What is going on?(spoilers)
LundmaN
Member Posts: 43
After you escape the first dungeon in the game and arrive in Athkatla, Jaheira tells you to visit the Copper Coronet to get some answers. So that was the first thing I did after talking to Gaelan Bayle. The first quest I got was helping Nalia(The De' Arnise keep has been invaded quest), but after failing to defeat the Yuan-Ti mage on the second level in the keep over and over again, I decided to leave and come back later to finish it.
The second quest I got was Animal trouble in Trademeet, I've met with Cernd and I'm now in the forest(just entered some kind of Troll cave/nest in the left-bottom corner of the map)and it's very difficult as well...
Are these quests too difficult to pick up this early on or is it supposed to be this hard? I prepare for each battle, I cast Glitterdust, Monster summoning, Animal summoning, Chromatic Orb, Slow, etc. I pause very often to redirect the party and to focus on one enemy at the time, and I heal when necessary but my party still dies way too fast... I do have plenty of potions but I try not to use them.
I play on Normal difficulty at the moment and I don't want to lower it anymore. I really don't know what to do since it breaks the immersion quite badly by retreating.
Any help would be much appreciated.
The second quest I got was Animal trouble in Trademeet, I've met with Cernd and I'm now in the forest(just entered some kind of Troll cave/nest in the left-bottom corner of the map)and it's very difficult as well...
Are these quests too difficult to pick up this early on or is it supposed to be this hard? I prepare for each battle, I cast Glitterdust, Monster summoning, Animal summoning, Chromatic Orb, Slow, etc. I pause very often to redirect the party and to focus on one enemy at the time, and I heal when necessary but my party still dies way too fast... I do have plenty of potions but I try not to use them.
I play on Normal difficulty at the moment and I don't want to lower it anymore. I really don't know what to do since it breaks the immersion quite badly by retreating.
Any help would be much appreciated.
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When I remove characters from my party, is it possible to ruin the relationship between me and them so I can't ask them to join again?
Also the AI is not always the brightest in the game, so its very possible to get the attention of just some of the enemies and deal with them one at a time (rather than all at once).
1. Circus (Waukeen's Promenade)
2. Slavers/Lilarcor (Copper Coronet)
3. Xzar & Harpers (Docks)
4. Sir Sarles (Temple)
5. District Murders (Bridge)
6. Thieves Guild (Docks) ** Main/Stronghold Quest **
7. Fallen Paladins (Temple)
Basically complete the Athkatla quests before leaving the city.
De'Arnise Keep, however, should not be too difficult and is one of the easier main/stronghold quests. I think if you do the above quests you'll definitely gain the XP and items and gold (to buy any equipment) to be able to roll through De'Arnise and Trademeet.
EDIT: Also make sure you have a sensible party. Meaning have a fighter (by fighter I mean someone who is melee and can tank and dish out damage), cleric (healing), mage (spells), and thief (disarm traps, open chests). What is your class? If your current party is Minsc, Jaheira, Yoshimo, Aerie, and Nalia, and you're someone tanky/melee, you should be good.
Stick with Minsc and Jaheira for now, pick up Anomen at the Copper Coronet unless you play a priest. Keep Yoshimo unless you play a thief or you pick up Jan in the Government district.
Start with the circus tent
Do Copper Coronet plus related slavers stockade. This will get you a great sword for Minsc as well.
Back to the Promenade to kill the adventuring psrty on the second floor of the eastern inn. This will get you good starting equipment.
Graveyard district for a bit of tomb robbing and easy side quests (be there during day and night, some quests have timers). Don't go down the stairs yet, just the one room tombs.
By now you will probably have been ambushed at least 2x and you should find a guy to take to docks.
Do the related quests plus the thief questline you get in the shadow thief HQ in the docks.
Buy some equipment (and wear the ring of human influence that sets your Charisma to 18) with your lead character to get lower prices. Girlde of hill giant strength is a good bargain at the Promenade.
Optional: bridge district murder quest plus the kidnappers quest you might have picked up at the graveyard.
