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JustJeff88 posted:My problem with the cannon party is a lack of healing. Jaheira is the only priestly class, and being a druid with mediocre wisdom combined with how healing spells are handed out means that she doesn't have enough healing potential. That said, I'm of the type who doesn't like to abuse resting, so if you don't play that way then it may well not matter. I'm also a terrible hoarder, and the game isn't too frugal about handing out healing potions either. BG2 doesn't do healing like a MMO does. All healing spells are dogshit for combat healing, excepting Mass Cure, Heal, and Greater Restoration. The other viable sources are Potions of Extra/Superior Healing and the Wand of Resurrection. The proper method is to first try to avoid damage with buffs or resistances, slam back those potions if necessary, and full Heals are pretty nice with late game health pools.
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Jul 28, 2014 10:44
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Rookersh posted:Also with that confirmation, what's uh, what's the benefit to the tougher boss fights? They make the game more fun for people who think the existing ones are trivially easy.
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Jul 28, 2014 10:44
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Sword Coast Stratagems posted:Jenkal, the halfling traitor in Gullykin, is currently a 4/4 fighter/thief. I raise her to 6/6 and give her some potions of invisibility. Jenkal will flee if badly hurt and will turn up again later in the game. More seriously, the secret passage in Jenkal's home is now blocked, requiring you to go the long way through Firewine Bridge to reach the Ogre Mage. Huh, guess I should have read the readme more closely.
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Jul 28, 2014 10:44
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The project eternity videos have me itching for more of this, but the only game I can't play with my eyes closed is icewind dale 2. Which consistently wrecks my poo poo. Specifically the goblin fortress and its drums of unending warg riders. What is a reasonable party build here, if I'm not willing to min/max the poo poo out of dudes? Party leader is a Paladin of Mystra, because I hate myself.
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Jul 28, 2014 13:01
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I'm trying to sacrifice to the Demogorgon statue in the Kua-toa lair and it doesn't seem to be working (BGII:EE). I use a scroll of Summon Monster, aim it and the feet and... nothing. What am I doing wrong? I googled it but I can't find anything on a bug there.
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Jul 28, 2014 14:48
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Levantine posted:I'm trying to sacrifice to the Demogorgon statue in the Kua-toa lair and it doesn't seem to be working (BGII:EE). I use a scroll of Summon Monster, aim it and the feet and... nothing. What am I doing wrong? I googled it but I can't find anything on a bug there. I had the same issue, I think. Try summoning outside the pedestal before moving it there.
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Jul 28, 2014 14:51
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Do you have any clerics or druids on hand? They should have the Summon Animals spells. Hexxat can summon wolves that'll do it, too.
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Jul 28, 2014 15:02
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dvl posted:Nice timing, I'm planning a new run of BG2 after I finish Original Sin in a few days and I just came here to ask about Ascension. Having not used BP before does it also work with SCS, Tweak pack and Dungeon-be-gone? According to the forums, it works fine with SCS because all you are doing is installing Ascension through it. The second you install any of it's combat/AI fixes though you hit some problems because they conflict. Tweak Pack is actually included in Big Picture according to the forums, so just install it through there.
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Jul 28, 2014 15:07
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FairGame posted:The project eternity videos have me itching for more of this, but the only game I can't play with my eyes closed is icewind dale 2. Which consistently wrecks my poo poo. Specifically the goblin fortress and its drums of unending warg riders. IWD2 doesn't really need min/maxing or cheese on a normal playthrough. For Goblin Fortress, try web + ranged weapons. It's cheesy, but I guess if you're stuck it doesn't matter. Try lowering the difficulty as an alternative since it's not going to get easier from there (it's a pretty flat difficulty curve IMO) unless you have a party of late-bloomers. Kubla Khan fucked around with this message at 15:25 on Jul 28, 2014 |
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Jul 28, 2014 15:23
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Kubla Khan posted:Oh well. Most people don't play SCS dude so, for the rest of us, it's the other way around. The Unholy Avenger is just a not-as-good Carsomyr.
