Thank you both for your suggestions. I'll keep current damage/hit progression for now. However, blessed ammo will probably be replaced with something more fitting. Nothing too fancy though, since it should work in classic BG2 as well. It may take a while though. I'm currently busy with several of my other mods.
My suggestion would be to replace the Blessed Ammuntion by making all of the Archer's ranged attacks function the way that a Monk's fist attacks work, in terms of what they can hit. The to hit and damage bonuses obviously remain unchanged. However once you reach higher levels, any ranged weapons you use (Longbows, Shortbows, Crossbows, Slings, and Darts) can end up hitting creatures that require magical weapons to hit, much like how a Monk's fist attacks get stronger over time with what creatures they can hit. That way you don't have to worry about remembering to create blessed ammunition if you just want to be able to hit something in the 2nd game without having to worry about the power of the ammunition you have access to, so it allows you to contribute with what the Archer is actually good at.
Like say
Level 8: All ranged attacks are be able to hit creatures requiring +1 weapons to hit
Level 13: All ranged attacks are be able to hit creatures requiring +2 weapons to hit
Level 17: All ranged attacks are be able to hit creatures requiring +3 weapons to hit
Level 21: All ranged attacks are be able to hit creatures requiring +4 weapons to hit
Level 25: All ranged attacks are be able to hit creatures requiring +5 weapons to hit
Obviously as the mod maker you could find the way to properly balance things for the kit, and I haven't really had a chance to go through Baldur's Gate 2 just yet so I don't know how things would scale properly all in all as for the higher levels. But just as long as one of their abilities allows them to be able to contribute in the 2nd game where to my understanding you basically need to be using magical ammunition a lot of the time whereas the first Baldur's Gate you could go through a lot of the game never needing to use magical arrows to destroy a lot of things. You get some form of this ability in the first game as you can reach level 8 within the first game's level cap, and before reaching that point you'll have a good amount of access to magical ammunition already (particularly +1 Arrows and Cold Arrows, maybe occasionally Fire Arrows depending).
Also I was playing something of a first fulltime playthrough to make it all the way through the first game, a heavily modded playthrough. I kitted Kivan to the Archer kit as it felt very fitting considering his abilities, already being a Ranger, and his dialogue seeming to indicate he prefers ranged weapons. Everything for the improved Archer seems to work and I'm playing with BGEE 1.3.
I had a bit of trouble figuring out how to get creating blessed ammunition to work at first, but eventually figured it out. Not knowing how many arrows or charges you get from the blessed ammunition though I guess is something I don't like much based on the in-game description (I guess maybe you get unlimited charges until the duration runs out?). Something like being able to hit enemies regardless of the ammunition used seems to fit better and doesn't require micromanaging (and doesn't make the ranged attacks themselves stronger, just allows you to hit tougher enemies like all those classes with spells and melee weapons).
If there were one shot ability I'd like is maybe something that allows them to Dispel protections (or give them a chance to Dispel protections) from enemies. Could either be implemented as a shot ability, or something where every time you roll a 20 on your attack roll your attack also functions like a Spell Thrust spell or something like that (dispelling some sorts of protections).
Something like a knockback shot isn't really helpful and I wouldn't really remember to use it (if in a party you don't really need it, and if going solo it only effects one enemy). And then with explosive shot that's something you can't use around civilians and will cause a lot of friendly fire to your own party, unless you pre-emptively give your front liners a lot of fire resistance just to use Explosive Shot safely. Rooting Shot is actually the most useful one IMO and actually offers tactical uses to try and divide and conquer different enemies (or prevent ranged attackers from retreating).
For the Usable By section, there was something in there that the ability shouldn't apply to that showed up on there. Cleric/Ranger, since Clerics can't use bows they shouldn't be able to use the blessed ammunition (though I suppose if you dual classed Archer into Cleric, you could still create the ammunition for others to use at least). Also it includes some races on the list that can't be Rangers, though I guess the ammo shouldn't really have any racial restrictions in case you mod your game to get around racial restrictions for classes (which is understandable, I mod my game to do away with racial restrictions to give me more freedom in character creation).