Now do trademeet and related quests. You will get 2 great weapons for Jaheira that way, just be sure to investigate *all* the buildings in the swamp
After this you should be good to go and tackle almost everything, D'Arnise Keep or Umar Hills are good next destinations.
Anyways @Tedronai provides a very good list and very sound advice. I did 1) and 2), which are good beginner quests that shouldn't pose too much of a challenge. I also did 7) much later (can u access it right at the start of the game?), and it was pretty easy, and would give u some nice basic gear (armour) for a beginner party.
My problem with some of the others is...
3) refuse to cooperate with characters known to be evil from BG 1.
4) seems a trivial task and too insignificant given the party's dire circumstances and urgency (to rescue Imoen).
5) again, seems a trivial criminal investigation for law enforcement.
6) refuse to deal with thieves as a lawful character, unless absolutely necessary...
In addition to the list, there's two taverns in Waukeen's Promenade. Check them out, there's a villainous party that can be taken down with a beginner party with a little preparation, and yields all the beginner gear you need if you are fresh outta the dungeon, naked and broke, since the group is conveniently a fairly balanced party, with warriors, rogue, a mage, cleric... etc
To have much success in BG 2, u need to start to learn the intricacies of the magic system. Here's 2 links I found very useful (which don't contain plot spoilers). Your BG 1 anti-mage strategies simply don't work anymore. Now every mage you run into will pop Mirror Images and Stoneskin, so Magic Missiles cannot reliably disrupt them, and pretty soon you'll be running into Contingencies, Spell Turning, Globe of Invulnerability, Mislead and worse...
Your formerly devastating AoE spells like Fireball and Cloudkill, and Disabling spells like Sleep and Web, will gradually become nearly useless, at least without some help from Lower Resistance, Greater Mallison, Doom etc...
http://www.gamefaqs.com/pc/258273-baldurs-gate-ii-shadows-of-amn/faqs/11334
http://www.gamefaqs.com/pc/258273-baldurs-gate-ii-shadows-of-amn/faqs/13870
It's a lot of reading to do in one go, and it's only one (very experienced) player's opinions, but it does provide a very useful guideline, and also an insight on how or why a spell might be useful or not.
Give yourself a chance to digest it bit by bit. I learnt spells 1 level at a time, usually just up to the level of spells I can cast with my most proficient caster. If I pick up higher level scrolls, I just store them until I've read up on them later.
Slowly developing my own magic strategy and preferences is one of the things I've enjoyed the most about BG 2, and will help immensely to beating this game without cheating or cheese.
And don't worry, that Yuan-ti Mage got me the first time too.
Yoshimo is best used with arrows, simply because his AC will be inferior to every other one of your party members (with the exception of your Sorcerer), and he only gets one melee attack per round which just isn't worth the damage he will take being in the front.
Jaheira and Cernd will both benefit hugely from preparing Iron Skins and casting it ahead of combat. Chaotic Commands (available to Jaheira, Anomen and Cernd) will protect your party from the Chaos spell
cast by the Yuan-ti Mage.
By the sounds of things you have your Sorcerer right: glitterdust, chaos, mirror image and chain lightning are pretty much essential conveniences for many situations. Breach will sort out the stoneskin protection Yuan-ti Mages use, and isn't a bad choice for a Sorcerer considering your alternatives at Arcane Level 5 spells.
Ok that's a pretty good party, except Cernd, who is generally disliked by most veteran players... though I did try him for a bit, and he's pretty good for the mid-endgame. I haven't tried him for long enough to really make my own informed comment. Otherwise, your party is identical to mine except for that I had Aerie (instead of Cernd.)
General Party Advice:
I strongly recommend that you drop Cernd for another Arcane caster. Sorcerers have greater spell availability and flexibility, but limited spell diversity, compared to a mage, who can learn every arcane scroll in the game (assuming not opposite school for a specialist). So it would be a good idea to have at least one more arcane caster to plug any gaps you might have left with your Sorcerer.
