Baldurs Gate Beginner Advice?

Shardlake

Hi. I decided to play Baldurs Gate again after many years but it looks like it's got a lot harder since I last played it. My old copy just doesn't seem to work at all on modern widescreens and none of the patches seem to work. So I bought a new 4-in-1 pack from Amazon. So what I need to know is: Has it already been pre-patched? What information do I need to get set up?

I've set up an old pc with Windows XP and connected it to my 40" widescreen TV with a HDMI cable. It's all working great but I'm still not sure if this is going to work when the game arrives, please advise.

Thanks in advance.

artificial_sunlight

You should have bought BG:EE

But if you play the old one, use the widescreen mod.

Shardlake

artificial_sunlight said:

You should have bought BG:EE

But if you play the old one, use the widescreen mod.

I had a look at the Enhanced Edition but to be honest I prefer the original graphics. The new one looks much too crisp, like playing theme park or something.

BelgarathMTH

If you prefer the original graphics version, your best bet is GoG.com . They have a downloadable version that is already fully patched and playable on contemporary computers and operating systems.

Shardlake

BelgarathMTH said:

If you prefer the original graphics version, your best bet is GoG.com . They have a downloadable version that is already fully patched and playable on contemporary computers and operating systems.

That looks really good, and in English pounds, thanks!

Demanius

Id still go for BG1 EE its great

DreadKhan

If you enjoyed BG2, look into some of the big mods like tutu, which make BG1 largely similar to BG2, ie kits, BG2 interface. Its not EE, but it is kinda halfway there. BG1 isnt bad in the original form though, and tutu makes every NPC a dualwielder (well, nearly so. Some were fine, but Khalid and Kagain shouldnt be dual wielders imo), so you might need to edit after.

There are others that stick with the old editions; they must love loading screens.

Belanos

DreadKhan said:

There are others that stick with the old editions; they must love loading screens.

You don't need to see those loading screens. If you select Custom Install from the original disks, you have the option of installing the entire game onto the hard drive. So no disk swap is necessary, and no loading screens.

DreadKhan

I'll take your word for it. I always had clunky loading even with a full install.

Djimmy

Learn what THAC0 is.

Demanius

To hit armor class 0 ....

Southpaw

Some tips for a new beginner?
Well, let's see:
- Hire some good NPCs to help you in your quest. You can even get the first NPC in the first city, in Candlekeep. His name is Carbos and he'll join you if you answer 1-2-1. (However that's a bit randomized, sometimes he will attack you instead. Try to reload a couple times until he offers you to join.)
- Further, get Xzar and Montaron at the first outside map. Don't get yourself fooled by those "friends" at Friendly Arm Inn. Khalid and Jaheira. Yes, even his name sounds too foreign. They claim they are friends of your father, but they will betray and attack you a bit later in the game. Kill them. The game does not even lower your reputation for that, that's how you know they were meant to be killed. Also, Xan (whom you will meet later) is an agent and will try to steal your equipment. Kill him or send him away (in that case he will take one of your items anyway!)
- How to get some Experience for starters:
. Hunt for wolves as soon as level 1. When you get to level 2 or 3, you can start hunting the wolves at Beregost's Temple area.
. Ankheg Lair - the Ankhegs are easy, if you stay on range. Don't go into melee with them.
. Basilisk in the eastern are from Firewine bridge. Their attacks are only lethal to 1-3rd level characters. You'll be immune to them at levels 4, so do some XP-grinding in that location asap.
- What foes to beware:
. Firebead Elvenhair - creepy, shady dude whom you'll meet several times. Actually easy fight for good XP. He's evil, so you won't lose reputation.
. Kobolds - their arrows are annoying, but don't get into melee, they actually hit very hard.
. Jellies only yield to unarmed attacks, not weapons (You'll see - weapon unusable, that's when you have to de-equip it and go bare-knuckled)
. beware of some critters, like mice or chicken. Especially if it has a name and tries to attack you - kill on sight and don't let it near you!
. Alora in BG - she'll try to murder you in your sleep, while posing as an NPC if you take her into your group (Just trust me on this one)

Miscellanious tips
. Get as high AC as you can. AC = Armour Class. It seems counter-intuitive, but there's a mechanic in the game that heavy armour hinders movement and will actually LOWER your AC. Use light armour to keep being nimble and evade attacks. Armours only mitigate some damage, while evade can nullify the attack completely.
. Use the standard setup - a tank, a healer and 3x DPS. Let the tank use taunts (you'll start learning those skills around level 3). DPS should hit the enemies from behind - everyone's got a chance to hit a critical back-stab for massive damage.
. Enemy mages very weak at low levels, ignore them until the second game. Same with priests.
. No need to invest into Detect Traps for Thieves. Traps aren't lethal in this game. Pickpocketing is much better as some NPCs carry very powerful items. (They are randomized, so try to pickpocket everyone)

elminster

Belanos said:

DreadKhan said:

There are others that stick with the old editions; they must love loading screens.

You don't need to see those loading screens. If you select Custom Install from the original disks, you have the option of installing the entire game onto the hard drive. So no disk swap is necessary, and no loading screens.

There would be no insert CD screens but there are still loading screens.

JuliusBorisov

I agree with @Southpaw‌

Southpaw said:

. Alora in BG - she'll try to murder you in your sleep, while posing as an NPC if you take her into your group (Just trust me on this one)

Pibaro

Southpaw said:

Some tips for a new beginner?
Well, let's see:
......

How many years wasted, if only I knew that before...

JLee

Southpaw said:

Some tips for a new beginner?
Well, let's see...

And Illithids are as legendary for their backrubs as they are for their sound advice

moody_mage

Although it's more of a BG2 tip you really should learn to take the advice of Mind Flayers with a pinch of salt approximately the size of the entire salt flat it came from.

Although I really would splash out for BGEE.

Demanius

Yeh mind flayers really did the number on me back the day. Had to learn the way to kill them range attacks, Chaotic commands spell and some skeleton warriors.

Demanius

Jahiera and khalid.....I did not know that one

DreadKhan

To new players please note, Southpaw is an Illithid. As pseudo-cephalopods with much mucus, they don't like salt much.

When fighting Mindflayers, having a very good AC very hard hitter is a good strategy. Their AC is bad and HP are low, so a really strong melee tank will make delicious calamari. Also, iirc, either Protection From Magic Weapons or Normal Weapons will prevent their intelligence drain. Probably the former, but I cant remember.

@Demanius‌ illithids are not always honest.

Shardlake

Cheers for all the good advice. I'll have a thorough read through here when I have more time.

rufus_hobart

Thinks the mindflayer ate a particularly evil brain that morn...