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The General Questions Thread

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  • meaglothmeagloth Member Posts: 3,806
    Is there any use for the hand of dace, and the two stones that "have an energy about them" and "May be of some use later" that you get in spellhold? Or am I just forgetting something? I'm not very familiar with bg2.
  • JuliusBorisovJuliusBorisov Member, Administrator, Moderator, Developer Posts: 22,754
    @meagloth‌

    Talk to the statue in the south corner. With the Hand of Dace and Kurtulmak's Crystal Shard the passage to the next area will appear.
  • abacusabacus Member Posts: 1,307
    @meagloth‌
    There are actually 3 stones with that particular energy (I assume you're talking about the ones that resemble gemstones).

    There's a portal to the northwest of that first spellhold area... If you activate it with the stones in your inventory, some monsters spawn... Keep killing them and reactivating the portal and eventually you'll get a nice(ish) suit of armour.
  • meaglothmeagloth Member Posts: 3,806
    edited May 2014
    @abacus‌ oh, I dint realize you needed them to activate the portal. @bengoshi‌ I meant other then that. I didn't realize you had to have those in your inventory to leave though, I always just had them anyway.
  • meaglothmeagloth Member Posts: 3,806
    Is there a way to set spell triggers/contingencies in BP2?
  • CrevsDaakCrevsDaak Member Posts: 7,155
    meagloth said:

    Is there a way to set spell triggers/contingencies in BP2?

    Yes, at the start pf the battle :P
    Or after the battle ended (because of a bug you have to wait 1 round to be teleported) if they don't get dispelled later.
  • StormvesselStormvessel Member Posts: 654
    edited May 2014
    What is a good weapon for a Monk to become proficient in for those few enemies that require +5 to hit? I was thinking Scimitar for Spectral Brand. He can only use Thief weapons so that seems to me the best option.
  • ElrandirElrandir Member Posts: 1,664
    edited May 2014
    Sling. You can buy a +5 sling pretty early in BG2, if my sources are correct.

    Edit: The sling of Everard. Requires no bullets and hits at +5. Can be bought at the Copper Coronet.
  • StormvesselStormvessel Member Posts: 654
    edited May 2014
    Elrandir said:

    Sling. You can buy a +5 sling pretty early in BG2, if my sources are correct.

    Edit: The sling of Everard. Requires no bullets and hits at +5. Can be bought at the Copper Coronet.

    Good idea. Sling makes sense - kiting is easier thanks to the added speed. I already have a pip in darts.

    I will be sure and put a pip in sling before I hit BG2 for that very reason.
    bengoshi said:

    I've always wondered why monks are not able to use a staff. A monk with a staff. Quite an ordinary thing, I think, but nonetheless it's prohibited in BG. A staff of the Ram would be a real helper for a Monk for these situations when an enemy requires an ultimate weapon to hit.

    I know. Staff would be a very attractive option on my Dark Moon Monk and I really wish he could equip one.

    One possible reason could be that a monk would be unhittable in melee with a staff . Faster than even a Barbarian w/ boots of speed and kiting in melee. Overpowered to say the least.
  • StormvesselStormvessel Member Posts: 654
    edited May 2014
    I am really liking this thread...

    I have another question. In one of my games I have...

    Cleric (Charname)
    Ajantis
    Kivan
    Imoen
    Neera

    And I am picking up Coran as soon as I get to Cloakwood.

    I want a little more spellcasting mainly because Neera is limited in the number of spells she can learn. I am going to dual Imoen to Mage. This makes good sense seeing as how I am picking up Coran, anyway. The question is, when should I dual her? If I dual her at 5 (the level she's at now) she gets her 3x multiplier and I can get her skills back very soon. If I dual her at 6, I can still get her skills back relatively fast and be able to reach max level as Mage (this is what I am leaning towards). However, if I wait to level 7 before dualing her I can get find traps and lockpicking to 100, but I will not be able to cast level 5 Mage spells (I have Neera so this isn't that big of a deal), but I will be almost to the end of the game before I get her thief skills back.

    I haven't assigned her thief points for level 5 yet, so if I dual her now, she will have between 85 - 100 lockpicking and 50 - 75 find traps. What I want to do is wait to level 6 and dual her with 90 in lockpicking and 95 in find traps. But I am afraid I will run into instances where I can't unlock something and/or detect a trap.
    Post edited by Stormvessel on
  • ElrandirElrandir Member Posts: 1,664
    edited May 2014
    @Stormvessel‌ Do you have a xp mod? I was fairly sure Imoen couldn't regain her thief skills if you dualed at 7, but if you have a mod that eliminates the xp cap, then never mind.