Druids/Cernd isn't the most powerful class, so you don't need 2 in your party, whereas you can never go wrong with more arcane casters for BG 2! Since you are playing with a Good party, I recommend Nalia, Neera or Aerie. Alternatively, if you feel that you are really struggling to hold the line with Minsc and Anomen, then Keldorn is a very good choice. (Though getting to him safely can be a bit tricky, which is why I don't normally recommend him for a first timer player...). I've heard good things about Mazzy too, but although I do like her personality and character, I didn't find her to be particularly outstanding like Anomen and Keldorn...
Individual Character Guide
Sorcerer: An absolute powerhouse class if you know what you are doing, but for a beginner, spell selection can be tricky. Thus I strongly recommend that you read the linked spell guide up to the level of spells you can currently cast, and maybe one level higher, so that you can have a rough plan of which ones to pick at each level up. Some BG 2 spells are absolutely critical to your success.
Minsc: Give him the best armour u can find and the biggest sword he can wield. He hits hard, and isn't very subtle about it. "You Point! I Punch!". A tip you might not have known though... two handed swords (like all 2 handed weapons) can strike from a bit of range, behind one other character. Without a shield, Minsc isn't the most durable warrior, so if possible, strike from behind somebody else. He isn't exactly squishy either, so don't worry about it too much if it's not always possible.
Anomen: He is an absolute powerhouse. He do anything any other cleric in the game can do in terms of healing/buffs, but he is also a great warrior with Draw Upon Holy Might, and ideal for holding the line whilst Minsc pulps the enemy. Not that Anomen doesn't hit back hard too. You should be able to find an ideal weapon for him in the D'Arnise Keep, and if you investigate the Cult of the Unseeing Eye (though that quest can be quite tricky, so don't do it immediately), you should find something else that will help make Anomen even more durable.
Jaheira: She is a very flexible character. As a druid, she gets Fire Elementals very early, which are amazing for the early game. With Scimitar and Shield, she is a pretty good tank herself, especially if she casts Iron Skins. Later on she has Insect Plague, which is absolutely devastating against enemy spellcasters.
Yoshimo: He is a Bounty Hunter, which theoretically means he should be able to use traps pretty well as he levels up. In practise, I didn't bother too much, and used him primarily as a support archer, scout, lock-picker and trap finder. He can theoretically backstab, but he isn't the best NPC for that.
Tactics
I'm guessing that you were struggling against the sheer brute force of trolls and the disabling powers of mages. In terms of melee... it's all about buffs. In a straight up fight, early game Minsc, Anomen and Jaheira will struggle against trolls. However, if you cast 3 (or more) of the following 5 buffs: Chant, Bless, Defensive Harmony, Protection from Evil and Haste. The trio will chew through trolls with ease. Each of those spells only require one cast to buff everyone in the party, and any nearby allied summons. Clerics and Druids should never be thought of as heal-bots. They are primarily buffer/protectors. Prevention is better than cure!
You are probably struggling against spellcasters due to Horror, Confusion and Chaos. Which early game enemy mages love to use. Horror is very easily countered with Resist Fear. Confusion and Chaos (and stun effects) can be prevented with Chaotic Commands.
Now you might be wondering... wow that's 7 buffs/protection spells! How can I possibly have time to cast it all when there's a pack of trolls charging at me and a Yuan-ti Mage flinging Horror my way!
Well... make a distinction between long term buffs and short term ones. I always cast Protection from Evil and Resist Fear at the start of a session, if I remotely expect to fight. Both spells are fairly low level, protects the whole party and lasts a long time. Chaotic Commands is a bit trickier... it lasts a long time too, but it only protects one character, and it is lv5 and thus in competition with other great spells like Insect Plague and True Sight.
My solution is usually to protect just the frontliners, until I got enough lv5 divine spell slots to protect everybody. I HATED Chaos with an passion, and so sacrificed Insect Plague to protect my whole party almost permanently with Chaotic Commands. A more offensive-minded player might reason that if you use Insect Plague to shut down enemy spellcasters, you don't even need Chaotic Commands. A balanced approach is probably best.
That leaves the short-duration buffs... make a note of how long they take to cast. Defensive Harmony and Haste is quick, Chant and Bless are slow. So good practise is to always scout ahead with a thief, spotting enemies before they spot you (and finding/disabling traps)... If u got time to prepare, use Chant and Bless before u move in. If u are surprised, u can cast Defensive Harmony and Haste almost instantly. Haste does have the downside of causing fatigue though, so I usually only use it when I expect a tough battle.
