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Stabbey_the_Clown posted:I think that's a spell on at least one of my divine casters, yes. I assume the proper usage of that spell is "save often and after you inevitably walk into a nasty trap, reload and cast it." It works the same as detect traps, but it's a 100% chance to succeed. Traps are checked for each round (6 seconds of IRL time). Also, be on the lookout for a spell called Clairvoyance, because it will reveal the whole map for you. I think it's a level 4 spell. It's more of a convenience thing than any real benefit.
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Aug 19, 2023 23:21
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Stabbey_the_Clown posted:I have at least one spare bow (I probably didn't need to be carrying those around, they don't break) and still many spare arrows, and Minsc already has a crossbow and some bolts. Bows are better than crossbows in every way because, for whatever reason, bows have a base of two attacks per round while all the other ranged weapons in the game have one.
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Aug 20, 2023 00:44
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bike tory posted:Bows are better than crossbows in every way because, for whatever reason, bows have a base of two attacks per round while all the other ranged weapons in the game have one. Its been a while since I really played, but did the Enhanced Edition ultimately add any really badass ranged weapons for high level BG2 or does the Tuigan Bow still remain the go-to?
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Aug 20, 2023 01:41
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wizard2 posted:Its been a while since I really played, but did the Enhanced Edition ultimately add any really badass ranged weapons for high level BG2 or does the Tuigan Bow still remain the go-to? I think Tuigan bow is the way to go.
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Aug 20, 2023 02:45
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I've always liked the Strongarm +2 at the adventurer's mart. Bonus of +3 to THAC0 and damage, but requires 19 strength and +4 damage over 2 shots probably isn't enough to compensate for the tuigan's extra shot. If you made the unfortunate decision of speccing long bows however, that's your best option.
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Aug 20, 2023 02:52
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wizard2 posted:Its been a while since I really played, but did the Enhanced Edition ultimately add any really badass ranged weapons for high level BG2 or does the Tuigan Bow still remain the go-to? The items upgrade mod is... Well it lets you have very silly things fairly early on in the game, but it includes a way of letting Cromwell forge a composite long bow that generates its own +4 ammo. So if you specced for long bows in BG1, that's the option. The OG games already had Firetooth the crossbow, which also makes +4 ammo on its own.
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Aug 20, 2023 02:59
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Suspicious posted:I've always liked the Strongarm +2 at the adventurer's mart. Bonus of +3 to THAC0 and damage, but requires 19 strength and +4 damage over 2 shots probably isn't enough to compensate for the tuigan's extra shot. If you made the unfortunate decision of speccing long bows however, that's your best option. Bg2 is like a giant gently caress you to Longbows after how OP they are in bg1. Bioware nerfed not only the bows but the ammo as well. Fortunately Firetooth and Gesen and Taralash kinda make up for that
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Aug 20, 2023 03:04
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In EE do they follow the "only behind the enemy" backstab formula or does it take the more modern sneak attack idea of being against enemies you have advantage over (or flanking them or whatever). Or does it do the dreaded must be hidden and behind stuff?
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Aug 20, 2023 04:08
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Only behind, still. And for multi/dual class thieves, only with weapons that a single class thief can use. So a staff yes, but a 2h longsword no.
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Aug 20, 2023 05:14
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The image of backstabbing sombody with a quarterstaff is always really funny though.
