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Haha found a most amusing tactic for the third basement level in Durlag's tower. Cast minor globe of invulnerability on your mage, rush into that room where there's a poo poo load of skeletons, then run all the way back as far as you can towards the stairs up to level 2. The skeleton archers will follow into the first room where there's a fireball trap which goes off every few seconds. They will get scorched while you will be fine thanks to your minor globe. I guess you could do that with every monster in that zone actually though I haven't tried it.
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Nov 21, 2013 06:30
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Basic Chunnel posted:Did they patch minor globe to protect against AoE, then? Because I specifically remember most of the mage buffs only protecting against directly targeted damage. As far as I know it's always protected against aoes. I remember in my previous run using minor globe + spamming mage aoes on myself and not being affected by them. Did bgee have an issue with it or something? I don't remember it ever not working that way.
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Nov 21, 2013 07:05
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Suspicious posted:No, being mazed ending the game has always been a solo only thing. It's imprisonment that ends the game even if you have party members able to free your PC. Which makes the Improved Abazigal fight super annoying since for some reason they decided to give him imprison. I've had so many times in that fight where I'm close to winning and he's imprisoned my pc, and it's pretty annoying because that fight is very difficult so having to reload when you basically just about won is a tough break.
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Nov 21, 2013 21:22
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voltron lion force posted:Many of the "Improved" fights are bullshit. I like a lot of the SCS changes, but always leave those off. They aren't actually done by SCS, at least not the throne of bhaal ones. The TOB ones were done by I believe David Gaider, who actually worked on the original game. I like them, personally. They're challenging for sure but beatable. Imp Yaga-Shura is probably my favorite just because it turns that into a massive fight where you can just have a blast unloading with your high level spells.
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Nov 21, 2013 21:33
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Suspicious posted:Spell immunity: abjuration also stops and protects against dispel/remove magic, so you're covered. That's my strategy too. It usually works alright, though sometimes he still gets an imprison off on someone. I suppose spell immunity would work but that would require your pc to be a mage or bard variant of some kind. I guess a prot from magic scroll would also do the trick if you can remember to save one for that fight. e: Rascyc posted:Ah it looks like Ascension is not quite ready for BG2:EE judging by the main forum, too bad. You should still be able to individually install the improved tob fights I would think? Pop them in the override folder and it should work unless Bg2:EE has changed the scripts/fights enough that doing that breaks them. I dunno though, haven't gotten around to trying it yet.
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Nov 22, 2013 06:45
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John McCain posted:Because they were deliberately extorting you to make up for the fact that Bodhi is literally bleeding them dry. Plus they're kinda terrified of you and Irenicus and want to see what you're both capable of. I mean basically all of the poo poo bodhi said is true. The shadow thieves were using you.
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Nov 22, 2013 08:57
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Well I couldn't figure out how to beat Sarevok on sword coast strategems so I just uninstalled that and finished the game. My main problem was the mages with him spawn in buffed to all hell and even with Edwin's spell thrusts I couldn't seem to dispel them fast enough to take them out. Plus they always spam remove magic on me which kills my buffs and after that they spam confusion or chaos. game over. I'm curious what I could have done about all these save or suck spells. Sure there are pots of clarity but not a ton of them and in any case I'm fairly certain those potions can be dispelled. Chaotic commands is a 5th level spell and so not available in bg1 if you're playing under the cap. I'll probably try strategems again in bg2 as I mostly enjoyed it but I dunno maybe I won't allow enemies to use the pre buff thing this time. That poo poo gets a little crazy and turns every fight into a dispel fest which more often than not the computer wins due to the higher level of most enemy casters. I'm curious what the hell I could even do about the computer's love of using dispel under SCS in bg2. They love to do that and then spam save or suck spells in bg1, and I doubt bg2 will be much different. In bg2 I will have chaotic commands, but that can still be dispelled. I guess spell immunity is my only real defense against such a tactic? That seems kinda tough since that's a level 5 spell and iirc is self cast only leaving your other party members at the mercy of dispels. I tried in bg1 to use invisibility to disrupt the targeting of the computer's spells but even with invis their dispels still seemed to hit me every time. I guess going invis doesn't disrupt the cast of their spell, even though I'm pretty sure it works that way for me so i guess the computer just cheats.
