can't help but metagame. "abusing" game mechanics

tyrannical

I will often "lure" single enemies out of groups and kill them one by one. Or in some cases I will pop into a spell casters field of view then pop back out as they cast spells on me in tell they run out of spells to cast. character dies? just reload.

Every game i have played in the past has taught me to do these things but i cant help but feel that maybe im missing the point. Does anyone else to this? should i try to "roleplay" more

Mathsorcerer

Only if you feel like it. Limitations of game mechanics or game engine are yours to exploit as much as you see fit. Games are meant to be enjoyed, not fought over or to be sources of frustration.

the_spyder

There are certain things that, as a role player, you can do. it isn't meta-gaming if you have your thief scout ahead so that you know what is coming next. But to be fair, there are a number of encounters where even that will unfairly trigger an encounter. Or something that you should be able to hear/see/detect outside the room only fires once you enter.

I take the example of the Syrine. If you simply walk up to her in the wild (and she isn't acting threatening) and have the party leader (quite often Charname) talk to her, that ends the game. If you simply ignore her, why? She might need help, or have some information, or might simply look like a cute chick out in the wild. I'd bet that even those hard core 'Role players' make some concession here and meta-game a tiny bit.

stargazerb

I can't help it either. I used to try my hardest to avoid it, but it just made certain encounters way too frustrating. Now I just enjoy the game, and do what I need to win the battles. :-)

OcculusX

I don't care about how you are "supposed to play" the game. There is no right or wrong way. To play it as a perfect role-play is impossible, the dragons don't operate correctly, the most "intelligent" NPCs can't figure out how to open doors. You could bring yourself to the level of AI in the world, of course, if you did that, you'd never get past the Irenicus dungeon. This game is like nethack for me, where the more you exploit the mechanics; the more you get out of it. I don't play this game expecting to get tabletop dungeons and dragons 2nd edition out of it. It is a computer game with a very strong tabletop 2nd Edition DnD session flavor to it. There are limitations to this medium, particularly when you compare it to the most imaginative things that the mind can come up with. It's good at giving you an interesting fun time that you can interact with.

Someday we may figure out how to bring the imagination directly to the silicon, but now is not that time. I like Baldurs Gate and it's predecessors, even when the mechanics exploit themselves. To be fair, I like the medium, limitations included.

TheElf

Personally I definitely find the combat more fun when I keep the exploiting to a minimum, and find it more rewarding than trying to squeeze every bit of cheese out and install tactics and the like. But, pretty much what Math said, if you like it, do it. No one can say what you'll like best.

OperativeNL

Because I am like you, OP, I like to install this cute lil' mod called Sword Coast Strategems. What this mod does is that it makes the game harder without allowing the enemies to "cheat". What games usually do in order to make it hard, is to give the enemies 10000% HP, or they make each attack do 9999 damage, or just make them use all kinds of tricks that the player doesn't get. But SCS works around this mostly. What it does is that for example, enemy mages and priests will instantly buff themselves up once you see them, to represent the act of pre-buffing. This makes me feel that, when I pre-buff myself, I am not meta-gaming. After all, the enemy now does the same. Also it has this part called "calls for help" which means that I can no longer draw out enemies one by one in a very unrealistic fashion ("fog of war" is just too easy to exploit in a game like this) but agressive enemies will draw their friends (who are off-screen) into the fight also.

I find that this makes the game a lot more interesting, less meta-gamey and more fair towards the computer. Perhaps you'd like it, too.

Schneidend

OperativeNL said:

Because I am like you, OP, I like to install this cute lil' mod called Sword Coast Strategems. What this mod does is that it makes the game harder without allowing the enemies to "cheat". What games usually do in order to make it hard, is to give the enemies 10000% HP, or they make each attack do 9999 damage, or just make them use all kinds of tricks that the player doesn't get. But SCS works around this mostly. What it does is that for example, enemy mages and priests will instantly buff themselves up once you see them, to represent the act of pre-buffing. This makes me feel that, when I pre-buff myself, I am not meta-gaming. After all, the enemy now does the same. Also it has this part called "calls for help" which means that I can no longer draw out enemies one by one in a very unrealistic fashion ("fog of war" is just too easy to exploit in a game like this) but agressive enemies will draw their friends (who are off-screen) into the fight also.

I find that this makes the game a lot more interesting, less meta-gamey and more fair towards the computer. Perhaps you'd like it, too.

But, enemies instantly getting their protections and buffs up IS cheating. Even the vanilla game does it, when enemy clerics/druids instantly cast both Bless and Strength of One, and there are so many mage encounters that hit you with dialogue you cannot avoid, like Davaeorn. It pisses me off every time, especially since I don't cast any pre-buffs unless they last a really long time.

nano

Can we not call everything "cheating"? It doesn't matter if its technically unfair as long as it improves the game for you. If you like an easier game then there's no shame in using "cheese" and "cheats" against the computer and if you like a harder game than there's no shame in giving those advantages to the computer.

Tsyrith

SCSII also lets enemies open doors, seek out misleads, cast magic missiles into your long casts and load up on crazy-ass spell sequencers that pack a punch. It's great. It's like the DM walked back in, saw your broke-ass cheese-fest, patted you on the shoulder, and made the next bandit pack you could usually kill with Death Spell simply obliterate you with nothing more than fresh tactics.

sffrrrom

Personally, I play a largely unmodded game, but with a few house rules.

1. Only pre-buff or scout or lay traps, etc, when that makes sense. If an encounter is supposed to be a surprise, I rp it accordingly (e.g. fight in the inn in Waukeens Promenade). If I'm adventuring through a dungeon, yeah, probably makes sense to have some protections up (e.g. Shadow Dragon, you have plenty of reason to know it's there).

2. No resting in dungeons unless the "plot" allows time for it (e.g. no resting in Irenicus' dungeon, Cambion's planar prison, etc) and there's somewhere safe to rest or it makes sense to be able to retreat given plot.

I feel these two rules, plus avoidance of super obvious cheese exploits, give the game a totally new feel and let you really get into the adventuring spirit. But that's just me, and I've played the game so many times I know what to expect everywhere and can make RP decisions accordingly.

tyrannical

sounds like strategems might be perfect for me but of course I will need to wait for my second play through. until then seems like some "house rules" should be implemented, but I doubt I can help myself

Big_Murray

Honestly, I don't pay attention to the combat much. I do whatever works; the combat is just a thing to be done in the manner of a game. The part I roleplay is everything else; the characters, the romances, the storyline.