What's this about a level cap?

qazwoxer

Hi guys,

Never played BG before. I hear that there is a level cap. I do like to grind in my games, how likely is it that I will hit this cap? Does this hurt replayability? I plan on getting the iPad version as well - is this level cap different than on the other platforms?

Jalily

qazwoxer said:

I do like to grind in my games, how likely is it that I will hit this cap?

Certain if you do all the quests. You can delay it by traveling with a full party ASAP, since experience is divided amongst all party members. Or replace existing party members with new ones, since the ones you have already encountered do not level up with you.

qazwoxer said:

I plan on getting the iPad version as well - is this level cap different than on the other platforms?

No. For all platforms, the cap is 161,000 total XP per character in the main game and level 10 in The Black Pits. But PC and Mac users have an easier time modding the game to raise or remove the cap.

ambrennan

Just about every game ever has a level cap - the only exception I can think of right now being Skyrim since they added "legendary" skills (an option to reset maxed skills to keep levelling up indefinitely). As such, I don't think that it should affect replay ability too much.

If you really want to grind, your only options are respawning "annoyance" enemies and recurring random encounters and re-importing characters; if you want, you can remove the level cap with mods and keep killing mice in Candlekeep until your Kensai/Mage has reached level 39/40

CaptRory

Even with a full party, if you do everything in the game, you'll hit the level cap by the end. You won't need to do much grinding unless you want an extra level or two at a given point.

ZanathKariashi

The level cap is there to keep the game challenging (and if you power-game your character build, even that won't be enough)...also generally speaking, DnD isn't really about levels...only casters see real benefits from more then the first few 8-9 levels (you can literally beat the entire sequel and x-pack without ever going beyond the 161,000 cap of the first game, SOLO). It's more about equipment and proper tactics.

After lvl 3-4, your character have enough hp to be out of one-hit wonder stage (aside from mages), and any more levels are actually quite unnecessary (class depending, you can get between 8-10 levels under cap, for a single class). Though even just following the main quest only, you'll get close to the cap without really trying, and if you do the plethora of side quests, you hit cap around the 1/2 way mark, even in a party of Six.

Awong124

Grinding is unhelpful in BG1. At low levels, where the entire game takes place, the XP required to reach the next level more or less increases exponentially. Grinding killing regular enemies is pretty much just a tedious waste of time. Unless you can reliably find enemies worth 1000+ XP, then it's not worth the trouble in my opinion.

Lets say you can find an unending supply of ghasts. They are a reasonable choice for grinding, worth a decent amount of XP and not too difficult at higher levels (in terms of BG1). To be able to 'grind' them effectively, let say you'd need to be on level 5 or so. They are worth 650XP each. If you have a party of 6, lets say each member gets 100XP per ghast for simplicity's sake. Getting 100XP is almost nothing even at middle levels when you need 15000+ XP to reach the next level.

Flashheart

Methinks the reason that BG continues to be popular 15 years on, is because it *isn't* a grind-fest. In this regard its playability and replay-ability far outstrips the newer Skyrim-esque games.

Awong124

I think western RPGs tend to not focus on the grinding aspect nearly as much as JRPGs. Even Skyrim isn't as much a grind-fest as say FFXIII. Games like Mass Effect and Dragon Age involve almost no grinding whatsoever.

GnollCrushr

If you want to grind, dig a hole in the garden.

qazwoxer

Thanks for the responses everybody. So to confirm, this is working as intended, just like the original BG? This is not a stripped down, capped version, whatsoever?

Jalily

qazwoxer said:

So to confirm, this is working as intended, just like the original BG?

Yes. The experience cap is unchanged from Tales of the Sword Coast (the expansion pack for the original BG, which raised the cap from 89,000).