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Aug 20, 2023 05:31
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Vargatron posted:If you have access to Detect Traps, it's a good spell to have active in Cloakwood. IIRC, there are some traps there that have relatively high Find Traps requirements to find. So now there's a twist I wasn't expecting. A guy on the bridge who wants help hunting Wyverns and he needs to be in the party. He's a multi-class Fighter/Thief 4 (and seems to have more skill points than single-classed Thief 5 Imoen for some reason). He's got much better lockpicking skills than Imoen - good if I want to hit up the bandit camp which had 3-4 locked chests beyond her skill to open, but he has much worse trap detection. If I take out Minsc, he's my heavy hitter. If I take out Branwen, she's my main healer. If I take out Imoen, then I have little trap detection ability. ...I took out Branwen for the moment because I wanted the trap detection (and the extra damage a third ranged fighter brings against the nasty poisoning melee enemies helps), but this is rough going. I imagine the new guy will complain if I trudge all the way across the map to the Bandit Camp to open chests (and see if the arrows I stashed in the boss's tent are still there. They may be gone). Stabbey_the_Clown fucked around with this message at 05:52 on Aug 20, 2023 |
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Aug 20, 2023 05:41
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That dude is like the strongest Archer in the game. He has 3 pips in Longbow which nobody else has and like 20 dex, he is a monster at range
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Aug 20, 2023 06:05
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Stabbey_the_Clown posted:So now there's a twist I wasn't expecting. A guy on the bridge who wants help hunting Wyverns and he needs to be in the party. He's a multi-class Fighter/Thief 4 (and seems to have more skill points than single-classed Thief 5 Imoen for some reason). He's got much better lockpicking skills than Imoen - good if I want to hit up the bandit camp which had 3-4 locked chests beyond her skill to open, but he has much worse trap detection. If I take out Minsc, he's my heavy hitter. If I take out Branwen, she's my main healer. If I take out Imoen, then I have little trap detection ability. ...I took out Branwen for the moment because I wanted the trap detection (and the extra damage a third ranged fighter brings against the nasty poisoning melee enemies helps), but this is rough going. I mean, you could have ditched Imoen and had Branwen cast Detect Traps (that's a cleric spell right, not druid only?) You'd still need a way to disarm them, but that's what skeletons from Animate Dead are for.
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Aug 20, 2023 06:12
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Stabbey_the_Clown posted:So now there's a twist I wasn't expecting. A guy on the bridge who wants help hunting Wyverns and he needs to be in the party. He's a multi-class Fighter/Thief 4 (and seems to have more skill points than single-classed Thief 5 Imoen for some reason). He's got much better lockpicking skills than Imoen - good if I want to hit up the bandit camp which had 3-4 locked chests beyond her skill to open, but he has much worse trap detection. The wyvern quest only requires killing a wyvern and delivering its head to the specified NPC, no part of it requires his presence. Regarding thief skills: These are boosted by DEX in addition to assigned skill points, so the guy with 20 DEX is going to have higher overall values than the girl with 18 DEX.
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Aug 20, 2023 08:47
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Stabbey_the_Clown posted:So now there's a twist I wasn't expecting. A guy on the bridge who wants help hunting Wyverns and he needs to be in the party. He's a multi-class Fighter/Thief 4 (and seems to have more skill points than single-classed Thief 5 Imoen for some reason). He's got much better lockpicking skills than Imoen - good if I want to hit up the bandit camp which had 3-4 locked chests beyond her skill to open, but he has much worse trap detection. If I take out Minsc, he's my heavy hitter. If I take out Branwen, she's my main healer. If I take out Imoen, then I have little trap detection ability. ...I took out Branwen for the moment because I wanted the trap detection (and the extra damage a third ranged fighter brings against the nasty poisoning melee enemies helps), but this is rough going. I am vindicated, someone else has joined me in my eternal complaints about this "funny" coincidence!  If you take the dude along for a longer time, he has another mini-quest for you later in the game. And as others have said, he's designed to be over-powered in the ranged department, which is more or less king in BG1. You are correct that his quest timer is pretty tight, especially since travel times inside Cloakwood are so freaking long  In general, in BG games the stuff you put into containers (chests, bags sitting on the ground, holes on trees, whatever) will stay there until the heat death of the universe, unless the game over-rides the location for plot slash game engine reasons. I'm pretty certain the bandit camp map doesn't change after you complete it. That said, going back there for normal arrows is probably a wasted trip, those things are plentiful. Rappaport fucked around with this message at 11:26 on Aug 20, 2023 |
