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Getting Started: An Introduction to Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition

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  • KaltzorKaltzor Member Posts: 1,050
    edited November 2013
    One note I would give is if you're just getting into Baldur's Gate, going over to multiplayer and playing alone with 6 self made characters will help to ease players in because the NPC characters tend to be slightly weaker than your main character is, so you will have a more powerful party to get used to the game with because the game can be somewhat challenging...
  • MonoCanallaMonoCanalla Member Posts: 291

    Wait…You can't recover your equipment from BG1 later, as it used to happens?

    You could never recover your equipment, only certain items were brought over from Baldur's Gate to Baldur's Gate Shadows of Amn.

    The exploit though of getting all your items, has been patched.

    Travel safe, brave warrior @MonoCanalla, and may you find adventure, fortune and fame the honest way!

    Exploit, really? Ok, so the CHARNAME comes with equipment of his propriety, it just happens to vanish? Or perhaps Irenicus took it to sell it in the market to make some money for beer and casinos? Or perhaps Irenicus gave it to his nieces?... No, that's the exploit, and not the other way around.

    And no, I don't want to import gold coins or sneak items from Black Pits, but the equipment my character wears is part of his CUSTOMIZATION and ROLEPLAYING. Nothing that some people might know what is...
  • WanderonWanderon Member Posts: 1,418

    Wait…You can't recover your equipment from BG1 later, as it used to happens?

    You could never recover your equipment, only certain items were brought over from Baldur's Gate to Baldur's Gate Shadows of Amn.

    The exploit though of getting all your items, has been patched.

    Travel safe, brave warrior @MonoCanalla, and may you find adventure, fortune and fame the honest way!

    Exploit, really? Ok, so the CHARNAME comes with equipment of his propriety, it just happens to vanish? Or perhaps Irenicus took it to sell it in the market to make some money for beer and casinos? Or perhaps Irenicus gave it to his nieces?... No, that's the exploit, and not the other way around.

    And no, I don't want to import gold coins or sneak items from Black Pits, but the equipment my character wears is part of his CUSTOMIZATION and ROLEPLAYING. Nothing that some people might know what is...
    You do understand that Charname (and some of the characters he might or might not have had in his party) were captured in the vicinity of Baldurs Gate and transferred in some manner to the dungeon they awoke in?

    Do you think who ever was responsible for that transfer (whether it was Irenicus or some group of lackeys he hired) gave a damn whether or not Charnames equipment made the trip with him? It's entirely possible that all that gear was bought in a single lot by a rich collector from Waterdeep from a member of the BG Thieves Guild who had stolen it from the warehouse it had been stored in and it will not surface again until BG3.

    (That scenario BTW is also ROLEPLAYING...)

  • atcDaveatcDave Member Posts: 2,397

    Wait…You can't recover your equipment from BG1 later, as it used to happens?

    You could never recover your equipment, only certain items were brought over from Baldur's Gate to Baldur's Gate Shadows of Amn.

    The exploit though of getting all your items, has been patched.

    Travel safe, brave warrior @MonoCanalla, and may you find adventure, fortune and fame the honest way!

    Exploit, really? Ok, so the CHARNAME comes with equipment of his propriety, it just happens to vanish? Or perhaps Irenicus took it to sell it in the market to make some money for beer and casinos? Or perhaps Irenicus gave it to his nieces?... No, that's the exploit, and not the other way around.

    And no, I don't want to import gold coins or sneak items from Black Pits, but the equipment my character wears is part of his CUSTOMIZATION and ROLEPLAYING. Nothing that some people might know what is...
    Wow, yeah, I think it's really a mistake to ever think of your STUFF as role playing. Both computer and PNP games I've played have a pretty long tradition of stripping players of their toys.

    Ultimately, it all comes down to the story. And like it or not, the story of BG2 clearly intends that you loose all your stuff. I actually really like the EE edition has eliminated a way of cheating the story.
    Don't get me wrong, it's fun to mess around with possibilities; one time, I used Shadow Keeper to give myself my money back after about a week of game time. It was around 100K, and I figured we wouldn't have actually been CARRYING all that money with us when we were kidnapped, so I just sent a messenger back to Badur's Gate to have our money delivered to us.
    But that was a cheat. It was messing around and having fun with the game (and Shadow Keeper). That doesn't make it good role playing or fair to the story. And even though it solved a lot of early game problems, it never actually returns our old stuff! As Wanderon mentions, I think Irenicus already made a pretty penny off our stuff.
  • MonoCanallaMonoCanalla Member Posts: 291
    I was answering to our amigo, who suggested I made my question because i wanted to exploit the game.