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Jul 28, 2014 15:25
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Hi all. I've never really played a infinity engine game even though I've always been interested and I was thinking about starting out with BGEE. I have a few questions before I begin though. 1) I played through NWN2 with a halfling sorcerer before in order to familiarize myself with the basics of DnD and I was thinking about using that basic character in BG since the enhanced edition adds a sorcerer class. My question is, is there any reason at all to pick mage over sorcerer in the EE, given that I have no intention of multi-classing, and for some reason they didn't give the sorcerer in the EE a casting stat so you can make his stats whatever you want? Plus the fact that everyone seems to agree that you don't need all spells, only a few from each level? 2) whenever I've attempted to dive into BG before I always get super anxious to put together my final party ASAP because I don't want experience points going to people I won't use. The problem is I have no idea what sort of party I should form. All the walkthroughs don't give any clear answers, they just weigh the pros and cons of each character and leave the decision up to me. I don't trust myself to make a good party, I need somebody to just straight up tell me what party to make, leaving nothing up to me to decide. So, recommendations would be appreciated.
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Jul 28, 2014 15:48
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Jygallax posted:Hi all. I've never really played a infinity engine game even though I've always been interested and I was thinking about starting out with BGEE. I have a few questions before I begin though. In 2e, only humans can be sorcerers, but otherwise there's little reason to choose it over a single class mage, though the wild mage gets some pretty nasty tricks of its own. You can always have another mage in you party to learn scrolls and cheese specific encounters. I like it as a PC class because there's no NPC sorcerers. Jygallax posted:2) whenever I've attempted to dive into BG before I always get super anxious to put together my final party ASAP because I don't want experience points going to people I won't use. The problem is I have no idea what sort of party I should form. All the walkthroughs don't give any clear answers, they just weigh the pros and cons of each character and leave the decision up to me. I don't trust myself to make a good party, I need somebody to just straight up tell me what party to make, leaving nothing up to me to decide. So, recommendations would be appreciated. Exp doesn't matter as much as you seem afraid it will. Ideally any party will have a divine caster, an arcane caster, two frontliners and a thief. Some characters can fill multiple roles. Even the canon BG1 party is fine, though you should kick Khalid for a cleric (like Yeslick).
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Jul 28, 2014 16:06
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There is nothing a mage can do that sorcerer cannot do better.
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Jul 28, 2014 16:15
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Jygallax posted:Hi all. I've never really played a infinity engine game even though I've always been interested and I was thinking about starting out with BGEE. I have a few questions before I begin though. Even with only needing a few spells, only knowing 6 of each level is still a bit too restrictive. There's nothing really wrong with it, but you do give up a little versatility - for example, between Haste, Slow, Flame Arrow, Fireball, Skull Trap, Lightning Bolt, Melf's Minute Meteors, Dispel/Remove Magic, and Invisibility 10" Radius, you'll find that picking just 6 level 3 spells is pretty difficult - especially if you want to also take things like Summon Monster I that are useful at the level you get them but don't scale particularly well. That said, it's certainly not a bad choice for your protagonist, especially considering how many regular mage NPCs you can choose from to help cover gaps in your spell roster. As for a party, the "canon" (at least according to BG2) setup of Imoen, Khalid + Jaheira, and Minsc + Dynaheir isn't a bad one for your first playthrough. Imoen can handle all your thieving needs and is excellent with shortbows, Jaheira covers your divine magic and provides some excellent crowd control that regular clerics don't get, and Minsc is a strong front-liner as well as being excellent at range. Khalid is an acceptable second frontliner (especially if you're playing a squishy caster-type), and you can never get too many arcane casters. Lastly, if you find yourself getting bored and/or frustrated with BG1, BG2 basically skips all the tedious low-level D&D bullshit and jumps you straight in at the point where your characters have interesting abilities to play around with, and there's nothing wrong with jumping straight there. BG1 has certainly aged better than many other games of its era, but BG2 is overall a far more accessible game for a modern audience.