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Aug 20, 2023 11:24
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Thanks for the info. - I didn't say he was a bad character, he seems fine, and indeed better in many ways. It's just that one of the ways he isn't is spotting the many traps in the way. - On my first go, I did indeed ditch Iomen first. I then promptly blundered the party into the very first trap and everyone got stuck in a web trap while spiders munched on the people in front. After a reload, I took a closer look at the stats and tried a different approach. - Very helpful information about the Wyverns. I actually had a random encounter with two Wyverns earlier, which almost took Kahlid to zero, so I may just bug out and deliver the skulls. - EDIT: "Find Traps" is, as I suspected something you already need to know about the traps to make use of. It lasts 3 turns (18 seconds) and has an absurdly short range. - No one in my party has Animate Dead, Necromancy is one of an Illusionist's barred schools. - Good point about the Dex, that makes sense, that was my best guess. - I would not just be going back to the bandit camp just for arrows, there were some locked chests I couldn't open. Stabbey_the_Clown fucked around with this message at 13:19 on Aug 20, 2023 |
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Aug 20, 2023 12:48
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I just meant I've personally written several rant posts in this very thread about the kick in the shins it is that Coran has a lovely traps skill right before the most trapped map in Cloakwood (), I don't know if it was deliberate but it's one of the meaner things in the first game IMO. Wyverns: I'm almost certain it doesn't matter which one's head you turn in, it fills the quest and makes Coran happy. (Not really a spoiler I guess, but you can sell the "spare" heads in a couple of magic stores, they're a couple hundred gold a pop or something like that) I can't remember exactly which boxes are locked in the bandit camp, but there's some good stuff in Tazok's tent you want, and some of the side tents also have good mage scrolls etc.
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Aug 20, 2023 13:35
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A turn in BG is ten rounds. So a spell that lasts 3 turns lasts 30 rounds - 180 seconds. I still think the spell is garbage, but it lasts much longer than you think.
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Aug 20, 2023 14:34
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Best way to deal with traps is to cast invisibility on a thief and have them scout ahead of the party. If they're web traps then there's zero risk if they lack the skill to see/disarm it since the spiders won't be able to see them stuck in the webs. Invisibility lasts 24 hours so there's no time pressure either. If your thief's skills are a bit too low for picking/disarming you can buy a bunch of potions of master thievery from a merchant at Durlag's Tower (spoilered in case you don't want this sort of info up front). The potions last for something like 15 minutes of real time, so once again very limited time pressure. You can sort of mimic this with a cleric who casts find traps and sanctuary, but sanctuary only lasts a turn and the cleric can't disarm the traps and has to either go around them or trigger them. Edit: I haven't done the quest in a while but I think in the Enhanced Edition Coran wants you to kill a specific wyvern in a certain cave. You can't shortcut the quest by giving him any random head. Wicked Them Beats fucked around with this message at 16:17 on Aug 20, 2023 |
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Aug 20, 2023 16:11
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The wikia says quote:Note: In the Enhanced Edition, one specific adult wyvern must be slayed in that cave, and the head of any wyvern brought back; in the original, no specific wyvern must be killed, only an adult head brought back, such as heads from Wyverns in ambushes while traveling to and within Cloakwood. This seems like a very rear end-backwards change, since it is possible to collect wyvern heads anyway, why not give the specific wyvern a special quest item head while you're at it? 
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Aug 20, 2023 16:27
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It's nice to run both Imoen and Coran if you plan to dual Imoen at 6 or 7 by when you can max out her locks and traps skills. Coran can handle the other thief skills, especially stealth/backstab skills and Detect illusion which are really nice to have as a backup. Bye bye Davaeorn, you only lasted one backstab once I can dispel every protection you have by looking at you. Oh hi, Mr Werewolf with regen meet Mr Backstab. Etc. If you like backstabs, that is. I thought it was nice to have as an option. Detect Illusion is just great to have at all times, though you have to bear in mind the range is only 15m so you need to move around and actively search if you're trying to hunt that invisible assassin or whatever.
