New player just getting his feet wet in this game
superluccix
Member Posts: 76
Hello. Im not exactly sure what I should post here. But anyways, I like playing RPGs, like Dragon Age, Mass effect, Fallout, Elder Scrolls.....basically the main popular ones that pretty much everybody knows. Also played a little bit of Divinity Original Sin, which I assume is kinda the same flavor as this Baldurs Gate. (Also liked playing the Fire Emblem series, with its turn based combat)
Anyways, after having played Dragon Age Inquisition for awhile (Havent beat it yet or anything, but I had to take a break from it) I feel incredibly disappointed because of how it deviated from the RPG elements I used to love in Origins so much. (Mainly the side quests being a bunch of MMO style fetch quests, and not the deep story related side quests which had multiple dialogue conversations and multiple ways to end the quest)
However I have heard about this Baldurs Gate game for the longest time, supposedly where Dragon Age Origins got its influence from, and figured I wanted to try it out, after not attempting to because I thought it might be too old for me, but I want to give it a shot anyway, since everyone I see who played all these games cant praise Baldurs Gate enough apparently, so I wanted to try and give it a shot.
So now I ask anybody who bothers to read this, what exactly should I do to prepare for this game? Since Im assuming its going to be so much better/bigger/immersive than anything I have ever played before. I mean I just seem pretty intimidated and feel like a total casual in the face of all these people who seem to really know their stuff. Is there anything I should know or do before I try this? Is there some sort of Mod I should install before attempting this?
If it helps, Im also the type of guy who likes to do every sidequest and search every nook and cranny before going onto the main quest, when everything else has been completed.
Its just I feel like im stepping into a new world for the first time, so I want to be prepared. Thanks
Anyways, after having played Dragon Age Inquisition for awhile (Havent beat it yet or anything, but I had to take a break from it) I feel incredibly disappointed because of how it deviated from the RPG elements I used to love in Origins so much. (Mainly the side quests being a bunch of MMO style fetch quests, and not the deep story related side quests which had multiple dialogue conversations and multiple ways to end the quest)
However I have heard about this Baldurs Gate game for the longest time, supposedly where Dragon Age Origins got its influence from, and figured I wanted to try it out, after not attempting to because I thought it might be too old for me, but I want to give it a shot anyway, since everyone I see who played all these games cant praise Baldurs Gate enough apparently, so I wanted to try and give it a shot.
So now I ask anybody who bothers to read this, what exactly should I do to prepare for this game? Since Im assuming its going to be so much better/bigger/immersive than anything I have ever played before. I mean I just seem pretty intimidated and feel like a total casual in the face of all these people who seem to really know their stuff. Is there anything I should know or do before I try this? Is there some sort of Mod I should install before attempting this?
If it helps, Im also the type of guy who likes to do every sidequest and search every nook and cranny before going onto the main quest, when everything else has been completed.
Its just I feel like im stepping into a new world for the first time, so I want to be prepared. Thanks
Post edited by superluccix on
15
Comments
If you don't have the knowledge already, study up a little on the mechanics of 2nd Edition D&D - figure out how THAC0 and armour class work (lower numbers = good!) , look at what kind of characters you like to play, what kind of weapons you like to use - DON'T make the all too common mistake of just rushing through the weapon proficiencies when character building, arming your PC with something they're not proficient in, then wondering why you can't hit the side of a barn door and end up dead all too often. Although being as you say you've played many RPGs before I assume you're more than aware of this.
Be prepared to read a lot. There's a lot of dialogue and a lot of supplementary information in this game which, while not necessarily crucial to the main story, fills in the gameworld admirably and can give a few hints every now and then as to a direction you may wish to take or travel. Use the ingame journal as well to remind yourself of something you might need to do.
My final bit of advice is simply this: don't give up! This is an extremely challenging game at first, lower level PC's are at constant risk of grisly death at every turn. Use potions, scrolls, abilities you have at your disposal and surround yourself with likeminded companions on the road ;-)
Ok, I lied. I continue to rave. My final, final piece of advice? Use the forums! If you have questions, observations, or simply need to take a few minutes out from hearing "you must gather your party before venturing forth" over and over and over, come and hang out here. There are a lot of people here who have finished the game in every way possible, probable and highly bloody unlikely and they're all willing to share their insights with you. So welcome, and enjoy!
In addition to the good suggestions already listed I'd suggest reading the manuals: They are full of useful information, particularly if you're not familiar with 2nd Edition D&D game mechanics.
