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Having just gotten Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition for a bargain on Steam, I was wondering about similar questions that I asked about Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning in a thread I made a few months back:
Advice for Amalur: Obsessive Completionist Edition
So my question's basically the same: What's the best setup for a character who can accomplish any and all quests in the game to the best possible outcome? Are there any quests that are barred from you if you play a certain class or race? What's the best equipment to quest for (or is it all random)? How do I prepare for the sequel, when or if it ever gets out of the development hell it's stuck in due to contractual issues right now?
IIRC, Baldur's gate I had a pair of Gauntlets of dexterity that gave you 18, freeing you up to put your points elsewhere. They were found pretty early in the game, but it could still be a challenge to get there. Other than that, BG I wasn't very dependant on your race, class or sex. There were all sorts of NPCs to recruit. Whether you chose to act Good or Evil was severely important though. And since Evil eventually saw you not shopping and being attacked by guards constantly...
BG II has the various romances you need to decide on, some for men, some for women. Alignment matters. Your class gives you a stronghold quest. Again, NPCs will shape your experience. Note that you don't typically keep your character between I and II. Especially the second game is complex enough that an obsessive compulsive playthrough will require some studying.
I would like to see data on that to believe it. Seriously. With BG II came kits that did not exist in BG I, giving you a much bigger range of characters to choose from. And considering that there were years between them when they came out...
I would like to see data on that to believe it. Seriously. With BG II came kits that did not exist in BG I, giving you a much bigger range of characters to choose from. And considering that there were years between them when they came out...
Only relevant data i have is that i did. ;) Save Disks! I liked my paladin Just Fine!
n = 1. Okay, you've convinced me. =)
Seriously, though, the Kensai was stupidly powerful in BG II. Especially when dual-classed with wizard. Take a look.
C'mon now, i wasn't saying it as a general absolute, no need to imply i was. ;)
I was only mentioning the facts i could personally vouch for. Myself. If i was the only one, that's fine also!
I played the kensai also on a later run through and i agree with you about that one being stupidly strong! (i must have done over a dozen in total.)
This game series was a lot of fun. Hands down.
I would like to see data on that to believe it. Seriously. With BG II came kits that did not exist in BG I, giving you a much bigger range of characters to choose from. And considering that there were years between them when they came out...
I also did this, so that's two of us :)
Exported my character from BGI, imported it into BGII (straight fighter/thief). You did have the option of applying a kit to it when you imported it; given that the new expanded edition of BG1 has kits ready applied (along with weapon styles, etc) you should be able to port it straight over. Not that I've tried it...
Well, in that case, the conclusion is simple. BG I doesn't set things up depending on your class, while BG II does. If you intend to import your character, choose depending on BG II.
Unfortunately, the Enhanced Edition has hit a pretty big roadblock due to some issue between Overhaul Games and Atari. Overhaul has been forced to stop working on it due either to Atari's bankruptcy problems or a royalties issue, which means that the latest patch and the sequel itself is in jeopardy.
Although I guess it is worth noting that you can apparently import your Enhanced Edition character into vanilla Baldur's Gate II as long as you aren't using one of the new kits like the shadowdancer or dragon disciple.
First off, I would have severely recommended not getting the Enhanced Edition. There is ongoing legal action between Beamdog and Atari, and there is a very real chance that Beamdog will lose the BG licence. In that case, BG2: ENHANCED EDITION will likely never come out. I don't know if you can transfer a BG1: ENHANCED character to BG2 vanilla. It may not be possible due to the code changes (note: see above, which I just noticed :) ).
That said, BGI doesn't change too much based on race or class. Some people will go, "A dwarf, weird!" or "An elf in these parts? CRAZY!" and that's about it for the scope of the changes.
BGII changes an absolute ton though. Your class determines what sort of player stronghold you get (IIRC, magic-users and fighter/thiefs get completely different ones with completely different NPCs and quests attached). Quests change, outcomes change, romances change, character relationships change. It's basically impossible to get 100% of the content in one pass in BG2, but probably about 90% of the game stays the same. Certainly the main storyline and the major subquests do.
It should also be noted the BG2 is an absolutely gigantic game, so you can't trivially go back and replay the whole game with a different character. BG1 was a relatively focused 30 hours or so in length, but doing everything in BG2 (including the subquests and the expansion, THRONE OF BHAAL) will take you well over 100 hours, maybe even closer to 200. It's still, by far, the biggest game that BioWare have ever created and, based on some of their comments in the past, are ever likely to create.
I would like to see data on that to believe it. Seriously. With BG II came kits that did not exist in BG I, giving you a much bigger range of characters to choose from. And considering that there were years between them when they came out...
I continued my BG1 character onwards, as did all of my friends who played the games as they came out. Also, there wasn't that long between them: October 1998 for BG 1, April 1999 for TALES OF THE SWORD COAST and October 2000 for BALDUR'S GATE II.
