Where to go first (aka how do I know how powerful the next enemy will be)
Hi all,
Although I have played fantasy themed games for two decades now, from Eye of the Beholder till Skyrim , for some reason I never played any of the BG games back in the days. I guess I was busy with other things back then. Magic the Gathering comes into mind. Anyway.. found this on Steam the other day and it rocks, will be nice to have something to do in the darker days around Christmas. I have played a bit and got the basics, I have a party I like, I have a journal full of quests and I have good understanding of the game mechanics. (played D&D as well)
My toons are still mostly lvl 1, with 2 of them just hitting lvl 2. So I am still in the early parts. My problem is now.. where to go? I already have a dozen points on the map to go, with so many quests that I can't remember which NPC gave which quest and so on. But that is not the major problem, my main issue is that I don't know if a quest is too hard for me at lvl 1 / 2. Also all these party members want me to go to different area's, but am I ready for them? Or are some of these questlines designed for let's say lvl 3 characters? I am spoiled by modern games that often include some pointers on how hard a quest will be. (Think WoW, red = death, orange is tough, yellow ok, and green too easy)
Since some of my party still only have 6 or 7 hp, they get one shotted too often if I try quests from Episode 2.
I have been in Nashkel, but those quests seem way too tough for me now. I play on the default difficulty (which is already one of the easiest I think) so I would prefer not switching to an easier mode .
I am kinda good in the 'kite them around' and use range weapons tactics now, but that works mostly for random encounters outdoors, not for quest encounters that involve many enemies. Also they start throwing nasty spells at my poor lvl 1s, turn them to stone, paralyse them, or poison them. I believe I need at least everybody with 2 hit die to go in those areas.
For example: I defeated Basilus, but only after 10 reloads in which I got killed all the time, then I chose the 'right' conversation options and suddenly all his undead minions fell down. I don't know if I was supposed to kill all those zombies as well, but I do know that I could never do it.
To summarize:
I need some guidance in the order of play. In what order should I do quests / areas? If there is a section with tips about this subject on this site, please guide me there, I could not find it so far. I don't mind a few spoilers, I think the game and the stories are massive enough that it doesn't matter if I read a bit about some small parts of it.
My party is:
Me (Mage) lvl 1
NPC ranger (forgot name) lvl 1
Minsc (Fighter) lvl 1
Imoen (Thief) lvl 2
Jahiera (Fighter/ Druid) lvl2
Khalid (Fighter) lvl2
Although I have played fantasy themed games for two decades now, from Eye of the Beholder till Skyrim , for some reason I never played any of the BG games back in the days. I guess I was busy with other things back then. Magic the Gathering comes into mind. Anyway.. found this on Steam the other day and it rocks, will be nice to have something to do in the darker days around Christmas. I have played a bit and got the basics, I have a party I like, I have a journal full of quests and I have good understanding of the game mechanics. (played D&D as well)
My toons are still mostly lvl 1, with 2 of them just hitting lvl 2. So I am still in the early parts. My problem is now.. where to go? I already have a dozen points on the map to go, with so many quests that I can't remember which NPC gave which quest and so on. But that is not the major problem, my main issue is that I don't know if a quest is too hard for me at lvl 1 / 2. Also all these party members want me to go to different area's, but am I ready for them? Or are some of these questlines designed for let's say lvl 3 characters? I am spoiled by modern games that often include some pointers on how hard a quest will be. (Think WoW, red = death, orange is tough, yellow ok, and green too easy)
Since some of my party still only have 6 or 7 hp, they get one shotted too often if I try quests from Episode 2.
I have been in Nashkel, but those quests seem way too tough for me now. I play on the default difficulty (which is already one of the easiest I think) so I would prefer not switching to an easier mode .
I am kinda good in the 'kite them around' and use range weapons tactics now, but that works mostly for random encounters outdoors, not for quest encounters that involve many enemies. Also they start throwing nasty spells at my poor lvl 1s, turn them to stone, paralyse them, or poison them. I believe I need at least everybody with 2 hit die to go in those areas.
