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JustJeff88 posted:I can see your point about the ferrett, though. It's hard to put points into pick lock when it's mostly optional and used sparingly. Bards are great for that, but if you don't have one then a ferrett could really feel a niche. Too bad they can't drink potions. Cats have a 99% stealth, so they are pretty good scouts. Their high speed means they can move around pretty fast too. Too bad they can't do anything about traps. My favorite scouting tactic is to turn a thief invisible and then have them search for traps while moving around the map. Disarming traps doesn't break invisibility and with invisibility you don't have to worry about failing a stealth check. Also frees up the Thief to invest his skill points on Find Traps, Pick Locks and Set Traps.
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Apr 24, 2014 17:55
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Why bother when after a few playthroughs you know where all the enemies and traps are anyway? I find the trap finding system too cumbersome to bother even for some kind of RP reason.
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Apr 24, 2014 21:11
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fong posted:Why bother when after a few playthroughs you know where all the enemies and traps are anyway? I find the trap finding system too cumbersome to bother even for some kind of RP reason.
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Apr 24, 2014 21:18
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Factor_VIII posted:My favorite scouting tactic is to turn a thief invisible and then have them search for traps while moving around the map. Disarming traps doesn't break invisibility and with invisibility you don't have to worry about failing a stealth check. Also frees up the Thief to invest his skill points on Find Traps, Pick Locks and Set Traps. Jan is absolutely perfect for that in BG2, and I can't think of a party where I wouldn't want him. There are plenty of other caster/thieves in 2, of course, but none are as fun or as thematically appropriate as Double J. BG1 doesn't really have that kind of option... I know that it's standard to dual Imoen, but I find her as annoying as having sand in my shorts, so I always give her the sack as soon as I can find another thief, usually Coran.
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Apr 24, 2014 21:37
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JustJeff88 posted:Jan is absolutely perfect for that in BG2, and I can't think of a party where I wouldn't want him. There are plenty of other caster/thieves in 2, of course, but none are as fun or as thematically appropriate as Double J. BG1 doesn't really have that kind of option... I know that it's standard to dual Imoen, but I find her as annoying as having sand in my shorts, so I always give her the sack as soon as I can find another thief, usually Coran.
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Apr 24, 2014 22:16
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JustJeff88 posted:I played BG1EE last fall and had a CN Blade. I never gave a thought to him having a Familiar until I tried to have Edwin summon one and the game reminded me that only the main character can use that spell. That's what reminded me that "Hey, my main dude can cast any wizard spell in the game... eventually" and I had him call up a cat, who was a handy scout for parts of the early game. Now he's just adorable and stays in my bard's inventory. Is it worth it to actually roll with a bard as your PC in BG? They seem ridiculously gimpy compared to rolling a straight Fighter, Mage, or even a multi classed F/M. I mean, I loved my bard in IWD, but mainly for not having to waste time with identify spells for all the +1 arrows I was tripping over. Wolfsheim fucked around with this message at 23:33 on Apr 24, 2014 |
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Apr 24, 2014 23:30
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Wolfsheim posted:Is it worth it to actually roll with a bard as your PC in BG? They seem ridiculously gimpy compared to rolling a straight Fighter, Mage, or even a multi classed F/M. Vanilla bards are kinda mediocre but some of the kits, especially the Blade, are quite strong.
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Apr 24, 2014 23:32
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Wolfsheim posted:Is it worth it to actually roll with a bard as your PC in BG? They seem ridiculously gimpy compared to rolling a straight Fighter, Mage, or even a multi classed F/M. a medical mystery posted:Vanilla bards are kinda mediocre but some of the kits, especially the Blade, are quite strong. The fact that bards level up on the rogue table (i.e. loving fast) is what makes them viable. Vanilla bards are indeed rubbish in BG, though they are very good in IWD with the expansions and IWD2. Blades start out shite but they, as I said, level up very quickly and their spins are brilliant. The Lore penalty is significnt, though, but being able to cast any wizard spell, just less of them, plus handling pickpocket duties (another area where Blades get the shaft) and become blenders at high level makes them excellent 5th/6th group members. They wouldn't be worth it in a 4-man party, but if you are playing BG as it is meant to be (group of 6), then they definitely have a place.