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Jul 28, 2014 16:18
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Jygallax posted:2) whenever I've attempted to dive into BG before I always get super anxious to put together my final party ASAP because I don't want experience points going to people I won't use. The problem is I have no idea what sort of party I should form. All the walkthroughs don't give any clear answers, they just weigh the pros and cons of each character and leave the decision up to me. I don't trust myself to make a good party, I need somebody to just straight up tell me what party to make, leaving nothing up to me to decide. So, recommendations would be appreciated. On this point. In BG1, you'll likely stick to the starting characters with one or two lategame exceptions. Thing is you can't get those lategame exceptions until end of chapter 3/4/5ish anyways, so you can't really rush them. However they do start at a higher level/with better gear to compensate for this. The base game itself does a good job of pushing you to good characters. If you have BGEE, you start with Imoen, who is a thief. After getting to the Friendly Arm Inn you get Khalid/Jaheria who fill the slot of front line/divine caster. Getting to Nashkel gets you Neera at Beregost ( Mage ), Minsc/Dynaheir at Nashkel ( Ranger/Mage ), or Branwen ( Nashkel Fair ). At this point you have a good set of options on how to advance. As Kajeesus mentioned you basically just need two frontliners, a thief, a healer/support type, and a mage. From what I listed. - Imoen is the canon thief and plays an important part in the series, so might as well stick with her. You can get some better characters in Baldurs Gate proper, but that's much later in the game. - Minsc is a frontline Ranger and can beserk to get out of status effects. He hits really hard and can set lots of major enemies as his enemy types. No reason not to use him. - Khalid has some morale issues if you try to minmax the game, but he's a good enough fighter to get you to the end of the game if your character doesn't start as a fighter. With Minsc backing him up/a good back line he shouldn't have many problems. - Jaheria or Branwen can both fill the roll of divine healer depending on whether you'd have a Druid or a Cleric in the role. Branwen costs quite a bit to free, and has more buffs. Jaheria starts with the party and has more debuffs. Personally I'd say stick with Jaheria because she's canon, plays a role in 2, and if you kick her Khalid leaves. - If you don't have BGEE you get stuck with Dynaheir. If you do have EE go with Neera. The only real "change" you could hit later is maybe wanting to add Yeslick to your party in an attempt to combine Khalid/Jaheria's roles and open up another party slot for a second thief or something. BG2 is basically Mass Effect 2 "collect your crew" the game, so I can't even begin writing up who to gun for in that. Just do quests and find people.
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Jul 28, 2014 16:33
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Did they ever fix/adjust Shapeshifters in BG:EE and BG2:EE? I seem to remember the werewolf forms being much worse than what werewolves are supposed to get (though admittedly immunity to normal weapons on the regular werewolf would be pretty ridiculous in BG1).
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Jul 28, 2014 17:08
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Is there a list of which of the popular BGII mods still work in the Extended Edition version?
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Jul 28, 2014 17:19
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Jygallax posted:Hi all. I've never really played a infinity engine game even though I've always been interested and I was thinking about starting out with BGEE. I have a few questions before I begin though. 1.) Sorcerers > Mages in pretty much every circumstance. There's just not enough good spells at each level. 2.) You can beat BG1 with pretty much any party, and you'll hit the XP cap if you do all the content. D&D low level xp is kinda weird anyway; a fighter with 8k experience (extraordinarily easy to attain) will be as good as a fighter with 15999, and so on. Other than some key levels (fighters get an extra 1/2 attack at level 7, clerics get level 2 spells including the overpowered Hold Person at level 3, etc.) you don't need to worry about levels too much. The expansion doubled the xp cap, but most characters could only gain 1-2 levels with all that extra room. Like...half the cap's exp will go toward moving people from level 7 to 8. So use whoever feels interesting. If you want an obscenely overpowered party that's easy to set and forget: ranged weapons rule Baldur's Gate. Recruit Kivan (in the area called "High Hedge" immediately to the west of Beregost) and Coran (on one of the Cloakwood maps; not accessible until Chapter...4?). Give them magical longbows. They will rain death on everything.