Monks train their mind and body to become a weapon by strict training and meditation. The game implements this power by magical fists (and other skills). I don't think this can be extended to tools (like arrows or bolts). There is reason why monks can only show their true power without any weapons equipped.
Archers can train their precision and strength to hit faster, harder and more efficient. This is shown by their increased to-hit and damage bonuses with progressing levels. The abilities added by this mod (rooting shot, power shot, etc.) are already in line with the Archer's ethos and skills (imo). However, the blessed ammo was chosen poorly. It should be replaced by something that is more attuned to nature, rather than spiritual.
Giving Archers a passive "magic" ability that automatically apply enchantments to arrows or bolts would be difficult to justify. Instead I can think of some more mundane crafting skills. For example, creating scores of arrows (or bolts), maybe enchanted or containing additional effects with increasing levels.
I had a bit of trouble figuring out how to get creating blessed ammunition to work at first, but eventually figured it out. Not knowing how many arrows or charges you get from the blessed ammunition though I guess is something I don't like much based on the in-game description (I guess maybe you get unlimited charges until the duration runs out?).
The "Create blessed ammo" ability works somewhat special. It creates a single projectile (arrow or bolt) with a fixed number of charges. It works similar to enchanted quivers you can get in ToB. However, after spending the last charge the projectile will vanish. This design was needed to work around some exploits.
Your other suggestions sound intriguing though. But I'll have to check whether they can be implemented in classic BG2.
Something like a knockback shot isn't really helpful and I wouldn't really remember to use it (if in a party you don't really need it, and if going solo it only effects one enemy).
It all depends on your playstyle. This particular trick shot can be helpful to keep enemies at bay and even prevent their ranged attacks for a while, since the knockback/unconscious effect works over several seconds. The rooting shot may prevent enemies from approaching you, but they can still use their ranged attacks.
Monks train their mind and body to become a weapon by strict training and meditation. The game implements this power by magical fists (and other skills). I don't think this can be extended to tools (like arrows or bolts). There is reason why monks can only show their true power without any weapons equipped.
Archers can train their precision and strength to hit faster, harder and more efficient. This is shown by their increased to-hit and damage bonuses with progressing levels. The abilities added by this mod (rooting shot, power shot, etc.) are already in line with the Archer's ethos and skills (imo). However, the blessed ammo was chosen poorly. It should be replaced by something that is more attuned to nature, rather than spiritual.
Giving Archers a passive "magic" ability that automatically apply enchantments to arrows or bolts would be difficult to justify. Instead I can think of some more mundane crafting skills. For example, creating scores of arrows (or bolts), maybe enchanted or containing additional effects with increasing levels.
I had a bit of trouble figuring out how to get creating blessed ammunition to work at first, but eventually figured it out. Not knowing how many arrows or charges you get from the blessed ammunition though I guess is something I don't like much based on the in-game description (I guess maybe you get unlimited charges until the duration runs out?).
The "Create blessed ammo" ability works somewhat special. It creates a single projectile (arrow or bolt) with a fixed number of charges. It works similar to enchanted quivers you can get in ToB. However, after spending the last charge the projectile will vanish. This design was needed to work around some exploits.
Your other suggestions sound intriguing though. But I'll have to check whether they can be implemented in classic BG2.
Something like a knockback shot isn't really helpful and I wouldn't really remember to use it (if in a party you don't really need it, and if going solo it only effects one enemy).
It all depends on your playstyle. This particular trick shot can be helpful to keep enemies at bay and even prevent their ranged attacks for a while, since the knockback/unconscious effect works over several seconds. The rooting shot may prevent enemies from approaching you, but they can still use their ranged attacks.