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Nov 27, 2013 02:09
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Baron Bifford posted:Cavaliers are immune to poison, which is a pretty big threat in BG1, so you've got that going for you. Also pretty easy to achieve really high fire resistance early on making fire pot spam easy. e: With a cavalier I like to grab the ring of free action or spider bane, and wear a ring of fire resistance + helm of defense. With those items equipped and your natural abilities you can just tard your Cavalier in and spam web/fireball on him all day. The enemies will get hosed by fireballs and web/entangles and your paladin will be safe thanks to his immunities. Ginette Reno fucked around with this message at 22:24 on Nov 28, 2013 |
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Nov 28, 2013 22:21
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Suspicious posted:It's the annoyance of the 3 BG1 NPC mages. Dynaheir can't cast sleep and Xan can't cast magic missile, web or fireball (though he can cast skull trap). While Edwin can do both, he can't cast identify for all the magic loot you'll collect. Kind of makes me want to pull out my hair when I'm playing through as a non-wizard and trying to decide which one I want in the party. I've never found identify to be must have in bg1. It saves a fair amount of gold I guess but you find such a massive amount of gold over the course of the game that you won't even notice it in the long run.
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Nov 29, 2013 21:35
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bunnielab posted:Holy poo poo, I just fast talked my way into the bandit camp! I didn't know you could do that. What the hell do I do now? Walk around looting everything in sight and then go into the main tent and beat up the big bads. Iirc you can go in there and kill them and it won't make the main camp hostile. So basically fast talking your way into the camp just makes beating it require less fighting as you only have to do the boss fight rather than massacre the whole camp.
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Nov 29, 2013 23:01
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In bg2 you get the same amount of hit points every level up after like level 9 i think it is so it's not a big deal anyways. Once you hit 9 you stop rolling for hps and just get a set amount every level up.
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Dec 4, 2013 22:32
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kingcom posted:That game would have been 10 times worse if you couldn't murder drizzt and steal his shoes. I like that one book in IWD2 which is titled: "Face it, you're basically neutral evil" because it's so damned true. Even playing with a good party I still find myself doing occasionally questionable things just for the sake of some xp and loot. How many players out there truly roleplay a good party to the fullest extent? I know I'm not one of them. I'll do poo poo like do the Renal Bloodscalp quest line which requires you to flat out murder a cowled wizard and other things like the drow fighting pits just for the sake of the xp and loot. One of these days I should try fully roleplaying a good party I guess.
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Dec 5, 2013 02:36
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Drow and other +ECL races can be nice to have in your party in IWD2 simply because IWD2 calculates XP gains for your party based on your total party level and it uses actual character level not effective character level. What that means is a party with a Drow in it will gain more xp than a party without one as the Drow party will have a lower party level than the other one. What that can mean is your non ECL characters can level pretty fast thanks to the increased xp gain. I suppose it may balance out at some point and I've never sperged enough to know when or if that would be but early on that improved xp gain is nice.
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Dec 5, 2013 07:50
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SolidSnakesBandana posted:Any trip reports on Sword Coast Stratagems for the Enhanced Editions of Baldur's Gate 1 and 2? I beat Baldur's Gate 1 with it a while ago using the Big World Project and it was basically the hardest game I've ever played, especially since I was using pre-buffing mages. I'm trying it again with the enhanced edition and it seems that either there have been some alterations the mod, or its the enhanced edition, because it seems to be even harder. I've played partway through BG2 previously not using the enhanced edition, but it seems to take the combat to a whole other level and I'm wondering if it won't be too ridiculous to bother with. I like a challenge but is it just totally inconceivable for someone who hasn't beaten it at least once? I just played through sword coast strategems with Bg1: EE and I had pre buffing, etc enabled. I didn't find it too difficult except for a few fights. I did uninstall it at the very end because the Sarevok fight was too frustrating for me. I also found it rather annoying how it was next to impossible to dispel enemy mages but they could easily do so to me. The key is to make full use of all the resources the game offers you. Don't be afraid to use potions, rest a lot, and go into any remotely difficult fight buffed to the gills. You're also going to want to have certain spells memorized as they will be lifesavers for you. Spell thrust is great if you can find it (I did, but I forget where) as it removes minor globe of invulnerability which enemy mages almost always have up with prebuffing on. Once that globe is down you can hit enemy mages with area effect spells like web etc which can immobilize them for your fighters which you can then protect with freedom or magic resist pots and go to town. I won a lot of fights against mages that way. You're also going to want spells memorized which dispel invisibility as mages love to go invis. It's mostly a matter of finding the right method to defeat certain enemies. For mages I usually used that priest spell which canels invis (forget what it's called, it's level three i think) and then spell thrust to get rid of their globe of invuln and then web spammed them while wading in with my fighter/mage who would have a ring of freedom ready for that occasion. Tough melee enemies is just a matter of hasting everyone and doing everything you can to buff ac. Sometimes that's not enough and you kinda have to kite enemies that hit you too hard to go to toe to toe with. The biggest thing to watch out for is enemies love to dispel with that mod. I never really found a good counter to it other than doing my best to prevent them from getting that spell off, or if that wasn't doable simply immediately re-doing as many of my buffs as I could. Another thing that's annoying is enemies use stoneskin but there's no breach scroll available in bg1. Certain weapons can hit even through stoneskin though, like that +2 longsword will still do its cold damage even through the stoneskin. That makes it invaluable for disrupting enemy mages. It's not easy with that mod but it's definitely doable, you just have to have a good knowledge of game mechanics.