For example: I defeated Basilus, but only after 10 reloads in which I got killed all the time, then I chose the 'right' conversation options and suddenly all his undead minions fell down. I don't know if I was supposed to kill all those zombies as well, but I do know that I could never do it.
To summarize:
I need some guidance in the order of play. In what order should I do quests / areas? If there is a section with tips about this subject on this site, please guide me there, I could not find it so far. I don't mind a few spoilers, I think the game and the stories are massive enough that it doesn't matter if I read a bit about some small parts of it.
My party is:
Me (Mage) lvl 1
NPC ranger (forgot name) lvl 1
Minsc (Fighter) lvl 1
Imoen (Thief) lvl 2
Jahiera (Fighter/ Druid) lvl2
Khalid (Fighter) lvl2
0
Comments
There is a 'canon party' in the game... if u collect the canon NPCs, the game kinda pushes u in a sequence of quests that's relatively easy...
Gorion dies, Imoen joins u to provide much needed thief skills and a reliable bow. Gorion tells u to go find Jaheira and Khalid at the Friendly Arm Inn. So you stick to the road and recruit them as instructed. Khalid and Jaheira mention the Nashkel Mines, so u stick to the road south until Nashkel, passing through Beregost.
In Nashkel you run into a ranger called Minsc, he wants to rescue his Witch, Dynaheir, captured by Gnolls at the Gnoll Stronghold. The road to the Gnoll stronghold is relatively easy and provides good training for a lv1-2 party. By the time u rescue Dynaheir, who completes your full party, you should be strong enough to deal with the Nashkel Mines.
After that, you can theoretically deal with all the wilderness zones, though a few encounters could still be very difficult at first.
You will reload a lot. End of. Quicksave often, after every fight, before every conversation and before you transition into a new building/area.
Range weapons are king. If you can get your entire party at range you'll be at an advantage.
Change up tactics. Unwinnable battles can often easily be won simply by using some of those potions/wands or scrolls you are stashing or simply by trying another approach.
Don't wander too much until you have a few levels under your belt.
To the Gnolls it is then!
Levels 1/2 are tough. But, based on your party, here are some things you can do.
Khalid and Jahiera will tell you to go to Nashkel (which you must do eventually) but there is no time limit on this. Feel free to ignore them at your leisure. The Nashkel mines are very tough for a level 1 party. Come back when you're around level 3 and things will go much more smoothly.
Minsc has a quest that you must complete within ten days of finding him. You have to travel to the Gnoll stronghold (should be on your map) and rescue his witch, Dynaheir. If you don't do this in time... well, you'll lose your chance at keeping him permanently. Also, I believe that if you dismiss Minsc without doing his quest, you'll also lose your shot at keeping him- so you're locked in to this one.
Kivan (your other ranger) also has a quest on a time limit. Like Khalid and Jahiera, this is something you must do as part of the main story, but it'll be a while before you get to it because it's in Chapter 3. I don't know how long you have to complete it, but when your time is up you'll lose the ability to keep him permanently. I'd recommend dropping him off somewhere in Beregost or the Friendly Arm Inn and picking up another NPC. You can pick him up later when you're at his quest if you wish.
So, heading to the Gnoll Stronghold would seem like a good step. You'll have to traverse some wilderness, which can be dangerous, but Gnolls themselves aren't that powerful- keep your high-HP characters on the front lines and bring a few healing potions. If you're worried about a specific map you can usually just skirt along the edge and avoid most encounters. The Gnoll Stronghold map also has some good loot from the named enemies... so it's worth checking out.
After that, you may want to take some time to explore the wilderness areas around the Gnoll Stronghold. Most of these encounters are fairly low-level and there are a few very short quests that give good experience. Save often so you don't lose progress if you get in over your head.
After doing that, you might be ready to tackle the Nashkel Mines, after which you'll be able to handle things much more effectively.
