In BG I have to remove all Fog of War and do all quests, though I may chicken out of talk my way out of a few of the battles in the early game. In BG2 I don't care to clear all Fog of War in "wilderness" areas like Windspear Hills or Temple Ruins but I still hate to leave any quest unfulfilled.
I used to collect all the loot in Irenicus' dungeon. All of it. Every single goblin axe, every arrow (and quivers didn't use to hold quite as much!), all the useless one-shot wands... everything. I figured getting as much money as I could early on was important. Now I know that those extra ~200 gold really doesn't make all that much of a difference.
@Silverstar - I still do collect everything in Irenicus's dungeon. Those one-shot wands are not useless, because they can be re-charged ... and at least one of them, the Wand of Cloudkill, is a pretty powerful wand and in short supply elsewhere.
And yeah, I guess they aren't useless but I've never really been good at using wands, I've always considered them currency. With 1 charge they're not worth much iirc, hence that statement. Both the summoning wand and cloudkill one has definite applications.
Hm. Back in the day of vanilla BG1, I went through lots of areas first exploring to remove the fog of war, then pausing, pressing H to remove all of the side bars, and running the mouse over every single area of the map looking for secret containers. I never ever found the diamond in the tree in the first area, or the ankheg plate in Nashkel, but I did find the mages ring in the FAI, the fire ring east of Naskel, and possibly the +1 ring in the belt ogre area. Now I feel no shame in looting these containers every time, because I feel I worked for them. BG tutu made this trivial, and I really don't miss having to do this.
Sell them to a merchant, then buy them back. The re-purchase price will be much higher than what you got for them, but that's because the merchant will have re-charged them. So now you'll have 50 charges of Cloudkill, and 100 charges of some of the others. Seriously useful!
Tip: if you sell to a merchant who already stocks the same wand (e.g. Halbazzer in BG1), then he'll only charge them up to the same level (partially-charged) as the ones he has in stock, but if you sell to a merchant who doesn't already hold a stock of the same wand, then he'll charge them to their full capacity.
Another tip: not every merchant will buy your used wands, but some will. In BG1, you can sell to either Thalantyr or Halbazzer, but for this purpose I usually use the merchant in SW Baldur's Gate (next door to Sunin's house). In BG2, I usually go to Galoomp the Bookseller in Waukeen's Promenade for all my re-charging needs (although there are others who will also provide the service).
My primary compulsive behavior, i.e., "no cheese" prohibits me from 'recharging' wands.
I have seen videos of insane/SCS/no-reload runs which are based more or less on using the Rod of Resurrection every other turn. Not my style.
If anything, BG2 needs less magic not more, where vendors would freak out to see a worn wand, pay good money for it, and never sell it back. Of course, they wouldn't know the first thing about identifying them. (Nor would a first level spell successfully identify all items and artifacts.) Alas.
My primary compulsive behavior, i.e., "no cheese" prohibits me from 'recharging' wands.
What's "cheese" is always a matter of opinion, we each have our own definitions. To me, cheese means taking advantage of methods which the devs hadn't deliberately intended us to use.
Since the original devs deliberately built in the mechanism for wands to be re-charged by merchants, and since they deliberately made it cost a great deal of gold to do it, I therefore reckon it's a fully-intended option to include re-charging in your playing-style, rather than "cheese". But obviously, YMMV.
Sell them to a merchant, then buy them back. The re-purchase price will be much higher than what you got for them, but that's because the merchant will have re-charged them. So now you'll have 50 charges of Cloudkill, and 100 charges of some of the others. Seriously useful!
Tip: if you sell to a merchant who already stocks the same wand (e.g. Halbazzer in BG1), then he'll only charge them up to the same level (partially-charged) as the ones he has in stock, but if you sell to a merchant who doesn't already hold a stock of the same wand, then he'll charge them to their full capacity.
After all these years, I still keep learning new stuff about the Baldur's Gates. Thank you!
I'm obsessed with stealing. I pump up the pick pocket value of my thief, and I never buy anything if I can steal it. I use to steal every magic arrow or bullet in the game, every potion of speed, of magic blocking or similar, every unique weapon or armour, and finally every scroll my mage can scribe. Then I steal every other item i find useful.
I file that squarely under "cheese" as well. In fact, it is the reigning king of all dairy products, surpassing even the "Protection from Undead" scroll.
Comments
chicken out oftalk my way out of a few of the battles in the early game. In BG2 I don't care to clear all Fog of War in "wilderness" areas like Windspear Hills or Temple Ruins but I still hate to leave any quest unfulfilled.And yeah, I guess they aren't useless but I've never really been good at using wands, I've always considered them currency. With 1 charge they're not worth much iirc, hence that statement. Both the summoning wand and cloudkill one has definite applications.
Tip: if you sell to a merchant who already stocks the same wand (e.g. Halbazzer in BG1), then he'll only charge them up to the same level (partially-charged) as the ones he has in stock, but if you sell to a merchant who doesn't already hold a stock of the same wand, then he'll charge them to their full capacity.
Another tip: not every merchant will buy your used wands, but some will. In BG1, you can sell to either Thalantyr or Halbazzer, but for this purpose I usually use the merchant in SW Baldur's Gate (next door to Sunin's house). In BG2, I usually go to Galoomp the Bookseller in Waukeen's Promenade for all my re-charging needs (although there are others who will also provide the service).
I have seen videos of insane/SCS/no-reload runs which are based more or less on using the Rod of Resurrection every other turn. Not my style.
If anything, BG2 needs less magic not more, where vendors would freak out to see a worn wand, pay good money for it, and never sell it back. Of course, they wouldn't know the first thing about identifying them. (Nor would a first level spell successfully identify all items and artifacts.) Alas.
Since the original devs deliberately built in the mechanism for wands to be re-charged by merchants, and since they deliberately made it cost a great deal of gold to do it, I therefore reckon it's a fully-intended option to include re-charging in your playing-style, rather than "cheese". But obviously, YMMV.
Huh. So it's not just a tasty milk-based product that makes everything amazing and fantastic when melted.
I just can not move the entire group before knowing what lies in the fog of war.
I pump up the pick pocket value of my thief, and I never buy anything if I can steal it.
I use to steal every magic arrow or bullet in the game, every potion of speed, of magic blocking or similar, every unique weapon or armour, and finally every scroll my mage can scribe.
Then I steal every other item i find useful.
I file that squarely under "cheese" as well.
In fact, it is the reigning king of all dairy products, surpassing even the "Protection from Undead" scroll.