After the mines - then what?

Pinkadin

I just finished the mines and I have a bewildering array of options open right now. The main plot says to go to Peldvale and find the bandit camp, but there's so much else to do. Bassilus, the various equipment quests (find the boots, belt, ring, short sword, etc.), find the halflings, and there's just plain old exploring to do. Then there are the mystery locations that haven't even been referred to yet. Durlag's Tower? Who is Durlag, and is it going to screw up a quest if I go there and clean it out? Why does Ulcaster have a name?

What's a good guideline for what to do next? I know, it's open-ended exploration, blah blah blah. I just want to avoid a situation where I wander around accomplishing quests before I get them. I also want to avoid getting too much XP from wandering around, so that when I get to major plot points, they're not too easy. I screwed around for too long exploring before going to the Mines, and my party was all level 3, and it wasn't even a contest. I just blew through the kobolds as they had obviously been meant as a 1st or 2nd level challenge.

SionIV

I would advice you to go out and explore, get a bit more experience and some neat items. There is a lot to see in the world of Baldur's Gate and there are several both hilarious, entertaining, sweet and even some rather cruel quests out there in the wilderness.

One thing that Baldur's Gate has going for it that many other older games have too, is that there is no obvious difficulty line they follow. You won't always get a logical level up guideline to follow, some enemies will be rather easy while others will make you think "what happened here?"

Nashkel is pretty simple if you have a good fighter at the front and some good armor on you, you'll start facing other adventure groups now that have clerics, mages and very strong fighters in them and they come stocked up on magical gear. So you'll get your challenge, but it doesn't always follow a clear path when it comes to the difficulty.

I would advice you to explore a bit, you can clear the bandit camp if you want but after that you'll probably want to explore at least a few of the wilderness areas before you continue on.

Some of the hardest and most challenging fights in the game are from side quests and groups you'll face at locations that are far away from the main quest line.

Jarrakul

I would advise against investigating Durlag's Tower for a while. It's huge, pretty tough, and contains probably a good third of the experience in the entire game, so if you get through it you'll be overlevelled for a good while. Other than that, run around and have fun. You could probably continue the main plot at this point if you want, but it's not gonna become crazy easy if you pick up another level or two wandering around.

superluccix

Id highly recommend not doing Durlags tower until you have finished exploring everything up till before Cloakwood in chapter 4.

Also, even if you do get there, you would need a thief with practically 100 Find Traps skill. That place is pure chaos

FrdNwsm

Yeah; I got hung up in Durlag's tower. Never did get off the bottom level. The four watchers guarding the lift kept kicking my butt. I'd suggest getting your crew to level 6 or so with a lot of decent gear, and a bunch of healing potions. I did get a ton of experience, though.

FrdNwsm

Oh, and, as far as where to go ... once you clear the Naskell Mines, there's a lot of freedom of action. The bandit camps are probably the best bet (you can make a ton of money selling bandit scalps to Officer Vai in Beregost). But nothing is set in stone. Sometimes you may want to go after specific equipment. You may want to go kill an ankheg first, for example. Bring back an ankheg skull to Thunderhammer, and he can make you a suit of Ankheg armor plate mail. With the right gear, including that armor, I buffed up one warrior's AC to -5. Or maybe you have picked up Neera, and want to go to Adoy's Enclave to see if he can help her control her Wild Magic. Or bring the talking chicken back to High Hedge (don't forget the skull!). Going after Basileus? Be prepared to face down a lot of undead minions.

dunbar

Your journal entries and hints picked up along the way point out the straightforward route which generally speaking gains you enough experience at each stage to tackle the next one. If you party is working well and feels confident then you can explore as you head towards your next objective, but bear in mind that the further off the beaten track you roam, the more difficult the encounters become (again, generally speaking).
So basically I would recommend going with the flow but testing your limits as you go along by investigating anything interesting that you come across. Don't forget that if you come across any situation that is too tough to handle you can just back off, go back to the main story line, and come back later when you're stronger and better prepared.

Pinkadin

Is it me, or does Viconia totally suck? I should keep Branwen, but she's not evil and I'm doing an evil playthrough. Branwen is a tough front-line fighter who doesn't do much damage, but still she holds the line. Viconia...she can't go on the front line because she can't wear plate or shield, and putting her in the back with a puny sling is just lame. I know the answer is probably "get item XX from place YY" but I don't have the game memorized like you all do, I'm just blundering around and exploring randomly.