Since you're a Mage, you're really weak at low levels. Make sure you get the Ring of Wizardry from the Friendly Arm Inn map (it's south of the southern walls- use tab to highlight containers). It doubles your level 1 spell count which is a godsend at the early levels. The Sleep spell is an instant encounter-winner in the early game- it has a wide area of effect, doesn't affect your party, and in the early game enemies have really bad saving throws so you can count on it working every time. It's much more useful than the damage-dealing spells at that level. If you don't have it, purchase it from the wizard at High Hedge west of Beregost. On the gnoll stronghold map specifically, there are two groups of about 6 gnolls each that you have to fight at the end which can be hard for a low-level party to handle, but one Sleep spell apiece makes them trivial.
Oh, BTW, on your list you have Minsc as a fighter, he'a actually a ranger...
I'll try to find that ring, as my Laura only can cast 2 spells / day right now, which is a bit disappointing. She is on Sling duty 90% of the time. Although after a strange dream yesterday she can do 1 cure light wounds for some reason, that obviously will be explained as the story unfolds.
Final question: I try to be on the good side for this first game. But can I do some robin hood style thieving (steal from the rich to give to poor) without hurting my reputation? (my poor, poor party members.. running around the wilderness day and night....) I would like to play with the *questionable ethics* of 'leaving the 13g I find at this farmer's shed... but nicking the 300g amulet that I find in this rich merchant's manor.... '
Yep, your growing powers will indeed be explained. You will get different powers depending on how you play the game (your reputation really) but the good powers are generally going to be better. Your Cure Light Wounds is really nice for this point in the game since it has a casting time of 1, which is much shorter than the normal Cleric/Druid Cure Light Wounds. You can use it in combat much more reliably.
Thieving, including pickpocketing, has no moral consequence for the game. A lawful good Paladin can strut into a house, clean out the drawers, and leave with no reputation loss. However, if you steal while in somebody's line of sight, they'll call the guards and you'll lose some gold or be forced to fight. If you fail a pickpocket they'll go immediately hostile which can be pretty problematic as well.
1. Save often
2. Scout (thieves (and wizards with invisibility) are your friends)
My suggestion:
Review your map screen. At level one, you should be only doing the map screens that are on the way to Friendly Arm Inn and then on the way to Nashkel. The exceptions would be High Hedge and the Nashkel Carnival.
At level two, should be able to finish the Chapter Two story quest and, as others have mentioned, the maps that lead to the Gnoll Stronghold. At this point you should have some level two and some level threes. You can now do most of the maps that are directly adjacent to the storyline maps.
Moving in to Chapter Three, you will still want to stick to the storyline quest maps outside of those immediately adjacent to maps you've already done. Once you have finished Chapter Three, you should be strong enough to do all the map screens south of Nashkel.
Chapter Four has some very challenging maps, but remember you can always skirt the screen rather than going through the middle if you are having a tough time. Once you have finished Chapter Four, you should be able to do the coastal maps.
The hardest maps are those farthest east, including Ulcaster, Firewine, Durlag's Tower, and the other "eastern edge" maps. You may want to hold off on tackling those until you are level 5 or 6, although you can get a lot of xp if you do them earlier (and don't die).
Durlag's Tower in particular is meant to be for max level characters.
TL;DR -> stick to the roads through Chapter Two, add "road-adjacent" maps in Chapter Three, add the coastline in Chapter Four, add all others in Chapter Five.
On a positive note, I haven't died as much tonight. Not at all in fact. With the tips given here and some others I cleaned out the Gnoll camp and saved Dynaheir.. All are lvl 2 now. I returned the chicken to his 'Master' Gnoll camp wasa walk in the park, I hardly had to pause the game, my 3 fighters just ran in, my 3 ranged just kept shooting. (Imoen is melee for now, as I found a +2 shortsword that is too good not to use and her armor class is only a little worse than the fighter guys . She is also my party leader right now as she has the highest charisma .
I only needed 2x cure light wounds + 1 healing potion in the whole area. I also picked up the wizardry ring, bracers of dex 18 and a handful of other magic items (or just random non magic armor) The AC of various members has dropped considerably and the gnolls hardly hit them.