Well you could always implement a mini crafting system where the Archer can make magical arrows (or upgrade them into a better magical arrow). But I'm not sure how that could be implemented. Archers run into issues that melee fighters or spellcasters don't because they're reliant on the enchantment of their ammunition to be able to hit things, not the enchantment of their weapon (whereas melee weapons have more options for the higher tier weapons to be able to hit late game enemies, and don't worry about ammunition). The 2nd game just needs an alternative for the Archer to be able to hit things, like maybe a headshots or something since that doesn't break the immersion of being an Archer. Or maybe a spell in their Druid spellbook for a similar purpose.
Yes they have spellbook. Why not create specific archer spells, like enchanted arrows, elemental arrows, dispel arrows, entangle arrows, fireball arrows etc ?
The spellbook is shared by druids and rangers. It is difficult to add kit-specific spells without the danger of screwing the whole spell system as soon as another mod tweaks some aspects of spellcasting. I think these "skills" are better suited for the ability section of an Archer.
Shaman is a class. I don't say it's impossible, but rather a dirty solution, since it may add spells too soon or too late to the spellbook. Moreover, spell progression is rather limited for a ranger. The ability section allows me to have more control over the spells.
Hm okay its up to you, but more elegant to use the spellbook for spells, rather than abilities, that is already full of abilities from hla-s. And dont think its add spell too soon or late, because you know what level do you want to add the spell.
Hi! Nice mod, i have been using it and it adds a lot of flavor. Any chance blessed arrows could give more than 20 arrows? It seems like too little. Maybe 80 so we get a full stack?
@argent77: May I suggest merging my Universal Archer kit mod with yours? It would be more convenient for users if they could access either kit in the same mod. Yours is the larger and has more components, so you could just copy my mod and tack it on for those who want +4 ammo, GM in darts, and a vanilla Called Shot on a paladin, for example.
If you'd prefer the mods remain separate, that's fine. I just thought I'd bring it up.
@semiticgod I have looked into your mod. A merge would theoretically be possible, but I'm not sure yet how to integrate it best. For example, the Paladin version of the Archer could also benefit from all the features of the improved Archer variant (maybe at slower progression) while the Fighter version would be limited to non-spiritual abilities only.
@argent77: Whichever merge is most convenient and theme-appropriate. I don't have any future plans for the mod, so you can incorporate it in whatever way works best.
Version 3.0 introduces new Archer-like kits for fighter, paladin and thief classes with their own strengths and weaknesses (based on ideas from @semiticgod's Universal Archer Kit), fine-tunes overall balance of the Archer kit and fixes a couple of bugs (mainly for original BG2).
Changelog:
Rebalanced combat bonuses of the Archer kit
Rebalanced "Create Blessed Ammo" ability
Added Archer-like kits for fighters, paladins and thieves
Added bullets to "Create Blessed Ammo" ability for paladin kit
Fixed incorrect blessed ammo projectile for classic BG2/BGT
How on earth is the blessed ammo supposed to work?? Does it add a stack of arrows to your quiver or inventory? Does it require a certain type of ammo already equipped? Does it invisibly change whatever arrows you currently have equipped to blessed arrows??
I've tried to determine how the heck they work, but for the life of me, it never seems to (and I can see the blessed ammo icons for the mod in EEKeeper, so I'm at a loss to understand how the heck they're supposed to work).
@ZeshinX The "Create Blessed Ammo" ability creates a score of arrows or bolts for a limited time in your inventory. (It's actually a single charged item, so you can't split it up like regular ammo.) After creation you can place it into the quiver slot just like regular ammo. Does it work differently in your game?
@ZeshinX The "Create Blessed Ammo" ability creates a score of arrows or bolts for a limited time in your inventory. (It's actually a single charged item, so you can't split it up like regular ammo.) After creation you can place it into the quiver slot just like regular ammo. Does it work differently in your game?
It does nothing at all in my game. Oh my character animates when the ability is activated and the visual effects play, but nothing shows up in my inventory.