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Jul 28, 2014 17:29
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FairGame posted:1.) Sorcerers > Mages in pretty much every circumstance. There's just not enough good spells at each level. I wouldn't really suggest Kivan to new people though, since he's a crutch and will leave most peoples parties after they spend tons of gold on him.
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Jul 28, 2014 17:36
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Although in BG1EE you can also pick up a killer of a sorcerer in Baeloth, so there's that.
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Jul 28, 2014 17:44
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Alright, thanks guys. I guess I'll go with: PC sorcerer Imoen Khalid Jaheira Minsc Dynaheir Sucks that I can't make a halfling sorcerer in 2e, it would have been pretty boss if the EE got rid of the class/race restrictions as they were porting over cool things from 3e
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Jul 28, 2014 18:12
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Jygallax posted:Alright, thanks guys. I guess I'll go with: The tweak pack let's you get rid of race/class restrictions in bgee, or you can use eekeaper to change it manually after character creation.
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Jul 28, 2014 18:22
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Jygallax posted:Alright, thanks guys. I guess I'll go with: Keep in mind that you have 2 single class mages in this party and only a 1/2 druid, so your party will be a bit heavy on mage spells and light on priest spells. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but you will have to adjust your battle tactics to compensate. Personally I only really like to have 1 single class mage in a party since the best mage gear only drops once. (Staff of the magi, robe of vacna, etc. This is BG2 items though). Also you kinda have to babysit your mages and micro manage their spells, so having more than one can keep you pretty busy. You can't really go wrong with this party set up: 2 tanks 1 mage (or even half mage) that will eventually be able to cast 9th level spells (thus bard doesn't count) 1 priest or even half priest that will eventually be able to cast 7th level spells. (priest means cleric or druid) 1 rogue or half rogue (the only thief skills really necessary are find traps and pick lock. A 1/2 rogue can do that just fine) 1 whatever you want. Probably something with back up spell casting like a half mage, half priest or bard. That advice is more for BG2 though. BG1 is different since it's so low level.
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Jul 28, 2014 19:01
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Rookersh posted:I wouldn't really suggest Kivan to new people though, since he's a crutch and will leave most peoples parties after they spend tons of gold on him. Huh. I gather EE did something with Kivan that isn't in the base game? I've never lost Kivan (though I hardly use either him or Coran anymore because they just trivialize everything).
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Jul 28, 2014 19:04
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Jygallax posted:Alright, thanks guys. I guess I'll go with: If you're going for a sorcerer you may as well go for the Dragon Disciple kit which has a lot of goodies at the paltry cost of one less spell per level per day. BG:EE posted:Advantages:
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Jul 28, 2014 19:31
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"Paltry"
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Jul 28, 2014 19:33
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Sorcerers get plenty of spell slots and save for marathon battles it's really really rare that you exhaust them past a certain level. The DD disadvantage is actually pretty paltry. It is kind of funny that they stuck with the stat improvements when high con is useless for most characters Pierre McGuire posted:Did they ever fix/adjust Shapeshifters in BG:EE and BG2:EE? I seem to remember the werewolf forms being much worse than what werewolves are supposed to get (though admittedly immunity to normal weapons on the regular werewolf would be pretty ridiculous in BG1). Basic Chunnel fucked around with this message at 19:38 on Jul 28, 2014 |
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Jul 28, 2014 19:33
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Basic Chunnel posted:It is kind of funny that they stuck with the stat improvements when high con is useless for most characters You can start with 14 con instead of 16. Though if you're like me and at character creation you keep re-rolling until you get 90 something points then it really doesn't matter since you can max out all the stats you need anyway. Although I guess if you max out con you'll be able to get regenerating health before the end of BG. That's pretty cool, maybe?
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Jul 28, 2014 20:00
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Necroskowitz posted:You can start with 14 con instead of 16. Though if you're like me and at character creation you keep re-rolling until you get 90 something points then it really doesn't matter since you can max out all the stats you need anyway. What's this about regenerating health and maxed out con? That might be cool.
