Skip to content

BG2 spells = cheating?

ljboljbo Member Posts: 177
in Archive (General Discussion)
They feel rather OP to me in BG:EE. E.g. Doom that can't be saved against tends to trivialised the beginning of the game. And it only gets worse! I make a rule of not using them as a result.

Comments

  • HowieHowie Member Posts: 136
    all kits are OP in BG:EE, but if you want to import your kits over to BG, they have to be there.
  • leeho730leeho730 Member Posts: 285
    It's OP everywhere....

    Probably the biggest example is the presence of more than one +6 weapon in a single plane...

    Generally each plane is allowed only one +6 weapon, as far as I remember...
  • LemernisLemernis Member, Moderator Posts: 4,318
    edited January 2013
    In BGT using the SCS mod enemies use the BG2 spells smarter, and the game is then more balanced.

    Eventually, SCS:EE will be released and that will be a must for a lot of players, mainly for this reason. EE's enemy spellcaster AI is not stellar. EE isn't a cakewalk, I wouldn't say. It's still loads of fun. But there's no question that enemy wizards, sorcerers, druids, and clerics could use their spells books more intelligently.
  • The_New_RomanceThe_New_Romance Member Posts: 839
    edited January 2013
    Spellcasters have been overpowered in every edition of D&D (except maybe 4E). I think that's where the problem comes from. Combine it with a tendency to put super-über-stuff into videogames and the less-than-great AI, and there we go.

    But yeah, it's especially noticeable with the BG2 spells. I find a lot of the stuff that was formerly BG2 only (like kits and familiars) doesn't improve BG:EE.
  • BerconBercon Member Posts: 485
    It would have indeed been nice if the BG2 content would have been ported properly on BG1 environment and all unbalanced stuff made scale with level. Sadly I guess they just didn't have any resources for this. Given that the content team has moved on to BG2 I doubt this will change. Best you can hope for is that modders take the issue up and provide you with more balanced and scalable spells and kits.
  • FrozenCellsFrozenCells Member Posts: 385
    Glitterdust is another spell which is kind of insane in BG1, party-friendly area effect blindness which is rarely saved against. And a blind enemy is a dead enemy because they just stand around doing nothing. I've yet to see an enemy cast it either. Plus, it's level 2! As soon as sleep stops working, upgrade to Glitterdust :p A more positive way to look at it though is that it makes low level mages more worthwhile because generally speaking they're kind of a nuisance.
  • MykraMykra Member Posts: 252
    Lemernis said:

    In BGT using the SCS mod enemies use the BG2 spells smarter, and the game is then more balanced.

    Eventually, SCS:EE will be released and that will be a must for a lot of players, mainly for this reason. EE's enemy spellcaster AI is not stellar. EE isn't a cakewalk, I wouldn't say. It's still loads of fun. But there's no question that enemy wizards, sorcerers, druids, and clerics could use their spells books more intelligently.

    This, very much this.

    Caster combats become infinitely more interesting and deadly with SCS. I always loved the Shadow Druids in Cloakwood as they became beastly with a mix of Avengers and (restored) Werewolves, backed up by Dryads, and all the new spells. Helluva fight.
  • ljboljbo Member Posts: 177
    Looking forward to SCS then! Thanks for pointing that out as I have completely missed on what's happened since the original games.
  • ljboljbo Member Posts: 177
    Out of curiosity, those spells that are in BG2 but not in BG1, were they part of AD&D 2nd Edition?
  • MokonaMokona Member Posts: 89
    Everything is OP. Roll minimal stats and run naked through the hills wielding sticks.
  • MykraMykra Member Posts: 252
    ljbo said:

    Out of curiosity, those spells that are in BG2 but not in BG1, were they part of AD&D 2nd Edition?

    Pretty much. A lot of abilities and things (like some spells) were tweaked into more BG efficient versions upon release. A lot of the older mods (which they are working on updates for right now) went about changing things back to the pen and paper versions.