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Dec 5, 2013 23:09
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fong posted:Are you playing in the Enhanced Editions, or in regular BG2? Because the latter has bugged Greater Werewolves. Yeah in regular bg2 sometimes they bug out and get some sort of weird super regeneration where they heal so ridiculously fast that you can't kill them fast enough unless you unleash overwhelming DPS on them all at once. No idea if that's still a bug in EE as I haven't played the EE of bg2 yet. e: I also can't recall if there is any way to fix it sort of reloading a save from before you entered the dungeon and hoping it doesn't bug out again.
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Dec 15, 2013 21:30
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Baldur's Gate more like Baldur's GREAT am i right
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Dec 18, 2013 07:40
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Are the improved throne of bhaal fights working with bg2ee yet? I remember months ago reading that they didn't work with it, but I was curious if that had been rectified yet. I'm starting an insane difficulty enhanced edition run and I was hoping those worked now since those fights are a blast and much more challenging than their vanilla versions. Gonna do a Sun Soul Monk. Not sure what party I'll use yet. I think I'll bring Neera along, and probably Rassaad too. Two monks in bg1 will probably be quite gimp but whatever, I've beaten it so many times that I'm sure I can handle it.
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Mar 20, 2014 21:29
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Furism posted:Does anybody have general tips for the very last fight of IWD? I managed to get through pretty much all of the game but that one I just can't and it makes me want to punch my screen Iirc the first thing that happens when that fight starts is Belhifet casts a dispel on you. As soon as that dispel has finished hitting you, pause and do some buffing. At the very least haste your party. Try to distract one or both of the iron golems with summons. Focus fire Belhifet down, or focus fire the golems down one at a time and then Belhifet. Belhifet is the only one you have to kill to beat the fight so you don't even necessarily have to kill the golems, but it might help if you're having too much trouble tanking with the three of them beating you up.
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Mar 29, 2014 20:33
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I dunno if my game bugged out or what but the most hilarious thing just happened. I was fighting that mage and those two mustard jellies in that zone outside the Nashkel mines and it was raining out and suddenly lighting started striking constantly. It hit Viconia and nearly killed her, hit the mage and nearly killed him, hit my monk I think once, then it hit each of the jellies like 1-2 times each and I guess did damage to them even though they have like 90% magic resistance or whatever. The lightning strikes helped me easily finish the two jellies off. All told I think there were like six lightning strikes. Some hit my party, and some hit them. I consider it fortunate I survived since I play on insane so any time I take damage it's a big problem. Somehow those strikes didn't kill me though. I've played bg zillions of times and I don't recall ever seeing this happen. Maybe it's a bgee bug. It was hilarious though.
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Apr 10, 2014 07:24
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People actually use the Slayer mode? I only ever used it in the Mindflayer area to open the doors.
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Apr 20, 2014 23:41
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DeathChicken posted:It's also the cheapest way to roll over Kangaxx. Imprisonment doesn't work on the Slayer. I guess there's that too. What else are you gonna use the protection from magic scrolls for if not that fight, though?
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Apr 21, 2014 02:38
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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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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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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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Just play a Wild Mage, cast improved chaos shield/improved alacrity/ and then spam dragon's breaths via nahals and laugh as you chain gun like seven level 10 spells on enemies in about five seconds.
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May 29, 2014 06:18
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DeathChicken posted:Psh, how could anyone hate Neera? I could see hating her personality but Wild Mages are perhaps the most powerful class in the game by TOB. She'll put even Aerie to shame.
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May 30, 2014 02:12
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Casting improved alacrity, improved chaos shield, time stop, then chain gunning dragon's breaths via nahal's reckless dweomer. Goooooood luck enemies.