    I understand you guys have legal right to do things like this, and yes I do see the point, and the charm of working it to get new equipment. But let's say... Is like if you have this t-shirt from that legendary concert in 1996 with that great band and one day you lose it and you have to replace it with a new one. Not cool, right? Now, I don't mean a stupid Scimitar +2 or such, but a sentimental item like the Shadow Armor, the Anghkeg Plate, etc... But, if you find it later in BG2:EE is another story. Otherwise not only I will miss a sentimental part of my character, but it will drastically change my gameplay of BG1:EE, in which at some point I will not care for storing any item that won't have a real impact in the later combats. Which doesn't make sense for me, but up to you guys.
  • atcDaveatcDave Member Posts: 2,397
    I do understand having favorite items, and not wanting to start over. But it is how it's designed. The start of BG2 is all about gathering resources, and everyone playing has dealt with the same loss. Everything is balanced for that loss of gear. There is much better stuff available in BG2. So really, I'm not trying to be a jerk, but loosing all your stuff and starting over is just how this chapter of the story works.
  • KaltzorKaltzor Member Posts: 1,050
    On the subject of losing all your gear, I would point out that everyone in the world seemingly loses all their magical equipment for the start of BG2 as until you leave Athlatka for the first time to go elsewhere (or go visit certain places you really shouldn't be in yet) everyones using non-magical gear or generic +1 weapons at best.

    Besides, think of it this way, Irenicus stealing all your gear and selling it is just another reason to hate the guy.
  • MonoCanallaMonoCanalla Member Posts: 291
    I read that the Shadow Armor, the Venom Dagger, and other items can be found trough Baldur's Gate 2:EE. Well, whatever.

    As for the fact that the kidnappers left the equipment there when they got you, I don't buy it, because I already tasted the fact of finding your equipment in the dungeon.

    I guess the people who is paid for taking this decisions knows better. I will just get new equipment. Those were just simple toys, right?
  • tennisgolfbolltennisgolfboll Member Posts: 457
    I dont get why the pre generated characters are bad. I mean for a new player that knows
    Nothing give him max str for warriors etc.
    This is 2013 and help should be decent atleast. Some common sense people.
  • tennisgolfbolltennisgolfboll Member Posts: 457
    As for the loss of gear it was made that way and cant be changed because of legal reasons.

    Bg 1 and 2 was seperated by a long time so it was not a big deal back then. Many rolled new classes and kits characters when bg2 came.

    Today a game would never rob you of all gear and not give you a chance to get it back. But it is what it is.

  • tennisgolfbolltennisgolfboll Member Posts: 457
    Oh and remind new players of the difficulty slider!!
  • SivarSivar Member Posts: 53
    edited December 2013
    Please edit the description of intelligence. While admittedly it really doesn't matter for the game intro, it does perpetuate a common misunderstanding of what the word means.
    Dee said:

    Getting Started:
    An Introduction to Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition

    Intelligence

    Intelligence marks the amount of knowledge your character has or can attain through study. For mages, it determines how many spells you can have in your spellbook as well as what kinds of spells you can cast; additionally, a high Intelligence will help any character recognize magical items found in the world by boosting their Lore. A high Lore will allow you to identify an item’s magical properties just by looking at it, allowing you to take full advantage of your equipment as soon as you find it—as well as helping you avoid items that may be cursed.
    There's a good quote about this: "Intelligence is about making connections. Memorizing is about having the bits in place to connect. Education requires both."

    Intelligence has nothing to do with knowledge or study, other than that intelligent people can often remember more. Intelligence is the ability to reason, understand, remember, and mentally model situations. Anyone, even a really unintelligent person, can memorize facts. One wouldn't say that an encyclopedia is "intelligent" merely because it contains many pieces of knowledge.

    The 2nd Ed. Player's Handbook states:
    "Intelligence (Int) represents a character's memory, reasoning, and learning ability,
    including areas outside those measured by the written word. Intelligence dictates the
    number of languages a character can learn. Intelligence is the prime requisite of wizards,
    who must have keen minds to understand and memorize magical spells. A wizard with an
    Intelligence score of 16 or higher gains a 10% bonus to experience points earned. The
    wizard's Intelligence dictates which spells he can learn and the number of spells he can
    memorize at one time. Only those of the highest Intelligence can comprehend the mighty
    magic of 9th-level spells.
    This ability gives only a general indication of a character's mental acuity."

