How am I supposed to advance in this game?
Sheikh
Member Posts: 26
I am roleplaying my way through the game and one decision was to go with Xzar to Naskhrel (did I get that right). Now I am just trying to do something while coming out of the haze that the recent event in my life put me in. So I tried investigating the mine, found a kobold that killed half of my party before I killed him. I barely defeated the wardogs in the warehouse. How am I supposed to advance in the game as the mines are clearly too tough for me.
My difficulty slider is in middle (core rules).
My difficulty slider is in middle (core rules).
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Comments
first equip with armors and weapons that you are profficient(party member)
second use spells they always help
third you may want to have better party members because some of the early party members are are weaker than others
1 good ac character should be pretty ok for kobolds someone like fighter or cleric with good armor and shield
archers are great in bg1 they shoot so fast
your main character should be someone tanky because you don't know what are you doing
fighter/berserker or barbarian or paladin/cavalier/inquisitor/undeadhunter or ranger
Also... outta interest, what are the Ability stats of your Charname, his/her class and race? Some classes are especially tricky in the early game.
there are Ankhegs, they, after death, drop ankheg shell and 975 experience. that shell can be sold to the smith in Beregost for 500 gold piece.
Now, the ankhegs are very tough, but they can also miss every attack - so quicksave after each kill and get 2-3 of them (they weigh 100 pound each) and fall back to beregost.
thats basically 2000-3000 xp + 1000-1500 gold per round. Suddenly you can afford great weapon/armor and gain 1-2 levels pretty fast.
Just go through the towns, talk to all the people, try and find all the quests you can. Most quests will be mostly for a little xp but that little xp can matter a lot. Also, go through different wilderness areas. Some you'll find to be too tough, so just go to a different one to get more levels/money/gear until you can clear all the other areas.
Also, if you do the prism quest right you can get a huge chunk of xp and some decent items before you head into the mine. Rushing main-quest is more of a seasoned baldur's gate/D&D thing to do. If your party is whining at you to go do the main quest then just nicely tell them to shut up and they're computers so they get no opinions in the matter.
My advice: read the manuals to learn about key terms like THAC0, AC and the like, read carefully dialogs and spell descriptions, and don't come to the forums until you've completed the game or if you find something buggy, there're just too many spoilers round here. Have fun!
After doing all of that, you should be 3-4th level or so and be ready for the mine.
One thing that will make your time in Baldur's gate (and most RPGs) more enjoyable is to just explore. Look around. Fully investigate every single map you encounter. And SAVE OFTEN. Once you get the hang of things, there are things you can avoid, but in the beginning really explore. You are playing an adventurer after all.
[Baldur's Gate 1]
You were thrown to the wolves (Literarly) from the start and there was absolutely nothing for directions except "Friendly arm inn" . It was very hard to find items if you didn't already know about the secret items that were hidden. It was hard to get your first magical weapons and the first levels every single bandit and ranged combat was a dice roll from losing one party member.
You also started with 4-12 health and no armor for mages and very bad armor for rogues. This is the reason fighter shine so much and most people played through with them the first time. Splint mail, large shield +1 and a longsword would carry you a long way. You still ran away from most ogres and such because even on level 2-3 they could one shot some of your NPC's.
Also other than Imoen you had to find people to join you and the first NPC's you can have join you are actually evil. Once you got to Friendly Arm Inn and found Khalid and Jaheira all you got to know was Nashkel mine and then you were left to fend for yourself the rest of the game.
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[Baldur's gate 2]
The dungeon you start in is kind of a tutorial in itself. You pick up a fighter and divine spell caster right from the start, both which are of good/neutral alignment and have some really nice stats. They can brute force their way through the dungeon. You also pick up Imoen who can remove all the traps and lock up everything you find here.
When you have your party with you the dungeon in itself is pretty easy. You also pick up some magical weapons and armor very quickly. Most of the fights there are pretty easy and you'll almost never get ambushed while resting. You can find many +1 magical weapons lying around and even a +2 sword for a simple fetch quest.
The hardest fights here are the mephits who can stun and put you to sleep. You'll get out of the dungeon pretty quickly with some great experience and magical weapons for most of your party. Once you get outside you'll end up in the tent and fight your way through a very easy quest that rewards you with great experience and a ring (18 charisma) that will solve shopping problems for you.
