Did the new areas meet your expectations in terms of difficulty?

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ajwz

The new npc areas were pretty easy.

The black pits was fairly challenging. As I'd expected really

atcDave

I think a big problem with difficulty is determining when players might try an area. Adoy's enclave can be really tough if you hit it too early. Obviously, it can be really easy if you go later in the game. I'm not exactly sure how you address that, except with a sort of generic level of difficulty.

lunar

I've found Adoy's enclave and Dark moon temple extremely easy and dissapointing. I think a level based spawn system should be used, so if a higher lvl party enters those areas, the challenge should be upped. But that's just my opinion, I love challenging fights where you are pitted against diverse opponents. Iron throne building battle with Zhalimar And his party is awesome in vanilla. Rasaad's climactic battle in his quest is super easy and tame when compared. Feels kinda anti-climactic IMHO. I still haven't played Dorn's quest so I can't coment on that.

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Jalily

typo_tilly said:

Adoy's enclave is the hardest one for me, and it's an area I can get into very early in the game. Will Neera get mad if you don't go right away? I love the music in that area!

Nah, she won't get mad. There used to be a bug where waiting too long would cause you to skip her last romance talk, but if you're on v2014, it's not a problem.

KidCarnival

Can't say anything about Rasaad; haven't played his quest.

Dorn feels the best integrated, because it doesn't involve new areas. So the fights... Kryll is ridicolous, but I don't think she's meant to be tough. Assuming you recruit Dorn during his cutscene, complete Nashkel Mines and once there, Prism and a few ghouls, with a full party, everyone is ~ level 2 - 3. Kryll usually doesn't even get a spell out and her skelly friends fall apart once she's dead. So umm... she could be a bit tougher. I don't even know what she tries to cast, so maybe have her skellies stick around after her death to make the fight last at least longer than 10 seconds.
The Simmeon fight is alright. Not the biggest challenge ever, but at that point in the story, it feels ok. Maybe a bunch of henchmen would be good, since I often have random Flaming Fists join the battle and outnumber the group if I like it or not.

Neera... First, while the new map looks nice and has nice music, I hate the long walking and nothing happening. Not sure if there is a way to make the kobolds hostile and have fights along the way. I was polite the first time, insulted the guide kobold the second time - same result. Anyway, in the cave... What's up with the body I can leave exposed or bury? Drives me nuts that nothing happens or changes. The fight itself is on the challenging side if you go as soon as you can. I got the conversation to open the map when my party wasn't even all at level 2. It's hard to say if the fight itself is challenging and fits the stage of the game; unlike Dorn and Rasaad, there is no clear point when you are supposed to go there.

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Jalily

KidCarnival said:

Anyway, in the cave... What's up with the body I can leave exposed or bury? Drives me nuts that nothing happens or changes.

North of the area where you first meet the goblins, there's a ranger named Magreb. His friend was killed by goblins, and he gives you a quest to find her body and bury it. There's also a ring on Rilsa's body you can return to him. Currently, there are no rewards or journal entries for this quest, but that will change in a future patch.

KidCarnival

Oh, never noticed the guy. I didn't play Neera's often, and tried to get over with it as fast as I could.

Senash

Haven't played with Rasaad or the Black Pits yet, so this vote of mine is basically for Adoy's Enclave. Even that I only tried on a somewhat low-mid level, and the final fight was insane... Had to reduce the diffuculty in the end, after trying for about 10 times. My sorcerer main kept getting shot by a stray fire arrow, which basically one-hit me...
Although if we are at the topic: I have found that particular area a bit boring, as nothing really happened there until the cave. And the ranger guys quest was also disappointing. At first I kinda thought that I've missed something, that's why I'm not getting any reward. The cave itself was fun though

elminster

Senash said:

Haven't played with Rasaad or the Black Pits yet, so this vote of mine is basically for Adoy's Enclave. Even that I only tried on a somewhat low-mid level, and the final fight was insane... Had to reduce the diffuculty in the end, after trying for about 10 times. My sorcerer main kept getting shot by a stray fire arrow, which basically one-hit me...
Although if we are at the topic: I have found that particular area a bit boring, as nothing really happened there until the cave. And the ranger guys quest was also disappointing. At first I kinda thought that I've missed something, that's why I'm not getting any reward. The cave itself was fun though

Yea that final fight was a little difficult. I had to go back at a higher level to beat it.

