Things I love about IWD that are different from BG
![[Deleted User]](https://forums.beamdog.com/applications/dashboard/design/images/defaulticon.png)
[Deleted User]
Posts: 0
The user and all related content has been deleted.
28
Comments
Yeah, it's mostly in my head, but I like that no pregenerated writing gets in the way. I wouldn't change either series in this regard.
On topic, I always enjoyed the visuals and the music in IWD over BG. BG2 especially has so much of a "sci-fi" feel to its fantasy setting that it almost breaks the immersion.
I also like creating my whole party, and, as others have mentioned, item randomization.
Don't get me wrong, on a scale of one to ten, I would rank BG better. But I like both games, and IWD has several distinct strengths.
I really like the item randomization in IWD, but I think it could have been done better. Some of the items are vastly better than others. Most do help to a degree, but there are a few that last you for chapters. Knowing this makes me disappointed when getting a sub-par item, which in turn makes me save-scum, which in turn... leads to the dark side.
Then there was a change, I can't remember if it was in a patch or in HoW, when all containers had their random content set upon loading a level for the first time. So if you wanted a do-over you needed to load a save from before entering an area for the first time.
The only buffs seemed to be rogue classes and I guess druids (clerics can screw you over with the wrong alignment)... was it worth the tradeoff?
*More enemies on the hardest difficulty, such as those nasty Yuan-ti mages in Dragon's Eye.
*Very detailed damage descriptions which mention the exact damage type as well as how much damage was resisted.
*Many new spells and items are sold by Orrick, and many new weapons are sold by Conlan.
I do like the difficulty changes... but they made specialist mages outright ununique. Why am I going to be a conjurer when an Enchanter is the same thing with saves vs a spell school that matters more? What's the spell difference between illusion and transmutation.
As for the new weapons sold by Conlan or Orrick... so? Most of Conlan's new weapons SUCK! The only ones worth anything are the cheapest ones, namely the Love of Black Bess and the Lucky Scimitar. The others are far too expensive that, by the time you can afford them, you have better +2/3 items that have benefits other than being +3/4.
Orrick's items are not shabby: the Shimmering Sash is good for Goodly warriors who want some blur... but the rest is meh. It's not worth losing the +4 Shocking Flail or the +4 Morningstar of Action, The +4 Warhammer Defender, Static 2H Sword +4, 2h Sword: Lifegiver +4, Bhaal's Fire and others PERMANENTLY and the lateness that the Longbow Hammerer +4 and Longsword of Action +4 now have are just meanspirited.
They COULD have added those removed items to new random loot tables in HoW areas... but there's only one random loot table... and it's between an Invis Cloak (in HoW) and some Scalemail with Animal Rage... how great...
This is in fact a thing that irks me, as I prefer the IWD shortcut icon to the IWD+HoW one. I actually went and changed it in Windows...
But yeah, installing off a cd or iso are probably the only way to play vanilla IWD. I'm surprised to even have the original discs of BG I, BG II and IWD still around after all these years!
2. Bard spell progression
3. Evasion
Plot doesn't amplify to a "world wide conflict" along with ridiculous powerful items. Also I always disliked scenario with prophecies, reincarnations or stuff like "the chosen one" and I am talking about the bhaalspawn theory. It centralizes the attention on one character while the others should deserve as much as credits. I prefer to have a main antagonist that "happen to be here" and deal with the facts than being born "special" and having no other choices than following "your destiny".
Conclusion IWD looks more like a DnD pen and paper session you will do with friends which gives a better immersion and space for your imagination.
So if you can have one good idea, just ONE, make IWD 3 -_-
The architechture in the BG series doesn't even make sense half of the time :I
(Why on earth would you set the only way up the cliff and towards the other huts in Amkethran through an inhabited home??? And I still don't get why the Throne of Bhaal is called a throne, it doesn't even remotely resemble a chair.) Everything in IWD(2) just feels so much more organic and real which is a huuuuuge plus for the atmosphere.
1. FAR better portraits. Even from BGEE. IWD's portraits are a work of art. They are stuff you could hang on your wall or door and look at them and say "wow".
2. More beautiful interface. And in IWD2, better interface. Tidier, compact and can be customized.
3. More beautiful areas. The exterior of the ice temple (cannot remember it's name, the one with the "aquarium") is wallpaper material. People would think it's a painting and you can say "it's from a game".
4. Story supports, actually encourages and demands a custom party. In BG it's all about the Bhaalspawn. It's Bhaalspawn and his no-buddies (custom party). In IWD, your created party are the protagonists as a group, like in a DnD campaign.
5. Druids and Bards are done far better. There might not be kits (yet) but some vanilla classes are much better balanced.
6. Heart of Fury. If only something like that existed in the other DnD games. You don't have to start from scratch, you can start a new game with your old party and the challenge is amplified.
7. IWDII. Paladins (and Monks) have more RP implications than basically being a warrior class with divine spells and immunities.
Both, some races and classes get you different results in conversations instead of being just "the adventurer" or the Bhaalspawn.
There are probably some other things, but concerning music and spells, that depends from person to person. One game has better spells sometimes, other times the other one, same with music.
What they were trying to do with IWD is create a more classic DnD campaign. Where it's about the adventures of a party of nobodies instead of a destined hero (or villain).
As for Orrick, I really like that mage robe that gives you really good strength but can only be worn by pure mages. It's fun to play as a pure mage and pretend to be a fighter/mage!