When picking a class read the description carefully, paying particular attention to any restrictions they might have. As an example, the Kensai (a subset or kit of the Fighter class) can't wear any armor, can't use gauntlets or bracers, and can't use missile weapons. When used properly the class can end up being one of the most powerful in the game, but for a first time player it would likely lead to a very frustrating experience.
If you like Fighters then that's a great choice for a first play through. They'll have decent hit points, will be able to deal damage with a minimum of fuss, and won't have to worry about a lot of restrictions. You'll still get the chance to play with the other classes as you meet and team up with the various NPCs you'll encounter along the way.
It's probably also a good idea to stick with the Normal difficulty setting for a first play through. You can change it at any time during the game if you find it is too easy, but Normal ensures maximum hit points on level up and things like your mage characters being able to add spell scrolls they find to their spellbooks without a chance of failure and losing the scroll.
As @rufus_hobart said, feel free to ask for help on the forums if anything is confusing or not working the way you think it should.
Also, as the others already said, make sure you read the manuals. You need to learn how Armor Class vs. THAC0 works to understand physical combat (second manual, page 14/15). It basically just means defense rating (Armor Class) vs. offense rating (THAC0), but the calculation might be confusing at first compared to newer RPGs.
Speaking of the manuals, you will want to use the second manual also when determining your Ability Scores (strength, intelligence etc.) of your character. Look at the tables on page 143 and beyond to find out what a "good" strength score is, for example, and what's the difference between, say, 14 dexterity vs. 17 dexterity.
What else? Well, you should save the game a lot, because every unknown area and every new encounter can be fatal if you're not prepared and are still learning about the various abilities of your party and how to handle certain enemies. In the beginning, you will often learn by trial and error.
When in combat, pause a lot and play the game like an RTS, with your party members being your "units". Use the tactical formations to put your "tanks" to the front and your archers and spell casters in the back. But you probably know this from Dragon Age.
Finally, you should know that in the beginning, when you only attack once per round, the games display cosmetic attacks in melee combat, meaning the melee combat animations play more often than the number of attacks that actually occur, making it seem like your fighters miss a lot when actually it was just a meaningless animation. If that confuses you, go to Options > Gameplay > Feedback and enable To-Hit Rolls. The cosmetic attacks will still occur, but now every real attack produces a message in the combat log detailing the attack roll, so you can tell whether an actual attack occurred.
And, if you have any questions, there's a subforum specifically for new players here. Just ask away.
As regards hints and clues : what the other forumers said.
Do not neglect the ranged weapons (especially in BG1)... and a well armored front.
You might want to know that the game gives you clues about what should be the next step. However you'd better explore the surrounding areas. No need to rush on the main quest. Well, nothing new on the rpg front...
Afterwards start again and pick any character you want to try.
Its very story based, but you can also spend your time wandering through the wilderness doing sidequests.
You should have at least one tank, for you when you run into ogres and other large creatures. Otherwise enemies like ranged attacks. Be careful of the enemy wizards who will turn up unexpectedly.
I really recommend that you stay away from Walkthroughs cos following a sequence of instructions really detracts from the discovery and learning of a first playthrough.
I agree with everything that's been said but must emphasise what @Heindrich said: Avoid walkthroughs like the plague, if you need help, come here.
One more resource that might be helpful in character creation:
Play it Hardcore: Races and Stats
There is a lot of information and terminology there that may be difficult to absorb at first (or perhaps not), but when used in conjunction with the manuals linked above, it provides a detailed account of what the stats actually mean to your character. It really helped me to get started and hopefully will do the same for you!
If I had a second piece of advice to give, it would be a corollary to the first. Ranged attacks, i.e. archery, rule supreme through BG1 and at least a significant fraction of BG2. Do everything you can to maximize the archery skill of your party members, and to defend them against enemy archery, mostly through getting everybody's AC as low as possible.
If I had a third piece of advice to give, it would be about magic. Magic is an investment in your future. Making your main character a mage at level one is the most challenging choice you could make, so you might want to play a strong fighter type for your first run. If you *must* play a mage, or take low-level mages into your party as companions, keep them out of melee at all costs. Give them sling or dart proficiency so they have something to do when not casting their very limited magic.
For what magic low-level mages do have, Sleep is the best 1st level spell in BG1. Web is the best 2nd level spell (although you have to keep your own party out of it as it has a devastating "friendly fire" effect), followed by Invisibility and Mirror Images (Invisibility can instantly save your own life or of any party member, though taking you or that party member out of the fight, while Mirror Images can save your own life and leave you still able to fight).