    Also, if you're choosing between lock picking and find traps, go with a higher find traps. Coran at max (starting) level already has 100 in lock picking, but his find traps skill isn't terribly good. If you pick him up at level 3/whatever the thief level is, then he'll be able to have both at a good level, but since that's unlikely, it's better to give Imoen more find traps points. Besides, one or two potions of master thievery or perception and her find traps will be plenty.

    So, in conclusion, my suggestion is dual Imoen at level six, get as many points in find traps as possible, and don't worry about lock picking. Coran will do that for you.

    Edit: I checked the progression charts for the different classes, and while you CAN do a level 7/8 dual, I still suggest a 6/9 dual.
    Post edited by Elrandir on
  • SionIVSionIV Member Posts: 2,689
    Elrandir said:

    @Stormvessel‌ Do you have a xp mod? I was fairly sure Imoen couldn't regain her thief skills if you dualed at 7, but if you have a mod that eliminates the xp cap, then never mind.

    Also, if you're choosing between lock picking and find traps, go with a higher find traps. Coran at max (starting) level already has 100 in lock picking, but his find traps skill isn't terribly good. If you pick him up at level 3/whatever the thief level is, then he'll be able to have both at a good level, but since that's unlikely, it's better to give Imoen more find traps points. Besides, one or two potions of master thievery or perception and her find traps will be plenty.

    So, in conclusion, my suggestion is dual Imoen at level six, get as many points in find traps as possible, and don't worry about lock picking. Coran will do that for you.

    Edit: I checked the progression charts for the different classes, and while you CAN do a level 7/8 dual, I still suggest a 6/9 dual.

    Imoen is dual classed at 7/8 in BG2, so it's pretty much the 'canon' way to go.
  • StormvesselStormvessel Member Posts: 654
    edited May 2014
    I think I have to dual her at 5. I don't think I have a choice in the matter. I say this because I forgot to take a pip in Crossbow when she leveled up at 4 (I took Scimitar) and I'm going to want her to be able to use the Army Scythe as a Mage. Her next pip comes at 8 for thief, so that's out of the question. But she gets a Mage pip at 6. As far as I know, she can't put the pip in Crossbow unless she already has her thief skills back. So I guess that's that. I have to dual her now. She will only have 75 in find traps and 85 in lockpicking, but on the bright side, she will be a Mage wielding Icingdeath+3 and blasting people with the Army Scythe.
  • SionIVSionIV Member Posts: 2,689
    edited May 2014
    Just use shadowkeeper to change it. And you'll want to avoid giving her Icingdeath as she'll be horrible in close combat whatever weapon you give her, so instead give Icingdeath to someone that can use it efficiently.
  • StormvesselStormvessel Member Posts: 654
    edited May 2014
    Ajantis already has twinkle. Maybe I will let Kivan have it or Coran when he backstabs.

    I can use Shadowkeeper w/ the EE? How?
  • SionIVSionIV Member Posts: 2,689
    edited May 2014

    Ajantis already has twinkle. Maybe I will let Kivan have it or Coran when he backstabs.

    I can use Shadowkeeper w/ the EE? How?

    I always say that wrong, there is an EEKeeper out now that you can use.

    http://sourceforge.net/projects/eekeeper/

    And just keep Imoen in the back and give Icingdeath to Coran or Kivan.
  • StormvesselStormvessel Member Posts: 654
    Thanks a ton!
  • ElrandirElrandir Member Posts: 1,664
    I agree with SionIV. Let Imoen use short blades for when you NEED her in close combat. If you want to go the crossbow route you CAN, but generally speaking, short bows are the way to go with her. Then again, I don't know your total party composition, so I couldn't tell you the exact "best" things to do.
  • StormvesselStormvessel Member Posts: 654
    edited May 2014
    Elrandir said:

    I agree with SionIV. Let Imoen use short blades for when you NEED her in close combat. If you want to go the crossbow route you CAN, but generally speaking, short bows are the way to go with her. Then again, I don't know your total party composition, so I couldn't tell you the exact "best" things to do.

    I have Ajantis w/ dexterity gauntlets and an awesome Half-Orc Priest (the one I posted on page 2). These are my tanks. I have Kivan for emergency tanking and range, Coran for thieving and range - he will use the belt of ogre strength (for composite longbow) as soon as I obtain it. I have Neera for spellcasting damage, and that leaves good old Immy. I went ahead and dualed her at 5 to get her back asap. I used EEkeeper and took out some of the points I put into lockpicking and put them into find traps (since Coran will have lockpicking), but since I already used some of the lockpicking I left some in there (so as not to cheat). I didn't think it would be fair to get the benefit out of lockpicking and then take the points out of it. Oh, and I took the pip out of scimitar and put it into Crossbow.

