When is the best time to run the HoW expansion during IWD:EE? I was assuming it was best to finish the initial play through and then advance to HoW, again assuming it was designed for higher level characters that would be available at the end of IWD:EE. Is this not the best time to do so? Thanks for any guidance.
Regarding combat/loot balance, yeah, it seems to be designed for playing HoW with characters who have completed the base-game.
If you enter HoW as soon as the game lets you, the first hostile areas there will be very punishing... And when you've finished the expansion and return to the base-game, the content there will feel too easy and much of the loot too low-level.
However, there's a catch: When you beat the end-game sequence of the base-game, your characters aren't returned to the game world - instead, the characters are exported, and the game ends.
You can import the characters into a new HoW game, but they will be missing some of their inventory, as a result of how the export/import process is implemented. If I remember correctly, the content of all bags (Bag of Holding, Quiver of Arrows, etc.) that you carried will be gone.
If you can't live with that, there's this route that some people have suggested:
1) Play the base-game, until the point of no return in the final chapter.
2) Make a save there, and make sure not to overwrite it.
3) Finish the base-game.
4) Load the savegame, and start the expansion from there.
Compared to the export/import route, you'll enter HoW without the XP and the items from the endgame sequence, but *with* all your container contents from before the point of no return.
(Minor spoiler: The point of no return is in chapter 6 when you've collected all the lieutenant badges, used them in the intended way, and then travel onward.)
I also suggest not doing HoW before you're done with IWD.
It's not the contents of the containers that aren't exported but rather the containers themselves and all that they contain. What I did myself was empty them in the inventory before the exporting took place.
If you go to HoW with Hjollder, you won't be able to get the Blade of Aihonen (supposing you made the right choices during the Prologue).
Ok now an even dumber question. I finished IWD, just before the final battle I got the message that the characters had been exported. Now I go into the main menu to start a HoW game and I don't have any way to import my characters? When I start a new game it gives me six pre gen characters and when I delete them and try to assign new ones the only one that is available is my Char Name from IWD. I looked for saved game files but nothing shows up.
I know I'm just missing something stupid but what is it?
After clicking "Delete" on a pre-made character and "Create" to replace it, you need to click "Create" again on that next screen as if to roll a new character from scratch. Then, you can use the "Import" button on the bottom right of the character-generation screen.
After clicking "Delete" on a pre-made character and "Create" to replace it, you need to click "Create" again on that next screen as if to roll a new character from scratch. Then, you can use the "Import" button on the bottom right of the character-generation screen.
That is what I did, unfortunately the only options I have for Import are the pregen characters along with my original version of CharName. Thanks for the tip though
Alright, I just tested it (loaded an old save and killed the base-game final boss), and my party was properly exported.
When I start a new HoW game, my party members appear in both the first screen after clicking "Create":
As well as in the "Import" dialog on the character-generation screen that I referred to above, although here they were listed as "IWD1", "IWD2" etc. rather than under their actual names:
(Both import methods result in all containers being gone from the inventory, as @Abel mentioned.)
PS: I can also locate the exported character files ("IWD1.chr", "IWD2.chr", etc.) in my IWD user data folder (on Linux):
I have never played the original IWD and am now playing IWD:EE for the first time. I've never played it before because I didn't feel like creating a whole party instead of recruiting a team to interact with.
Anyway, I've reconsidered, didn't want to read here because I was afraid of spoilers, and I'm now in the Vale of Shadows and excited to exlore the story. So far, things are going well, I have created an undead hunter, a berserker (dwarf), an inquisitor (yes, I love paladins), a priest of Tyr, a fighter/thief (halfling) and an unkitted mage (elf). Not a very creative party, but one that I like.
So, now I've noticed there are some differences between the BG spells and the IWD spells and I've decided to read the manual at last (I know I should have done that before, but I wanted to play, not read...) and it says that
"elf: [...] unaffected by the Raise Dead spell".
Does that mean I can't get my mage back if he gets killed?
Or does it mean I will have to save a lot of gold to pay for Resurrection?
Or does it mean something else entirely and I've misunderstoof something?
Edit: and I don't want to let him get killed just to find out... I like to roleplay my games, and I like to reload as little as possible.