That beginners' mage advice is just for beginner mages. The whole mage progression keeps complexifying until, by later BG2, mages rule the game, and it becomes like a game of chess sometimes, where mages are the vulnerable but supremely powerful kings of the game.
Opinions vary about clerical magic. Clerics have healing, which is always nice to have, plus two enormously powerful 2nd level spells in BG1 - Hold Person and Silence. That's not to mention the 1st level priest spell Remove Fear, which will protect you from the mage spell Horror, that almost every enemy mage casts and which will incapacitate your entire party and wipe you out over and over in the early game.
Later in the game, I think that clerics are still vitally important, since they have spells that protect party members and themselves from the worst that mages can do, but there will be a lot of debate about just how important or not they are, among experienced BG players.
Other than that, I would just say roll up the main character that you prefer most in various rpg's (fighter-type, rogue-type, or spellcasting-type), and go with the flow. There may be a very steep learning curve at first, where you die a lot, but there are many, many rewards to be had from this game if you stick it out. And, it gets actually quite easy to play once you have finally mastered that learning curve of the mechanics.
O (for options) > Gameplay > Auto-pause
I'd recommend checking "weapon unusable", "character injured", "enemy sighted", and "trap found" at the least.
If you want to see how the game thinks of time, you can check "end of round" as well. Something I didn't fully appreciate when I started is that the game has two basic units of time, rounds and turns.
A round is 6 seconds of real time and represents the space allotted to perform any action(s). A turn is 10 rounds or 60 seconds.
@Hurricane touched on rounds earlier in relation to combat animations (a very good point btw), but the game counts almost everything in terms of rounds and turns.
E.g. an enemy mage starts casting a spell. Your archer then attacks to try and interrupt the cast. Count 6 seconds and the enemy mage starts casting again. Fire another arrow. Understanding how the round system works can be a lifesaver.
There are a couple of things worth noting if you do.
One thing is that the storyline of BGEE doesn't really pick up at all until the later chapters. So if you are in chapters 1-4 and you are finding the storyline to be a bit slow, it does speed up towards the end.
The one thing I do highly recommend is to not skip dialogues. Especially from people who are approaching you. The game uses a lot of NPC's, especially in the later chapters, to really hammer home what exactly is happening in the world as you are continuing along this quest line. There aren't a huge number of encounters like this either, and in a number of cases they won't come from people you've talked to before, so I think it helps to be aware of this.
Also talk to commoners as often as you can (though they will tend to repeat dialogue quite a bit) and have a party member of yours with high constitution buy a few rounds at the local pub. Its an easy way of learning what is happening in the area you are in, including potential quests.
If you find a note read it! You can even copy it to read it again latter (it will go in the "user" part of your journal then). Often these notes give you an idea of what is happening in the game.
Books found in the game aren't as necessary to read (as in most cases they are covering other areas of the Forgotten Realms that aren't going to be particularly important regarding what you are encountering), though there is at least one journal you will want to look through. That isn't to say you shouldn't read books found in the game, more just that they tend to be more historical and about other regions rather than about the region of the world you are in.
Also its probably worth mentioning as well that the first game is based around you being a low level party, so a lot of the encounters you'll see in the game are pretty mundane. Save a farmers cow from a group of x monsters attacking it, kill the creatures that stole x item. That kind of thing. By-in-large you'll find the really high level creatures in BG2EE, though that isn't to say that you can't encounter a few of them in BGEE.
The final bit of advice I'd give is to not be discouraged by you or your companions frequently getting killed. You may find this happens quite a bit with low health or limited armor characters like Garrick, Rasaad, Xzar, and Xan. With enough experience and items at their disposal any character that will join your group in this game is viable, some just take longer than others to become very useful. Generally I would say stick with the characters you find most interesting, though keep in mind that not all characters will get along with eachother.
The games are generally balanced out that you can fit a party around what you want to be yourself, and in Icewind Dale: EE you can make your entire party from scratch or use the one provided for you.
There's also pre-generated characters in the Baldur's Gate games that are made for basic starters to let you just jump right in and play the game without worrying about deciding on proficiencies and the like until you level up and recieve them normally.
And lastly: Save often, and talk to anyone with a unique name. They always have something interesting to say at one point or another.