And of course, everyone now uses the Tutu or Complete mods to combine the two games into one engine, giving you access to the BG2 kits right from the very start of BG1, so there isn't a problem in that regard.
Off the top of my head, some of the race/class dependent things are:
Fighters, barbarians, and monks get a keep;
Rangers get a cabin and a chance to become the guardian of a community;
Paladins become members of the Order of the Radiant Heart;
Clerics can get one of three churches, depending on their alignment;
Druids get a grove;
Wizards and sorcerers get the chance to teach apprentices;
Thieves get a guild;
Bards get to manage a playhouse.
All of those are independent of what kit you choose, which makes mechanical different but doesn't affect play beyond that.
Only humans, elves, half-elves, and halflings (and, in one case, half-orcs) get romance dialogue.
Viconia (the drow cleric NPC) won't enter into a relationship with elves, but will with half-orcs.
Men get three ladies who may fight over the PC's affection, women get one guy.
That's all in Baldur's Gate II. The story doesn't really split in the first game, except that you need a thief in your party for a certain set of quests in Baldur's Gate and good/evil-aligned NPCs will leave your party if your actions stray too far toward the other alignment spectrum.
There is some equipment that translates from a saved Baldur's Gate game to Baldur's Gate II...
The gold pantaloons, which can be combined with the silver pantaloons in Baldur's Gate II and the bronze pantalettes in Throne of Bhaal to great a giant metal mech;
If you get Drizzt's swords in Baldur's Gate, he'll take issue with it when you meet him in Baldur's Gate II;
A few other pieces of equipment (don't know which ones) get randomly placed in the starting dungeon for you to pick up again in Baldur's Gate II.
At the time it came out, I personally didn't care for Baldur's Gate I and made a new character for II. Then, when I got about halfway through II and realized how awesome the whole saga was, I went back and started up the first game with the intention of playing one character from the beginning on.
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First off, I would have severely recommended not getting the Enhanced Edition. There is ongoing legal action between Beamdog and Atari, and there is a very real chance that Beamdog will lose the BG licence. In that case, BG2: ENHANCED EDITION will likely never come out. I don't know if you can transfer a BG1: ENHANCED character to BG2 vanilla. It may not be possible due to the code changes (note: see above, which I just noticed :) ).
I'm well aware of that. I bought the Enhanced Edition before I learned of this. It was...kind of an impulse buy during my Steam Sale binge. I also picked up Crusader Kings II and the Mount and Blade collection during this time as well. More recently, however, I also picked up a 4-pack of the original game, with Baldur's Gate, Tales of the Sword Coast, Shadows of Amn and Throne of Bhaal for a bargain at a Half-Price Books. In the event that the legal troubles deep-six the Enhanced Edition of the sequel, I'll just revert to the older copy. It's kind of wonky on my widescreen monitor, though.
That said, BGI doesn't change too much based on race or class. Some people will go, "A dwarf, weird!" or "An elf in these parts? CRAZY!" and that's about it for the scope of the changes.
BGII changes an absolute ton though. Your class determines what sort of player stronghold you get (IIRC, magic-users and fighter/thiefs get completely different ones with completely different NPCs and quests attached). Quests change, outcomes change, romances change, character relationships change. It's basically impossible to get 100% of the content in one pass in BG2, but probably about 90% of the game stays the same. Certainly the main storyline and the major subquests do.
It should also be noted the BG2 is an absolutely gigantic game, so you can't trivially go back and replay the whole game with a different character. BG1 was a relatively focused 30 hours or so in length, but doing everything in BG2 (including the subquests and the expansion, THRONE OF BHAAL) will take you well over 100 hours, maybe even closer to 200. It's still, by far, the biggest game that BioWare have ever created and, based on some of their comments in the past, are ever likely to create.
That's why I'm interested. I've been a die-hard BioWare fan for over a decade, after my father accidentally bought Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic instead of Star Wars: Jedi Academy. I felt it only fair that I give both their magnum opii (I don't care what people say, the Mass Effect trilogy was some of the most epic stuff I've ever played through!) a go.
Thank you for the advice on what changes from game to game. I'm currently envisioning a paladin or a fighter/mage. What's my best option with the latter (paladin's human only, so that's a no brainer)? How punishing is the game of non-optimized characters? I've been told two-weapon fighting with longswords is the most optimal weapon loadout, but bastard swords have always appealed to me, and it seems kind of silly for a mage character to try and cast a spell with both hands full...
I've played through BG1/2 twice and both times I used my signature dwarven warrior character who uses a battleaxe, so I have no idea about other load-outs :)
It's kind of wonky on my widescreen monitor, though.
Google "Tutu mod Baldur's Gate". That will give you access to a simple-to-install mod that installs BG1 and TALES in the BG2 engine (pretty much what ENHANCED EDITION does anyway) and also allows you to change the resolution to whatever you like.