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Apr 25, 2014 00:05
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Wolfsheim posted:Is it worth it to actually roll with a bard as your PC in BG? They seem ridiculously gimpy compared to rolling a straight Fighter, Mage, or even a multi classed F/M. Most of the advantages of BG/2 bards have been mentioned above, but they also are the best Dispel/Remove Magic casters outside of Inquisitors. Plus, some mods like Rogue Rebalancing give bards the ability to cast up to level 8 spells which is a huge buff.
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Apr 25, 2014 00:17
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Bards in ToB also get the use any item HLA, which is loving awesome. I did a solo blade run, it was one of the easiest runs I ever did. You get to 10 attacks/round really fast with offensive spin, you have all the utility spells you need, and you can equip whatever you want. If a caster is giving you loads of trouble you can always just equip Carsomyr and some MR equipment. Also, you get HLAs really fast thanks to the leveling, and the fast levels make skull trap, magic missile etc do a shitton of damage. The Blade is the best thanks to the spins and getting 3 pips in dual wield. The downsides are not really downsides: you can't sing as good and lore/pickpocket scores are halved. Who the gently caress cares, just splatter everyone you see with two overpowered weapons, like FoA/Crom Faeyr or something.
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Apr 25, 2014 10:19
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Samopsa posted:Bards in ToB also get the use any item HLA, which is loving awesome. I did a solo blade run, it was one of the easiest runs I ever did. You get to 10 attacks/round really fast with offensive spin, you have all the utility spells you need, and you can equip whatever you want. If a caster is giving you loads of trouble you can always just equip Carsomyr and some MR equipment. Also, you get HLAs really fast thanks to the leveling, and the fast levels make skull trap, magic missile etc do a shitton of damage. I forgot about UAI - even better. I thought that bards could use wizard spells up to level 8 in BGII at very high levels umodded, but perhaps not given what the earlier poster said. My comments about Lore and PP were based on having just done BG1 and being lower level where it makes more of an impact. It goes without saying that in BG2/ToB at very high levels bards can identify the last shoe any random pebble was in and pinch the wings off of a fly without being noticed. Keep in mind that, barring some serious grinding/editing, bards and pure rogues are just about the only single-class character that is going to hit level 40, or near as drat it, by the end of ToB. Mind you, I generally have one pure arcane caster and Jan in my ToB runs, so my bard's casting abilities are not a huge concern. Even at the end of BG1 with just one arcane caster, I tended to forget that my bard even had spells. Admittedly somewhat unforgivable as he had Mirror Image, Haste, Blur, and a bunch of other good ones. JustJeff88 fucked around with this message at 17:48 on Apr 25, 2014 |
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Apr 25, 2014 17:46
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Samopsa posted:The Blade is the best thanks to the spins and getting 3 pips in dual wield. The downsides are not really downsides: you can't sing as good and lore/pickpocket scores are halved. The Improved Bard Song HLA eliminates the only non-trivial downside to a Blade, and you still can have the Blade cutting dudes into pieces by using Mislead or Simulacrum to have a singing clone.
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Apr 25, 2014 18:34
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JustJeff88 posted:I forgot about UAI - even better. I thought that bards could use wizard spells up to level 8 in BGII at very high levels umodded, but perhaps not given what the earlier poster said. One of the options in the tweak pack alters the spell progression table so Bards can access 7th and 8th level spells. Though you won't get 8th level spells until level 29 There's always Vhailor's helm though
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Apr 27, 2014 21:07
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Sorry if this has already been asked, but are characters from BG: EE (ipad version) importable into original, non-EE BG2 on PC? It seems the save files can be transferred to PC but couldn't find an answer beyond that.
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May 4, 2014 00:25
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Convex posted:Sorry if this has already been asked, but are characters from BG: EE (ipad version) importable into original, non-EE BG2 on PC? It seems the save files can be transferred to PC but couldn't find an answer beyond that. I'm going to, confidently and without evidence, say no. You may be able to import the characters in the sense of names and stats and portraits, but any dialogue or development will lack the scripted triggers of whatever EE devs did. You pass by the previously unimportant villager who now is supposed to know weird secrets about your buddy and nothing happens. If you ever played back at release, stuff like InfinityExplorer and GateKeeper let you play around with dozens of event flags. The flags (SetViconiaRescued or SetSpiderladyHostile or VillageHatesYou whatever) let the game keep track of changes and relationships without needing to use massive save files. Could be completely wrong. But I played the games a bunch around initial release.