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Jun 12, 2014 19:31
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FairGame posted:Obviously you know enough to breeze through the game with most anything, but I think you're really sleeping on dual wielding. Single weapon is okay for backstabbers since it gives crits on 19/20. A backstabber is probably still better off dual wielding but single weapon isn't terrible, especially at low levels when dual wielding as a poo poo thac0 class is bad. Sword/Shield has a minor amount of utility if you're a class that is only ever gonna get one attack/round anyways. I always use a shield on single class clerics since they're gonna lack the amount of attacks/prof points to be effective as meleers anyways.
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Jun 18, 2014 05:14
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MegaGatts posted:I like shields in BG1 because arrows are such a death trap. A large shield +1/+4 vs. missile weapons is a solid choice through the end of the game. In BG2 dual wielding takes off and remains tops until the series finishes. Yeah shields are very useful in early bg1 when arrows are so deadly. Shields are in general probably your best bet in bg1 actually since there aren't any great off hand weapons for dual wielding and because the extra ac can make a huge difference at low levels when you don't ever want to get hit. I don't know how long it's been this way but I just checked Good Old Games and right now all the infinity engine games look like they're 3.99 so if anyone is looking to buy say IWD or something like that now looks like a good time. I'm about to go snatch up IWD and IWD2 since I don't have them any more. I also haven't played through either in forever so I think I'm gonna do an IWD run. They're both pretty fun games. e: Think I might go on a gog spending spree actually. gently caress it man, 3.99 for most of their games right now is a fantastic deal. Gonna grab Torment too. ee: actually I'm not sure if it's a sale or if I'm just getting lower prices because I already have a lot of games from them in my library. Uhhhhh well either way I'm gonna take full advantage of this. Ginette Reno fucked around with this message at 20:03 on Jun 18, 2014 |
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Jun 18, 2014 19:55
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I forgot how good warchant of the sith is in IWD. I wish that ability was in bg, I almost always bring a bard in my IWD/IWD2 runs because I love that song so much. It's also cool how Druids get more spell options, especially at lower levels. The BG spell list for Druids is absolute poo poo for level 2 spells, but in IWD it's at least got a decent spell or two.
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Jun 22, 2014 07:28
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John McCain posted:Some lovely and ridiculous ones include: You can only ever use the Slayer Transformation once; Luck permanently fucks you over by removing weapon proficiencies; Drow equipment crashes your game after you leave the Underdark; dividing stacks can crash your game. Why is that last one a problem? Ditch the drow gear, poo poo turns to dust anyways unless you can figure out a way to exploit and always travel at night.
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Jun 29, 2014 02:54
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Skwirl posted:Is there a mod that (Shadows of Amn endgame spoilers, might as well keep with the trend)let's you get the bonuses from all the end game stuff in Soa when starting a new character in ToB, either letting you make each choice, or just a general "I took the Evil path/I took the Good path" thing. I've beaten SoA a couple of times but always give up halfway through ToB, and I'd like to beat it, but a bunch of those bonuses are good quality of life improvements when dealing with ToB content and I'm pretty sure if I start again from SoA I'll just give up halfway through. I don't know of any such mod, but it wouldn't be all that hard to shadowkeeper yourself in the bonuses you get.
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Jul 7, 2014 06:09
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PrivRyan posted:Holy hambean, IWD is hard. Yes it is, and IWD2 is even harder. It's very fun though. I just beat IWD and its expansions a week ago and I'm on IWD2 too. Rollin with a 4 person party and man Insane difficulty is somewhat of a bitch in IWD2 because unlike previous IE games where insane just makes monsters do double damage, I'm pretty sure insane in IWD2 ups monster attack bonuses by a huge amount on top of making them hit harder. Doin' alright though because my tank is a deep gnome monk who I buff the poo poo out of while my cleric, druid, and rogue/wiz just unleash hell with spells. I kinda like this 4 person party thing. I haven't done it in forever, but it's far less micro heavy than six and you gain xp faster, though that's at least somewhat nerfed in IWD2 because of the way they calculate xp gains.
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Jul 8, 2014 21:13
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Disco Infiva posted:IWD2 also has Heart of Fury mode that is pure I think IWD has Heart of Fury mode too. I've never tried it, though I kinda want to. I'm pretty sure HOF mode is intended for a party that has already beat the game though. From what I've read tackling IWD2's HOF mode involves gimmick builds with super high ac or abusing the fact that summoned monsters scale just like the enemies do therefore even level 1 summons on HOF mode are really strong.
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Jul 8, 2014 21:58
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Yeah web/entangle + free actioned tanks was basically my go to tactic in IWD1. I'd do that then melee 1-2 enemies at a time or drop a poo poo load of aoe spells like death fog, fireball, spike stones, etc. You can get a lot of mileage out of such tactics.