Elves cannot be raised but they can be resurrected. So you only need to pay more gold. The same restrictions still apply for Resurrection as for Raise Dead: if a character gets "chunked" (HP drops below -10), he or she is gone forever.
Elves can be a bit of a pain. Apart from the money, there's also the issue that it's relatively easy to get your own cleric high enough level to cast raise dead, but rather more difficult to get resurrection. Also, not all NPC healers that know raise dead also know resurrection. An elf mage is clearly the best race option in BG, but the decision is far less obvious in IWD ...
Elves can be a bit of a pain. Apart from the money, there's also the issue that it's relatively easy to get your own cleric high enough level to cast raise dead, but rather more difficult to get resurrection. Also, not all NPC healers that know raise dead also know resurrection. An elf mage is clearly the best race option in BG, but the decision is far less obvious in IWD ...
Well, I guess I should start reading manuals *before* playing a game for the first time. I looked a bit at spell descriptions and abilities before, but clearly, concerning the differences between IWD and BG, the devil is in the details...
Oh well. I'll see how far I get with this party anyway. I really don't feel like restarting. So, the obvious conclusion is to keep that elven mage alive at all costs
@Arvia should you find yourself in a bind and reloading would be too much of a pain, should you be willing and story is more important than"pride", there's always the option to
I noticed a lot of things don't work unless the character in Position 1 is the one doing the interacting for each situation needed. For example: Lore >100, HP >150, talking to Seth the "right" way.
Is the Fire and Cold resist portion of Talon of Gloomfrost broken? I equipped it and unequipped it several times, moved it between characters, and never see it add 10 fire and cold resist.
Is there any item in IWD (or mod) that gives free identify per day, similar to the glasses (?) that you can buy off the shadow thieves in bg2? I'm thinking about a non-mage/bard party, but running back to the stores to identify items all the time is very tedious (and I'll try to avoid outright "cheats" that automatically identify all items).
Also, I somehow can't find a mod that boosts the beastmaster, is there any out there? I always wanted to give it a try and I don't mind playing classes that aren't super strong, but especially in IWD - where you can pick and choose your team mates' classes - the vanilla beastmaster just seems to be so underwhelmingly boring...
Is there any item in IWD (or mod) that gives free identify per day, similar to the glasses (?) that you can buy off the shadow thieves in bg2?
The Glasses of Identification from BG2 exist in IWD:EE, but are not easily accessible (and you'll need an arcane spellcaster, which in your case defeats the purpose):
Get the "Limited Wish" spell (either on level-up as a Sorcerer or by buying it from Edion in the Heart of Winter expansion). Cast it using a Wizard/Sorcerer/Bard with at least 12 Wisdom, and select "one-time wish" and then "I wish to see all as it really is". The glasses then appear in your inventory.
However, there are some mods that let you get them much earlier in the game:
The House Rules for IWD:EE mod adds two bonus merchants (first reachable in chapter 1), one of whom sells the glasses.
(Jiedra, in Orrick's tower in Kuldahar.)
The FindIt - IWD mod adds the glasses to a monster's loot in chapter 2.
(The Lizard King on level 1 of Dragon's Eye.)
I think the Afaaq, the Djinni Companion mod also gives you access to Limited With without requiring a spellcaster, simply by talking to Afaaq. Then you should be able to get the glasses as described above. (However, I have not tested this.)
Does anyone know the name of the music track that plays upon
the orog attack on Kuldahar?
I have heard that's it's a new addition to the EE, but am unsure as I never played the orignial.
It's "Bonus Track 3". It was always in the game files and part of the original OST, but it used to take a mod to enable it. Great piece of heroic combat music.
Is there any item in IWD (or mod) that gives free identify per day, similar to the glasses (?) that you can buy off the shadow thieves in bg2?
The Glasses of Identification from BG2 exist in IWD:EE, but are not easily accessible (and you'll need an arcane spellcaster, which in your case defeats the purpose):
Hi, I played on HoF, and I beated Belhifet but he didn't fall imiadetly at first he kicked my thief and then he walk away from my view and then game show final movie, but it didn't send me to heart of winter and it didn't give me Master of Tactic achievement on Steam... why like that?
