New Game

[Boutte]

After playing bg1+2 through three times I decided to play something else for awhile. Trouble is I can't find anything else I like as much. Planescape was ok but didn't really hold my attention NWN won't install for some reason. (Maybe someone here can help me with that but I'll do a seperate post on that issue at a later date.)
So it's back to the real thing, BALDURS GATE. (maybe the best computer game ever?)I think I'll skip BG1 this time and start with BG2 + ToB (for Watchers Keep, the rest of ToB prety much sucks). I've never used any mods but am considering the Ease of Use mod. From what I gather most of the other mods add to the difficulty of the game. Maybe I'm a wimp but the game seems hard enough as it is.
I'm open for suggestions on several subects: What mods have you played and which would you recommend to a wimp like me, would you recommend soloing and if so what class most lends itself to success, is it possible to win a solo game as a magic user? Is the archer class really that butch? If you drop a party member will s/he rejoin your party at a later date? How difficult is it to keep a party of mixed evil and good characters together. I haven't tried doing either of the last two before.

[Xen]

Mods: Mod heaven


I have Tactics,Ascension,Ease Of Use,Valen,Solaufein,Tashia,Spell 50 Level Mod...


So install this put the difficulty slider on Insane and you are ready for whole new level of experience.


If it is possible to solo a game with a Magic User? It is the easiest! BUT you have to know the spell system in the game.

[Faceman]

1. soloing

• makes you level up faster
• leads to one really powerful character
• needs you to find workarounds for things that are not covered with your class (e.g. disarming traps)
• makes you loose all that nice party banter

1.a. soloing a magic user is great fun, there are many proud solo sorcerers out there.
1.b. for the first soloing You could try a Fighter/Mage/Thief multiclass as it will give you the most versatility
-
2.The Archer ROCKS! If you like ranged fights it is the kit for you. If you're up against melee heavy types you can always keep your distance and still do a lot of damage.
-
3.If you drop a party member they will rejoin you either at the place you leave them or at a given place (CC, their home,...) It's up to you to decide that when you kick them out. There are issues with not-rejoining connected to reputation and quests.
-
4. Keeping evil AND good chars happy is not that difficult. For reputation loss just kill an innocent (in a lonely place so there won't be 15 others turning hostile) for gain donate at the temple. There are also quite some quests in the game which give you rep. boni and some possibilities to get a malus. iF you really can't make it there's a happy-party patch at Baldurdash
-
5. Although a bit wimpy myself I'd recommend Ascension for ToB. It makes the bosses harder, but it also improves the story greatly. You could also consider BGT which let's you start in BG1 with the BG2 engine and keep your NPCs stats at the end of BG1 and even carry some of them previously not included over (e.g. Yeslick, Branwen)

[Pirengle]

Originally posted by Boutte: I think I'll skip BG1 this time and start with BG2 + ToB (for Watchers Keep, the rest of ToB prety much sucks). I've never used any mods but am considering the Ease of Use mod. From what I gather most of the other mods add to the difficulty of the game. Maybe I'm a wimp but the game seems hard enough as it is.

Install Ascension (a WeiDU mod) and ToB will suck less. However, there's another wonderful mod site called Forgotten Wars, located at http://www.forgottenwars.net, and I find their collection of mods add to the roleplaying and character-building in the game. If you ever want more party banters, romance banters/flirts, new romancable NPCs, and other enhancements, check them out.

Originally posted by Boutte: I'm open for suggestions on several subects: What mods have you played and which would you recommend to a wimp like me, would you recommend soloing and if so what class most lends itself to success, is it possible to win a solo game as a magic user? Is the archer class really that butch? If you drop a party member will s/he rejoin your party at a later date? How difficult is it to keep a party of mixed evil and good characters together. I haven't tried doing either of the last two before.

IMO, there's no such thing as "best solo" because BG2 is the sort of game that's meant to be played with at least one other party member. You might want to try a romance team with a PC and a romancable NPC (Aerie, Jaheira, Viconia, Anomen, Solaufein [WeiDU], Tashia [Forgotten Wars], or Kelsey [Forgotten Wars]). With the original four romances, you're guaranteed a cleric.

If you're set on trying the game solo, go for a kensai/mage dual class. The kensai will give you enough power to slice through the first part of the game until level 13-15, and you can easily level the mage dual class after that. The kensai/mage is a powerhouse because, although the kensai kit doesn't allow armor, mage robes aren't considered armor.

Rejoining depends on who, where, and when. Dump someone mid-romance, I don't think they return. Dump someone in an area you're not going to return to (pretty much all of chapter 5), I don't think they come back. Certain people don't appreciate getting booted.

The problem with having a party mix of good and evil is that evil NPCs leave if the party rep gets over 18 (heroic) and good NPCs leave if the party rep gets below 5-6 (despised). I'm having this problem with a mod I'm beta-testing. My party has LG Anomen, Keldorn, Viconia, Edwin, Korgan, and an LE PC. Rep is nearing dangerous high levels--two more points and Korgan, Edwin, and Viconia leave. However, if I smack a commoner, thanks to the mod, Anomen and Keldorn turn red and attack the PC. I feel like I'm sitting on dynamite.

[Boutte]

Thanks guys. Now if can just get the damn thing to install....
(If you haven't upgraded to WinXP yet, don't!)

[JrKASperov]

Pirengle: could you not get the slayer transformation? It lowers rep. by 2 points every time it's used...

[Link]

If I understand your question right: no, there's no way you can choose to not want the Slayer Change ability. It's part of the storyline. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Faceman]

you get it either way, and you'll be forced into change twice (I think) but you can choose not to do it more often.