humodour]

Yes, or Carsomyr. Yeah, I think I'll use Carsomyr.

[Monte Carlo]

You need BGTuTu, this is not really negotiable. As well as Tactics, Ascension (etc). Just go to Pocket Plane Group and enjoy.

 

I now play this game one of two ways:

 

1. Icewind Dale Style - i.e. I make all the characters (multiplayer game cut-and-pasted into my single player folder) and therefore get to try out strange party combos. You miss out on a lot of NPC stuff, but hey, you know all that already.

 

2. Core party style - i.e. main player character, one romance character and Imoen (i.e. core plot character). And I really hate Imoen. You can pick up other NPCs occasionally as and when you need them, but this is quite an interesting challenge. The last time I did it I made Imoen a sorcerer (there's a little mod out there that let's you switch NPC classes), Jaheira and PC Fighter / Thief. Perfectly balanced party, you're only really missing the powerful insta-chunk undead turning you get with a good or neutral aligned cleric. Daystar helps re-balance this.

 

BG1/TotSC/BG2/ToB, all insanely modded with BGTuTu is a permanent feature of every computer I've owned for as and when each of the games has come out (ten years or since BG1?).

[Predalien Sir!]

You need BGTuTu, this is not really negotiable. As well as Tactics, Ascension (etc). Just go to Pocket Plane Group and enjoy.

 

I now play this game one of two ways:

 

1. Icewind Dale Style - i.e. I make all the characters (multiplayer game cut-and-pasted into my single player folder) and therefore get to try out strange party combos. You miss out on a lot of NPC stuff, but hey, you know all that already.

 

2. Core party style - i.e. main player character, one romance character and Imoen (i.e. core plot character). And I really hate Imoen. You can pick up other NPCs occasionally as and when you need them, but this is quite an interesting challenge. The last time I did it I made Imoen a sorcerer (there's a little mod out there that let's you switch NPC classes), Jaheira and PC Fighter / Thief. Perfectly balanced party, you're only really missing the powerful insta-chunk undead turning you get with a good or neutral aligned cleric. Daystar helps re-balance this.

 

BG1/TotSC/BG2/ToB, all insanely modded with BGTuTu is a permanent feature of every computer I've owned for as and when each of the games has come out (ten years or since BG1?).

 

Your not really negotiable. But i like imoen she is cool like a little sister. so cuuute!

[Tigranes]

I hate undead, you can't backstab them.

 

There are so many cheese tactics available in BG2 that you can even solo a thief or a mage and get by on Core difficulty... though I suppose it's a challenge if you get Tactics on top of that. I remember having a maxxed out SoA assassin take out Irenicus in the Tree of Life with, uh, traps. You lay traps, rest, lay traps, talk to him, then fire an arrow as soon as battle begins = instant death. The resting bit makes it cheesy so I didn't do it again, but it was quite interesting (and funny) that one time.

[Monte Carlo]

^

^

^

^

 

That's why the game really needs all those mods to keep you on your toes - smarter liches / pit fiends etc can ruin your day and (for example) improved Torgal makes the D'Arnise Keep a proper challenge. Only problem with Tactics is the Monty-Haul levels of loot left behind by the parties that attack you. I was wandering around with 3-4 million GP, giving it away to temples to atone for my "Cloudkill-in-a-tavern" moments.

[Tigranes]

Intriguing - Improved Torgal is usually one of the few Tactics improvements that I leave out. I can deal with Improved Shadow Dragon / Shadow Lord, and most other improvements, because I like a challenge and there's nothing I enjoy like a battle where I have to reload 20 times and try all sorts of tactics and eventually win, thanks to a last-ditch critical hit, Korgan whining about the low health while the rest of the party lies dead at various points on the map.

 

The thing iwith Torgal was though, no matter how beefed up I was, his entourage would fall quickly but he was mathematically impossible to kill. Very high AC + very high regeneration and the troll immunity to lower class weapons and magic resistance really hur tme, because I usually have a partyh of 4, and 2 of those could well be mages. Without enough 'blunt' power he would always heal faster than he was hit; and to add insult to injury he would attack very fast and land them. I'm sure it was just me having trouble due to that (frankly silly) party makeup and so forth, though. I'm not a particularly savvy D&D player.

[Monte Carlo]

^ Torgal can be cheesed.

 

1. He is susceptible to repeated cloudkills (about twenty!). I know, it's wrong, but I've done it.

 

2. When he does attack he fixates on one character. Haste that character and let the rest of your party put the smackdown on him.

 

3. Yes, a melee heavy party has a much easier time with him. I usually have at least three full-on tanks in my custom built parties.

 

3a. In fact, if you do make your own party, try four-six fighter-types. It is a bit of a rollercoaster because some fights are extremely easy, others (i.e. high level with lots of mages) extremely hard. In fact, this type of game is the only one where I've developed a Wizardslayer and been glad to have him around.

 

My party of four was -

 

PC - Human Barbarian (two handed swords)

Dwarf Berserker (slashing weapons / 1 H swords)

Half Orc Wizardslayer (D/W hammers / maces / flails)

Elf single-classed fighter maxed out profs in bows and melee profs in lesser-used 2H weapons (spears and halberds)

 

Finished the whole trilogy but was tough.

 

Cheers

MC

[random n00b]

I tried Tactics, and have come to hate most of it. I don't like cheesing my way through the game, so I get assraped with most of the improved fights. At that point I either get bored and unleash the exploits, or unsheath the killsticks and proceed to make chunks out of everyone. It's cheese or die.

 

Components like Improved Druid Grove, Improved Ilyich, and Smarter Mages and Liches are not only unreasonably difficult, but also heavily dependant on cheats (multiple insta-protection casting scripts, undispellable stone/ironskins), which is something I totally loathe. But I understand how players that max everything out and find exploiting design flaws perfectly acceptable would welcome the increase in difficulty. It is simply not enjoyable for me.

 

Other components are pretty good though. Improved Kangaxx and Improved Twisted Rune bring the difficulty of those encounters to what should be expected from them, for instance.

 

I guess it's one of those hate-it-or-love-it mods.

[Humodour]

I tend to agree. While I've installed Ascension and thus the advanced ToB battles, I generally prefer to play my games essentially as the designers intended. Tactics has always sounded like it strays pretty far from that, and I really don't want to be rewarded extra loot, either.

[Monte Carlo]

^

 

That's a fair point. However, IE games are eminently re-playable, and mods simply service that reality. I find the vanilla versions too easy. Having said that, I find some of the mods too hard, i.e I've never beaten Improved Firkraag.

[Dark_Raven]

Large mods that add a lot of content make the game even more enjoyable.

[Arkan]

^

 

That's a fair point. However, IE games are eminently re-playable, and mods simply service that reality. I find the vanilla versions too easy. Having said that, I find some of the mods too hard, i.e I've never beaten Improved Firkraag.

You can cheese the hell out of him pretty easily...but are you counting that?

[Spider]

I tend to agree. While I've installed Ascension and thus the advanced ToB battles, I generally prefer to play my games essentially as the designers intended. Tactics has always sounded like it strays pretty far from that, and I really don't want to be rewarded extra loot, either.

 

Most of the loot you get from Tactics is pretty crappy though. Nothing better than is already in the game for sure (and when you're tough enough to beat those fights, you probably already got much better stuff anyway). The only exception I can think of is the acid-assassin.

 

By the way, to anyone who plays with tactics on a regular basis. Has anyone beaten the Improved Druid's Grove? If so, please tell me how, because I always get my ass handed to me in the end fight there. Always, not matter what I do. From what I can see from the readme, it has been made easier in the last revision, and I'm not sure if I've played that version. But the older one was just insane.

[Moatilliatta]

Funnily enough the only mods I have ever finished the IE games with is ascension and TUTU, I've tried with many others but it doesn't work. I find that the quality of mods are usually much lower than the actual games or they serve some minority that is defined by not being me.

[Humodour]

Funnily enough the only mods I have ever finished the IE games with is ascension and TUTU, I've tried with many others but it doesn't work. I find that the quality of mods are usually much lower than the actual games or they serve some minority that is defined by not being me.

 

Agreed!

 

I can't stand when my mods don't fit well with the game. Poor quality writing, grammar, incongruous NPC dialouge or item drops... it gets me worked up.

[Moatilliatta]

I often find that the easiest mods to play with are graphical mods as it is hard to be a puritan about graphics, quality is still the deciding factor here. Gameplay mods come afterwards but these are usually only used when you don't mind overwriting the gameplay i.e. Oblivion - puritanism looses its idea when applied to Oblivion. Then comes NPC and story mods as Krezack desribed above, and I don't touch them as a general rule.

 

The mod I've played with the most is actually an Oblivion mod is FCOM: Convergence which collects most of the good and big gameplay mods together and makes a hydrogen bomb with so few flaws (in my expeience and for a mod) that it makes the game replayable

[Deadly_Nightshade]

I usually tweak mods unless they are almost perfect or perfect...

[Humodour]

I often find that the easiest mods to play with are graphical mods as it is hard to be a puritan about graphics, quality is still the deciding factor here. Gameplay mods come afterwards but these are usually only used when you don't mind overwriting the gameplay i.e. Oblivion - puritanism looses its idea when applied to Oblivion. Then comes NPC and story mods as Krezack desribed above, and I don't touch them as a general rule.

 

Since it seems we share similar views on what constitutes a good mod, what mods would you suggest for BG2?

 

I usually tweak mods unless they are almost perfect or perfect...

 

I do that to a small degree if I can be bothered. Most usually item and spell/ability changes.

Edited April 27, 2008 by Krezack

[Humodour]

Kivan

Xan (soon)

Viconia

Branwen

Imoen

Me

 

That's my party so far. Any NPCs I should look out for in future? I haven't played any of the dwarves/gnomes, but Tiax is pretty funny so I'm tempted to play him.