Alexisisinneed

elminster said:

Senash said:

Haven't played with Rasaad or the Black Pits yet, so this vote of mine is basically for Adoy's Enclave. Even that I only tried on a somewhat low-mid level, and the final fight was insane... Had to reduce the diffuculty in the end, after trying for about 10 times. My sorcerer main kept getting shot by a stray fire arrow, which basically one-hit me...
Although if we are at the topic: I have found that particular area a bit boring, as nothing really happened there until the cave. And the ranger guys quest was also disappointing. At first I kinda thought that I've missed something, that's why I'm not getting any reward. The cave itself was fun though

Yea that final fight was a little difficult. I had to go back at a higher level to beat it.

My first play through my party was level 3-4. All my party members where a about one or two hit points from death. All my spells were exhausted. Used all my good scrolls and wands. I majoring blame my squishy monk. Poor Tiffany gets pounded by everything in the game.

My second play through I didn't go there until my party was level 5-6. I wiped the floor with everyone. Mainly because the second it started I had Vicky cast silence on the main mage. Without the ability to cast spells he was hacked to death by my wizard slayer.

elminster

Alexisisinneed said:

elminster said:

Senash said:

Haven't played with Rasaad or the Black Pits yet, so this vote of mine is basically for Adoy's Enclave. Even that I only tried on a somewhat low-mid level, and the final fight was insane... Had to reduce the diffuculty in the end, after trying for about 10 times. My sorcerer main kept getting shot by a stray fire arrow, which basically one-hit me...
Although if we are at the topic: I have found that particular area a bit boring, as nothing really happened there until the cave. And the ranger guys quest was also disappointing. At first I kinda thought that I've missed something, that's why I'm not getting any reward. The cave itself was fun though

Yea that final fight was a little difficult. I had to go back at a higher level to beat it.

My first play through my party was level 3-4. All my party members where a about one or two hit points from death. All my spells were exhausted. Used all my good scrolls and wands. I majoring blame my squishy monk. Poor Tiffany gets pounded by everything in the game.

My second play through I didn't go there until my party was level 5-6. I wiped the floor with everyone. Mainly because the second it started I had Vicky cast silence on the main mage. Without the ability to cast spells he was hacked to death by my wizard slayer.

My problem was I was doing a playthrough with myself (dwarven defender), Rasaad, and Neera. At that point I hadn't picked up anyone else because I was aiming to pick up later area NPC's. I also think I went there before I went through the Nashkel Mines, so I was probably level 2-3. Suffice to say Rasaad isn't the greatest at that level so it was more of a two man effort that really wasn't working out.

Alexisisinneed

elminster said:

Alexisisinneed said:

elminster said:

Senash said:

Haven't played with Rasaad or the Black Pits yet, so this vote of mine is basically for Adoy's Enclave. Even that I only tried on a somewhat low-mid level, and the final fight was insane... Had to reduce the diffuculty in the end, after trying for about 10 times. My sorcerer main kept getting shot by a stray fire arrow, which basically one-hit me...
Although if we are at the topic: I have found that particular area a bit boring, as nothing really happened there until the cave. And the ranger guys quest was also disappointing. At first I kinda thought that I've missed something, that's why I'm not getting any reward. The cave itself was fun though

Yea that final fight was a little difficult. I had to go back at a higher level to beat it.

My first play through my party was level 3-4. All my party members where a about one or two hit points from death. All my spells were exhausted. Used all my good scrolls and wands. I majoring blame my squishy monk. Poor Tiffany gets pounded by everything in the game.

My second play through I didn't go there until my party was level 5-6. I wiped the floor with everyone. Mainly because the second it started I had Vicky cast silence on the main mage. Without the ability to cast spells he was hacked to death by my wizard slayer.

My problem was I was doing a playthrough with myself (dwarven defender), Rasaad, and Neera. At that point I hadn't picked up anyone else because I was aiming to pick up later area NPC's. I also think I went there before I went through the Nashkel Mines, so I was probably level 2-3. Suffice to say Rasaad isn't the greatest at that level so it was more of a two man effort that really wasn't working out.

I can just imagine the pain in that battle.
Pc:Do something you blasted monk!
Rasaad: I am good dwarf!
Pc:.....
Neera:.....

Dee

I remember a tabletop game I played with some friends in high school; our first quest was to hunt down a cult of demon-worshipers on a mountain and save the children they had kidnapped.