Tomorrow I'll venture into the mines and if it's just as easy I will consider upping it to to 'Core' difficulty
So far I have not found any traps, so my scouting has been lousy, I guess I need to learn it the hard way once I get into areas with nasty traps
The main things about Core difficulty that you will want to watch out for are hit point rolls when leveling up and permanent death of party members.
Rolling a 1 on your level up, especially if it happens more than once, can really gimp your character, especially if you are new to the game. Kivan, for example, can get from 1-10 hp per level up. Think of the difference when fighting monsters between 20 hp and 2 hp. Personally, I switch to Normal when leveling up and then switch back to Core immediately afterwards, I find it too frustrating to have horrible health pools on my main tanks and melee fighters.
Permanent death is another factor. If any party member is hit so that a single blow takes them below -10 hit points, they will be obliterated, body completely destroyed and impossible to resurrect. This happens most often when an ogre beserker gets a lucky shot on your mage or thief, but can happen to anyone who has fallen below 5 hp and then takes a critical hit from a monster. It can also happen if you are frozen then shattered, or if you are affected by green slime. Most people deal with this by re-loading if they lose a favorite NPC, but just be aware.
Otherwise, yes, the monsters hit harder, but that is just a matter of tactics and healing. You will also fail to memorize scrolls quite a bit for any character that doesn't have 18+ intelligence. That is more annoying than game ending.
Last thing, you won't encounter any traps until the Nashkel Mines, but be ready for them, they can wipe your party if you are level two-three.
Random questions:
- I have a ton of gems and other (non magical) jewelry, is it save to sell all of those to the first merchant that will take them or are those needed at some part of the game (or alternatively is there a merchant somewhere that pays more for certain items)
Journal entries.
I often pick up a quest item, or deal with a NPC for a minor side quest, yet the Journal doesn't seem to update anything.. Is this just '1998 style' (aka old game, not so sophisticated as modern games) or does it mean I missed something?
Like.. Mrs Doe asked me to look out for her husband on the way to Smallville. He is wearing a red hat.
Wandering to Smallville we run into a lot of wolves and then a dead human with a red hat. we pick up the red hat. Our Journal still says: Mrs Doe -
While a modern game would say: Mrs Doe - You found the remains of the late Mr Doe. You picked up the hat. Return to Mrs Doe to inform her etc etc...
Traps are still an issue in BG 2, but on the whole there are less of them and they are less deadly (cos u got more hp), so my discipline for trap-scouting has declined, but for the endgame in BG 1, I didn't take a step forward without checking it out with Imoen first. Not only did I discover most of the traps, it also allowed me to prepare for most of the battles, springing an ambush on the enemy rather than the other way around.
Now your new questions:
1) You can safely sell any gems or jewellery that doesn't have a specific quest name. The only exception is Angel Skin Ring, which you need one of for a very minor quest, so even that isn't important.
2) Yes the BG Journal is not as helpful as that of some modern games. I do like how it is divided between chapters and 'done' and 'current', and can be arranged by date, so I don't typically have a problem with keeping track of quests. That said the first time I stepped into the big city (Baldur's Gate), was pretty overwhelming.
In the original Baldur's Gate, the Journal wasn't even divided between quests. It just listed all of the entries in the order you received them with divisions between each chapter, which made tracking down quests really painful... BGEE sorts them into quests so you can actually keep track of stuff, but it doesn't change the entries themselves which were never intended to fit into that system. Sometimes this results in "quests" that never resolve or getting quest entries for things that you've already completed, but those are pretty rare.
BG2 was built for this system from the start so its journal is much better.
As for the journal entries...yeah, that's just how they are, you're not missing anything. BG doesn't hold your hand on the quests and expects you to keep track of them yourself aside from an initial journal entry and then a final note when completed (this is for the quick 'fetch' type quests, longer quest lines do get more journal updates).
Also, just a friendly hint but be sure to actually check the name/item description of all the items. BG is a little harsh and there are some quest items that have the exact same icon as a common item.
Now, you DO get better prices with higher reputation, so if you had an efficient way of storing the gems (such as in a gem bag) and didn't need immediate cash, it might make sense to hold onto them until you get a better rep. Probably not worth the effort/planning, though.