Here goes a list of every joinable NPC in Baldur's Gate, their class and where to get them. Gonna put it in spolers so you choose if you want to look or not as you're a new player, but new or not i advice the look, gonna display it as simple as possible.
Baldur's Gate List:
Ajantis - Lawful good Paladin - N friendly inn arm
Alora - Chaotic Good thief - W of Baldur's Gate City
Brawnen - True neutral cleric - Carnival
Coran - Chaotic Good Fighter/Thief multiclass - Cloakwood 1
Dynaheir - Lawful Good Invoker - Gnoll Stronghold
Edwin - Lawful Evil Conjurer - Nashkel
Eldoth - Neutral Evil Bard - Cloakwood 3
Faldorn - True Neutral Druid - Cloakwood 3
Garrik - Chaotic Neutral Bard - Beregost
Imoen - Neutral Good Thief - At the begin
Jaheira - True Neutral fighter/druid multiclass - Friendly Inn Arm
Kagain - Lawful Evil Fighter - Beregost
Khalid - Neutral Good Fighter - Friendly Inn Arm
Kivan - Chaotic Good Ranger - E of Beregost
Minsc - Neutral Good Ranger - Nashkel
Montaron - Neutral Evil Thief - East of Candlekeep
Quayle - Chaotic Neutral Cleric/Illusionist multiclass - Baldur's Gate Bridge
Safana - Chaotic Neutral Thief - Lighthouse in the sword coast
Shar-Teel - Chaotic Evil Fighter - East of the Temple Area
Skie - True Neutral Thief - NW of Baldur's Gate City
Tiax - Chaotic Evil Cleric/thief multiclass - SW of baldur's Gate City
Viconia - Neutral Evil Cleric - Peldvale
Yeslick - Lawful Good Cleric/Fighter multiclass - Cloakwood mines level 2
Xan - Lawful Neutral Enchanter - Nashkel mines level 4
Xzar - Chaotic Evil Necromancer - E of Candlekeep.
BG:EE Exclusive
Neera - Chaotic Neutral Wild Mage - Beregost
Dorn - Neutral Evil Blackguard - 1° Friendly Inn Arm (speak with him there) then in the path of Nashkel mines)
Rasaad - Lawful Good Sun Soul Monk - Nashkel
Special guest - Chaotic Evil Sorcerer - Larswood
Baldur's Gate 2 list
Aerie - Lawful Good Cleric/Mage multiclass - waukeen promenade
Anomen - Lawful Neutral/chaotic neutral/lawful good Fighter(4)/Cleric dual class - Slums
Cernd - True Neutral Druid - Trademeet
Edwin - Lawful Evil Conjurer - Docks
Haer'Dalis - Chaotic Neutral Bard - Temple District
Imoen - Neutral Good thief(7)/Mage Dual Class - at the begin
Jaheira - True Neutral fighter/druid multiclass - at the begin
Jan Jansen - Chaotic Neutral thief/illusionist multiclass - Government
Keldorn - Lawful Good Inquisitor - Temple District
Korgan - Chaotic Evil Berserker - Slums
Mazzy - Lawful Good fighter (paladin alike) - Lost temple
Minsc - Chaotic Good Ranger - At the begin
Nalia - chaotic good thief(4)/mage dual-class - Slums
Vaylgar - Neutral Good stalker - Umar Hills
Viconia - Neutral Evil Cleric - Government
Yoshimo - True Neutral Bounty Hunter - At the begin later
Special Character - Chaotic Evil Fighter (Throne of Bhaal only)
BG2:EE Exclusive
Neera - Chaotic Neutral Wild Mage - Trigger in Bridge district and recruited later
Dorn - Neutral Evil Blackguard - Temple District
Rasaad - Lawful Good Sun Soul Monk - Trademeet
Hexxat - Neutral Evil Thief - Slums
Special guest - True Neutral ...something alike a fighter - Heretic Temple (Rasaad quest)
Besides plan the party, i would advice you to look guides after you end a session of the game (ex: after doing everything in the Slums on BG2 or Friendly Inn Arm in BG, later you could look a guide to see what you left behind. But this is personal so it's a suggestion of what i would do.
I remember struggling for hours to take down one particularly troublesome group of gentleman when I first played as a kid. Totally wasn't worth it loot or xp wise but I had fun.
When I first started Baldur's Gate, I had no idea about the ADnD rules. So I messed around a bit, read some FAQs and sometimes walkthroughs and I experimented.