With these spells mastered, the early game should become much easier, and no random Yuan-ti Mage will threaten you again!
I sort of have my sorceress with a lot of nuke spells and debuffs like greater malison and stuff like breach and Jan with a lot of buffs/ cc spells like chaos, haste, invisibilities, resist fears etc. Jaheria and Anomen are tanks who dual weild and Keldorn now as the paladin phallus sword +5. Rasaad...seems to be there to get squished a lot.
As above with Heidrich, a lot of the longer duration buffs before charging in, short term buffs like DuHM in combat. Pausing a lot as needed, quick save before a battle.
Admittedly I just ran round and got into trouble in Akatla before doing anything else. So I think I had all npcs quests done before I ventured out, and a lot in the city are pretty easy quests.
With Cernd and Aerie...eh, I like Cernd but the thing is Jaheria is my favourite character, so not using her seems weird to me. I can't explain it, I just love how blunt and unpleasent she is, it amuses me. And I don't need two druids (granted I probably don't need Anomen and Jaheria, but I'm keeping them both. Aerie I adore (well as an npc...
If you play it over and over like some of us, you will know every item location all ebemies etc. Then normal will be easy for you aswell. But always have FUN.
I really struggled with the Skeleton Warriors in the Shadow Temple, eventually has to get Nalia and Aerie hitting them with their melee weapons as well as my frontliners to take them down, and burn through hundreds of Melf's Minute Meteors in order to take down tough, magic resistant foes.
Once you pick up a bunch of +3 weapons and gain a couple of levels life does get a lot easier.
I'd definitely recommend picking him up in a good aligned party.
Yeah I hate that group. The first time I played BG 2, lots of people recommended me to get Keldorn, in the Temple Sewers. Running into that lot and getting owned repeatedly was pretty demoralising, cos they don't like they are meant to be tough, and I abandoned that playthrough shortly after. Which is why I don't normally recommend beginners to pick up Keldorn, since Anomen is just as good in his own way, and not so dangerous to find!
@Skaffen
And that's the other difficulty with that group, amongst others. They are not hostile until sighted. Which means I cannot justify a pre-emptive attack. For all Charname knew, they might also be working for the Temple of Helm to track down the Unseeing Eye.
You flatter me my friend
I just know the basics, and don't quite feel qualified to write a comprehensive guide when I don't quite know the maths behind some of theory-craft, and haven't tried some spells and NPCs yet.
I am having fun with the game, so I'm not frustrated at all by this, I just needed a little guidance
I'm assuming your playing the vanilla game and not using any difficulty enhancing mods.
For summons, pretty much these are the only ones you want to use:
Mage Spells
Spider Spawn (only if your using web)
Animate Dead (magic immune skeletons)
Summon Planetar
The Nishruu/Hakeshar/Djinn etc summons are good but not for their spell level, and mage elemental summoning sucks. I would only summon a Djinn using the item you steal off of the Djinn outside the tent in trademeet (you can only get this before you complete the druid grove quest).
Druid Spells
Summon fire elemental
Summon Fallen/Deva
Greater Elemental Summoning
Fire Elementals can kill most of the early quests by themselves without any help at all.
Priest Spells
Animate Dead
Summon Deva
All of the other summons are pretty much a waste of space only useful for being cannon fodder.
For mages, the easiest way to deal with them is either to equip Viconia to 100% magic resist, or to use Keldorn and just inquisitor dispell them and whack at them, or now for evil parties, poisoned arrows by Dorn before they get spell protections up.
You can also use insect plague by a druid on an ally next to the enemies and have it spread to the mage in case the mage goes invisible etc mid cast.
Cloudkill is your friend, use a thief or other invisible character to scout, then drop skull traps and cloudkills on the enemies from out of their visual range. You can do this by targetting just before them because spells cast at the max visual range usually.
Mass webs in vanilla holds anything in place, then you can just carve them up by putting on free action, or eventually Korgan and Mazzy get their saves low enough that they become immune unless they are debuffed.