Thinking about playing BG2 again - need tips on mods

[Xen]

Originally posted by Raistlin Majere: quote: Originally posted by Tancred: There's plenty of rather smart little mods around that I appreciated. Revised Hell Trials was a nice one (a bit hard to find, though), if only because it gave you the option of being Neutral (with a different set of rewards) when facing the tests in Hell, and allowed you not just to turn a good character evil, but an evil character good (and both into neutral). All round, very nice. The Banter Packs and Flirt Packs from those guys at Forgotten Realms add a huge dollop of stuff into the game. If at any point I started to get bored, a new banter popped up, or I was able to hug someone. Yay. Oversight is very handy, if only for the components that make every person in the game the proper alignment and class. This makes things like alignment-based spells and Detect Evil... work. A nice tweak. Ease-of-Use is full of things that make BG life less frustrating, including a set of romance patches that make the romances less... buggy. Personally, I couldn't stand the Tactics mod. I tend to see BG2 as more of an interactive story than an actual game, and having to reload again and again and being unable to do simple things like charging ahead and damning the arrows (you know, acting like a HERO) was a soul-destroying experience. I know, I'm soft. However, Ascension comes highly recommended from me - not because it's hard, but because it adds a lot more depth to the end climax and feels 'right'.

but you do have to admit that the story DOES get a bit boring after the nth time through the game, dont you. with tactics, you get more challenge into completing the game, giving more of a rewarding expirience. and besides, now i think Irenicus is as he should have been in the end, powerful... [/QUOTE]Yeah he`s powerful but still easy.

[Raistlin Majere]

not for the first time, Xen...not for the first time [img]smile.gif[/img] . dont even try to lie with saying it was easy from the start. you had to reload atleast 2 times...

[Tancred]

Originally posted by Raistlin Majere: but you do have to admit that the story DOES get a bit boring after the nth time through the game, dont you.

Yeah, but that's when I put the book down and come back to it after a while. Tactics was REALLY boring because I couldn't even get to the good bits in the story. One man's meat, another man's poison, m'afraid.

What I'd like to see is some new quests... extra chapters in the story, as it were. I've got my eye on the Unfinished Business and Return to Nashkel mods that are in development, as well as expecting good things in the future from Icewind Gate - a way to challenge myself gaming-wise without raising the difficulty, and STILL enjoy the story.

[Melusine]

Tancred, I think we're of the same mind on this, I did mean mods that affected the story, not really ones that make the battles harder and make me reload more often. [img]smile.gif[/img]
Thanks for the advice!! [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Raistlin Majere]

Originally posted by Tancred: quote: Originally posted by Raistlin Majere: but you do have to admit that the story DOES get a bit boring after the nth time through the game, dont you.

Yeah, but that's when I put the book down and come back to it after a while. Tactics was REALLY boring because I couldn't even get to the good bits in the story. One man's meat, another man's poison, m'afraid.

What I'd like to see is some new quests... extra chapters in the story, as it were. I've got my eye on the Unfinished Business and Return to Nashkel mods that are in development, as well as expecting good things in the future from Icewind Gate - a way to challenge myself gaming-wise without raising the difficulty, and STILL enjoy the story. [/QUOTE]yup, as they say: To each his own. id like to see some of those mods aswell...but meanwhile ill entertain myself with tactics . At some point im definately gonna try the Glory of Istar demo(the Dragonlance total conversion), and ill wait eagerly for the full version!

[ 11-09-2003, 05:11 PM: Message edited by: Raistlin Majere ]

[Xen]

Originally posted by Raistlin Majere: not for the first time, Xen...not for the first time [img]smile.gif[/img] . dont even try to lie with saying it was easy from the start. you had to reload atleast 2 times...

I won`t. If i would that would make me a liar. Not the first but couple fights he eat all my nerves.

[Tancred]

Originally posted by Melusine: Tancred, I think we're of the same mind on this, I did mean mods that affected the story, not really ones that make the battles harder and make me reload more often. [img]smile.gif[/img] Thanks for the advice!! [img]smile.gif[/img]

There's a fair few spoilers in this post, folks, so look lively.
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Look to the future, for there's loads to look forward to! *rubs hands* The mods I've seen that add new areas and story to the game all look like being quality must-haves. Browsing the Forgotten Realms board, you can see Return to Nashkel, revisiting that quaint little village with the possibility of recruiting Brage as an NPC... I note the Expanded Underdark mod will double the size of the Underdark map, which is all for the good - and will add a Cyricist temple in the Cloudpeak mountains too... Blades of Brynnlaw will allow you to revisit the pirate isle, with many quests there, a-harr... and Unfinished Business adds a whole bunch of stuff that was cut - Minsc and Haer'Dalis get their own quests, questions are explained (how did Kalah do all those illusions? Who ordered the attack upon the D'Arnise Keep?) and all kinds of other fun stuff.