It might get you some time to fully understand everything but it doesn't matter. Just keep playing, save often and experiment.
Dying is part of the experience. And you will die a lot. But remember that tactics and preparing gets you half-way there even if you don't know every rule.
Good luck, you'll need it
I felt like I should update my party and experience so far.
At the moment Im on chapter 2, and I just got Neera the mage. My party consists of me (A blackguard), Dorn, Jaheira, Khalid, Imoen, Neera.
I currently have the difficulty on the highest level possible. So far so good, no real trouble at all. (Though I dont know if that is completely honest, because Im saving like every couple of minutes or so, or even after every battle, if somebody dies in my party, I reload to an earlier save, which has happened a couple times) But I mean so far it seems doable.
Though I will need to find a way to make sure I can position my people correctly. I have Dorn and me in the front (Though Khalid has a shield, so I guess it would make more since to put him there, but I have an armor class of 3 and he and Dorn have 4, and Dorn seems more durable so, just went with this for now.
However since Im only on Chapter 2, I wouldnt be surprised if I get royally screwed in combat eventually. So im looking forward to that.
Kinda hoping these side quests pick up steam later, but for now its tolerable for me. Especially since Im trying to learn these new things and all, simple for me at the moment is ok.
Oh, and I know people recommended for me to be a fighter, and that may have been the smarter choice. Its just that I like paladins, so I wanted to choose them, however I could only be lawful good, neutral good, chaotic good. And since I like being more self serving to me and my party, rather than giving 2 shits about being nice to theworld, blackguard was the next best thing for me.
So not sure what to expect, or if this was even a good point to update on, but here it is.
Actually I got a question. I have Imoen in the party to unlock stuff, but like 60% of the stuff I encounter cant be picked by her. Will she have a better chance when she levels up? Or do i need to do something specifically with her?
85 points will be enough to open everything I guess, if not you can use potions that improve the skill.
Also, you'll find a spell scroll "Knock" for a mage in the party eventually - it will let you open every lock in the game.
Sounds all good to me. Keep going, young adventurer, and good luck.
Ex: Aerie in BG2 has 6 .cha files, each one is an initial Aerie NPC with different levels between them, and which file will be triggered when you recruit her is based on your level and XP points. Someone correct me if i'm wrong in this, but i'm pretty sure i'm not.
2° - Knowing about the .cha level files, you must know that this game works with 2 kind of Experience points gain, (i) one is the normal XP points gain that is a set number spread in equal parts among all the members of the party, this one is the one you will most find in the game, (ii) the second kind, the party experience points, that you will gain at the end of some major quests and in other special moments of the game (and doesn't exist in BG:EE), is a set number that each party member gain.
So, 10.000 experience points in a party of 5 means 2.000 XP points to each member, 10.000 party experience points for 5 members of the party means 10.000 XP points to each member.
Conclusion:
If you level up alone or at the maximum with one person in the party, you can get level really fast and recruit NPCs at higher levels, this will block you in coordinate their evolution (where to set proficience points, where to put thieve skills...) but in trade you get more power.
Suggestion:
The best places to level up at the begin of the game in BG:EE are...
1° - Basilisk area (East of the Temple that is East of Beregost).
Buy 2 or 3 potions of mirrored eyes and hack 'n slash them easly for 1.400 XP for each and 4.000 for the greater basilisks. Whatch out for some other enemies in the place.
2° - Coast area - Fight the Nereids there for 2.000 xp each, they're a bit problematic with their constant domination spell (that will be an end game if you're alone when charmed), no party members except main char. To avoid this, there's a potion of clarity that you can get inside candlekeep at the begin.
Sleeping in these areas can be interrupted by Nereid attacks, which is good but you will have to provide other ways to avoid domination/charm.
3° - North of Friendly Inn Arm -Ankhegs.
These nasty bitches hit hard and give only 975 xp each. Why i like them so much, cos the engine inteligence is limited. They tend to prefer ranged attacks, even when we reach melee on them. That means -4 for them to hit us and +4 to us hit them (which is great for lvl 1 characters that have thac0 20). there's a lot of ankhegs in the area and also there's an cave with 10 more ankhegs in there, pleny to level up to 4 or 5 alone if you want
Powergaming is a slippery slope. Next thing you know you'll be soloing beast masters and complaining about how easy the game is
Everyone has great posts here and my tip is read up on all the spells on the game.
The forum is a great place to be and info as well.
Enjoy