Where is Basileus supposed to be? The journal doesn't give any indication of where he's hiding. Please no spoilers, they already did enough above.

dunbar

I usually have Viconia in my party in both BG1 & 2. Yes there are certain items that can improve her stats (but the same goes for any character), the trick is partly in making sure you match her weapons to her abilities but mostly in the role you give her in the party. She is not a front line fighter but can melee as a back-up to a tank where she will be on hand to cast healing spells during combat. She gets access to some great buffing spells and many others that are really useful. I find her a useful utility player that can really shine when given some of the bits of kit that you find along the way.

As for Bassilus, various conversations (and I thought the journal) give you the general direction to head in (in terms of compass points) - although not necessarily the distance.

Chnapy

Well viconia with a splint mail still has better ac than kagain with a full plate mail. Give her a small shield, maybe you can find an ankehg lying around somewhere, Viconia can wear ankheg plate. She'll never have good hp though.

dunbar

Viconias lack of xp is why I specifically use her behind a tank who takes all the hits.

baldurskjd

For viconia I always have a mage memorize a strength spell and give her any strength potions until I find bett.er gear

FrdNwsm

I made an amusing discovery, almost by accident. Jaheira takes a while to level up, due to being dual class. Some folks might want a different, single class druid because of this. I made this discovery almost by accident. Jaheira, unlike pure druids, is able to wear plate mail AND still cast spells. Might be a bug, since Imoen when dualed to mage can't cast spells in any sort of armor, but it nakes Jaheira's slower level progression worth while. Give her Ankheg plate, medium shield and a +2 club and Jaheira is able to stand in as a melee fighter as well as providing spell support before and during combat.

procco

FrdNwsm said:

I made an amusing discovery, almost by accident. Jaheira takes a while to level up, due to being dual class. Some folks might want a different, single class druid because of this. I made this discovery almost by accident. Jaheira, unlike pure druids, is able to wear plate mail AND still cast spells. Might be a bug, since Imoen when dualed to mage can't cast spells in any sort of armor, but it nakes Jaheira's slower level progression worth while. Give her Ankheg plate, medium shield and a +2 club and Jaheira is able to stand in as a melee fighter as well as providing spell support before and during combat.

Druids and clerics don't have the same casting restrictions while wearing armor that mages have. I think the rationale behind that is that the divine casters are just praying to their god when casting a spell, whereas a Mage is making all kinds of gestures and tossing powders in the air and just generally looking silly and can't have their movement restricted by all that armor.

Heindrich

procco said:

Druids and clerics don't have the same casting restrictions while wearing armor that mages have. I think the rationale behind that is that the divine casters are just praying to their god when casting a spell, whereas a Mage is making all kinds of gestures and tossing powders in the air and just generally looking silly and can't have their movement restricted by all that armor.

@procco I imagine it's also a mix of balancing and lore reasoning. Clerics in particular are modeled after Medieval holy warriors like knights templars and warrior priests, who traditionally were heavily armoured. Mages are inspired by classical characters like Merlin and Gandalf, i.e. old men wearing robes. Arcane spells are also significantly more powerful than Priest spells, so armour restriction is a balancing factor too.

FrdNwsm

Actually, pure Druids DO have restrictions on what armor they can wear. Presumably it's because they derive power from nature deities, as opposed to the more standard clerics. It's the druid/fighter combination that sort of breaks the rules. Since these hybrids are restricted to using only the same weapons that pure Druids can use, I sort of assumed, in keeping with that logic, that they were restricted in armor use as well, if they wanted to cast spells during combat (as opposed to casting defensive spells and then changing to metallic armor before entering melee). Hence my surprise at finding out that Jaheira could still cast spells in heavy armor.

Alexisisinneed

Pinkadin said:

Is it me, or does Viconia totally suck? I should keep Branwen, but she's not evil and I'm doing an evil playthrough. Branwen is a tough front-line fighter who doesn't do much damage, but still she holds the line. Viconia...she can't go on the front line because she can't wear plate or shield, and putting her in the back with a puny sling is just lame. I know the answer is probably "get item XX from place YY" but I don't have the game memorized like you all do, I'm just blundering around and exploring randomly.

Where is Basileus supposed to be? The journal doesn't give any indication of where he's hiding. Please no spoilers, they already did enough above.