Not to mention that Dragonlance mod Raistlin M mentioned (Dragonlance? Raistlin? HMMMMM). Glory of Istar has a good solid team of writers behind it, and that means good dialogue and plots. Whee!

As an aside, I think various folks are working on the Valygar and Edwin romance mods, too.

But... none of it's finished yet. *shrug* Always the way.

One thing that definitely bears mentioning is the bizarre but handy Forgotten-Realms Dungeon-be-Gone. If at any point you find playing though Irenicus' first dungeon is a little limiting or jarring - even turning you off the game - this mod basically takes you to the end of it and gives you the stuff you would have got had you done it. It's meant for people who replay the game a lot and find the dungeon boring, so it might not appeal, but it's worth a mention. I really hate that dungeon.

Footnote: I found changing my usual class becomes a lot easier if I change the party I use too - trying to insert another character to play with my usual bunch felt weird and wrong, but I managed to complete the game with three completely different parties. Worth a thought.

[Nerull]

My personal suggestions:

Kelsey: solid mod. Good alternative to Annoyman as a romance (put both in your party for extra fun). Not overpowered, but a solid member of the party. Much recommended.

Oversight mod: Among the options for this mod are: fixing the alignments of the NPCs to be more in line with their behavior, fixing the clerics so that chaotic clerics cannot worship Helm (who is diehard Lawful Neutral), allows monks to get the cleric stronghold instead of the fighter stronghold (and gives them other high level abilities than the fighters get). You can pick the components you want.

Imoen romance: This is a pretty well-written romance, but does change her personality somewhat. I like it personally, but if the thought of playing a romance with another woman (especially one that is your "sister") turns you off, you might avoid this one.

Banter packs and Flirt packs: Highly recommended! They add so much to the game it is not even funny. You definitely want to try these.

Ease of use: I use this only to get rid of some of the annoying things in the game ("you must gather your party before venturing forth"). Avoid the stuff that is pure gouda (i.e. overbalanced shapeshifter, etc.).

Improved Hell Trials: this is highly recommended if playing neutral. I really hated having to take the "good" path through all of the tests when playing a true neutral cleric.

I try to avoid the Weimer mods as much as possible. I personally do not play the game for it to be overpowered or extra challenging. I play it just for enjoyment and NPC interaction, so difficulty means little to me. However, if you do like challenges, then try Tactics, Ascension, and the other "Improved" fights.

[SixOfSpades]

As nobody has mentioned it yet, I'm going to jump in on behalf of aVENGER's "Rogue Rebalancing" MOD. I don't have the link to it here, but it can be found through the link on Weimer's page that has a list of all known WeiDU MODs. Rogue Rebalancing does a lot of cool stuff, both on the powergaming (Bards don't suck quite so much) and roleplaying (Bounty Hunters can choose the Tracking HLA) sides. All Rogue classes and kits get a little stronger, which helps them keep up with the Warriors and Wizards, and the MOD also adds a new store that brings back a lot of the BG1 items that didn't make it into BG2 (Spider's Bane, Kiel's Buckler, etc.), as well as some all-new items including (wonder of wonders) some good Bucklers.

Also on aVENGER's home page is his "Shadow Thief Improvements" MOD. Do Not Get It if you think you might want to work for Bodhi ever again. The MOD's README makes it sound about as difficult as clearing the Windspear Hills in one sweep. It isn't. Trust me.

Originally posted by Dundee Slaytern: For better AI, there is the Tactics Mod. Listed below are the components that anybody can safely install without resulting in severe hair loss or unbalancing the game.

From the list that Dundee mentioned, I would probably remove "Always Toughest Random Spawns," --particularly if Smarter Mages & Liches is installed as well-- simply because a single Lich can just demolish a low-level party, if it happens to be in the main path of a major quest.
The "Random City Encounters" also exhibit strong cheese, although somewhat later in the game. When your odds of winning a battle depend solely on the Shield of Reflection, something's wrong.

And to Dundee's list I'll add the "Improved North Forest" component of Tactics. Makes the area more in tune with its being in Chapter 6, I deem. It does duplicate some of the 'unique' items that can also be obtained in Rogue Rebalancing, but then the world's not perfect, is it?

[dragon_lord]

You could try Tashia, she doesnt really fit in with the game world but I had lots of fun playing the mod. I didnt like Solaufein - too much philosophical garbage for my liking. Check out teambg's list of mods, there are some NPC mods there that I havent tried. So maybe you could give them a shot and see what their like. Or you could wait a few months till I finish making my RPG NPC, but then again it will probably have too much corny dialogue for your liking ( [img]tongue.gif[/img] )

[ 11-10-2003, 08:56 PM: Message edited by: dragon_lord ]