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Jul 9, 2014 00:05
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JustJeff88 posted:BG was basically unprecedented and has never been equalled in terms of defensive spellcasting options, and it was very possible to make your mage immune to virtually everything. Just as an example, I cannot recall any other D&D-based game where Protection from Magical Weapons was available. All of these shielding spells made all of the many counterspells necessary, which just added to the depth and complexity. Honestly mages still get more than enough spell protections in IWD1 and 2 to be titanium cannons. Mirror image and stoneskin are still in both of those games, and the combination of those two spells means you're free to nuke at will for a few rounds at least without worrying about anything. Improved Invisibility is also great, particularly in IWD2 where it offers concealment. Iwd2 also offers the tactic of having characters with spell resistance and improved evasion. My tank right now in IWD2 is a Deep Gnome Monk, and I can pretty much tard him right into a bunch of enemies and then start dropping aoes on him without worrying about him dying because he has spell resistance and improved evasion. It's harder to do that in BG and you won't be able to achieve it until you acquire things like Carsomyr, bhaal tears, and other gear.
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Jul 10, 2014 20:15
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Factor_VIII posted:Sure, mages are powerful. However their power isn't off the charts like in BG2. E.g. you don't have the Improved Alacrity/Time Stop followed by Dragon Breaths combo since none of these spells are available. Same applies to powerful utility spells such as Contingency or Spell Trigger and to broken spells like Project Image. Also, IWD only has few 8th level and only two weak 9th level spells in the game. In IWD2 at least you have Sorcerers, and the weaker mages is somewhat offset by the fact that Clerics are utter Gods in IWD2 what with insta cast heals, powerful domain spells, and an increased ability to melee compared to a 2nd edition cleric. Also in IWD1 at least Clerics get righteous wrath of the faithful which is a supremely badass Cleric spell. It adds an extra attack per round for your party as well as +2 attack, damage and saving throws which when combined with haste turns your meleers into a mobile gibbing squad. The only downside is you suffer fatigue when it ends and the fatigue seems to be far worse than haste fatigue as I noticed when wrath of the faithful wore off my party couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with the fatigue they suffered. Still you can always rest and that spell + haste will turn almost any encounter in the game into a joke.
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Jul 11, 2014 05:36
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I'm doing a 4 character run through IWD2 right now. It's feasible. In IWD2 at least you don't actually level that much faster with a smaller party than with a big party due to the way xp gains are calculated (lower level parties gain more xp, higher less). I'd say my 4 player characters are on average about 1 or maybe 2 levels higher than a six player party would be. That can make quite a difference for spellcasters though as you get access to the more devastating higher level spells quicker than a six player party would. The micromanagement is also much easier, and you have less characters to divy up powerful items with. It also makes ECL characters a little more palatable when you use them in a smaller party as they'll still level decently fast. Leveled up Drow and Deep Gnomes are a beautiful thing. In IWD1 you don't have to worry about the way xp is calculated and so you can use as big or a small a party as you want, with a smaller party leveling much faster than a larger one. One thing to note with IWD1 though is if you are using a small party your mage character will level up insanely fast but it will be a bit useless to be that far ahead in levels as you won't find high level spell scrolls fast enough to keep up with the new spell slots you open up by leveling so fast. Clerics and Druids don't have to worry about that, of course, and in IWD2 you don't have to worry about that if you take along a Sorcerer instead of a Wizard.
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Jul 15, 2014 07:59
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Disco Infiva posted:Paladin Holy Avenger Cera Sumat is from IWD2. I don't remember there being one in IWD1. There is. It's called Pale Justice, and you find it on a body in a little house in the Umber Hulk/Malavon area in Lower Dorn's Deep. It's extremely easy to miss.
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Jul 16, 2014 09:29
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You just gotta learn how to aim that web spell so it hits the enemies and not you. Web/entangle is probably my favorite tactic even before I have access to freedom of movement gear. I use that tactic in every infinity engine game because it's so damned effective. Just scout ahead with a stealthed or invisible character and then lure enemy groups into ambushes with entangle/webs. Then you can pick them off at your leisure with ranged weapons or nail them with area of effect spells like fireball. A key to being effective with spells like web is to scout so you know what is coming and can plan the timing of using those spells. And later on like Sweart Gliwere said you can use the freedom of movement spell (4th level cleric/druid spell) in order to make your own party members immune to web and entangle. Then you can just tard your meleers in and not even worry about it. There are also some rings that give freedom of movement and in bg1 there is a two handed sword that gives that attribute.
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Jul 17, 2014 23:14
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