@Hafir unless it was changed, you start Heart of Winter by speaking to an NPC in Kuldahar, it does not start automatically if you finish the main campaign.
As for the achievement, I'm not 100% sure what the exact triggers are. I assume you were playing the Steam version, while Steam itself was also running? Have you changed the difficulty at any time during play? Could there be mods interfering?
Ok, no mods I didnt change but after first reload I had set different lvl diff but I changed and reload again I didnt interfere in it, I was supriouse of that because I choose from option HoF before start game. Is the belhifet a spoiler? If yes srry can you change it?
I'm looking for another mod: any chance there's one out there that would make halfling weapon choices more pnp-friendly? I.e. halflings could only use medium sized weapons as two-handed weapons, but would benefit from the two-handed proficieny in return when doing so...
Does the Holy Smite spell stack its time (with its blindness for a round) each time it is used? I know spells like bless and others stack their power but do not increase their time so I was wondering about this one?
Anyone have advice on how I should build the default/premade party on IWD:EE in regards to weapon mastery, etc. since it's my first playthrough? I've played through BG 1 and 2 but only once each and I'm still pretty green when it comes to these type of games. I don't really mind using the premade party since it's fun to me to get to use a well balanced party and more convenient than having to generate my own party when I'm unfamiliar with everything, like what types of powerful weapons I'll come across throughout the game.
Anyone have advice on how I should build the default/premade party on IWD:EE in regards to weapon mastery, etc. since it's my first playthrough? I've played through BG 1 and 2 but only once each and I'm still pretty green when it comes to these type of games. I don't really mind using the premade party since it's fun to me to get to use a well balanced party and more convenient than having to generate my own party when I'm unfamiliar with everything, like what types of powerful weapons I'll come across throughout the game.
I have never played with the premade party, but here is how I would build it:
Berserker: +++++ to Two-handed swords first, then + to some ranged weapon.
Cleric-Ranger: ++ to Slings, after that +++ to Two-weapon style.
Paladin: I would choose some ranged weapon (Longbow, Crossbow or maybe even Axe which works as melee weapon too). Also, some other melee weapon could work (for example blunt weapons like Maces are useful against skeletal undead). If you really like Two-weapon style you could pick that, although then points to Sword-and-Shield style are wasted.
Fighter-thief: I would choose another ranged weapon (Longbow or Crossbow) or thief-friendly melee weapons that can be used in backstabbing (like Longsword, Katana or even Club). Also some fighting style is an option (Two-weapon style or Single-weapon style most likely). About thieving skills: the only necessary skills are Open locks and Find traps, I would put around 100 in both. You do not need to rush them, just progress them gradually. In addition to them, Move silently and Hide in shadows are useful for scouting and backstabbing.
Mage: maybe + to Slings first, then Quarterstaff or Dagger depending on what you have found, but I would just try to keep her out of melee fights.
Bard: + to Longbow, later on you could take Crossbows if you find a good one. I would also try to keep her out of melee.
I would try to manage especially ranged weapon proficiencies so that you have different types covered, because magical ammunition are more or less limited resource. Some weapon types like Longswords and Axes are quite common in IWD, so you could have more than one character using those weapons.
Hope this helps! Overall the premade party seems to have a quite powerful mix of characters so it should work well.
I tried finding this elsewhere and couldn't track it down, so apologies if it's been asked previously.
Have the items that were removed by HoW been put back (or put somewhere accessible) by the Enhanced Edition? If some were and some were not, is there a list that explains which were and which were not?
I know HoW moved some items and removed others, and I feel like I've picked up items that were supposedly removed, but sources are all over the place and I haven't kept up with the updates.
Hi, I need clarification on the discrepancies in character generation between the manual and the game IWD EE.
In the manual, for example, the racial bonuses for the Human race are: +15% Pick Pockets, +10% Open Locks, +5% Find Traps, +5% Move Silently, +10% Hide in Shadows.
In the race description in the game when I generate a character, there are no bonuses.
Or, for the halfling race, these bonuses are according to the manual:
- +20% Pick Pockets, +15% Open Locks, +10% Find Traps, +20% Move Silently, +20% Hide in Shadows.