On the way UP THE MOUNTAIN, we randomly encountered some imps that plane-shifted our entire party to Sigil. Which sent us off on what then became the campaign's main quest. We delved into dungeons for artifacts, fought dragons and demons and gods and even killed Tiamat once, helped facilitate--albeit by accident--the massacre of an entire elven village and its subsequent revival, raised an army, fought in the Blood War, and earned our very own duchy on the Prime (and a Divine Realm in heaven).

Then, some four years (real-time) later, one of us looked around and said, "Hey, remember that cult we were supposed to deal with?"

The DM hardly remembered, but he found it in his notes, and--yes, there it was, our very first quest, left unfinished. He asked us if we were really going to go for it, and we all agreed that it was time. We trekked up the mountain, preparing ourselves for the hardest fight of our lives--after all, those cultists had the equivalent of eight years to gain power, sacrifice children to old dead gods, obtain artifacts and relics of unimaginable power...

Our fighter had Great Cleave. Did I mention that? Thirteen cultists--the whole fight lasted about two rounds.

Our DM had decided not to level up the cultists. Which, in hindsight, made absolute sense; just because a group of people is seeking power doesn't mean they necessarily will find it. It became a scenario where we were proving our commitment to our principles--that "no problem is too small for us to handle, if no one else will". We took our 120 XP at level 16 with pride, and marched all the way down the mountain singing songs with the children (some of whom were probably now better classified as young adults) to their parents, waiting with tears in their eyes and open arms.

Sometimes a cake-walk is better, I guess is what I'm saying.

atcDave

Awesome story Aosaw. I played a few similar adventures myself, that is, things that were way "beneath me". But if the motives were good in the first case, the rewards may far exceed the experience points.

kamuizin

Gonna resume the new area of Neera, cos i didn't played Rassad area yet.

It's well designed, showing that the old areas could had a better work on the graphics. Besides that, that area sucks.

The difficult was imbecile, and the possibilities with an new area where wasted on 2 simple quests (shortly and badly worked also) that didn't even need a new are on the map, could be done easly with an underground cave or by using one of the old areas (that where also wasted in terms of space, too).

Again, the new content disappoint for being too shallow.

Just hope to be luck and saved from read a reply with an:

"but that was to make the new area alike the old area...", the same stupidy used to justify the new muted NPCs in terms of random banters.

Quartz

Adoy's Enclave is piss-easy and should probably be harder.

Rasaad's area is great, very proper in difficulty. Although considering how late it comes in the game to unlock it, I suppose it could be found to be rather easy. Around level 5 it's about right.

The Black Pits were pretty balanced.

JuliusBorisov

The thing I like about Adoy's Enclave is the hilarious story of a polymorphed moose and squirrel (they can be found if you go from the bridge to the north-east).

It reminded me of a classic cartoon duo and it's really fun!

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SCARY_WIZARD

Black Pits: Still working at it, I keep re-making parties.

Dorn
New areas? ? No, but seriously, his encounters were reasonably challenging, and for artificial challenge, I directed a Flaming Fist Mercenary who was patrolling the area to the last fight, and protected him! Not a good idea, at all.
I'd like to see where he leads us, later on.

Neera
/sigh Goblins? On the one hand, it's cool that Adoy managed to hoodwink the goblins and hobgoblin (by association), but on the other hand, I hope that Neera's possible new areas in BG II: EE are a little bit more interesting.

Rasaad
Not played with him yet~

Eudaemonium

Rasaad's area is pretty awesome. I like the way it looks. It isn't very difficult, though, in my experience. BUt I like the design.

Avenger_teambg

Aosaw said:

I remember a tabletop game I played with some friends in high school; our first quest was to hunt down a cult of demon-worshipers on a mountain and save the children they had kidnapped.
.....
We took our 120 XP at level 16 with pride, and marched all the way down the mountain singing songs with the children (some of whom were probably now better classified as young adults) to their parents, waiting with tears in their eyes and open arms.

Sometimes a cake-walk is better, I guess is what I'm saying.

Wait a moment. Those cultists actually raised the children to young adults who didn't even become cultists themselves? Isn't this a plot hole?

KidCarnival

SCARY_WIZARD said:

for artificial challenge, I directed a Flaming Fist Mercenary who was patrolling the area to the last fight, and protected him! Not a good idea, at all.
I'd like to see where he leads us, later on.

How do you keep him from helping you? So far, I had a Flaming Fist join the Simmeon fight every time, if there was one nearby when the cutscene began or not, and they are immortal or have insane AC. I've never seen the Fist actually hit the demon summons or Simmeon, but they also don't die and they certainly get hit a lot.