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Jul 28, 2014 20:07
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At 20 con you get 1hp/round. This is why Kagain regenerates. You can, too, if you get 20 Constitution. But since sorcerers can't multi or dual class constitution 17, 18 and 19 have no effect, and starting with 14 (or 13 and depending additionally on manual of bodily health) means you're super fragile early.
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Jul 28, 2014 20:09
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Rookersh posted:I wouldn't really suggest Kivan to new people though, since he's a crutch and will leave most peoples parties after they spend tons of gold on him. kaschei posted:At 20 con you get 1hp/round. This is why Kagain regenerates. You can, too, if you get 20 Constitution.
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Jul 28, 2014 22:08
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Jygallax posted:Alright, thanks guys. I guess I'll go with: I always find Dynaheir to be a really terrible mage because of the spell schools she misses. Edwin is a much better choice - although it does mean you can't get Minsc. I used Imoen, Khalid, Jaheira, Neera and Ajantis in my party, all of whom can be picked up right from the beginning. It's always a bit depressing to me what they did with Ajantis in BG2.
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Jul 29, 2014 01:08
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I don't see how anyone can stand to use Ajantis with his stupid doughy face awkwardly crammed into that helmet in his character portrait. You stay on that roadside, Ajantis! You stay there forever!
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Jul 29, 2014 04:07
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Is there a list somewhere of which spells and effects use which saving throws in IE? I think the simplified save categories was a huge improvement in 3e that no one ever talks about. Specifically, people were talking about the Claw of Kazgaroth, it gives a penalty to death saves, at what points in the game might that matter? Is almost every saving throw versus spells? because that's what I see most often in the toolbar.
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Jul 29, 2014 05:22
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Skwirl posted:Is there a list somewhere of which spells and effects use which saving throws in IE? I think the simplified save categories was a huge improvement in 3e that no one ever talks about. You have like 5 sets of saving throws, but really the only ones that matter are saves vs. poison/paralysis/death and saves vs. spell Petrify/Polymorph...I don't think actually does anything. Basilisk gaze checks vs. Death, and I've never seen an enemy cast polymorph other. Saves vs. Wand...I don't think I've ever seen an opponent use a wand, either. Can't remember the other save type (or if there even is one) Off the top of my head, the poison/paralysis/death check gets used in the following cases: -Struck by a poisoned arrow -Struck by a ghoul/ghast/whatever that can hold on hit -Basilisk gaze (I'm sure there's a lot more of these) Everything else saves vs. spell: sleep, hold person, saving throws for half damage against fireballs and poo poo I think Chromatic Orb does a save vs. death, actually. In any event, the Claw of Kazgaroth is great because as you get later into the game, the poo poo that can get you from spells is MUCH more dangerous than the poo poo that can get you from poison/paralysis/death. A ring of free action solves paralysis, a simple antidote solves poison, preparation before fighting basilisks covers you from death. The descriptions of wizard and priest spells give the saving throws in question.