    I really want to use the Army Scythe and I can't give it to Kivan - that would be a waste of his race bonus, and I certainly can't give it to Coran as he has 3 pips in longbow. That would be a huge waste.
  • ElrandirElrandir Member Posts: 1,664
    Why do you want to use the Army Scythe so much? It's really not that great of a weapon. It's essentially a crossbow that's only AS good as a bow... It's bonus APR only really puts it on par with a bow. But if you really want to use it, then I suppose Imoen would be the best one to use it.
  • StormvesselStormvessel Member Posts: 654
    edited May 2014
    Elrandir said:

    Why do you want to use the Army Scythe so much? It's really not that great of a weapon. It's essentially a crossbow that's only AS good as a bow... It's bonus APR only really puts it on par with a bow. But if you really want to use it, then I suppose Imoen would be the best one to use it.


    SionIV nailed it. Seeing as how she will already have the pip in crossbow, I also plan on having her use the Guide (depending on the situation).
  • abacusabacus Member Posts: 1,307
    Q.
    What's the RP purpose for the Stalker getting the specific Mage spells that he does (Haste, Protection from Normal Missiles & Minor Spell Deflection)?

    I'm not really talking about their gaming utility, but to me for a stealthy spy-type, surely Invisibility and one of the Charm/Domination type spells would be more apropos?
  • StormvesselStormvessel Member Posts: 654
    A. It's RP purpose is for you, the player, to determine - otherwise it wouldn't be RP!

    The way I would see it is my guy is so fast (haste) that he can easily avoid missiles and spells!
  • abacusabacus Member Posts: 1,307

    A. It's RP purpose is for you, the player, to determine - otherwise it wouldn't be RP!

    The way I would see it is my guy is so fast (haste) that he can easily avoid missiles and spells!

    Not necessarily... Perhaps RP was the wrong term, I'm more referring to the rationale behind these selections: in as much as the Inquisitor hunts wizards and therefore gets anti magic tools.
    The only concept I can think is that they're essentially get-out-of-town abilities... so they're for a quick escape if he/she gets caught. Which is essentially equipping him with the skills to fail safely!
  • StormvesselStormvessel Member Posts: 654
    abacus said:

    A. It's RP purpose is for you, the player, to determine - otherwise it wouldn't be RP!

    The way I would see it is my guy is so fast (haste) that he can easily avoid missiles and spells!

    Not necessarily... Perhaps RP was the wrong term, I'm more referring to the rationale behind these selections: in as much as the Inquisitor hunts wizards and therefore gets anti magic tools.
    The only concept I can think is that they're essentially get-out-of-town abilities... so they're for a quick escape if he/she gets caught. Which is essentially equipping him with the skills to fail safely!
    I don't know - good question. Whenever I play Ranger I usually roll an Elven Archer though I would be interested in knowing the logic behind the Stalker in case I decide to play one.
  • SionIVSionIV Member Posts: 2,689
    edited May 2014
    I think you have to look at it from a more real-life perspective. You have a person that is stalking someone, probably a very beautiful woman (that wants nothing to do with him AND has put a restraining order up). His hide in shadow and move silent are impressive to say the least, but if he does get caught stalking her then he needs to be able to escape from the authority.

    Haste -> Run away faster.
    Protection from normal missile -> Dodge any shots fired at him.
    Minor spell deflection -> Prevent yourself from getting caught by spells (hold, slow, sleep).

    So they are tools that will keep a stalker alive and out of prison for a longer period of time.
  • abacusabacus Member Posts: 1,307
    :D
    Yeah... In game, they're actually skills to help him run in, backstab and run away without getting winged.
    But the class description says they are "spies, intelligence gatherers, and interrogators"... To me, that suggests a dude that won't get caught/spotted in the first place.
  • StormvesselStormvessel Member Posts: 654
    abacus said:

    :D
    Yeah... In game, they're actually skills to help him run in, backstab and run away without getting winged.
    But the class description says they are "spies, intelligence gatherers, and interrogators"... To me, that suggests a dude that won't get caught/spotted in the first place.

    Yea, but even the very best of spies carry a cyanide pill "just in case". Those spells are for your Stalker "just in case".
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