Tweaking/Adding HLA's for BG2EE
Nic_Mercy
Member Posts: 418
Based on this post from Dee:
Like warrior ones that let you insta kill mobs of lvl 12 or 10 or less... Cause a) the level you can take that ability you won't be fighting such low level mobs and b) if for some reason you did encounter such mobs, you'll mostly like already chunk them off the bat at those levels so why waste an HLA pick on such a redundant ability.
Now if the stronger version that insta kills things lvl 12 or less forced a save or die on anything ABOVE lvl 12 then it MIGHT be worth taking.
The magic resistance HLA would be much more desirable if it stacked instead of replaced existing magic resistance from items/buffs.
The War Cry HLA is basically just the lvl 2 mage spell Horror... why waste a pick on that? You could just as easily by a wand to do the same thing.
Options for spell casters might include adding more of the "this HLA gives you a spell slot" type selection for more levels and/or make them takeable multiple times. I'd shy away from adding new spells because the highest level caster spellbooks are already bloated with HLA spells but more spell slots are almost always welcome.
Spellcasters might also enjoy HLA's that produce magical items/consumables much like the Thief and Bard enjoy (which makes sense since mages and clerics tend to be the people who actually make most magical items).
In case the devs look at HLA's in the future... it may be worth taking a hard look at some of the abilities that just have no practical use at the levels you'll get them at.Dee said:
So far as I know, the high-level abilities have not been changed. That's not to say we won't examine them later on, but for now they'll work the same way they did in the original.gholam said:Will you make changes to the epic abilities?
Like warrior ones that let you insta kill mobs of lvl 12 or 10 or less... Cause a) the level you can take that ability you won't be fighting such low level mobs and b) if for some reason you did encounter such mobs, you'll mostly like already chunk them off the bat at those levels so why waste an HLA pick on such a redundant ability.
Now if the stronger version that insta kills things lvl 12 or less forced a save or die on anything ABOVE lvl 12 then it MIGHT be worth taking.
The magic resistance HLA would be much more desirable if it stacked instead of replaced existing magic resistance from items/buffs.
The War Cry HLA is basically just the lvl 2 mage spell Horror... why waste a pick on that? You could just as easily by a wand to do the same thing.
Options for spell casters might include adding more of the "this HLA gives you a spell slot" type selection for more levels and/or make them takeable multiple times. I'd shy away from adding new spells because the highest level caster spellbooks are already bloated with HLA spells but more spell slots are almost always welcome.
Spellcasters might also enjoy HLA's that produce magical items/consumables much like the Thief and Bard enjoy (which makes sense since mages and clerics tend to be the people who actually make most magical items).
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Comments
Thief -
UAI (and it's follow-up skills) should be elusive to vanilla thieves
WWA exclusive to Swashy (as current)
All epic traps exclusive to Bounty Hunters
Assassination unique to Assassins.
Bard -
UAI (and it's follow-up skills) unique to the vanilla Bard
Epic Bard Song unique to the Skald
WWA Unique to the Blade
.....
That's all I can think of related to direct HLA. Though Mages and cleric/Druids need to their missing 10th/Quest(8th) slots added, instead of just cramming the 10th/quest spells into 9th/7th level.
That's about it. The rest of the abilities are pretty decent, imo. Some aren't efficient from a power-gaming standpoint, but this game was never meant for powergaming anyway. And GDB is GROSSLY underestimated, since 12 and under accounts for over 92% of non-unique enemies in the game.
GDB is not underestimated at all. It's basically worthless. The level you get it at you're not fighting mobs of lvl 12 and below... and if for some reason you were able to find some... why would you need to use an HLA to kill them when with your level and equipment alone you're going to probably chunk them anyways?
Because that's not how 2nd edition works. You've got a 3rd edition mind set where everything scales....it doesn't in 2nd. Monsters have a set amount of HD for what they are, though their actual HP total might be a bit variable (not in BG though). Even a 3 HD monster can potentially take 2 hits to kill with a BiS power-gamed max-level character. 12 HD monsters will generally have around 90-ish HP on average and aren't something you're gonna be chunking easily.
Most of the new enemies you fight in SoA are around 5-8, with a few 10's towards the end. In BG1, most of them are 1-4, with a smattering of 6's thrown in. Which is kind of jarring since Greywolf is lvl 8 if memory serves in BG1, making him stronger then most of the misc creatures you'll fight in the whole game, but dies MUCH easier then an ogre who is almost 1/3 his level.
I mean literally...you can beat all of BG2 without every going above BG1's level cap. Your gear and tactics just make so much more difference, since by 10, most classes have largely plateau'd, with only 1 or two more bonuses left to give that while nice, pale in comparison to the grow you made during those first 10 levels.
I would never even play BG2 past lvl 20 without this anymore, so as soon as BG2EE comes out implementing the HLA part of Refinements is the first thing I'll do after installing.
It's still up over at spellhold: http://www.shsforums.net/files/category/31-refinements/