You can right out of candlekeep go and steal : ... Bastard sword +1 (+3 shapeshifters)
Nope, Cloakwood Lodge is not revealed until after you deal with the bandit camp.
Ulgoth's beard, the house under you when you enter the map.
Well, as of the latest BGEE version, the sword in Ulgoth's Beard is a generic bastard sword +1, with the cold iron +1/+3 found on that dude in Cloakwood. Oddly, Dudleyville,lists what said.
I didn't know that. I'm playing BGT at the moment and it's there in the house. This is just one more reason why i don't bother with BGEE.
Beware however, the more ppl you put in the party, the more divided the xp will be. It will make level up slow as a hell. However, unless you use metagame, you're not gonna get much in terms of xp by killing bandits or hobgoblins, so you don't need to try a solo game in the first levels to fast lvl up.
BUT, when an NPC join your party, his/her level will be based on YOUR level. so if you take your main party at the begin of the game at very low levels (the NPCs you want for the party), it will be a hell to level up.
An more advanced advice, if you can't hold things alone or with Imoen only at the begin, if you got stuck in any party of the game and is bein defeated at every attempt, get to the party some NPCs that you're not going to use later and then, when the problem is solved, just drop them. You don't want to waste xp from quests in cannon fooders.
For ppl who abide by the XP i don't know, i always remove them.
XP cap now is higher than in old Baldur's Gate, something about 330.000 per char, i don't know if you can really easly reach it in BG:EE, my thoughts are that hardly BG:EE has the sum of 1.980.000 xp avaliable (unlike BG2, there's no quest xp per character here).
Set up some autopause features in gameplay options such as enemy spotted, end of round, spell cast etc this will give you more time to react to threats on the battlefield. Be patient and think about how to approach the threats as they appear. You don't have to stick around if the fight is lopsided, pull wounded or less capable characters back from skirmish lines so your cleric can heal them or your mage/bard can cast a buff spell on them etc Move your party in a set formation with your armored melee'rs in the front and more lightly protected characters in the back when exploring. Also you can use the invisibility spell on a single character, perhaps a thief to scout unhindered whislt searching for traps.
Multiclass fighter/mage ... this class can teach you an awful lot about power in the dnd milleaux. Efficient and reliable melee attacks + the best magical defences + the best magical debuffers and the ability to peel off magical defence of your opponents, add in high level summoning and you'll see some of the most epic things in this magical fantansy realm. You'll have a lot of spell descriptions to read, ... armor spell, blur, mirror image, fireshield, stoneskin, improved invisibility, haste, minor globe of invulnerability, sleep, blindness, slow, confusion, chaos, dispell magic, spell thrust, secret word, breach, ...
Fighter to Cleric is the easiest dual class combination because you don't lose all of your melee prowess or armor while waiting to get your original class levels back. Great party buff spells, support healing and utility, and melee stat buffs too.
Brief random tips I guess sorry I cannot elaborate more ... if all else fails go to youtube and search for " let's play baldur's gate " ... lots of relatively competant gameplay can be gleaned in a few clicks, there will be countless links to browse ... just be prepared for spoilers ...
Bg1 is rough on a beginner, i was having a lot of trouble when i was younger... some classes just plain suck at low levels.
If you want a sure-shot main character, make a fighter, or a fighter mage (Make sure to cast the spell that gives you better AC as your first spell if you do so).
Once you get a few levels though.. the game gets pretty damn easy, too easy if you ask me! Just make sure to clear every area.
Bg1 is rough on a beginner, i was having a lot of trouble when i was younger... some classes just plain suck at low levels.
If you want a sure-shot main character, make a fighter, or a fighter mage (Make sure to cast the spell that gives you better AC as your first spell if you do so).
Once you get a few levels though.. the game gets pretty damn easy, too easy if you ask me! Just make sure to clear every area.
This is when you introduce SCS to make it harder and keep it interesting.
People, quit swamping the poor guy with text walls. First pick a tank class, give him both ranged and melee skill points, Remember to equip said weapons, buy the best armor you can afford. Get party members, as many as you can, as fast as you can, dump the ones you don't like for the ones you do as you come across them. BG is also a very Meta-gamey time game sometimes you just need to keep pushing until you figure something out.
Comments
I didn't know that. I'm playing BGT at the moment and it's there in the house. This is just one more reason why i don't bother with BGEE.
BUT, when an NPC join your party, his/her level will be based on YOUR level. so if you take your main party at the begin of the game at very low levels (the NPCs you want for the party), it will be a hell to level up.
An more advanced advice, if you can't hold things alone or with Imoen only at the begin, if you got stuck in any party of the game and is bein defeated at every attempt, get to the party some NPCs that you're not going to use later and then, when the problem is solved, just drop them. You don't want to waste xp from quests in cannon fooders.
XP cap now is higher than in old Baldur's Gate, something about 330.000 per char, i don't know if you can really easly reach it in BG:EE, my thoughts are that hardly BG:EE has the sum of 1.980.000 xp avaliable (unlike BG2, there's no quest xp per character here).
Multiclass fighter/mage ... this class can teach you an awful lot about power in the dnd milleaux. Efficient and reliable melee attacks + the best magical defences + the best magical debuffers and the ability to peel off magical defence of your opponents, add in high level summoning and you'll see some of the most epic things in this magical fantansy realm. You'll have a lot of spell descriptions to read, ... armor spell, blur, mirror image, fireshield, stoneskin, improved invisibility, haste, minor globe of invulnerability, sleep, blindness, slow, confusion, chaos, dispell magic, spell thrust, secret word, breach, ...
Fighter to Cleric is the easiest dual class combination because you don't lose all of your melee prowess or armor while waiting to get your original class levels back. Great party buff spells, support healing and utility, and melee stat buffs too.
Brief random tips I guess sorry I cannot elaborate more ... if all else fails go to youtube and search for " let's play baldur's gate " ... lots of relatively competant gameplay can be gleaned in a few clicks, there will be countless links to browse ... just be prepared for spoilers ...
Try using this avatar on a halfling, http://sirtiefling.deviantart.com/art/Halberd-For-Breakfast-189583048 ... trust me, kick ass!
If you want a sure-shot main character, make a fighter, or a fighter mage (Make sure to cast the spell that gives you better AC as your first spell if you do so).
Once you get a few levels though.. the game gets pretty damn easy, too easy if you ask me! Just make sure to clear every area.
First pick a tank class, give him both ranged and melee skill points, Remember to equip said weapons, buy the best armor you can afford. Get party members, as many as you can, as fast as you can, dump the ones you don't like for the ones you do as you come across them. BG is also a very Meta-gamey time game sometimes you just need to keep pushing until you figure something out.