In the in-game character description window:
+5 Pick Pockets, +5 Open Locks, +5 Find Traps, +15 Move Silently, +10 Hide in Shadows.
If these are updated values, where would I find an updated list of values to generate a character so I can generate it correctly? I'm not an expert in these things.
Using GOG version 2.6.6.
Thank you for reply.
The in-game descriptions are using humans as a baseline; that description of halfling bonuses is how much more a halfling thief gets than a human thief with the same dexterity does. Perfectly sensible, since the relative numbers are all you need to know for making decisions.
The actual system ... you have your base skill investment. Then bonuses from dexterity, race, and any other ongoing effects from spells or items are added. You don't see the direct effects of equipped items in your skills when leveling up, though indirect effects such as dexterity changes do appear. The final number is capped to a 0-255 range. Race and dexterity bonuses are determined using the game's 2DA table files.
For what it's worth, the table used for race bonuses has those numbers from the manual. The table used for dexterity bonuses is all zeros in the 13-15 dexterity range.
Comments
I have heard that's it's a new addition to the EE, but am unsure as I never played the orignial.
If you enter HoW as soon as the game lets you, the first hostile areas there will be very punishing... And when you've finished the expansion and return to the base-game, the content there will feel too easy and much of the loot too low-level.
However, there's a catch: When you beat the end-game sequence of the base-game, your characters aren't returned to the game world - instead, the characters are exported, and the game ends.
You can import the characters into a new HoW game, but they will be missing some of their inventory, as a result of how the export/import process is implemented. If I remember correctly, the content of all bags (Bag of Holding, Quiver of Arrows, etc.) that you carried will be gone.
If you can't live with that, there's this route that some people have suggested:
1) Play the base-game, until the point of no return in the final chapter.
2) Make a save there, and make sure not to overwrite it.
3) Finish the base-game.
4) Load the savegame, and start the expansion from there.
Compared to the export/import route, you'll enter HoW without the XP and the items from the endgame sequence, but *with* all your container contents from before the point of no return.
(Minor spoiler: The point of no return is in chapter 6 when you've collected all the lieutenant badges, used them in the intended way, and then travel onward.)
It's not the contents of the containers that aren't exported but rather the containers themselves and all that they contain. What I did myself was empty them in the inventory before the exporting took place.
If you go to HoW with Hjollder, you won't be able to get the Blade of Aihonen (supposing you made the right choices during the Prologue).
I know I'm just missing something stupid but what is it?
Thanks
That is what I did, unfortunately the only options I have for Import are the pregen characters along with my original version of CharName. Thanks for the tip though
When I start a new HoW game, my party members appear in both the first screen after clicking "Create":
As well as in the "Import" dialog on the character-generation screen that I referred to above, although here they were listed as "IWD1", "IWD2" etc. rather than under their actual names:
(Both import methods result in all containers being gone from the inventory, as @Abel mentioned.)
PS: I can also locate the exported character files ("IWD1.chr", "IWD2.chr", etc.) in my IWD user data folder (on Linux):
On Windows/Mac, that should be:
Anyway, I've reconsidered, didn't want to read here because I was afraid of spoilers, and I'm now in the Vale of Shadows and excited to exlore the story. So far, things are going well, I have created an undead hunter, a berserker (dwarf), an inquisitor (yes, I love paladins), a priest of Tyr, a fighter/thief (halfling) and an unkitted mage (elf). Not a very creative party, but one that I like.
So, now I've noticed there are some differences between the BG spells and the IWD spells and I've decided to read the manual at last (I know I should have done that before, but I wanted to play, not read...) and it says that
"elf: [...] unaffected by the Raise Dead spell".
Does that mean I can't get my mage back if he gets killed?
Or does it mean I will have to save a lot of gold to pay for Resurrection?
Or does it mean something else entirely and I've misunderstoof something?
Edit: and I don't want to let him get killed just to find out... I like to roleplay my games, and I like to reload as little as possible.
Well, I guess I should start reading manuals *before* playing a game for the first time. I looked a bit at spell descriptions and abilities before, but clearly, concerning the differences between IWD and BG, the devil is in the details...