    I know that this isn't important in terms of a game introduction, and this is a weirdly long post for something as silly as a word definition, but I have a bad habit of stomping out misconceptions when I can.

    Other common misconceptions include: "BOSE makes good speakers" and "Sushi means 'raw fish'", and "vaccines cause autism," but those are even less related to BG2EE. :)
    Post edited by Sivar on
  • Montresor_SPMontresor_SP Member Posts: 2,208
    As @Dee says:
    Dee said:

    Imoen specifically mentions that your stuff isn't there, and that you'll have to figure something else out. It's part of the design for that initial dungeon, that you start with nothing and have to find new equipment all over again.

    I imagine any reasonably smart antagonist, such as Irenicus, would think twice before locking up his captive Bhaalspawn with their most powerful and priced weapons, armor and magical trinkets. :-)

    Many of the best items from the first game can be found in or around (or under) Athkatla, suggesting that whoever abducted CHARNAME and his/her party stripped them of their possessions before handing the captives over to Irenicus and Bodhi, then sold off the loot for some extra cash.
  • DeathKnightDeathKnight Member Posts: 93
    edited December 2013

    Wait…You can't recover your equipment from BG1 later, as it used to happens?

    You could never recover your equipment, only certain items were brought over from Baldur's Gate to Baldur's Gate Shadows of Amn.

    The exploit though of getting all your items, has been patched.

    Travel safe, brave warrior @MonoCanalla, and may you find adventure, fortune and fame the honest way!

    Exploit, really? Ok, so the CHARNAME comes with equipment of his propriety, it just happens to vanish? Or perhaps Irenicus took it to sell it in the market to make some money for beer and casinos? Or perhaps Irenicus gave it to his nieces?... No, that's the exploit, and not the other way around.

    And no, I don't want to import gold coins or sneak items from Black Pits, but the equipment my character wears is part of his CUSTOMIZATION and ROLEPLAYING. Nothing that some people might know what is...
    This, basically. And items exclusive to BG1 only. Like the Cape of Balduran, a trully legendary item, both in name/description and power/functionality. Now that the keeping items has been prohibited (DAMN YOU), i really want to see how you will find and equip items like the afforementioned in 2, where there were NOWHERE to find/loot.

    Oh, and irenicus had those Dryad concubines, and not only 1, but 3 of them! He stole the party's items, to sell them in black market, so he can buy presents and sweets for his hoes! And a tree for christmas! Trololol.
  • LathraelLathrael Member Posts: 69
    edited December 2013

    Wait…You can't recover your equipment from BG1 later, as it used to happens?

    You could never recover your equipment, only certain items were brought over from Baldur's Gate to Baldur's Gate Shadows of Amn.

    The exploit though of getting all your items, has been patched.

    Travel safe, brave warrior @MonoCanalla, and may you find adventure, fortune and fame the honest way!

    Exploit, really? Ok, so the CHARNAME comes with equipment of his propriety, it just happens to vanish? Or perhaps Irenicus took it to sell it in the market to make some money for beer and casinos? Or perhaps Irenicus gave it to his nieces?... No, that's the exploit, and not the other way around.

    And no, I don't want to import gold coins or sneak items from Black Pits, but the equipment my character wears is part of his CUSTOMIZATION and ROLEPLAYING. Nothing that some people might know what is...
    Yeah how true! Since wizard's sanctums are included in class package, he should had it for free! Golems? They grow on trees, remember, he had a garden. Drugears? They were working for charity, you know how giving those folks are. Starting a guild and supporting a guild war against Shadow Thieves? Two odd copper will be enough right? Spell components? Just give a warm smile to store owner and he will give you them for free, such sweet person that Irenicus is.

    So why should a guy like Irenicus has ANY uses for gold, it eludes me. Maybe he wanted to wrap those into presents and give them to you later, but forgot about it?
  • niwreniwre Member Posts: 16
    to bribe a certain matron mother, perhaps? To scout Spellhold, so he could plan his escape beforehand? to start Bodhi's guild?
  • withnailwithnail Member Posts: 67
    So I followed the directions (copied my Final Save from the BG:EE save folder to the BG2:EE save folder) but when I try to launch it (Shadows of Amn > Single Player > Load Game > Final Save) it crashes.

    Any idea why/how to fix it?