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Jul 29, 2014 05:31
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FairGame posted:The project eternity videos have me itching for more of this, but the only game I can't play with my eyes closed is icewind dale 2. Which consistently wrecks my poo poo. Specifically the goblin fortress and its drums of unending warg riders. I like to have one of each type of caster because they all get different spells that own and buff spells are extremely powerful and often long lasting in IWD2. Assuming you want a Paladin I'd do something like: Paladin of Mystra Barbarian Cleric - All of the Deities are viable but Bane, Mask, and Lathander have imo the best domain spells. But all are perfectly viable if you're more into roleplaying. Druid Rogue[1]Wizard[x] - You're going to want someone to handle traps and locks, but only one level of rogue is needed for this task. If you detest one level dips then you can go for a pure rogue and it will do ok. It will require a lot of micromanaging to be effective, but it's viable. I hate microing rogues and would rather just have a wizard that handles locks, so I usually make my rogue this way. Sorcerer This party covers all the bases. You get a ton of spellcasting power, and your melee will also be devastating. I'm running a party like the above right now. The only difference is I made my Paladin a Paladin of helm[1]/Cleric of helm[x] because pure Paladins don't get much past level 1 imo. They're viable though, just not optimal. I also minmaxed my stats, but only because I'm playing on insane difficulty. You don't need to min max the stats for normal unless you want to. My main tips overall are sleep and command are just as powerful at low levels in this as they are in baldur's gate. I love Clerics of Bane because they get sleep as a level 1 domain spell which means you can have your cleric, your sorc, and your wizard tossing sleeps around. That will dominate most any opposition early on and let your tanks deal with the enemy piecemeal. Entangle and Web are also just as great here as in other infinity engine games. Buffs are important. Bulls Strength lasts a very long time and should always be applied to your meleers. Cats grace, likewise for your ranged characters. Barkskin is great in this and lasts a decent amount of time. Once your sorc and wizard get 4th level spells, they get stoneskin which in this can be applied to any party member. That will make your tanks much more durable if you keep it up on them as often as you can. Consider using two handed weapons with as many of your meleers as you can. This is because in IWD2 two handed weapons do 1.5 times strength damage compared to 1.0 for one handers, and shields in IWD2 do not generally give a significant enough armor class bonus to be worth the trade off. The best defense in IWD2 is a good offense as it is difficult to achieve a high enough armor class to consistently evade enemies. One important distinction though is that the 6th level cleric/7th level druid spell "heal" is insta cast in IWD2. That makes divine casters severely overpowered at higher levels and is why it's great to have at least two of them. Another note on divine casters - clerics can spontaneously cast cure spells by shift + clicking on any non domain spell you have memorized. The only catch is you need to be good or neutral aligned to do that. Evil clerics spontaneously cast inflict wounds. And so because of this there's no need with those 1st through 5th level slots to memorize heal spells. Just spontaneous cast them as needed. Uh that's all I have off the top of my head. IWD2's early game is quite tough even on normal, but things get easier after the horde fortress as your spellcasters start getting stronger spells. Just keep in mind: -Buff! -Sleep/command & web/entangle are your friend -Two handers on your high strength tanks will eat people for breakfast
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Jul 29, 2014 06:52
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Wolfsheim posted:I don't see how anyone can stand to use Ajantis with his stupid doughy face awkwardly crammed into that helmet in his character portrait. You stay on that roadside, Ajantis! You stay there forever!
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Jul 29, 2014 07:38
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Wolfsheim posted:I don't see how anyone can stand to use Ajantis with his stupid doughy face awkwardly crammed into that helmet in his character portrait. You stay on that roadside, Ajantis! You stay there forever! http://artastrophe.deviantart.com/art/PaintBG-v2-409324931 I use this pack and love it. Bonus points because it comes with a bunch of mod portraits and generic portraits for charname in the same style! Just using this portrait pack makes Ajantis, Coran, Faldorn and Shar-Teel useable without making me want to get their stupid portraits out of my face.
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Jul 29, 2014 08:56
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That actually reminds me that after 5 or so years, it appears that the only NPC mod I ever actually liked, Fade, has finally been extended into ToB. But then, they changed writers (hence the long delay) and added a romance aspect that was totally absent in the SoA portion of the game, so it may well turn to poo poo. But the SoA portion, as I recall, was uncommonly good. *e - actually it appears the romance may have been retrofitted into SoA, which would be a shame (fanmade romances are intolerable even for the rare dude like myself who finds them unobjectionable in core content). But you get the option to have her as a Shadowdancer, which is neat I guess. Basic Chunnel fucked around with this message at 11:09 on Jul 29, 2014 |
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Jul 29, 2014 11:05
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Deltasquid posted:http://artastrophe.deviantart.com/art/PaintBG-v2-409324931 I like the general style of PaintBG but i really dislike how everyone look like they are constantly scowling.
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Jul 29, 2014 11:20
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