Oh well. I'll see how far I get with this party anyway. I really don't feel like restarting. So, the obvious conclusion is to keep that elven mage alive at all costs
Also, I somehow can't find a mod that boosts the beastmaster, is there any out there? I always wanted to give it a try and I don't mind playing classes that aren't super strong, but especially in IWD - where you can pick and choose your team mates' classes - the vanilla beastmaster just seems to be so underwhelmingly boring...
The Glasses of Identification from BG2 exist in IWD:EE, but are not easily accessible (and you'll need an arcane spellcaster, which in your case defeats the purpose):
However, there are some mods that let you get them much earlier in the game:
The Might & Guile mod has a "Revised Beastmasters" component.
It's "Bonus Track 3". It was always in the game files and part of the original OST, but it used to take a mod to enable it. Great piece of heroic combat music.
Brilliant, thanks a lot!
As for the achievement, I'm not 100% sure what the exact triggers are. I assume you were playing the Steam version, while Steam itself was also running? Have you changed the difficulty at any time during play? Could there be mods interfering?
Does the Holy Smite spell stack its time (with its blindness for a round) each time it is used? I know spells like bless and others stack their power but do not increase their time so I was wondering about this one?
I have never played with the premade party, but here is how I would build it:
Berserker: +++++ to Two-handed swords first, then + to some ranged weapon.
Cleric-Ranger: ++ to Slings, after that +++ to Two-weapon style.
Paladin: I would choose some ranged weapon (Longbow, Crossbow or maybe even Axe which works as melee weapon too). Also, some other melee weapon could work (for example blunt weapons like Maces are useful against skeletal undead). If you really like Two-weapon style you could pick that, although then points to Sword-and-Shield style are wasted.
Fighter-thief: I would choose another ranged weapon (Longbow or Crossbow) or thief-friendly melee weapons that can be used in backstabbing (like Longsword, Katana or even Club). Also some fighting style is an option (Two-weapon style or Single-weapon style most likely). About thieving skills: the only necessary skills are Open locks and Find traps, I would put around 100 in both. You do not need to rush them, just progress them gradually. In addition to them, Move silently and Hide in shadows are useful for scouting and backstabbing.
Mage: maybe + to Slings first, then Quarterstaff or Dagger depending on what you have found, but I would just try to keep her out of melee fights.
Bard: + to Longbow, later on you could take Crossbows if you find a good one. I would also try to keep her out of melee.
I would try to manage especially ranged weapon proficiencies so that you have different types covered, because magical ammunition are more or less limited resource. Some weapon types like Longswords and Axes are quite common in IWD, so you could have more than one character using those weapons.
Hope this helps! Overall the premade party seems to have a quite powerful mix of characters so it should work well.
Have the items that were removed by HoW been put back (or put somewhere accessible) by the Enhanced Edition? If some were and some were not, is there a list that explains which were and which were not?
I know HoW moved some items and removed others, and I feel like I've picked up items that were supposedly removed, but sources are all over the place and I haven't kept up with the updates.
In the manual, for example, the racial bonuses for the Human race are: +15% Pick Pockets, +10% Open Locks, +5% Find Traps, +5% Move Silently, +10% Hide in Shadows.
In the race description in the game when I generate a character, there are no bonuses.
Or, for the halfling race, these bonuses are according to the manual:
- +20% Pick Pockets, +15% Open Locks, +10% Find Traps, +20% Move Silently, +20% Hide in Shadows.
In the in-game character description window:
+5 Pick Pockets, +5 Open Locks, +5 Find Traps, +15 Move Silently, +10 Hide in Shadows.
If these are updated values, where would I find an updated list of values to generate a character so I can generate it correctly? I'm not an expert in these things.
Using GOG version 2.6.6.
Thank you for reply.
The actual system ... you have your base skill investment. Then bonuses from dexterity, race, and any other ongoing effects from spells or items are added. You don't see the direct effects of equipped items in your skills when leveling up, though indirect effects such as dexterity changes do appear. The final number is capped to a 0-255 range. Race and dexterity bonuses are determined using the game's 2DA table files.
For what it's worth, the table used for race bonuses has those numbers from the manual. The table used for dexterity bonuses is all zeros in the 13-15 dexterity range.