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May 4, 2014 01:02
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sweart gliwere posted:I'm going to, confidently and without evidence, say no. You may be able to import the characters in the sense of names and stats and portraits, but any dialogue or development will lack the scripted triggers of whatever EE devs did. You pass by the previously unimportant villager who now is supposed to know weird secrets about your buddy and nothing happens. Literally nothing except equipment carries over from BG1 to BG2 in the non-Enhanced game anyway (and I doubt they changed BG2EE to make anything carry over from BG1EE). No plot variables or anything were ever saved. There's no reason to think you'd have any trouble importing from BG1EE to vanilla BG2 unless you have character kits or items that were added in the EE.
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May 4, 2014 05:11
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And that's also why every recurring character you meet has some level of dialogue options that are basically: Hello, old friend! Get the gently caress away from me! Didn't I kill you?
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May 4, 2014 05:52
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Thanks for the replies, I'll post an update if I do get it to work!
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May 4, 2014 08:17
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Anybody play through bgee on an Iphone or similar sized Android phone? I'm thinking about getting it for my Samsung Galaxy S3 and I'm just wondering if it's playable.
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May 4, 2014 10:29
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Skwirl posted:Anybody play through bgee on an Iphone or similar sized Android phone? I'm thinking about getting it for my Samsung Galaxy S3 and I'm just wondering if it's playable. Pretty sure it's tablet only.
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May 4, 2014 11:36
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John McCain posted:Literally nothing except equipment carries over from BG1 to BG2 in the non-Enhanced game anyway (and I doubt they changed BG2EE to make anything carry over from BG1EE). No plot variables or anything were ever saved. There's no reason to think you'd have any trouble importing from BG1EE to vanilla BG2 unless you have character kits or items that were added in the EE. Technically not true, if you import your characters, and he has Drizzt's items when stripped of his possessions, then Drizzt knows that he was killed and you need to talk your way out of it. It's a cool mechanic but since you can't import SPRITE_IS_DEAD variables then it only works with characters with unique, droppable items
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May 4, 2014 11:59
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Why wouldn't they include the new voicesets from BG:EE in BG2:EE  e: or the new portraits.
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May 4, 2014 18:00
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Cythereal posted:Not in 2nd Edition it's not, and classic BG1 is a 2E game. Druids had to be True Neutral, period, in that edition. Same thing with rangers being required to be some flavor of Good. Sure but in BG2 it's a valid alignment for her so they should have changed it just like they changed her stat line. True Neutral is a dumb alignment in the context of her characterization 
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May 4, 2014 18:26
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netcat posted:Why wouldn't they include the new voicesets from BG:EE in BG2:EE The more important question is why you haven't made your own voicesets to use. You could be using the Macho Man's voice right now and you aren't.
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May 5, 2014 04:30
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netcat posted:Why wouldn't they include the new voicesets from BG:EE in BG2:EE Because the only valid portrait pack was made years ago. Are you racist?
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May 5, 2014 06:35
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sweart gliwere posted:Because the only valid portrait pack was made years ago. Are you racist? You linked to the wrong page. http://portraitcity.blackwyrmlair.net/portraits.php?page=102&gender=M&pp=12
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May 5, 2014 17:41
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I'm contemplating finally going through the Baldurs series. I often start in 1, get mid-way and get bored - playing as a Bard with Blade kit. Should I just give up on 1 and start 2 and go from there? Or is going through 1 worthwhile enough?
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May 5, 2014 19:49
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IchGestalt posted:I'm contemplating finally going through the Baldurs series. I often start in 1, get mid-way and get bored - playing as a Bard with Blade kit. Should I just give up on 1 and start 2 and go from there? Or is going through 1 worthwhile enough? 2 is a superior game in all facets. If 1 bores you, go ahead and play 2.
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May 5, 2014 20:02
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IchGestalt posted:I'm contemplating finally going through the Baldurs series. I often start in 1, get mid-way and get bored - playing as a Bard with Blade kit. Should I just give up on 1 and start 2 and go from there? Or is going through 1 worthwhile enough? You're not missing much in the way of story. The view traditionally held, is that seeing your character transition from peasant to god of murder is a large part of the charm. I don't know, I guess it makes sense. But BG1 certainly isn't for everyone - personally I've come to prefer it, but if you're not having fun it as you're finding it, it's kind of a waste of your time, isn't it? I'd probably skip ahead to BG2, now that (it sounds like) you've got a feel for the tone of the first. You can always go back and play through BG1 again in the future, to get the full experience, if it strikes your fancy.