I mean I'm fairly sure it's a conflict with another mod I'm using, though which one I don't really know as I don't use a ton of them (and yours is the only kit mod proper that I use). The mods I use below (in the event you or others know right off if one of them does conflict):
-Congenio's Pebble Collection
-Unofficial Item Pack v2.7
-Item Pack v1.8
-Item Upgrade v4.5
-IWDification
-SoD to BG2EE v1.1.0
-Your Archer kitpack v3.1 (all components installed)
-G3 Tweaks Anthology v9 (not all BG2 elements installed)
-aTweaks v453 (not all elements installed)
That's not the exact order I installed them in, but I generally install item mods, then kit mods, then tweak mods.
Difficult to say what's changing the spell effects. Can you attach the WeiDU.log and the SETUP-A7#IMPROVEDARCHER.DEBUG? I'd like to take a closer look.
Just to make sure you create the ammo correctly:
- First click on "Create Blessed Ammo" innate ability.
- Then click on one of the listed ammo types you want to create: either "Create Blessed Arrows", "Create Blessed Bolts" or "Create Blessed Bullets" (for Bow Knights).
- After a lengthy casting animation the ammo should be created in the first free inventory slot of the caster.
Well son of a....that was the part I missed. Every time I used the ability, I never saw the choice of ammo type option appear (since I never looked), and immediately went to look in my inventory. Just tried it again and looked for the ammo type choice and voila, there it was. Worked entirely as it should.
Comments
Like say
Level 8: All ranged attacks are be able to hit creatures requiring +1 weapons to hit
Level 13: All ranged attacks are be able to hit creatures requiring +2 weapons to hit
Level 17: All ranged attacks are be able to hit creatures requiring +3 weapons to hit
Level 21: All ranged attacks are be able to hit creatures requiring +4 weapons to hit
Level 25: All ranged attacks are be able to hit creatures requiring +5 weapons to hit
Obviously as the mod maker you could find the way to properly balance things for the kit, and I haven't really had a chance to go through Baldur's Gate 2 just yet so I don't know how things would scale properly all in all as for the higher levels. But just as long as one of their abilities allows them to be able to contribute in the 2nd game where to my understanding you basically need to be using magical ammunition a lot of the time whereas the first Baldur's Gate you could go through a lot of the game never needing to use magical arrows to destroy a lot of things. You get some form of this ability in the first game as you can reach level 8 within the first game's level cap, and before reaching that point you'll have a good amount of access to magical ammunition already (particularly +1 Arrows and Cold Arrows, maybe occasionally Fire Arrows depending).
Also I was playing something of a first fulltime playthrough to make it all the way through the first game, a heavily modded playthrough. I kitted Kivan to the Archer kit as it felt very fitting considering his abilities, already being a Ranger, and his dialogue seeming to indicate he prefers ranged weapons. Everything for the improved Archer seems to work and I'm playing with BGEE 1.3.
I had a bit of trouble figuring out how to get creating blessed ammunition to work at first, but eventually figured it out. Not knowing how many arrows or charges you get from the blessed ammunition though I guess is something I don't like much based on the in-game description (I guess maybe you get unlimited charges until the duration runs out?). Something like being able to hit enemies regardless of the ammunition used seems to fit better and doesn't require micromanaging (and doesn't make the ranged attacks themselves stronger, just allows you to hit tougher enemies like all those classes with spells and melee weapons).
If there were one shot ability I'd like is maybe something that allows them to Dispel protections (or give them a chance to Dispel protections) from enemies. Could either be implemented as a shot ability, or something where every time you roll a 20 on your attack roll your attack also functions like a Spell Thrust spell or something like that (dispelling some sorts of protections).
Something like a knockback shot isn't really helpful and I wouldn't really remember to use it (if in a party you don't really need it, and if going solo it only effects one enemy). And then with explosive shot that's something you can't use around civilians and will cause a lot of friendly fire to your own party, unless you pre-emptively give your front liners a lot of fire resistance just to use Explosive Shot safely. Rooting Shot is actually the most useful one IMO and actually offers tactical uses to try and divide and conquer different enemies (or prevent ranged attackers from retreating).