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Aug 20, 2023 16:41
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Air Skwirl posted:I mean, you could have ditched Imoen and had Branwen cast Detect Traps (that's a cleric spell right, not druid only?) You'd still need a way to disarm them, but that's what skeletons from Animate Dead are for. Summons don't set off traps in the EE.
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Aug 20, 2023 18:11
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Summons have never set off traps in classic either. If they did/do for you, you have a mod installed.
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Aug 20, 2023 23:54
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Wicked Them Beats posted:Edit: I haven't done the quest in a while but I think in the Enhanced Edition Coran wants you to kill a specific wyvern in a certain cave. You can't shortcut the quest by giving him any random head. It is this, which I did not learn until after I walked all the way there and did not get any dialogue. So funny story, remember when I said I had over 1000 arrows? I left 700 of them in the Bandit Camp. So by the time I actually found the Wyvern Cave, between Imoen and Coran, I was getting low on arrows. Imoen was using the Throwing Knives I was carrying around for my mage to throw (no Dagger proficiency) because I had bought up and used most of the darts in stock everywhere. The Wyvern fight was obnoxious without a second healer, I wasn't satisfied after multiple attempts. With the traps spotted and cleared already, I traveled all the way back to the first zone to swap out Imoen for Branwen, prompting Coran to complain I was taking too long. It turned out that even consolidating the remaining supply of arrows, I had... 19 left. That's not enough to take out that many Wyverns, assuming I even avoid any encounters on the way back.  I gave up and just loaded my pre-Cloakwood save and went exploring to get me, Minsc, Jahira and Imoen a new level. I encountered a nice elf named Fahrington who asked me to fetch his scroll, and he would improve the karma of the world. Upon retrieving it, I cast Identify and learned it was a scroll which would kill those who used it. I talked to him, and he told me to keep it to improve the karma or whatever. I got 300 XP for that quest. I promptly decided that the method by which I would improve the world's karma was to murder someone who gives people lethal scrolls. When I finally got that level for Imoen, I bumped her Pick Locks from 55 to 70 and Find Traps from 50 to 60. I don't think I was being good at optimizing her. But that was enough to open all the remaining chests in the bandit camp, and with my mage at level 5, I scribed a bunch of level 3 scrolls I had sitting around. Oh, What's this? "Fireball."  Rappaport posted:Oh, and if you're keeping Jaheira, you will want to go through all the side-paths in the spider part of Cloakwood, there's an item she might like. Is it the Mighty Oak +2 club? That seems to be the only thing which fits the bill after being thorough in the first three screens, and partly looking at the fourth.
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Aug 21, 2023 00:23
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Stabbey_the_Clown posted:Is it the Mighty Oak +2 club? That seems to be the only thing which fits the bill after being thorough in the first three screens, and partly looking at the fourth. That one is nice too! What I was thinking of is a +2 scimitar in the south-east-ish part of the spider map. I think it's either next to a corpse or a bit further down from it. Sadly it is sitting on the ground, so if you missed it, it may have de-spawned 
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Aug 21, 2023 00:29
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Oh, I just discovered the Sleep spell, I thought the Sleep spell was bad, because the 5e version is meh. The 2e Sleep spell is NOT bad. Especially since the EE displays radius for spell effects.Rappaport posted:That one is nice too! What I was thinking of is a +2 scimitar in the south-east-ish part of the spider map. I think it's either next to a corpse or a bit further down from it. Sadly it is sitting on the ground, so if you missed it, it may have de-spawned No, I found that one, right next to another cursed magic item. I thought it didn't seem to be great for her. I'll give it another look. EDIT: Compared to her Quarterstaff +1, it decreases her THAC0 by 2 and decreases minimum damage by 1 and increases it by 1. The scimitar seems to be good for pretty much no one. The +2 Club from the same area though, is better than both the scimitar and staff in all aspects. Stabbey_the_Clown fucked around with this message at 05:25 on Aug 21, 2023 |
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Aug 21, 2023 02:59
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Stabbey_the_Clown posted:Oh, I just discovered the Sleep spell, I thought the Sleep spell was bad, because the 5e version is meh. The 2e Sleep spell is NOT bad. Especially since the EE displays radius for spell effects. Sleep is no joke one of the best spells in BG1, which again reinforces my argument that Xan is better than Dynaheir. With the weapons it's up to what you've invested in pips, Jaheira can get 2 in clubs and scimitars and since they are one-handed, it leaves her other hand free for a shield. Even BG1 has some good shields, but nothing as silly as what you find early on in BG2. But! Choosing one one-handed weapon for her and a shield leaves her other weapon slot open for a sling, and given how ranged combat works in your favour (mostly) in BG1 after the early hump, it's a choice to consider rather than having her wave a staff around. Although I understand the more current EE versions make this a moot point, so hey!
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Aug 21, 2023 03:19
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Stabbey_the_Clown posted:Oh, I just discovered the Sleep spell, I thought the Sleep spell was bad, because the 5e version is meh. The 2e Sleep spell is NOT bad. Especially since the EE displays radius for spell effects. For THAC0, lower is better. It means the number you have to roll (equals or higher) on a d20 to hit armor class 0, so a lower number gives you better chances to hit.
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Aug 21, 2023 12:39
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(BG1) I blazed through Cloakwood, faster and more efficiently this time for various reasons. Got the Wyvern Skulls, picked up some additional trying to get out of the forest, turned them in, discovered that each one you sell to the same guy decreases the amount he'll pay (Economics!), found no one else who'd buy them. I used the chest in the hunting cabin as a stash for extra arrows and things. I reached the secret mine, and circled the perimeter. There's no other way in but the front, the guards out front are hostile on sight, so guns blazing it is.Arivia posted:For THAC0, lower is better. It means the number you have to roll (equals or higher) on a d20 to hit armor class 0, so a lower number gives you better chances to hit. Yes, thank you. I will clarify. Trying to equip the scimitar on Jahira (or anyone) has the number in red, and it is higher than other things. She has 2 pips in Clubs and Quarterstaves and 0 in Scimitars (If I ever had the chance to assign any pips to her, I don't recall it, it could have been a year ago. I have no idea when or if characters get additional weapon proficiency pips). Quarterstaff +1: THAC0 = 14 Rasheed's Talon +2: THAC0 = 16 Mighty Oak +2: THAC0 = 13
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Aug 21, 2023 14:00
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Jaheira's a multiclassed fighter/druid so would get the better of the two classes' progression, so she gets a new pip every 3 fighter levels (and is limited to a max of 2 pips in any given proficiency). +2 weapons are (mostly) as good as it gets in BG1 (though it may be worth paying the inn in Ulgoth's Beard a visit when you get a chance). It'll probably be worth investing in Scimitar proficiency for Jaheira if you intend to keep her for the long haul (she's available in Siege and BG2 as well, though I don't know how her proficiencies map in the later games since it's been a long time since I played without mods that save her progression between them).
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Aug 21, 2023 14:23
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I would need to look at how many pips Jaheira gets again because there's probably no reason not to pick up scimitar although she hasn't ended up with it yet in my current run through. But Mighty Oak vs Rashad's Talon is a lot of technically betters which D&D loves but probably don't impact you in something balanced like BG and SoD. Just some top line damage that is non strength modified about 15% or if you are a giant strength potion addict it drives it closer to only 5% different. Combined with Jaheira is a good blob of stats to throw into the front line to tank and heal so if you are a shield user that difference diminishes by intent and if you are using her as a primary damage dealer for some reason you are doing unhinged things with the staff spear or staff of striking.