Like others have mention Viconia makes a good back up tank. While Brawen can fill that role too. Brawen has one point in wisdom higher than Viconia so I think she will get more priest spells. But I think it really just comes down to what kind of party are you running. If it's evil stick with Vicky because she'll love it. If it's a good party stick with Branwen because she won't leave you with a high reputation.

moody_mage

Don't knock ranged fighters. It's a very viable tactic to have one or more tanks ploughing into melee whilst the rest of the group hangs back and flings missiles or spells around. Viconia with her high DEX is very good at this.

FrdNwsm

I didn't pick up Viconia until BG2, but I am going to assume she is similar in BG1. In which case, as a drow priestess, she has significant magic resistance.

reedmilfam

Viconia does have heavy MR. Problem is her low HP. She doesn't get hit often, but when she does, it's deadly (to her).

wraith5641

@superluccix It's not too bad as long as you know where the traps are and you have a tank to take the hits, if need be. I personally never found Durlag's Tower to be that difficult. There are a couple of tricky battles, but nothing outrageous. A full level 6 party with the right potions and spells can complete it relatively comfortably. Hell, I completed it with a solo Kensai on Hard!

With that being said, newer players should probably attempt it when they are nearing the end of the game. That way you've picked up some "tactical experience" and have a good idea on how to fight tougher enemies the right way.

Eadwyn_G8keeper

One RP concept that I use to story-line an exploratory agenda after the Nashkel Mines rather than proceeding directly to crush the Bandit Camp is the following. The Nashkel Mine triumph is going to generate a certain amount of celebrity for some weeks which it may be best to avoid as much as possible.

Keeping a low profile for awhile by not taking any obvious route might just save your group from being set up for ambush. Thus exploring. Keep the enemy off-balance and scrambling to figure out your objectives. Lure the Tiger out of the Mountains.

Seeking to acquire one or more items affording premium protection for 'squishy' Mages would seem to be a sensible strategic objective also before taking on the Bandit Camp. Probably poses more difficult dangers, one might think, than the Kobold Commandos of Nashkel Mines.

sarevok57

if you really want to use viconia in melee, than ankheg plate mail is the way to go, infact there is a free suit you can find at level 1 with no muss, or no fuss, and it can be found here:

inside the dirt field under a small tree in the lower left hand side of the nashkiel town area, use the TAB key to help you find it

GreenWarlock

Trying to avoid giving any spoilers:
The one major flaw of the BG series is that the main story plot feels like it wants to railroad you into doing it as quickly as possible, which means you miss out on the joy of exploring the wonderful worlds that have been put before you. If you ignore that railroad, the games are a joy to play, but you always have a nagging feeling that you are doing-it-wrong. You are not - the games are designed to be explored and enjoyed, but it is hard to tell an open-world story while maintaining the drive of the main narrative.

In game mechanic terms, I would encourage you to explore more widely before you get too deep into the chapter /after/ the one you are on. You will appreciate having a few more levels and some better equipment as several encounters are noticeably harder. I think having a party around 5th level, going on 6th, is ideal in terms of the most enjoyable risk/reward ratio for that part of the game.

As hinted above, Durlag's Tower is designed for later in the game - although sometimes it is fun to try to get there early. When the first Balder's Gate shipped, it had an XP cap of 89,000 xp, and Durlag's Tower is the dungeon they created for parties who had essentially completed the original campaign. You can visit multiple times, and lower level characters might get a little fun taking on the early levels, but you will be seriously over-levelled and over-equipped if you beat the whole thing as soon as you are able. Again - that is often fun too, but probably not for you on your first play through

BG1 has a wide variety of PCs, and the more useful ones may take a little working out, to see why everyone else raves about them. Viconia is an unusual character race, not available to the PCs themselves, and comes with some extra bonuses if you read the whole character sheet (including scrolling past the basic stats) that might help in some parts of the game. Likewise, the basic stats guide you for where she will excel - she has a very high dex, good for missile weapons and AC, but low strength, bad for slings (her only choice of missile weapon) and heavy armors. However, she is a cleric among a party of adventurers, there should be ways to cover most of here weaknesses and exploit her strengths, and discovering how to make an interesting NPC work for you is half the fun of the game. There are certainly characters who took longer for me to make sense of than other, and I still do not understand why Xan gets the love that he does around here (my own challenge still to work out!) (If you have missed Xan and the name means nothing to you, don't worry, he will be there, waiting for your next play through, or the one after that...)