After you're done in waukeen you get to the slums which introduce you to yet another easy quest (slavers) which you can get some really nice loot and money/experience for doing. When you're done with the slums you already have good enough gear to start on your stronghold quest.
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Most of the hard fights are much harder in BG2 but it's still a much more forgiving game and it does hold your hand, something BG1 never did.
And there was a tutorial of sorts inside Candlekeep. Just south of Hull, you got approached by that guy who told you that you needed to learn the ropes. If you agreed, you got dropped into a party and had to learn the mechanics of combat. Plus having to take out rats and two assassins gave you some practice as well. Probably as much (relative to your abilities) as you got in Chez Irenicus.
As for finding magic items, the only item I think is crucial at 1st level is the one just south of Friendly Arm Inn. Anything else is just gravy until you start taking out Mulahay and his ilk.
All in my personal opinion.
2.) Magical items are needed to kill Flesh golems, Vampiric wolfs and other nasty stuff you can fight quite early. They also improve your Thac0 which is critical when you're that low level.
3.) Irenicus dungeon doesn't only help you learn stuff, it also gears you up with some great gear for when going out into the world. Candlekeep show you how openlock and other simple stuff works but other than the stuff you buy it doesn't help you in anyway, and nothing you face in candlekeep will be close to having a wolf run you down and critical your character and throwing you to loading screen.
2) Vamp Wolves aren't required kills at 1st level. If you stay on the path, you should never encounter them until you are ready. And if you stray off the path, beware. The world is a dangerous place. It's not like a novice NOOB is going to be playing a no-reload challenge (or if they do, they are a real NOOB).
If you are expecting to kill Flesh Golems at 1st level, you are playing a much different game than I am. You don' t need to face them till after you kill Mulahay and start getting better equipment.
3) Irenicus' Dungeon geared your 8th level character up. In what way is that necessary for a 1st level?
One of the really nice touches that I enjoy about BG1 is that the game makes your starting mundane weapons breakable so that you actually feel the pain of the iron shortage. You really connect with the plight of the Sword coast and the iron shortage because you are directly impacted by it yourself. If you got magical (and therefore non-breakable) weapons right out of the gate, you might not care as much what other people are suffering. It's a plot device that really sucks you (or me anyway) in. Besides, the entire intent was for you to feel your group progress. That means equipment as well as levels. If you got it all up front, it would cheapen the experience in my opinion.
And again, once you kill Mulahay (and the two assassins plus that party of adventurers just outside of the mines, not to mention Grey Wolf etc...), you have started to get magical items in rather significant abundance. It isn't like if you can't find that ring that is guarded by the wolf that you are bereft of magical weapons and items for the entire game. If anything, I think the proliferation of magic items in the game is a bit high for what it is doing.
It is nice that there are easter eggs in the game to find. But they are exactly that, surprise finds. I think that us vets of the game take for granted these items (like the Ankheg armor) and just assume that we should have all of it at the beginning. Makes more sense that it be found gradually over time.
2.) You might end up fighting Vampire wolves and flesh golems early on, and the + Thac0 for magical items are huge.
3.) You didn't need gear on your 8th level character in BG2, but having some extra Thac0 or 1-2 more AC would have been a life savier in BG1.
Not everyone ran to nashkel mines and most people probably died to Greywolf and Mulahay.
I agree with you and love how dangerous it was in BG1 and i wouldn't have wanted any magical items. But looking from a beginners view the items you get in BG2 are way too good, and you got absolutely no help in BG1
2) I think the intent is that, if you run into wolves early on, you are supposed to die. The game makes it very specific that if you stray too far from the path, you die. It is the lot of low levels. I'd much rather that than what Oblivion and Skyrim did (i.e. the world leveled up with the player). Set boundaries such that you CAN cross them, but if you do, you are likely to end up a corpse.
3) You don't "NEED" gear at all. But the expectation is that once you are out in the world (8th level) that you Have stuff. For me, I don't expect my 1st level to have ever SEEN a +1 weapon. Sure it would be nice to have one, but I am just not there yet.
I never said anything about 'running' to Nashkal. Certainly I advise taking your time. I am just saying 'Once you get there' you start getting magic, if not before. In the mean time, you really learn what low levels are all about. I am glad that you don't start out kitted out with +1 weapons and armor right from Candlekeep.