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Aug 21, 2023 14:49
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docbeard posted:Jaheira's a multiclassed fighter/druid so would get the better of the two classes' progression, so she gets a new pip every 3 fighter levels (and is limited to a max of 2 pips in any given proficiency). Vanilla Jaheira starts out BG2 with somewhat silly pips, she gets 1 in staves, 1 in scimitars, and 2 in clubs. Plus 1 in slings and 1 in sword and shield (ugh), but her later spell progression makes her a better choice for the front anyhows.
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Aug 21, 2023 14:49
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At what point do you all start dropping buffs from your pre-fight buff rotation? I've just gotten to Saradush in ToB with a party of CE Barbarian, Korgan, Viconia, Jan, Edwin, and Mr ToB and my buff rotation pre-fight is usually something like; Viconia: True Sight, Chant, Armour of Faith, Remove Fear, Protection from Evil 10' Radius, Chaotic Commands for V, E, J, Mr ToB. I have negative plane protection and death ward spells on hand if need be. Edwin & Jan: Stoneskin, Blur, Mirror Image, Vocalise, Improved Haste for Charname, K and Mr ToB. I have spell immunity and protection from magical energy on hand if I run into Mages to try and keep my protections up with SI: Abjuration. I did try using Improved Invisibility 10' against (SoA spoilers:) the black dragon in Suldanesselar but Korgan got the crap beaten out of him and I had to wait for the invisibility to end before Viconia could heal him. Charname, K, Mr ToB - barbarian and berserker rage for the first two, HLAs for all three. Am I missing anything here or is there something I can cut down on because gearing up for fights has gotten quite tedious. I should probably spare some slots to set up contingencies and spell triggers and sequencers. I'm playing on the difficulty between core rules and insanity, and no mods installed so no expanded spells.
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Aug 21, 2023 15:09
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Then there being basically no clubs worth using.
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Aug 21, 2023 15:11
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Yeah. Clubs get no love whatsoever in these games. You can make due in BG1 but in 2 there's Blackblood and... that's about it. You can use that one that explodes if you feel like killing your party (and that's the one they decided should get upgraded in ToB).
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Aug 21, 2023 15:22
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Gnasher tends toward good until you hit an enchantment wall. Really needs APR bonus like Belm/and/or haste to get enough oomph out of the ongoing damage. There are some solutions to the club of detonation in a party setting but they all tend toward tedious.
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Aug 21, 2023 15:35
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(BG1 Chapter 4) I just pulled off a very satisfying pincer attack, using secret passages to enter a room from two directions. My opening hello was a charge from the Wand of Fireballs, which wiped out most of the room in one shot, allowing me to focus down Hareishan before she could attack. Attempt number 1 went really well, I cleared it with little trouble. Then I accidentally misclicked and drank the potion of explosions. I was not trying to do that. I had a split second after hearing the *gulp* to go "...gently caress" before the room turned inside out. On attempt number 2, I wasn't as coordinated with my entry and discovered that she had Chain Lightning. But attempt 3 went well enough. If I turn down the aid of the Dwarf Cleric prisoner, are they lost forever? If so, is the surface zone, the mine entrance, a safe place to leave someone behind for later? EDIT: And does he have any special dialogue with the boss? I would presume so, but it will determine who I leave behind. Stabbey_the_Clown fucked around with this message at 15:56 on Aug 21, 2023 |
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Aug 21, 2023 15:50
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I've just started playing Baldur's Gate 1 for the very first time. I'm having fun so far! thought I'd struggle with UI/mechanics much more because I don't have a ton of experience playing IE games. I don't suppose there's any Toggle Run button? I know there are things like Haste or Boots of Speed or something, but I'm asking about regular running. I'm playing the Enhanced Edition if that makes any difference
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Aug 21, 2023 15:57
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You are already running. The EE made the movement speed faster. The original was slower.
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Aug 21, 2023 16:01
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Flowing Thot posted:You are already running. The EE made the movement speed faster. The original was slower. 
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Aug 21, 2023 16:01
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