    Thanks!
  • JalilyJalily Member Posts: 4,681
    @withnail You need to start a new game and import from the final save, not load the final save as if it were a BGII:EE save. Here's the relevant part of the first post:
    Dee said:

    On the Character Creation screen, click Import, and then either Character File or Saved Game, and you’ll see your character or saved game in the list. Select the character (or the saved game and then the character you wish to import), and then click Done.

  • withnailwithnail Member Posts: 67
    Yup. Right. I'm a dolt. Thanks!
    :-)
  • vangoatvangoat Member Posts: 212
    So, why aren't the portraits and voicesets from the enhanced BG1 carried over to enhanced BG2? My character now has no face and sounds different.

    I know I can fix this, but the point is I shouldn't have to. I just shelled out money for a few NPCs and an upscaling of the UI? Things that are available as mods for free?
  • FandraxxFandraxx Member Posts: 194
    Nice guide,
    Really helpful to figure what is good for what character
    (Remember to talk to all named npcs!, they might have a quest for you or want to sell you items!)
  • bluesman2050bluesman2050 Member Posts: 2
    @Dee

    I am having the same issues uploading my character from BGEE on my Mac. However, I do not have a Baldur's Gate folder in my Documents library. I also tried showing package contents in the application, but there were no files that looked like my saved character file. It would be great if you could let me know how to proceed. Thank you.
  • UlvarylUlvaryl Member Posts: 217
    Hi guys. What about import npc from bg1?
    I remember there was thread or two before bg2 came to its release.
    I ve made few test imports and found bg2 doesnt care about this.
    Its kinda disapointing for me. For example, that 6/7 Jaheira with 51 hp just makes me cry, because MY Jaheira had 7/8 and around 100 hp at the end of bg1.
    So did u simply reject this idea, or just i did something wrong?

    PS
    ye ye, my english is kinda awful
    sorry
  • BeastBad1368BeastBad1368 Member Posts: 5
    When is Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition coming out on IOS devices?
  • CTKnightOwlCTKnightOwl Member Posts: 88
    Very nice 'how to' for beginners. BG series comes from the final days of glorious instruction manuals. If you are not fortunate enough to own the Versus Books Perfect guide (even thought it is absolutely RIDDLED with erroneous data mainly item locations) I would recommend picking one up online. It is a big help with maps and hunting items if you are a thorough scavenger like myself.
  • WebShamanWebShaman Member Posts: 490
    Well, well.

    First of all, as I got "snatched", I was going to a party with Neera, in my fine clothes (Golden Pantaloons, wooohooo!). I had some jewelry on, a few trinkets, but nothing really seriously magical.

    So all my stuff is still where it was originally, just waiting for my attention.

    That is why the first thing I did after escaping from that building, is make a trip back to the Sword Coast to get all my stuff! After all, I'm not going to go hunt down some crazed monster elf without my gear! This is the stuff I used to take down Sarevok, kill Wolfweres, Doppelgangers, etc!

    In other words, if you don't like the way the story is being done, then RE-WRITE IT!
  • DudzioDudzio Member Posts: 81
    edited June 2014
    Hi everyone!

    Please vote for BG2:EE on Steam Summer Sale to buy it just for 5,75 Euro!

    There are only 7 hours left!
  • DasMetalRatDasMetalRat Member Posts: 2
    vangoat said:

    So, why aren't the portraits and voicesets from the enhanced BG1 carried over to enhanced BG2? My character now has no face and sounds different.

    I know I can fix this, but the point is I shouldn't have to. I just shelled out money for a few NPCs and an upscaling of the UI? Things that are available as mods for free?

    This question has been asked twice here and flatly ignored. It's more than a little suspicious: why aren't these features in BG2:EE? Paying 25 dollars for a couple extra NPCs and an upscaled UI is excessive, I have to agree. So why didn't they at least also include the rest of the new features introduced in the first game?

  • ambrennanambrennan Member Posts: 173
    This question has been asked twice here and flatly ignored. It's more than a little suspicious: why aren't these features in BG2:EE? Paying 25 dollars for a couple extra NPCs and an upscaled UI is excessive, I have to agree. So why didn't they at least also include the rest of the new features introduced in the first game?
    Dude, BG is an extremely ancient game that predates Windows multi-user support, and as such you will have no end of problems trying to run it on modern operating systems (for example, it will try to store save games in C/program files where users don't have write access, triggering compatibility file nonsense - which you will have realised when you noticed that you have to run ToB as admin to get past copy protection and your saves are nowhere to be found).

    Unless you are a masochist then paying $20 to make the game run on modern operating systems is a very good deal.
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