  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 0
    edited January 2013
    The user and all related content has been deleted.
  • QuartzQuartz Member Posts: 3,853
    Mokona said:

    Everything is OP. Roll minimal stats and run naked through the hills wielding sticks.

    lurk moar plz. It seems like anytime you come out of lurking you only say negative stuff. Now this, was actually funny, but usually you're just mean.
  • TressetTresset Member, Moderator Posts: 8,268
    Another thread about "balance this" and "take all the fun out of that" and "delete the other OP thing"? Ugh. Why can't people just enjoy the game without constantly whining and complaining about it? Do you enjoy the game or not?

    Spells and magic are a core element of the game. If you think using magic is cheating then go right ahead and stop using it. Enjoy losing 75% of the strategy in the game as you simply point and click and watch your warriors repetitively and invariably hack and slash every foe in the game into meat. That never gets boring!
  • WilburWilbur Member Posts: 1,173
    edited January 2013
    Mokona said:

    Everything is OP. Roll minimal stats and run naked through the hills wielding sticks.

    You should also over encumber yourself to not make it too easy to run away.

  • The_Guilty_PartyThe_Guilty_Party Member Posts: 44
    BG2 stuff in BG:EE is overpowered. And also fun. So ... hey.
  • RhymeRhyme Member Posts: 190
    Using anything from BG2 in BG1 is clearly cheating. I'm sure that was the primary thought of the development team when they decided to recreate BG1 using the BG2 engine. I bet they had a conversation along the lines of, "Man... I hope they don't try to cheat by using these spells that we put in the game! Because using the spells that we put in the game would be cheating!"

    "Well... We've added scrolls for those spells. Players can purchase them at High Hedge."

    "You FOOL! Why would you add scrolls that will allow players to learn those spells?!? Don't you know that's CHEATING?!?!?"
  • WilburWilbur Member Posts: 1,173
    @Rhyme

    I wonder why they didn't name the game Baldur's Gate: Cheater Edition.
  • ZanathKariashiZanathKariashi Member Posts: 2,869
    It would also be better if they instated some form of rest limits....Being able to rest damn well anytime you please completely demolishes what few balancing factors magic has, and is often completely unrealistic in terms of the situation...it's a very rare circumstance when you'd have the opportunity to rest in the middle of a dungeon.

    The spells themselves aren't really overpowered, it's actually the fact you can almost effectively cast unlimited numbers of them, with little or no penalty, that makes them seem OP.
  • EudaemoniumEudaemonium Member Posts: 3,199
    ZanathKariashi said:

    It would also be better if they instated some form of rest limits....Being able to rest damn well anytime you please completely demolishes what few balancing factors magic has, and is often completely unrealistic in terms of the situation...it's a very rare circumstance when you'd have the opportunity to rest in the middle of a dungeon.

    The spells themselves aren't really overpowered, it's actually the fact you can almost effectively cast unlimited numbers of them, with little or no penalty, that makes them seem OP.

    I kind of agree with this, but I'm happy with my self-imposed limits. I try hard to never rest within a 'dungeon' area for RPings sake. It just seems a bit odd to say, get to the bottom of the Cloakwood Mines, about 5 feet from Davaeorn, and then rest for a few days and not have him notice.

    Sometimes my characters spend a week of in-game time in an inn, waking up, getting horribly drunk, and going back to sleep. Repeat 'til fade.

Sign In or Register to comment.

2025 Overhaul Games, a division of Beamdog. © 2025 Hasbro, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Baldur's Gate, Dungeons & Dragons, D&D, Forgotten Realms, Baldur's Gate, Wizards of the Coast and their logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast LLC in the U.S.A. and other countries, and are used with permission. Hasbro and its logo are trademarks of Hasbro, Inc. and are used with permission. © 1998 BioWare Corp. All Rights Reserved. BioWare, the BioWare Infinity Engine and the BioWare logo are trademarks of Bioware Corp. Black Isle Studios and the Black Isle Studios logo are trademarks of Interplay Entertainment Corp. Atari and the Atari logo are trademarks owned by Atari Interactive, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.