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May 5, 2014 20:08
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Bobfly posted:You're not missing much in the way of story. Good point. Thank you. I'll start on BG2 sometime soon and just read a plot synopsis of 1.
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May 5, 2014 20:12
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The biggest thing you'd miss is pretty much every character in BG1 turning up in BG2, so your main character can go "Hey, didn't I get you killed?"
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May 5, 2014 20:19
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IchGestalt posted:Good point. Thank you. I'll start on BG2 sometime soon and just read a plot synopsis of 1. The BG2 intro tells you everything you need to know about the plot of the first game.
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May 5, 2014 20:26
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I'm playing through right now on a multiplayer run with my brothers and a friend. It's the friend's first time through the series. We're playing on insane because we're assholes. It's fun to see someone's first reactions to bg. It's a breath of fresh air for someone like me who has played since the game first came out. It will probably end up taking us forever to finish the series due to work and schedule conflicts, though.
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May 5, 2014 20:39
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IchGestalt posted:I'm contemplating finally going through the Baldurs series. I often start in 1, get mid-way and get bored - playing as a Bard with Blade kit. Should I just give up on 1 and start 2 and go from there? Or is going through 1 worthwhile enough? You should definitely try BG2. I think it also depends on the way you're playing. I kinda also got bored mid-way through BG1, mostly because I was doing too many side quests that aren't that great. At that point I just decided to follow main story and interest started coming back. BG2 is truly amazing game and I'm sure you're gonna enjoy it more.
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May 5, 2014 20:46
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I've beaten BG1 twice before and that was probably two times too many. I just don't really enjoy BG1 and only really attempt to play it out some kind of duty. BG2 is a massively better game in every way.
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May 5, 2014 20:57
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I like 1 a lot more than 2 v v I don't know, I just find 2 kinda slow and boring in comparision and there's way too many quests getting shoved down your throat from the get go.
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May 5, 2014 21:28
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Wolfsheim posted:Is it worth it to actually roll with a bard as your PC in BG? They seem ridiculously gimpy compared to rolling a straight Fighter, Mage, or even a multi classed F/M. Bards can use wizard only wands (and scrolls) and are therefore automatically awesome in BG1. They're basically tankier, faster leveling mages who can use longbows and fight in melee. The NPC bards kind of loving suck though (poor stats). In BG2, bows and wands get nerfed but bards get UAI and their level advantage starts to actually matter (better dispels, faster skeleton warriors, harder hitting skulltraps) and they become crazy death-blenders in melee with buffs and the right equipment. The bard kits are all just straight up better than the base class, and the blade is the bestest and there's pretty much no reason to pick any of the others.
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May 5, 2014 21:28
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So, I recently caved and got BG1:EE for my mac, and now I want to install a few mods for it. Namely, the tweak pack and SCS. They both have OSX installers, but I can't get them to work; I'm told I don't have the proper access rights when I try to install them. I've also tried the installer app someone on the official forums has made, but that one can't seem to find anything, even when run alongside the mods themselves from inside the Resources folder. I'm kind of stuck here. Does anyone have a clue for me? I'm running OSX 10.6.8, if it matters.
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May 5, 2014 22:07
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Wolfsheim posted:Is it worth it to actually roll with a bard as your PC in BG? They seem ridiculously gimpy compared to rolling a straight Fighter, Mage, or even a multi classed F/M. Bards (even Blades) are basically a worse version of a F/Ms (multi or dual), but fun to play nonetheless. You don't have to min-max to beat the game, so a Bard is as good choice as any. Their high-level abilities give them some nice tricks that make the late game pretty interesting (improved bard song, UAI, spike traps etc.).
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May 5, 2014 22:45
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Smol posted:Bards (even Blades) are basically a worse version of a F/Ms (multi or dual), but fun to play nonetheless. You don't have to min-max to beat the game, so a Bard is as good choice as any. Their high-level abilities give them some nice tricks that make the late game pretty interesting (improved bard song, UAI, spike traps etc.). Yeah I mean a Blade may be a worse version of a f/m but it's not by much and it's a powerhouse of a class. Offensive spin owns as does the bard HLAs and up to level 6 spells is more than enough to make you a powerhouse.
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May 5, 2014 22:53
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