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Okay, I've been looking through this tutu mod stuff, and I understand what I have to do...I think. But I'm concerned that something might not be installing correctly (this is the 4-in-1 boxset). I do a custom install and check all the boxes, and it says there's no room for installation. I tried using the easy tutu once, after everything was done, and it said some files were missing. I'm wondering what's up here. Plus, when I tried a custom install of TotSC, it stopped at about 63% and then went non-responsive. What am I doing wrong?
I'd take a look at this:
http://voices.yahoo.com/why-give-baldurs-gate-1-tutu-mod-a-11816440.html
Or the actual Tutu forums here, since these are the people who made the mod:
http://forums.pocketplane.net/index.php/board,46.0.html
Tutu needs a little bit of massaging when you're using a compilation edition of the game, mainly because I think they use default installation paths which Tutu isn't expecting. It just involves moving things around a little so everything is where the mod expects to find them, IIRC.
As nice as Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition is, it's really just a teaser for BG2. I desperately want them to figure out their legal issues and get it done.
Also. I totally forgot just how frustrating BG can be. Or rather, how much it sucks to be level 1 in AD&D. :p
Generally, the game designers at this time assumed you'd most likely play a human male fighter or something close to it. It is more likely there are slightly more options for something with that configuration.
At the same time, there aren't downsides to any major build save for what you want to play.
I recall for me in BG1, it took awhile for me to find a cleric -- got a druid, but multiclass and thus not quite a good a healer as a full cleric. You do get access to a few, but it was just sort of the directions I took. So for practicality, there are advantages to starting off playing a cleric as you always have a party healer, but that doesn't affect quests and the like as far as I know.
IIRC in BG2, which has all the stronghold quests for the different classes, you get to do all the quests regardless of your class, it's just that you only "win" the stronghold at the end if you are the right class (but there are also major benefits to doing the quests anyway). The "best" stronghold to get was the fighter one, because you got access to its quest almost right away, and thus had a stronghold to operate from early on, but it really doesn't matter. Anyway, should you think you will end up importing your character into BG2, you won't "lose" access to a quest or anything if you're one class or another.
I don't know but I would expect that in the enhanced edition they added some good options for the new classes as well so that might be something to explore.
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There is a way to keep your gear from one to two if you import. As soon as the game comes up before your character makes that horid I'm dying noise if you pause you can drop all gear carried by your main before the game script strips it then when the cage opens its all there nice and neat on the floor.... this used to work no idea if it still does.... but it lets you keep the whole balduran set woot....
I'm aware of this. My question's now technical in nature, namely, the Tutu installation I'm trying to use for a disc version of the games. I've installed the stuff, but don't find any real changes in that regard.
All TUTU does is allow you to play BGI with the BGII interface, play options, and spell descriptions.
All TUTU does is allow you to play BGI with the BGII interface, play options, and spell descriptions.
Nope. You can also play as BG2 races/subraces, use dual-wielding and use the BG2 kits/classes as well. If you want to play as a kensai in BG1, you can.
Strongholds were neat but I rarely visited them after doing all the quests. Wizard one was annoying to get into and I could rest anywhere for the most part.
All TUTU does is allow you to play BGI with the BGII interface, play options, and spell descriptions.Nope. You can also play as BG2 races/subraces, use dual-wielding and use the BG2 kits/classes as well. If you want to play as a kensai in BG1, you can.
That's what I meant by 'play options'--sorry it wasn't clear.
Legal issues have been resolved and according to PC Gamer BG2:EE will be out November.
BG2:EE should be out by this coming Friday. I want this game so much!
I'm thinking maybe playing a gnome fighter/illusionist with single-weapon style and flails, romancing Aerie in the sequel. That sound cool to you guys?
I don't like Aerie. She's all yours. :)
Also finished BG on my most recent playthrough with a cleric/mage.
Hey, no being mean to Aerie. She's awesome! A wingless winged elf, what's not to like? And add a miniature giant space hamster to the mix, and it's all awesome.
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I'm thinking maybe playing a gnome fighter/illusionist with single-weapon style and flails, romancing Aerie in the sequel. That sound cool to you guys?I don't like Aerie. She's all yours. :)
Also finished BG on my most recent playthrough with a cleric/mage.
Any advice for a fellow Cleric/Mage?
Playing LN male half elf.
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I'm thinking maybe playing a gnome fighter/illusionist with single-weapon style and flails, romancing Aerie in the sequel. That sound cool to you guys?I don't like Aerie. She's all yours. :)
Also finished BG on my most recent playthrough with a cleric/mage.
Any advice for a fellow Cleric/Mage?
Playing LN male half elf.
Hrm. Advice? "You can't prepare enough Silence spells." But I'm sure you're aware. :)
If some of my fellow BG fans would like to check out my thread in the conversions section and possibly critic or hopefully some assistance and suggestions it would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
EtG