For the Usable By section, there was something in there that the ability shouldn't apply to that showed up on there. Cleric/Ranger, since Clerics can't use bows they shouldn't be able to use the blessed ammunition (though I suppose if you dual classed Archer into Cleric, you could still create the ammunition for others to use at least). Also it includes some races on the list that can't be Rangers, though I guess the ammo shouldn't really have any racial restrictions in case you mod your game to get around racial restrictions for classes (which is understandable, I mod my game to do away with racial restrictions to give me more freedom in character creation).
Archers can train their precision and strength to hit faster, harder and more efficient. This is shown by their increased to-hit and damage bonuses with progressing levels. The abilities added by this mod (rooting shot, power shot, etc.) are already in line with the Archer's ethos and skills (imo). However, the blessed ammo was chosen poorly. It should be replaced by something that is more attuned to nature, rather than spiritual.
Giving Archers a passive "magic" ability that automatically apply enchantments to arrows or bolts would be difficult to justify. Instead I can think of some more mundane crafting skills. For example, creating scores of arrows (or bolts), maybe enchanted or containing additional effects with increasing levels.
The "Create blessed ammo" ability works somewhat special. It creates a single projectile (arrow or bolt) with a fixed number of charges. It works similar to enchanted quivers you can get in ToB. However, after spending the last charge the projectile will vanish. This design was needed to work around some exploits.
Your other suggestions sound intriguing though. But I'll have to check whether they can be implemented in classic BG2.
It all depends on your playstyle. This particular trick shot can be helpful to keep enemies at bay and even prevent their ranged attacks for a while, since the knockback/unconscious effect works over several seconds. The rooting shot may prevent enemies from approaching you, but they can still use their ranged attacks.
I can't find the kit in the 2DA files with Near Infinity. Which file is it ? I'm on EET.
Do i miss something ? (I'm beginner on NI).
I would like to add some abilities.
Thanks
Thanks a lot.
If you'd prefer the mods remain separate, that's fine. I just thought I'd bring it up.
Chaos Sorcerer Kit (argent77)
Skip Chateau Irenicus (argent77)
Improved Archer Kit (argent77)
to my mod list. Thanks very much for all your mods.
Version 3.0 introduces new Archer-like kits for fighter, paladin and thief classes with their own strengths and weaknesses (based on ideas from @semiticgod's Universal Archer Kit), fine-tunes overall balance of the Archer kit and fixes a couple of bugs (mainly for original BG2).
Changelog:
Changelog:
I've tried to determine how the heck they work, but for the life of me, it never seems to (and I can see the blessed ammo icons for the mod in EEKeeper, so I'm at a loss to understand how the heck they're supposed to work).
It does nothing at all in my game. Oh my character animates when the ability is activated and the visual effects play, but nothing shows up in my inventory.
I mean I'm fairly sure it's a conflict with another mod I'm using, though which one I don't really know as I don't use a ton of them (and yours is the only kit mod proper that I use). The mods I use below (in the event you or others know right off if one of them does conflict):
-Congenio's Pebble Collection
-Unofficial Item Pack v2.7
-Item Pack v1.8
-Item Upgrade v4.5
-IWDification
-SoD to BG2EE v1.1.0
-Your Archer kitpack v3.1 (all components installed)
-G3 Tweaks Anthology v9 (not all BG2 elements installed)
-aTweaks v453 (not all elements installed)
That's not the exact order I installed them in, but I generally install item mods, then kit mods, then tweak mods.
Just to make sure you create the ammo correctly:
- First click on "Create Blessed Ammo" innate ability.
- Then click on one of the listed ammo types you want to create: either "Create Blessed Arrows", "Create Blessed Bolts" or "Create Blessed Bullets" (for Bow Knights).
- After a lengthy casting animation the ammo should be created in the first free inventory slot of the caster.
Chalk this one up to stupid user error.
Changelog: