Our new Indie Games subforum is now open for business in G&T. Go and check it out, you might land a code for a free game. If you're developing an indie game and want to post about it,
follow these directions. If you don't, he'll break your legs! Hahaha! Seriously though.
Our rules have been updated and given
their own forum. Go and look at them! They are nice, and there may be new ones that you didn't know about! Hooray for rules! Hooray for The System! Hooray for Conforming!
[Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition] PC version ETA Nov 30
Posts
And he levels so stinking fast, I didn't do a kit so I could hopefully get enough skill points to be good at traps/locks and sneaking and PP
I had to reload the Mae'Var fight four times before I finally got him down without chunking.
Steam | TF2 inventory
So I cheated instead. Had Callic pre-cast Harm, Jan Improved Invis him, walked up, and proceeded to one-shot Lavok with it. In Spell Revisions, Harm no longer does 90% of a target's health in damage - it does 150 damage, save for half. A huge nerf against dragons, Irenicus, and various ToB stuff... but not against a human necromancer with 98 HP.
I honestly do not know how this fight is remotely possible at a lower level in order to obtain the stronghold.
Steam | TF2 inventory
Patched, put in the fixpack and added shadowkeeper so I can be a min/maxing piece of scum
I can't decide on my class.
Right now I'm trying to decided between Kensai/mage (or thief)
mage/sorcerer
or thief/mage
what are some of the benefits and downsides of these classes? (I know that anything with a kensai in it is supposed to eventually become broken to all hell and that pure mages are ridiculous endgame as well)
Kensai/Thief: A backstabber without the THAC0 problems of an Assassin. When you get Use Any Item you become ungodly powerful. Any permutation of Fighter/Thief works too, including multiclasses.
Mage is always nice. A Conjurer or a Gnome Illusionist are your best bets if you don't go Wild Mage.
Sorcerers I don't care much for in BG. Can't dual class without mods and your spell list is too inflexible in a game that really demands flexibility. If you pair an offense-oriented Sorc with a more support/debuff Mage, it might work out okay.
Thief/Mage is alright. For dual-classing I'd go Swashbuckler/Mage with no points spent in stealth skills so you can actually be competent at physically attacking when not casting. I couldn't honestly see myself rolling a Thief/Mage considering there are three of them in BG2 alone.
Edit: If you want to do the magey thing, I'd even suggest giving Cleric/Mage (or a Gnomish Cleric/Illusionist) with 18 INT and 18 WIS a try.
Steam | TF2 inventory
Wild Mage is the choice of champions.
BG2 Fix Pack: Probably the most essential. Fixes a bunch of bugs, issues, and lets you make a lot of nice quality-of-life changes to the game, though usually nothing really drastic. Despite its name, it works for both BG1 (through Tutu or BGT) as well as BG2.
Banter Pack: Gives BG2 a lot more companion banters with each other and yourself. Most I've found to be quite well-written and occasionally very funny. Nothing major, but worth it.
BG1 NPC Project: Absolutely essential in Baldur's Gate 1. Normally BG1 NPCs are almost entirely silent, with little to no interaction with either you or each other. This fixes that in a big way, giving every recruitable BG1 NPC similar levels of inter-party dialogue to Baldur's Gate 2's characters, including a few romances for both genders. It even has fun, short, and fairly rewarding personal quests for a fair number of characters.
Spell Revisions: Does a complete pass on all spells in the game, tweaking, rebalancing and in a few cases outright replacing spells. Unlike a difficulty-boosting mod, this actually tends to work out to give spells an overall buff, such as Sleep actually working on enemies beyond midway through BG1.
Tweak Pack: A huge list of tweaks and changes you can make to both BG1 and BG2 to help shape it to your personal taste. Be sure to read the readme pretty thoroughly.
Widescreen Mod: Does what it says on the tin. If you use a widescreen monitor (or just want to run it at windowed at a 4:3 resolution it doesn't support) this is the thing for you.
Load orders are pretty important, and you have to install mods separately for both BG1 and BG2 if you use Tutu. For BG1 via Tutu, the order would be:
BG1 NPC Project
Spell Revisions
Tweak Pack
Widescreen
And for BG2, you do:
Banter Pack
Spell Revisions
Tweak Pack
Widescreen
Make sure to read every mod's readme very carefully and thoroughly, since they generally explain what each component does in detail. If you want to use the mods that are compatible with both games, it's probably a good idea to either consult the weidu.log that is made after installing all your mods or make a small Notepad file detailing what components you installed for each mod that affects both games so you get a more consistent experience.
Steam | TF2 inventory
Also I just discovered this wiki last night, thanks to the bigass Baldur's Gate thread on SomethingAwful. It's a pretty good resource for things Baldur's Gate-related and an excellent tool to use in conjunction with Dan Simpson's FAQs on GameFAQs.
Steam | TF2 inventory
Steam | TF2 inventory
"Come on guy I just recruited in the first town, let's go massacre the Khans for their shit! Good thing I found this SMG!"
Either way, solo or in a group, either arcane caster is a powerhouse, and it can be fun to play with some of the more eclectic spells that a wizard can pick up. As a sorcerer, your toolbox is necessarily smaller. But they're both great.
I should probably also do a progress update some time, considering I've completed two major side quests and am about to finish a third.
Steam | TF2 inventory
This is it in a nutshell, in my opinion. Really, they're both extremely strong, so I suggest playing whichever one you find most interesting.
// Steam & LoL: VWinds // PSN: vagrant_winds // 3DS: 4682-8868-5037 //
But Enhance edition is coming "soon".
Someone get me over the edge either way, even have the discs for bg1+2+expansions lying here
I'm in the same boat. Decided to wait though. I think when the enhanced edition comes out, I'll do a solo run with the SCS mods korodullin is using. I've played through Tactics a hundred times but never used SCS, so it could be a fun change of pace. Might try a class I've never run solo too. Maybe a druid or a bounty hunter. I'm getting excited just thinking about it!
Offensive Spin: +2 hit, +2 damage, +1 attack, stacks with haste/improved haste, and all attacks to maximum damage. It's Kai (the Kensai ability) on steroids. Add in Tenser's Transformation for maximum attacks and THACO for maximum lethalaty. Use in time-stop for just silly results.
Defensive Spin: +10 AC, non-dispellable effects of Improved Invisibility versus casters (can't be targeted by single target spells), can stack with Stoneskin and laugh, and Free Action removes the rooting-to-the-spot penalty. Turns the Blade into a super-tank for any fight that's not stupidly heavy on AoE damage. It throws the effects of so many defensive spell buffs into one single instant ability and improves them.
As a side note for non-PC Blades, Haer'dalis gets normally "illegal" extra points in both Short Swords and Long Swords through the game as an approximation of his bonuses for being a former member of The Doomguard. It should by P&P give him a bonus point with -all- swords, but the game just gives him those (probably for balance reasons). He also gets a +1 THAC0 bonus that doesn't display as a bonus on his character stat page, but it's there.
Oh, and one minor note for another class. Barbarian's rage will set their Con so high they naturally generate HP, will have the highest damage resistance in the game to non-magic attacks, and the highest level Hide armors are lacking in armor class compared to the best plate/leather but have the best secondary bonuses or added resistances in the game.
Oh, and korodullin: I don't consider Harm + Invisibility/Hide in Shadows cheating at all. Harm's entire purpose is supposed to be to instagib people not prepared for it. Same logic for preemptive backstab kills.
// Steam & LoL: VWinds // PSN: vagrant_winds // 3DS: 4682-8868-5037 //
Also IIRC they don't care about Intelligence.
swashbucklers also kind of get neutered by the never gains any attacks per round thing. a fighter/thief can do crazy amounts of damage with assassinate and improved haste
You didn't read the post did you?
I agree with you on Fighter/Thief > Swashbucklers though.
// Steam & LoL: VWinds // PSN: vagrant_winds // 3DS: 4682-8868-5037 //
it very specifically says that offensive spin does not stack with haste
Right now my biggest problem with my party's full-time Assassin, Shapiro, is his horrible Thief THAC0. He'll be fine come the end of SoA when I can get the Item Revisions-modified Cloak of Bravery though. It's kind of infuriating that Valygar is a more effective overall backstabber than a fucking Assassin right now.
Steam | TF2 inventory
True. Swash --> Mage or Cleric duel at lvl10/11 is pretty boss. But I wouldn't play them as a solo-class over a Fighter/Thief.
// Steam & LoL: VWinds // PSN: vagrant_winds // 3DS: 4682-8868-5037 //
Mostly because of Reckless Dweomer
Also made a Kensai that I will dual to Thief at some point depending on how I feel after my first playthrough
Really in BG2 there's absolutely no reason to play a Thief. Just go with a multi-class or dual-class a Swashbuckler at level 9 or 11 into a Cleric or Mage.
Assassins are kinda fun though. If only for hilarious backstab gibbing.
Especially once you get Use Any Item. x7 backstab with something like a +6 Carsomyr? Oh my.
Steam | TF2 inventory
Primarily because you can't backstab with Carsomyr, even with UAI.
Steam | TF2 inventory
"Class (x) / Class", like mentioned above, means that you take the first class to X level and then dual immediately upon reaching that level? So, I'm guessing you take your Wizard Slayer to level 15, get the proficiency point, and then immediately into thief. How many levels of thief will the game allow you to reach within the BG2+TOB xp cap? Is there any benefit to dualclassing earlier?
I'm also understanding that the Wizard Slayer gets a lot of that awesomeness from (1) magic resist + Carsomyr and (2) thief class backstabbing. I know you need Use Any Item from your Thief levels in order to use Carsomyr. I take it from the post above that you can't backstab with it, though... Given that the Wizard Slayer CAN use magic weapons and armor though, would you be better off rocking the Flail of Ages / Crom Faeyr? You CAN backstab with those, right?
Also: Do the tweak pack / fix pack / item revisions kill this class? I know you need the tweak pack to have ranged weapons apply the spell failure affect. Does item revisions kills the 50% Carsomyr magic resist?
Another possibility: Archer/Cleric? I've seen a lot of people rave about it. Tell me about it?
Another thing: While I've never played with Mazzy before, I did enjoy having Keldorn in my party the first time. I'd be kind of bummed about taking Carsomyr away from him? Is he viable with the Mace of Destruction (I forget the name, the undead-slaying one) or something else? Should I just grab Mazzy?
Which brings up: Party concerns. Who should I take, for a generally good-aligned party? I'm thinking about the above Wizard Slayer / Thief as my PC, or an Archer / Cleric. I'd like to bring Imoen (as my mage), too, considering how central she is to the plot of the game. Keldorn is awesome, or Mazzy if people tell me I'm really missing out. That's three people - what about the other three?
I've heard Jan is fun, although the slapstick is a bit odd to me. Jaheira is grating, so I don't want to bother. I've played with Minsc before, and I just wound up leaving him for Sarevok once I got to TOB. Who should I grab?
I was the one espousing the Wizard Slayer dual Thief, and I rarely see it recommended -- which is a shame, because it's an amazing class. Dualing at 15 lets you hit level 39 thief, whereas a single class thief could hit 40, so you don't really lose out on anything. As far as weapon choice, it really depends what you're fighting. Carsomyr is great for avoiding magic damage, but it's largely unnecessary most of the time, and there are better weapons for damage. The Flail of Ages is one of the highest damage SoA weapons, so I highly recommend it in general, though you can't backstab with it. I don't know how item revision affects Carsomyr, as I don't use that mod.
What makes the WS/Thief so strong is the cumulative spell failure. Roll a hit on a target ten times, even if you don't do any damage due to stoneskin or whatever, and that target can't use spells anymore, as well as a bunch of other abilities. And once you have UAI, any downside to rolling a wizard slayer is negated. Honestly, just a straight up wizard slayer, no dual class, is an absurdly good fighter and trivializes a ton of content. Pretty much the only class that can stand up to a WS/Thief dual for sheer powergaming strength is a sorcerer or maybe a wild mage.
As far as Archer/Cleric, you're much better off going ranger/cleric multi so you get fighter HLAs. In the BG2 engine, a ranger/cleric dual or multiclass gets unrestricted access to druid spells. It's arguably a bug, but it makes for a very strong character. You're pretty much a fighter/druid/cleric.