starting IWD 2 for the first time

[Gorosh]

Originally posted by Marty4: If you have played BG2, you may expect a certain Sword in this game to be 2 handed. It is only one handed in this game.

if we're talking about the same sword, is it also as powerful in IWD as in BG?

[Bozos of Bones]

Nearly as powerfull. Not a greatsword, and not dispell-on-hit, but still an awesome tool for eviscerating evil!
Hmm... Useless things.. Wilderness lore can come handy in a bunch of situations when you're just playing for the first time. It can warn you on what type of enemies are approaching, so you can prepare. And it's quite essential in one little area of the game. Truly useless stuff is Pick Pocket, as I have NEVER picked someone's pocket in the game, and never needed to. I want something, I take it [img]smile.gif[/img] . Of feats, I'd skip on Forester, Dash, and some others that aren't as useless. And beware, one fo the feats, the Improved Initiative, is broken and only works for casters by reducing casting time. Other than that, I'd like you to explore for yourself.

[Marty4]

No [img]smile.gif[/img] But it is still probably the best sword without HoF mode enabled, and it's HoF version is better than the BG sword.

EDIT: and BoB has beaten me to the punch! BoB, pickpocket is very valuable in the beginning of the game, worth putting 4 points into. You get one of the luckiest items in the game (vague [img]smile.gif[/img] ) and it helps for some quests. I would never give more than 4 points in it, unless you want even more luck in HoF mode.

Also, making the Sword a longsword isn't necessarily a disadvantage, as it enables many nice dual wielding combos.

[ 02-01-2005, 02:07 PM: Message edited by: Marty4 ]

[Marty4]

Originally posted by Gorosh: i'm about to start icewind dale for a firs time (as soon as i finish bg2+ToB - i'm in ust natha at the moment

Another thing, (don't take offense if you knew this, but I have assumed it with people and they mess up) heavy armors have a maximum DEX bonus. Basically, if you intend to be wearing plate mail, only take 10-14 DEX or you will be wasting points. My younger brother once asked why his paladin was doing so badly, I checked his game, and he had 18 DEX with half-plate [img]graemlins/hehe.gif[/img] .

[Bozos of Bones]

Take 10-12, as no heavy armor in the game allows for 14 dexterity. The best medium does have a cap at 14, tho
And yeah, I never said "do not put a single point into it", but don't put more. And the item is available through slaughter, I think

[Marty4]

Originally posted by Bozos of Bones: Take 10-12, as no heavy armor in the game allows for 14 dexterity. The best medium does have a cap at 14, tho And yeah, I never said "do not put a single point into it", but don't put more. And the item is available through slaughter, I think

And I thought YOU were the roleplayer Naughty, naughty, slaughtering innocent NPCs who don't give rep losses.

I didn't notice that "that armor" was medium. Interesting...

[Bozos of Bones]

Hehe, I guess there's a little powergamer hidden in all of us But I don't do it with every party, every time. Sometimes, even pick-pocket him if I have a bard(1 point in PP, and a song [img]smile.gif[/img] )
And I'm not sure what armor you're talking about. An aura, or a hand?

[Marty4]

Originally posted by Bozos of Bones: And I'm not sure what armor you're talking about. An aura, or a hand?

A field plate.

[Gorosh]

guess i'll have interesting evening or two of creating my party (i'll probablly create one character at a time, and then i'll choose between 9-10 characters...

is there big difference in combat / tactics from BG2? i'm in chapter 5 - underdark at the moment, but from middle/late chapter 2 most of the fights were breeze for me (normal diff. setting), and i didn't use any kind of cheating/cheesing (except for "The Sword" - but i don't consider my inquisitor with it to be cheater/cheeser. i assume that IDW2 battles are more intense / harder / need more tactical approach...true??

btw. i can't wait to start IDW2, 3rd edition rules sound quite exciting, with deeper character creation / development, and i prefer icewind graphics/world to that of Baldur series (i played IWD2 for 1-2 hours last week just to get the impression of the game, and i just love those beautiful snow covered landscapes+very cool character portraits, and overall darker+deeper feel of the game - BG is sometimes just too colorful for my taste, and portraits are really really lame IMHO...)

[Marty4]

Ditto with the portraits

In comparison with IWD2 and BG2, I would say that the main difference is that there are different spells. In BG2, a high level mage was so incredibly powerful that they could take out everything with a sneeze. In IWD2, there's no Time Stop, no Improved Alacrity, no Dragon Breath, Contingencys, or any other really fun spells. Not to say that mages are useless, they are still quite powerful, but they aren't gods anymore. Battles in IWD2 tend to have swarms of weak-medium enemies, rather than turning a corner and facing one or two uber-mages.

One thing that I disliked about BG2 is the "rushed feeling". Everyone is all like "Save me!" "Kill him!" "Get my toy back!" "Find my cheating husband!". You really seem to rush from area to area frantically completing quests, while IWD2 is more linear (though some may say that, due to this, BG2 is better).

EDIT: Keldorn's stats aren't good enough to qualify for cheese, Sword or no. Nothing against the guy, I have him in my current game.

[ 02-01-2005, 09:39 PM: Message edited by: Marty4 ]